The Truth.

The Ultimate Truth.

It was the goal of every magi.

But...

What is the Truth?

What would happen when someone founds the Truth?

No one knows.

Since the inception of the world, no magi had ever found the Truth. 

Various rumors were spread all over the world. 

However, one rumor trumps them all.

"Eternal life."

Perhaps not many would believe it since no one had ever found The Truth.

But it doesn't matter. 

That rumor was enticing enough for all magi to take it as the real one. 

And after countless years being passed around, the majority of the magi had believed finding the Truth was equal to obtaining Eternal Life. Even the knowledgeable mortals.

Some magi still doubt the authenticity of that rumor. But there were only a few of them.

Mainly the ones who want to 'see it with their own eyes' type of magi.

And Alwyn was part of that group. 

Though Alwyn doesn't easily believe all the rumors, he would still seek the Truth regardless. Nothing else matter. Only the Truth can satisfy the curiosity deep inside his heart. For him, eternal life was just a bonus. 

Alwyn was once a mortal. A curious one.

He was curious about anything that made him interested. 

And the moment he found out about the magi...

About what they were seeking...

He knew...

He knew that was where he belongs. 

To become a Magi.

A Seeker of Truth.

And so, he started his journey to seek the Truth.

From a mortal, he became a magus. 

And from a low-level magus, he became a peak stage magus. 

The Blazing stage. 

The known peak of power for all magi at the moment. No other magi had reached the stage beyond that. If it even exist.

Alwyn reached that stage when he was almost a thousand years old.

Making him the youngest Monarch in the process. And also the fastest magi to reach the Blazing stage since anyone could ever know.

Monarch.

Every magi who reached the peak would be eligible to call themselves a Monarch.

After Alwyn became a Monarch, he didn't stop his pursuit of the Truth. 

Instead, his curiosity and passion became a lot more prominent in seeking the Truth. Eventually, he was starting to catch up with the older Monarchs in terms of knowledge and power. Making him the strongest Monarch. It also made him the hope of the other Monarchs to see the stage beyond.

Alwyn could feel something when he reached the peak.

And there's something unexplainable that was blocking him. Something invisible.

Was it the Truth? He didn't know.

It was like a barrier, but he didn't know what kind of barrier it was.

When he asks the other Monarchs about it, they all said they could also feel it and they have been searching for a way to break that wall but nothing seems to work. Even the Monarchs from before their time had failed to find a way. Some of the older Monarchs had even stopped trying to find a way and had been living the rest of their life taking care of their things. 

Alwyn was disappointed hearing pretty much the same answer from the other Monarchs. But even though he was disappointed, he would still try to find a way to reach and break that invisible wall until the day his lifespan ran out. 

The first thing he did was to journey around the world. 

He went from one Forbidden zone to another, to the edges of the world, and even to a place with only mortals around. 

He had visited every place he could think of. 

Sadly, he still found no clue regarding the way to reach and break that wall. The only things he got were various trinkets and materials from all over the world. 

Thousands of years passed. 

Alwyn finally stop his journey and went back to his magus tower. He had to stop because there's nothing else left in the world that he hadn't seen or visited. 

But just because he stopped his journey doesn't mean he would stop seeking the Truth. 

No. This is just another stop before he starts again.

While traveling, he had collected everything he found interesting and things he thought would be useful to later research in his tower. 

Immediately, he started his research on everything he could.

It took a few thousand years before Alwyn managed to finish off all the things he brought back. And from all the things he brought back, there's only one that warrants his full attention. So he made it to be the last. 

It was a fist-size pale white stone. 

And it looks just like any other stone. A bit rugged and sharp on some edges.

There's something inside the stone. And it made his soul quiver. Whether in excitement or something else, Alwyn can't explain it. 

He had a feeling it was something beneficial for him. Alwyn is a cautious person by nature. But this is something he felt he must obtain.

And after rounds of tests, the stone seemed impervious to everything. 

How could Alwyn break the stone to see what was inside of it if he can't even leave a scratch on the stone? 

Still, it didn't stop him from finding a way to split open the stone. 

Alwyn held the stone in his hand as he appraised it carefully. 

But then, something unexpected happens. The stone started to crack little by little.

The cracks covered the stone in the blink of an eye, Alwyn didn't even get the chance to do anything before the stone emits a blinding light from the cracks that engulfed everything in the room. Including Alwyn.

The light lasted for a quite good amount of time.

And finally, as the light dimmed, the room went back to normal. 

And Alwyn... 

Was no longer there.