Sorcerer’s Handbook

Ever since he learned about Senlo’s Doomsday mechanism, Ashe had always felt a faint sense of discord in his heart.
But accidents kept slapping him in the face like a palm, with the three divine era deities, Specter Seer Vichy, Doomsday Storm, Silver Lantern ascension, and the Four Pillars’ gaze all coming one after another. In just a few hours, Ashe had gone through enough catastrophes to kill an ordinary person seven or eight times over. It was like an all-you-can-eat buffet of disasters-every joy fulfilled at once. How could he possibly have time for any deep thinking?
It wasn’t until now, when Tamashi said, “The Chasm Sovereign is dreaming of me.” that Ashe suddenly saw the light, as if surfacing from the depths of the sea, no longer having his mind blocked by murky waters.
The strangest thing about the Doomsday mechanism was that, although its rules were crystal clear, the guidance process was basically nonexistent. For two whole centuries, the Chasm Sovereign of Senlo had been wounded, and only after two hundred years did a Silver Lantern appear to execute the Doomsday mechanism. If the Silver Lantern hadn’t shown up, the mechanism might as well not exist.
And the Silver Lantern only learned the truth by inheriting the will of the Gray Fox sorcerer. In other words, even the step of “understanding the mechanism” wasn’t announced by the Chasm Sovereign-it was the sorcerers who pieced it together through guesswork, deducing that the people of Senlo could actually choose how to go extinct.
So, in this process, who was the most anxious?
It was the Chasm Sovereign of Senlo!
The Doomsday mechanism’s focus wasn’t on destruction, but on saving the Sovereign!
He suffered wounds he couldn’t heal himself, needed to cast off the burden of the Senlo Kingdom, and had already left behind the Doomsday mechanism for that purpose, but had not arranged any guidance! It’s like buying a fantastic two-player co-op game, preparing the sofa, TV, and snacks, but not having a single friend-until, after two hundred years, a little girl sneaks in.
Thinking carefully, it’s quite likely the Chasm Sovereign entrusted the guidance process to the three gods, since they ascended from Senlo’s homeland and would face fewer obstacles leading the Doomsday. But the Sovereign didn’t expect the three gods to rebel, so the guidance mechanism was directly canceled by them, plunging Senlo into two centuries of wasteland chaos.
By normal progression, the Chasm Sovereign of Senlo really would have been screwed over by the three gods.
A Divine Sovereign being betrayed and killed by his own deities-not only unprecedented, but probably never to be repeated.
But even with a guidance mechanism, there was still an insurmountable problem: the threshold for opening the Silent Spiral was simply too high.
Seventeen Demi-God spells in total-only a sorcerer as utterly insane as Vesser could collect them all. There were also countless factors of timing, location, and people. First, the wasteland did have nearly thirty Demi-God spells, which was the right timing; she used the rise of the Four Pillars Cult to accumulate early resources, which was location; and she had ways to lure out the spells, which was people.
Miss any one of these, and Vesser couldn’t have opened the eighteenth layer of the Silent Spiral. In fact, without Ashe’s support, she would have been eaten by the Circle Cicada during the Divine Fire Trial.
With such difficulty and high requirements, even if the Chasm Sovereign had arranged a guidance mechanism, normal progression might never have triggered this contingency.
But there was no other way. If the Doomsday mechanism were simple enough for any ordinary Senlo sorcerer to trigger, the Sovereign would be shooting himself in the foot. At least Ashe didn’t think the Sovereign would always keep an eye on the Senlo Kingdom. If he got obsessed with some research for a year or two, only to come out and find the Kingdom formatted, he’d probably be laughed at by other Divine Sovereigns for thousands of years.
If he were the Chasm Sovereign, he’d never rely on the Doomsday mechanism. The real life-saving measure must be an ultimate divine intervention that requires no guidance mechanism and can be triggered no matter how heavy the losses.
So, what’s the worst-case scenario?
The Sovereign dies instantly, negative energy floods Senlo, turning the world into a Choking Green hell. Vesser said the eighteenth layer of the Silent Spiral is the closest place to the Sovereign, so when the Sovereign’s deathly resentment erupts, it’ll pierce through the bottom of the Silent Spiral, turning all beings into Choking Green and triggering a catastrophic fall.
The worst outcome is death.
The corresponding method, naturally, is resurrection.
“My head feels like it’s filled with all sorts of things.” Tamashi held his forehead, looking exhausted. “But what I can use right now is only the management method for Senlo’s Dream. I can freely dominate all fantasies, including…”
Raven Annihilation’s voice was full of complicated emotion: “Some of my special constitutions.”
“Your virtual realm repulsion constitution isn’t innate?” Igor asked. “Were you cursed by the Chasm Sovereign?”
