章節 1: Prologue - The Primordial Chaos

"To survive is to suffer, but to live, is to find some meaning in that suffering."

*****

It is said that there existed a time before time, where the world had yet to be created. During this period of nothingness, the only entity that existed was Chaos. A swirling mass of blinding energy that had the potential to bring both everlasting creation and endless destruction.

...That is, if there was anything to destroy.

Indeed - there was nothing. Nothing at all, except for Chaos. There was nothing to accompany it but endless darkness - but alas, it didn't mind. Chaos didn't know anything except that it needed to grow. That was its only purpose - its nature, if you will. It could not be controlled by anything, nor was there anything else in existence to control it - or at least, that's what it thought.

One day-

But what was a 'day' anyway? What was Time? No matter - it didn't even exist.

-A certain individual appeared. Chaos was both surprised and curious at the same time - after all, it was supposed to be the only existence in this endless darkness of nothingness. Amidst the confusion, the figure raised his right hand and directed it towards the swirling mass of energy.

"From this day on, you are known as The Primordial Chaos."

Chaos - or rather, The Primordial Chaos, was puzzled. If it were a person, it undoubtedly would have blinked a few times in confusion right then and there. Had this...mysterious individual just renamed it? Changed the title that its had for eternity? But the figure was not quite done yet. He went on.

"While you have the power to bring endless destruction, you also have the ability to bloom limitless creation. I have been searching for something like you for a long time now," the being said calmly. Strangely enough, Chaos was able to understand what he was saying, even though it had never experienced something like this before.

"You are now my companion," the mysterious being continued. "I will use your power as my source, and create a multiverse with it. Are you interested?"

Chaos was very interested. It had always been doing nothing except growing. This was a chance for it to try something else for once. The figure then smiled upon sensing that Chaos had consented.

"Come."

Chaos felt a sudden suction force coming from the mysterious individual. However, it knew there was no ill intent behind this action. It showed no resistance and entered the figure's body smoothly.

"It seems that I was indeed correct. This power is what I need," the entity spoke as the element of Chaos filled his entire existence. "With this, I am able to create a brand new multiverse...one that is free from the shackles of the inevitable decay of all creation. Yes...this multiverse will thrive forever and ever. My goal...has at last, been accomplished."

*****

In the endless darkness, a single figure walked calmly, with an air of elegance and tranquility. After finally stopping at a certain location in the infinite darkness, he decided that this was a good place to begin creating the multiverse. He spread his arms wide and drew on the power of the Primordial Chaos, now residing within him.

One by one, new elements and concepts began to form, starting with Time and Space. Then came Fire, Water, Earth, and Sky, followed by Shadow and Light. These 8 elements were the foundation of the universe, which was now complete. However, with the power of Time, evolution took place and eventually new elements began to form, including Ice, Poison, Psychic, and Curse.

As Time continued its work, humans and other life forms also began existing.

The rules of this world state that all living beings have magic elements dwelling within them from birth. Thus, the world became a society of magic. However, humans were not the only ones who could wield it - there were other races that could use magic as well, including the Beasts, Demons, Vampires, and Elves. The most fearsome of all are the Elementals, creatures born directly from places extremely rich in the essence of one element. Civilization arose, wars broke out among the various races, and the world of magic continued to advance.

At a certain point in the long history of the multiverse, magic was soon split into several levels by the International Magic Foundation - the most powerful organization on the planet of Xenith, a lower realm world within the vast multiverse of magic. Of course, as Xenith is a lower realm planet, these rankings only go up to the limits of the lower realm.

Level One - The most basic of attacks, they are the first thing you learn after foundations.

Level Two - More advanced, but still relatively easy to cast once you've memorized the name and, if applicable, body movement.

Level Three - Most people are only able to cast up to Level Three spells. They are highly sophisticated and impossible to learn just by reading a textbook. Instead, you have to practice the spell countless times to fully control it and get it right.

