Monologue - Arthur Olvasen
People are selfish.
You learn this as you grow up.
And as you grow up you realise there is nothing inherently wrong with it. It is an intrinsic human value. Something everyone is born with.
Just like with any other thing, selfishness also varies in quality and quantity in every living being. But such a thing is often subject to such harsh scrutiny.
Selfishness isn't a flaw—it's a weapon. One that, when wielded with skill, separates the weak from the powerful.
In a world driven by self-interest, those who are willing to put their own needs first are the ones who come out on top.
It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and we're not afraid to do whatever it takes to get what we want.
I am sure Adam and Eve understood this. They understood that humanity would not be able to withstand the cruel union of the other races.
A million different echoes of people—men, women, children—echoed in my head as I looked at it. I blinked my eyes repeatedly, and the voices vanished as soon as they had come.
Shaking my head, I tried to take off the lingering paranoia. Sometimes it feels like I might be suffering from a mental disorder—autism? Perhaps schizophrenia?
There was no way to tell unless I went to a doctor…which, alas, is not possible.
Anyways, back to the pain topic.
Thousands of years ago, when Humans co-existed with other races, they flourished.
And it was not just us, but everyone else also did as a by-product.
Using the cunning of the human brain and the naturally occurring 「Arcanum」in the air, we were able to reach heights that even now this world is unable to achieve.
Architectural marvels like the 「Pyramids」, 「Gobleki Tepe」and the 「Stonehenge」are one of the many living pieces of evidence of this.
However, selfishness was what laid it all to ruin.
Hundreds of thousand years ago, the mythical races such as Elves, Dwarves and the others reunited against the humans.
Afraid of their—our innovations and the ability to copulate in small intervals is what sparked the threat of extinction in them.
Fearing humans as the dominant species, they used their superior Arcane Arts to drive humans to the brink of extinction.
However, just as when humans were reduced to the last hundred, the four Gods that were all worshipped by the humans got together and divided the world into two equal parts.
Stripping away the land now called Earth from Eden.
As the two worlds existed in the same plane without touching each other, it was hard for anyone to cross over without sustaining a heavy loss.
And the only two that did were what we call the Progenitors of the human race—Adam and Eve.
Although since the world was stripped away by Gods themselves, there were many other Gods and Goddesses that were unhappy with it.
So, the price they paid was the next to no amount of Arcanum on EaIrth. Since it was sealed in a "bubble" of sorts, earth lost its ability to replenish the ambient arcanum…well, not entirely but it's quite close to that.
And due to this low amount, as the human population started to flourish, 27 generations after Adam and Eve, when humans started to show distinctions in physical appearances as Adam's children started to travel to different lands—once again—it was decided that the 「Arcane Arts」 would only be passed down by certain lineages.
Quite strange if you think about it.
All of humanity that is flourishing in this day and age is somehow related.
'ADAAMMM'
An extremely soft, haunting whisper made me look back.
"Yes?" Dotun tilted his head as he saw me gaping at him.
"Uh–nothing…" I felt my voice trail off.
There was something unusual about this place. And while Annual Meetings are unskippable, I had to skip it. This place always debilitates…whatever condition I have.
Anyways.
Arcane Arts are either inherited or one is born with a unique type. However, the percentage of people awakening with one is not a common occurrence. Only the really talented ones awaken it.
According to Adam's records, his arcane arts were the deadliest the world had ever seen.
However, there is a contradiction which puts Adam's identity into jeopardy.
He had 10 Arcane Arts.
TEN!
Which shouldn't be possible since arcane arts are stored inside one's cortex, and just having one arcane art can debilitate a child at birth, let alone 10.
That said, the ten types of his 「Annihilation Type」Arcane Arts were either too hard to learn, too rare to inherit or too powerful to sustain.
As time went on, especially after 27 generations, specific lineages managed to inherit the last of his seven Arcane Arts using a Blood Contract while losing the other powerful 3 types to history.
The downside of this Blood Contract was that these families could no longer manifest a unique type of Arcane Art.
They were stuck with one of Adam's magic.
This takes away one's alignment with something better and is reduced down to a specific few spells.
Those seven lineages which managed to secure the last of Adam's legacy became today's The Seven Syndicates.