“You could say it’s innate, since it’s been with me since the moment I was born.” Tamashi lay on Ashe’s back and said, “But it’s not a curse. It’s because I’ve always been watched by the Death Wish Raven-Eroding Dragon. As soon as I enter the virtual realm, it immediately attacks me, no matter where I am. Hmm, it hasn’t been named, so for convenience, let’s call this constitution the Death Wish Constitution.”
“The Chasm Sovereign seems to be the only Death Wish Sorcerer who grew up under the pursuit of the Death Wish Raven-Eroding Dragon. He designed the ‘Sky-Revolving Scale Powder’ mechanism for the Senlo Kingdom. All prisoners with the Death Wish Constitution in Senlo, under the suppression of the Sky-Revolving Scale Powder, can’t recognize any text or connect to the virtual realm, cutting off any chance of being hunted by the Death Wish Raven-Eroding Dragon.”
“But the Sky-Revolving Scale Powder has a second function. Any Death Wish mortal who reacts to it will gradually become the perfect vessel for the Sovereign’s resurrection. The broken Senlo Dream will become the eggshell, allowing the Death Wish vessel to hatch and be reborn.”
At last, all doubts were resolved.
Ashe and the others weren’t drawn by the Doomsday sorcerer because they weren’t Senlo people; Tamashi wasn’t drawn because those with the Death Wish Constitution were left by the Sovereign as resurrection vessels.
For a moment, Ashe and the others didn’t know how to comment.
There was no doubt-the Sovereign’s original intention was good. He’d suffered enough being hunted by the Death Wish Raven-Eroding Dragon in his youth, and knew how high the death rate was for people with the Death Wish Constitution, so he simply suppressed all his kin, sparing them from deadly crisis. Though they lost the chance to become sorcerers, at least they kept their lives.
Ashe and the others were sorcerers themselves-how could they not know the pain of being hunted by virtual realm creatures? And they’d never even heard of the Death Wish Raven-Eroding Dragon. Even optimistically, it was at least a legend dwelling in Ruby Mountain, but more likely a Demigod in the Divine Dominion.
Imagine it: you just entered the virtual realm, only have one spirit, haven’t even condensed silver spellforce, and you’re hunted by such a being… Who knows how terrifying the Chasm Sovereign was to survive and grow in a situation where death was certain.
For Death Wish Constitution holders in other Kingdoms, they’d probably die as soon as they entered the virtual realm, but the credit would end up going to the Blade Fish Dragon, and no one would know an upper-tier creature was hunting low-level sorcerers.
Except for the Chasm Sovereign of Senlo, no one knew to protect or how to protect Death Wish mortals.
Over all these years, who knows how many Death Wish mortals the Sovereign has protected. Now he’s gravely wounded and dying, wanting to use a Death Wish Constitution for resurrection-is that too much to ask?
Not excessive.
If it happened to someone else, Ashe would definitely think it wasn’t excessive.
“So, as long as I pull you into Wishflux Celestium, you can escape the fate of becoming a resurrection vessel?”
“I don’t know.” Tamashi said softly, “I don’t know if escaping Senlo means I can avoid eternal recurrence, nor do I know whether I should escape.”
“The Chasm Sovereign is our protector god in Senlo. He established the Dream’s rules and sheltered Senlo’s stable development for over a thousand years. Even if He has selfish motives, His actions have truly benefited countless Senlo people… The most basic rules of the Senlo Dream are ‘immune to all diseases,’ ‘everlasting fertility of the land,’ ‘favorable weather’… Even if He binds Himself to Senlo, using Senlo to resist harm and flee death, I can’t blame Him for any wrongdoing, because all of this was His gift to us.”
Igor immediately spoke up, “But this is clearly-“
Tamashi raised his hand to interrupt the Con Artist: “I know you can come up with plenty of brilliant reasons to ease my conscience, but in my heart I know right from wrong. If the Chasm Sovereign can resurrect, He can surely create more value than I ever could. At the very least, this land could be reborn in His hands.”
“Is your worldview so narrow that it only allows for two extremes, right or wrong!?” Igor was so exasperated his laughed, “You just simply want to die, don’t you?”
“We Senlo people are just that simple.” Tamashi wasn’t angry at all, nodding, “So simple we can only hold one faith, so simple we’ve slaughtered each other on the wasteland for hundreds of years. Swaying with the wind may be pleasant, but sticking to one path is what gives us peace of mind.”
Igor was momentarily speechless. Ashe took a deep breath and asked, “Is this really what you think?”
“Mm.”
“I know people’s values aren’t the same, let alone those of a Divine Sovereign and a human; I also know you Senlo people aren’t afraid of sacrifice, even if it means living like fireworks, burning out in a flash. From the world’s perspective, the Chasm Sovereign’s rebirth would be extraordinary for the Six Nations.” Ashe said, “But what if I disagree?”