Legendary - Starting from here, magic takes on a new definition. It is not only a tool for combat and day-to-day usage, but also a phenomenon powerful enough to alter the very world. Legendary-tier spells can lay waste to an entire city.

Mythic - Mythic-tier offensive spells are on par with a nuclear bomb, perhaps even stronger.

Saint - Saint-Tier spells are what you might describe as Armageddon. Should someone decide to unleash an offensive-type Saint-Tier spell, No one in the hemisphere would survive.

Divine - Divine Magic is equivalent to godly powers. They can rewrite the laws of nature itself or even eradicate the entire planet.

All of the descriptions are exaggerated, and under the premise that no defenses or resistance of any kind is put up, of course.

F͢͠O͞R̵̀B̵͟͏I̶̡͡DD̛̕͝È̕͠N̸͟͡ ̨͢M͜À̶͞G͡I̵̧Ç̕͞ ͏ - E̛͟͠R̀R̷͏O͘R̵͠

*****

Eventually, a world-wide ranking system for mages was established as well on the planet of Xenith, agreed to by all sixteen main races.

Novice Mage - The rank you are given when you first begin to study magic, normally in high school.

Intermediate Mage - A slightly higher rank, expected to be able to use Level Two spells.

Advanced Mage - Usually, people achieve this rank by the time they are in university. Exceptional talents may reach this rank earlier, as long as they can perform a Level Three spell with ease.

Ancestral Mage - This title is given to those who are able to cast Legendary spells. Some people spend their entire life trying to reach this level.

Golden Monarch - Removing the "Mage" title, Golden Monarchs are individuals capable of using Legendary Magic, and have also unlocked a Battle Soul. They are all big-shots in the world, CEOs of huge companies or patriarchs of well-known magic sects.

Holy Emperor - capable of using Mythic-level magic. It is said that all Council of Arcanity (the executives of the International Magic Foundation) members are Holy Emperors.

Saint - Saints are powerful beings that have transcended mortalism. They can use Saint-tier magic, of course, and is said to be able to live forever.

Divine God - This title appeared only in legends, on the lowly planet of Xenith: it was reserved for the very person that was believed to have created the universe. However, Divine Magic does exist - meaning if you were able to cast it, you would be given the title of the Divine God, albeit no one has been able to yet.

*****

Yes, this was how the magical multiverse came to be. Created by a single individual - or rather, born from the element of Chaos. However, no one in any race has ever been able to awaken the Chaos element, known to be the most powerful of all. Eventually, this mysterious element became nothing more than a legend - a tale spread among the peoples, but impossible to recreate. Because of this, there is little to no information on it. Who knows? Maybe I will be the first being in all of existence to awaken the almighty Chaos element.

...

Haha. Yeah, right. I'm amused by my own joke. My name is Xuan Kai, and I was born without an innate element. Not even a trace of magic could be found within me, so you can probably guess what my life was destined to be like. Think about it. In a world where magic is the basics of everything, a lone child, a single one, has no magic at all.

I guess, in a way, I am very unique. Out of all of the 6.5 billion living inhabitants on this planet, spread through 16 races - excluding X-Machina because they aren't 'living' - I am the only one without any magic. A rare talent indeed. Such a thing would spread in the news like wildfire as it did with me, and so far, I was the only case. You might think this would make me an excellent lab rate for aspiring magic researchers. But no - that wasn't the case. Even researchers failed to see any worth in researching me, and figured I was just an unlucky kid.

Everything had a first, after all - I just happened to be the first one in this case.

So, yeah - I was bullied my entire life, treated like trash. Neglected by my family, devoid of any friends, cheated on by my own fiancée - that's me. Sound like a cliché Xianxia fiction novel protagonist? Ha. Oh, how I wish it was merely fiction. But no...this was all too real.

From the day I was born, I was fated to be trash. But I'm not backing down. If fate wants to make me suffer, I will defy fate itself. If destiny wants me to die, I'll kill destiny first. And if the heavens want to crush me, I will stand up against even the heavens!