Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Adam’s hand holding the journal trembled, and he immediately sat up straight inside the bathtub.

His eyes had widened from shock. He didn’t think that the first entry in the journal would reveal to him such a big secret.

Unable to believe his eyes, he read the journal entry over and over again. The more he read, the more dread filled his heart.

Don’t tell me… he thought, his heart filled with disbelief.

If this person, Bartholomew, was the one to find something related to the Devils in the Spirit World, then…

He loudly gulped, unable to believe his train of thought.

Then this person is very likely to be the Cult Leader of the Cult of Bones!!

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He figured that after finding out about Bartholomew’s secrets, the founder of the Twilight Brotherhood, Aldo Wagner, tried to confront him.

But, in the end, he was unable to stop him… the man who would one day be known as the Cult Leader of the diabolical Cult of Bones!

No, but these are only my speculations, Adam thought solemnly.

There’s only one way to find out!

His attention shifted back to the journal in his hand. He was also immensely glad that there were four more journals resting in his earrings.

For once, he felt utterly grateful for the elderly Magus in the mountains.

The youth focused his attention back on the journal entries.

***

’He doesn’t know that I found out his secret… But he has been acting quite normal since his return from the Spirit World.

’Am I overthinking things?

’No! I am certain that those characters resembled Infernac. I am certain that Bartholomew has gotten his hands on something related to the Devils!

’But… how do I tell him this? How do I warn him? He will suspect me.

’I don’t know what to do…’

***

’I confronted Bartholomew today…

’I told him the truth of what those ominous characters represented. I told him about the existence of the plane of reality known as the Nine Hells of Inferno.

’I told him everything. I did not want to see him turn to the darkness. I have seen what happens to people who make a deal with the Devil…

’It does not end well for them!

’After he heard what I had to say, he questioned me with his piercing gaze. He wanted to know how I came to learn about such esoteric knowledge, considering the information related to the Devils is nonexistent in Tron.

’I told him the truth…

’I told him that I was from Myrrandor.’

***

Adam couldn’t believe what he was reading. He blinked a couple of times, thinking to himself in wild disbelief, He told the man his greatest secret?!

He must have been out of his mind!

Curious to know what happened next, the youth shifted his attention to the journal again.

***

’Bartholomew was initially shocked and horrified to learn about the myriad magical civilizations out there in the Greater Universe.

’But gradually I could see his eyes gleam with childlike curiosity and wonder. He wanted to visit these planets. He wanted to pursue the higher arcane arts.

’It pained me to break his heart. When I told him the next planetary alignment was thousands of years away, he broke down right before me.

’This was the curse of brilliant Magi like him born in distant planets in the Outer Universe.

’They are like comets… blazing brilliantly for a fleeting moment, only to vanish into darkness.

’I guess, I am like one of those comets, too, now…’

***

’I was surprised to know that Bartholomew’s optimism hadn’t died down. He is a curious man… He has the ruthless pragmatism of a Magus, but also the bright optimism of a child.

’Regardless, I was infected by it. I decided I would work together with him and try to find a way out of this world. If I fail… then, at least I’ll die trying.’

’But before we began working on this long-term project, I made him swear an oath… that he would never study that vile book he found in the Spirit World.

’He reluctantly agreed. I suppose even he could see that the allure of traveling to the myriad worlds out there in the universe greatly outweighed what little power the book related to the devils would provide him.’

’We sealed the book. No one will ever know about this ominous piece of existence.’

’While Bartholomew and I started traveling the world, looking for clues, studying the stars, seeking a way out of this world… I began, in secret, to plant the seeds of an order I had once belonged to in Myrrandor.’

’Yes, this would be the beginning of the Tron Chapter of the…

’Twilight Brotherhood!’

***

Adam’s lips curled into a bitter smile when he read that last journal entry.

Lord Wagner…. I wonder what happened to you after you established the Brotherhood, he thought in a slightly somber mood.

Did you find a way back home? Did you get to see your family again?

He took a deep breath and read through the rest of the journal entries. Unfortunately for him, they did not contain any important information.

It was mostly about the founder’s day to day personal activities.

Adam’s expression turned dark when the rest of the books also turned out to be useless. It seemed to him that the founder, knowingly or not, did not write down anything useful in the journal.

At last, the fifth journal seemed to contain some important clues, however, there were only a handful of entries.

Something is better than nothing, Adam mused.

***

’I journeyed alone to the easternmost edge of Europa, where the great schism cleaves it from the lands of Yen-Lu.

’There is something unnatural about this steep valley… something dark, something ominous, something ancient and malevolent!

’I should have heeded the warnings, turned back while I still could, but my curiosity got the better of me.

’Tomorrow, I shall descend into the dark.’

***

’What is that abomination?!!!

’That… thing! That entity doesn’t belong to this world!

’No, does it even belong to any world?

’I cannot banish it from my mind! It haunts me in my waking moments! It torments me in my sleep!

’I can’t… No, no, no!

’The beyond… it keeps calling to me, clawing at my sanity!

’But… this madness is the least of my concerns…

’It hurts…

’No, I will never be able to leave this world. I have grown old… Old, far too old.

’That place… the dark valley… time shifts differently in its depths…

’I have aged centuries in there!!!

’My wife… my children… I will never see them again…

’The beyond… the beyond… it won’t let me go…

’That monster… that abomination… Its eyes… those eyes are everywhere…

’Eyes… tentacles… eyes… tentacles…

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…’

’IT’S CALLING TO ME!!!’

***

’Time to time, sanity returns to me like a fleeting dream.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’While I spent hundreds of years in the dark valley, only a few passed outside. Bartholomew was able to find a way to leave this world.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’He found the answer in the vile book we once sealed.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’The answer was simple. Wait till the next planetary alignment.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’By becoming an immortal lich.

’The beyond... the beyond... the beyond...

’I don’t have much time left to live.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’I hope I can convince my friend not to go down that dark path.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’But will he listen?

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’The tentacles have coiled around me.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’There are ominous eyes everywhere I look.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’I’m afraid this will be my last journal entry.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’Forgive me, my love… my children.

’The beyond… the beyond… the beyond…

’It’s calling to me…’