A curious mage arrives in another world - Part 5.

Today had been a day that deserved to be etched in history for future generations. The person now lying asleep in one of the long armchairs had shattered all the stigmas that governed this world's religion.

"Geoffrey..." Darlina said as she wiped the sweat from the sleeping Fazil's face with a cloth. "What reason could there be for you to go this far? I understand what you want to do, what I don't understand is why."

Her face conveyed worry to the considered strongest human. He perfectly understood her emotional state, as his own wasn't much different. Fazil was his best friend; and today, for the first time in so many years, he thought he might lose him.

He remembered a conversation they had when they were young, one he didn't feel he had the right to talk about with others without Fazil's consent.

"I suppose..." He took his time, still immersed in that memory. He looked at Darlina and smiled. "I suppose it's because of a promise, Princess."

His smile was fake.

Darlina understood that, even if he knew, this was something only Fazil should tell. She wasn't bothered. On the contrary, she used her beautiful, soft hand to caress his face while smiling sweetly.

Ametsa, who along with Kara was cleaning up the mess the mage had made moments before with his small gem, watched Darlina's action with a somewhat annoyed expression.

She should have been the one there in these moments.

"Ametsa. Mister Fazil is... okay, right?" A somewhat sobbing voice came from Kara. "I've never seen him suffer like that. He's going to be okay, right?"

Ametsa hugged her; she knew the strong bond that united her to him. For Kara, Fazil was almost like a father.

"He said he just needs to rest. You know he doesn't lie in those kinds of situations," she mentioned, stroking her hair. "Come on, let's keep cleaning."

Kara immediately wiped away the tears that threatened to fall and did her best to show one of her typical cheerful attitudes.

Everyone was still in shock from what they had experienced. Other worlds? Planes? Deforming them? All this talk with Fazil had their minds melted. Although it would be considered disrespectful, everyone agreed it was a relief that he had finally shut up...

About three hours later, the sun was beginning to cast its last rays before giving way to the moon.

"He's waking up!" an energetic Kara shouted.

"I think I went further than I thought..."

Fazil muttered those words while massaging his forehead.

"What the heck happened to you?!" Geoffrey exclaimed.

"My head couldn't handle the massive amount of calculations this magic requires."

Geoffrey tilted his head. This damn guy had barely woken up and was already starting to confuse them again.

Fazil only offered a slight smile upon noticing his friend's confused face.

"The way I managed to understand magic is far beyond what the academies explain. So don't worry about it. But let's just say I reached my limit; and as they say, I ran out of mana." He decided to sit up and stretch a bit, moving his shoulders. "With this method, I'll take advantage of the world rift to travel to the one where that object whose material is made of dark water comes from."

Everyone present, except the mage, tensed up, showing a look of worry.

"Are you sure this will go well?" Geoffrey mentioned. "No one knows what happens when something enters a world rift. It shou—"

"It's destroyed..."

An overwhelming silence filled the room. The way Fazil spoke was cold and direct.

The hearts of both Darlina and Ametsa began to beat rapidly.

"I forbid it!" the princess exclaimed. "I won't let you die for your stupid experiments! I don't want to lose you! No one does!" She grabbed Fazil's clothes and began to shake him.

The mage struggled to get her off him until, after a few seconds, she calmed down, although she continued to clutch Fazil's clothes with her trembling hands.

"Don't worry, Darlina. It's not like I'm not prepared. An example of that is this artifact I brought from that other world." He gently removed the princess's hands. Then he began to give another explanation. "Certainly, everything that enters the world rift is destroyed. Although there's a minuscule chance that you can pass to the other side. The gem I mentioned that exists and doesn't exist at the same time is a piece to make that chance a reality."

"What I don't understand is how that thing can be seen but not touched."

"The reason you can't touch it is because it doesn't exist, at least not in our world. The existence of that gem is in the world where that object comes from."

Fazil stood up and, gesturing with his hand, made the strange gem move along with him.

"By manipulating light, I can project an image of what the gem looks like on that side. When I compress the gems upon themselves, the energy and gravitational pull they exert generate what I believe is a kind of well that, at a certain point of compression, unites, thus causing the world rift to be generated."

