Reincarnating As A Prince in the DC Universe

19

…

The elderly man walked with an air of authority that matched his stature. His silver hair was neatly trimmed, framing a face marked with deep lines of age, wisdom and experience.

His tall, muscular frame was concealed by a dark, flowing mage's robe.

As he walked through the restricted hallway, the massive portraits of legendary figures hung on the walls, towering over them.

Their eyes, forever immortalized in paint, seemed to follow the group as they passed, adding to the weight of their footsteps.

Finn and Aiden followed silently, their attention unconsciously drawn to the looming figures on the walls.

The Grand Magus' voice echoed slightly in the stone corridor as he began to speak, "Ian Shiskin," he said, nodding toward the first portrait, a man with wild dark hair and fiery eyes.

"He revolutionized elemental magic theory, ensuring that even novice mages could master multiple elements if they had the will."

Aiden and Finn nodded in understanding.

As they moved to the next portrait, he gestured toward Cherdian Sokolov, a stoic man with piercing blue eyes. "Sokolov was responsible for our knowledge of magical boundaries and wards. His contributions to defensive magic are unmatched, even today."

'He was probably that much afraid of pain.' Aiden thought offhandedly with a slight smile.

The Grand Magus continued down the hallway, his voice steady but filled with admiration as they passed the painting of Cromwell Stingwood, a man with a thin, calculating expression, holding a spellbook tightly.

"Stingwood, a master of forbidden magic. His theories paved the way for our advanced research into the unknown, but with great cost..."

Aiden and Finn exchanged glances at the level of admiration the Grand Magus had towards the man.

Aiden, though, understood that if it wasn't for this man, so many magical theories would've just remained that - Theories.

He paused before the next image.

Dmitry Kashin's portrait depicted a man with a mischievous grin, a staff in hand. "Kashin, the trickster. His illusions were so powerful, they said he could walk unseen even in daylight. But more than that, his combat strategies turned the tides in countless battles for Atlan."

Aiden wasn't overly surprised by this as he had read of this man's records in the library back in Atlan's Castle.

He was impressed by the man's ability to use illusion and knew it was only possible through light manipulation. An element he took possessed.

Giving the picture a respectful salute, Aiden continued on his way.

Finally, they reached Marta Farherich, the only woman among the heroes. Her serene face and glowing hands hinted at her mastery over healing magic.

"Farherich... She perfected the art of magical healing. To this day, we use the methods she developed to save lives on the battlefield and beyond."

Aiden and Finn listened intently, these were things they already knew, but for some reason, looking straight at them in this manner elicited a cacophony of emotions from them.

This woman, Martha Farherich for example was Mira's role model.

Martha had used Healing magic so expertly that she could make an army seem immortal on the battlefield.

"In the long history of Magic, these five are the only ones said to have reached the pinnacle of magic and stepped into the Divine Realm."

The Grand Magus said as he came to a stop in front of a massive door. "Come." He said and placed his right hand on the door.

Instead of opening up like a normal door does, it simply phased in and out of existence before a Portal formed following which the Grand Magus walked in.

Aiden and Finn exchanged glances, and despite their calm exterior, they could both see the seething excitement in the other's eyes.

…

"What do you think of Ancient magic?" The Grand Magus asked as he sat opposite the two young men, a cup of tea in hand as he gazed at them.

The two were taken aback for a moment due to the suddenness and randomness of the question.

"It's basically a fairy tale. Myths even. There was no way magic existed that could wipe out a mountain and split the sea."

Finn, Aiden, Jaxon and Mira were once young and aspiring mages who had also read through this particular branch of magic, and while it sounded powerful, as they climbed through the ranks of Magic, they were quick to discover how absurd Ancient Magics were…

…All except one.

Aiden, who knew that Ancient Magic truly existed.

"Good." The grand Magus nodded and turned his gaze to Aiden. "And you?"

"I do not have an opinion, however I do not believe that they were fairy tales and myths. There are historical records and academic materials of it having existed." Aiden replied.

"Hohoho. That already is an opinion." The Grand Magus laughed and said before dropping his tea cup.

"Ancient magic. One would ask: Why hasn't anyone managed to demonstrate one such act using ancient magic? And there will be no answer other than: If only we could continue our research…" he said and laughed hollowly.

"I had spent a good part of my days as the Grand Magus to continue the research of Master Cromwell Stingwood into why Ancient Magic had been Hidden away from us Mages for so long. Despite his advanced studies into forbidden magic, he still wasn't able to…" the Grand Magus paused and sighed sadly.

"He theorized however, that the only way to use this magic was to tap into the Source."

The SOURCE.

Which Mage didn't know of this?

The Source is the Source of All there is. Matter and Energy itself came from the Source.

The Universe itself came from the Source.

"In that theory, he stated that we all share a connection to this Source through our Mana pools, but that was not all there was to it. It was that connection that made it possible for Mages to Manifest matter from Mana, and not only that, they could also affect reality."

Aiden nodded to this as it was something he was already aware of.

