Myth: The Spiritual Dominator

Southeast of the continent, above Silvermoon City.

Surrounding the main body of the city and the puzzle lock, the twelve clock towers hang high above it as usual.

No matter it is day or night, rain or shine, they always maintain their eternal and unchanging trajectory.

This is a masterpiece of witchcraft... and a testament to the power of the Goddess of the Magic Web.

Because it is not only man-made, but also God-given.

Yes, although the spellcasters of Silvermoon City have always been proud of their superb skills, there are some things they have to admit.

That is, the founder of alchemy was not one of those who claimed to be wise, but a learner who came from afar.

The reason why these twelve towers are so special is not because of how powerful the technology they contain is.

After all, time will smooth out everything. Perhaps when the first tower rises, it is indeed a miracle unique in the world.

But since the first one hung in the sky, nearly a thousand years have passed in Silver Moon City.

In this age without any gaps in civilization, in the field of witchcraft, ancient does not mean powerful.

On the contrary, among humans during the Age of Gods, the newer things were, the more extraordinary they seemed.

"..."

"So, Erwin, this is the difference between humans and gods."

“…new things are often stronger than old things to people.”

“Because our strength comes from wisdom and creativity, the future will always be better than the past.”

“But to the gods, old things are often better than new things.

"Because their power comes from the world itself, the past is always better than the future."

"It's like a piece of cake that has been cut. When it is placed on the table, the people who come to the table first will naturally eat the most, while the ones who come later will get very little."

"But the gold buried in the ground always belongs to the person who digs it out."

"As long as you are good at digging and searching, it doesn't matter when you arrive."

Tuk Tuk——

The dark oak cane struck the ground with a dull sound.

Standing by the window and looking down at the city below, the old man with sparse and gray hair couldn't help but sigh.

Looking around, in Silvermoon City, there are bustling crowds of people and magical lights flashing everywhere, as if the starry sky was placed on the ground.

So young and energetic...generation after generation of young people.

“I’m really old.”

Shaking his head slightly, the old man sighed softly.

He still remembered what he looked like when he was young. That year, as the first generation of descendants of the Bronze Survivors and the Water Elves, he and his friends once played together at the shore of Falling Star Lake.

At that time, Silvermoon City still seemed desolate and primitive... but under the leadership of the Great Prophet, everyone was full of hope for the future.

Time, so many years have passed in a flash.

People’s hopes have all been realized.

The wilderness turned into farmland, the sky was occupied by human creations, and he, of course, was no longer young.

After all, as human beings, we will eventually grow old, and I, naturally, cannot escape old age.

"So Erwin, enjoy your young body."

The old man smiled and pointed at the middle-aged man behind him with his cane.

"You are not like me. You have only lived for a few hundred years, and you still have a long time in the future."

"Take advantage of this opportunity to experience the feelings of youth. Otherwise, when you reach my age, no matter how much knowledge you have or how many glorious honors you have, you will not be able to change your gradually decaying soul..."

“The power of witchcraft may delay the decay of the body, but who can change the continuation of the soul’s integrity and vitality?”

Prolonging life is not difficult, at least for the elderly themselves.

It is possible to prolong life without affecting one's emotions and integrity, but it is extremely difficult.

The old man knew that perhaps in a hundred years, maybe two hundred years, or at most three hundred years, he would be destined to embark on the road to death.

This may be long enough for mortals, but for him, it is just the afterglow before the flame of life is extinguished.

"Teacher, you are too kind."

"Your life has just begun, how can it possibly end?"

The middle-aged man called Erwin bent slightly and smiled respectfully.

He was wearing a dark blue robe with an intricate and exquisite pattern engraved on his left chest.

That's the 'Clock Tower' symbol, Medea has the same one.

It symbolizes that the person who possesses it has reached the extreme end of the spellcaster's domain and is the master of one of the twelve towers.

But in front of his teacher, the middle-aged man's attitude remained the same, as if he was still the apprentice he used to be.

“As you said, the greatness of mankind lies in wisdom and creativity.”

“In the Bronze Age, humans viewed the supernatural as the authority of God, but now it is everywhere in the world.

"So nothing is absolute... Perhaps one day in the future, the crown that reveals the secret of eternal life will be upon you."

"The crown of eternal life... hehe."

"Well, Erwin, you know how hard this is."

Smiling and shaking his head, the old man didn't care about what the student said.

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Before he really started the research, he thought he could succeed, but he just lacked the opportunity to experiment.

