How utterly reckless.
Those were Mavis Vermillion's first thoughts when the tide of the battle suddenly shifted into Fairy Tail's favour. For experienced and powerful mages of her calibre, anyone would have soon noticed that whatever Argus was using, it had to be some form of forbidden magic or spells. Such things were often classified as such because under usual circumstances, invoking such spells would mean paying a heavy price.
She could still turn a blind eye if Argus was simply using a forbidden light-based spell to augment his base capabilities. Every decent S Class mage would have to have a trump card or two by the time they reach that level of strength, and sometimes forbidden magic may be one of those. However, when Argus continued to pull out two more forbidden spells that were obviously almost on, or already on the same level as the Three Great Fairy Magics that she left behind for Fairy Tail, that was where she drew the line.
"That foolish boy, he's endangering his life for the sake of victory. Where did you find him?"
Her question was directed to Macao, who she knew was the guild master during the time the boy joined the guild. Macao was alarmed at her words.
"Endangering his life?!"
"It's not a fluke that he's suddenly able to push Jura back like that. He's using forbidden spells to do so, and they were obviously forbidden for a reason. I know Jura is strong and I hope Fairy Tail can win, but I don't wish to see our victory coming at the cost of the well-being of its members," Mavis quickly explained, and watched as the colours started to drain out of Macao's face when he finally understood what was going on. The cheers of encouragement from the surrounding guild members that were ignited after the guild members saw how Argus suddenly began to gain the upper hand quickly quietened down as well.
"Should we stop this match?"
"... Let's just wait and see," Mavis gave Makarov her answer after much consideration. "If the boy is able to end this before any permanent harm is done… Fine, let him have his way. I do not approve of his methods, but I can acknowledge his strong desire to win. In any case, Makarov, do impress upon the boy and make sure he understands the consequences of using forbidden magics after this match is over. The boy's recklessness is honestly worrying. If there is a hint that something might go wrong, we will have to stop this match."
So, they continued to watch the battle anxiously, hoping that Argus would be able to end the match swiftly. Objectively speaking, the spells he displayed were indeed intriguing and mesmerising and it was something which Mavis had never seen before. From her vast knowledge, she theorised that Argus' spells were ancient in origin, for spells with incantations as lengthy as he chanted were a trait of ancient spells before modern spells with shorter or no incantations became popular and eventually became the more commonly adopted forms of magic in recent history.
Then, everything went wrong.
She knew something big would go down when Jura and Argus suddenly ceased their movements and started to build up an incredible amount of magic within themselves. They were obviously preparing their final spells to determine the victor between them. She hesitated if she should do something to forcibly stop this match, and the hesitation was what cost her.
The skies started to darken. No, it would be more accurate to say that the world started to darken, that all light around them was starting to vanish at a rapid rate. That had to be Argus' work and whatever spell he was planning to cast, it's definitely going to be on a scale that far outstrips anything that he had shown thus far.
That reckless boy is going to seriously hurt himself at this rate and as the First Master of Fairy Tail, she is not going to stand by and simply watch that happen to one of her children.
However, by the time she had made her decision the world had darkened into black. She couldn't see, she couldn't sense, she couldn't feel. All she could hear were the fearful cries from all around the arena as audiences and mages alike instinctively reacted in fear after having their sense of sight robbed from them. Mavis didn't know just what kind of countermeasure to prepare because without being able to see and analyse just what kind of spell Argus was preparing, there's no way she could come up with a solution.
Then all of a sudden, light returned.
The light's return was blinding and sudden. The sheer magical energy unleashed suffocated everyone. Even the heavens and earth seemed to groan and cry in pain from how violently the arena was shaking and trembling. Argus had unleashed his attack, and so did Jura.
She was too late to stop it. That moment of hesitation had cost her.
The battlefield had been thoroughly destroyed and all that remained was a giant gaping hole. A closer inspection from the lacrima-vision on screen revealed that there was a giant underground mine right below the arena, but the resulting smoke from the final clash of magic between the two opposing mages prevented anyone from seeing anything else.
The smoke eventually cleared, and the figures of the two mages could finally be seen from where they were deep down underground. Both of them were lying face-first onto the ground, unmoving, and at first glance it seemed that the battle had ended in a draw.
However, Argus' fingers twitched, and slowly but surely, he started to struggle to get up and stand on his feet despite the silence blanketing the arena. That silence was soon broken by the youngest member in their guild.
