In the dark chamber, Adam sat cross-legged on the ground. A dark frown shadowed his face as he pondered deeply about what he had learned just now.
The next planetary alignnt was only ninety years away. That fact fostered a sense of grave urgency in his heart.
"Ninety years..." he murmured. "Will that be enough ti for to beco a Mana Core Magus?"
Becoming a Mana Core Magus was absolutely necessary if he wanted to leave this world. That was the minimum requirent for long-distance teleportation to begin with. Otherwise, his physical body would not be able to bear the strain.
But that wasn’t the only issue. It went without saying that, as he was right now, a mad Mana Vortex Magus, he had no hopes of defeating the Cult Leader. So not only did he have to advance to the next realm and form his mana core, he also had to heal his fractured soul.
The latter bore significant importance. Without his soul fully healed, he would not be able to practice mindfulness. Without practicing mindfulness, he would not be able to advance.
All of Adam’s planning had crumbled away. Even after consuming the soul fragnts within the mysterious space of the white lotus, it would still take him several decades to heal his soul. And then, it would take him several more decades to advance to the next arcane rank.
But he only had ninety years...
Now, he had to co up with a new set of plans. Inwardly, he actually felt sowhat grateful that he was able to uncover this knowledge about the planetary alignnt as well as the civilizations predating Feypore in a tily manner. If he hadn’t, then who could have known what would have happened in the future?
"Regardless, I have to overco these Mana Core-level beasts and reach the portal," he muttered to himself. "That part of the plan remains unchanged. But my destination, however..."
He had passed on the responsibilities of altering the rune magic around the portals located in Ulier and Nahua to Berger. As for the rest of the portals, he would have to shoulder those responsibilities alone.
Because of what happened during the Battle of Ravenfell, there were not that many people he could trust—less than a handful. He couldn’t even trust the Twilight Brotherhood.
Adam had planned to alter the rune magic powering the portal in Mabi and then head to the other side of the world—Indus, Europa, and Yen-Lu. Truth be told, his next destination was Indus, because it was the closest to Mabi.
But now, things had changed...
"I need ti," he murmured, massaging his temples as the ravings of the Faceless Mask drowned his mind.
"Ti..."
In that mont, Adam knew he had to change his next destination. The thing he wanted to avoid the most ended up becoming the very thing that he now needed the most.
"The magic of coincidences, huh?" Adam’s lips curled into a wide grin. "Or am I just overthinking? Either way... I have no other options. Damn it!"
Just a while ago he was wondering how fortune had smiled upon him without him having to go through life-threatening trials. But now...
"I just had to jinx it." He sneered, shaking his head.
He abruptly burst into a fit of manic laughter. The mimic shuddered at Adam’s actions. It quickly strutted to the corner of the room and settled down there, facing the wall.
A long ti later, Adam finally cald down a little. Yet the grin on his face remained.
"Okay, I know what I need to do now," he said. "With that out of the way..."
He thought of what he’d read in the history book. There was one thing ntioned in it that truly caught him by surprise.
"The horrors of the deep..." he murmured.
"So there’s indeed an underwater arcane civilization on Tron. Thousands of years ago, there had been a great war between them and all the surface dwellers. In the end, they signed a truce, ensuring no future conflicts between the two parties."
Adam never would have guessed, even in his wildest imagination, that this was the reason why the civilizations before Feypore had t their demise.
Suddenly, he thought of sothing and muttered, "I rember Lord Tebu ntioning that the planet was inhabited by only beasts before the First Magi arrived. I wonder if he was also referring to the dwellers of the deep. I wonder if... he is also one of them..."
In the thousands of years since the fall of Feypore, there hadn’t been any instances of deep-sea creatures erging from the depths and attacking the people living on the lands. Adam believed that the truce still held together.
But at the sa ti, he also couldn’t help but designate the deep-sea creatures as potential threats.
He remained silent for a long ti. At last, he heaved a long, heavy breath and shook his head. "I can’t be bothered with that problem at the mont. One thing at a ti..."
Finally, he thought about the rise and fall of the various empires. He stroked his chin and muttered:
"The Dawn Age lasted for a thousand years, where the First Magi arrived and countless kingdoms rose and fell in succession. The Age of Civilizations lasted for about two thousand years, where Nahlorim, Drakmor, and Eryndralis rose and then fell after the war with the deep sea horrors.
"The Age of Feypore lasted for two thousand years as well, beginning with the rise of Feypore and ending with its collapse due to civil wars. All these empires couldn’t last more than two thousand years..."
He paused for a mont, his lips curling into a smile. Then, he continued:
"But according to the history of the Acadian Empire, it was established around twenty-five hundred years ago. Sohow, the Empire managed to last longer than the magical civilizations that ca before it.
"Although it isn’t as illustrious as Feypore, its reign still lasted longer than it. And if no great misfortune befalls them, the Acadian Empire may yet endure for several thousand more years. The forr Acadian Emperors... ah, they were truly remarkable people."
Thinking of Gerald Acadia and his sacrifice during the Battle of Ravenfell, Adam’s heart was engulfed by pain and grief, yet his lips curled into a brilliant smile.
"Old Aan Acadia," he whispered.
"Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to uphold the grand legacy you’ve left behind..."
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