But after it really started, he realized how insignificant he was.

The gap between God and man is as vast as the chasm between heaven and earth, just like these twelve clock towers.

Only people like the old man who participated in its construction know that their real power never lies in themselves, but in the divine grace that covers this place.

[Mystery Lock] is a supreme miracle born under the will of God.

Its existence distorts the magic network and semi-permanently changes the rules of an area. In other words, it is actually the distorted magic network itself.

The noble Lord of All Things created it, a creation that humans still cannot fully understand. Then, like throwing away garbage, he threw the authority to manage it to the humans of Silver Moon City.

From that day on, the construction of the twelve towers began.

But in fact, in terms of the technology of building the tower itself, it is probably not as good as that of the great alchemist in Athens.

"…It's a pity that the young man didn't want to stay."

"Otherwise, with his talent, these problems that bother us may not be able to stump him."

Thinking of this, the old man felt a little regretful.

In his long life, the young man named Hermes was the most talented and creative person he had ever met.

Before him, Silvermoon City only had 'Runes', 'Materials', and 'Potions'.

After him, people began to analyze the world from another perspective, taking "equivalent substitution" as the basis and using the perspective of "alchemy" to explain the extraordinary.

"You mean Hermes?"

His expression changed slightly. Erwin, who was standing behind the old man, looked a little unhappy when he heard the name.

Hermes, he remembered this guy.

Unlike Medea, this Athenian was not of divine descent and did not have any of the blood of the gods in him.

So at the beginning, Erwin also had a great liking for Hermes.

Only later...

He may have some abilities, but he is too tactless.

"Teacher, everyone has their own choices. Besides, we made an exception in order to win him over."

"In the end, I even promised him personally that if he chose to stay, even if he didn't grow up in Silvermoon City, he would be able to become the owner of a clock tower in the future... and even have the opportunity to study the mysteries of eternity one day."

"It's impossible that he didn't know what I was talking about, but teacher, he still rejected me mercilessly."

"Forget it, it's in the past."

Shaking his head slightly, the old man still felt a little regretful about this, but as he said, it was all in the past after all.

Moreover, sometimes he wondered if he had overestimated the other party.

The unknown is always the most attractive, so whenever the old man encountered difficulties in research, he would inevitably wonder what would happen if that talented young man was here.

Especially as the other party's reputation grows, this regret becomes greater and greater.

But in the final analysis, human talent is difficult to judge.

The genius who founded alchemy may not necessarily be found elsewhere.

Standing in front of the French window of the high tower, the old man chatted with his students for a while.

As time went by, his expression could no longer hide his fatigue.

This is not physical fatigue, and it cannot be changed by worldly power.

"Teacher, if you are tired, how about I ..."

Noticing this scene, the middle-aged man prepared to say goodbye.

However, at this moment, a bell suddenly rang.

jingle……

"Ok?"

Hearing this crisp voice, the middle-aged man immediately stopped talking.

He took a half step back, a look of understanding in his eyes.

"This is……"

"It's what you think it is."

“After years of hard work, we finally have some results.”

"It's just that there are still too few finished products... and the effect is much worse than expected."

He spoke calmly, but the old man who also heard the ringing actually perked up.

With anticipation in his eyes, he tapped the ground with his cane.

It seemed like some kind of command. With a slight wave, a hole opened up on the ground of the room, leading to an unknown place.

The next moment, a platform slowly floated out from inside.

There wasn't much stuff on there. There was a silver tray on the platform, and a crystal bottle filled with golden liquid that looked like flowing sand was placed there.

Spots of bright light flickered and floated in it, just like the twinkling stars in the sky.

From time to time, a bubble would float up in the flowing golden liquid, and it would explode on the surface of the liquid, like a mortal's broken dream.

despair--

Reaching out to pick up the gorgeous potion that seemed out of this world, the old man lightly tapped the mouth of the bottle with his finger.

As if some kind of blockade was lifted, the cork on the crystal bottle suddenly rotted, shattered, and finally turned into dust at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its dust fell into the liquid medicine and instantly burned like a ignited flame.

Seeing this, the old man finally opened his mouth and drank the medicine in the bottle.

despair--

After a cup of tea, the crystal bottle was put back on the tray.

With a gentle wave of the hand, the platform carried it back to where it came from.

There were no earth-shattering visions, nor any sudden rejuvenation.

The old man looked normal, as if he had just drunk a sip of water. There was no change in his expression.

