Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 278 The Truth Brothers
To Ashda's surprise, before their class even started, Thales raised his right index finger, indicating that he wanted to ask a question.

The mage raised an eyebrow and nodded at him.

“Mr. Sahn, six years ago, I asked you the same question: What is a mage?” Thales’s throat bobbed as he carefully observed the mage’s expression—though he knew that Ashida rarely showed emotion during conversations: “But back then you said you couldn’t tell me the answer.”

Aishida narrowed her eyes: "Continue."

"You also said you couldn't tell me what a mage you understood was," Thales said, puzzled. "But now you..."

The prince looked at the magic master with suspicion.

Ashida stared at him for a long time, and just as Thales felt a chill run down his spine, she finally nodded: "Good memory."

Thales raised an eyebrow and subconsciously lowered his head.

Yes.

Six years ago, on that harrowing day, everything was still vivid in my mind; I could never forget it.

But Thales, who was holding his breath and waiting for an answer, received an unexpected response.

“So,” almost instantly, Ashida crossed her hands, her ten slender fingers perfectly interlaced, her expression indifferent, her voice cold, as if she had transformed back into the rational and ruthless air mage: “Today you will tell me what a mage is.”

Thales' eyes widened slightly, somewhat surprised: "Me?"

“Yes,” Ashida nodded, her voice as unsettling as ever: “This is especially important—what do you yourself think a mage is?”

Especially important?

Sensing something amiss in the other person's words, Thales instinctively asked, "Why is it especially important?"

Ashida's eyes twitched slightly.

“It’s a bit early to say that now,” he said, his calm eyes sweeping over Thales with a hint of scrutiny and warning in them. “But I need you to answer my questions first.”

The prince looked at the Qi Mage with suspicion.

But the other person continued to stare at him intently and calmly.

Three seconds later, Thales finally suppressed his doubts and took a deep breath.

“Well, I’ve done some thinking and reasoning, and I’ve also done some research.” He recalled his reading and searching in the library over the past six years—although there are still many books he hasn’t had the chance to read carefully.

What is a mage...?

“I’ve only ever encountered two mage,” Thales said, lowering his eyes to stare at the motionless chessboard, organizing his thoughts as he went, and tentatively asking, “Mr. Sakun, you also have Giza Trillman. You can control the air at will, and blood mages can manipulate flesh and even plants in unbelievable ways.”

Ashida remained noncommittal.

"So, I have a conjecture: your so-called threshold name explains the essence of your power, right?" Thales's expression grew increasingly serious: "Qi and blood?"

Ashida remained unresponsive, simply continuing to clasp her hands together—a gesture that reminded the prince of the bald Archduke Lyco of the City of the Guard, who also liked to rest his arms on the table with his hands clasped together.

“I suspect that mages can fundamentally control things within a certain category, such as qi, blood, and so on, as long as they are objectively existing within that category,” Thales continued cautiously. “For example, blood mages can control tree roots and flesh, perhaps because the category of ‘blood’ includes…”

But Thales' voice gradually faded, tinged with doubt—he suddenly remembered the book "The End of the War: The Cataclysm" that he had read in the Mindis Hall a long time ago, and a certain page of it.

The most famous account... states that after the appearance of the Magic Master of Power, they were wiped out overnight.

But... the Demon Master of Power?

Just as he was confused by his own words, Ashida spoke softly.

"The ultimate form that objectively exists."

The handsome man in the blue robe spoke in a gentle and pleasant voice: "A long time ago, when the first batch of magic users were born, many mages thought the same thing, the most famous of whom was the 'Material School' of the Alchemy Tower."

Thales frowned slightly: "The first batch of magic users?"

He even forgot to ask what the "materialist school" was.

“Yes, electricity, water, blood, and many other examples. The threshold names of this group of magic users are very convincing,” Ashida’s eyes gleamed with a faint blue light. “Some mages have even concluded that: ‘Magic power is what we ultimately gain after seeing through objective truth and the laws of all things. It is the highest form of our control over external things, and threshold names are the representative of it.’”

"We once thought this was the truth about magic users."

Thales nodded and pursed his lips.

But the light in Ashida's eyes vanished the next second.

His voice turned cold again:

"Until those two people showed up."

"It shattered our initial and most superficial understanding of magic users."

"Two people?" Thales exclaimed in surprise. "Who?"

Ashida turned to the street outside the terrace, her expression serious: "Two mage apprentices from the Tower of Ascetics."

"The Tower of Ascetics?"

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

He had heard Ramon mention it in the camp during his journey north from Black Sand Territory to Dragon Sky City.

