I've Got A Mana Processor In A Magic World

"Algernon Digit…" Zephyr muttered the name.

"Yes. It was almost as though he was destined from birth to forge the path of spell logic," Lytheron pursed his lips. "As even his name correlated with his achievement…"

"But I digress," he shook his head. "Algernon was said to be a very inquisitive fellow right from childhood. He questioned things, tried to find the reason behind every single thing… every single spell."

"He was known as the 'why man' by his colleagues and friends as he grew. But that wasn't what defined him. He wasn't the first to be inquisitive," Lytheron waved dismissively with a flat tone, almost like he was undermining that aspect of the history he was retelling. "Even I was very inquisitive as a child. In fact, it is how I was able to reach the heights I did," he proudly said, pausing like he was expecting some words of adulation from Zephyr.

That fact though, was lost to Zephyr, as he stared blankly at the elf, simply waiting for him to return back to the main matter being discussed, somewhat impatiently even.

"Ahem." Lytheron cleared his throat after an awkward silent few seconds, muttering something along the lines of 'current era' and 'lack of conversational tact'.

Zephyr, realizing after the fact, inputted, "...Oh wow! So even you were a genius too. I knew that 'Progenitor' title wasn't simple…"

But instead of having the intended effect, it only made things more awkward, as though Lytheron had been begging for praise…

Lytheron quickly continued, eager to end the weird interaction. "—While there had been many like Algernon, what separated him from the others was his intellect… He was said to have been an enigma. A genius of arithmetics like none other, with a free, imaginative mind to add…"

"He questioned why all magics could exist in the first place. Why they all could be actualized despite the differences in language, differences in methods, mediums, style…"

"He posited that there must have been something that translated all the various intentions into real magic—" Lytheron paused, laying emphasis on his next words. "Intention… Remember this word clearly, young Zephyr, for it is the key to everything. And it shall be mentioned more frequently, the further we go…"

Zephyr nodded lightly in response, listening with rapt attention.

Lytheron continued, "Algernon walked the path of the Spellsongs, trying to discover why the language he spoke could be actualized and turned into magic. He forged forward with this endeavour for the most part of his early youth, but it wasn't until he was nineteen that he made a breakthrough…"

"He published a journal titled, 'The World Translator', where he approached things differently."

"Essentially, he used his terrifying insight into arithmetics to come up with a set of code. A language that could be used to translate every single intention, regardless of the base language, method, or medium of magic it originated from…"

'Isn't that Binary?' Zephyr thought silently.

"The codex he created for this was called… The Dyad Codex."

'Dyad Codex? So that's what they call Binary Language back home…?' Zephyr filed the information away.

Dyad means 'two', host. A 'duality'... So it actually is a good fit in this case.

'Hmm' Zephyr hummed a response, 'Sounds kinda cooler too…'

Lytheron's voice brought him out of his reverie, and back to reality.

"Nearly all people thought him mad for trying to understand the workings of magic itself, for trying to create and impose his own logic… But the fact remained that it did work. His method was accepted by origin, and not just that, it was also superior," Lytheron scoffed.

"Having control of the translation itself gave him even more control, more room for fine-tuning his magic. He became the most powerful mage of his era… by far. In fact, if it wasn't for limitations of the human mind, he could have gone ahead to become the first Tier 7 equivalent. But records pegged him as a late stage Tier 6 equivalent at his peak."

Zephyr raised a brow in question, which didn't go unnoticed by Lytheron, who nodded with a finger raised.

"Yes. By the current standards, Algernon would only be classified as a Tier 6. But even that was more powerful than any other of his time! Every 'powerful' figure of that era was a Tier 4 equivalent at most!"

"And just like you would expect, others also followed in his footsteps. Years down the line more and more geniuses built and expanded upon that which Algernon had built, working together with Algernon himself… It was looking to be a defining era. One that would have been spearheaded by Algernon and his followers…" Lytheron let out a sigh. "That was, until the discovery of another universe…"

"The Exploration Era…" Lytheron said with a tone full of weight.

"Suddenly, everything that Algernon had built, everything he had fought to establish, was no longer the sole focus of the world. The Dyad Codex still had its place, yes, but interdimensional travel eclipsed it. The ability to move between worlds became the new prize, the new obsession."

He smiled wryly, as if wondering at the inevitability.

