The dreamy, hazy light barrier vanished, and the silver-gray magic circle lines on the floor were all charred black, as if drawn with charcoal.
Lucian, standing at the center, felt his soul and Cognition World become more closely connected than ever before—stronger than they had ever been. If this continued, perhaps one day he could project his soul and Cognition Environment into the material world, turning his own illusion into reality!
"Is this what it feels like to be a high-level mage?" Lucian happily raised both hands and examined them. They were still slender and powerful, without the slightest change, yet the transformation to his soul, spiritual power, and Cognition World was unmistakable.
However, Lucian also understood that the sensation of turning his own illusion into reality and having everything under control was merely the expanded perception that came with his recent advancement. To truly reach that level, he would need to become at least a legendary mage. For example, when his teacher's Cognition World trembled, it could cause weather anomalies throughout Allin and the surrounding regions—lightning and thunder, as if the end of the world had arrived.
"Teacher, what is a Fateless One?"
A voice heavy with confusion jolted Lucian back to awareness. A Fateless One? What was that? What did it have to do with the changes to his main star of fate? Had something strange appeared inside the magic circle at the time?
These questions surged through Lucian's mind in an instant. If no one had asked, he would certainly have chosen to keep it secret and then search for related materials in the Higher Arcane and Magic Library—find out what it meant when half his main star of fate had turned into a black hole!
It was Tangp who raised the question. He had sensed the terrifying aura within the magic ceremony—as if it could devour everything—and heard the word his teacher blurted out, which sparked intense curiosity and deep confusion. Even he, a member of the Affairs Committee and an Eighth Ring mage, had never heard of so-called Fateless Ones. What kind of change had Lucian undergone?
Fernando did not answer his question. Instead, he patted the dazed Afris on the head—the poor creature had no idea what was going on—and looked at Lucian. "Advanced to high-level?"
"Yes. I managed to stop the expansion of the Starry Sky of Fate in the end," Lucian answered honestly. Then, equally "bewildered," he asked, "Teacher, what is a Fateless One? While I was trying to control the Starry Sky of Fate just now, my main star of fate seemed to undergo some kind of strange change."
"Hmph, you brat—every single time, nothing satisfies you unless you stir up trouble." Fernando kept a stern face as he scolded. "You could have waited peacefully three or four more years to advance to high-level, but no—you had to go and take the risk of advancing early."
After the rebuke, he paused. "Originally, regarding your Cognition World, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to ask in detail—that's your own secret. But since you want to know, I'll say a few words."
"A Fateless One refers to a special class of mages who, when connecting to their main star of fate to form a reflection, find that the reflection collapses into nothingness due to various internal and external factors. The main star loses its light, and its trajectory can no longer be observed—making it impossible to be prophesied through astrology or similar magic. It's as if they've leapt out of the River of Fate, unbound by destiny."
Tangp exclaimed in surprise, "There are actually such mages? That's practically a Chosen of Fate!"
As he spoke, his astonished gaze turned toward Lucian, as if looking at an incomprehensible being. Lucian was a Fateless One?
Every mage who had mastered astrology felt deep fear toward the ethereal nature of fate—something that could not be precisely predicted nor reversed. It was truly unimaginable that there could be mages unaffected by fate!
"What Chosen of Fate! Hmph—they all still perished and died!" Fernando quipped sarcastically out of habit.
"Perished? Teacher, which Fateless Ones were there?" Lucian asked curiously. Did he count as one?
Fernando chuckled twice. "I only know of five. The most famous was probably Thanos, the Sun King, who served as the Steward of the ancient Sylvanas Magic Empire. The other four were also legendary mages, but they all perished."
"The Sun King Thanos was a Fateless One? Then how did he become the Sun King? Why is there no record of it?" Tangp was completely bewildered. The "Sun King" was an ancient legendary Astrology class—it was said that one had to transform one's main star of fate into a sun to advance. If his main star of fate had collapsed, what would he use to advance?
Lucian was equally puzzled. Could it be that the Sun King was like him?
Fernando shook his head and smiled. "This kind of secret history can only be accessed by those with the highest Council authority. Well... those ancient mages who existed before the Sun King perished could more or less guess at it. When Thanos advanced to legendary rank, he used a massive quantity of sunstone combined with the corpse of an ancient evil creature called a Kirchira to artificially create a small sun. At the time, every legendary mage believed that advancing through such a method would make it absolutely impossible for him to progress any further. Yet he went on to reach the very pinnacle of all mages."
"Truly a Fateless One—they always create miracles, and every single one has become a legendary mage. Could they really be Chosen of Fate?" As Tangp spoke, his gaze drifted toward Lucian...