"Ah."

"The foremost of the three towers, the oldest, the most mysterious, and the most transcendent magic tower," the mage's gaze seemed to drift into the distance again: "Also known as the Obelisk."

Thales was about to ask about the Tower of Ascetics, but Ashida seemed to know what he wanted to say: the mage raised a hand, signaling him to be quiet and suppressing his curiosity.

"Those two mage apprentices were orphans adopted by the Tower of Ascetics from a young age. Under the careless old mages, they didn't even have normal names, each only having one letter as a designation."

"For example, one of them is codenamed 'L'."

"They even joked about it: 'A name is like a truth, needing no further explanation.'"

Thales frowned deeply.

L.

The mage slowly turned his head, his gaze fixed on Thales' eyes, and his words gradually became serious: "So, when these two apprentices who were on good terms both found the Threshold and became mage masters, their colleagues gave them an interesting nickname."

"Truth Brothers".

Brothers of Truth?

Thales listened with a puzzled look in his mind: "Why do you say that they have shattered your understanding of magic users?"

“Because of one of the Truth Brothers.” Ashida looked at him quietly and uttered a strange word: “His threshold name is—Idea.”

“Idea Magician, L”.

For a split second, Thales was completely stunned.

reason……

Inside the card room, Wyatt was quietly complaining to Rolf behind them, but Thales was too preoccupied to notice.

"Ideology?" He subconsciously repeated the other person's words in a low voice.

It's not something as easily understood as "qi" (vital energy), nor is it a term with profound meaning like "blood" (blood)...

Rather, it's about... principles.

What the hell is this thing?
Thales' eyes widened, and bewildered, he immediately raised his right index finger, attempting to interrupt Ashida.

“It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?” Ashida seemed to have anticipated his reaction, and slightly curved the corners of her mouth, indicating that he could ask questions.

"What kind of mage is he... what can he do?" the prince asked anxiously.

“You are free to imagine what a concept mage looks like and what abilities they have,” Ashida shook her head, “but even I, even my colleagues who have seen L in person countless times, can tell you with the utmost absolute certainty: even if you rack your brains, you cannot imagine it.”

Ashida said meaningfully, "Because we are not L, and you are not L either."

Thales paused slightly again.

So this means...they don't know either?
The Qi Mage said quietly, "If the Mage is some kind of objective, ultimate form, then how do you explain the appearance of L and the appearance of the Concept Mage?"

"Now, try to rethink my question."

What is a magic user?

Thales exhaled, his mind, which had just begun to form some ideas about magic users, turning into a jumbled mess once more.

"If magic users are not limited to objectively existing things..."

"So, it's a collection of related concepts?"

Thales frowned, looking troubled: "Ideas, qi, blood, they can all be considered concepts... but..."

Ashida let out another soft hum.

The prince's thoughts were interrupted by the soft hum, and he couldn't help but look up.

"So, what exactly is a magic user?" Thales asked somewhat impatiently, no longer wanting to guess. "Qi and blood, and even ideologies? These are too far apart."

Ashida met the prince's gaze silently, and after three seconds, under Thales's watchful eye, he finally spoke.

"The appearance of L shows that our understanding and imagination of magic users is still extremely superficial, and the explanation of the 'material school' has been completely defeated."

"But he's not the only one."

“It’s no exaggeration to say that the appearance of each new mage has more or less advanced our understanding of ourselves,” Ashida said at this moment, as patiently and earnestly as an accountant carefully calculating numbers. “L is not the most amazing mage. When you know B, Jilai and Solovsky, and even the Twins of Fate... you will be even more amazed at how interesting the world of mage is.”

“Every mage is different, and even the world seen by each mage is different,” the next moment, Ashida returned to his rational and indifferent expression: “Mages have very little in common.”

"Simply classifying us as the same kind of 'human,' 'life,' or even 'existence,' and trying to understand us within this category, in an attempt to summarize what a magic user is, is undoubtedly far from sufficient."

"And reality has repeatedly overturned the models and theories we built to explain magic power and to understand magic users," he seemed somewhat emotional. "Throughout history, anyone who thought they had grasped or understood the full picture and truth of magic users, anyone who thought they could explain 'what a magic user is,' whether they were mages or ourselves, has been proven to be naive and ridiculous."

“If you approach this with the mindset of ‘asking what a magician is,’ you will be disappointed—L is a prime example.”

The mage looked at Thales again: "Do you understand?"

Looking at the other person's expression, the prince couldn't help but grit his teeth slightly.

His doubts only grew stronger.

"not understand."

