How different could it be…
"I'm sure everyone here knows what a spirit is, right?
I don't…
"Nevertheless, spirits are Coherent Environmental Mana or what we call CEMs. They are self-aware mana constructs predating biological life, formed when ambient M⁰-bosons neural analogs achieve quantum coherence in nature's crucibles; their birthplace? M⁰-BEC Ley-line storms, geothermal vents, glacial cores amongst the others."
They should be immaterial beings, invisible entities… Things that shouldn't exist but do… Not some fucking particles gaining sentience…
"We know based on archeology and M⁰-BEC backdating that the earliest spirits formed approximately 1.54 Billion years after the creation of Yithra, when the crust of the planet had stabilised. These spirits are now known as The Primordial Spirits or called The Yuán shén by the Wǔlín up North."
"Pinnacle-Class Fire Spirit. Keraunos. The Lightning Roc—oldest of all the spirits, Three billion years ago, Yithra offered no sanctuary for life—no ozone to shield, no air to breathe, only a seething crust and skies choked with fury. A forge and thus, the perfect dominion for a spirit that needed no protection."
"However, by nature, it is the Primordial Spirit of Fire, an ember from the dawn of creation. Yet through will or necessity, it has transcended its origin, forging itself anew as a sovereign of storms, its essence reforged into crackling, sky-splitting lightning."
"But what if i tell you, this metamorphosis was no accident. I'll elaborate further when we get to the Primordial Spirit of Water…"
"Currently, Keraunos resides in the Stormbreak Spiral on the 50th floor. Asleep. If it does one day wake up, then I promise, the world will be reshaped by its storm."
No differences…
"Next, its brethren, Pinnacle-Class Earth Spirit, Tectumis. The Living Island—the second oldest. In the crushing depths of Yithra's early mantle, where pressure birthed diamonds and tectonic plates were still molten, Sentience learned to command not just rock but itself—its snores echoes in earthquakes that rise and fall like breath."
"Current location of Tectumis is unknown but as its name suggests. Out somewhere in Yithra's vast ocean sits a sleeping island. Not one of stone but one of primordial mana."
No differences…
"Following this, opposite to the land, Pinnacle-Class Wind Spirit, Eurytos. The Seraph—The second youngest spirit. Fueled in Yithra's pre-oxygen hellscape, where the sky was a weapon. Mana did not adapt—it ascended, peeling away its physic's form to become the wind behind all winds."
"Mere descriptions would not be sufficient to describe its majesty. But in summary, it is said based on historical record that it is a wheel within wheels of storm-choked wings, each feather a fractured hurricane, rotating in perpetual, screaming motion.
Bodies like braided lightning, interlacing in a helix of gale-force chaos, its core a black vortex where air goes to die. What resembles eyes across its wings, weeping liquid vortexes, each blink a continental pressure drop."
"Current location of Eurytos is unknown and may never be known."
No differences…
"Finally… Pinnacle-Class Water Spirit. Tarteros. The Leviathan—From what we know. It is the youngest of the Four Primordial Spirits, though "young" is relative—it emerged approximately 2.8 billion years ago, during Yithra's hyperacidic oceanic phase."
"But… topological mana defects suggest a great war between the 4 spirits that reshaped the entire Yithar. Residue suggests the first usage of mana in an offensive formation was in the element of Water. Although its motive remains unknown. This initiated the war against Keraunos, Eurytos, and Tectumis. The result? Seas that were sulfuric brines—scars from the Primordial War that reshaped the planet.
"In addition, we know that Tarteros is the most aggressive Primordial Spirit, with no recorded evidence of its existence. Except one. I will narrate it to you now. The Tiamantic Event"—Excerpt of Admiral Seron, Year 422 A.R.
"At precisely the sixth hour past midday, the horizon of our seaside village darkened—not with storm clouds, but with something far more terrible. The creature surfaced without a sound, its arrival marked only by a silence so profound it weighed upon our lungs like a tomb's embrace. From 500 meters offshore, we stood frozen, helpless witnesses as an abomination from the deep breached the waves.
Its form defied nature's laws. Even at such a distance, its sheer scale warped perception—an elongated, obsidian monstrosity, serpentine yet alien, dwarfing ships like driftwood. Along its nightmarish body pulsed rows of sickly blue orbs, throbbing with a rhythm that mimicked a heartbeat, yet cast no light. Instead, they stained the mist a venomous red, as if the very air had been poisoned.
Its hide was no natural armor. Hundreds of jagged scales shifted unnaturally, writhing like the limbs of a gutted starfish, each barbed tip twitching with predatory awareness.
Then came the impact. When its mass crashed back into the depths, the ocean itself seemed to scream. The resulting boom was not mere sound—it was the voice of the abyss, announcing the end of all things."
Everyone in the room shudders.
No changes to the Tarteros… Except the eyewitness account… It was never there.
"Based on this eyewitness account, Tarteros is conservatively estimated to be a colossus of at least 5 kilometers in length, with a girth spanning 1.2 kilometers in diameter—a living cataclysm given form. As such, it leads me to my hypothesis. The reason why Keaunos decided to derive itself into a spirit of lightning rather than fire was to counter Tarteros. It makes perfect sense. If the spirits had a conflict between each other, then logically, they'd adapt to counter the threat if it ever does resurface in the future."
Everyone gives an understanding affirmation.
"And that fact is a chilling one. Given Tarteros's role as the antagonist during the Primordial War, it had to leave such an impression on the other 3 Primordial Spirits so much so that they'd consider adapting for the future. We can only pray it now harbors the planet's best interests at heart… assuming such a concept even applies to something so far beyond mortal comprehension"
Archivist looks up at the clock.
3 PM
"It seems like we have run out of time to discuss anything further. We will discuss the History of the First Mage on Thursday. Students, dismissed."
The students linger in chatter, dissecting everything we've just listened to. But me? The revelations hang thick in the air—each more impossible than the last.
Try to be optimistic, Isaac. At least the world's general lore remains familiar. But beyond that…
Magic is science here.
The truth settles like a stone in my gut. No mysticism, no divine mystery—just equations and quantum defects given form. And now, I have no choice but to accept it?
My gaze flicks to Xuě Xīlián. She watches me with that knowing calm, as if she'd already unraveled the universe's secrets long before today. How?
Then it hits me—if magic obeys rigid laws here, then what does that make…
Cultivation?
"Xue'er..."
She glances up from her notes.
"Hm?"
"You're at the Physical Building stage, right?"
"Mhm." She nods.
"If you're free later... Could you explain Cultivation to me?"
"I've got time. Where?" She says while tilting her head.
"The Grand Library. They'll have reference materials for me to understand better."
"In thirty minutes?"
"Yeah. See you."
She gives a small wave as she turns to leave.
But that recurring thought snaps back to me.
"Wait—Xue'er! Why study at EIMA if you cultivate? I mean I don't see any other cultivators?"
She stiffens. The red she always puts on her face creeps up again.
"..'causenobodcanusebothexceptme..."
"What?"
She turns straight at me, uttering out the words properly, slightly louder and more defensive.
"Cause nobody can use both. Except. Me."
My expression flatlines.
.
.
.
What the fuck.