Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 101 Original Music
"Clean as new!" Samantha pointed her walnut cane at Siron and found that all the dirt on his body, even the tiniest speck of dust, had vanished into thin air.

It's somewhat similar to divine magic, but there seems to be something different about it.

“This is spell magic. You only need to recite a short incantation to perform the spell—usually no more than five words. It’s much more convenient and powerful than complex and profound ritual magic,” Samantha said with a smile.

“It seems a lot like divine magic,” Siren said, frowning. “But…it seems more…absolute? Divine magic is a kind of interference with the world. I remember [Cleansing] summons wind and water to cleanse the target of dirt, but magic is more like…uh…directly making a wish?”

"Ah—you are a genius! This is the content of two classes at the Burning World Tower Academy!" Samantha made no attempt to hide the joy in her eyes.

"Yes, you're right. That's the essence of magic, or rather, the essence of spell magic, because the most terrifying phrase people find in Archmage Anatoli's notebook is—'wishes come true.'"

"May all your wishes come true?"

“That’s right, I can make my wishes come true, ignoring the laws of the world and the logic of common sense. As long as I want to, I can do it,” Samantha said with a smile.

"IMHO……"

“That’s impossible, isn’t it?” Samantha chimed in.

Xilun nodded.

“Yes, that’s impossible, but spell magic really exists. Mages can accomplish what they want directly in a way that’s similar to making a wish.” Samantha sighed. “For example, I created the [Storage Magic]. Whenever I want, I can instantly transform the entire mage tower into my favorite, tidiest place. I don’t even know where some things should be placed, but it will be arranged exactly how I like it.”

"I'm never afraid of not finding things, because when I need them, they'll always be there for me. But perhaps the last time I used magic storage was a few days ago."

"Although we cannot destroy or create the world with a single word, we can still glimpse that great and prosperous magical world from the few words leaked here—it is so tempting. It is like a hole in a dark room, through which light shines in. Although it can only illuminate a small area, we can still fantasize about what a bright and prosperous banquet or a magnificent and magical garden is on the other side of the hole."

"Moreover, there are still many texts that Archmage Anatoli cannot decipher. Many people believe that as long as we understand all the texts, we can truly achieve our desires."

Xilun thought for a long time but still couldn't explain it. Perhaps for now, he could only attribute it to something that was unscientific but magical.

However, after much thought, he found a breakthrough: "How should I cast the spell? Should I just think about it?"

“You’ve hit the nail on the head,” Samantha smiled, a smile she hadn’t given any more than usual today, having been a former magic teacher. “It’s difficult for me to describe to you how to cast a spell, because that’s precisely why mages are so rare. As a teacher, I can only offer guidance, not instruction.”

"You've probably heard the famous saying—'Spellcasting is an art'?"

“I think I remember,” Xilun said.

"This was said by another groundbreaking great mage, who for the first time transformed Anatoli's obscure description into a more accessible expression."

“For example, the great master Anatoli said, ‘When the spirit touches the flow of the crown, light arises from within, and the heart falls from the seventh heavenly sphere.’ He also said, ‘Spellcasting is like a flash of inspiration when you are writing, and the world appears at your fingertips.’”

“Everyone’s way of casting spells is different, just as every painter enters a state of mind differently. At least for me, casting spells means that the moment I am about to utter the incantation, I must fall into a state of confusion, almost falling asleep, and losing consciousness. I experience complete joy and happiness. At that boundary between reality and the psychedelic dream, my lips carry out the final command before I enter the trance.”

"Therefore, spellcasting is an art—the work of art created by artists, and what we create is magic."

"Therefore, casting spells is a matter of luck and talent. You never know when you will have a flash of inspiration and enter that state. Old-school scholars were even very opposed to schools, believing that true magicians should gain enlightenment in the midst of passionate life."

"Of course—the reality is that apprentices generally seek that kind of inspiration through alcoholism, hypnosis, violence, sex, and near-death experiences, which led to the Seven Towers Alliance having very poor security at one point, almost becoming a den of illicit activities." Samantha said this with a sidelong glance, and Siren couldn't help but feel ashamed.

