Dark Magus Returns

Listening to the stories, Raze's mind naturally tried to piece everything together. The origin of it all, the mess of his being here he knew all too well how powerful artifacts from other worlds could be.

For one, the book that had taught him his resurrection technique had brought him here, to this body, and to this world. He still didn't quite fit in like the others. What intrigued him, though, was the fact that there were those from Alterian who were here.

Raze still remembered vividly how, as soon as a dimension boss had been defeated, it only seemed like a short while before mages from Idore's guild appeared. He imagined they had to play a role in this somehow.

The strangest thing of all was that these stories spanned years, with deep histories intertwined.

"For one, as I expect all of you are thinking here as well, the Golden Globe could be used to open a portal back to their home," Amir explained. "This was one of the reasons Alter wanted it."

"They could help those who were lost, and it wasn't like we were going to use it to head back home. Honestly, we were willing to cooperate, but only on the condition that we remained the keepers of the Golden Globe. After all, it originally belonged to our world, and we had done a good job of keeping it safe."

"Yet those slime rats just wanted it for themselves, didn't they?" Olag commented. "Going on about how they were the keepers of artifacts and that it should be in their hands."

Anna had to admit, from the meetings she had attended and speaking to Harvey, Alter did seem to carry that attitude, as if they knew better than everyone else.

"And of course, this caused a big fallout between our two groups," Amir continued. "The thing was, Alter made a point as to why they wanted to look after it and why it couldn't fall into the hands of others, especially Pagna warriors."

With the piece of chalk, Amir then drew another circle around the world of Pagna.

"You see, Pagna is a strange world that affects its inhabitants more than any other. I'm sure you all know that if a warrior manages to exceed the middle stage and reach the Divine stage, they ascend to a higher realm."

"The realm itself seems to be part of the same world but on another plane, almost as if it's not in the same world at all. It's hard for us to imagine since we've never been to the Divine realm, but I have to tell you, this is mostly theory based on years of the Bonum Society exploring the powers of the Golden Globe."

"It is stated that with the Golden Globe, our ancestors could not only travel to different worlds but also enter these different planes, including that of the Divine realm.

"Now I'm sure you all know, Divine warriors are unable to enter the world of Pagna unless they are willing to limit their power. Our best guess as to why this is, is most likely due to an artifact on Pagna itself."

"An artifact belonging to Pagna? But I've never heard of such a thing!" Alba said.

"That's because we might not even know what it is. Worlds are living beings as well, and it's possible that the world of Pagna has created an artifact that stops Divine warriors from using their full power here. Perhaps even as a self-defense mechanism of some sort."

"Regardless, here are some important points to remember. One, Divine warriors, when entering other dimensions that share a space with Pagna, are able to use their powers freely; the limitation is only set on the planet of Pagna itself."

"This limit also seems to only apply to Pagna warriors; otherwise, why is it that hybrid beasts such as Murkel, and powerful beings like Raze and Zon, are able to enter and still use much of their power?"

The others thought about it for a while, wondering where the conversation was leading. That was until Zon spoke up.

"Because we entered through a portal from our world. The limitations aren't set on us," Zon said. "Maybe if we were born on Pagna and tried to grow our powers, then the same limitation would be set on us."

"They are," Amir answered. "A Bonum Society member who was born on Pagna became a Divine being, and he was forced to ascend. This is why we have a theory that the portals opening up are a way for someone to try to reach the world of Pagna.

"But even if a Divine warrior enters a dimension and then comes into the world of Pagna, their powers are still limited. Our guess is what you just said: it's because the portal wasn't directly linked to the Divine realm.

"Well, do you know what item is able to link to the Divine Realm? The Golden Globe. If any clan were to get their hands on the Golden Globe, they could summon Divine warriors to Pagna who could use the full extent of their power.

"Of course, the Bonum Society didn't want this to happen either, and in the end, it became a matter of distrust between the two. Who knows if Alter is trying to use this for some other gain or is working with one of the clans. Unfortunately, this suspicion goes both ways for us as well."

Listening to everything, the pieces slowly started making sense to Raze, but another thought entered his mind—what about him? Was his power truly not limited? After all, his original body, which he was using right now, was from Pagna.

Was it because of the way he arrived that perhaps his magic powers weren't limited, but his Pagna powers would be? It was something he was unsure about.

"Then, the Golden Globe, where is it?" Safa asked.

Both Amir and Olag looked at each other.

"We no longer have it," Olag said. "It was... stolen a long time ago, and we're currently looking for it."

"Stolen!" Simyon said. "By who?"

Raze knew the answer.

"By the Dark Faction... more specifically, the Dark Faction founder."