"Stand up, Argus! You can do it!"
Everyone in their guild soon followed Asuka's example, shouting their encouragement for the reckless boy who had recklessly endangered himself for the sake of the guild's victory and hoping he would hear their voice. Mavis had no idea if the boy could really hear them when he's so deep down underground, but she believed their feelings would reach him, for the hearts of Fairy Tail members will always be connected to each other.
The clash between Argus and Jura had resulted in the destruction of the hooded cloak that the boy had constantly used to hide his appearance, the hideous scar on the left side of his face now clear for the world to see. Still, nobody felt any contempt for that ugly scar at that very moment, and that did not stop the crowd from eventually joining Fairy Tail in cheering for Argus to succeed and stand up on his feet, because they were also inspired by the determination he had shown in this battle and the boy had won the respect of everyone present for what he had managed to do.
Argus' actions in this battle had won the respect of everyone present. Not just for him, but also for Fairy Tail. Nobody would belittle Fairy Tail ever again after the showing of power Argus displayed.
It probably only took a minute or so in actuality, but it did feel like an eternity when Argus finally managed to unsteadily stand on his feet with his back straight and tall, his body still shakily wavering from side to side. He slowly raised his right arm into the air, fist clenched, and the crowd roared with him when the boy let out a roar that announced his victory in this battle that everyone had initially assumed that he would lose.
"In a surprising turn of events… Winner of this match, ARGUS FROM FAIRY TAIL TEAM B!"
"HE DID IT! HE DID IT!"
"ATTA BOY ARGUS!"
"HE WON! HE FOUGHT AGAINST A WIZARD SAINT AND WON!"
Mavis' concerns were different, because she's worried that the boy might have suffered some form of permanent damage from using so many kinds of forbidden spells in such a short timeframe. So, she was relieved that Team B had immediately swooped down to retrieve their reckless and youngest member the moment the emcees finalised and confirmed Fairy Tail Team B's victory in their match against Jura. At least this way, they would be able to send the reckless boy to Porlyusica for immediate treatment and hope that it was not too late.
"Too reckless."
Mavis shook her head and sighed. Maybe it would do some good to talk to the boy herself, seeing that he is the only member which she had not yet been introduced to. Having been a participant in a war herself when she was still alive, she recognised the look in the boy's eyes when he was in combat with Jura. Those were the eyes of somebody who had fought and killed before, the eyes of somebody who had fought in a war before. Those were the eyes of somebody who would not accept anything less than a victory because defeat would mean certain death.
She's out of touch with the times, and she has no idea just which part of the world is currently embroiled in war that the boy could possibly hail from. She will have to ask the boy if he's willing to share a few details about his past.
Still, she will acknowledge and respect the determination he had shown in that battle. His Light magic was extraordinary, unlike anything she had ever seen before. However, it seemed that the upper limit and true potential of his magic can only be reached if he ever tapped into his arsenal of forbidden spells, even if the boy was obviously no pushover even without them. Self-inflicted harm seems to be an inherent danger of the boy's magic which truthfully, puzzled her to no end because this is Light magic the boy was using. The properties of Light magic are supposed to be forgiving, benevolent, and offer protection to those under their glow.
This branch of magic should not have the effect of constantly inflicting harm onto its caster.
The boy's Light magic is not any ordinary form of Light magic if it does bring harm to the caster whenever they choose to tap into the upper limits of the magic's potential, that is the only thing that she can conclude with certainty. There is more to his magic than it meets the eye.
A low to mid tier S Class mage at his usual capacity, but comparable to a Wizard Saint when his forbidden spells are unleashed; that is Mavis' verdict regarding Argus' prowess as a mage. Still, she would prefer if Argus need not rely on his forbidden spells at all to reach that level of power. The risks are too great and it's not worth it. She's speaking from her personal experience.
At the end of Day One of the GMG, Fairy Tail Team A remained at the bottom of the rankings at 0 points, and Fairy Tail Team B shifted up to fourth place at 11 points. Lamia Scale is at fifth place with 6 points, which was probably a great deviation from their original expectations since nobody would have imagined that Jura would lose. If Jura had won, their placings would have been secured at the third place.
Despite a shaky start, Argus' victory had brought hope to the guild that things were not as bad as it seems, that Fairy Tail still has a decent chance at climbing back to the top spot once more. He really is a Light of Hope to everyone present.
Mavis smiled. Fairy Tail's Light of Hope… that sounded nice to her ears.
