1 Chapter 1

"Millions of deaths, destruction, pain, and grief... All because of you..." An emotionless voice fell in the ears of a young man. "You... you should've never been born!"

p A young woman stood before the young man on a battlefield with thousands of bodies littered all around. Blood trickled down her trembling lips as she gazed deep into the eyes of the young man who held the hilt of the sword that had impaled her chest.

Even raising her hand was a struggle for the girl, yet she didn't give up. She raised her hands with great effort, placing them around the throat of Gabriel.

"I... should've... killed... you..." She struggled to speak as her vision started turning blurry. She didn't even have enough strength to choke the man before her, who didn't even resist.

The man simply spoke a few words in response. "You did... Twice..."

A sad smile crept up the lips of the woman. "Yet you... just refused... to stay dea...d."

"I can't die, Maya. Not yet." The young man touched the pale cheeks of the lady who was on her last breath. "I didn't start this... But I will end it."

"They will be here soon. You are playing with the Natural Order of this world! Even Gods won't ignore you now! You can't escape this time." Maya spoke, gazing deep into the eyes of the young man. "You will..."

She tried speaking something, but before she could even finish her sentence, her eyes lost their shine, and she slowly fell limp in the man's arms. She took her last breath in the arms of the man she hated the most in the entire world...

Gabriel didn't let Maya's body fall to the ground. He held her in his arms as he glanced at her pale face that once used to be filled with life. Some unexplainable emotions flickered through his eyes. "I wish things could've been different, Maya."

He placed the body of the young lady on the ground carefully in one of the few gaps in the corpse-covered field. "Fate is cruel, isn't it? When I hadn't turned to the darkness, I could never tell you my feelings. And when I received this darkness, you refused to listen to my cries for help..."

Gabriel's heart felt really heavy. Even though he had prepared for this fated day for a long time where he was going to have the woman he loved and his enemies standing on the same side. Still... When it actually happened, it made him feel the torment once more.

"But now that I've come this far... I won't fall back." He took a deep breath as he stood up, tossing the sword aside, battered and bloodstained as it was, which didn't belong to him in the first place. "I won't let even the Gods stop me."

Thousands of dark spirits circled around him, protecting him from thousands of blazing attacks targeted at him, whether weak or strong, as they barrashed the barrier.

The entire world was against him. All the mages had joined the war against him, all so they could destroy the one they considered impure. Still, Gabriel didn't retreat. He didn't run away. He was prepared to die today if that's what it took for him to accomplish his task.

The beautiful black ring that he had been wearing for years on his left hand turned into a speck of Light and flew before him. The speck of black light increased in size, turning into a beautiful and threatening book with a terrifying aura.

The pitch-black book appeared to be something that came from the depth of hell itself, not only from its dark appearance but also from the deathly aura it exuded. All the spirits around Gabriel screeched in excitement and fear at the book's appearance.

"The world that refused to let me live... The world that called me the devil just because I awakened the wrong element... The world that destroyed all my hopes and dreams… I don't accept that world! You want to remove impurity from this world? Let me cleanse the real impurity! Let me make the world anew!"

Gabriel's voice kept getting louder and louder until he was literally roaring.

The book opened on its own as it floated before Gabriel. The pages started turning and only stopped when it was the last page of the Forbidden Book. The last spell of the Book has been opened, and Gabriel was going to use this spell.

The Black symbol of Element of Darkness on the back of Gabriel's right hand shone brightly, in sync with the Forbidden Book.

For a moment, it was as if the entire world had gone silent as Gabriel started chanting the forbidden spell. The spell was taking a heavy toll on his own body. As he spoke, his body seemed to age every second that went on. He could feel a fragment of his soul being destroyed with each word he spoke, but he didn't stop. He couldn't stop!

The sky started thundering as if it was going crazy at the blasphemy. A lightning bolt fell from the sky as if it came straight from the seventh heaven.

The blinding flash made many people close their eyes. By the time they opened their eyes, they saw a proud figure standing in the distance. All the Mages went down on their knees, stopping all the attacks. A God had arrived in the world of the mortals to stop what was happening!

"Stop this instant!" the God commanded Gabriel in his thundering voice that seemed to pierce the heavens as the bolt of lightning had just done, yet Gabriel refused to listen as he kept chanting the forbidden spell.

He ignored even the commands of a real God, preparing for something impossible. He was going to make the entire heaven his enemy!

The world... It was never going to be the same again...

*****

*****

Three years ago~

"The God of Light has decided! By giving young Gabriel a sign of his blessing, he has graced the young man to be the youngest mage to awaken the element of light at just eighteen years of age!"

Cheers erupted inside a beautiful yet massive hall as an old man alerted everyone about the news.

Hundreds of people sat on one knee, facing the white-haired man as a sign of respect. In the entire hall, only two men were standing properly.

"That's why the Church of Light has decided to accept Gabriel as a member of the Main Church! He will be our youngest member at just eighteen years of age!"

The cheers became even louder at the announcement! It was the first time a person from their town was going to be selected as the Mage of Light in the Main Branch of the Church of a Light! This was a massive deal for their town!

Everyone's focus shifted to a young man in the lead who was also on one knee. The young man appeared to be only eighteen at the moment.

The young man appeared to have a beautiful yet innocent smile on his face as he gazed at the back of his left hand. There was a beautiful symbol there... The symbol that had appeared only a few days ago yet was enough to change his life forever.

Gabriel had just stepped on the cusp of adulthood, and he was already about to join the Church of Light which was the dream of billions of people in the world, including himself.

There were many elements in the world, but only a rare few awakened the elements to become a mage. And amongst all the Elements, the Element of Light was considered to be the strongest Element.

The people who hadn't awakened the element of Light wished to awaken it, while those who awakened with another element were jealous of the destiny of those who got the Element of Light!

Not only had Gabriel awakened the element of Light, but he was also the youngest to have achieved this feat!

"Gabriel," The white-bearded man said in a commanding yet gentle tone. "Please stand!"

Gabriel stood up respectfully, following the orders. Only he knew how fast his heart was thumping, but he tried to act as composed as he could.

He was really nervous and praying that he wouldn't make any mistakes today. The old man before him wasn't any ordinary mage of Light after all! He was the Head Priest from the Main Branch of the Church of Light who had arrived here from the Royal City, especially for him.

The old man stepped closer to Gabriel and placed his hand on the head of the young man. "Tomorrow, we will have your initiation ceremony at seven in the morning. You will be officially accepted as a member of the Church of Light. You'll also receive your Staff and a Guide of Basic Spells. Be here on time."

Gabriel nodded respectfully. "Yes, High Priest."

As the High Priest stood near him, he could feel the pure aura of the old man. It felt so powerful! That was the Element of Light, he thought.

"Good. You can leave." The High Priest turned around and started to leave. "We are done for now."

Right behind Gabriel in the crowd, there stood a dark-haired man who seemed to be in his early twenties. His face turned dark as he watched the High Priest leave. He couldn't help but look at the Priest who handled the matters of this small Branch of the Church of Light.

The middle-aged Priest also seemed somewhat surprised. He ran to the High Priest in haste. "Ah, Your Holiness, about my son... I mentioned him to you. He also awakened with the Element of Light. If you could also…."