Geoffrey had a face full of anguish. Not only because of his friend's convoluted explanation but also because of a detail Fazil had mentioned moments before.

"You said earlier that practically everything that enters a world rift is destroyed, what makes you think you can pass to the other world through it?"

"Me achieving it naturally is as likely as flipping a coin and having it land vertically after bouncing several times."

"Why don't you just say it's impossible?"

"Because nothing is impossible," Fazil smiled, showing a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "No matter how ridiculous you can imagine something happening, the probability of it occurring will never be zero. After all, everything we experience is nothing more than the result of chance."

Geoffrey could only sigh at his friend's words.

Ametsa and Kara giggled between themselves, seeing how Fazil seemed to be in perfect condition again.

Darlina still had worry etched on her face. But, to everyone's surprise, Fazil caressed her cheek.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright."

This immediately made the princess blush with embarrassment, while Ametsa was in shock.

Fazil, seemingly not paying attention, mentioned, "Tomorrow I'll depart for this unknown world..." Excitement filled his face. "I wonder what things I'll find there."

A great attitude could be seen in him, one that those present had forgotten even what it looked like.

The city where the royal castle was located wasn't too far from Fazil's residence, so Geoffrey and Darlina's journey went without difficulty.

Fazil's best friend was in bed, reflecting on what had happened today.

"You haven't changed a bit," he thought, as a childhood memory came to his mind.

An infant Fazil was with Geoffrey outside their hometown.

"What do you think will fall first? The feather or the rock?"

Geoffrey smiled, remembering that, as he had indeed guessed correctly that the rock would fall first.

It was some time later, in that same place, that Fazil's experiment was repeated. That same day, Geoffrey understood that Fazil was destined to achieve great things, as he had witnessed a feather and a rock falling at the same time, despite their difference in weight.

His friend never explained how he had done it, but he had been amazed. Something so simple that for many would be an unimportant thing was arduously investigated by his friend, as his calloused hands and sleepless face indicated how much effort he had put in.

"Crazy bastard."

With that last thought, Geoffrey went to sleep.

***

"And with this, we're done."

Fazil was preparing several wooden boxes; inside them were materials and food for his new journey.

The location was his large hall, where he performed rituals and experiments.

"I'll miss Ametsa's food," he said in a dejected tone.

He was ready to leave without saying goodbye to everyone. Possibly in his heart, he couldn't bear to part with them.

"Then it wouldn't be appropriate for you to leave without us..."

The mage immediately turned around, only to find Kara and Ametsa, ready with the clothes they usually wore when they went exploring with Fazil.

Both were also carrying backpacks. The determination in their eyes said it all.

"I don't even know if I'll survive this," Fazil smiled ironically.

Even so, the girls didn't say a single word. They simply stepped forward.

They had been with him for years. They had lived thousands of experiences together, both good and bad. And this new experience alongside the person who had done so much for them was not something they would miss.

Fazil understood and only limited himself to saying one word:

"Thanks."

"Will you thank me too?"

A smiling Geoffrey also entered the room. Fazil was about to speak, but his friend stopped him.

"No matter what you say, I'm going with you."

"What do you think will happen when the savior and the strongest man in humanity disappear into thin air?"

"We live in a time of peace. Besides, since the demon king was defeated, I haven't experienced a good adventure. And all my years of knowing you have taught me that wherever you decide to go, it always gets exciting."

Geoffrey extended his fist in front of Fazil. He looked at it and remembered moments from his childhood, though he then became somewhat melancholic and bumped his fist against his friend's.

"Not all of them have been exciting," he quickly changed his mood. "Okay. Let me adjust the magic circles to..."

"Wait!"

That shout had caught everyone's attention.

In the doorway stood a flustered Darlina, showing signs of having been running. The most striking thing was her attire, as she was still wearing her pajamas.

"Princess. Your attire, what must the inhabitants who saw you have thought?"

"I don't care!" She went straight to Fazil and clung to his clothes.

This did not go unnoticed by Ametsa, who frowned.

"I'm going with you."

"You can't," the mage replied.

"I will, I keep my promises."

Her determined face brought back a memory from the past.

Fazil and Darlina were on one of the castle balconies, observing the stars.

