278 The Truth Brothers

Out of Asda's expectation, before their lesson began, Thales raised the index finger on his right hand, gesturing that he had a question.

The Mystic arched one of his eyebrows and nodded at him.

"Mister Sakern, six years ago, I once asked you the same question—what are Mystics?" Throat stirring, he carefully scrutinized the Mystic's expression even though he knew that during conversations, Asda rarely showed any visible movement. "But at that time, you said that you weren't able to tell me the answer to that question."

Asda narrowed his eyes. "Continue."

"You also said that you couldn't tell me what Mystics are based on your understanding," Thales said, feeling puzzled. "But now, you're…"

Thales stared doubtfully at the Mystic.

Asda stared at Thales for quite a while, and when Thales started to feel his blood run cold, he finally nodded. "You have a pretty good memory."

Thales arched an eyebrow and subconsciously lowered his head.

'Indeed.

'Everything that happened on that horrifying day six years ago is still vivid in my mind. I can't forget it even if I want to.'

However, Thales received an unexpected reply while he held his breath and waited for an answer.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Asda laced his fingers together. Ten slender fingers overlapped with each other uniformly. His expression was apathetic and his tone was cold, as though he had become that rational, emotionless Air Mystic once again. "So, today, you have to tell me what Mystics are."

Eyes widening slightly, Thales was a little surprised. "Me?"

"Yes." Asda nodded. He was unsettling as always. "This is especially important… What do you yourself think Mystics are?"

'Especially important?'

Thales caught on to the odd phrase in Asda's words, and he subconsciously opened his mouth to ask, "Why is it especially important?"

Asda's gaze flickered a little.

"It's a little too early to talk about that now." He swept his calm gaze past Thales. There was a scrutinizing look in his eyes, as well as a warning. "I need you to answer my question first."

The prince stared suspiciously at the Air Mystic.

But the latter continued to stare at him in a serious and calm manner.

In the end, after three seconds, Thales suppressed the curiosity in his heart and inhaled deeply.

"Umm, I have some thoughts and inferences. I've done some research too." He recalled what he read and found in the library for the past six years… even though there were many books that he did not have the chance to read in detail yet.

'What is a Mystic?'

"I have only met two Mystics." Thales lowered his eyes and stared at the chessboard and pieces, which were now not moving at all. Recalling and looking for the right words, he probed. "You, Mister Sakern, and Giza Streelman. You can control the air as you please. The Blood Mystic can control flesh and blood, even plants, which is beyond my imagination."

Asda did not agree or disagree.

"So, I have a supposition. All of your so-called names of origin explain the nature of your powers, right?" Thales' expression became increasingly serious and solemn. "Air and blood?"

Asda still did not react. His fingers stayed interlaced. This made the prince recall the bald Archduke Lecco from Defense City. He too liked to rest his arms on the table and lace his fingers together.

"I reckon that Mystics can completely control things of a certain domain, such as air, blood and other things; as long as something is an objective existence that's included in that domain." Thales continued carefully, "For example, the Blood Mystic can control tree roots, blood and flesh. It's perhaps because, the domain of 'blood' includes…" 

But Thales' voice slowly became softer and more uncertain… He suddenly remembered a book he read in Mindis Hall a long time ago, "Battle of Eradication Chronicles: The World's Destruction", and what was written in one of its pages.

[However, when the Power Mystic appeared, eight thousand from the Mountain Elves Patrol and fifty thousand black-armored elites from the Dynasty Dawn Army were destroyed.]

'But… the Power Mystic?'

Just as he was being puzzled by his own words, Asda spoke softly.

"The ultimate form of an objective existence."

The charming man in the blue robe spoke in a gentle and pleasing voice, "A long time ago, when the first batch of Mystics were born, a lot of wizards thought so too. The most renowned ones among them were part of the Alchemy Tower's 'Material Science Faction'."

Thales furrowed his brows a little. "The first batch of Mystics?"

He did not even remember to ask what "Material Science Faction" was.

"Yes. With lightning, water, blood, and many other examples, the names of origin of the first batch of Mystics were very convincing." There was a hint of blue light in Asda's eyes. "There were even wizards who concluded that 'Mystics are the final outcome we get after seeing through objective truths and the natural order of everything. It is the ultimate form of control we have on foreign bodies, and our names of origin represent this control.'

"We once thought that this was the truth of Mystics."

Thales nodded and pursed his lips.

But the next moment, the light in Asda's eyes disappeared.

His voice became icy once again.

"Until the two of them appeared.

"They broke our initial and also most superficial understanding of Mystics."

"The two of them?" Thales was shocked. "Who?"

Asda turned to the street outside the balcony. His expression was solemn. "Two wizard apprentices from the Ascetic Tower."

"The Ascetic Tower?"

Thales thought of something.

Ramon had introduced it to him before in the camp when they were on their way to Dragon Clouds City from Black Sand Region.