Similar to the Grand Magus, he had delved into the various studies of The Grand Magus Cromwell and had developed the theory of his Force based on his principle of the Source.

"According to records, with a single spell, mountains were erased, seas were split in two, and armies were annihilated. Ancient magic is not just a fairy tale. It was, in fact, a part of history, all achieved by our predecessors."

"If those really did happen, why have people forgotten about them?" Finn asked which caused Aiden to frown and turn to him.

"Don't be rude."

"It's okay." The Grand Magus waved at Aiden to dissuade him from rebuking his friend. "That is an intelligent question, the answer of which is…Time."

"Time…?" Finn asked to which the elderly man nodded.

"That is now terrifying the power of Time is. Didn't you learn that in the Academy? Magic is deeply related to the flow of history. Time passes. Hundreds of years and then hundreds more…thousands even."

"Long ago, the era of war amongst nations of humans came to an end. The current Empire backed by powerful Archmages unified the Continent, the Emperor who unified the continent named the nation Atlan, in commemoration to the Body of water surrounding us." The Grand Magus narrated before taking a pause and fixed his gaze on Aiden. "He was your ancestor."

Aiden nodded already knowing this from the History books he had read from the Royal Palace in his childhood.

Finn on the other hand looked at Aiden with a whole new light.

His friend had this type of ancestry and he was only just finding out?

"Although the then Empire was later split into the Seven Kingdoms on the continent currently, it still retains a certain level of power in the Magic Towers scattered all over the Continent…do you know why?"

"He declared an era of peace." Aiden replied to which the Grand Magus nodded happily with a bit of melancholy.

"At that time, the destructive firepower of Ancient Magic lost its usefulness because war and mages are not needed in a time of peace, the Empire sent the Mages to research labs. The Emperor deemed it better to research Magical Engineering to help the lives of the Imperial Citizens."

"Handling of magically appearing calamities and Sites that were neglected due to the war was also important, so to efficiently conquer them, new magic had to be developed. Magic with strong firepower was optimal for annihilating enemies, but…"

"If you use that kind of magic in enclosed spaces…" Aiden said in a low voice. "It could prove disastrous."

"Exactly. That is why for safety and efficiency, Magic was Changed. The Principles of Intervention, Intercepted and Manifestation was created. Magic that was powerful but had a narrow destructive range along with high accuracy became dominant."

"Like the ones taught in the Tower Academies…"

"Hmm." The Grand Magus nodded with a hum. "And that's how the modern magic system, which values speed and accuracy developed while magic with destructive fire power lost its usefulness and became…Ancient Magic."

"So to put it nicely, it's traditional, but to put it bluntly, it's outdated. Since no one seeks it, its lineage was cut off, the materials were lost and the practitioners starved because they couldn't find jobs…"

"As the Empire stabilized, a few people would eventually become interested in Ancient Magic, but the gap in history had already grown too wide."

"Legends became Myths."

"Myths became Fairy tales."

"And Fairy tales became…illusions."

"No one remembers the Legends that actually existed."

"Then…" Finn who had been listening intently suddenly spoke up only for his words to hitch at his throat, but steeling his resolve he looked at the Grand Magus and asked. "Is it possible to learn it..?"

"Of course-"

"Then-"

"However, Ancient Magic isn't something you can use just by learning it. For effective [Incantation], you have to study ancient runes and memorize Various Chants. More importantly, you have to transform the Magic Veins engraved in your body."

"What does that mean.?"

"It means you'd have to reset everything you've built up so far and start anew." Aiden replied this time while looking at the Grand Magus with narrowed eyes.

He could already conclude as to why the Grand Magus had called for him.

"What?"

"Young Aiden is right." The Grand Magus nodded while stroking his beards. "You'd naturally be unable to use the magic you've learned so far, you'd have to revert your greatest strength, mana, and elemental affinity to nothing. Are you okay with that?" He asked, to which Finn hurriedly shook his head.

"Then…" The Grand Magus began again, but this time, his tone and aura changed completely as he faced Aiden. "Could you imagine my surprise, upon my return, two of my Archmages specially tabled your…development, stating that a monster that comes once in a thousand years had been born and had possibly created a new branch of Magic…one ever so similar to those of Ancient Magic."

"Huh?"

"Pardon?"

Finn and Aiden blurted out at the same time.

Finn out of confusion at being accused of such an action.

Why would he or Aiden give up everything they've built so far for something that wasn't…till a few moments ago, a myth?

Aiden on the other hand, was confused as he wasn't really sure if what he had created was Ancient Magic or not.

Although he had an inkling following his ability to fluidly use all the elements as he pleased, he didn't think towards that area since he was still using his Energies to power his Force.

Since Grand Magus Cromwell theorized a necessity for Mages to Tap into the Source to Use Ancient Magic, he had theorized to reverse engineer the process by Fusing all his energy to Create his own Source which he named the Force

'It couldn't be…could it.?'

…

A/N: It just came to my attention that despite the amount of Views this Fanfic gets, it lags behind in terms of Power stones.

C'mon guys. Pull in your stones here for me so we can have more people reading this wholesome story.

Enjoy.