Thales said, his voice laced with deep skepticism, “You haven’t answered my question.”

Ashida shook her head: "On the contrary, that's what I'm going to tell you."

Thales could only remain puzzled.

"First of all, I'm not here to 'answer' your questions, but to 'help' you answer them."

“Secondly, you still haven’t seriously considered every word I said, as I told you,” Ashida’s gaze tilted slightly. “I have shown you what a mage is to the best of my ability.”

The prince opened his mouth as if to speak, but the words stuck in his throat.

Carefully consider every word he said?

What do you mean?
In the end, the prince stared at the other person for a full ten seconds before giving up on the idea of ​​getting an answer.

"Just like six years ago, you're not going to tell me what a mage is, are you?" Thales covered his forehead helplessly, somewhat discouraged. "You wanted me to give you my opinion, and I did, but you said it was wrong, and told me there's no right answer..."

Thales paused abruptly.

Wait a minute. Carefully consider every word he said...

The prince's pupils began to constrict slightly.

A thought arose in his mind.

"I seem to understand a little bit."

“You didn’t tell me what a mage is,” Thales said, lowering his hand from his forehead and staring blankly at Ashida. “But you did tell me what a mage isn’t.”

The mage's eyes lit up.

“Your progress is much faster than I expected,” Ashida nodded in satisfaction. “Your comprehension is also quite good.”

Encouraged, Thales began to think again.

“You said my opinion is important. You also said that, taking L as an example, every magic user is different, and even the world seen by each magic user is different…” He murmured, repeating the other person’s words: “So, Ashida.”

Thales even forgot to use honorifics and called the mage by his name.

"What is the world like in your eyes?" The prince looked up at Ashida with a serious expression. "And how is it different from the world I see?"

At that moment, Ashida raised her eyebrows slightly, seemingly unable to hide her surprise: "Oh, it seems we're moving a little too fast."

Thales stared at him intently.

In that instant, Thales thought of nothing else but the last moment six years ago when he faced Giza and the Blood Mage.

It was his experience of "knocking on the door".

That kind of...

That wonderful feeling.

That feeling... that he himself is the whole world.

“I can’t tell you,” Ashida’s tone suddenly became mysterious, “but this time, it’s because of the Magical Covenant.”

In that instant, Thales's restless heart, which had been agitated by not getting an answer, seemed to suddenly calm down.

Thales squinted, feeling as if he had heard these words somewhere before.

and many more.

Thales looked at Ashida, whose face was expressionless yet gave off a solemn feeling, and began to recall six years ago.

That very night, after the thrilling duel in Valhalla, Ashida suddenly appeared and visited him.

That night, he learned of the existence of the Magical Covenant for the first time.

There are three rules that magic users must abide by, known as the Three Great Covenants... The first is the Initial Covenant of Magic...

Never, ever, ever ask another mage about their understanding of magic...

This is the principle of 'not investigating each other too deeply'...

So, Ashida can't tell me what the world looks like through his eyes...

It's because of the prohibition of the Magic Covenant, it's because...

Because of……

“Mr. Sakorn, you are an air mage,” Thales said, looking at the other man with a serious expression, as if he had grasped at a straw. “I remember, six years ago, when we first met on Red Street, you said that you could sense all the air in the entire block, such as the breath of every single person.”

"Six years ago in Dragon City, you were even able to track our breathing across an entire city..."

Aishida narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Those people… their breathing, that airflow, if you could perceive every single detail clearly,” Thales stammered for a moment, “would that be the world as you see it?”

He searched for words urgently: "Like, like everyone...like everyone is breathing air inside you?"

Aishida's expression changed.

"I've said it before, I don't welcome metaphors and analogies," the Qi Mage said coldly.

what.

This child.

This is beyond some expectations.

Thales stared blankly at Ashida, whose reaction had given him some insight.

That is to say...

Those who breathe...those people...

“Giza Trillman, the Blood Mage,” Thales continued, still lost in thought, “what is the world like through her eyes?”

And during the time he was knocking on the door... the world as he saw it...

Ashida frowned—a huge loss of composure for someone as usually calm and rational as him.

"And another thing," Thales suddenly remembered Giza's words before she was sealed away, and asked softly, "She told me that becoming a mage is not a blessing, but a curse. Why?"

This time, the magic master remained silent for a long time.

“Mr. Sakorn?” The prince looked up, puzzled, at Ashida, whose expression seemed strange.

“Power always comes at a price; the question is how you view that price,” the man in the blue robe said quietly.