"Yes.

"The first of the three towers. It is also the Magic Tower with the longest history. It has the most mysterious appearance and most detached status." The Mystic's gaze seemed to drift far away once again. "It's also known as the Square-Tipped Tower."

Thales was about to ask about the Ascetic Tower, but Asda seemed to know what he wanted to say. The Mystic raised his hand and signaled for him to keep quiet, suppressing his curiosity.

"Those two wizard apprentices were orphans. They were adopted by the Ascetic Tower when they were young. And in the hands of those careless old wizards, they didn't even have normal names. Each of them was only assigned a letter.

"For example, one of them was nicknamed 'L'.

"They self-deprecatingly said that names were like truths, and there was no need for any verbosity."

Thales furrowed his eyebrows hard.

'L.'

The Mystic slowly turned and stared straight into Thales' eyes. His words slowly became solemn. "So, when the two apprentices, who were good friends both found their names of origin, the other Mystics gave them an interesting nickname.

"The Truth Brothers."

'The Truth Brothers?'

Hearing that, curiosity rose in Thales' heart. "Why did you say that they broke all of your understanding towards Mystics?"

"Because one of the Truth Brothers," Asda stared quietly at him and uttered a strange term, "his name of origin is… idea.

"The Idea Mystic, L."

At that moment, Thales was utterly stunned.

'Idea…'

Behind them in the chess room, Wya grumbled softly to Ralf, but Thales was too busy to notice it.

"Idea?" he subconsciously repeated Asda's words in a soft voice.

'Neither an easily understandable existence like air, nor a term with a far-reaching meaning like blood…

'Instead… idea.

'What in the world is this?'

Thales widened his eyes. Perplexed, he immediately raised the index finger on his right hand and tried to cut Asda off.

"Hard to imagine, isn't it?" As though already expecting Thales' reaction, Asda curled up the corners of his lips slightly. He signaled Thales to go ahead and ask.

"What sort of Mystic is he… What can he do?" the prince asked urgently.

"You can freely imagine how the Idea Mystic and his abilities could be like." Asda shook his head. "But even the other Mystics and I, who have met L countless of times can tell you in the most final and resolute tone that… even if you exhaust all your brainpower, you won't be able to imagine it."

Asda said, rather profoundly, "Because we're not L, and you're not L."

Thales paused momentarily once again.

'So this means… they don't know too?'

The Air Mystic said airily, "If Mystics were the ultimate forms of objective existence, how could we explain the appearance of L, the Idea Mystic?

"Now, try to rethink my question.

"What are Mystics?"

Thales exhaled. He may have gained some understanding about Mystics just now, but now his mind was a mess once more.

"If Mystics are not limited to things that exist objectively…

"Then, they're collections of related concepts?"

The frustrated Thales furrowed his eyebrows. "Ideas, air and blood. All of them can be considered concepts. But—"

Asda snorted softly again.

The prince's thoughts were cut off by the soft snort. He could not help but raise his head.

"So, what in the world are Mystics?" Not wanting to guess anymore, Thales asked a little impatiently. "Air, blood and ideas? Isn't the difference between them too big?"

Asda quietly met the prince's gaze. Three seconds later, under Thales' stare, he finally spoke.

"L's appearance shows that our understanding and imagination regarding Mystics are still extremely superficial. The 'Material Science Faction's' explanation has completely been shattered.

"But he wasn't the only one.

"It's not an exaggeration at all to say that the appearance of each new Mystic more or less increases our understanding about ourselves." At this moment, Asda was like a meticulous accountant settling accounts, patient and serious. "L isn't even the most shocking Mystic. Wait until you hear about B, Kirei and Solovski… or even the Fate Twins… You'll be even more amazed at how interesting the world of Mystics is.

"Every Mystic is different. The world through every Mystic's eyes is also different." The next moment, Asda revealed his rational and apathetic expression once again. "There are very little similarities between Mystics.

"To merely categorize us into the same type of 'human', 'life form', or even 'existence', and to only understand us within this domain, then try to conclude what Mystics are… It's undoubtedly far from enough.

"And reality has time and time again repudiated the models as well as we've made to explain and understand mystic energy." He seemed to sigh emotionally. "Everyone in history who's claimed to have grasped the totality and truth of Mystics, and think that they can explain 'what Mystics are', whether they're wizards or Mystics themselves, have proved to be childish and laughable.

"If you harbor the thought of 'finding out what Mystics are', you'll be disappointed… L is an example."

The Mystic looked at Thales once again. "Do you understand now?"

Staring at Asda, Thales could not help but clench his teeth lightly.

The bewilderment in his heart only grew stronger.

"I don't understand."

Thales enunciated his words, feeling extremely doubtful. "You didn't answer my question."

Asda shook his head. "Quite the contrary. This was what I wanted to tell you."