"Get out of here! The patients need their rest! Shoo! OUT!"
The doors of the infirmary slammed shut with a deafening bang and the mages of Fairy Tail wisely made themselves scarce before Porlyusica directed her rage at them. Porlyusica let out a loud huff from behind the door. Chasing those fools away took too much effort.
"Porlyusica…?"
"You should be resting, Wendy," Porlyusica reminded the young girl who her Earthland counterpart had adopted as her student and daughter. Wendy was here recuperating from the injuries she suffered at the hands of a mysterious attacker right before the preliminaries, but was rudely woken up after sensing the enormous power being thrown about in the arena just nearby. To be fair, Porlyusica wouldn't be surprised if that fight had awoken even a comatose patient, that was how titanic that battle was.
Especially so when the tremors of their spells could be clearly felt even from here, and how the world had faded to dark for a short moment before the end of the match.
"Stupid fool."
She quickly did her job as a healer to assess the condition of the newest patient that was sent to her for treatment. She had heard of him, but had never met him until today due to her dislike for human contact. Wendy watched on curiously from the side and Porlyusica allowed her to, knowing that Wendy might learn a thing or two about healing from this.
"Shredded muscles, broken bones, damage to his magical container… It's a miracle he's still alive," Porlyusica muttered under her breath when she had a clearer picture of Argus' condition. It's just a game, why go to this extent?
"I… I can help!"
"No, stay put. You are barely halfway to recovery. I will do something about this," Porlyusica knew the girl meant well, but Wendy was also a patient so Porlyusica quickly stopped the girl before she decided to do something foolish too. She turned her attention back to the young man and it was then his body started to glow softly in a mysterious light, surprising them all.
"W-What's going on?"
"I don't know," Porlyusica admitted to Carla and when the light finally receded, Argus finally stirred awake.
"Ouch… Never going to fight that baldy again…"
"I will hold you to it," Porlyusica swiftly pulled on Argus' ear, eliciting a surprised yelp from the boy. "What do you think you were doing?! Muscles, shredded! Bones, broken! Magical container, damaged! And that was before I could conduct an in-depth diagnosis! Who knows what else you did to your body before that mysterious light healed you!"
"Ow ow ow let me go let me go!"
"Not until I said my piece!"
And so, Wendy and Carla watched on in silence, not wanting to be implicated by Porlyusica's wrath. It was a long while before Porlyusica was appeased but she had confirmed that whatever that light was, it helped pull Argus out of danger and healed the worst of his injuries. No lasting damage was done to his body and all that he needs now is sufficient rest to recuperate.
And so, after Porlyusica had chained the rebellious Light mage -quite literally- onto the sickbed next to Wendy's, she left to take a walk to cool her rising blood pressure and to inform Makarov that the boy would be alright. Wendy wouldn't be falling asleep soon, not after how she was rudely awakened by that showing of power that could be clearly felt earlier and how she had witnessed the climax of the battle through the lacrima screen in the infirmary. Furthermore, she's probably the only one left who had never met the mysterious member of their guild before.
So, she picked up her courage to greet her fellow confinee in this room.
"Um… Hello?"
Argus, who had closed his eyes to rest, reopened them when he heard her voice, his attention finally directed at her.
"Um, I… I'm Wendy Marvell! Also a Fairy Tail mage! This is Carla! It's nice to meet you!" She sped through her words and did a swift ninety degree bow towards the end of her introduction. She had heard a little about her fellow enigmatic guild member and while she knew deep down that he would never mean any harm, it was also a fact that the expression on his face didn't look too friendly.
"Argus, likewise," The Light mage replied tiredly, exhaustion evident on his face as he closed his eyes once more to catch a quick break. "How did you end up here?"
"We were ambushed right before the preliminaries," Carla shrugged. "Our magic was sucked dry, so we have no choice but to stay here and recover."
That seemed to catch Argus' attention because he instantly looked back at them once more.
"True… the amount of magic I can sense in you right now is really pathetically low…" Argus looked back at Wendy, who took a nervous gulp at his words.
"I heard you are good at healing magic?"
"Erm… I won't say good, but I'm proficient enough…" Wendy mumbled shyly, looking away in embarrassment and twiddling her thumbs nervously.
"Don't listen to her. She's the best there is, she's taught by the Sky Dragon Grandeeney," Carla declared, knowing that Wendy's low self-esteem had raised its ugly head once again.
