Castor gazed at the night sky. His icy eyes followed the stars, finding differences in the constellations. In Kaerne, clusters of stars had a specific meaning and mystical power. People born on the day when the stars of a certain constellation burned brightly in the sky received either blessings... Or curses. Those born under Oleron became strong warriors, those born under the Magus became magicians. But those born under the Harpy were "rewarded" with moral or physical deformities. Brinel himself was born under Leviathan, which determined his future fate.
"The fate of the souls?" The dragon's voice was so malicious that it could have killed, if not for his current position as a pitiful spirit inside an artefact. And this was the result of extreme stupidity and...
"I understand, I understand! I'm sorry!" Ddraig roared, unable to hold back. Castor smiled more warmly.
In this world, the stars did not have the same power as in Kairn. There was no sense of the great beauty that lay behind each cluster and directed the real power capable of changing destinies. And Brinel didn't like that. As a mage and as a man who had been able to touch the cosmos and its beauties hidden from mortal eyes. The great mysteries would remain closed to the local humanity...
"Which isn't so bad. Despite the enormous potential of this knowledge, some of it is deadly," the mage thought coldly, resting his head more comfortably on the grass. Hton, the Ethereals, the Forerunners, Yugol... The last one should not be mentioned aloud, in texts, rituals, or spells. An eternally hungry deity that came into being with the universe itself — the embodiment of insatiable hunger that devours everything. Planets, stars, cosmic dust, galaxies, light, gravity, time and space. This dark side of the universe leaves nothing behind. Absolute emptiness.
Brinel closed his eyes, adjusting the piece of cloth beneath him that separated him from the grass. Kairn could not be saved; that was an objective fact. Not because of the Chthonites or the Ethereals, who were transforming the world around them or tearing whole pieces from it. No. His world had been sentenced to death many millennia ago, when the Corvant archmages decided to touch the beautiful infinite, but in their stupidity touched Yogul. Their thirst for knowledge turned first into a craving, then into an insatiable hunger. Unquenchable, growing. There was no escape from it.
"You didn't tell me all the details, of course, but... I wouldn't want to live in your world, partner," Castor shrugged at the dragon's words. In the endless variations of universes, there are no absolute zeros. Any planet can be mortally ill, and any of these worlds may be home to a parallel version of Ddraig or Castor. And they don't have much chance of surviving.
"Well, thanks. Now I'll know that somewhere, instead of being sealed in a mechanism, my version is being eaten alive by intelligent shrimp!" the dragon muttered, and Brinel shrugged again. In infinite variations, anything is possible. Even the sick fantasy of an old lizard about intelligent sea creatures. How much more realistic are the ancient creatures of the depths, capable of driving people mad with their mere presence, sending images of insane knowledge into their minds. Grabbing the living with their tentacles and slowly consuming their souls, stretching their agony into eternity, not allowing the dead to fade into oblivion...
"Gods, partner..."
***
Yasaka did not go beyond his expectations, handing him the documents necessary for a normal life. In addition to the papers confirming his education, Castor planned to enrol in educational institutions on his own. Why? Naturally, to gain a pleasant experience from attending an academy, school or university. Castor had lived his life for the greater good, lived in confinement for the good of the empire, lived through the apocalypse for the sake of humanity... Now the mage wanted to live for himself. Not for anyone else, but only for himself. The life of a grey and inconspicuous person, slowly withering and ageing, unwanted and unnoticed.
"Partner, I understand your feelings, but you've already attracted attention," Ddraig's voice sounded tired. The mage understood the logic behind the dragon's words. Logic backed up by facts. The presence of Longinus, the incomprehensible magic that was uncharacteristic of a human, judging by the yokai's reaction. Extremely uncharacteristic, if you add Yasaka's reaction. But did this fact evoke any response within Brinel, other than irritation and humility? No. Existing as a flame that attracts moths, which are more dangerous and bloodthirsty than any wild beast, was not new to him.
"It is foolish to try to hide or conceal one's secrets. Excessive mystery tends to attract the attention of curious creatures. Determined curious creatures, to be more precise," Castor said aloud, staring at one of the brightest stars in the sky.
"But demonstrating all your abilities doesn't have a positive outcome either. Hunting one person because of the danger they pose is not conducive to a peaceful life. Turning into a natural disaster mage is not part of my plans. Such an existence would prevent me from living out my life.
Castor raised his dark square glasses to eye level, which were presumably meant to hide the unnatural light of his icy eyes. As Yasaka explained, most ordinary people are unaware of the magical part of the world. Why? The fox couldn't answer that question properly, so either Brinel would simply ignore this fact, or she would become the one to open the eyes of all humanity... The latter wasn't the best idea, considering Cairn as an example.
"Some secrets must be forgotten for our own good."
What to do now? The mage did not expect to get what he needed so quickly, and it was a pleasant surprise. His bank account (banks existed in Kairn, and their work was practically no different from that of the local banks) contained a nice sum, enough to buy a house and live without the need for a source of income for... Theoretically, five years. Castor was unfamiliar with local prices, so he had to make only rough estimates.
"It's still a hefty sum. But didn't you sell yourself short, partner?" asked Ddraig, whose greedy, hoarding nature protested against handing over Yasaka's alchemical gold in exchange.
"Creating this artefact component does not require great skill or experience. Only diligence and a willingness to do monotonous work," Brinel breathed in the cool night air. He had... had enough time to acquire these skills... Too much, to be completely honest.
