Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

The chamber was dim. Adam could feel how the ravages of time had claimed the walls and floor and the ceiling that had hidden itself in darkness. Yet it looked so majestic. So vast.

The aura of ancient predators danced in the air, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Power play, he thought.

He stood at the center. In front of him, on the layered high dais sat several figures. All humanoid. He couldn’t tell how many figures stood before. He could barely even glance at them without feeling his heart might erupt.

Their presence was suffocating, like he was buried under a tsunami. Heavy, like he was trying to lift an entire mountain on his shoulders.

The infamous Council of Vipers was the governing body of the Coil of Eternity.

Lord White had warned Adam. For all the reprimands and the chidings, the old snake truly did care for him. But even a being as ancient and as powerful as he could stall for so long.

The death of thousands of serpents in the Great World War of Tron was an excuse.

Adam inwardly sneered. They were called the Serpents of War. And, as Hannibal always said, those who dined with war, death always comes due.

The real reason why the Council was so livid with Adam was because of the destruction of the Staff of Calamity.

And there was another reason.

”Adam Constantine of Tron,” one of the figures above said in an icy, authoritative tone. ”For years you have disregarded our summons. By what authority do you presume to ignore the call of the Council?”

Adam tried to stand straight, but the collective aura of the serpents weighing down on him made it impossible. He could barely even speak.

”Respected Councilor—”

”Respected?” Another serpent interrupted. ”You do not respect us, boy. You have taken us for granted! Taken the favor of Lord White for granted! You are an ungrateful little thing!”

Adam now realized that Lord White was more influential than these serpents who sat at the Council. That was a good thing for him. At least, they wouldn’t kill him. He was about to reply, but he wasn’t given the chance to.

”What has happened to the Staff of Calamity?”

”Destroyed,” Adam said, breathing heavily.

”Elaborate, boy!”

”There was a monster… from the spirit world,” Adam said. ”He was leeching off my homeworld. I could not kill it. I could only send it back the way it came. So I used the Staff of Calamity. In the process, the weapon broke and… well, you know the rest.”

”Lies!” A serpent hissed.

”No, I—” Adam tried to speak, but wasn’t given the opportunity to.

No matter what he said, the Council refused to listen to his reasoning. They continued hissing at him, calling him ungrateful.

Being chosen as a Summoner of the Coil was considered a great honor, yet Adam spat upon that honor. He had even lost a valuable artifact gifted to him by the Coil. To make matters worse, he had refused to answer their summons for years.

Adam kept trying to explain himself, but the Council kept interrupting him. Of course, there was no way he could reveal the existence of the abomination and the Beyond. He had tried to research the Beyond in his free time. He found nothing. No clue. And that terrified him.

Each time he began to speak, another serpent would cut him off with accusations of ingratitude and disrespect. It quickly became clear that they had not summoned him to hear his side of the story. They had already passed judgment.

But there was one thing that he just could not understand - why were they making his life so difficult because he lost a weapon?

He was told that it was a Supreme-grade weapon. Very valuable. And very hard to destroy. Yet these ancient serpents could not understand just how powerful a foe he must have faced if it could even destroy such a weapon. Surely, they had understood this point?

So why then have him stand before the Council of Vipers and humiliate him?

No… they probably thought he was lying when he claimed the Staff was destroyed. They probably thought he lost it. Or worse, sold it.

They would never believe that the Staff of Calamity could be destroyed by someone so weak as him!

It all made sense to him now.

After almost an hour, Adam was already on his knees. Blood was dripping from the corner of his lips, his nostrils, and his ears. These were truly powerful entities. Just withstanding their aura—and it wasn’t even their full display of aura—had resulted in him becoming so miserable.

He hated it.

Adam had long stopped answering. He silently endured the powerful pressure bearing down on him. He stroked the auburn ring on his finger. He wondered what Genevieve was doing. He hoped she was well. He hoped she wasn’t sad, thinking of him.

He felt a presence standing before him. It felt oddly familiar. At some point, the pressure on him had disappeared, and he could finally breathe again.

He raised his head and looked up at the figure. A middle-aged man with black hair. Sharp face. Yellow eyes with vertical slits. Why did he feel so familiar? Adam had never met the man.

”I was opposed to entrusting the Staff of Calamity to a nobody such as you,” he hissed coldly. ”But I respected Old White too greatly to oppose his decision. I wanted to see what He saw in you. I wanted to believe in you as He did. But you, Adam Constantine of Tron, have proven yourself to be a disappointment.”

”Who… are you?” Adam could not even look the figure in the eye. He was far too powerful.

”You do not deserve to know my name, human,” the figure said slowly, hate dripping from his tongue.

”But know this. It was my precious granddaughter’s body that helped forge the Staff of Calamity. By so carelessly losing the weapon, you have not only dishonored my granddaughter’s memory, but that of Syvarin’s—the man to whom the Staff rightfully belonged.”

Adam’s eyes trembled. Realization dawned on him. He finally realized what was happening. He wanted to explain himself. But the serpent had already turned around, facing the council now.

”My fellow councilors,” the serpent declared. ”Adam Constantine has brought shame upon the memory of my granddaughter, my clan, and the Coil. Had he not personally been initiated by Old White Himself, I would have fed him to the snakes.

”But alas, I cannot. Laws of the Coil must be honored. However… I can do this. I propose that Adam Constantine be made to undertake the Sacred Trials of the Serpent. He was never required to undergo them because Old White believed him to be the successor of Syvarin Ven’mir, and therefore worthy of bearing the Staff of Calamity.”

The figure turned back to Adam, yellow predatory eyes full of cold wrath. ”But clearly, he is not.”

The serpent turned back to the Council of Vipers, his words sounding like thunder in Adam’s ears.

”I hereby propose that Adam Constantine enter the Sacred Trials and prove, once and for all, whether he is truly worthy of the honor that was bestowed upon him. If he succeeds, he shall continue being a Summoner of our Coil. If he fails… he will find the cruelest of deaths.”

In an instant, the Councilors approved. It was as though they had already made their decision.

The ground beneath Adam disappeared in an instant.

And he fell inside a pit full of vipers.