Selene is pacing up and down the Warrior’s Guild lobby with a serious look. She’s impatiently awaiting the return of her colleague, a fellow member of the guild who has friends inside Lapithos’ prison.

“Relax, Selene. You won’t help your friend by acting like a nervous wreck.” One of the other warriors in the lobby tries calling to her, but to no avail. She is lost in thought and isn’t listening.

After Dion (Rigel) was incapacitated at the city gate, Selene drew her sword and stood ready to defend him. A man in black leather armor calls out to her.

“Stand down, warrior. We have an official order for this man’s arrest” the man declares.

“You have the wrong person. This man’s name is Dion and he’s done nothing wrong. Is attacking from behind without provocation what you call an arrest?” she speaks defiantly while looking around, ready to respond to any attack.

“No, it’s not wrong. We have been aware of his identity ever since he escaped from Delos. He is a wanted criminal who can use dangerous magic. I could not risk a fight in public. Please stand aside.”

“He is a hero! Without him, many more people would have perished last night. You owe him your gratitude!” Selene starts shouting out of frustration, attracting the attention of bystanders in the city. The man in black sighs with an annoyed look on his face.

“I don’t have time for this… Our orders are clear and we will remove you by force if necessary. Last warning; stand aside.”

Selene tenses up even further. She knows there is no way she can protect Dion in this position. She is surrounded by experienced soldiers, not a ragtag group of bandits. The man in black was able to silently strike Dion and then retreat out of retaliation range in the blink of an eye. He is strong enough to match her in a one-on-one fight. Also, starting a fight here would only make Dion’s situation worse. In the end, she has no choice but to stand down.

As she’s pacing inside the Warrior’s Guild, she tries to remember everything she knows about Dion.

Surely his arrest must be a misunderstanding. The soldiers called him by a different name and mentioned treason and other ridiculous accusations. There’s no way Dion is that kind of person. Although she’s only known him for a short while, he was kind and never made any suspicious moves. It must be a mistake.

As she’s thinking, her friend arrives through the front door. Selene immediately jumps in front of her with a single leap.

“Laila! What news? Dion was found innocent, right?”

“I don’t know, but something serious happened after the trial. My sources say that Councillor Padraig and his guards were found dead in the prison. It seems he escaped and attacked the Councillor who visited him.”

“That’s impossible! Dion is not that kind of person. He helped this city and has never killed anyone. Even when bandits attacked, he spared their lives…”

“I trust you, but the fact remains that a Councillor died in that prison and your friend is missing” the woman replies with a steady tone, trying to calm Selene.

“How did he escape? Where did he go?”

“I don’t know. The prison has only one exit and no one saw him leave. His cell was underground so there’s no way he could simply break out. The only explanation is that he fled into one of the abandoned mines in there.”

“Aren’t the underground mines contaminated?”

“Yes. They used to make prisoners work there but abandoned the idea after Bloodstone contamination was discovered. The guards discovered fresh footprints leading into the tunnels. If your friend went in, he’s probably dead. Even if he’s somehow alive, he now has a massive bounty on his head. I’m sorry.”

Selene frowns and then walks away slowly while looking downward. The new information is a lot to take in at once and she doesn’t know what to make of it. Although she trusts her friend, Laila, she doesn’t believe that Dion would kill someone without a reason. Even if it’s true, there must be more to this story. She is determined to find the truth.

As she continues to investigate in the next few days, her distress only grows. She learns that Dion is actually Rigel Artemia, the son of King Leo Artemia III. Did he hide his true identity? Why? Selene’s frustration reaches its limit. She decides to travel to Delos herself. Before leaving, a visit to the information broker tells her that an armed rebellion is currently taking place in the country’s capital.

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I’m walking through some kind of smelly tunnel or cave. It’s humid and the walls are covered with green moss. The path ahead is concealed by darkness. I’m tired. My thoughts are hazy. A soft bed would be very welcoming right now. The ground is probably fine too. Where am I going? I don’t know. All I know is that I must press on. Walk step by step by step by step, just keep walking.

It’s not much further. We’re nearly there.

You said the same thing the last two times. It feels close. We’re nearly there. Maybe a couple more jumps. Are you setting me up for one of those ‘space is relative’ jokes?

You complain a lot for someone who is half dead and barely conscious.

Chaos magic does weird things. I’m surprised I’m still alive.

Ah, there’s another pulse. It’s definitely close.

Here we go again. I’m too tired for this… Wake me up when it’s over.

One more big jump will land us at the target. Get ready.

Mana is unleashed into the surrounding air. Space becomes distorted in all directions, making it look like the walls are melting. My feet leave the ground while a familiar sensation of being yanked forward assaults my sense of balance. My vision goes black momentarily. When it returns, an unbelievable sight awaits me.

My new location is inside a massive underground chasm. To my right and left are ragged cliff walls with several hundred meters of distance separating them. They look like the result of an earthquake splitting the land in half. Enormous rocks, minerals and crystals of varying sizes are protruding from the cliffs. This place has no floor or ceiling. An endless black abyss stretches out in both directions. The sheer scale of it all defies reason.

