Dark Messiah

Power is not something you acquire but something you understand—we already possess it, but we are not aware. Silas' greatest strength was turning his greatest weakness—his autism into a weapon. 

Even with the power of Necromancy alongside the system, he kept playing the role of an observer who tried to understand everyone's actions and the reasons behind them.

He understood his position as the most talented magus in Loth came with its benefits but also dangers. While humans wanted a liberator who would save them, many wanted to be the liberator. 

They end up envying the people they are meant to support—such scenarios always have a bad ending. If he came off as humble, they would walk all over him, use him, and throw him aside. However, if he held himself above the clouds and looked down on the entire kingdom as a God, he would be envied, hated, and finally murdered.

The solution was creating a balance—he showed them he knew his value and also tossed a rope through which the most important family in the kingdom could use and join him in the clouds.

Lady Fyra was the only thing that bound him to the Emberfall family and that was enough for them. The mentor and discipleship relationship is one of the most sacred things in the Valgard Empire—they preferred this over putting him beneath Leonard.

They knew a time would come when Silas would become so powerful that Leonard would be able to hold him down. Having Lady Fyra by his side was for the best.

As soon as the brief introductions and general rules were laid out, the class was dismissed. Students moved in groups to meet their private tutors, while Silas followed Lady Fyra to a private training facility in the academy.

—

The private courtyard was an exclusive training area reserved for high-level students and personal instruction. It is located within the academy grounds but is isolated from the main buildings to ensure privacy and safety.

It had a reinforced barrier array that prevented spells from escaping and reduced damage from powerful attacks. The barrier adapts to the user's magic, meaning it can absorb dark energy, fire spells, or even necrotic mana.

The ground is a mix of hardened stone and enchanted soil, capable of withstanding explosions and impact-based spells. Parts of the ground can shift or reshape to simulate different battle environments—rocky terrain, open plains, or even marsh-like conditions.

"Tell me what you know about magic," Fyra asked 

Silas shrugged indifferently while Kar shook his head to reinforce his answer. Fyra blinked in confusion.

"How did you cast the spell you used to control it?" She asked, finding it hard to believe this boy knew nothing about magic.

"It just came to me," Silas responded honestly but it was the most shallow response Lady Fyra had heard.

She facepalmed and let out an exhausted sigh. 

"Magic for beginners like art—you paint a strong image in your head and materialize it."

A tongue of fire lit up at the tip of her index finger before taking a spherical shape and then a star shape. 

"The nature of magic determines the kind of picture you can paint." Lady Fyra explained further.

Silas nodded with a thoughtful expression. He tried to recall the events of the night when he gained this ability. He was too angry to paint a picture of slavery in his head to control Kar.

Lady Fyra's explanation did not apply to him.

"What is magic like for experts?" He asked, catching his tutor off-guard.

"I must tell you, most tutors in this academy don't have an answer to that question." Fyra smiled proudly. "Lucky for you, you are standing in the presence of a high mage." 

Fyra snapped her fingers against it, and the tongue of fire appeared—this time, it took the shape of a bird and let out a high-pitched cry before taking off.

"Advanced magic is more like science—it involves the application of will, consciousness, rules, and laws of the universe into magic. Much more different from how you control your puppet."

Silas tilted his head and wore a blank expression.

"I don't control it. It just knows what I want and does it." He responded honestly but Fyra frowned at his words.

Usually, young necromancers controlled the dead like puppets—manipulating their actions through necromantic strings. Meanwhile, advanced necromancers she had heard of preserve a small portion of the corpse's consciousness. This gives the undead a level of autonomy and reduces the mental burden on the necromancer—that way they can manipulate multiple corpses at once.

Before Fyra could argue, she watched Silas pull up his shirt and reveal tiny tattoos with a striking resemblance to Kar embedded on his left shoulder.

At first, Fyra was startled by his strange action—thinking this student was trying to seduce her. But when she saw the tattoo, her visage turned cold, and she approached to inspect it properly.

"Its soul is intact within that body but bound to me through this marking. I hear his thoughts and see through his eyes. It hears my thoughts as well and reacts even before I can voice them out." Silas explained.

Fyra's eyes dilated as she was reminded of Kar asking a question in Silas' place. She originally thought he was acting high and mighty, but it turned out it just had to do with his magic.

If what Silas said is true, then whatever he used to bind this beast was the most advanced necromancy spell she had heard of. They told her anomalies show signs of uniqueness from the very beginning and she finally understood why.

The basic concepts of magic eluded this boy but he somehow managed to pull off the most complex necromancy spell ever. That explained why Kar's movements were fluid and he could speak human language effortlessly.

'We hit the jackpot this time!' Fyra celebrated silently.

This boy was everything they claimed he would be and more. As long as he is nurtured well, he could become the salvation for the kingdom of Loth—the dark messiah.