CLACK! One of the mages pointed his staff at Arad, charging a fireball. “Burn to ash!” He shouted.

In a crimson flash, the massive ball turned dark red in color, expanding toward Arad’s face. He swung his wrist up, smacking the ball to the sky.

“GIH!” The mage gasped, stepping back as he saw Arad swing the sword at his neck. Mist Step

Covered in silver ash, the wizard disappeared leaving a weak magical presence. He appeared a fair distance away, pointing his staff at Arad. “AH! Lady of mysteries and magic, grant the student a hint of your wisdom.” The wizard’s body ignited in an eldritch flame as he smiled, giggling.

“What are you doing? You idiot!” One of the other mages growled.

The mage smiled, the flames dancing around his body. “Today, I shall offer thy a dance within magic. Let’s play,” he pointed his staff at Arad.

Arad stood there, staring at the mage. For some reason, his presence now overshadows the other mages. Arad walked sideways, staring at the mage and inspecting his mana with the void eyes.

^I thought he was getting power from the goddess of magic, but he isn’t. This is his own power, albeit he’s emitting more than what he should be able to handle.^

^The last spark of a mage’s life, all wizards dream of freely wielding magic. Command it to their heart desire without fear of backlashes or failing spells.^ Doma laughed, glaring through Arad’s eyes. ^That wizard is ready to die and is charging at you in a suicide, his spells won’t follow normal rules so be careful, or let me handle him.^

^Nothing I can’t handle,^ Arad clenched his fist, lunging at the wizard, “Time to put you to rest,”

“Fire!” The wizard shouted, sending a blast of flames at Arad’s face.

Arad swung his arm, trying to deflect the flames, but he ended up frozen.

CRACK! Arad flexed his muscles, shattering the ice and looking around. The wizard pointed his staff forward, “Frozen while burned? How interesting, what about teleport?” He vanished, and Arad’s body shook, his chest caving in as he got blown back.

CRACK! Arad smashed several trees before stopping as the wizard landed on the ground, pissing himself and lacking an arm.

BLUH! The wizard puked blood, “Damn it, how the ** did time stop? I only wanted to touch your chest to cast a curse, but it resumed and you were blasted.”

Arad coughed, standing up as his chest healed, “Stopped time? The hell you do that?”

“I don’t know,” The wizard smiled, “It could be the fourth or tenth formula of the eldritch runes, but I’m not sure.” He replied honestly, “Make sure to write that down after my death. I only sucked enough magic for a fourth-level spell, while stopping time usually takes a ninth level.”

“I’m not a wizard,” Arad growled, “Your knowledge is dying with you,”

The wizard smiled, “That’s also good, Magic is magical, and its mysteries shall be solved, in due time.”

Arad blinked, staring at the mage as he heard Doma speak some words in his head.

“That was the second line of the runes, you didn’t stop time, but slowed it a lot.” Arad recited what Doma told him, she was an expert in magic, and even she was observing the mage’s last spark of life.

The wizard’s eyes opened wide, You’re right, how could I be so blind!” He cried, laughing, “I see! Getting half mark isn’t half as hard as getting a full mark. Those last few grades are the most time-consuming,” .𝒄𝒐𝒎

He took a deep breath and started approaching Arad, “My esteemed scholar. I’m Jergal of the Shadow Fort, a wizard.” He bowed, blood dripping from his burning severed arm, “I have a request of thee, a deal, even though you said deals were over.”

Arad glared at him, “Speak,” He kept an eye on Mira and let the other try touching her.

The wizard smiled, “I know how to make deals with your kind, I tried to warn him. Poor muscle head,” He looked back at the fighter’s corpse.

“Here is the deal,” He smiled, “I want you to record the details of my death, the magic I’m about to conjure, and keep that for future scholars.”

“Why would I do that?” Arad glared at the wizard, “And what do you get from it?”

“You get the spells, the possibilities of magic.” He paused, “You can even name the spells yours, I do not seek glory, or wealth in this mortal world. All I wish for now is that something I helped start would make it into the goddess of magic’s library, something that could impress her, even by a little,”

The mage walked forward, staring into Arad’s eyes, “Shall you keep my last spark of life engraved into history, so I may get the lady of mysteries favor?”

Arad smiled, “Fine, I’m fighting you to death anyway, show me all the magic you can cast.”

The wizard smiled, “Our base, I assume you know its location. Kill everyone, don’t let a soul escape. I felt blood magic from the client who wanted the girl, I assume his spawns have already infiltrated the place.” He pointed his staff at Arad, “This is it, I don’t have much time left.”

