Chapter 1: Chapter 1. When The God Arrived
In the beginning of the universe, eight entities were born alongside it, each one carrying a primal concept the world couldn’t exist without.
Light and Darkness. Life and Death. Time and Space. Creation and Destruction.
They called themselves the Ancient Origin, and for a very long time, that was enough.
...
The book was called My Daily Life in the Magic Academy, and the man reading it had already finished it twice.
"Master."
Catherine stood in the doorway with the expression she reserved for conversations she already knew she was going to lose. She was a beautiful woman in a maid’s uniform, and she had been around long enough to know exactly how this was going to go.
"Are you sure about this?"
The man on the chair looked up. He was young-looking, with sharp features and purple eyes that didn’t quite match the rest of his face — too still, too deep, like something ancient wearing a costume. He lowered the book.
"Why not? It’ll be fun."
"It’s a school. For children."
"I know what it is."
"And you feel that you have something to learn there."
"No," he said simply. "Humans don’t have anything to teach me. I’m going because of this." He held up the book. "There’s a harvest festival in Chapter seven. I want to see what that’s actually like."
Catherine stared at him for a moment.
"...Because of the harvest festival."
"Among other things."
She breathed in slowly. "Very well. Should I contact the chancellor? And what sort of disguise will you..."
The air changed.
It didn’t happen gradually, it simply was. The atmosphere around her became crushing, heavy as a mountain pressing down from all sides. She couldn’t breathe. The space around her began unraveling at its edges, reality peeling away into nothingness, silently and without mercy.
Catherine dropped to the floor and prostrated herself before him.
"DISGUISE."
His voice wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.
"I am Necrotize. The embodiment of Destruction. The ruler of Darkness. And you think I should disguise myself?"
"Please forgive me, Oh Great One," she said, her voice thin against the floor. "I have overstepped my boundaries."
Then, as suddenly as it had come, everything returned to normal. The air was light again. The world was whole.
"Forgive me, Catherine." His voice had softened completely. "I lost my composure for a moment. Please, stand up. I don’t like seeing you prostrate yourself before me."
"No," she said, still trembling slightly. "You have nothing to apologize for to someone as lowly as me."
"I am truly sorry." He set the book down. "And I don’t want to disguise myself. I want to experience everything in that book as I am... not as someone else."
Catherine slowly rose to her feet and gave him a quiet smile.
"Then I won’t stop you." She paused, as if remembering something. "Oh — I forgot to mention. Elizabeth will be enrolling in the academy this year as well."
"Who is she?"
"She has been chosen as this generation’s candidate for your next attendant, after me. She is also the third daughter of my brother, the Emperor."
Necrotize’s eyes sharpened with interest.
"Now that," he said, "sounds like it could be entertaining."
"The entrance exam is in two weeks. Is there anything you would like me to arrange in advance?"
"No. Just let it be."
"As you wish."
...
The Silvercrest Academy. One of the most prestigious institutions in the world for the study of magic and swordsmanship. Even the Emperor himself had once walked its halls as a student.
The academy was currently led by one of the strongest humans alive: Eric Zeldigor, a Rank 9 Archmage.
Inside a conference room, the professors and deans had gathered to discuss the entrance exam, which was set to begin in just a few hours.
"There are many strong candidates applying this year."
"Indeed. Several heirs of the great noble houses. I even heard that Princess Elizabeth will be among them."
Murmurs spread through the room.
"Princess Elizabeth? She’s this generation’s chosen one, isn’t she?"
"Yes. She will become the next Head Attendant to the Great One. To think we may have the chance to teach someone who will one day serve a living god."
"I can only imagine. Being chosen to serve the Great One is a guaranteed place in history. The authority you’d carry is nearly equal to the Emperor’s. And just being in a god’s presence makes you stronger. Lady Catherine is proof of that. She is the strongest human alive. I heard Lord Eric himself once lost to her."
At the head of the table, the old archmage let out a long, genuine laugh.
"I did lose to Lady Catherine. And it was a truly humbling experience. I couldn’t land a single hit. Not one. She was something else entirely."
The room fell quiet. No one could quite picture it , Lord Eric, a Rank 9 Archmage, unable to leave so much as a scratch.
He added, calmly, "Lady Catherine’s strength is comparable to the Demon King and the Dragon King. She is, in every sense, humanity’s greatest treasure."
"I heard she looks like she’s in her twenties," one professor said, "but she’s actually in her sixties."
"That is the power of the Great One," someone replied simply.
"Let us hope the entrance exam today goes smoothly."
None of them could have imagined what was coming.
......
The Silvercast Academy was almost as large as a medium-sized city. It sat an hour’s carriage ride away from the capital.
At the entrance of the Academy, thousands of students had gathered to participate in the entrance exam. Every year, nearly ten thousand participants came. But only three hundred would be chosen among them.