"The major powers, the established nations, even the upstart families… all of them sought new footholds beyond the borders of the world. Entire dynasties reshuffled themselves to stake claim to the riches and mysteries of the other realms that had opened up to them. Resources upon resources flowed into Astralis. Trade, knowledge, even marriages between peoples who had never laid eyes on one another before…" Lytheron paused to catch his breath. "…It was chaos, but also, opportunity. The kind that came once in a civilization's existence..."

Zephyr frowned lightly. "So… they just moved on? Just like that? Algernon's work… didn't it change magic forever? Even today—"

"Oh, it did," Lytheron replied quickly with a finger raised. "But you must understand that in that age, the novelty was overwhelming. Algernon's new spell logic was remarkable… But a new world, young Zephyr? A new people? Entirely alien magics…? That, seized their imagination far more. Exploration became the frontier that every race and every nation dreamed of and pursued with all vigor."

Zephyr nodded slowly, absorbing the picture being painted. He could understand the novelty of it… the necessity of it.

"And let me guess, these other worlds…" Zephyr asked, shaking his head. "They weren't anything like us, right…?"

Lytheron's smile turned faintly wistful. "No. They were not. That vast universe teemed with peoples unlike anything you were born to. Races with bodies you would scarcely recognize, with ways of thinking, of being, that was utterly foreign. And each of them had their own magics."

"Some could be classified under spellsongs, some emitters, and others… enhancers like Astralis knew. But the specifics of theirs were wholly different. Diverse expressions of intention, forged from the very nature of their being."

He chuckled softly, with a tinge of respect. "But despite this diversity, none was still as far-reaching as Algernon's path of logic… at least he was able to carry that understanding to his grave, rightfully proud of it even at his death…"

"...because, if he had lived but a few years longer…" Lytheron shook his head, chuckling. "He wouldn't have had even that to hold on to."

"There was a path even stronger?" Zephyr asked, fully absorbed in the history Lytheron was retelling.

"Hmph!" Lytheron snorted.

"Do not make the mistake of thinking Algernon was unchallenged. In Astralis, he was an enigma, yes. A genius without equal. But there were other races among the numerous civilizations that had been unveiled, races that learned of his Codex… of this strange arithmetic language that translated intention into magic."

"Brighter, sharper, born of wholly different minds, who understood not only what Algernon had created, but how to push it even further."

Zephyr leaned in slightly, frowning. "They were that much smarter than he was?"

Lytheron inclined his head. "Smarter in their own ways. Algernon had cracked a door open. A door that was at a height only a select few could reach… But because there were now hundreds of thousands of worlds… even those 'select few' were now as plentiful as stars in the night sky…"

"There were even some who quickly reached the same height, and were already peering through, looking at what laid beyond." He paused here, smiling wistfully.

"There was one in particular. A woman. Not of your ki—" He quickly caught himself. "Not human…" he corrected.

"Her people were… unique. Their very anatomy was different in a fundamental aspect... They did not interact with mana as humans did — through spellsongs or anything of the like. No… within them was an organ. Not of flesh, and not quite of spirit either, but something… other. An organ of magic," Lytheron paused with a knowing smile on his face.

"A magic organ?" Zephyr blinked, unsure if he had heard right. "You mean like a mana core…?"

Lytheron nodded once, chuckling lightly as he rubbed his chin. "Yes. A mana core! The organ that served as the locus of their intention!"

"You have more to say, young Zephyr…" Lytheron stated matter-of-factly, grinning as he observed realization coloring Zephyr's face.

Zephyr swallowed, almost as if he was afraid to say the words he was very obviously thinking, "Y—You have been talking about humans so far… but never have I heard you mention your race even once… Elves."

Lytheron's grin grew wider, bordering on unhinged.

"Yes!" He spread his hand. "The woman I speak of was of my kind! An Elf! From the world Drasil! And she was a genius. An enigma even among an already erudite race! Just as Algernon had redefined what magic could mean in his world, she too repurposed her very nature itself!" His tone rose with each word like a crescendo. "She reshaped her core! Remade it into a tool that could calculate the Codex, faster! Cleaner! Sharper than any living mind! What Algernon had strained to compute with mortal thought, she embedded into instinct. Into her very being…"

Lytheron breathed out raggedly, slowly coming down from the peak which he'd brought himself to.

"Her name: A'Aeil Aurelis Aur. The mother of all magic we know today… The Original Progenitor."