Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

"I?"

Dago paused, a look of confusion appearing on his face.

The tentacles of thought slowly wriggled in the void, like rusty gears forcibly meshing.

He subconsciously mobilized his mental energy, attempting to scan every inch of his own muscles and bones.

Only the boundless golden hue and that ancient, dry scent that penetrates deep into the soul.

Honestly, he still doesn't know why he suddenly came here, to this dream that belongs to Melville, the "Gold Eater".

Fragments of memory surged violently in my mind, piecing together a series of tragic scenes.

He only remembered fighting the Golden Box with the Ash Witch Tracy in the ruins of the Mechanical Heart, but both of them were struck by some powerful golden curse and turned into two golden statues.

That feeling still makes him shudder—not from pain, but from a suffocating despair.

Golden lines spread along the veins, instantly freezing the boiling blood into cold gold.

Cellular activity is forcibly stripped away, and the rules of matter are brutally rewritten.

That is the absolute crushing of lower life by the laws of the higher order, a cruel mockery of the truth that "flesh and blood are weak and suffering".

Later, Tracy broke free from the curse's influence before she could. She seemed to want to kill herself, but failed. So she tried to use the power of the Golden Curse to kill herself.

That madwoman, her eyes burned with indifference to life.

"Over all these years, you are the first person to have persevered and come this far, to witness the gates of the Golden Kingdom with me."

The voice rang out again, interrupting Dago's reverie.

The voice lacked the coldness and scheming typical of wizards; instead, it conveyed a clarity that came with the passage of time.

"Thank you, fate, for bringing you to me. If you had come any later, my consciousness would have completely vanished."

The young man's figure was somewhat ethereal, as if he might be assimilated by the endless golden sand at any moment.

That was a sign that his spiritual energy was about to be exhausted, the last embers of his soul's fire about to be extinguished.

In this cruel wizarding world, even legends cannot withstand the erosion of time.

The young man looked at Dago with gentle eyes. "Would you be willing to do a small favor for a wretched old man with a beard that hangs down to the ground?"

This doesn't sound like a command from a powerful figure; it sounds more like a request from a pioneer to a successor.

A heavy feeling about the transmission of truth quietly settled in Dago's heart.

"What?"

Dago looked slightly taken aback.

In this world full of deceit and treachery, he became accustomed to the principle of equal exchange, and to the fact that every request concealed a deadly trap.

The young man looked around at the golden sea of ​​sand, finally settling on the magnificent golden city in the distance, his eyes deep and filled with longing.

That city was not merely a pile of gold, but a perfect crystallization of countless runes, formations, and alchemical formulas.

The arrangement of each brick and stone subtly corresponds to the trajectory of the stars.

"Help me finish building the Golden Kingdom. Even though I can no longer see it."

What a grand vision it was, and what a tragic ending it was.

A wizard who devoted his entire life to the pursuit of truth ultimately fell at the threshold of the gate of truth.

A faint sense of sadness and regret lingered in the air.

This sorrow is not for death, but for the unfinished work, for that imperfect perfection.

Infected by this emotion, Dago gazed at the endless, magnificent golden city in the distance. After a long while, he couldn't help but ask, "Can I go in and take a look?"

It is an instinctive thirst for unknown knowledge, a greed etched into the very bones of every wizard.

Even knowing that dangers may lurk ahead, one must see for oneself the so-called "ultimate" destination.

The young man turned to look at him and shook his head helplessly: "I'm afraid that won't work... The real Golden Kingdom isn't here; this is just a simple projection."

This is just a concrete scene in my mental space, a virtual model built based on my memories.

Because of the loss of consciousness, I cannot even recreate one-tenth of its original appearance.

The depletion of mental energy caused countless loopholes and gaps to appear in this grand dream.

Those blurred edges are proof of the collapse of the rules.

"All right."

Dago felt regret, realizing that his dream of "king, boy, and gold" might be coming to an end.

This is not just the end of a dream, but the end of an era.

On the path of the wizard, every footprint is paved with the bones of his predecessors.

He ultimately stopped at the gates of the golden kingdom, unable to go inside and take a look.

The large door was tightly shut, its surface engraved with intricate alchemical matrices, as if mocking the insignificance of mortals.

"You're lucky, or rather, I'm lucky."

At this moment, the gears of fate miraculously meshed.

What remains here is precisely the legacy of the Golden Rule, which perfectly aligns with the spells you currently specialize in.

The young man's words carried a hint of relief, as if he had found a perfectly intact seed amidst the ruins.

The young man gazed at the glittering golden city in the distance, pointed in a direction, and said to Dagger, "See that? That's the Golden Law."

