Kai did not know what was happening, but when he opened his eyes, he saw only darkness.

  It felt like he had been thrown into a dungeon where no light could exist.

  There were no walls, no ceiling, no ground he could clearly see—only endless black stretching in every direction. He tried to summon a small flame, more out of instinct than panic, but his mana refused to respond. It was as if something had locked his Mana veins shut, cutting him off completely.

  That made him pause.

  For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind. Had he died? Am I actually dead?

  The idea should have terrified him, but it didn’t. Instead, he floated in the darkness with an unnatural calm. His heart did not race. His thoughts did not spiral. It was as if his emotions themselves were muted in this place.

  Still, Kai was not the type to wait and do nothing.

  He began to walk.

  Each step echoed softly, the sound stretching far before fading into nothing. He kept moving, trying to find an edge, a wall, anything that could tell him where he was. But even after walking for what felt like over an hour, he found nothing.

  No barrier. No end.

  He kept going.

  At some point, he lost count of his steps, but he was certain he had walked tens of thousands by then. Yet the darkness never changed. It did not thin. It did not react. It simply remained.

  That was when another strange thought made him stop.

  He was not tired.

  His legs felt fine. His breathing was steady. His throat was not dry. Even after walking for so long, his body showed no signs of exhaustion at all. That alone told him this place was wrong.

  He wondered if he had been trapped by a being far more powerful than himself, someone capable of suppressing both mana and emotion.

  If he could remember what had happened before he arrived here, he might have found an answer, but his memory offered nothing. The moment before this darkness was a blank space in his mind.

  In a way, he was grateful his emotions were dulled. If they were not, he would have already been tearing himself apart trying to understand what was happening.

  Instead, he resumed walking, even if he wasn’t sure it would ever lead anywhere.

  In the end—after hours, or maybe days—Kai finally saw something.

  A gate.

  It stood ahead of him, a simple wooden gate half-swallowed by the darkness around it. It did not glow. It did not call out to him. It was simply there, solid and real in a place where nothing else was.

  Kai stopped for a moment, just to be sure it was not another trick of this strange void. Then he hurried toward it.

  Up close, the gate looked old but well kept. He ran his hand over the wood, searching for markings, runes, anything that could explain where he was or why he had been brought here. There was nothing. Not a single carving in sight—just plain wood and a cold metal handle.

  With no other choice, Kai grasped the handle and turned it.

  The moment the gate opened, darkness vanished.

  Warm light spilled out, and Kai stepped into a large room filled with chaos. Books were scattered everywhere—on the floor, on chairs, stacked in uneven piles against the walls. Some were open, others torn, pages marked with hurried notes. Mana lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a steady golden glow. There were no windows, only stone walls lined with shelves that had long since overflowed.

  A single large table stood at the center of the room.

  As Kai took another step inside, a thought he had been avoiding pressed down on him again.

  Had he died?

  Because this place—this room—was something he never thought he would see again.

  His master’s chambers.

  For a moment, he wondered if he was mistaken. Time had a way of twisting memories. But then he saw him.

  At the far end of the table sat a man, bent over parchment, scribbling quickly before flipping the page and writing on the back. He looked exactly the same as the last time Kai had seen him. His beard was long, white, and unkempt, as if shaving had never been a priority. He wore the same plain black robes that had once filled his entire wardrobe.

  Kai took one slow step forward. Then another.

  The sound finally caught the his attention.

  He looked up.

  Master Drakar.

  A small smile formed on his lips, and that alone made Kai hesitate. Master Drakar rarely smiled. When he did, it was never without reason.

  Then his master spoke.

  “Kai,” he said. “You are here.”

  He leaned back slightly, setting the parchment aside.

  “You have no idea how long I have been waiting for you.”

  Kai raised an eyebrow and spoke carefully. “You were waiting for me, Master…?”

  “Of course,” Master Drakar replied without hesitation. “It has been years since I last saw you. I have been waiting for you here this whole time.” He paused, then added gently, “But before we talk any further, why don’t you sit down?”

  He gestured to the chair beside him.

  Kai nodded and took the seat, moving slowly, still unsure of what he was seeing. He glanced around the room again. The lamps, the books, the stone walls—everything felt solid. Real. No illusion he knew could carry this much weight. He could even hear his master’s breathing.