Therefore, it was time to remember this skill and delve deeply into local history and technological development. To find himself in a world that had surpassed Cairn in terms of science and not reap the pleasant fruits of this labour that had been cultivated for centuries? That would be sacrilege on Castor's part towards those scientists who wanted to make humanity better without using magic or the help of deities.
"The technology is more advanced than in Cairn," Castor stood up with one movement and looked at the city glowing in the night. His eyes looked with a slight resentment at the city that was awake even at night. Perhaps, if Kaerne had had time, it could have achieved the same heights and standard of living. Settlements that never fell silent day or night, safe roads without the threat of attack by cannibals, ferocious beasts or bandits. Yes, Brinel knew about the harm of envy to morality, but he couldn't help it. Everything he saw could have been his at home. Humanity would have reached the stars without the need for gods or their "miracles," which were nothing more than the borrowing of someone else's power.
Brinel glanced around the city once more, noting that his soul felt an unusual sense of longing and regret. It was as if... an important piece had been torn out and thrown away, who knows where. Castor's eternal smile faded slightly. Logic dictated that his decision regarding Kairn's fate and his desire to live for himself were understandable. But... The mage looked up at the starry sky and sighed, the smile fading from his face. Somewhere out there, among the great and beautiful, floated pieces of ice — his homeland. The experience of many generations had been destroyed in the desire to punish those who had doomed his kind to extinction. Their cultural and magical heritage was gone forever, with no possibility of restoration, even in theory.
"However, it would have been destroyed anyway, but much more slowly and painfully. It would have slowly decayed under the influence of ether and chaos, while countless graves silently watched. The outcome is the same, but the amount of agony is immeasurable," said Castor, closing his eyes. A meaningless smile appeared on his face once again. It was more of a habit than a necessity.
"I wonder how my sister would look at me if she knew what her younger brother was thinking.
Brinel sighed. The realisation that he was no longer bound by the chains of the old world and its traditions sent his thoughts into a meaningless wander. There was no specific goal to focus his brainpower on, so his mind frantically searched for anything to fill the void. Castor sighed wearily.
"I need a good night's sleep," the mage rubbed his nose, trying to remember the last time he had had a full night's rest... No luck. His head was filled with nothing but chaotic thoughts and unpleasant memories.
"You need not only sleep, but also sex," Ddraig said in his head, making his thoughts even more frantic. "It clears your head, and not just your head!" The dragon laughed, and Brinel just shook his head. He was familiar with the spirit of nothingness, but that was enough time to understand a couple of simple truths: Ddraig was an insensitive, greedy, malicious, and insolent lizard who had no sense of propriety.
"Aha! And I'm glad you figured that out so quickly!" Castor thought he saw the huge mouth widen into a grin.
"I'm beginning to doubt the wisdom of your staying here. Perhaps I need to recall the rituals for banishing luminaries.
In response, the dragon merely snorted, not believing Castor's threat. The mage smiled a little wider. He had never threatened, only stated facts. It was a pity that Ddraig might experience this firsthand.
"I wonder what can be done with the scales...
***
Castor... He didn't understand the local people. Even after a couple of days of walking around the large local city. Their appearance — short stature, narrow eyes, and predominantly dark hair — didn't bother him. But their mentality... Strange. Most likely, the root of this lay somewhere in the history of this country, but now Brinel was studying the local technological marvel — the Internet. Something that was missing in his home world. However... The invention of the telephone caused a sensation in Cairo, becoming the latest innovation. Here, massive telephones were replaced by small ones, the size of a palm or even smaller!
The Internet impressed Castor with its main feature — easy access to information without having to visit libraries or bookstores. All the knowledge in the world, mixed with outright rubbish, was at his fingertips. It was the latter that made the mage smile irritably, his eyelid twitching occasionally. Instead of filling the boundless library with useful information, they... spread blatant lies, brazenly claiming that they were true! This infuriated Castor even more than his mind could have imagined!
The mage's eyes were fixed on his smartphone (a rather interesting name and device, which was a pleasure to figure out) with undisguised discontent and disappointment in his eyes, hidden behind dark glasses. Instead of filling a virtually limitless library with useful knowledge and promoting it to the masses, they watch silly video clips (an entertaining thing, very entertaining...) with cats, idiots, spoiling the gene pool and supporting delusional ideas and manipulative schemes designed solely to steal their livelihoods! Truly, no matter how much a group of intelligent, educated and honest people want to change the world for the better, a horde of stupid, paralysed imbeciles and mistakes of nature will destroy any work because of their own dried-up nuts in their heads, which are only mistakenly called brains! Statistically speaking!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" exclaimed Ddraig as Brinel's smile twitched nervously. "Take it easy, partner! Or these idiots will get you cancelled!"
"This society is slowly degenerating under the weight of its own ignorance, which it has created itself. Any invention quickly becomes a mass-market product, which ultimately leads to complete brain drain and the emergence of zombies," Castor said calmly, stating this sad fact. But in his case, nothing more perfect could be imagined: a world that is grey, but at the same time created for grey people. This was exactly the kind of person the magician planned to become, except for the part about voluntarily amputating his brain.
"Such thoughts lead to no good... There was a similar artist with a moustache here..." the dragon said slowly, but Brinel paid no attention, switching his attention to a real estate advertisement. One interesting offer caught his eye. Kuo... I need to look at the maps...
***
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