The prophets, messengers of Gods… everything. It was all either someone of the Seven Syndicates who decided to come out of the shadows and make a name in the world using their Arcane Arts or in some rare case, it was a normal human who could instinctively use Arcanum.
As the six heirs—myself included—walked down the spiralling stairs leading down to the basement, I felt the humidity press against my skin like a wet blanket.
Despite the cold temperature outside, the narrow stairway felt like a furnace, like sweaty hands grabbing me by the neck and slowly taking my breath away.
As I walked in the extreme back, I saw Maria's silky blonde hair bob up and down with every powerful step she took down.
There were only six of us present here.
It was an odd occurrence, since as I said before, annual meetings are unskippable. Unless there is an extreme case, missing out on it is never allowed.
Although it feels hypocritical for me to say this given how I have skipped two times in previous years.
I could almost feel a dry lump settle at the back of my throat.
And it was not just me.
Leading in the forefront, I could see Michael wipe the beads of glistening sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
The only one seemingly unperturbed by all of this was Dotun Olaniyan Ife, his thick braids looking like a pair of rattlesnakes, as if alive.
As we arrived at the bottom of the staircase, all six of us bowed down and took a knee.
The basement was many times bigger than the castle's ground floor.
Needless to say, it had double the number of rooms as well.
Rooms that only the Lords of each family were allowed access to.
As soon as we reached down the stairs, The basement stretched endlessly, its walls lined with doors too many to count. A faint hum filled the air, the kind that made my skin prickle.
And right in front of us were four statues.
The four patron Gods of humans that stripped Earth away from Eden.
Guardian of the Secret Flame—Goddess Hestia, The Oceanic Mother—Tethys, The Matron—Goddess Demeter and The Undying Monarch—God Osiris. Right in front of their statues were the Lords of the The Seven Syndicates.
Offerings—withered flowers, melted candles—laid at the statue's feet.
As soon as they rose up from their prostrating forms, we did the same, mirroring the exact same actions they had.
The air was suffocatingly humid.
My father turned towards me; his emerald eyes gleaming behind the light brown curtain of his hair.
His fingers snapped and for the first time since entering the premises of the basement, each one of us heaved out a fresh breath.
My father—Aksel Olvasen, the host of these annual meetings—looked around as the other heads nodded to him.
"I must apologise for the delay in today's meeting." He spoke, his voice slow and steady, however the Arcanum imbued voice felt like an explosion going inside my ear.
"And about the Arcanum restrictors placed on your guardians. Putting that aside, let's not waste any more time." He spoke as the tension started to supercharge in the air. "The most prized accolade of our Godfather—Adam—has finally been found."
A wave of disbelief washed over everyone.
After the 27th generation, the humans at that time had decided to pass down Arcane Arts to only specific families.
Because they were afraid of human nature—their own natures.
The human nature of instilling greed and jealousy in others.
They were afraid of self-sabotage by the human race.
To avoid that, all artefacts once owned by Adam and Eve that they either stole or salvaged from Eden during their departure were buried in different parts of the world.
It was decided to never take them out again. For the sake of mankind.
However, it doesn't take a genius to know what the Seven Syndicates actually did.
However, a few hundred years ago, it all started to change.
It was the humans' staunch belief for the four Gods that they separated this piece of land for us, exhausting their powers.
And the seal that was placed on it stayed strong in tandem with the beliefs of people. That was why people from magic families posed as prophets to not let this belief die.
However, with the continuous derailment from the ethics initially taught, the belief in those Gods is nothing more than a fairytale now, referred to as 'myths'.
Around a hundred years ago, the seal that separated the two worlds started to loosen up.
The reason why Astrid thought it was taking longer than usual was because Earth is slowly in the process of merging back with Eden. It's subtle. So subtle that it's only visible at a microscopic level.
However, now that it has been exposed, it is quite plausible to hasten its process.
We are still not aware of the magic capabilities of the inhabitants of Eden, especially when they had access to so much Arcanum for aeons.
In retrospect the ratio of "Foulborns" being able to utilise Arcanum has increased from 1-in-100 million to 1-in-1 million due to the merger, and Eden's arcanum slowly slipping into Earth.
Astrid is also one of those who were affected by it. Because when I looked at her family tree, there is not a single awakened person.
"Let the Annual Meeting begin!"
The booming voice cut through the air and my thoughts alike as I took in a deep breath.
This is going to feel like a long day.