Magister Insanity

The next morning, I stirred awake, or rather, was stirred by the deep, gnawing growl in my stomach. There was no need to glance at the runes; the shadow's hunger had almost certainly crept past [60%].

The sensory feedback from the shadow was... quite interesting to say the least.

As before, it hovered inside the female dormitory. It wasn't spying on them while they showered or changed; its gaze carried a different kind of hunger.

Everything flooded my vision: the faint, glowing outlines of souls drifting about obliviously, and the irresistible aroma each one exuded. If not for my subconscious restraint, I was sure the shadow would have struck already. It slipped from corner to corner, using the darkness as cover and feeding a steady stream of information into my mind.

"Goddamn it. That perverted shadow. Is that what you do first thing in the morning?"

Scratching the back of my head, I clicked my tongue irritatedly.

Imagine waking up from sleep and the first thing that entered your view was panties or breasts. Some might appreciate the view, but for me it was a bizarre and exhausting way to begin every morning.

Oh, and did I forget to mention? The shadow did this 'every' morning.

Because of it, I had, against my will, witnessed all the so-called "goodies" of the girls in the academy for almost two weeks or so.

If even one of them discovered this, rumors would explode like wildfire, and I'd be treated with even worse disregard than before.

Speaking of which…

Wasn't there someone who always managed to detect my shadow?

My brows knitted together.

Come to think of it, there was actually someone like that within the female dormitory.

To be specific, the Oni that frequently visited the library.

And let me be clear about something: I have never ordered my shadow to spy on girls. Yes, the imagery it dragged back could make for excellent "flipping material" if I were some degenerate, but I've never commanded it to peek! The shadow does that of its own free will! I was innocent. In fact, I would even go as far as to say I was the victim here!

I just wanted to clarify that before moving on.

Now, where was I? Ah, yes… the peculiarities of that mysterious demonic species.

On one of the many mornings when the shadow decided to indulge itself by prowling the female dormitory, it happened to slip into her room while she was changing. Ordinarily, nothing unusual. But what happened next made me caught my attention.

The Oni actually turned her head, glared directly at the shadow, then calmly resumed what she was doing.

At first, I dismissed it as my imagination. After all, no one had ever sensed the shadow before, especially when it used the surrounding darkness as cover. But it didn't stop there.

But then it happened a second time.

And by the third… well, as the old saying goes: once is chance, twice is coincidence, thrice is certainty.

She turned, looked straight into the darkness, and muttered one word:

"Pervert."

That definitely couldn't have been a coincidence.

She could perceive the shadow.

How interesting indeed. Had she been using an unknown means to do so or was it a sequence ability born from her Legacy? No. The demonic species were fundamentally different from the other races.

If my memory served me right, they were the descendants of the Shadow God, one of the Great Ones — the greatest powers known during the Pre-Emperor Era. This age, also called the First Epoch, encompassed the creation of the world.

According to history, all things began with a single being. From that being, everything else came forth:

The Divine Creator.

He who awakened from Chaos and shattered the primordial darkness, bringing forth the first ray of light on the first day. From that light, all else was shaped. Yet Reality, the Soul Realm, and Fate were still entwined as one, and together they were known as the "Genesis Tree."

On the second day, the Oldest Sleeper birthed the Eternal Sun Goddess, and with her came the first foundations of order. Reality and the Soul Realm separated from the Genesis Tree, each becoming its own domain, while the Silver Strings of Fate began to flow. Soon after, the Mother Tree of Depravity sprouted, introducing evil and desire into existence. Then arose the Dream God, who established order and brought forth the shadows.

On the third day, the Oldest Sleeper lay with the Mother Tree of Depravity, and from their union was born the Mistress of Fate and Misfortune. From then onward, the destinies of all beings became woven together, no longer cast in pure chaos.

On the fourth day, the Oldest Sleeper was slain by the Eternal Sun Goddess. She merged his body with the cosmos, shaping all of creation from his corpse. His flesh became the land and stars, one of his eyes the sun, and the other the moon.

On the fifth day, she shaped life from his remains. From his lungs came the Elves, from his heart the Titans, from his other organs the creatures of the sea and beasts of the land. His brain birthed the Dragons, his kidneys the Serpents, his hair the Phoenixes, while his ears and mouth gave rise to the multitude of beast races. His blood and fluids spilled forth to form the Crimson Seas.

