Chapter 41 - The Sea of Stars

The scent of the woods heavily filled Azriel’s nose. Rhema’s slow breaths from behind rang her ears. She could even feel the flow of the air that touched her exposed skin. It was strange. It felt like all of the senses in her body were on edge. However, her sight rather faded, unlike other senses. It was blurred as if there was fog. When she blinked several times, her sight slowly returned. Then the scenery that she had never seen in her entire life was spread before her eyes. Azriel felt a shudder.

Stars were all over the world, everywhere, in every color. Lights in various colors and sizes filled all directions. The lights would flock together and slowly flow like a galaxy, twirl around drawing circles, and merge with each other or disappear as they clashed together. A remotely spread sea of stars. Azriel held her breath. It felt like she was going to be overwhelmed by the endless lights. There were stars inside her body as well. If she moved her finger, the stars that were afloat in her hand were scattered. It was dizzying and dazzling. It was also magnificent.

Inside the countless stars, her own self felt so small and faint. The scenery was so infinite, eternal, and vast, that she felt as if she was going to melt into it anytime. All of a sudden, darkness fell before her eyes. Rhema’s low voice fell around her ears.

“No, Azriel.”

Again, she felt a sting like static. When his hand was off, she could see the day-breaking sky and the familiar sight of the woods. She no longer saw the stars. Azriel barely vomited out the breath that she was holding in. Her head buzzed. Something ran down from her nose. “Ah…?” Confused, she touched it with her hand and saw blood. Rhema lightly grabbed her nose from behind. Her nose stopped bleeding as if he used magic. He held her hand and wiped off the blood. Then he sighed. “That was dangerous.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Azriel asked in a scared voice. Rhema shook his head. “No, it was my mistake. I didn’t take your keen senses into account. Aren’t you dizzy?”

“A little bit.” As a matter of fact, it was not a little bit. Her body felt heavy as if she had just run until she was out of breath.

“You’d better take a rest.” Rhema pulled her toward him so that she could lean on him. In his arms, Azriel looked at the dark sky that was being encroached on by light. The sun that peeked from the edge of the woods was gradually rising. Driving away the darkness and coldness, the morning began. As the sun shone, the tips of her hands and feet that were dropped down were warmed up. Her breathing slowly became even. Only then, Rhema opened his mouth. “Azriel, can you try explaining what magic is?”

“It’s a skill to draw changes using mana.” The answer she gave reflexively was a definition of magic that she read from a book. Rhema asked in succession. “What is mana?”

“Um… It’s the energy that is scattered around like the air, that makes up the world.” What mana was a profound question that numerous schools still dispute. Azriel answered according to what she saw in books. Rhema continued on asking. “What is drawing changes?”

“It’s changing the reality in a way that a wizard wants.”

“Then what is skill?”

“It’s using mana inside a wizard’s body and disposing of it to make the desired result and then actualizing it by reciting a spell.”

“Good job. That’s the general definition. You’ve worked hard.” Rhema patted Azriel’s hair. As she smiled big, his face was softened. “But real magic is slightly different from that definition.”

“Is this wrong?”

“It’s not wrong. Let me tell you an old story.” He rearranged his posture, still holding her, and went on slowly. “Before the world was formed, there were only two beings.”

“Two beings? Who were them?”

“At the time, it is said that they did not even know. Just like you, Azriel, they wondered who they were. They also wanted to know who the other party was. Can you guess what they did?”

“Well… Did they name themselves? Just like how we name mana?”

“It’s similar. They first created ‘language.’ Then they communicated with each other with the language.”

“Did they ask who each other was?”

“Yes. They learned about themselves as they conversed and about the other party. Even after learning about each other, they did not stop their conversation. It is said that the world was slowly created through their conversation.”

“Wow… Then the world was formed according to what the two people said?”

“You’re right. But the two beings are not humans. They created humans. They wanted to create beings who can think like them and share that with each other with language.”

“If they’re not humans, who are they? Are they gods?”

“One is the God that we know. The other is not God but a dragon.”

“A… dragon?”

“We call it the primal dragon.”

“Wait, is the primal dragon…?” The myth of the creation of the world that Azriel saw in a fairy tale book began with a battle between the primal dragon and God. God fought the primal dragon that stood against him and defeated it. With the body of the primal dragon, he made the continent. Recalling the story, she tilted her head. “If the two were God and the primal dragon, were they originally on good terms but ended up fighting with each other?”

“Yes. After creating humans, they argued over how to treat them. Their words were what created the world, and their verbal argument must’ve been a tremendous fight. The one that won the battle was called God and the one that was defeated was called the primal dragon.”

“So, are you saying God was not decided from the beginning? The winner became God?”

“Yes, that is correct.” It was a story that could make one be stoned for being a devil worshipper if he blabbed about it on the street. However, young Azriel accepted it with no specific prejudice. “I feel bad for the primal dragon somehow. If he won, he would’ve been God…”