I've Got A Mana Processor In A Magic World

Zephyr was struck dumb with shock. To the point where he lost focus, causing his conscious control of the smell + heat radiation concealment spell to slip up slightly.

And if not for the fact that {Silent Mirage} that masked sight and sound was subconscious, it would've slipped just like the other two concealment spells had.

All that rang in his mind was the repeated chants of the white-clothed monster.

'How is this possible…' His brain rapidly cycled through multiple possibilities, struggling to find a logical explanation… but it was all futile. He didn't even know where to begin.

The monster itself had paused its chant, frowning slightly.

Host, I suggest you get out of here as quickly as possible!

Zephyr's dazed state was broken by Aegis' reminder as he finally noticed the fact that the cavern had become quiet. Most of the grey and ash clothed monsters had paused their chants and mumblings, alert.

His prior lapse of concentration had been noticed.

Zephyr slowly backed out towards the entrance. He could save whatever pressing questions he had right now for later. Getting out of here was his main priority.

"Why don't you stay a little longer, friend?" A voice suddenly cut through the silence, stilling Zephyr in his tracks.

A cold shiver ran down his spine as he felt a gaze lock directly on to him.

He lifted his head slowly and found the white-clothed monster staring exactly at where he was concealed.

"Surprised?"

"Don't be..."

Zephyr's heart drummed against his chest rapidly.

"Your spell is clever… but unpolished. Concealment of that sort deceives only the lesser kind, not us," the white-clothed monster smiled lightly before frowning, as though puzzled.

"For all that skill, did it never occur to you that mana itself betrays you? That every movement you make stirs the air as wind upon still water, leaving ripples plain to those who know where to look?"

Zephyr stayed still, locked in place partly in fear and partly in curiosity.

Now that he thought about it, he had never factored the mana disturbance his concealment spell would cause for a moment. And it wasn't his fault. He'd simply never met anyone who could notice such a detail.

"Ah… then you must indeed be human," the figure murmured, more to himself than to Zephyr. "Among my kind, even the youngest are taught such basic truths before their tongues have fully learned speech…"

He paused for a moment, as if expecting a response from Zephyr, but when he received nothing, he frowned, snorting lightly.

"You still hide? Shall I draw you out, friend? Or will you step forward of your own will?"

Zephyr did not move, staying still almost like he was clinging on to the hope that the white-clothed figure was bluffing.

Every other monster in the cavern had stilled to pin drop silence, almost as if they didn't exist.

Only the voice of the white-clothed monster sitting in the center that echoed through the cavern.

"You have nothing to fear," the figure said with a calm, even courteous tone. "If I wished you dead, you would already be."

Zephyr swallowed. The rational part of him knew the figure was right, every second he stayed concealed felt more pointless, almost childish. Yet stepping out felt like he would be laying himself bare.

Eventually, his rational side won, and he revealed himself slowly, discarding all the concealment spells running.

But not without priming himself for action at the slightest provocation. His eyes were already watching the grey and ash clothed monsters closest to him for the slightest movement.

Aegis had already prepared preemptive spell suggestions for a scenario where he might have to fight his way out.

"Oh? I thought you to be slightly older, friend…" the white-clothed figure muttered in surprise. "Calm your nerves," he chuckled, noticing Zephyr's extreme vigilance, "None here shall attack you. You have my word."

Zephyr's eyes narrowed, before flitting over to the white-clothed figure.

"J—Just now… you were speaking Elvish, right?"

The figure raised a brow, "I guess that will naturally be your first question…"

"Yes. That was Elvish," he nodded. "You speak the tongue?"

"How do you know that language—?" Zephyr shot immediately, "In fact, how do you understand me right now? How are we conversing?"

From the little head seen so far, Zephyr was sure the 'universal language translation' the Voice of The World mentioned earlier didn't apply to monsters.

"Friend, in order to have a proper conversation, you must be courteous and respectful. It is unbecoming to treat this like an interrogation."

Zephyr clamped his mouth shut, realizing he'd been too forward. "Fine. Then… will you explain?"

