Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1781 Fallen Reflection

A colossal explosion of gold and platinum erupted.

The two overwhelming forces collided and instantly formed a titanic mushroom cloud that rose high into the heavens, illuminating the entire battlefield with blinding radiance.

The skies were violently swept away for miles on end as shockwaves tore through the clouds and ravaged everything in their path. The earth beneath trembled continuously for several long seconds, as though the world itself struggled to withstand the clash between the two rulers.

Across the countless battlefields scattered throughout the labyrinth, Magi abruptly stopped in their tracks. Every gaze instinctively turned toward the gigantic explosion in the distance.

Expressions of fear and awe filled their faces as they got to catch a glimpse of the catastrophic scene unfolding.

A simple glance was enough to understand the level of the combatants. Forget them, even experienced Mana Core Magi would hesitate to interfere in that battle.

The Honored One and the Proud Sun were no ordinary Magi. They were the best of the best that ever walked this planet.

Everyoneʼs attention was unequivocally drawn toward the magical clash between the two sovereigns.

Everyone except two…

As the brilliant light of the blinding explosion slowly started to fade away, it cast its radiant light on Adamʼs weary visage.

He looked utterly solemn, and his dark eyes reflected nothing but the opponent standing in front of him.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Cult Leader silently stared back at Adam. However, the constant flickering of the pale green flames within his sockets betrayed the subtle turmoil inside of him.

For decades, he had sought to apprehend the youth.

And now…

The very person he had been chasing for so long finally stood before him. For the first time in a long time, the lich felt he had moved one step closer to his goal.

But at the same time, he also couldnʼt help but feel a strange emotion bubbling within him.

Knowing all about Adamʼs background and everything the youth had endured to stand before him today made the Cult Leader…

Proud.

He had secretly kept his eyes on the raven-haired youth ever since the latter survived the incident involving the vampire in the underground portal beneath Hannes City.

He had watched as Adam fought the war against the orcs.

When the youth punished the Rollins couple and rescued the trafficked young women, the Cult Leader silently watched his actions from the shadows.

When Adam joined Saratoga Castle, he knew.

When he fought Stratford, the werewolf, and saved the townsfolk, he knew.

When he dealt with the Umbra Thieves and the Duskfall couple, he knew.

When he slaughtered the cultists and began carving his legend as the Dark King, he knew.

And when he fell from grace at the Battle of Ravenfell…

The Cult Leader had been there as well, indirectly guiding everything from the shadows.

Although everything Adam had experienced after that fateful day remained shrouded in mystery, the lich still felt as though he had watched the young boy gradually grow into a man and into a splendid Magus, right before his very eyes.

And now, after all of that, the youth finally stood exactly where he had always wanted him to be…

Right before him.

”Constantine,” said the lich at last. ”Youʼve grown splendidly.”

Adam remained silent, a storm of emotions raging in his heart.

Anger. Hatred. Betrayal. Sympathy.

The man standing before him was the architect behind countless tragedies in his life. The very existence of the Cult Leader had cast a shadow over nearly every path he had walked.

And yet… the same man had also been his inspiration.

The clash between the Dark King and the Cult Leader carried a significance far greater than mere victory or defeat. It was not simply a battle between two of the most powerful Magi on this planet.

It was a collision between two paths.

Adam had grown up studying the philosophies and teachings left behind by the lich… by the man he used to be.

Though the latter never even knew of his existence, the man had indirectly become one of his greatest influences.

The manʼs writings, his pursuit of knowledge, and his desire to transcend the limits of this world deeply shaped Adamʼs worldview.

In many ways, the man had been a mentor Adam had never met.

Which was precisely why the truth devastated him.

The man he had once admired… the man whose ideals guided him… that man had ultimately turned out to be the Cult Leader, the very individual responsible for most of his pain and misery.

And yet, the cruelest part was that Adam could understand him.

Both men were fundamentally similar.

Both yearned to escape the confines of Tron and journey to the Greater Universe. The lich wanted to return home and reunite with his family. While Adam wanted to pursue the higher arcane arts. Both were of the Twilight Brotherhood.

And perhaps, most importantly…

Both had been touched by the corruption of the abomination from the Beyond.

But despite all those similarities, the paths they chose could not have been more different.

The Cult Leader abandoned his humanity in pursuit of ascension. To him, sacrifice was merely a necessary step toward his goal. He believed the end justified the means, even if billions of lives had to be sacrificed to the devil to achieve that goal.

But the Dark King chose the opposite path.

He still fought for the people of this world. He sought to leave this world and fulfill his goals without abandoning the bonds that made him who he was. Despite slowly turning into a monster, he still clung to his humanity.

This was the true meaning behind their inevitable clash.

It wasnʼt merely Adam fighting his greatest enemy.

It was a disciple standing against the fallen reflection of what he himself could have become.

He had the Lotus, and the Cult Leader did not.

And that was precisely why he had managed to survive the corruption from the Beyond, whereas the lich could not.

And just like that, the universe had guided countless outcomes toward this very day. The clash between the two had been fated from the very beginning.

Just as the devilʼs prophecy had foretold…

The Dark King walked the very path the Cult Leader once had.

When all hope was lost, when even the world itself stood against him, Adam still rose through sheer will, unyielding and fierce.

He claimed a mysterious power from the Beyond. A power even darker than the lichʼs own.

The same corruption bound both of them together, and yet Adamʼs magic was far more ominous than that of the Cult Leader himself.

He had crawled out of the pits of despair and arrived upon this battlefield for a singular purpose:

To end the Cult Leader.

When Adam himself arrived at that conclusion, he suddenly recalled the Winter Lordʼs final words before his death.

The devilʼs prophecy…

It had been a self-fulfilling prophecy all along.

The law of karma was unyielding.

Injustice had no place in the divine order.

The lichʼs own actions had ultimately paved the road toward his downfall.

The Dark King was merely an instrument fate had chosen to deliver judgment.

As realization fully dawned on him, Adam softly whispered into the void:

”I am destiny made manifest…”