Sovereign of the Ashes

After completing his latest alchemy experiment, Sein decided to take a brief vacation.

Experiments could not be completed overnight, and Sein felt the need for a break—a desire he rarely entertained before.

Ever since his memorable time with Leena in the Western Archipelago, Sein had been slowly trying to live his life a little more normally.

Aside from accepting Eileen's invitation to attend several masquerade parties hosted by other mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, he also took the time to shop in the commercial areas outside of the divine tower.

Despite knowing that Sein was now a married man, Eileen continued hanging around Sein and inviting him to all sorts of parties without a care in the world.

Considering that Eileen had slept with Sein and Selina once before, she probably stopped sweating the small stuff.

After all, mages rarely start a family, and singles like Eileen were common.

Why restain themselves if they had no desire to start a family?

In their relentless pursuit of truth, mages often seek entertainment to revitalize themselves.

For Eileen, whether it was enjoying masquerade parties or spending time with Sein, these moments of leisure offered a necessary respite from her rigorous experiments.

Despite Sein being her only man, Eileen believed she would never find anyone better than him.

Eileen was not a wanton female mage; she was content with having just Sein as her lifelong companion.

The commercial areas around the divine tower had thrived in recent years.

An influx of war resources from the Verdant Leaf World significantly enhanced the diversity of goods available for sale.

During the war, the participating mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring encountered numerous plant and insect creatures from Verdant Leaf World, securing many valuable specimens.

These exotic creatures from foreign planes often attracted the attention of many curious mages, being quite rare and intriguing to the other mages in the Magus World.

The construction of the Verdant Wave Canal has also increased visitor traffic to the area.

After wandering through the commercial area on the outskirts of the divine tower, an impulse struck Sein.

He contemplated opening an alchemy or apothecary store in the commercial area—an idea that seemed well-suited for a more relaxed, retirement-like lifestyle.

At just over a hundred years old, Sein was considered quite youthful for a full-fledged mage.

However, by the standards of an average human in the Magus World, Sein would be seen as an elderly man in his twilight years.

His half-brother, Solon, had passed away four years ago during the final year of the Verdant Leaf World War.

Neither Sein nor Kelman could attend his funeral.

Perhaps for beings of Rank One or higher like them, who wielded extraordinary power and possessed lifespans far beyond those of ordinary humans in the Magus World, certain emotions typical of lower-ranked humans gradually faded with time.

In the end, Sein merely sighed softly as he watched the golden sunset from the harbor on the outskirts of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The thought of retreating into seclusion to run a magic shop held some appeal, but it was not the right time to do that yet.

Maybe someday, after reaching a certain level in the elemental realm, he might consider it.

With one last look at the setting sun, Sein turned and soared toward the upper floors of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The life of experimentation and research that defined him awaited.

Unfortunately, Tourmaline was still in deep slumber; otherwise, Sein could have spent some time with her.

She had once promised to help with some basic experiments and muscle tests, but they had not made much headway.

Sein had simply been too preoccupied recently to focus on these experiments.

And Tourmaline had likely forgotten about them altogether.

She was sound asleep beneath the Jewel Sea. Only her island-like shell was visible above the water, covered with rare plants.

***

The year following Sein's return to his routine experiments at the divine tower, Marie, a full-fledged mage from the Divine Tower of Dawn on the South Coast, came to visit.

Decades earlier, Sein had met this friend of his from the Black Magic Academy in Mystralora City while he was traveling along the South Coast.

At that time, Marie had not yet advanced beyond Rank One, but she had already distinguished herself in the field of apothecary and proved her capabilities during the regional academy war at the Divine Tower of Dawn.

Now, reappearing before Sein, Marie had become a full-fledged mage and participated in an interplanar war.

"Six years ago, the Divine Tower of Dawn concluded our conquest of a low-level plane named the Blazing Crystal World," Marie began.

"After the war, I returned to the Magus World and sent a magic letter to you at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. However, it seems that your tower was engaged in the Verdant Leaf World War at that time, and I never received a reply."

The woman sat across from Sein inside the living room, smiling.

"Yes, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was indeed fighting the Verdant Leaf World War then," Sein confirmed with a nod.

He glanced at Marie, noting that she appeared even more radiant than he remembered from their youth, and continued, "I did make a brief return to the Magus World during that time. But I was preoccupied and unfortunately overlooked your magic letter," Sein explained.

"It's fine, it gave me a reason to visit this time. I thought I had caught up with your achievements, but to my surprise, you've already ascended to Rank Two," Marie remarked cheerfully.

Sein and Marie's relationship had been primarily sustained by their friendship from their teenage years at the Black Magic Academy in Mystralora City.

It had been decades since the last time they saw each other. Although Sein had shared a passionate night with Marie before, he still felt slightly awkward around her.

Marie, however, seemed completely at ease.

Perhaps this was the unique strength of a mature woman?

This made Sein think of Natalya, who was also of similar age and status, and he shook his head slightly.

During their conversation, Marie inquired about Sein's adventures in the Western Archipelago and his recent travels across the Magus World.

Since everyone in the living room was Sein's acquaintance, he spoke openly.

Aside from some of the events in Blackhaven, he told Marie everything, including his reunion with Leena and the others.

Naturally, Marie was delighted to learn that some of the aquaintances from her memories were still alive.

Although she used to be scared of Leena, Marie found herself genuinely congratulating Sein on their reunion.

Perhaps only Marie, an "old friend" from Mystralora City, could truly understand the depth of the bond between Sein and Leena.

As Sein and Marie conversed, a tall young woman emerged from the collection room with Selina.

The girl, wearing her hair neatly in twin ponytails, was Marie's junior who had accompanied her on this visit to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Of course, Sein remembered her well.

Decades ago, she had been an extremely mischievous little girl. Now, much to Sein's surprise, she too had been promoted to a Rank One mage.

Initially, Marie had no intention of bringing her along. However, the girl was simply too clingy.

Additionally, Marie's mentor, who often secluded herself in the laboratory, left the responsibility of guiding her to Marie.

It could be said that Marie practically watched Angie, this Rank One female mage, grow up. Yet, Angie's whimsical nature gave the impression that she had never truly grown up at all.

Sein was indifferent toward her, but Selina appeared to have taken a liking to Angie.

It had not been long since they met, yet they had already bonded well.

Selina even took Angie to explore her collection room, which housed not only Selina's most prized living specimens like activator fairies but also some exotic acquisitions from Verdant Leaf World.