A curious mage arrives in another world - Part 3.

You didn't have to be a genius to understand the concept behind that name. The problem is that they had never heard anything like it.

But was that seriously Ether?

The world's energy, better known as Ether, is what living beings are able to convert into mana, in the case of magic users, or prana, for physical strengthening.

Pure Ether had never been heard of; it always had to be refined by the body.

It seemed that Fazil had gone mad because of that statement. There was absolutely no way that Ether could be used in that way.

"What do you mean those are Ether Gems?" Geoffrey said. "What you're saying doesn't make any sense."

Fazil sighed and put the gems back in the same way he had taken them out.

"Even for me, it's hard to believe," he said, taking something else out of his magic inventory. Again, we saw a small opening appear in the air. What he took out was a book that looked extremely old. "If it weren't for this book, I wouldn't even have had an idea of how to do it."

Since Geoffrey was aware of Fazil's travels, deducing what the mage held in his hand was not difficult. However, neither Darlina nor anyone from the family or royal court had this kind of information. This had a simple explanation: any document or object that had to do with the Higher Beings could unleash a war for its acquisition.

Fazil had been secretly moving around and acquiring whatever he could for years.

"The blueprints are something I don't fully understand yet. Verifying their existence was the most difficult and torturous challenge I have ever experienced."

Just like with the gems, the book he had taken out was also put away.

Fazil seemed more and more excited. Without a doubt, this was something he was fascinated by: discovering something new, or rather, understanding it.

For Geoffrey, it was frustrating and, at the same time, a relief to see his friend like that. The same was true for Ametsa and Kara; for them, there was nothing better than seeing their lord happy.

"So, are you saying that you confirmed that more worlds exist?" Darlina was the only one who didn't get carried away. "Do you have any proof?"

There was one fact about Darlina that could not be easily changed: her faith. Fazil was the savior of this world, and only an idiot would dare to provoke him. However, there were a large number of people who saw him as a heretic, as he had questioned many of the beliefs that the religion of humans had managed to spread throughout the world. And Darlina belonged to that religion.

Her face was serious, because her religion affirmed that only this world was created by the Higher Beings. There is not and will not be another creation like this world.

Fazil was very aware of Darlina's religion. If he weren't who he is now, he wouldn't even dare to mention the words "other worlds." In his past, when he didn't even know about his aptitude for magic, he had experienced firsthand what it was like to oppose the beliefs that the church had indoctrinated.

It is thanks to the education his master gave him that he could tolerate Darlina, to the point of being able to dialogue with her. Otherwise, he would make sure she was at least 10 km away from him.

And there was also something in her that allowed her to be there: her faith, although strong, was not unbreakable.

"Of course, I do."

The mage went out for a moment to one of the rooms in his library. Specifically, it was the mage's private room. When he came out, he was carrying a small box. He put it on the table that was between where the others were sitting and opened it.

"This is proof that other worlds exist."

Was Fazil trying to give them a shock with so many revelations? What was inside the box was something they had never seen in their lives.

"Can I take it?" Geoffrey asked.

Fazil only indicated with his hand that he could.

"I've never felt anything like this," Geoffrey said. The surprise in him increased as he continued to inspect the object with his hands.

It looked like a transparent cylinder with a point at the end. When he first saw it, he thought it was made of glass because of its transparency. Great was his surprise when he found that the material was different.

If he applied a little force, he felt it deform, but when he released it, it returned to its original shape.

Among those present, Darlina was the one most impacted by the shock. The thought that her faith was beginning to crack little by little crossed the mage's mind.

"I managed to bring two of these things to our world," Fazil explained with a satisfied smile. "I used the other one to study it and learn a little more about it, and I want to tell you something: practically that material is made of dark water."

Upon hearing the name "dark water," Geoffrey almost dropped the object out of reflex. Dark water was a substance found in the depths of both dry land and the depths of the ocean floor.

Its name was due to its usual color, a deep black; but the range in which it was found also varied from a pale yellow to a red hue. It was a highly feared substance, because a little of it could contaminate an entire lake.

To date, no one, including Fazil, had been able to find a practical use for it other than as a weapon due to its high flammability.

"So that liquid inside..."

After learning what it was made of, Ametsa assumed that the liquid inside was also dark water. To her surprise, the mage spoke before she finished saying it.

"No, it's not dark water. That's what makes it so incredible: that liquid is clean water. And not only clean, its purity is even greater than that seen in the lands of the elves."

The elves, the race that coexists with nature, were not surprising when they claimed that the purest clean water was in their lands. And now Fazil mentioned that the water in that object, which was approximately one liter, was much purer.

They no longer knew how much more they could endure. Shock after shock came at them without letting them rest.

"I understand those reactions," Fazil said, visibly cheerful. "Whoever designed that is undoubtedly a craftsman I want to meet. Even those runes inscribed on it are something whose meaning I can't even imagine."

What Fazil referred to as runes were the strange characters placed on the curious paper that wrapped that strange cylinder.

Everyone stared at those engravings; they had never seen anything similar. The one that caught their attention the most was that rectangle with black and white lines.

For Fazil, it was a beautiful work of art that hid incredible secrets. Too bad that for the world it came from, it was simply a PET bottle with purified water.

"There's still something else," Fazil said. Those present showed some nervousness upon hearing that. "There's no trace of mana in it..."

"That's impossible!" Darlina shouted. Drops of sweat could be seen on her forehead.

"Princess Darlina is right. Even I know that's something that can't be hidden," Kara added.