"If the only thing you are suffering from is just a lack of magic, I know something that can fix that," Argus spoke tiredly. "Similar to Sky magic, there are branches of Light magic which possess healing properties. Unfortunately, I don't have much talent in that aspect of Light magic so there's a limit to what I can share and teach, but I know enough to help you with your current predicament."
"R-Really?" Wendy asked, still in disbelief but at the same time, extremely curious about the things that Argus had revealed. Healing magic is a very rare brand of magic to the point that it could be classified as Lost magic. It's not everyday that she could meet someone else who is able to do the same things she could do.
"There are strict prerequisites to learning what I know, but if it's you, I think you can do it just fine," Argus explained a little further. "Want to try?"
"C-Can I?"
"Can I learn too?!"
The sudden appearance of Mavis Vermillion made Wendy jump with a very undignified squeak.
"M-Master Mavis! Don't scare us like that!"
If Argus was surprised at Mavis' appearance, he didn't show it. He simply didn't look like he cared.
"I don't particularly care about who learns this spell, because there are strict prerequisites to even be able to use it. Before learning it, what you need to understand is that Light is a very primordial concept. The origins of Light magic is a primordial form of magic, something that has existed with the universe since the beginning of its creation. Light is a very ancient element and over time, many other variations of Light magic were created and branched out from its primordial form. Holy magic, Illusion magic, White magic, Cosmic magic; these are a few examples of magic that we know today which was derived from the original and primordial form of Light magic."
Wendy nodded her head diligently, indicating that she was following.
"Whenever the concept of "Light" is mentioned, people often associate it with "benevolence", "purity", "cleansing", "holy", something along those lines. Light has always been traditionally associated with the "good" in humanity. However, sometimes, light does shine brighter for those who sinned, because light can only be bright if there is darkness to allow it to shine. What most people don't understand is that light does shine on "evil" as well, and I need you to understand that before we proceed any further because when used with the wrong intentions, or invoked with the wrong methods, the results derived from the invocation of the same spell might result in very different consequences."
"I understand," Wendy nodded seriously.
"This spell that I am going to teach you, its intended effect is to restore the magic in its caster. This spell heavily relies on the user's "good" side of humanity, a very classic example of what people's expectation and belief of Light magic is today. There is a very strict prerequisite to using this spell, because the caster must have a "pure" heart untainted by evil, and they must have a high aptitude for healing magic. Just the first prerequisite alone filtered out the bulk of the potential candidates who could learn this spell. Very few in this world could claim to have a "pure" heart because ultimately, we are humans. It's normal for us to be led astray by our worldly desires and become "impure"."
Argus looked back at Wendy, his eyes as if able to dissect her very being.
"But if it's you… Maybe you would be able to use the spell that I couldn't. This spell is light-based and you may be a Sky mage, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue. Your heart seems to be pure enough to be able to use it for the intended purpose it was invented for. If mastered properly, this spell could theoretically allow you to keep fighting on forever with a never ending reservoir of magic, because through this spell you can simply keep on refilling the magic you depleted."
"I-Is it really okay for me to learn such a powerful spell?" Wendy asked hesitantly, knowing from the description of the spell that it must be a very powerful one. The secrets of such spells are usually very heavily guarded by those who possessed knowledge of it.
"I'm the only one in this world who knows how to use it, and I am unable to use it to its intended effects anyway. I might as well teach it to someone else who I trust. Now, here's the catch. The incantation for this spell is a little lengthy and I am only going to say it once. Make sure you catch all of it, and don't stutter."
"O-Okay!"
"Now put your palms together in a prayer, close your eyes, and repeat after me."
Wendy took a deep breath and as she was told, repeating every sentence that Argus spoke thereafter.
"O God of Light, I seek your answer."
"O God of Light, I seek your answer."
"Desires have sullied my soul, and ambitions have clouded my eyes."
"Desires have sullied my soul, and ambitions have clouded my eyes."
"I humbly beg for your forgiveness, to restore the missing aspect of my humanity."
"I humbly beg for your forgiveness, to restore the missing aspect of my humanity."
"I wish to see your light again, to rest in your paradise of eternity."
"I wish to see your light again, to rest in your paradise of eternity."
"Rest my weary soul, Amor Lucis"
"Rest my weary soul, Amor Lucis"
It was an indescribable feeling, the euphoric rush of magic that welled within her body in a gentle surge and bathed her in a holy glow. When the light finally faded, she found her magic at its peak condition, fully energised as though she could take on the world alone. Her magic had been restored.