BAM! Jergal flew toward Arad with a storm of magic raging across his body, he swung the staff in his hand, releasing a booming thunder wave that sent Arad rolling.

SWOSH! A burst of flames burned beneath Jergal’s feet as he blasted forward with a lightning spark, his lost arm growing back with flames.

Arad swung his sword down, cutting the wizard’s newly formed arm with ease. “It isn’t sturdy,”

“But it allows me to make magic hand signs, so it’s useful,” Jergal smiled back, opening his mouth, “By the mana! Release!” He barfed a wave of acid, rotting the trees as Arad barely dodged it and flew to the sky.

“I’m here!” Jergal smiled, appearing behind Arad and expanding his arms. “Shaking waves!” He roared.

Arad’s senses heightened, he could sense the danger. He could see the mage’s hand slowly move, leaving after images as he could barely move.

CLAP! A lighting bold emerged out of nowhere, blasting Arad’s legs away into dust.

As Arad growled, Jergal’s right arm disintegrated, and his body was failing rapidly.

Jergal smiled. “One last spell, can you heal your legs?”

CRACK! Arad’s legs grew back in the blink of an eye, “With ease. Is this all you got?”

“Almost, but this is the last spell,” He smiled, taking a deep breath, “Sorry, this might hurt you badly.”

Jergal pointed his leg toward Arad as he didn’t have arms anymore, he smiled, “Holy magic and curse magic are two faces of the same coin. The same basics of magic, yet the result is drastically different. Those words are the epitome of blasphemy, but I see potential in it. Magic is forbidden by all gods except the goddess of magic herself, she won’t mind me trying that at the end of my life.”

Sparks of golden goodness and dark pure evil swirled around Jergal. His soul screamed in agony as he smiled, “Bodhi-Micah, goddess of magic and arcane arts. I plead to you, grant me your holy magic so I can defile it with curses for the sake of magic and knowledge, a forbidden knowledge.”

Arad shivered, he could feel a powerful presence glaring down at them from the sky, she was watching.

Holy magic engulfed Jergal’s body, she is allowing him to do it. And on top of that, Jergal started crying as sparks of curse magic came with the holy magic.

The goddess herself provided him with both holy and cursed magic so he wouldn’t defile his soul.

Jergal burst laughing, “As you wish! My lady, my short lady! I shall do my best, mess everything with a laughing tornado of doom!”

Black and golden winds engulfed Jergal’s body, and Arad lifted his arms to block it. ^The hell is this?^ He could feel it in his skin, regeneration wouldn’t save him from this, one hit and his soul would get snuffed out.

Doma burst laughing inside Arad’s head, her body spinning like a storm, ^I know it! I know it! That is why holy magic can dispel curses and why curses can defile holy objects. How beautiful, how ugly, and how magnificent.^

^Did you go crazy? We’re about to die!^ Arad growled at her, transforming into his draconic form and teleporting Mira all the way to his lair.

It only took him a blink, but Arad smiled as well, “Fine, I shall swallow that spell of yours!” He opened his jaw, changing the properties of his void to only erase holy and cursed magic.

“It’s sloppy, ugly, and unrefined, but look at this!” Arad shouted, Devoring void

A burst of void rushed forth as a spear of holy and cursed wind flew down, clashing in a brilliant flash.

CRACK! Arad fell on his legs, his skin burned and his wings fell off as ash. Jergal’s head floated, in front of him, burning in an eldritch blue flame. “My spell, my magic, my life’s worth, take it and make it known to the world. The goddess of magic allows me a peak at her face, or library of I’m to indulge myself.” His face started disintegrating, “If you ended up in her heaven after death, look for me, we can share a drink. My friend that I only know for a minute.”

Arad’s body instantly healed as he stood, “My we meet again. But until then, I shall put your magic to good use.”

***

Arad transformed into his draconic form, being even bigger than his very young state. He’s young now, and his power has grown far beyond his past self.

Arad’s mind quaked as he looked in the direction of the attacker’s camp, “I can sense them,”

This evolution mainly affected his mind, giving him several powerful psionics abilities that the void dragons are known to abuse in space where matter is scares.

Controlling lesser creatures like animals, and influencing humanoids’ mental statuses. The ability to manipulate people and bend them to his desire.

That also pushed his cognitive function to the limit. Now his brain extends from his head to the tips of his fingers and toes, each nerve is now an extension of his brain, neural cells encased in the void, folded over a thousand times and keeping records of his body and surroundings.

Even if he was beheaded, chopped into a thousand pieces. Like an annoying worm, he would grow a new body and keep fighting.