Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

There exists a tale buried in the frost-bitten archives of Nivharon.

It was a tale not often told because even devils feared what it revealed.

Long ago, the Devil of Secrets had turned his eyes towards the throne of the Fifth Layer of Hell.

Its ruler was a cold and ancient being, rumored to be older than the first frost ever formed.

Seated upon a throne of frozen traitors, the Ruler of Nivharon held dominion over oaths broken, loyalty shattered, and hearts turned to ice.

To the Devil of Secrets, this being was a prize.

If he could sink his parasites into the ruler’s soul, he would gain access to a vast network of infernal powers, rulers, generals, and informants, ensnaring all through his chain of command.

The Ruler of Nivharon, silent and still, seemed like the perfect target.

Thus… the Devil of Secrets made his move!

In the shadows between moments, he released his parasites. These were things of whispers and worms, leeches that fed not on blood, but trust.

He sent them crawling to the deepest reaches of the Ruler’s castle, concealed in shadows older than darkness itself.

But the Ruler of Nivharon was no fool.

The parasites never reached their mark. As they drew near, each one of them froze, encased in black ice.

And then… The Ruler spoke!

”Enough,” he said.

A single word was spoken through the howling cold winds of betrayal, and the Devil of Secrets, for the first time in his life, felt fear.

Yet, the Ruler did not strike him down.

Instead, he did something no one could have foreseen.

The Ruler of Nivharon offered the Devil of Secrets a mission, and the latter had to complete it in return for having his life spared.

What the mission was, no one knew. Not even the other Rulers of Hell.

The Devil of Secrets, having finally seen the true power of the Ruler of Nevharon as well as his magnanimity, agreed to go on this mission.

For nothing was more important than his life itself. Or that’s what he believed at the time.

The Devil of Secrets vanished for a time, drifting away from the realms of the damned, pursuing some task in the darkest corners of the Magus Universe.

The Ruler of Nivharon had sent him to retrieve an item—a legendary artifact rumored to contain the secrets of the soul.

The Eternal Soul Lotus!

In his long journey across the universe, the Devil of Secrets came to learn more and more about this legendary soul-type artifact.

And the more he learned about it, the more desire for it grew in his heart.

For the first time in his long life, he felt something else replace his deep desire to live…

It was greed!

If he could come to acquire the Eternal Soul Lotus, it would boost his parasitic magic exponentially.

If he practiced his arcane arts to the extremes, in conjunction with this artifact, then there was nothing in this world that could stop him.

Not even death itself!

For at its core, his parasitic magic that he had spent a lifetime to create and perfect, revolved around the essence of the soul.

And the Eternal Soul Lotus… was the greatest soul-type artifact in the universe!

He had to have it. No matter what. Even if it meant betraying the Ruler of Nivharon, he would do it.

Over and over again.

But before him lay an insurmountable obstacle. No, it was not the Ruler of Nivharon who sent him to retrieve the artifact.

It was the one who currently possessed it.

Magus Julian Stockholm!

This human was known throughout the Magus Universe as the greatest genius to have ever lived.

Countless Magi bearing the title of geniuses had challenged him, but all of them had died.

Magus Stockholm stood upon a mountain of corpses belonging to geniuses, his back straight, and his chin raised high.

He was mighty. He was aloof. He was an unreachable existence.

And it was this same person who had now gotten his hands on the Eternal White Lotus. With it, he was undefeatable.

But even he could not fight off thousands of Magi all by himself.

The Devil of Secrets parasitized numerous Magi, making them do his bidding while he remained in the shadows, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

He was one of the last few hundred to manage to live to the end of the epic battle thanks to his parasitic magic.

Seeing the thousands of corpses strewn around the plain, he couldn’t help but feel fear. But he also felt respect and deep admiration for Magus Stockholm.

This was truly a Magus among Magi!

As expected of the greatest genius of the universe, thought the Devil of Secrets.

He emerged from the shadows, revealing his presence to all—much to their shock. After all, they didn’t even know he had existed until now.

His presence had been a secret.

Draped in a shadowy cloak, the Devil of Secrets raised his hand and declared, ”Magus Julian Stockholm, you… are truly worthy of the title of the greatest genius.”

Magus Stockholm, his face pale and bloody, turned towards him.

He noticed that this person had no facial features—no mouth, ears, nose, nothing. Where his eyes should have been, a pair of polished horns jutted out, curving upwards.

”Devil…” Magus Stockholm spat through gritted teeth.

He turned to look at all the Magus that were still alive and proclaimed, ”All my life I have pursued the peak of magic. And although I will perish today, I have no regrets. One day someone will inherit my will and carry on my dream.”

His lips curled into a cold smile and he continued, ”But now that you all have come all the way here... might as well accompany me to the afterlife.”

Hearing his words, the Devil of Secrets felt an intense foreboding feeling grip up in his heart.

Before he or any of the other Magi could react, a terrifying otherworldly pressure descended on them, making them tremble in sheer horror.

That’s when the Devil of Secrets saw the source of this pressure.

An ethereal white lotus had appeared in Magus Stockholm’s hand. The following moment, the space in a radius of a thousand miles froze as the lotus bloomed.

A terrifying vortex formed with the lotus at the center and tiny void cracks appeared in the space all around.

The might of the Eternal Soul Lotus had caused the space to collapse!

The Devil of Secrets found his thoughts become sluggish and soon he was barely even able to think.

His eyes slowly started to turn listless as his soul was gradually devoured by the lotus.

Just as the last vestiges of his consciousness were slowly absorbed by the legendary artifact, he gazed at the holy white petals of the lotus one final time and muttered a single word.

”Beautiful…”

The Devil of Secrets closed his eyes.

Adam Constantine opened his.

He looked at the City of Sails sprawling before him and muttered softly.

”A single bloom of ghostly white,

”It opens only in the dark of night.

”No spell is cast, no blade is drawn,

”Just silence, soft, and breath is gone.

”No scream, no pain, no final cry,

”Just beauty blooming as you die.”

The raven-haired youth rose to his feet and raised his head to glimpse at the distant stars in the universe.

”Indeed, devil,” he said.

”It was a beautiful death.”