Mage Adam

Inside the Devourer, nearly ten thousand ether seals melted and burned like candles.

Ayesha's chanting echoed like an ancient, sorrowful melody. Her spell floated through the air, moving in time with her voice. The scene was strangely peaceful and beautiful---if one could ignore the twisted, terrifying soul of the Devourer at the center.

For as long as Ayesha could remember, she knew she was different. She had two souls: one her own and the other belonging to her twin sister, who had died in the womb before birth.

Having twin souls never troubled her. In fact, it gave her a great talent for magic. Her journey as a mage was smooth from the start. She easily passed the trials. But deep down, she felt it was unfair: she enjoyed everything in the material world, while her sister could only see through her eyes. It didn't seem right to her.

Ayesha heard that the Third Tower specialized in soul magic, so she gave up the chance to join the First Tower and chose the Third Tower instead. She used every resource available to gain knowledge, and by the time she reached the second level, she found a way to bring her sister back to life.

She returned to her hometown, dug up her sister's grave, and exhumed the small bones. She bought countless slaves and used secret methods to refine their brains. Then, she sacrificed her own face, her blood, and her heart, performing an ancient and dark ritual to create a body for her sister.

But soon, her sister's soul began to deteriorate. Ayesha couldn't fix the problem, and even the Master Mages she turned to for help were helpless. At that time, she was only a second-level mage, not yet qualified to study under a transdimensional mage, let alone seek help from the Great Mage Laura.

She was frustrated, but her sister wasn't. Her sister felt things were already good enough, that not having a body didn't matter. She decided to become Ayesha's familiar spirit, taking the form of a doll.

It seemed like a good solution, but Ayesha wasn't satisfied. She wanted her sister to live a normal life.

Before this mission, they had a fierce argument: Ayesha wanted to invade the Devourer herself, and if she failed, she would use magic to transfer her soul, completely sacrificing herself to heal her sister's soul. But her sister disagreed and chose to take on the mission instead.

The complete Reincarnation Spell was a process of repairing and reshaping the soul's information. If the mission succeeded, her sister could be restored. If it failed, she could still take the death in Ayesha's place.

Ayesha agreed. She secretly placed a magic array on her sister. If her sister succeeded, all would be well; but if she failed, Ayesha would die in her place, and her sister would be fully resurrected in the Mage World, in her mage tower.

When Ayesha died, her eighth-level soul and magic power would burn out instantly. The resulting power would be enough to create a breach in the seal, justifying the trust her companions had placed in her.

As these memories faded, Ayesha's sister's soul was completely enveloped by the Reincarnation Spell and vanished. The regression model on her body glowed brightly, with symbols and patterns spreading rapidly, entwining the Devourer's soul.

Ayesha's magic flared, casting light in all directions as her chant rose sharply. The spell grew stronger in the light, beginning to invade the Devourer's soul. The spell used the connection between soul and body to implant the regression model into the Devourer's body.

The Devourer was both shocked and furious. He felt something strange constantly draining his energy, trying to invade his memories.

But his struggle was pointless. The chains binding him had remained unchanged since he was sealed, but now they suddenly tightened, nearly tearing his soul apart. The more he fought, the more painful it became. He used all his strength to resist the Reincarnation Spell's erosion, until he could only remain still.

Ayesha's eyes gleamed with joy as she unhesitatingly burned her soul, channeling energy to her sister through their bond.

She knew the hardest part was over. The Devourer had underestimated the power of magic and missed the chance to destroy Ayesha's sister's soul at the start. Now, the Reincarnation Spell had taken root in his soul. Unless he had the courage to destroy himself, he could only wait for his inevitable doom.

Titania began to stir restlessly.

The Devourer had consumed most of Titania's Origin, making his existence nearly synonymous with the plane itself. Now, the agony within his soul echoed through the plane, with his pain reverberating back into it. Even more affected than the plane were the creatures he had created.

Across the entire plane, all the Diluses suddenly froze. The lower-tier ones exploded on the spot, while the transcendent ones were overwhelmed by unbearable pain coursing through their bodies. The agony was intermittent, impossible to resist or alleviate; when it surged, they could only struggle and roar into the sky.

For the mages, the changes in the environment were a minor concern. With the protection of Mage Armors, they could fight in the void. They quickly seized this opportunity and sounded the horn for a counterattack.

The battle became much easier as the Diluses' assault weakened significantly under the torment. The mages no longer needed to rely on sacrifices to buy time. Though fallen mages had the chance to be resurrected, it was an ordeal no one wanted to go through.

CRACK. The sound of something breaking echoed in everyone's ears.

Adam looked up at the sky and saw that the Devourer's body had started to crack. The regression model shone brightly, radiating outward and slowly spreading toward the Genesis Flame.

The once powerful grey energy, now drained, turned into dust, drifting weakly into the surroundings.

As the sounds of shattering continued, large chunks of the Devourer's body began to fall away. The fragments that were part of him disintegrated into nothingness, while those that belonged to the plane returned to the Origin.

The pressure on the transdimensional mages eased significantly.

As the balance shifted, His Holiness Maxis's seal grew increasingly powerful, gradually locking away all of the Devourer's energy. This allowed some transdimensional mages to be freed from their tasks, and they flew back into the battlefield, slaughtering transcendent Diluses in large numbers.

The Devourer's mouth was now tightly wrapped with data chains from the regression model. These chains were linked to the signals from the Genesis Flame, working tirelessly to complete the restoration.

Suddenly, the Genesis Flame flickered. It seemed to recognize the situation and began to cooperate with the regression model, significantly speeding up the process.

After a period of stalemate, the regression model and the Genesis Flame connected seamlessly. Slowly, they began to pull the Genesis Flame out of the Devourer's mouth. His body shrank more and more. The energy he had devoured transformed into pillars of gas, shooting out from his now crumbling body. The ninth-level features on his body faded away at a fast pace.

At this moment, the Reincarnation Spell finished its work. The Devourer ceased all resistance, his soul utterly ravaged and drained of every last bit of strength.

The spell entered through the cracks, releasing countless tiny points of light that swirled around Ayesha, creating a breathtaking and beautiful scene.