The Ancient One looked at Alaric and did not know what to say.
Before she could believe in the creation of dimensions, she could still accept the idea of a small universe. But to create an entire dimension? That was something only beings like the Vishanti could do.
"Can you really do that?"
"Probably." Alaric smiled.
"What happened to that little universe you created earlier?" the Ancient One asked, with a hint of curiosity.
"It's fine, but there is still no life in it."
"Do you want to take a look?" Alaric offered.
"All right."
The Ancient One nodded, wanting to see for herself what was different in the universe he had created.
"Give me your hand."
She extended her hand, and Alaric took it. In the next moment, both of them stepped into the small universe.
As soon as they entered, before the Ancient One could pay attention to the surroundings, she was enveloped by powerful and pure magical energy. It was so dense and potent that she could almost feel it in every breath.
Her own white magic within her body reacted, as if revived and strengthened.
This feeling the Ancient One recognized, the only time she had felt something similar was when, through spiritual entry, she had accessed the Supreme Dimension and encountered the Vishanti.
But then it had only been through spiritual travel. Now her entire physical form was truly immersed in a space filled with this incredible power.
It was as if her whole body was bathing in a warm and invigorating hot spring, wiping away all exhaustion and fatigue that had accumulated over the years.
"What is this?!"
The Ancient One raised her gaze and saw an enormous silhouette standing in the center of this universe.
When she focused, she recognized, it was Alaric!
Or, more precisely, something that looked like him.
"Is this your double?" she thought in disbelief.
But then she felt endless magical energy radiating from that being. From it flowed an unceasing force, one that reminded her of the very presence of the Vishanti.
"This is my God of Magic," Alaric said calmly.
"God… of Magic?" the Ancient One repeated, confused.
She knew the meaning of those words, but combined together they sounded to her like something unimaginable.
"That's right," Alaric continued, "this is my own God of Magic. It was created based on what I learned from the Vishanti."
The Ancient One was stunned.
To create a God of Magic? Was that even possible?
It was known that whoever opened a new dimension and reached power at the level of the multiverse could be worshiped as a God of Magic. But Alaric was still nowhere near that level.
His power could not even be compared to those who had reached the Heavenly Father level, let alone beings of higher order.
Yet before her was the proof.
However, if looked at this way, the Ancient One discovered that Alaric's magical god was indeed much weaker than the Vishanti.
At least with the existence of the Vishanti, the Ancient One could not grasp how strong their upper limit of power actually was.
On the contrary, the Ancient One could clearly see the limit of Alaric's god of magic. She could estimate where its ceiling of power was, but even so, what she had just witnessed was shocking.
Alaric had simply shattered all her notions of what was possible and impossible.
"Then… this of yours… what does it actually do?" the Ancient One asked, unsure herself how to form the question. Her words sounded pitiful compared to what she was seeing.
"Hmm… it probably means I can use magic without worrying about running out of energy and without paying any price." Alaric replied thoughtfully.
"No price at all?"
She gave him a sharp look, and in her heart a spark of envy appeared. Unlike him, she had always paid a price. Every use of dark magic came with debts that she could avoid only by her own death.
"This is my own God of Magic. I use my own power. Of course, there is no need to pay a price." he said calmly.
The Ancient One let out a deep sigh. Comparisons were cruel.
But then she felt something strange. She frowned and focused.
"Hm? Here… there is also Dark Magic energy?"
She could now clearly see that this little universe was not filled only with white magic. Half of the space was occupied by light energy, and the other half was dark.
And in the very center, Alaric's God of Magic was shaped by the merging of both forces.
He had actually fused them.
"Yes," Alaric nodded, "this dark energy I brought from the Dark Dimension."
When he had received power from that source, he had also shaped the Black God of Magic.
"Can I use your magic?" the Ancient One suddenly asked.
"Yes. Just tell me which you want."
The ease with which he said that made her uneasy. As if he was completely indifferent to what he gave others.
"White magic," she said after a brief hesitation.
"All right. Give me your right hand."
The Ancient One extended her hand to him.
Alaric took it and connected to his God of Magic. On her palm appeared a white, radiant trace of light. At the same moment, a vast amount of pure magical energy began to flow through her body.
"This feeling…"
The Ancient One closed her eyes and felt the power stream through her. It was an inexhaustible source, an endless sea of power. She felt as if she had gone back decades, to the time when she had been at the very peak of her strength.
For years she had tried to use as little magic as possible, to avoid creating new debts.
That was why she often acted more like a warrior than a sorcerer. In Kamar-Taj all magi were trained in close combat, but for her it had also been a way to avoid paying too high a price.
But now, here, through Alaric's power, she felt no burden at all. Only pure, radiant strength that returned her youth and power.
She opened her eyes and looked at him seriously.
"So, what price must I pay?"
"None." he answered simply.
"My magic is mine. As long as you have my permission, you can freely use it."
"No price…" she repeated softly.
For her, this was contrary to the very core of magical knowledge. Every power always demanded an equivalent, every force came with a price.
But it seemed that for Alaric, those rules no longer applied. For him, the common sense of the magical world simply did not exist.
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