However, this description of casting spells reminded him of many things.

Freud, Lacan, and their disciples gradually developed an important theory: "original pleasure," "pleasure," and "enjoyment."

Among them, "happiness" represents the most basic, mild, and moderate pleasure.

【Pleasure】is a kind of painful “excessive pleasure”, such as the indescribable euphoria of a marathon runner crossing the finish line, the mystical ecstasy of believers dissolving themselves in religion, excessive sex, forbidden love, facing death, or even when you are very tired and in pain while staying up all night watching videos, you inexplicably want to continue watching, which also counts as compulsive repetition.

【Original Joy】is an untouchable, perfect joy and primal satisfaction that exists only in the unconscious state of an infant. In Eastern thought, it can be compared to the question, "Can you hold your soul and spirit in oneness without separation? Can you concentrate your vital energy and achieve gentleness like an infant?" It is a transcendental state of perfection.

When people first become conscious and are forced into the realm of symbolic order, they begin to separate from [Original Music]. In the rest of their lives, people will constantly try to get closer to Original Music.

For example, the fantasy of "perfect happiness and joy" is the pursuit of original happiness.

Humans seek a kind of happiness and fulfillment that is ineffable, inexpressible, and can only be experienced personally, and see its projection in certain things, such as the most lovable aspects of a lover, the praise of others, moments of success, great wealth, and so on, and strive continuously for it.

Samantha's description of the imagined absolute "wish fulfillment" is similar to the original music. It may never be attainable, nor can it exist in reality, but it will attract countless people to pursue it and strive for it throughout their lives.

The inspirational experience at the moment of casting a spell is somewhat similar to pleasure; it carries a painful, transcendent, and unreal quality.

Just as people try to experience "original bliss" through religious asceticism, sexual transgression, creative ecstasy, self-destruction, or extreme political or religious fanaticism, monks also try to access the original bliss of "wish fulfillment" through this painful yet pleasurable method.

Samantha added, "Everyone's spellcasting process is different and highly individual, but it is generally similar. So mages believe that when we can truly touch that perfect state, we can truly achieve our wishes and become the most complete masters of magic."

“We use the Tree of Life to build our system. The Kabbalah Tree of Life has ten source materials and twenty-two paths. Ancient texts say that when we pass through the ten source materials and reach the top of the Tree of Life, we can completely rid ourselves of original sin and return to the Garden of Eden of magic.”

"Wait, wait, wait—" Siren looked at her in surprise, "How did this turn into original sin and the Garden of Eden?"

“Didn’t you know? The earliest mystics were all priests,” Samantha said with a smile. “Thousands of years ago, the common people were digging for food in the fields, and the kings and nobles were fighting wars and indulging in debauchery. Only the church had both knowledge and time. The oldest magic and rituals were all created by priests in an attempt to get closer to God.”

“The sorcerers kept thinking, since ether can pass through us, it means that we and ether are of the same substance, like our hands and feet, but why can we only use other things to perceive and use it? Why can we vaguely see that most primal happiness unconsciously and evoke a resonance of magic, yet we use and approach it very reluctantly, like an infant?”

Following her train of thought, Xilen continued, "Because we...could have?"

Samantha snapped her fingers: "Yes, we could have manipulated magic like our hands and feet. We could have remained in that perfect state forever, making all the magic dance for us, but we have lost that ability."

"Like Adam and Eve, we were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of some original sin that we do not know. We can glimpse the world of magic, but we can hardly get close to it. We can only look at it from afar in the mortal world."

"Therefore, we must rely on the images recorded on the other tree in Eden—the Tree of Life—to return to Eden step by step and return to our 'perfect' state."

"Ten Source Elements represent ten tiers. The tier of Archmage Anatoli is unknown because such a system did not exist at that time. However, all the tower masters of the Seven Towers Alliance are currently at the seventh tier or above. I am a sixth-tier mage. Seventeen years ago, I started from Source Element [Beauty], traversed the Hermit's Path, and arrived at Source Element [Benevolence]."

(End of this chapter)