Calamity

Recalling those memories was of great help to Lucius as he finally learned about his whereabouts and his identity.

Now he no longer needed to feign ignorance and be on defensive when asked about his identity like his earlier confrontation with that burly man. 

"But he sure is lucky"

"How did he not run into that three-eyed demon while traversing through that path?"

"Indeed, it amazes me too"

"Afterall given his condition, it would be impossible for him to survive the encounter with the berserker" 

While listening to their gossips, mention of a certain monster piqued his interest. Based on their explanation, the first thing Hiro imagined after listening to their explanation was the figure of the three-eyed monster he had encountered on his way. 

"But why did that monster of legend appear here?"

"Who knows? Perhaps its because of that incident which happened about a year ago"

As those guards outside continued to gossip, Lucius recalled about an incident from his memories which had happened just about a year ago. 

About a year ago, one normal day suddenly the air crackled with an unfamiliar energy and the ground beneath trembled violently with an increasing intensity. 

At the same time, a piercing loud sound erupted from a distant place as the sky started turning black and grey. 

Mana, the life force of the world, surged and overflowed, causing earthshattering changes that were beyond comprehension. 

Cracks started appearing in thin air as rifts tore open in the very fabric of reality. Like jagged scars in the air, they emitted a blinding light, revealing strange and uncharted realms beyond. 

From those rifts in space, ethereal creatures emerged. Creatures from the folklore, creatures from myths and creatures which have not been seen before, they were like hybrid of nightmares and nightmares. 

Even the once serene sky transformed into a horrifying spectacle as dark clouds rolled in from the horizon, swirling and churning with malevolent intent. 

Those clouds glowed with shades of ominous red and purple while the sun was swallowed by this maelstrom of darkness, leaving the land in an unearthly gloom. 

People upon experiencing this calamitic changes began to panic as they began to have mental breakdowns. Many even assumed that the world was coming to an end. 

Fortunately enough with the surge of the mana in the surrounding, many people started awakening magical prowess. It's not that there weren't mages or knights before. 

But their number was quite scarce before this event. However after this incident those numbers saw a huge increase as many people awakened. 

One could even say that this catastrophic event was both a curse and a blessing in disguise. 

 The rifts in the space however didn't last long as no sooner had it formed it started closing on its own. The monsters which have crawled its way out of the rifts however remained. 

Which led to a desperate fight for survival. Many people died in this incident but those who remained gained great fame and power. 

"Urgh... I don't want to experience that event again."

One of the guard whined.

"But it was all thanks to that event that you were able to connect with your host star. If not you'd still be selling vegetables"

Hearing him whining, another guard spoke.

In Lucius's previous world, one could use magic as long as they were born innately capable to channel their mana. But in this world, one needed to connect with their host star to use magic. 

Lucius who was unfamiliar with this whole concept was greatly puzzled by this mystery. 

What is a host star? How can one connect to a host star? And why does one need to connect to a host star of destiny to use magic?

Such doubts continued to riddle him as he tried to solve the mystery regarding this host star. 

Recalling his memory of the time when the owner of this body had connected to his host star, Lucius sat cross-legged as he tried to find out more about this host star. 

Closing his eyes, he tried to imitate the process as his consciousness slipped into a meditative state.

'To connect to one's host star, one needs to be in a state of trance'

After a while, Lucius found his consciousness drifting in a vast empty space with nothing but darkness. Immediately upon experiencing this scene, Lucius recognized it.

'After that your consciousness will drift aimlessly in a vast dark space' he thought as he recalled the experience of previous owner of this body.

Soon as he continued to drift aimlessly in this vast space, a flickering light in the distant horizon caught his attention. One, two, three... as he continued to drift many illuminating dots of different colors became visible.

'Along the way as you continue to drift, you'll encounter countless illuminating dots resembling stars in the sky' he recalled.

As far as his eyes could see, countless galaxies, stars danced in a symphony of cosmic beauty. But Lucius who had never seen the sky beyond could never identify those heavenly bodies. 

This awe-inspiring sight was unlike anything Lucius had ever witnessed before. 

But as he allowed himself to drift further into the cosmic abyss, he notice a bright ball of light approaching him at a rapid pace. 

'After some time, your fated star rushes towards you' 

Despite having experienced the memories of the previous owner of this body, Lucius was still startled to see that ball of light heading towards him. 

Not because he was taken aback but because of how massive that ball of light was getting with every moment it got close to him. 

For a moment, Lucius couldn't even tell if whether that star was approaching him or he was getting pulled by that star. 

Though after a while it stopped. And Lucius could very well feel the energy radiating from it. It was green in color. And Lucius could feel an unimaginable amount of energy leaking from its massive body. 

'So this is what standing next to a host star feels like huh?' 

Mesmerized by the gigantic ball of light in front of him, Lucius thought. 

However soon enough another ball of light started to head towards him. Upon witnessing this unusual event, his eyes constricted with fear and confusion laced in his eyes. 

'What? I didn't see such stuff happen in the memories...'