Taking the Mafia to the Magic World

1078  Information from the Nine Paths

After a few days of negotiations in the Fairy Tribe, Vicente had almost run out of high-level resources to trade.

He still had a large amount of items with him in his space ring, things that beings of the 8th stage wouldnʼt look for, but which were riches for any other kind of magician. In addition, he closed the deals he could on behalf of Stonewall, helping his sect with new relations, but also opening doors to local Amae forces.

With these diplomatic actions, Vicente spent his last days on the island in tranquility, having time to interact with his most recent partners and even to cultivate. Thus, he reached 4-Star, achieving the maximum cultivation that this island could offer someone with his cultivation base.

Vicente finally decided on his departure date, giving the fairies the chance to prepare a ship for his group and gather the materials and information needed for the group to be able to move forward with their goals.

Vicente would leave the Fairy Tribe the following morning, when he would go to the Elf Tribe to pick up Lyra and then go alongside her, Rex and Larissa, to the port from where they would leave Amae permanently. Given this set departure date, today Vicente had been summoned to the last official meeting with the leadership of Amaeʼs largest force.

As previously promised, the tribe would tell him a little more about their doubts regarding the Nine Paths!

...

At the royal palace of the Fairy Tribe, Vicente had just dined with the royal family and some of the tribeʼs high-level elders.

After finishing the meal, which had been taken casually and without much tension, focusing on the positives and saying goodbye to Vicente, a group of two elders and the king accompanied Vice through the estate without anyone else.

They began their journey down a long corridor, with the three old Grand Magus showing Vicente the history of their organization through paintings and statues. This went on until they stopped in an underground room, where the king led the way into what looked like a vault made of gold.

But it wasnʼt a vault, it was just a room with massive, golden walls, containing only one thing: an irregular, green rock, from which came a powerful magical fluctuation, capable of invoking doubt and ignorance in even experienced elders.

14:05

But it wasnʼt a vault, it was just a room with massive, golden walls, containing only one thing: an irregular, green rock, from which came a powerful magical fluctuation, capable of invoking doubt and ignorance in even experienced elders.

As soon as the heavy door, constructed from a type of non-metallic alloy, which made Vicente look at it carefully, the Fairy King looked at him and became more serious.

”Vice, this is the invisible room of the fairies. There arenʼt many places like this around Anicane, so donʼt get your hopes up about repeating what weʼll be talking about for the next five minutes too easily. Youʼll be in great danger if you canʼt replicate what weʼre able to do here,” said Nanʼs grandfather, his deep gaze making him look a few years older.

Vicente nodded, becoming as serious as these men. ”All right.”

”I wonʼt try to explain to you how this room works. Just keep in mind that the crystal here is special and will protect us. Unfortunately, even something as fantastic as this room isnʼt 100% safe and the minutes I said are our limit.” The king added before talking about what really mattered.

”You want to know about the Nine Paths and how it was partially destroyed? Well, weʼll tell you a little of what we know. Only the three of us in the whole of Amae know what youʼre about to hear, so donʼt expect others to have more information.”

”Weʼve only passed it on between the three heads of the tribe and weʼre willing to let the information die if we donʼt get the chance to pass it on before our deaths,” one of the elders said in a resolute tone.

The Fairy King was more to the point in his subsequent words. ”A million years ago, to infinity in the past, the Nine Paths served as a universal balance. All the paths were connected, leading to two ultimate dimensions, opposite in nature. Hell and Argardus. Life and death, light, and darkness.

In that long period, things were simpler. You could go to the highest points of existence, no matter how low your origins were. Either you died, and went to Hell, or you succeeded and achieved immortality by arriving in Argardus. Meanwhile, these two dimensions maintained the necessary natural order.

Everything changed a million years ago, in the first war of Hell and Argardus.”

”The two supreme dimensions clashed for the first time at that time, causing chaos and degeneration in all the lower dimensions. Out of this chaos, however, some of the Transcendents behind the two dimensions saw a great opportunity,” said one of the elders, looking at Vicente as if his words carried the weight of the entire universe.

”The opportunity to destroy the Nine Paths and keep for themselves absolute power, capable of bringing them total control over the dimensions.” The other elder continued, as the four individuals watched the crystal in the room gradually lose its shine, as if marking the time they had in this way.

The Fairy King said, ”By partially destroying the Nine Paths, those Transcendentals ended the possibility of most creatures having a chance of gaining their places in one of the two absolute dimensions. In return, they gained more power and possibilities.”

”It would have been perfect if it hadnʼt been for the imbalance afterwards.” Sighed an elder, who only knew this truth because of the sacrifice of countless fairies in an incident a million years ago, at a point far from Amae, in the Sea of Stars.

”Now these Transcendentals choose who should enter Argardus and who should not. Meanwhile, some dimensions, like ours, are suffering from the effects caused by the actions of these Transcendentals, which have damaged the wheel of reincarnation and created spectres and ghosts in several dimensions.”

”Thatʼs not the case with Amae, but there are islands in Anicane that are practically completely destroyed, Vicente,” said the king gravely.

”Anyway, you and the Polaris Realm natives who have passed through my island are not the only ones who are dissatisfied or looking for change. But be careful, Vicente. Those behind the destruction of the Nine Paths are so strong that they can destroy entire plans with the snap of their fingers!” The king finished as he watched his time run out.

Immediately their time was up, the three individuals lost their worried and deeply serious expressions, becoming smiling again, as if they hadnʼt said anything.

ʼThis is more complicated than I had previously imagined...ʼ