The figure smiled softly where he sat. "I could, but explanation often spoils discovery. Tell me, human, how would you explain what stands before you? A creature not of your world, and yet speaking words born of it. What does your mind reach for first?"

Zephyr frowned, caught off guard by the question thrown at him. The way the monster talked was soothing and straightforward, without any hint of pressure. It made him lower his guard slightly.

"There's no explanation that makes sense. Unless… someone or something taught you… But I don't see how that's possible… The Voi—" Zephyr suddenly stopped mid-sentence. He had nearly let on more than needed.

A small smile touched the figure's lips. "Good logical reasoning, and very cautious too… intriguing."

Zephyr clenched his teeth, "I've answered your question. Will you answer mine now…?"

The figure studied Zephyr for a long moment, as if analyzing, before sighing, "I understand you because your tongue is not foreign to me… I have spoken it in ages past. And as for the Elvish… that was no accident either, considering it is my mother-tongue."

Zephyr's eyes widened in shock. "…Are you saying you are an elf?"

The figure gave the faintest shake of his head. "I am saying I remember what it is to be one. There is a difference."

Zephyr stared blankly, unable to piece together whether this thing before him was monster, elf, or something far more complicated.

Host, his phrasing suggests some sort of reincarnation, or possession. Tread carefully, he might be baiting you towards a confession of your own nature.

"You are wary," the figure nodded in appreciation. "It shows your worldview is not hard-fixed... You believe me."

"Not fully," Zephyr shook his head. "You say you lived as an Elf. Where?"

"Aeonvar, Kingdom of the Elves, on the plane Astralis… what you now know as The Supreme Universe…"

Zephyr took a step back subconsciously, staring at the figure with wide eyes.

"Wait, wait… I don't get you… Are you trying to tell me—?"

"—That I predate everything you know, even down to the very history you've been taught. Yes." The figure answered with closed eyes.

Zephyr was rooted in shock. His eyes moved to the rest of the monsters in the cavern, all of them with their eyes closed and a solemn look on their faces.

"Then, all of them…"

The figure nodded. "Exactly as you think. Though none are from my time, they bear the same fate as I. Varieties of consciousness, trapped in bodies alien to them, in a time far gone from whence they lived… Relics of times past, now knives used to sharpen the only weapons of Origin…"

"..."

Zephyr went silent in deep contemplation, digesting the words he'd just heard, before eventually raising his head.

"Your last statement… What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said—?" the figure started before frowning slightly. "Wait... You do not know of your purpose here…?" he stated more as a realization than as a question.

"Not at all." Zephyr shook his head, a tinge of eagerness leaking into his voice. The fact that this was someone who could potentially shed light on things he really wanted to know made him nearly lose composure.

But he reigned himself in, schooling his expression. He kept Aegis' words at the back of his mind. The goal of this... elf—? had not been revealed yet. So even without being told, Zephyr still knew to be wary.

He was going to analyze every single word that came out from the figure's mouth from an objective perspective.

He wasn't going to buy everything just like that.

Even now, he still had doubts, but chose to push ahead with the questions for the meantime, giving the figure the benefit of doubt.

"What universal grade is this trial?" The figure asked, confused.

Zephyr paused, debating whether that was crucial information or not. "You don't know?" he probed.

The figure glanced back up at Zephyr, narrowing his eyes. "It seems you still harbor doubts." He nodded.

"Shall I reintroduce myself properly then?" He stood slowly from his seated lotus position, making Zephyr take a few steps back in caution.

The figure took a step down from the slightly elevated platform where he sat, his aura climbing with each step, all grey and ash-clothed monster clearing a path subconsciously as he stepped forward.

"My name is Lytheron A'Uthiel Ryx."

"Progenitor of the Uthiel family."

"Tier 8 Paragon of Flux…"

Each title he uttered was followed by a step forward, and each step forward was followed by an exponential increase in pressure.

A terrifying oppression had permeated the whole cavern. One that wasn't tangible… wasn't even mana based, but purely mental. The natural oppression that came from being in the presence of a being like 'Lytheron A'Uthiel Ryx', a Tier 8 Paragon, inspite of the current body he resided.

He looked Zephyr dead in the eye...

"So... Do you still doubt me?"