Tamashi was slightly taken aback, “You disagree?”
“Did you forget? I’m your Judge, the one who restrains you. You just said you’d follow me to hell, and now you want to go back on that?”
“…Are you trying to use that to persuade me?”
“Not just that. Do you remember we’re notorious villains across several Kingdoms? Harvey can casually raise a necromancy army; Igor can easily manipulate a nation from the shadows. Emotionally, we absolutely cannot accept the Chasm Sovereign resurrecting in your body. If He succeeds, the three of us become His enemies.”
Ashe said, “Tamashi, you wouldn’t want the Chasm Sovereign to be bullied by us, would you?”
Harvey objected, “Actually, raising a necromancy army is still a bit difficult for me…”
“Shut up.” Igor said, “I’ve told you hundreds of times that a mental sorcerer isn’t a hypnotist, and he still doesn’t get it.”
Tamashi was a little amused and helpless:
“How can you be like this.”
“Actually, I could activate the Heart of Wishes Command right now and take you away.”
Ashe said, “But I want you to know, you’re no longer that Death Raven wandering the wasteland hunting the Mercury Trojan Horse. You can care about faith, about your homeland, about strangers you don’t know, but you also need to remember, there are still a few people in this world who care about you.”
“So, don’t let us down.” He said, “Besides, maybe there are other Death Wish Constitutions out there? Even if we leave, the Chasm Sovereign might still resurrect.”
Tamashi: “But wouldn’t someone still have to be the vessel? And since the management authority was given to me, that means I’m the first-choice vessel.”
“What if there’s a second or third choice, and they happen to be very willing to be the Chasm Sovereign’s vessel? You can’t deny that possibility, right?”
“You’re being unreasonable…”
“Yeah, so what?” Ashe blinked, “Is it so strange for me to be unreasonable?”
“Raven, he can be unreasonable, but you can’t avoid it.”
Igor added, “I’m still alive, so you can’t die either, unless you want to betray your own principles.”
Tamashi was stunned, then immediately understood the Con Artist’s implication: he hadn’t sacrificed Igor’s life to kill the Mercury Trojan Horse, so now he shouldn’t sacrifice himself to resurrect the Chasm Sovereign. This is the path Raven Annihilation walks-punishing evil or saving lives, but never at the cost of sacrificing life.
But is sacrificing others the same as sacrificing yourself? Tamashi felt his thoughts were a bit chaotic, and the newborn faith of Raven Annihilation was facing a severe test from the Con Artist’s words.
Yet, his wavering heart finally found an answer he could rest with.
“Being with you all, I feel like I’ll turn bad sooner or later.”
Tamashi sighed, his lips curling up, his eyes showing a smile: “If you keep abducting me like this, you might end up in hell.”
“But going to hell with you would definitely be fun.” He laughed, “I’ll introduce my sister to you all again when the time comes.”
“Then I’ll look forward to it.” Ashe asked, “So you don’t want to be the Chasm Sovereign’s vessel anymore?”
“No.” Tamashi said seriously, “I, Tamashi Raven Annihilation, would rather charge forward with you all. I care about you.”
The three of them looked a little awkward. As expected of Raven Annihilation from the good alignment, he could say such things so calmly.
You have to know, when Ashe recalled rushing over to hug them just now, he almost wanted to dig a hole and bury himself.
“Alright.” Ashe quickly changed the subject, taking out the Heart of Wishes Command: “Then let’s-“
“Ashe.” Tamashi suddenly asked, “Do you still want to save the Senlo people? As long as you can?”
Ashe looked at his strangely and nodded, “Of course.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Can you stop with the nonsense?”
Tamashi jumped down, took the Heart of Wishes Command from Ashe’s hand, and walked through the air. Ashe was stunned-so you didn’t need me to carry you all along!
“I’m not sure, but maybe…” Tamashi walked to the front of the Void Gate, tightly gripping the Heart of Wishes Command, then shoved it straight into the Void Gate.
The other three quietly watched as the Void Gate suddenly glowed with white light, rapidly expanding until it nearly filled the entire fissure!
Facing their surprised gazes, Tamashi explained, “I’ve gained management authority over the Senlo Dream, so I can not only invoke existing rules, like ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘Kaleidoscope,’ but also create new rules-though it will further accelerate the world’s collapse.”
“When I heard you say the Heart of Wishes Command could directly teleport to Wishflux Celestium, I wondered if I could temporarily create a rule to fuse the Heart of Wishes Command with the Void Gate Spirit.”
“Looks like it worked.”
Tamashi glanced at the huge Light Gate below, then said to Ashe:
“The Senlo people have already been abandoned by the Chasm Sovereign. Are you willing to accept them as your subjects?”