On the sixth day, from the remains of his stomach and entrails, the Shadow God was born. With his coming, evil creatures entered the world; Monsters and other unknown malevolent entities without number.

And on the seventh day, the Lord of Eternal Wisdom and the Ancient God Supreme emerged, and from them humanity was born.

Thus ended the First Epoch.

The Second Epoch followed, an age of upheaval. Races defied the natural order by practicing the arts of Sorcery, rebelling against the system of the Gods. These blasphemers called themselves Sovereigns, mimicking divine Mysteries until some ascended to godhood themselves.

But pride and difference bred conflict. Disputes of nature, thought, and desire ignited the Great Old War, a blood-drenched struggle among all races. Humans, weakest of body and mind, became slaves to survive, crushed beneath the might of Elves, Dragons, Titans, and beasts.

This continued until the rise of the Golden Emperor, an ordinary man who became vessel to the Ancient God Supreme. Through him, humanity stood, and the tides of war shifted. Balance was restored, and no race could gain dominion.

Finally, the races reached a decision: each would withdraw into a separate domain, sealing themselves away.

The Elven Domain, created by High King Thalorian, became the world of Elves.

The Dragon Domain, created by Vaelthrys, the Dragon of Cataclysm, became the world of Dragons.

The Beast Domain, ruled by Gnashra the Beast King, became the world of beast-folk.

The Frost Domain, wrought by Astra the Forgotten Giant, became the world of Titans.

The Flame Domain, raised by Ignathys the Azure Flaming Bird, became the world of Phoenixes.

The Sea Domain, formed by Solaryon the Trident Ruler, became the world of waves.

The Ash Domain, wrought by the Demon Monarch, became the realm of demonic species.

The Human Domain, created by the Golden Emperor, became the world of humanity.

In all, nine worlds came into being.

But with the dawn of the Third Epoch, history grew ever more complicated. Due to unexplainable circumstances, eight out of the nine worlds were destroyed and the nine Sovereigns died.

The histories tell us little of this age. None truly know what befell the worlds, yet it was said the Dreadspire first rose within this era.

Some claim it was wrought by the Demon Monarch, a blasphemous creation that tore open the veil and unleashed monsters and demonic beasts upon other realms. At first, such a tale seemed fitting, for the timing aligned. But upon reflection, this claim lost credibility.

Why would the Demon Monarch cast down his own dominion merely to ruin the others? Surely he was not so mad as to burn his throne with the worlds of his rivals.

Even more troubling are the lingering questions:

Why was Earth, the Human Domain, the lone survivor of the nine?

And what part did the Crossbloods play in this dread design? For that matter, how were they even born?

Regardless, the blame for the entire tragedy fell upon the demonic beasts, tied inexorably to the Shadow God, or the Demon God, as the locals chose to name him. The records suggest that the Demon Monarch himself bore a troublesome nature, forever seeking to breach the other domains and claim them as his own.

Thus, suspicion lingered. The races remained ever wary of the demonic species, for within their veins flowed the lineage of the Shadow God.

Such a lineage was nothing to scoff at. The nature of the Shadow God was ever-shifting and unpredictable, so too were the legacies of his spawn. Each demonic kind bore peculiar traits and uncanny powers, along with physical forms unlike any the races had seen before. In fact, they were more mysterious than even dragons, having similar strengths as well.

Would it be wrong to say they were the one of the main powerhouses of the Soul Realm?

I think not.

Naturally, the female Oni was shrouded in mystery, her abilities strange and elusive.

From the gossip I've heard in the female dormitory, her name is Shura, the second-ranked Sleepless of this batch, just beneath Gundric. Her Mythic Code is Chained Seer. What a curious title… perhaps her gift lies in perception, glimpses of fate, or in fragments of divination.

The second rank belonged to a demonic species. Who would have imagined? I found myself wondering how she came to possess such a Mythic Code.

Rising, I loosened my limbs with a brief stretch before making my way to the bathroom. The mirror seized my attention, and for an instant, I could not look away. My eyes were sunken with dark circles and my skin ghastly pale like that of a vampire starved for blood.

I frowned.

This is becoming troublesome. If I fail to kill someone and sate the shadow soon, I might truly die this time.