Even the greatest Sky Magic that Grandeeny showed her does not have such an immediate effect.
"H-How…?"
"Congrats, you mastered Amor Lucis in a single try. That goes beyond my expectations," Argus congratulated dryly. "Your heart must be really pure for you to succeed on your very first attempt. I didn't even produce an iota of light no matter how hard I tried."
"I-I… T-This…" Wendy struggled to find the appropriate words, still flustered at the results. This is a very powerful spell that Argus had taught her. Such spells can be considered a secret art and are usually only something that would be passed down from parent to child or from master to student.
They don't have such a relationship.
"Don't worry too much about it. This spell is yours now," Argus yawned. "Like I said earlier, knowing just the incantation would not work. The caster must have a pure heart and a high aptitude for healing magic, and such people are extremely rare to come by these days. Now that you are healed, go out and enjoy. I'm sure those morons are partying hard right now and you won't want to miss it."
"L-Let me heal you!" Wendy offered, knowing that this is the least she could do for the things he had taught her now that her magic had returned.
"Just heal me enough to be able to move, but not enough to be able to fight."
"H-Huh?"
Wendy, Carla, and Mavis all looked at the Light mage quizzically, unable to understand the rationale of his strange request.
"Like this, I have an excuse to not participate in the subsequent events," Argus deadpanned. "After fighting that baldy, I really want a damn break. This is only Day One, can you imagine the hell I will be forced to go through for six more days if you healed me back to full strength and I have no choice but to continue participating in the GMG?"
Wendy cannot help but giggle at the answer. Well, if he said so…
"Okay, I'm done!" Wendy announced when she was finally done with Argus' request. His muscles were no longer shredded and his bones no longer broken. Strangely, the damage to his magic container was somehow fully healed even before she invoked her magic, and she was certain that Porlyusica mentioned earlier that it was damaged.
"The spell you taught me, Amor Lucis… Was that what healed you earlier?"
"Oh, that?" Argus scoffed as he slowly sat up on his bed. "Nah, that was no spell, it was a divine intervention. Unfortunately, someone doesn't wish to see me die just yet."
"D-Divine intervention…?"
"Don't worry your pretty little head over it," Argus patted her head with a hand. "Well, I need to rest now, and I think it's best you go find the others and tell them that you are fine too. They will be happy to see that you have recovered."
Eventually, Wendy and Carla reluctantly left after much persuading and assurance from Argus, leaving Argus alone with the First Master.
"Look, I've gone to all the trouble to send the girl and her talking cat away because it looked like you have something to say to me, so are you going to be out with it, or am I just going to go back to sleep?"
"You are very sharp, but also very reckless," Mavis shook her head in fond exasperation as she took a seat on the bed beside Argus' that Wendy was using earlier. "My original intent for this visit was to warn and dissuade you from using forbidden spells like that, and also because you are the only member left which I haven't met before, but after understanding you a little better I think my words are just going to fall on deaf ears. This is obviously not the first time, and not the last that you will rely on your forbidden spells."
"You are right, this will not be the last time I will do so," Argus admitted. "So, nice to see you, I guess?"
"Wait, that's it?" Mavis looked up in surprise. "No asking me what I am, or how I am here? Like… at least ask me if I'm a ghost or a spirit or something! This is so not fun!"
"Honestly, I've seen weirder things. I could care less what you are."
In response, Mavis simply puffed up her cheeks and pouted childishly. What a boring person.
Still, she's curious about the brand of Light magic that Argus was shown to wield.
"Your spells, how ancient are they?"
"Huh, you actually picked that up. Colour me impressed," Argus remarked. "Yes, they are ancient. Like I told Wendy earlier, Light is a very primordial element that has existed since the birth of the universe. By extension, Light magic is one of the earliest magic to come into existence. The place where I came from, my village, we are worshippers and believers of the God of Light. He's our deity, our God, and he has influenced our way of life even before the age of dragons existed. If my village's historical records were to be believed, the God of Light had been watching over my people since the start of humanity."
"Your village must have a very long history."
"That's putting it lightly," Argus agreed. "But at the same time, my village was very reclusive and cut off from the world. The only sole focus of my village was researching and compiling everything they know about the God of Light and light-based magic, like it's the only purpose that the village exists for. They are zealots, fanatics, that will do anything to get closer to the "promised paradise of eternity" that our God spoke of."