  As if reading his thoughts, his master spoke again.

  “This is an illusion.”

  Kai looked back at him, surprised. “Then… you aren’t real?”

  His master chuckled softly. “I was. Once. You already know that.” The smile faded into something quieter. “I don’t know what happened after that. I created this space inside your soul a long time ago, thinking you might need it someday. Now that you are here, I can see how much you’ve changed. I can’t fully understand it from here, but I can tell you’ve gone far beyond me.”

  Kai stayed silent for a moment, the words settling in. Then his eyes widened slightly as the truth clicked into place.

  “You left a fragment of your soul inside mine.”

  His master smiled, pleased. “Yes. I knew how much you liked this chamber. You spent most of your childhood here. I wanted to make sure you would always have a warm place to return to.”

  Kai lowered his gaze to the parchment on the table. Some of the notes were familiar—unfinished spell structures, half-complete formulas his master had once struggled with. Things he had never seen completed.

  “I never realized,” Kai said quietly.

  His master’s smile turned faintly smug. “You forget,” he said, “I was always better at soul magic than you.”

  Kai nodded slowly. “You were. But I didn’t realize it was even possible to hide a soul fragment like this. I inspected my astral realm many times, and I never found anything.”

  His master shook his head gently. “That’s because I didn’t place it there. I mixed it directly with your soul. Once I realized that, sooner or later, I was going to die, I wanted to leave something behind that would stay with you.”

  Kai frowned. “You didn’t die on your own. I was—”

  “No,” his master interrupted calmly. “I died. Just as naturally as anyone else does. And I don’t want to talk about it.” His tone softened. “I know how deeply you take these things. I didn’t create this space to reopen old wounds inside you. I made it so you could have the knowledge I was never able to give you.”

  Kai looked up sharply, staring into his master's eyes that seemed to hold endless knowledge and wisdom. “Knowledge?”

  His master nodded. “Yes. I know you want to save this world, and that is no small task. But I have a feeling you will manage it. The fact that you are still alive after all this time is proof enough.” He paused, then added, “Still, I wanted to leave you something that would last you even after you succeed. A small gift.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  As he spoke, his master formed a spell structure in his hands. Thin streams of wind energy spread through the chamber, moving carefully. Boxes and notebooks lifted from shelves and corners, gliding through the air before stacking neatly on the table.

  Kai’s eyes widened. He reached out and picked up one of the books. Its cover bore a title he had never seen before—a spell structure his master had never mentioned.

  While Kai stared at it, his master spoke again. “I hope you enjoy working on them. Some are unfinished. Others are nothing more than ideas. But you are more than capable of turning them into something real.”

  Kai could only stare at the piles of books and notes in front of him.

  For him, this was the greatest gift anyone could have given. A Mage’s lifetime of work was not something to take lightly. It was knowledge earned through decades of study, failure, pain, and insight. It was priceless. Everything Kai had achieved—going back in time, changing fate itself—had begun with what his master had taught him.

  He had searched for these works after his master’s death. He remembered going through old towers, sealed rooms, and forgotten vaults, hoping to find even a single unfinished manuscript. He had found nothing.

  Now he finally understood why.

  Kai looked up at his master and said quietly, “I never knew you left something like this for me.”

  His master smiled, and when the corners of his lips turned up, Kai’s chest tightened. “How could I not? You are my disciple. This is the least I could do.” Then his smile faded slightly. “But I’m afraid our time is coming to an end.”

  “What…” Kai’s eyes widened. “Can’t you stay?” he asked at once.

  His master shook his head. “No. What I left behind is only the illusion of my chamber, bound to the fragment of knowledge. Not myself. That was never possible.” He looked at Kai carefully. “And don’t you have much to do in the real world?”

  The words struck something loose.

  In an instant, everything rushed back.

  The battle in the sky. Selenia’s screams. Regina tearing herself apart. Grabbing Killian and fleeing as the castle exploded. The pain. The fall. The darkness.

  Kai inhaled sharply. People were waiting for him. The war was over, but its aftermath wasn’t. He needed to find if Killian was alive and what had become of the rest.

