Veil of Destiny

Chapter 1 Awakening: Soul Fusion

Year 682 of the Sacred Calendar

Dorian Della Wilson had been at the Etherea  Magic Academy for four years. With a natural aptitude for magic, he was just two years away from graduating and becoming a full-fledged mage. In these tumultuous times, mages were highly sought after for their destructive power. However, due to their well-known weaknesses—poor physical strength and lengthy spellcasting times—protecting mages in warfare was a primary concern. Despite this, even renowned generals found it challenging to completely prevent mage casualties.

Mastering magic required talent and a considerable amount of time, making mages rare and highly respected. High-ranking mages were often wealthy, as magical materials like gemstones, magical silver, and dark iron were highly valuable. Advanced magical artifacts could enable mages to fight opponents of higher levels. It was often said that a mage's power was proportional to their wealth.

Dorian's father, Viscount Wilson, was a minor noble in the Etherea  City-State Alliance, ruling over a small town and a few surrounding villages with a population of only a few thousand. Nonetheless, as a landowning noble, Dorian was entitled to include "Della," a symbol of the Etherea  Alliance's lower hereditary nobility, in his name.

The continent had various names, usually one per country. With the rise of the Holy Church and the expansion of its power, many countries gradually accepted the name "Gloria," meaning "hymn of the gods," for the continent. The Etherea  Alliance, located in the southeastern corner, was a coalition of over a dozen small duchies. Compared to the three major powers—Dero, Austro-Hungary, and Asrophik—it was a second-rate nation. However, it managed to hold its own. King Louis XIV of the Alliance often flaunted his military might before the remaining thirty-odd small countries, especially neighboring the Duchy of Valeria and the City-State of Cador. Yet, this king's interests lay more in art, beauty, and immortality than in expanding his realm. Over his decade-long reign, relations with neighboring countries remained mostly peaceful.

In line with the Alliance's status, the Etherea  Magic Academy was a middling institution located in the northern part of the capital, Etherea City. Known for its modest teaching style, it had never produced anyone of significant renown in its three-hundred-year history. Due to the need for wizards in various countries, magic academies are often the most equal places on the continent with a strict hierarchy. At least, there is generally no situation where civilian magic apprentices are beaten to death by nobles. Moreover, civilian students who successfully graduate often have a great chance of becoming nobles after a period of training.

Dorian's family had fallen on hard times, with only four servants, a pitiable number for a landed noble. His father had no talent for managing finances, and their income dwindled each year. This did not prevent Dorian from learning all the noble vices—arrogance, pride, lust, irritability, and a slyness uncommon even among common nobility.At fourteen, after his first sexual encounter with a maid, he made the small domain increasingly chaotic. A year later, his father sent him to the academy, depleting their last few heirloom jewels to pay for it.

Dorian did not expect any further support from his father and needed money for his daily pleasures. Thus, using his sweet-talking skills, he ingratiated himself with a mid-level mage at the academy named Lucian, managing the mage's magical laboratory and handling tasks that Lucian found inconvenient to deal with personally. At this moment, Dorian was in the magical laboratory, examining a mysterious orb that had appeared before him. The orb was dull and pale, with a few cracks on its surface, making it look worthless. The only thing that stood out was the faint flicker of two lights, one black and one white, inside the orb. Dorian widened his eyes, trying to estimate the orb's value, but little did he know, the orb was studying him as well. Suddenly, the orb cracked open, and a streak of black energy shot towards Dorian's forehead, merging into his brain. Dorian's entire body began to writhe like a soft-bodied creature. Occasionally, a lump would bulge here, a hollow would form there, and black blood would sporadically spurt from his skin. Finally, Dorian slowly opened his eyes, which had turned completely pale, as a deep chuckle echoed, "This soul's mental strength is quite decent." Dorian looked towards the fragments of the orb on the ground. At that moment, the streak of white energy struggled to emerge but could not get far from the orb's fragments. Dorian's eyes brightened, and the white energy along with the orb's fragments were absorbed into his forehead. A piercing scream was faintly heard within the laboratory. Dorian's body began to boil like water, and it took a long time for it to calm down. When he opened his eyes again, he appeared to be an ordinary person once more.

The black wisp was the soul of necromancer Mordix. Using the Soul Orb, an artifact that isolated all soul powers, he had escaped the Light of Judgment and evaded the celestial pursuit. However, the Light of Judgment's power was insurmountable, and even an artifact could not match true divine power, in particular, the Light of Judgment is usually launched by the Chief God of the Celestial Realm to eliminate the overly powerful evil in the world. After the battle at the Temple of Odyssius, the Soul Orb had expended all its energy. Mordix did not destroy Dorian's soul but chose to merge with it, retaining all of Dorian's personality traits. The Soul Orb's limited energy, mostly used to confine Veena's soul, meant that Mordix brought only his understanding of magical fundamentals into the merger, forsaking his vast repertoire of specific spells. By this time, Veena's soul had been reduced to its core essence, known as divine origin energy, with all consciousness long dissipated. This tiny bit of divine origin was also absorbed into the merged soul.

Mordix did not erase Dorian's soul but integrated it with his own. "I am too deeply marked by this world, capable only of destruction. Perhaps creation is what this world truly needs. When an apple jumps onto the chessboard and starts rampaging, its impact on the game is far greater than a piece that has jumped off the board."

Dorian had no extraordinary talent, and after four years of half-hearted training, he was only a second-level mage, capable of casting basic and first-level spells. According to the Etherea Magic Academy's rules, casting two different second-level spells, reaching the fourth level, was the requirement for graduation. However, the soul fusion with the Necromancer brought forth an immense and unparalleled spiritual power, and through this, they were able to attain an exceptionally high level of magical control.A mage's power wasn't solely in their magic's potency but in their understanding and control of it. According to Dorian, a mage's strength also lay in their cunning and wealth. "A first-level mage with ten enchanted rings on his fingers would never lose to a barehanded second-level mage." Mordix agreed, as the difference between first and second-level mages was akin to the gap between an idiot and a moron. Given Dorian's current power, comprehending anything beyond the fourth-level mage was still challenging.

Magic on the continent of Gloria had developed into a rigorous system over the years, primarily driven by the needs of warfare. Typically, a mage's magic level increased by one every two power levels. For instance, a tenth-level mage could cast fifth-level spells, while an eleventh-level mage could cast two fifth-level spells. Of course, there were anomalies like necromancer Mordix.

Divine origin energy was the purest form of soul energy. With his soul and body thoroughly transformed, Dorian would use it to create his own pet. Typically, mage pets were the domain of high-level mages and were summoned beasts. Creation, however, was "the realm of the gods," mused the necromancer. But gods had never been objects of respect for necromancers. He resumed his work of soul fusion and body transformation. After fully merging with the Soul Orb, Dorian's physical appearance had drastically changed. Yet, for various reasons, Dorian's outward appearance remained unaltered—still short and plump, with an unremarkable face and those cunning eyes. The Soul Orb also bestowed another mysterious ability: spatial manipulation.

Dorian had no particular objections, even if he did, he wouldn't dare voice them. After understanding the origin of the divine power, he envied Brennan immensely. "He certainly won't be the last," Dorian thought viciously.

After three days and three nights of sleepwalking and being scolded several times by Lucian, the necromancer finally completed his work.

Dorian awoke. From this moment on, Dorian was still Dorian, and Mordix was also Dorian. The necromancer had finally deceived the heavens, placing an apple on the chessboard.