The transformation of life, its ascent-Ruger still could not forget that wondrous experience of quietly watching Lord Kurt advance and transform at close range. At one point, even his own body had seemed to yearn for that same ascent and transformation.
Before, his desire to grow stronger and become a powerful Wizard had been a yearning of the mind. Now, it was as though an unconscious, instinctive longing had been uncovered within him. He no longer needed to think about it; the yearning came naturally.
He longed to gradually reach those heights he could barely glimpse, to become a being capable of enduring the passage of the river of time.
Exploring the mysteries of life had always been a major field of interest among Wizards, an endless subject of study, an endless journey of exploration.
Its driving force was the instinctive dreams and desires of life itself.
Reading the notes, which were relatively recent yet still somewhat older than he was, Ruger glimpsed the ancient Wizards' pursuit of life's mysteries-a small corner of a vast experiment.
This so-called deception, fooling that mysterious river, or even studying the river itself, was merely preliminary work for one branch of a larger experiment.
But clearly, something unexpected had happened to this experiment, or rather, this branch of it.
The notes mentioned that the fragmentary scroll in his teacher's possession was the basis for this conjecture.
In an ordinary experiment, even a failed one, the relevant records would be properly preserved. Even for things of such exalted standing that merely recording them brought disaster or curses, there would be the option of complete destruction in addition to sealing them away.
Ruger raised his eyebrows.
But encountering that fragmentary scroll had been enough to inspire his teacher, Lord Immanuel.
It seemed that his teacher, Lord