Although it should be dark, the chasm is illuminated by the glow of countless semi-transparent crystals, scattered on the face of the cliffs. Most of them are a deep, ruby-red color while others are emerald green or sapphire blue. Some of the red crystals are shaped like straight pillars more than 100 meters long and several meters thick, extending away from the cliffs at various angles. I’m currently standing on one such crystal. Its surface is straight and smooth, as if it was sculpted with high precision out of a much larger block. Because of its nearly horizontal position, it acts as a ledge that gives me a good foothold. It hums with energy while giving off a gentle light.

The air here does not stink like it would in a mine. Instead it is clean and pure without any noticeable smells. The humidity is low and there is no wind.

In a better situation, I would love to take my time and admire this surreal environment. However, my body’s energy is depleted. The feeling of exhaustion is overwhelming. I drop down with my back resting against a smooth mass of crystal sticking to the cliff wall. They feel slightly warm to the touch. The surface is hard but I’m well past the point where I care about such details. My eyelids close by themselves and sleep takes over.

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When consciousness returns, a figure with two cat-like eyes is right in front of my face, staring at me.

“Hm?”

“Wha—”

The being quickly backs away when it sees I’m awake. Its appearance is quite similar to a human female. She’s dressed in an elegant, white robe with an aristocratic style that promotes her impressive curves and hourglass figure. It seems to be embroidered with the same type of crystals that surround us. Her face has soft feminine features, white skin and red lips. Two small horns on the sides of her head are protruding through her long, black hair. The robe, which doesn’t quite reach the floor, reveals two small human feet without any footwear. Her blue eyes have vertical-slit irises, just like a cat. With the exception of the eyes and horns, the figure in front of me seems to be that of a young woman.

“A demon?” I mumble involuntarily as I search through memories, trying to identify what I’m looking at. All I can come up with is stories of humanoid demons that walked the earth during ancient times. No such creatures have ever been documented by reliable sources, so the consensus among scholars is that such stories are based on myth. The reality in front of me, however, says otherwise.

“I did not mean to startle you, young man. I mean no harm.” The demonic woman speaks with a serene voice that is as elegant as her appearance. Her face shows no emotion other than a hint of curiosity. I don’t feel any need to be on guard despite the situation.

Without giving an answer, I start looking around me. A bit of anxiety creeps up at the realization that I have no idea where I am. The massive chasm around me evokes a sense of mystery and wonder, but I’m not about to let that distract me from the situation at hand. My gaze focuses back onto the being in front of me.

“What is this place?” my tone is controlled to let out as little emotion as possible. It’s best not to show any distress right now.

“This is my home. Welcome, though I do not know who you are.”

“Right, where are my manners… My name is Rigel Artemia.”

Wait, why did I just give my real name? I let her friendly attitude coax me?

“Name? Ah, yes. Humans have those kinds of customs. It’s been so long since I last conversed with one of your kind. Please call me Nashira.”

Where did I hear that name before… The Chaos Mage? That can’t be it. Nashira Malik was a human mage that lived more than 300 years ago. It’s possible that the information in my books was wrong, but no one is stupid enough to mistake this demon for a human woman, no matter how similar they may look.

“If I may ask, why are you dressed in that way?” she says while pointing her delicate hand at my chest.

I look down at myself and realize I’m still wearing rags. That’s right, it’s because I was captured and thrown into prison back in the— Shit, I just remembered something I didn’t want to remember. It would’ve been better to think of it as a bad dream, but it really happened, didn’t it? Those corrupt bastards killed my father and treated me like trash.

Something is off though. Why can’t I remember how I got into this cave or wherever the hell I am right now? The last thing I remember is… that’s right, I used chaos magic. Could it be that my mind was damaged as a result? The last time I used the ‘Origin’ spell, it was only on one arm and it ended badly. The arm required months of constant healing after that experiment. This time the spell was cast on the whole body. I don’t feel any pain, just a bit of exhaustion. Hopefully memories are all I lost. My understanding of chaos magic is still poor. I wasn’t able to find enough information on the subject. Most books did not even acknowledge its existence. I only used it because it’s the only magic I know that can bypass the ‘Mana Dispersion’ field.

“You seem troubled. I don’t mean to pry into your affairs. Please disregard the question.” Nashira’s voice returns me to reality. A thought occurs. It’s a minor possibility, but I can’t ignore it.

“Nashira...”

“Yes?”

“Do you know about something called chaos magic?”

“Indeed, I know about it.”

“Have you heard of the spell called ‘Origin’?”

“Yes, although it’s not so much a spell as it is a rite of passage.”

Alright, now I’m becoming intrigued. I press onward.

“Are you by any chance the Nashira Malik, the one who invented chaos magic?”

“That is my name, though I did not invent anything. I simply taught it to humans.”