  Still, Kai didn’t want to leave.

  He wanted to talk. To explain everything he had done. To tell his master how far the world had fallen after his death, and how he had gone back in time itself.

  But his master shook his head again. “There’s no time for that.”

  As he spoke, his form began to fade. His outline grew thinner, paler, as if the light itself was passing through him.

  Panic hit him at once.

  Kai stepped forward and reached out, but his hand passed straight through his master’s fading form, as if there was nothing there at all. His breath caught.

  His master only smiled at him, calm as ever. “You are doing well,” he said softly. “I hope my gift helps you in what lies ahead.”

  Then, slowly, his body broke apart into tiny motes of light. They drifted upward and vanished, leaving the chair empty.

  Kai stood there, staring at the space where his master had been sitting. He did not move for a long time. The room felt quieter than before, heavier somehow. Finally, his gaze dropped to the stacks of notebooks and boxes on the table.

  Part of him wanted to stay. To open the books. To read every line and understand just how much his master had left behind for him.

  But another thought pressed down on him.

  He had been unconscious for too long. Days, maybe even weeks. Too much had happened for him to stay here any longer.

  With effort, Kai closed his eyes and let go. The warmth of the chamber faded, the shelves blurred, and the light dimmed until everything disappeared.

  A sharp jolt ran through his body.

  Kai gasped as his body shook. Bile rose in his throat from the sudden movement, but he swallowed it back.

  The next moment, his eyes flew open.

  White.

  A white ceiling stretched above him, clean and unfamiliar. Sunlight poured in from a window to the side, warm against his face. Distant sounds drifted in—voices, footsteps, the noise of a city that was still very much alive.

  He tried to move and froze.

  There was weight on his chest.

  Kai looked down, his eyes widening. Princess Amara was sitting beside him, her head resting against him, her breathing slow and steady. She had clearly fallen asleep here, staying by his side.

  He didn’t know what to think.

  The room wasn’t familiar, and his body felt weak, heavy, unwilling to listen to him. With Amara leaning against him, he didn’t dare move anyway.

  So Kai lay there in silence, staring at the ceiling, listening to the world outside, and trying to understand what he had just woken up to.

  He closed his eyes for a moment and turned his focus inward.

  What he found made him wince.

  His body was in bad shape. Using his life force had taken a heavy toll. His Mana heart was still nearly empty, even though he had clearly been resting for days. Mana was slowly trickling back in, but part of the structure felt damaged, rough and unstable. It was not fatal, and it could be repaired, but it would take time.

  If he wanted to recover properly, he would need rest. Real rest. At least another week in bed. On top of that, he would need to change his diet—mana-rich beast meat, rare plants, anything that could help rebuild his reserves faster. That part wouldn’t be a problem, but one thing was clear.

  He had pushed himself too far.

  As he was inspecting himself, he felt movement against him.

  Kai opened his eyes.

  Princess Amara was looking straight at him.

  For a second, she just stared, as if she didn’t believe what she was seeing. Then she rubbed her eyes, blinked once more, and froze. Realisation hit her all at once. Her face turned red as she noticed how close she was, how she had been leaning against him.

  “I—I’m so sorry, Duke Arzan,” she said quickly, pulling back a little. “I was exhausted last night. I only came to check on you and… I didn’t realise when I fell asleep.”

  Kai gave a small smile. It was strained, but genuine. “It’s alright,” he said softly. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

  She nodded slowly. “Yes, I am. It’s just… the work after the battle at Hermil has been—”

  She stopped mid-sentence.

  Her eyes widened.

  “Oh—wait,” she said suddenly, standing up. “I need to inform the others that you’ve woken up. They’ve been extremely worried about you. And there are dozens of nobles here already from all over the kingdom, all waiting to speak with you.”

  She turned toward the door, but Kai reached out and gently grabbed her hand.

  “Wait,” he said. “First, tell me what happened while I was asleep. And why are so many nobles here?”

  She blinked, then sighed lightly before turning back to him.

  “They all have their own interests,” she said honestly. “But more than that… they want to know when your coronation will take place.”

  ***

  A/N - You can read 30 chapters (15 Magus Reborn and 15 Dao of money) on my patreon. Annual subscription is now on too.

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