Ametsa and Geoffrey decided not to speak, waiting to hear the mage's explanation.

The fact that that object did not possess mana was impossible for them to assimilate. Fazil had mentioned that it was practically dark water; in short, it had been transmuted. It was obvious that to achieve that, one would have to use magic and leave a trace of its use on the object. And although the magic of the one who transmuted it could be hidden, there was no way to hide the fact that it had been used in its creation. Yes or yes, one had to detect the trace of mana that remained impregnated in it.

"There are two hypotheses that I have proposed for this," Fazil commented. "Number one: the world from which that object comes has developed a concept of refinement beyond mana, and that is why it is impossible for me to analyze it. Or number two..." Fazil was more interested in this hypothesis, it was evident in his gaze "...their artificial magic is incredibly advanced."

Artificial magic was a concept devised by the mage's master. It was the name he gave to all those actions that do not require the use of mana and yet generate a change in their environment. A simple example would be the multiple ways in which one can make fire with their own hands.

Those present understood that concept, but imagining that artificial magic could reach that level was impossible for them.

"Okay, I'm starting to believe you," Darlina said, coughing a little. She knew perfectly well that she had lost her regal composure the moment she saw that object, so all that was left for her was to pretend as if nothing had happened. "But how do you know it comes from another world? Couldn't it simply be from a place in this world that we don't know about?"

The princess had a good point, and it was valid to have that position. The world was very vast, and there are many more places to explore. Fazil understood that idea and went to the blackboard.

"That's what I thought at first," Fazil said, turning the blackboard around, which turned out to be double-sided. "At first, I thought that to connect to another plane would require too much power, and I came to think that even if they exist, it would be literally impossible to connect with another."

Fazil began to write and draw on the blackboard. The others didn't have the slightest idea what all those scribbles were. The closest name one could give them in the world of origin of that bottle would be equations.

"Master, how are you sure they are from another world, if you yourself believe it is impossible to connect to them?" Ametsa asked.

"As I said, that's what I believed at first. The reason was because the amount of power I required to bring that object and the other one I analyzed was less than expected," the mage explained, turning the blackboard around again. "I spent days trying to understand how it is that I used less power than expected to connect to another plane. And then I found the solution."

Between the horizontal lines he had initially drawn, Fazil drew diagonal and vertical lines, with several of them connected in different ways.

Then he struck the blackboard with his palm and spoke again.

"All this time, I had seen the planes as upper and lower layers. It never occurred to me to see them as a space where everyone interacts in the same way, where several overlapping planes can exist."

Everyone's face could be translated with a single word:

What?

All of this was too much for them. Not even Ametsa, who was Fazil's disciple, could understand the slightest bit. Fazil seemed to care little, as he continued to speak.

"Obviously, this generated another unknown: if the planes could be superimposed on each other, there should be some kind of influence that could prove it. And the answer is in the book I showed you."

Fazil went on to explain the contents of that book. He thought there would be no more problem if Darlina found out; after all, she could be considered a heretic if she commented on anything about this.

Firstly, the book turned out not to belong to the Higher Beings, but to someone of immeasurable power. Someone who could easily annihilate about a hundred Fazils in his prime; that was the comparison the mage made with the owner of that book. It did not include spells or anything like that; it was rather a diary that recounted the experiences he had traveling from world to world.

"Unlike me, he could not establish contact with other planes, but he could travel between them. That was thanks to something we know, and it has been a story told to us since childhood not to venture into the forests. I'm talking about the world rifts."

A myth that has been told generation after generation among the general population. If you had the misfortune of encountering one of them, you would be absorbed and never return. They were spontaneous events that occurred without warning. And throughout history, countless people had disappeared without a trace. That is why the few who survived called these events contacts with a world rift.

"I even think my master was swallowed by one of them," Fazil thought, aware of that possibility.

No one spoke, as they were focused on trying to understand the slightest detail. Not even the great sages of the magic council could understand what the brat, in their eyes, was saying.

"This mysterious being found a way to locate where world rifts would be generated and used them to travel. Upon understanding his mode of travel, I understood that learning his method would not be very useful to me, so I decided to go my own way."

Fazil took out other gems from his magic inventory. Unlike the first ones, these were the size of peas.

He quickly used his magic to make them spin at incredible speed around the library. Both were at a certain height, with no obstruction.

One spun clockwise, while the other spun counterclockwise. One spun higher than the other, and little by little they began to position themselves at the same height.

The nervousness in those present was not surprising. Although they were the size of peas, the power they felt in them was monstrous.

In the end, being at the same height, they collided at one point, releasing a great light. Everyone covered themselves due to the intensity. And when it dissipated, what they observed was exactly what the descriptions of those old testimonies recounted.

"As if the sky were breaking like a mirror," Geoffrey thought.

"A bottomless abyss will be observed inside," Ametsa thought, her mouth open in shock.

"Running is the only thing you should think about," Kara swallowed hard.

"That's what it is and what it will make you feel... A world rift." It could be said that Darlina's faith, which dictated that it was just a story to scare people, had been shattered by reality.

Everyone thought the same saying that became popular in those stories. They never believed they were true.

Turning to see Fazil, they saw a smile full of confidence and security on his face.

"If he learned to locate them, it was my duty to learn how to create them," he said, snapping his fingers.

At that instant, the terrifying rift that had appeared vanished as if nothing had happened, returning everything to normal.

The mage smiled cheerfully.

"This is what I discovered. Summarizing all of this, I have learned how to create world rifts."