Dreams and the Magecraft Workshop

Michael was buried deep in a profound dream—

It was from the days when he had still been on Blue Star. Two hundred years had passed, and those memories had gradually grown hazy. Perhaps one day in the future, he would forget them completely, but that day was definitely not today.

The people and events in his memories had become shapeless shadows. Even his once-close friends had grown indistinct, to the point that he could not remember their names. He wandered through the campus, everything before him so blurred, like being severely nearsighted without glasses, or walking through a fog so thick he could not see his hand before his face.

Familiar yet unfamiliar sights flashed before his eyes. At this moment, time had lost all meaning. Michael simply strolled through the campus, boredly observing the hazy scenery around him.

Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the library. It was a five-story building with a broad spiral staircase before its entrance. Visible depressions marked the stone steps, traces left by the countless people who had passed over them.

Michael stepped onto the stairs. Over the past few years, he had set foot here countless times, just like everyone else.

Abruptly, he stopped.

He stared up at the sky in shock. The azure heavens, once as blue and clear as if freshly washed, were now shattered. Through the crisscrossing black cracks, Michael could even see the scene beyond them.

It was neither a vast starry sky nor an empty void. If he had to describe it with a word, the only one he could think of was probably world.

Countless crystalline fragments fell from the shattered heavens like a magnificent rain. The cracks spread rapidly across the sky, and within a few breaths, the world beyond the fissures revealed itself.

Two streams of light came racing from afar like meteors flying in reverse, then shot into the world that was about to emerge. Then everything disappeared—light, sound, touch, time, space... everything vanished without a trace.

Yet Michael's consciousness remained exceptionally clear. He could sense that they had not truly disappeared; he simply could no longer perceive them. They were not something he could accept. If he forcibly tried to accept them, his very existence would be erased.

After an unknown amount of time, his five senses returned. His connection with Starlight deepened further, and new information flowed into his memories.

As that connection deepened, his soul underwent an unknown change as well. A piece of information quietly surfaced in his mind.

"So that's how it is..."

Michael seemed to have realized something, yet at the same time, he seemed to understand nothing at all. The contents contained within that information required a long time to comprehend. Fortunately, he was an ageless and immortal Dead Apostle. If it had been an ordinary human, they would likely have exhausted their lifespan before even finishing the table of contents.

"Then it's time to wake up."

He took a light breath, guided his consciousness back into his body, and opened his eyes.

Gentle morning light spilled across his face through the window. The sun had yet to rise fully in the east, while the moon and stars still stubbornly hung in the fading sky, asserting their presence.

Just as he was about to get out of bed, he unexpectedly discovered that his hands and feet had been bound. Mana glimmered over the dark metal surface. This was a restraining Mage's Garment. Though it was only as thick as a pencil, even an elephant would be unable to break free.

His clothes had also been changed into something looser, though it looked very much like a women's bathrobe. The wounds across his body had all vanished, restored to how he had been before.

The room's walls were decorated with expensive wallpaper, and the velvet blanket covering him was unquestionably high-end as well. It seemed that whoever had tied him up still had some conscience. They had not thrown him into a foul-smelling dungeon and nailed him to a torture device caked in blood.

Across from Michael, a blue robin studied him curiously.

"Morning."

Michael waved with a smile, then took a deep breath and suddenly exerted himself, shattering the Mage's Garment binding him. He used no magecraft at all, relying solely on the explosive force of his physical body.

Though his soul had transformed by only an insignificant amount, the results had already manifested in his body, bringing earth-shaking changes to Michael.

Seeing the Mage's Garment destroyed, the blue robin flapped its wings and fled the room in a panic.

"Looks like Aozaki really did bring me back."

Drawing back his gaze, he shrugged helplessly. Within this room, Michael could sense a powerful Mystery, far beyond anything modern magi could possess. Judging from the nature of that Mystery, although it incorporated modern magecraft techniques, its core remained a protection only a witch could possess.

Simply put, this mansion was a large-scale Magecraft Workshop. For magi, casually entering another magus's Magecraft Workshop was a major taboo, because there was no telling what strange things might be hidden inside. Especially when this Magecraft Workshop belonged to a witch.

Two distinctly different sets of footsteps approached from afar along the corridor outside, interrupting his thoughts. The door to the room opened, and the girls stared at him warily. Their undisguised hostility made the air in the room heavy and cold.

"Good morning, Aozaki."

Michael lazily waved, showing none of the tension one might expect from being in an enemy stronghold. "And Kuonji, thank you for last night."

The girl in pure black said nothing. Her shoulder-length short hair was utterly unblemished, and so were her eyes—like the deep night sky, only without its dazzling stars.

She merely looked at Michael without the slightest emotion, carrying an oppressive air.

"You bastard..."

The clearly hot-tempered Aozaki Aoko curled her lips. The corners of her eyes lifted due to her foul mood. Part of it was because she had barely slept last night, and as for the other part... wasn't it right in front of her?

"I know you have a lot of questions for me, but the answer is rather long. Let me organize my thoughts first."

Michael rolled his wrists and stretched deeply, though the lack of mana in his body still left him feeling somewhat weak.

"Keep it brief."

Aozaki Aoko cut him off bluntly.

"Hmm... let me think."

He tapped his head, pondered for a moment, and arranged his words. "Simply put, I got double-crossed. Now we're grasshoppers tied to the same rope."

"That joke isn't funny."

"That's more or less what I mean. As for whether it's a joke, I think Aozaki understands what I mean."

Michael spread his hands and spoke with great sincerity.