"What are the stars?" asked Darlina, who was amazed by the few bright spots in the sky.

"They are possibly like our sun. Only, being at unimaginable distances, only their light reaches us."

"You always come up with things like that. The church taught us that the few stars in the sky are the homes of the gods who watch over us."

She watched them every night. Those beautiful points in the sky, which although scarce, were a sight worth seeing.

"Someday I'll reach one of them and prove them wrong."

Darlina looked at Fazil, who was also looking at them with great curiosity.

"Then I'll go with you."

"And what if my journey takes us very far? There's a distance I can't even imagine."

Darlina stood firm and approached the mage. When their eyes met, she spoke:

"No matter where it is, I want to be with you when that moment comes when you tell me you can show me what's in those stars."

Fazil remembered that moment in great detail. Not because of Darlina's words, but because it had been the first time in his life that he had blushed for a girl.

He also stared at her.

"But where I'm going, I don't know if there are stars."

"You're about to take me to another world. How difficult will it be to take me to the stars after this?"

The others felt this strange atmosphere between Fazil and Darlina. Ametsa even had an emotionless face, which made Kara a little uncomfortable.

"Does that mean you're abandoning your idea of the existence of gods?" Fazil mentioned.

Darlina became nervous but quickly calmed down, taking a few breaths.

"No. It's true that you've shown me a new world, a different vision, but there's something that doesn't change." She looked directly into Fazil's eyes again. "I know I can't prove the existence of gods to you..." Fazil was about to argue, but Darlina interrupted him. "...But can you prove to me that they don't exist?" She showed a small smile, full of confidence.

Fazil was in shock for a few moments before doing something unexpected for him.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed a Darlina, red with embarrassment.

"I see you've matured well."

The mage was caressing Darlina's head while showing a cheerful attitude.

He looked at everyone and couldn't help but sigh.

"I suppose I'll have to make some adjustments to the magic circles. Although, Darlina... Isn't it a bit bold for you to arrive in another world wearing that?" He pointed to the princess's clothes.

For a few moments, Darlina had forgotten how she was dressed. This caused her embarrassment to be even greater.

"Don't look!" she shouted as she slapped Fazil.

The one considered the strongest being in the world lay on the ground. Darlina, for her part, ran out of the room.

After an hour of changing some things in his magic circles, Fazil was finished.

"Are we ready?"

Fazil observed everyone ready with their things. Darlina had casual travel clothes at Fazil's house, so changing her outfit hadn't been a problem.

Both she and Geoffrey had left their armor behind, but their swords had been brought with them.

"Alright. Everyone get in the big circle in the middle," Fazil pointed to the spot.

The mysterious inscriptions carved into the immense number of magic circles were enormous. They had never seen such a formation. Not even Kara and Ametsa could avoid being surprised by such a sight.

"Now... Let's begin!"

After Fazil stood with them, two gems similar to the ones shown yesterday appeared on opposite sides of the room. And the same thing happened again.

Every event they had experienced happened again. Another world rift had been created above them.

At that very moment, all the magic circles began to glow intensely while they continued to see how Fazil was completely focused.

"What's happening?!" Darlina screamed, terrified.

Not only her, but everyone else also began to scream. Not from pain or suffering, they screamed from terror.

Everyone began to disintegrate in a way they couldn't understand. It wasn't as if they turned to dust or melted. They could simply explain that they were being eliminated.

The word they might want to know would be disintegrate.

This action was incredibly fast, to the point that perhaps their screams of terror only occurred in their minds.

When they realized it, they were still screaming.

"It went better than I thought! But... am I still me?"

Fazil was completely excited, touching and examining every part of his body in minute detail.

The area where they were didn't seem to have much light, so he quickly created a sphere of light.

The place where they were looked like a chamber in some dungeon, but the material was different at first glance; there were even several lines on the floor that delimited rectangular areas of the same size.

"What was all that?! Explain yourself!" Geoffrey exclaimed.

Fazil couldn't help but laugh as he thought of his answer.

"To put it simply, we all died a few moments ago." Everyone was in shock. "But curiously, we feel like ourselves, so I wonder, are we still the people who crossed that world rift?"