Only his previously cloudy eyes became bright again, as if the dust of the past had been washed away.

Inadvertently, Erwin's eyes passed the old man while he was standing nearby.

Just one glance, and a feeling of spiritual pain came over me.

The middle-aged man lowered his head slightly, his expression unchanged.

There is nothing strange about this, this is the true power of his teacher and the reason why he still respects him so much.

On weekdays, in order to delay the decay of his soul as much as possible, the old man has long been accustomed to restraining his strength.

Only at this time, he would reveal some of his former glory.

"…What a perfect creation…"

Closing his eyes, the old man immersed himself in the feeling of finally finding sweet water after a long drought.

After a long time, when he opened his eyes again, the middle-aged man could no longer see that captivating light.

Obviously, the old man has already reached the pinnacle of control over his own condition.

In just a moment, he was already familiar with the new situation.

"Hehe, Erwin, don't be impatient."

"It's too rare, and you're still young."

"One day in the future, it will surely be yours."

"It's just that our utilization efficiency of raw materials is too low, and it is still far from the quality we expected."

"I understand."

"You definitely need it more than I do right now."

Nodding slowly, the middle-aged man didn't seem to care when facing the old man.

After all, as the other party said, he can't use this thing now.

"It's just that teacher, our progress has been stagnant for too long..."

Erwin looked embarrassed and helpless.

"It's just a single case, and there's no control... Our experiment has reached a bottleneck."

"Unless there is a sudden breakthrough, otherwise..."

"That's why I asked you to prepare for this war, Erwin, isn't it?"

He spoke quietly, holding his cane.

The old man turned around again and looked at the city below him.

Silver Moon City is bustling with people.

The church, wizards, gods, angels... they are all here.

As an insignificant human being, the old man believes that he has no ability to change the world situation.

Going with the flow is his consistent principle.

No matter what happens, he is never the first to bring it up.

For example, he did not request the creation of the phylactery for Achilles, but he did participate in its construction and personally observed the immortal body soaked in the water of the Styx.

For example, he was not the one who instigated those clergymen whose minds were filled with only the majesty of the gods to ask for an explanation from the country in the west of the continent, but when the other party asked him about the attitude of the wizards, all his answers were supportive.

The old man himself did not comment on what these people did.

After all, in his opinion, dividing the soul meant a defect of will, which was something he would never do.

And the majesty of the gods... perhaps those priests have never asked the gods themselves whether they think the ownership of the sword affects his reputation.

But no matter what, since others want to do it, he will not refuse.

When everyone gets what they want, there are no losers.

but……

"Over the years, there is only one thing that I took the initiative to do."

"This may indeed be a risk, but there is no smooth road to eternity."

With a leisurely look, the old man's eyes swept across a location in the city.

There, there was a stream of blood and energy that made him feel frightened, as well as three different auras.

Such a powerful demigod, and the taste of belief in gods in the east of the continent... Unfortunately, I don’t want to come into contact with the so-called power of godhood.

This thing that is obviously not natural is the last helpless choice. As long as there is a slight possibility, the old man does not want to be involved in it in advance.

Judging from the situation, the god from Olympus probably came just for them.

There may be some secret in this, but the old man is not interested.

Let the god who hides terrible taboos leave with them. As long as it does not affect his own foundation, the old man always keeps his distance from these troublesome beings.

"Erwin, where is the Olympian wind god?"

"Medea is in charge of this matter, and you know her attitude."

"The descendant of the god said she would handle it, so I stopped interfering to avoid a conflict with her."

There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone. Obviously, the middle-aged man had been unhappy with Medea for a long time.

"You know, she is not only a wizard, but also a natural demigod..."

"Teacher, if war breaks out as you said before..."

"Don't worry."

Slowly, the old man raised his hand to stop the middle-aged man from speaking.

"Send them away first. As for Medea, don't take those little things to heart."

"People like her are unlikely to stand against us."

"As long as she is not an enemy, don't cause yourself any trouble."

"……is teacher."

Speaking in a low voice, the middle-aged man agreed.

"Okay, remember to distinguish what is important and what is not important."

Smiling and nodding, the old man spoke slowly.

"Go ahead. If you have nothing else to do, go find some 'materials'."

"[Stars]... His natural recovery speed is still too slow."

"Although we have achieved some results, I need more right now for the war in the near future."

My students are still young, but that’s okay.

If the other person is really like himself, the old man may not feel at ease.