Advent of the Archmage

When Fedaro was changing, Link was hurrying through the Sea of Void. No, more accurately, he was running for his life.

Vague power ripples were already reaching him. Link was familiar with the frequency. It was identical to the Void Ferry from earlier. Even more shocking was that destructive aura was mixed in too.

Demons are alright, but there’s also the God of Destruction now. I don’t know if I can escape this time.

Sensing closely, he could feel that the other’s speed was still faster than him. It wasn’t much, only closing in bit by bit, but with this current speed, they would catch up before he could reach Fedaro.

I need to escape, Link thought while flying, but he couldn’t think of a plan. After a while, his heart jumped, and a message popped up abruptly.

Warning! Warning! System being invaded! Warning… System being invaded… Unable to stop invasion… Self-destruction activated…

Not even a second later, Link felt his consciousness shake violently. He was dizzy as if he’d been electrocuted. His entire vision turned bloody-red. The world seemed to be dyed with blood.

What’s going on?! Link lost his cool. From the words, the game system had self-destructed due to an invasion. But who was the invader? Who was so powerful that even the system was forced to self-destruct?

Is it the God of Destruction? Link first suspected his most powerful enemy right now. It had to be someone on the divine level. The God of Destruction was his biggest enemy currently… Wait, it could be another dark god too, like Lilith who he’d fought against before.

Of course, these were all guesses. Link had no proof. This change was so drastic that Link’s heart was jumping erratically. All types of thoughts arose. He looked side to side, trying to find the enemy in the thin white mist of the Sea of Void.

Just then, the bloody scene changed again.

The bloody light that had erupted and filled Link’s vision faded quickly. Strange runes appeared. Link studied them and discovered they were magic runes. They looked similar to the veins on the mysterious gear but were slightly different.

At first, they looked like computer codes from earth. They appeared in lines in Link’s vision. Around five seconds later, they turned into various magic formations. They appeared much faster than before and kept changing.

Link did his best to memorize the changes. His soul had become powerful now and, he had a somewhat photographic memory. He kept track of the changes and memorized every detail.

Around 30 seconds later, the speed was almost at the limit of Link’s reaction speed. He could only watch the foggy light flash before him. The fog was thickening and growing brighter. It almost took up his entire vision.

This scene lasted for around 50 seconds and then it disappeared suddenly. Finally, a line of words that Link could read appeared.

Game system restructuring successful, restarting all functions… Beep, beep. Restart complete, generating system log… Log complete.

Link was even more confused at this. What happened? he asked himself.

As soon as he thought that, a dark silver ball of light appeared in his vision. Link was extremely familiar with this. When the God of Light had sent him to Firuman, he’d been in this half-dead state.

“The time of the Void was greatly distorted. A new timeline has been created. From now on, I will no longer be myself… Hero, this is my last time talking to you.”

“God of Light?” Link was shocked.

“No, I am no longer pure light now. Darkness has tainted me once again.”

Hearing this, Link thought of the invasion message from earlier. Thinking carefully, his heart jumped. He felt a cold tremor. Then the memory from the ancient epic floated up. A possibility rose up in his mind.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, “It’s Nozama and the horrible ancient darkness on him, right?”

“Yes. Dark and light have regrouped again. A new me has already appeared. Now, I carry the original sin of darkness and see every realm as food. Thousands of years ago, I was known as the Sovereign of Light, but also the Devourer of Worlds. Now, I am devouring Fedaro. Soon, I will go to Firuman…”

“What’s with you now?” Link was terrified.

“This is only an image I’ve left behind. When I was the God of Light, I knew this day would come. Thus, I made some preparations. Hero from the mortal world, take care.”

As soon as he finished, the dark light disappeared from Link’s vision. His heart felt cold. He asked inwardly, Game system, are you still there?

Around a second later, a line appeared in his vision.

Player, how may I help you?

Link was slightly relieved. He quickly asked, “Will the Sovereign of Light go through you and invade my soul?”

No, the game system has already been restructured. It is unique. After the past God of Light created this system, he chose to forget this memory. The Sovereign of Light cannot figure it out.

Link was a bit reassured. “The God of Light is already gone. Then is the mission system still here?”

“Yes, the system’s functions won’t change. The rewards may be affected though. The Omni Points and spell rewards won’t change, but the player is unable to receive material rewards.”

Link could accept this. He nodded, feeling assured.

Now, he suddenly discovered that his surroundings were familiar. Looking closely, his heart jumped. This seems to be where I ran into the negative-energy pitfall.

He immediately slowed down to investigate. There were still remnants of the vortex in the white mist up ahead. Around the negative-energy pitfall, the Sea of Void was very calm. Other than looking darker, it wasn’t any different from the regular space.

Energy waves from the Void Ferry were even closer, but Link didn’t continue forward. He circled the negative-energy pitfall and decided to use it to lose his pursuers.

But how?

Link thought carefully. Three seconds later, his eyes brightened. He’d thought of a plan.

It was a bit risky. Even if he succeeded, he would still suffer great losses. But success was highly possible, and it could create horrible losses for his opponent. He might make the God of Destruction look pathetic too.

Whatever, there isn’t much time. Hesitating will only waste time. Let’s go! Link was the type that would carry things out as soon as he made a decision. He was still like this now and immediately started following his plan.

While Link was planning an escape route, on the Void Ferry, the God of Destruction suddenly looked towards Fedaro.

“What’s wrong?” Demon Magician Glyn asked carefully. Nozama was his master, but this was a god. Nozama wasn’t her match at all, and he was stuck in Fedaro right now. Thus, his people naturally had to listen to the God of Destruction.

It wasn’t her fault she was stronger than Nozama.

The God of Destruction looked for a long while, brows furrowing. “I can’t feel Nozama’s power anymore. He disappeared, while at the same time a very strong force appeared. It belongs to a true god.”

Glyn was shocked. “Are you saying that Nozama was killed by that true god?”

That…was too unexpected.

The God of Destruction’s dark red eyes flickered. “I don’t know. The situation is strange, but Nozama did this to himself. It has nothing to do with us. Let’s continue forward. We’re very close to that disgusting cockroach.”

Around half an hour of flying later, a demon suddenly yelled, “Look, it’s the Ferde lord! He’s trapped in the negative-energy pitfall!”

Everyone looked over. Through the thin fog, they could see a dark silver figure circling endlessly in the distance. They couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but he seemed to be trapped by something.

This only happened after one fell into a negative-energy pitfall.

“Ha, he’s dead now!” Magician Glyn cackled.