"I think you mentioned that phrase in your very last spell you used in your fight, and also in the incantation for Amor Lucis as well" Mavis stroked her chin in thought, brows slightly furrowed. "Actually, those incantations of your spells, they don't really feel like incantations to me, more like…"
"Texts from a religious scripture," Argus completed Mavis' sentence for her, affirming her suspicions. "Many of those forbidden spells that our village had created in its history were originally derived from our religious scriptures, or verses from our old songs and ceremonies that praise and worship the God of Light. That was their very original form. They were created in an age where the modern magic that we are familiar with, which spells require little to no incantations, were not prevalent and had not yet been invented. Like I said, my village was full of zealots and fanatics of the God of Light, devout believers of his existence. It's simply a matter of time before one of those lunatics used the scriptures or verses as the base to invent light-based spells to worship his very existence. The miracles of magic are highly dependent on how deeply we believed in it, and when zealots created spells based on the religious scriptures that they wholly believe with their hearts and souls, well… Let's just say that many of those inventions had very potent effects under the usage of their original creators."
"So you believe in the God of Light?"
"Pfft," Argus let out a laugh which felt more like a scorn to Mavis. "Yes, and no. The God of Light does exist, yes, but whatever was documented in the scriptures, the seventeen volumes of the Book of Light, were mostly fantastical delusions of my ancestors. Our God is not the benevolent being that they believed him to be."
Unknown to Mavis, said God of Light had his own opinions on this matter.
'Hey, I take offence to that.'
'You were the ones who massacred your believers.'
'You said your wish was to be free, so I granted it. How is that not benevolent?'
"This promised paradise of eternity, what does it mean?" Mavis asked, getting gradually invested in this unknown religion that worships the God of Light and the origins of Light magic. Argus' understanding and knowledge of Light magic far surpassed her expectations and in certain areas, exceeded her own knowledge of this branch of magic as well.
"You can take reference to the verses of my final spell in my fight against Jura," Argus was surprisingly forthcoming in his explanations where other mages would never even breathe a word because it might reveal the secrets behind their magic. "The first verse was: The end begets a new beginning, and a new beginning begets the end. The universe is flitting, constantly changing, but light is eternal for where there is light, there is life, and where there is life, there will be light."
"The end signals the start of a new beginning and the beginning signals the start of an end. Okay, I can understand that. The meaning of the sentence after that basically meant that light is always there, always present, right?"
"To put it simply, yes. It's simply my ancestors' way to praise the light, which in our religion, signifies and represents the concept of "eternity" which my people celebrated," Argus agreed. "The verse after that has a darker undertone. The world marches on to the lie that is eternity, but true eternity lies within the light. To end our false eternity of suffering would be to embrace the absence of light, for that is when darkness encroaches."
"I have my own understanding about what those sentences meant, but…" Mavis looked back at Argus for confirmation, unsure if she wished that her suspicions were accurate.
"Let's start from the first part. The world marches on to the lie that is eternity," Argus patiently explained the meaning behind those words. "This is a comparison of my ancestors' interpretation of "eternity" to the widely believed concept of "eternity" the rest of the world perceived it to be. Their disagreement with the popular and widely accepted notion of "eternity" can be found in the second half of the sentence, "but true eternity lies within the light". To my ancestors, "eternity" can only be found if you believe in the God of Light. That's basically what this verse means."
"To your ancestors, the world's view of the concept of "eternity" is a "false eternity"," Mavis deduced. "Because the sentence that followed next was To end our false eternity of suffering would be to embrace the absence of light, for that is when darkness encroaches. I don't want to come across as insulting your religion so pardon me if I'm wrong, but that would mean that…"
"Yes, you are right. To embrace the "eternity" that we were promised by our God, we would first have to "embrace the absence of light" and allow "darkness to encroach", which in this context, would mean that if we wanted "eternity", we must first accept our deaths. To reach eternity, we will have to offer up our lives to the God of Light."
Mavis' heart dropped, her worst fears were confirmed. Argus simply carried on talking.
"This notion was further celebrated in the next verses.The end of false eternity should not be feared, but to be embraced. Rejoice, for we are one step closer to joining the God of Light in his plane of paradise. My people do not see death as an end, but rather, a beginning, because that is when they could finally rejoin by the side of our God in accordance with the beliefs of our religion."
