"...What is this?"
Unlike ordinary magic circuits or mana affinities, stigmatas fundamentally altered the nature of a person's soul itself.
Some granted absurd control over specific magical attributes. Heck, some even distorted physical laws entirely. And the most terrifying of all were those gifted with abilities that should not have been possible through ordinary magic at all.
Naturally, humanity initially believed stigmatas were blessings.
Proof that civilization itself was evolving further.
But in truth, stigmatas had… unsurprisingly… originated from Zen.
Or more specifically, from what Zen himself was gradually becoming throughout each reincarnation cycle.
After countless lifetimes carrying memories beyond human limitations, continuously refining his soul through reincarnation, and repeatedly pushing closer toward the higher realms beyond ordinary existence, Zen eventually began approaching a threshold humanity was never originally meant to reach.
He was ascending.