Thales was still puzzled.

"First of all, I'm not here to answer the question 'for you'. Instead, I'm here to 'help you' answer the question.

"Next, you're still not thinking carefully about every single sentence I've said like I told you to." Asda's gaze went sideways a little. "I have to the greatest extent, expressed what Mystics are to you."

The prince opened his mouth to speak, but when the words were at the tip of his tongue, he found that he could not give them a voice.

'Think carefully about every single sentence he's said?

'What does this mean?'

Finally, after staring at Asda for a whole ten seconds, the prince gave up the thought of finding out the answer to the question.

"Just like six years ago, you just don't intend to tell me what Mystics are, right?" Thales pressed his hand on his forehead in resignation and said, a little disheartened. "You wanted me to state my opinion. After I stated it, you said that it was wrong, and told me that there's no correct answer…"

Thales suddenly stopped speaking.

'Wait.

'Think carefully about every single sentence he's said…'

The prince's pupils started to slowly contract.

A thought crossed his mind.

"I seem to understand a little now.

"You didn't tell me what Mystics are." Thales put down his hand from his forehead and stared at Asda in an absent-minded fashion. He then said instinctively, "But you told me what Mystics are not."

The Air Mystic's eyes brightened.

"You're progressing a lot faster than I imagined." Asda nodded in satisfaction. "Your comprehension is also quite good."

Feeling encouraged, Thales started to speculate once again.

"You said that my opinion is very important. You also said that with L as an example, every Mystic is different. And, the world through every Mystic's eyes is different…" Muttering, he repeated Asda's words. "So, Asda."

Not even remembering to use honorifics, Thales called the Mystic directly by his name.

"What is the world like through your eyes?" The prince raised his eyes and stared sternly at Asda. "How is it different from the world through my eyes?"

At that moment, Asda arched one of his eyebrows a little. He did not seem to be able to hide his astonishment. "Oh, you seem to be progressing a little too fast."

Thales stared eagerly at him.

At that moment, Thales thought of nothing else but the last moment he faced Giza, the Blood Mystic six years ago.

It was his experience of 'knocking on the Door'.

That…

That splendid feeling.

That… feeling like he was the whole world.

"I can't tell you this," Asda's tone suddenly became mysterious. "But this time, it's because of the first declaration among Mystics."

Thales had been agitated because he could not get an answer, but at that moment, it was as though his mind suddenly became calm.

Narrowing his eyes, Thales felt like he had heard those words somewhere.

'Wait.' 

Even though he was obviously expressionless, Asda gave off an imposing vibe. Thales started to recall what had happened six years ago while he stared at him.

That night, after the frightening duel in Heroic Spirit Palace, Asda suddenly visited him.

That night was also the first time he knew about the existence of the first declaration among Mystics.

"There are three rules that must be obeyed by a Mystic. These rules are called the Three Great Declarations."

"Never ever, ever, ever ask another Mystic about his understanding of mystic energy. Also, never expose your own understanding to any Mystic."

"This is what it means 'to not investigate one another'."

'So, Asda can't tell me how the world is through his eyes…

'Because the first declaration among Mystics prohibits it…

'Because…'

"Mister Sakern, you're the Air Mystic." Thales acted like a drowning person who was clutching at a life-saving straw. He stared solemnly at Asda. "I remember that when we first met at Red Street Market six years ago, you said that you could perceive the air in the entire street. For example, every single person's breathing.

"Six years ago in Dragon Clouds City, you could even track our breathing across the entire district…"

Thales narrowed his eyes a little.

"Those people… their breathing, those air currents, if you can clearly perceive every single one of them, then is that the world through your eyes?" Thales was already rambling a little at that point.

He looked impatiently for the right words. "Just like, just like everyone is… breathing the air inside your body?"

Asda's expression changed.

"I mentioned before that I don't welcome metaphors and analogies," the Air Mystic said icily.

'Ah.

'This child.

'He's exceeded some of my expectations.'

Thales stared at Asda in a trance. The latter's reaction had already given him some inspiration.

'In other words…

'Those people who are breathing… Those people…'

"Giza Streelman, the Blood Mystic," Thales continued to speak in a daze, "how is the world through her eyes then?"

'That period of time when I was knocking on the Door… The world through my eyes…'

Asda furrowed his eyebrows. This was considered a very huge loss of composure for him as he had always been calm and rational.

At that moment, Thales suddenly remembered what Giza said before she was sealed. He asked softly, "And, she once told me that being a Mystic isn't a fortunate thing. Instead, it's a curse. Why?"

This time, the Mystic was silent for a long time.

"Mister Sakern?" The prince raised his head and stared at Asda in bewilderment. Asda's expression was strange.

"Power always comes with a corresponding price to pay. The question lies in how you look at the price," the man in the blue robe said.