Argus made eye contact with Mavis, and at that moment she knew that persuading this child to forgo using the dangerous aspects of his magic was a lost cause, because that is the very nature of his magic. It was how his magic came to existence. If his spells were really as old as he confirmed it to be, the "forbidden" spells that he used, they were only "forbidden" by the standards of the current era. Those spells that Argus used in the later half of his battle with Jura, at the point of the spells' creation they were spells that were simply a part of his brand of magic to be used whenever, wherever.
His brand of Light magic was not created with the consideration of the caster's well-being in mind. From the very beginning, the purpose of this brand of Light magic was meant to endanger and very possibly kill the caster, and the higher level spells that were derived from it naturally had the same purpose. The deeper the caster tapped into the power of this brand of Light magic in combat, the higher the chances of their deaths, because this magic was originally created with the intention to bring death to its caster.
This is no longer about whether she could dissuade the boy from being reckless or not. The crux of this problem lies within the nature of his magic and there's nobody in this world who can change the nature of their magic.
There is nothing that she could do for the boy and as the First Master, it hurts her on the inside when she comes to that realisation.
"Do you see now, Master Mavis? Light is not benevolent like we believed it to be, at least the primordial form of it that I was taught to use. To use my brand of Light magic is to learn how to walk alongside death, because in our religion we believe light shines on both saints and sinners alike, and its full glow can only be brought out if there is darkness to accompany it. The derivations of other branches of Light magic that evolved from it do not have such a problem, but it comes at the cost of not being able to reach the same level of potential that the primordial form of Light magic can attain, the ancestor of all Light magic."
Primordial magic. Mavis had thought primordial forms of magic were a branch of Lost magic whose knowledge and existence were truly lost, but it seemed that this wasn't the case. Her own understanding of Primordial magic was the One Magic, the magic of love, but there were also many interpretations of Primordial magic over the long course of human history.
Elements that had existed since the birth of the universe and eventually harnessed into their respective forms of magic were also loosely regarded as primordial magic. Concepts like "Time" and "Space", elements like "Fire" and "Water"; the very first forms of magic that these concepts and elements first manifested as could also be considered as a branch of Primordial magic, because it was the first magical form that these elements took when the universe came into being.
In Argus' case, if what he said was to be believed, then his Light magic was not simply "Light magic", but the very primordial form of it. It is the form which Light magic first manifested as when the universe was created, and was somehow learned, harnessed, and subsequently passed down through the ages by Argus' ancestors from an era long long ago. The magic he learnt is the base that all Light-based magic and spells were derived from.
Argus' voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"We've been talking about this in a roundabout manner, because I want you to know and understand that there's no use trying to dissuade me from doing dangerous things with my magic, because just using my magic alone is an inherent danger in itself. I understand your concerns, Master Mavis, but I will have to tell you that your concerns are a lost cause. The true potential of my magic lies in endangering the caster and the greater the danger, the greater the power. My magic that I was taught was created with this purpose in mind, to allow us to quickly rejoin our God in death as soon as we can short of outwardly committing suicide. It is a form of Primordial magic, because it was the magic our God had taught to us, the very first Light magic that appeared and was bestowed upon the world by him. There were many false facts recorded in my village's scriptures, but I can guarantee you that this is not one of them."
"Those "forbidden" spells you used, they were… a natural part of your magic?"
"They are "forbidden" by the standards of modern magic, that is all I can say. To keep it simple, the true potential of this magic can only be attained if we are willing to put our lives in mortal danger, and that was why so many of our spells were created with harmful side effects to the caster. Similarly, because of that reasoning, I had not, and maybe never will, realise the true potential of this magic, simply because I am not as suicidal and devoted as my people and ancestors were. I acknowledge my God's existence and I can assure you that he's real, but I do not wholly believe in him and his claims. My disagreement with my religious faith and with my God will have an effect on my magic, obstructing me from wielding its true and fullest power."
"What is the name of your Primordial magic?"
"Technically speaking, there really wasn't a name given to it, but…" Argus paused for a moment as if recalling a distant memory, "The God of Light sometimes referred to it by the name of Reunion, and it is the term that I use to refer to it as well."
"Because through this magic bestowed by him, your people reunite with your God in death?"
Argus simply shrugged.
"Maybe, who really knows? The only thing I know for certain is that Gods have a tendency to play sick jokes on us."
For some reason, as her mind briefly flickered back to the memories of the man she loved, Mavis found herself resonating with the last part of Argus' statement.