“Those who wield longswords, those who brandish spears, and those who swing maces bear different weights; the range that longswords, spears, and maces can reach, and the enemies they face are also different. But those who wear crowns and hold scepters bear yet another kind of weight, and find themselves in yet another kind of environment…”

Ashida's eyes were somewhat dim, and a faint blue light flickered deep within them:
"As for the weight that a magic master has to bear, you can imagine it for yourself."

What magic users have to endure...

The prince was stunned.

Thales took a deep breath: "You just said that you don't welcome the use of metaphors and analogies to explain things."

“Oh, that rule,” Ashida raised an eyebrow and snorted coldly without a trace of embarrassment, “only applies to you.”

Thales was taken aback.

“Now, you should have a better understanding, Thales,” Ashida’s gaze began to become imposing: “Magicians are not something you can learn or teach just by asking ‘What is a Magician?’”

"What is a Magician?" he said softly, but his words carried an inexplicable weight. "This is a question that only each Magician can find out, answer, and ultimately confirm for themselves. What is your unique threshold name?"

"I can only guide you cautiously from the sidelines."

“Because when you truly understand what a mage is,” Ashida paused for a long time before finally speaking, “you will already be a mage.”

Or he almost became a magic master.

The mage looked at the boy in front of him and thought to himself.

Silence fell once again at both ends of the chessboard.

Thales lowered his head and began to ponder the sentence.

“In this process, don’t let what you already know—like me and Giza, or even L’s example—bind your mind, Thales,” Ashda said softly. “And more importantly, stay humble, and don’t let arrogance and self-importance hold you back like the materialist mages.”

Just now.

“Mr. Sakun, I still don’t understand,” Thales took a deep breath and said with a puzzled and serious tone, “Why don’t you tell me: how did you become a mage? How did you find the Threshold Name? Have you ever ‘lost control’?”

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"This issue is beyond the scope of our discussion today," the Air Mage said expressionlessly. "It's time to move on to the next topic."

"The position and stance of a mage."

Thales looked up in astonishment, spreading his hands to express his confusion:
"But this topic isn't over yet, is it?"

"We haven't even figured out what we are, yet we're already trying to find our place and our stance?"

Aishida snorted coldly.

“That’s just how the world is, isn’t it?” the mage said coldly. “People often start acting presumptuously before they even realize their place in the world.”

"Whether human or other race, we cannot even understand ourselves well, yet we can distinguish friend from foe without hesitation and engage in confrontation and slaughter."

"Both ironic and funny."

Thales frowned. "What you say is always so boring—and that doesn't seem like a reason for you to abruptly interrupt?"

Ashida ignored him.

"Why do you think we are called a calamity?" the man in the blue robe lowered his crossed hands and leaned back in his seat. "Why are we hated by the whole world?"

Looking at Ashida, Thales couldn't help but recall the first time he met him.

"Because you nearly destroyed the world six or seven hundred years ago?" The prince recalled what Gilbert had told him and said softly, "To toll the death knell for the final empire?"

Ashida remained silent for a long while.

“Ah, the final battle, an unavoidable topic,” he murmured. “Speaking of which, we must mention another member of the Truth Brothers.”

"The 'Truth Brothers' again?" Thales asked in surprise. "The other one besides L?"

“If L shattered our understanding of magic users,” Ashida nodded, her speech gradually quickening, “then his brother completely changed the status of magic users.”

"Nearly seven hundred years ago, it was he who led the other five magic masters to start the final war."

At that moment, Thales' breath caught in his throat.

This was the first time he had heard news of the final war outside of books and legends.

and……

"The side that fought the final battle only had six magic users?"

"Who is it?" Thales asked in shock as he watched Ashida slowly nod. "L's brother, who exactly is he?"

Aishida's usually indifferent expression turned serious for the third time today. He leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands together again, lowered his chin slightly, and gave a sharp look—as if facing the most terrifying enemy.

"He is the most powerful mage in history after Toros."

"He was also the first mage to be given the name 'Calamity'."

"The destroyer of the three great magic towers."

"The undertaker of the final empire."

"The culprit behind the 'Great Rift Subsidence'."

"The enemy of the Holy Sun, the nemesis of the gods."

Upon hearing these titles, Thales involuntarily widened his eyes and opened his mouth.

All that could be heard was Aishida's extremely solemn statement:
"A mage exists, B."

As I wrote the story, the urge to step on the gas, shift gears, pull the handbrake, drift through corners, and throw everyone off the plane just wouldn't subside... What to do...?

No… I must control myself. Amitabha Buddha, control the rhythm, Infinite Heavenly Venerable, control the rhythm…

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(End of this chapter)