"Those who wield longswords, those who brandish longspears, and those who swing hammer-and-chains… they all have to bear different weights on their shoulders. At the same time, longswords, longspears, hammer-and-chains have different ranges of attack and enemies. On the other hand, those who wear crowns on their heads and wield scepters in their hands… they have to bear another kind of burden, and are in another type of environment…"

Thales' gaze was a little dim. The blue light in the depths of his eyes fluctuated slightly.

"As for the sort of burden Mystics have to bear, you can totally imagine it yourself."

'The weight Mystics have to…'

The prince was stunned.

Thales took a deep breath. "You mentioned earlier that you don't welcome the use of metaphors and analogies to explain things."

"Oh, that rule." Asda arched an eyebrow slightly and snorted coldly without blushing even a little. "It only applies to you."

Thales was taken aback by this.

"Thales, you probably have an idea by now." Asda's gaze started to become aggressive. "Being a Mystic is not a knowledge or power that you can 'learn' or 'teach' just by referring to precedents, or by finding out 'what Mystics are'.

"What are Mystics?" His tone was very light, but there was an unexplainable seriousness in his words. "All Mystics have to search for the answer and solve the question themselves. In the end, you have to confirm what your exclusive name of origin is.

"I can only carefully and meticulously guide you from the side.

"Because when you truly understand what Mystics are," after pausing for a very long time, Asda finally said, "you'll already be a Mystic."

'Or almost a Mystic.' 

Staring at the teenager in front of him, the Mystic thought to himself.

There was silence once again on both sides of the chessboard.

Thales lowered his head and started to reflect on that sentence.

"Thales, during this process, don't let the things you see or hear… for example, me and Giza, or even L, restrict your thoughts," Asda said flatly. "Furthermore, you must stay humble. Don't be encumbered by arrogance and self-righteousness like the wizards from the Material Science Faction."

At this moment...

"Mister Sakern, I still don't understand." Thales inhaled softly as he spoke in a puzzled and serious fashion, "Why don't you tell me how you became a Mystic? How did you find your name of origin? Did you 'lose control' too?"

It was as though the air froze at that moment.

"This line of questioning has exceeded our range of discussion today." The Air Mystic was expressionless. "It's time to move on to the next topic.

"The position and stance of the Mystics."

Astounded, Thales raised his head and threw his hands open to express his lack of understanding.

"But, this topic hasn't ended yet?

"How are we going to search for the position of Mystics in the world and the stance we take without finding out what we are?"

Asda snorted coldly.

"That's how the world works, isn't it?" the Mystic said coldly. "People often start to act in a self-righteous manner even before they recognize their own position.

"This applies to both humans and other races. Even though we can't even have a good understanding of ourselves, we can without hesitation, distinguish between the enemy and ourselves, fighting against and killing each other.

"It's ironic and interesting at the same time."

Thales furrowed his eyebrows. "The things you say are always so boring… Plus, this doesn't seem to be the reason you suddenly cut off the topic. Am I right?"

Asda paid him no heed.

"Why do you think that we're known as calamities?" The man in the blue robe stopped crossing his fingers and leaned against his chair. "And that we're hated by the whole world?"

Staring at Asda's mannerisms, Thales could not help but recall the first time he saw Asda.

"Because all of you almost destroyed the world six or seven hundred years ago?" The prince remembered what Gilbert told him and softly said, "You caused the demise of the Final Empire?"

Asda was silent for quite some time.

"Ah, the Battle of Eradication, a topic that can't be avoided," he said quietly. "Since we're on this topic, I have no choice but to mention the other person who's part of the Truth Brothers."

"The Truth Brothers again?" Thales said, curious. "The other person besides L?"

Asda nodded. He started to speak increasingly faster, "If one was to say that L broke our perception of Mystics, then his brother completely changed the status of Mystics.

"Almost seven hundred years ago, he was the one who led the other five Mystics in instigating the Battle of Eradication.

At that moment, Thales' breathing tightened. 

This was the first time he had heard about the Battle of Eradication outside of books and legends.

'And…'

"There were only six Mystics in that side of the Battle of Eradication?

When he saw Asda slowly nod, Thales asked in shock, "Who is it? Who in the world is L's brother?"

Asda's usually apathetic face became solemn for the third time that day. He stopped leaning against the back of his chair and laced his fingers together again. Moving his chin a little, his gaze was sharp… as though he was facing the most horrifying enemy.

"He is the most powerful Mystic in history after Taurus.

"And also the first Mystic who became known as a 'calamity'.

"The destroyer of the Three Great Magic Towers.

"The one who caused the demise of the Final Empire.

"The culprit behind the Great Crack and Sink.

"The enemy of the Holy sun, and the bane of the gods."

Hearing those nicknames, Thales could not help but widen his eyes and open his mouth.

Asda continued with an extremely solemn tone.

"The Existence Mystic, B."