"The stars in the night sky, their positions, hold infinite mysteries. Their positions shift in strange ways as time passes, and these changes have always been taken as hints granted to mankind by the gods. People often think astrologers are merely those who study the riddles the gods leave for humanity.
Yet all of this is wrong!
The stars also hold immeasurable power — power far greater than the fiercest storms, raging floods, or roaring flames. It is so great that it even made me doubt.
Could such immense power truly have been created by the gods?
Besides, the stars have hung in the sky since ancient times — long before our known history, perhaps even before this world was made.
So were the stars truly created by the gods as well? All the books and religious scriptures available today speak with one voice:
*'The stars were ornaments placed in the sky by the gods when they created this world, to beautify the night. The gods shift the stars' positions according to their will and the changes of the world, and these shifts are revelations for mankind.'*
Yes, by that account, the stars were made as mere accessories to the night sky, created alongside our world… but is that really true?
Six years ago, when I was thirty-four, an unnatural change struck the heavens: a star fell from the sky. All the astrologers scrambled to study what 'divine revelation' this might be. But I chose a different path.
Using the direction of the falling star and every scrap of information I could find, I resolved to hunt for it. I spent three long years traveling the far northern reaches of the continent… and I finally found it."
At that, Semel's phantom gently raised one hand from her red robe, palm up, holding a small, black, fist-sized stone.
"This is the fallen star I recovered. See? It looks like nothing more than a rock! This is only a small piece I chipped off. The main body was as big as a house, and it had smashed a huge crater into the ground. I could see signs of a terrible fire — forests burned to ash, plains crushed into valleys! A destructive force like that… only the highest Forbidden Spells of magic could rival it."
Dwight could not help but sigh.
In his eyes, Semel, this female astrologer, was truly extraordinary.
In a world that blindly believed the gods created all things, she dared to question — and in some ways, she had come dangerously close to the truth.
"Unimaginable as it seems, the so-called 'stars' are nothing but enormous rocks. What's more, this material is completely unlike anything known in this world! It is hard, and it exerts a strange absorption of magic power. I spent ages consulting experienced magic alchemists and even elderly blacksmiths — not one could recognize this new substance.
That means… the stars do **not** belong to our world at all!"
Semel's phantom flickered, a clear sign her magic power was fading fast. Dwight tensed, silently praying the magic would hold a little longer.
"From that moment, I began to doubt all the scriptures about the gods creating the world. If the gods made this world, gave it life, day and night, the changing seasons… then who truly wrote the **Code** behind it all? Was it the gods?
I spent nearly my whole life studying the stars, only to find the claim that 'the stars' shifts are divine revelations' was utterly absurd. For ten years, I recorded and studied the positions of every star visible in the sky, observing them night after night.
Gradually, on nights when dark clouds hid the stars, I could not watch with my eyes. I had to find another way… and I thought of **magic**.
If magic could sense all subtle changes in nature, then could I use magic to *feel* the stars' positions when I could not see them?
In the end, I discovered **Star Power**!
If I could wield this power, I could draw on the stars, just as mages draw on the forces of nature!
And once I learned to sense Star Power, I made another shocking discovery:
Star Power could be felt **not only at night**.
Even under the blazing sun, I could still sense the stars' presence through meditation, expanding my spiritual awareness. They were still there, in the sky — day and night! Only their light was hidden by the sun's glare during the day.
Ten years of recording taught me this: the stars shift, but they follow fixed, repeating cycles. A star might be in the east in summer, move to the west in winter, then return east the next year… everything follows a set path, over and over.
This is no divine revelation. No riddle from the gods.
It is all governed by unchanging rules —
**The Law of the Stars. The Code of the Stars!**"
Semel's phantom grew weaker, her magic on the verge of fading completely.
Her voice turned stern and sharp.
"The Temple tells us the stars are riddles and revelations from the gods — yet I found their shifts follow fixed rules, with nothing to do with divine messages.
