Lord of Ascension: The Birth of Chaos-Chapter 42 Training

Gabriel raised a sixth finger, slower this time.

"Stage Six, the Sage."

"These mages are near-mythical. Some say they’re the voice of magic itself; they don’t just cast spells; they speak the True Words. Words that override other spells. Words that can erase a curse or rewrite a living soul. Some Sages are said to summon beings from before time. Most of us never met one, and most wouldn’t survive if we did."

Kaelith’s expression didn’t change, but Gabriel could sense it. He was listening deeply now.

Well, my so-called grandfather had reached the stage of a Sage.

Then came the last. Gabriel clenched his hand into a fist.

"Stage Seven, the Primordial."

He said it with reverence.

"A tier lost to history. No living mage has reached it in thousands of years. The Primordials didn’t just control magic, they became it. They could change the shape of continents. Rewrite memories, and end bloodlines with a single breath."

He lowered his hand.

"Some think they are gods, others think they are monsters."

Kaelith tilted his head slightly. "What do you think?"

Gabriel gave a faint, tired smile.

"I think they were both."

A long silence passed between them.

Finally, Kaelith asked, "And which stage are you at?" even though he knew he was an Archmage.

"I’m an Archmage," Gabriel replied.

Kaelith’s expression didn’t change. "Then you’re the wall I’ll climb."

Gabriel stared at him for a long moment, then turned away, the wind brushing his coat. ’How could a child be this calm, and say words that aren’t meant for a kid? I can’t even believe he understood everything I had said. Mages with distortion powers are said to be weirdly special. Was this what they meant? He is too sharp and composed for a child.’

"Let’s see if your legs are strong enough first."

He stopped a few steps away from him. A small glint flickered through his eyes. "Now is the time for the test."

Gabriel raised one of his hands, and the magic wall began to spin around Kaelith. Kaelith frowned, unsure of what the test was about.

"What do you want me to do?" Kaelith yelled as the walls spun faster and faster.

"You have to figure that out. Remember, your magic is distortion, and it is the basic form of chaos. All you need to know is that your powers operate the same way as real chaos. It has no rules. It destroys and can build... Well, that is after the destruction. So figure out how to tap into your mana stream, which is your magic veins," Gabriel paused.

"If you can tap into the raw form of your mana, remember what we said about structure. Apply that sense." He flicked his fingers, and a chair materialized from thin air, along with a table and a cup of tea.

Gabriel sat down with his legs crossed. "Figure it out quickly, because you don’t want to know what will happen next if you fail," he said nonchalantly, grabbing the cup of tea before taking a sip.

Kaelith’s eyes flickered with irritation. ’Calm down. Don’t take offense at his words. Blame the circumstances and yourself for stupidly trusting a woman. If not, you wouldn’t have been trapped in a child’s body and wouldn’t have endured all of this... Let’s get to work... my power is distortion. All I need to do is disrupt the flow of the magic’s core.’

Kaelith shut his eyes and focused on the rotating wall of magic around him. He could feel the streams of mana moving in chaotic patterns inside him. There was no rhythm to it, but that was fine. He didn’t need rhythm. He only needed to find the weak point.

His fingers curled slightly as he exhaled. With a single thought, he shifted the current of mana inside him. The mana distorted violently, like broken glass grinding against itself. And with that, he reached his hand out.

A small crack shimmered through the spinning wall.

Gabriel’s brow lifted. "Impressive. But not enough."

The wall cracked, splitting clean down the middle before exploding into shards of light. But before the dust could settle, a second wall surged into place, but this one was thicker and faster.

The color deepened from blue to violet. New runes emerged, far more complex than before. The words floating around him twisted, forming aggressive chains around the wall.

Kaelith opened one eye and muttered, "Annoying."

He reached again, tapping into his inner stream harder. The distortion grew unstable. His body vibrated as if his powers were trying to disrupt him. But he didn’t stop. He pushed harder.

Then the second wall shattered.

Before he could breathe out in relief, another layer appeared. This was more volatile than the two before. The symbols began moving on their own now, flickering like they were alive.

Kaelith’s jaw clenched. ’Every time I break a wall, another one, more advanced than the former, appears. I want to see the end of it!’

He forced out his mana again, but his knees buckled, hitting the ground with a thud.

His throat suddenly felt like it was charred. He realized that even if he had the will, his body was that of a six-year-old, it could not handle the burden.

Cough. Cough. Cough. He spat blood.

Gabriel’s smirk faded. He rose from his chair slowly, his eyes narrowing. "That’s enough."

Kaelith didn’t move. The air around him had turned heavy, vibrating with unstable force. His face vibrated so fast, that it distorted into a blur. The distortion in his veins was slipping out of control. His limbs trembled slightly. His skin vibrated again like reality was unsure what shape to give him.

Still, he reached out once more. ’No, I can’t be consumed by my power.’

But then he stopped. He forced himself to stabilize.

"I get it..." he gasped, but even his words were distorted.

Gabriel stepped closer, his hand partially raised in case the backlash turned violent. "What do you get?"

"Structure... I need to contain it first before using it. If I keep pulling, it won’t be concentrated, rather, it will spill away."

He raised one hand and forced his mana back inside like a coiling snake swallowing its tail. freeweɓnøvel~com

The chaotic distortion around him slowly settled. The runes still spun in place.

Gabriel exhaled, finally nodding. "Now you’re learning."

Kaelith’s voice was hoarse. "Next time, I’ll break this formation."

He stood, swaying a little, but he held his footing. The wall vanished with a flick of Gabriel’s fingers. The grass beneath his feet had withered, scorched black from the mana’s wild backlash.

Gabriel stared at him, then let out a low breath.

’He’s not just a prodigy... he’s dangerous. I need to keep an eye on him. If he were to fall into the wrong hands... the world may plunge into disaster. I can’t believe he managed to reach the third level. Even most prodigies could not pass the first stage for months.’

He didn’t praise Kaelith. "Rest. Next time, you’ll train like someone worthy of the name mage."

Kaelith didn’t respond. His body still ached. His veins thrummed with raw, untamed magic, but his expression didn’t change. At least he had learned something real today, something that had tested his limits.

He now knew that Distortion wasn’t about breaking things. It was about knowing how far to bend it before the world breaks you back.

And one day... when the time was right, he wouldn’t stop bending the world.

He would tear it apart.

...

Six years later.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l