I created it during my formal wizarding phase. Although it was a bit rough around the edges, it still looks quite beautiful now.

Dago looked in the direction the young man was pointing and saw seven enormous, dazzling buildings that reached straight to the sky within the magnificent golden city; the young man was referring to one of them.

Because of the golden light obscuring his view, he could not see the entire majestic figure, but could only vaguely sense an ancient, noble, and awe-inspiring aura that was difficult to describe in words.

It was a being that transcended ordinary elemental creatures; it was the miracle of alchemy imbuing inanimate objects with spirituality.

Just like when he faced "Behemoth" back then.

That tremor that came from the depths of his soul reminded him of the helplessness he felt when facing the former overlord.

"The Golden Law..."

Dago stared at the image of the "Golden Law" mentioned by the young man, then suddenly realized something and hesitated before saying, "I am currently specializing in ice magic."

He was starting to wonder if the man had made a mistake.

For an ordinary mentor, giving such advice would be tantamount to murdering their apprentice.

The young man smiled and replied, "I know. I can see through the frost particles in your soul; that chill even freezes the dust around you."

That's why I said the Golden Rule is your best choice right now.

While mastering a single path to its fullest extent may be powerful, it represents the pinnacle of "technique," not the perfection of "the Way."

The Golden Throne is not just surrounded by gold.

To ascend to that supreme position, you must defy common sense and unify opposites within yourself.

Dear Dago, the connections between different elemental energies in the universe are much closer and more wondrous than you can imagine.

Long ago, they even shared the same name—ether.

That ancient word, like a key to unlock the door to wisdom, instantly shattered D'Ago's cognitive barriers.

Ether, the source of all things, the cause of all effects.

As the young man spoke, he glanced meaningfully at the black dog "Itai" that was circling around Dago's feet.

"Understanding this early on will benefit your future path."

This is a warning from those who stand at the pinnacle of truth to those who climb it.

"Frost and gold coexist."

Dago muttered to himself, pondering the words "Gold Eater," as if a brand new door was slowly opening before him, yet a great deal of mist arose before that door.

These concepts and knowledge are still too advanced for him to understand at present.

But he imprinted it deeply in his mind as a beacon for future exploration.

"Take your time, one step at a time, don't rush..."

The path of a wizard is never a 100-meter sprint, but a long and lonely marathon.

"The Gold Eater" patted Dago on the shoulder, comforting him, "You have a long way to go, and you're still some distance from even touching the gates of the Golden Kingdom..."

You are too weak now, barely qualified to be a pawn.

Let's go to the Land of Gold first; there lies the key to completely unlocking the gates of the Golden Kingdom.

"And where is the road to Golden Land?"

Dago's face showed even more confusion, and he couldn't help but look at the "Gold Eater".

He longed for guidance, like a lost ship longs for a lighthouse.

The latter simply pointed to his palm and laughed, "Haven't you always been holding the road sign to Golden Land?"

Dago was startled and subconsciously looked down at his hands.

The palm of my hand felt hard and cold, carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible magical fluctuation.

He opened his tightly clenched fingers, and a golden apple core lay quietly in his hand.

It was the pit of the golden fruit that the "Gold Eater" had given him to eat.

It turns out that all gifts have a price tag attached, and all opportunities are hidden in the unnoticed details.

At this moment, the kernel was radiating an unparalleled, dazzling golden light, so bright that Dago could barely open his eyes.

The light seemed to have a physical form, forcefully tearing apart the barrier between dreams and reality.

Suddenly, he found that everything around him was becoming blurry and distorted.

A force seemed to be pulling him away from this place.

That was the rejection of the rules, a harbinger of the impending collapse of the dream.

Dago hurriedly reached out to grab the arm of the "Gold Eater" who was right in front of him, but the latter had already turned away and was no longer looking at him.

His hand pierced through the man's body, grasping a handful of empty quicksand.

In this world that is about to disappear, only that figure appears so lonely yet resolute.

Facing the direction of the golden city, he began to sing a children's song in a high-pitched, aria-like tone.

The song transcended the barriers of time and space, carrying a sense of worldly wisdom and innocent naiveté.

"The Stable Boy"

A golden dream

He was on the golden slope

Plant golden seeds

A heart as hot and burning as gold

Watered with golden sunlight

The ballad contains no grand narrative, only the simplest wishes, which were the original aspirations of this legendary wizard.

In that voice, brimming with boundless passion and vitality, seemingly forever young and full of vigor, everything before Dago's eyes shattered.

The golden sands collapsed into countless points of light, and the majestic city turned into nothingness and dust.

The gravity of reality recaptured his soul, and the world of senses returned like a tide.

His consciousness plunged into darkness, and everything drifted away from him.