The Temple tells us the stars are mere ornaments for the night — yet I found they exist even in daylight, unseen but present.
The Temple tells us the gods created this world — yet I found the stars are made of a material unknown to this world, foreign to everything we know."
The great astrologer lifted her head and spoke her final conclusion:
"I began to doubt if the stars were made by the gods…
And in the end, I began to doubt the very idea of… **gods**."
Staring at her phantom, Dwight felt a surge of respect for this woman. She was the first person he had met in this world who dared to question common sense and challenge authority.
Compared to those who blindly believed "the gods created all," this woman who dared to doubt, to question, to spend her life searching for the truth, commanded his deepest admiration.
"My life's research is stored in this room. These rows of cabinets hold everything I leave for you. The other door outside is a decoy. Anyone who fails to understand my star clues will only find that fake door, behind which lies nothing but worldly treasure.
**This** — this hidden chamber — is my true legacy, Semel Qira Rollin's gift to the world!"
The pillar of light flashed and dimmed. The astrologer's figure blurred, her voice growing faint.
"One last warning: the oil painting in the study holds a magical creature I created, sealed within the canvas. It will be your guide to learning all I have left behind. You cannot unlock the secrets of this room without its help.
I inscribed all the incantations for the Star Magic I created into that creature — for safety, I wrote none on paper. You must break its seal."
"My child, I do not know how many years will pass before you find this place, but I believe the great Rollin family will one day produce a genius of magic.
You must understand: my life's work defies the authority of the gods. The world will never accept this — especially those who hold power. They will stop at nothing to destroy it. I could not leave my legacy openly, only in secret.
I placed a spell on that magical creature: it can only awaken at night, and falls into slumber by day… much like the stars themselves, hidden from sight in daylight. Only those with strong spiritual power can see it after dark.
If you have come this far, your spiritual power is surely enough to make you an outstanding mage. I can pass my Star Magic on to you in full.
Remember this incantation — it will break the seal on the painting. Once freed, the creature will obey your every command without question…
From there, everything depends on your effort."
The astrologer spoke the final incantation slowly, enunciating every syllable, while her fingers formed delicate seals. Dwight memorized every detail.
Then — *flash!*
The light blazed bright for an instant and vanished completely.
The chamber plunged into darkness. Dwight quickly lit a candle, checked the room, and decided there was nothing more to do for now. He carefully made his way back up the secret passage.
By the time he returned to the study, he was covered in dust — but luckily, the room was already filled with dusty account books, so his grime was easy to explain.
He closed the hidden door in the bookshelf, then stepped before the oil painting.
"I've been inside. I saw everything — including her last words."
The eyes in the painting seemed to relax, then filled with pleading.
Dwight understood its meaning and smiled.
"You're asking how to break your seal? I found it — she left an incantation. But… there's a small problem."
Dwight smiled bitterly.
Semel's first clue was the painting itself. Only someone with strong spiritual power could see the living figure within — and anyone with strong spiritual power was almost certainly a mage, or at least capable of learning magic.
Her Star Magic required a mage to inherit it. That was why she had set this test.
If you could not see the living figure in the painting, you lacked the spiritual gift for magic.
If you *could* see it, you could learn magic… and use the incantation to free the seal.
But even the brilliant Semel could never have imagined that, years later, the Rollin family would produce a freak like Dwight.
He possessed **extraordinarily powerful spiritual power** — yet when it came to sensing magic, he was completely, hopelessly untalented.
In other words:
Dwight could not cast the incantation Semel had left. He could not break the seal on the painting.
Without that magical creature… he could never learn Semel's Star Magic.
All the incantations were stored within it.
It was a hopeless, inescapable impasse.
Dwight could only laugh bitterly.
He stood before a vast treasure, the door wide open — yet he could not step inside.
The frustration was unbearable.
Suddenly, Dwight's eyes lit up.
I captured a mage, didn't I?
That man could cast Instant Casting — the most advanced technique — with only the power of a Level 1 Mage.
Maybe…