Earth's Greatest Magus

Vorn Hollow, Occulus Faction Territory

An aging transport ship drifted toward one of Vorn Hollow’s frontier outposts, its battered hull showing clear signs of years spent traveling through the Neutral Zone. The vessel moved slowly through the outer perimeter, and the moment its hull passed through the fortress’s defensive wards, dozens of guards immediately shifted into full alert.

The outpost was a fortress in its own right, heavily built and reinforced to withstand the possibility of a large-scale Magus Alliance incursion. Every incoming vessel was treated with caution, and even a seemingly harmless transport ship was enough to trigger a full inspection.

The ship finally came to a stop.

Its doors opened, and more than a thousand figures began disembarking, quickly funneling into several tightly organized processing lines. The guards directed the passengers with practiced efficiency, checking identification documents and inspecting their belongings as they moved through the checkpoint.

Most were registered merchants from the Neutral Zone or returning citizens whose identities were already familiar to the checkpoint officers. A smaller group, fewer than two hundred, consisted of unregistered arrivals. They were immediately separated from the main crowd and directed toward a different section where the security was noticeably heavier.

Among them stood a young Magus with light brown hair. He moved through the line with an unhurried calm, quietly observing the guards and the people ahead of him without showing any sign of nervousness.

One by one, the unregistered arrivals were called into a series of private rooms, each entrance guarded by several armed Magus.

The process was taking longer than expected.

Then, halfway through the wait, a commotion suddenly erupted from one of the rooms. Muffled shouting could be heard through the thick walls, followed by a brief burst of movement before everything abruptly fell silent.

A moment later, two guards emerged carrying a body on a bag.

The atmosphere in the line immediately changed.

People who had previously been chatting quietly fell silent, while several of the unregistered arrivals exchanged uneasy glances. Some began shifting nervously from one foot to another, their eyes repeatedly moving toward the guarded rooms.

The young Magus remained completely still.

He simply waited.

Nearly an hour later, his name was finally called.

He stepped forward and entered the inspection room without hesitation.

Five uniformed Magus were waiting inside, all wearing the same dark-colored uniforms and stern expressions. Their eyes followed him closely as he entered, as though they were already looking for the slightest sign of suspicious behavior.

The Magus standing at the center was clearly in charge. He gave the young man a brief glance before gesturing toward a transparent glass chamber positioned in the middle of the room.

”Don’t waste our time. Step inside.”

The young man complied without protest.

As soon as he entered the chamber, the surrounding runes activated.

A series of intricate formations embedded within the frame began glowing, sending thin bands of light sweeping slowly across his body. The light passed over his head, chest, limbs, and even his spiritual core, methodically scanning every aspect of his cultivation and identity.

The five guards watched the readings in silence.

A moment later, information began to appear within the formation.

[Ethan Valk]

[Age — 28]

[Magus Realm — Half Moon]

A full history followed—a minor branch descendant of the Mammon faction, talented enough to earn a place at the academy, though never enough to stand out among his peers. A few years after graduation, his uncle had been convicted of a serious crime and executed. Ethan had been expelled from the faction shortly afterward, cast out along with the rest of his branch.

The uniformed officer studied the readout for a moment before turning his sharp gaze toward the young man.

”Your reason for coming here?”

Ethan straightened, his voice steady. ”To offer my service to the Great Convergence”

The officer made a note before continuing with a handful of routine questions. Ethan answered each one without hesitation, maintaining the same calm composure throughout the interrogation.

He was, of course, no ordinary academy reject.

He was Emery’s Light Avatar, wearing a stolen life.

With assistance of the Mammon faction, the avatar had taken over the identity of a real academy graduate. The cover was far from perfect, but it was plausible enough to survive scrutiny. Genuine academy knowledge, a legitimate grievance against the Mammon faction, and, most importantly, an undeniable Gu cultivator’s body bound with the well-documented Mammon Silkbind Gu made the identity convincing.

Together, it was more than enough to pass the inspection.

The officer finally seemed satisfied and stamped an approval mark onto the record.

”Welcome to Vorn Hollow.”

”Thank you, sir.”

A brief incantation followed, and a rune was branded directly into his palm. It served as both an identification mark and a tracking seal, standard procedure for new arrivals still under probation. The seal would continuously report his location while also enforcing a handful of restrictions until he earned a greater level of trust.

Ethan glanced briefly at the faintly glowing rune before lowering his hand.

With that, Emery’s Light Avatar had finally stepped into the world of the Gu.

####

On the Other Side of the Frontlines

Above a vast, faintly glowing forest, two figures cut through the sky at full speed.

One was a woman with wings of flame-wreathed bone spread wide behind her. The other was an elderly man riding a spectral horse formed from drifting mist. Morgana and Roland Dawn, Marquess of the North—two of Earth’s strongest fighters within the armada—both wore matching expressions of tension as they soared toward the battlefield.

Minutes earlier, a high-alert signal had gone out.

An infected Wood Elf elite group had been spotted engaging Earth’s frontline units directly. Confirmation followed almost immediately: among the enemy ranks was an infected cultivator at the Third Cosmos level.

One of the Wood Elves’ famous Twelve High Elders, now fallen to the Scourge.

Thrax had dispatched the pair without hesitation.

Yet by the time they arrived, the battle was already over.

Roland’s expression shifted to open surprise as he looked down at the clearing below. Half a dozen Grand Magus corpses lay scattered across the ground, their bodies twisted and battered from the fight. The surrounding trees had been torn apart, leaving a wide section of the forest flattened beneath the aftermath of the battle.

At the center of the wreckage stood Emery’s Dark Avatar.

His massive Gravestone Ruler remained buried deep through the chest of what had once been a Wood Elf high elder. The dark avatar stood calmly over the corpse, his clothes stained with blood and his aura still carrying the lingering pressure of battle.

He glanced up at the two approaching figures, a faint smirk crossing his face.

”You two are a bit late.”

Morgana frowned, unable to fully suppress her irritation as she landed nearby.

”You should have waited for us. Fighting something like that alone is reckless.”

”Don’t worry,” the avatar replied, his tone light despite the fresh wounds across his body. ”I have a very reliable bodyguard with me.”

A figure approach moment later.

Typhon.

The Qilin hybrid’s expression was as sour as ever as his gaze settled on the Dark Avatar.

”I don’t like this one,” Typhon muttered toward Morgana, making no effort to lower his voice.

His annoyance wasn’t purely about the Dark Avatar’s aggressive temperament—though that certainly didn’t help. It was also because he felt he had been deceived. Typhon’s entire mission had been to protect Emery’s true body, yet no one had bothered to tell him that the plan had changed until it was already too late. The real Emery had vanished into Tartarus, leaving this avatar behind in his place.

Typhon still found the whole arrangement difficult to accept.

The Dark Avatar caught his displeased look and grinned even wider.

”You shouldn’t sulk over that anymore,” he said with slight chuckle ”I’m not so different from him these days.”

He turned back toward Roland and gestured casually toward the corpse still pinned beneath the massive Gravestone Ruler.

”Since I killed this one personally, mind if I take the corpse? Three-Cosmos material like this doesn’t come around often.”

###

Weeks passed, with each avatar occupied with their own separate tasks across two very different corners of the war.

Despite the enormous distance between them, the connection between the two remained.

Then, without warning, both of them felt it at once—a sudden stir deep within their sea of consciousness.

It was faint at first, almost like a tremor passing through the deepest part of their souls.

But for the Dark Avatar, the sensation hit much harder.

The Khaos Gate lodged within him suddenly shuddered violently, its ancient structure trembling as though something on the other end of the connection had just been struck by a heavy blow.