"Oh, look. That’s the heir of Duke Hilbert’s household."
"Oh my god. The third daughter of House Leonheart is also participating."
But suddenly, everyone’s attention shifted to one person.
A girl of around eighteen with golden hair and an extraordinarily beautiful face. Every participant stared at her with open admiration.
"Look. That’s Princess Elizabeth Ashendra. This generation’s Chosen One. She will be the next Head Attendant of the Great One."
Whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire. Elizabeth heard every single one of them.
And she hated every single one of them.
She had never wanted to be the Chosen One. The very idea disgusted her. All she had ever wanted was to pursue swordsmanship. To be free. Not to spend her life as a servant to some god.
But what choice did she have? It wasn’t as if she could simply refuse.
It was a promise made between the previous emperor and the Great One. In exchange for allowing the Great One to reside within the capital, the imperial family received one wish per emperor , any reasonable request, and the Great One would grant it. In return, one princess of the imperial family would serve as Head Attendant at his manor in the capital.
Elizabeth still didn’t understand why a literal god would want to live in a human city. But that was beside the point.
The heirs of the great noble houses were all watching her. Some with hatred. Some with envy. Some with barely concealed jealousy.
It was because of the imperial family’s relationship with the Great One that they had achieved what no one else could. They had united the entire continent under a single banner.
Slowly, the participants began moving toward the exam grounds.
Some time later, Chancellor Eric Zeldigor took to the stage and began his address.
"Good morning to all of you. Some of you may already know me, and some may not. I am Eric Zeldigor, Chancellor of the Silvercast Academy. As many of you are aware, this Academy has produced some of the greatest figures in history. It is a prestigious institution that countless people dream of entering. And you are here because you are among those dreamers. Some of you will pass. Some will not. Either way, give everything you have. Because this is the greatest institution in the world for those who seek to master magic and swordsmanship..."
Before he could finish, something changed.
The air grew restless. Heavy. The sky darkened without warning as the moon slid over the face of the sun. Then the ground began to shake.
Panic swept through the crowd instantly. Even the professors exchanged uneasy glances.
"Lord Eric, what is happening? Are we under attack?"
Eric said nothing. His eyes were fixed on the sky. Then slowly, he began to tremble.
Something was coming. Something that defied comprehension. Something so powerful that reality itself seemed to recoil from its approach.
"No," he said quietly. "Someone is coming. Someone beyond anything we can comprehend." He paused. "I don’t know who they are. But I know this — to them, I am nothing."
The professor who had asked the question went pale.
Elizabeth and the other students stared upward in silence.
Then the sky split open.
Two figures descended through the tear. A woman in a maid’s uniform with golden hair and a breathtakingly beautiful face. And beside her, a man dressed in a simple overcoat. His features were sharp and refined, almost unnervingly elegant. And his eyes — his eyes were an unusual, striking shade of purple.
They stood in the air, looking down at the crowd below. Then slowly, they descended to the ground.
Eric froze.
He recognised those eyes.
He broke into a run and dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead to the earth.
"I prostrate before thee."
Then he turned and screamed at the crowd behind him.
"ALL OF YOU — WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PROSTRATE BEFORE THE GREAT ONE. NOW."
The words hit like a physical force. Every single person dropped to the ground without thinking.
"I prostrate before thee."
"I prostrate before thee."
Elizabeth pressed her forehead to the ground along with everyone else. But her mind was somewhere else entirely.
So this is the being I have to serve. I hate it. I truly hate it.
The anger and frustration coiled tightly in her chest.
Necrotize heard her thoughts. And he found it — interesting.
’So she hates it. How amusing.’
"Everyone, stand up." His voice was calm. Unbothered. "I am not here for your worship. I have said this many times. I do not like this sort of thing."
Eric rose slowly, hesitation written across his face.
"Oh Great One... if this lowly being may ask — what brings you to a place such as this? I cannot imagine we have anything worthy to offer you."
The crowd rose as well, eyes fixed on the man before them. Murmurs passed through them like a current.
"So that is Lord Necrotize. The Great One. One of the Seven Ancient Origins. The God of Gods."
"To think we would ever be fortunate enough to see him with our own eyes."
Elizabeth stared at him. She couldn’t look away.
Beside Necrotize, Catherine offered Eric a small smile.
"Long time no see, Eric."
Eric blinked. "...Lady Catherine. It has indeed been a long time. I hope you are well." He glanced between her and Necrotize. "What brings you here?"
Catherine looked briefly at Necrotize before answering.
"Well, my Lord has something he wishes to do here."
"...And what would that be?"
Eric’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Catherine opened her mouth to answer.
But Necrotize spoke first.
"I want to enroll in the Academy."
Silence.
Then...
"WHAT?"
