The Broken Cycle 8

Saruman felt as though he were about to be drowned by the mad speculation in his mind.

King Arthur! Merlin! The Knights of the Round Table!

That was a legendary age long since painted over by time with heavy mythological hues, one so vaguely recorded even in orthodox A History of Magic that truth and fiction were impossible to distinguish.

Most detailed records of that era had been destroyed by war, religious purges, or simply exaggerated into songs by bards. Only in forgotten forbidden corners such as the "Raven Ruins"

could a few scattered fragments possibly remain.

And he, Saruman, having fused with the forbidden knowledge accumulated by his elderly self over a thousand years, possessed an understanding of that era far beyond ordinary people's—though it was still fragmented!

Among those broken scraps of knowledge, Merlin was described as a demigod-like being of unfathomable power and ocean-deep wisdom, proficient in nearly every field of magic. He could even foresee the future and communicate with nature and Dragons. He had aided King Arthur in creating a glorious yet short-lived age.

King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, meanwhile, were said to wield a unique supernatural power known as "Holy Radiance" or "the Way of the Knight."

It differed completely from the modern magical system, in which wizards relied on wands, incantations, and mental power. Instead, it placed greater emphasis on faith, honor, the body, and some mysterious form of energy.

It was said that, at its peak, it could slay monsters and Dragons, even contend against powerful wizards. Now, this boy named Ian Prince had displayed several traits that might be connected to that era:

Unfathomable magical power that transcended his age, matching the descriptions of Merlin's power.

He knew King Arthur and seemed to have been close to