10 - Gates

The Gobbler Ring, or as it is actually called, the Ring of Gluttonous Greed, was named correctly.

The 'Gluttonous' aspect came from its tendency to absorb life force at an extremely rapid rate.

Even a prime Magus like Luvia had half of her Od supplies depleted in just a second.

On the other hand, the 'Greed' was also a perfect descriptor.

Both Luvia and Noah had acted out of character and wanted to immediately touch the ring after seeing it.

Actually, even Johan had fallen for this supernatural compulsion, as he had wanted to touch the ring when he first saw it under the London Bridge.

...Which was what caused the entire Dreamland and Timeline Reversal situations to happen in the first place.

In this case, the Gobbler Ring could be compared to a Venus Flytrap. Using compulsion to lure in prey, and then ruthlessly devouring their life force.

Additionally, it also had the ability to change size—after all, when Johan had first seen it below the London Bridge, it was huge, way too big for any human's finger.

However, it became a perfect fit for Johan's ring finger after he awoke from Dreamland.

This led him to believe that the previous wielder must have been a Phantasmal Species of some kind...

Regarding the Time Travel shenanigans, Johan still hadn't figured out how the Reversal worked, or how it was even activated at the first place, but he had a theory.

All of the Od that the Gobbler Ring had absorbed wasn't exactly sitting there inside the ring, it just vanished upon contact, becoming invisible to any forms of detection.

...Could it then actually be used as fuel for the Time Travel function?

Maybe that's why the Od became undetectable, because humans viewed the passage of time linearly, but the Gobbler Ring's fuel storage existed not in the present, but instead, in the past or future.

Hell, it might not even exist in the 'Timeline of the World' and the Magical Energy was stored elsewhere entirely.

These were just his speculations, for all Johan knew, the Gobbler Ring might just be bidding its time before it turned him into a Magical Girl or something...

On another note, the Gobbler Ring's compulsion effect also worked on animals.

How did he manage find out?

Well, although he had a firm hold over Noah's hand, there was someone, something he had forgotten to take care of...

"...Amon, nooo!" Noah shouted in grief as his Corpse Familiar dropped from the air, its body completely dried up, looking like a disheveled mummy.

That's right, he'd forgotten about Amon.

The crow had unfortunately touched the Gobbler Ring, and as its Od supply wasn't much to begin with, being a weak Corpse Familiar and all, it had just completely lost consciousness after a second of contact.

"...Is it dead?" Johan asked with little concern.

"No, I hope not..." Noah said with teary eyes. "...He just fainted."

"Haha... like a Pokemon?" Johan chuckled, genuinely amused.

"Not funny." Noah glared at his brother.

"Well, that's just what happens when you touch the ring..." Johan explained as he proceeded to tell Noah about how Luvia had done the same thing earlier and immediately got a supernatural fever.

"So that's why you were carrying her...? Brother, I think that was just an excuse." Noah reasoned as he craddled the crow like his own child.

"It is, but I don't mind," Johan shrugged.

Noah then glanced at the Gobbler Ring with a complicated gaze. "...So it doesn't drain your Od?"

"It does, but at a negligible pace." Johan explained as raised his right hand. "Maybe it's sentient and made the decision not to kill me..."

After all, with him carrying it around, the Gobbler Ring could have more opportunities to drain life force, more prey for it to consume.

Frankly, Johan didn't exactly know how to feel about such a parasitic arrangement...

He quickly covered the ring once more with Luvia's glove. Whatever compulsion effect the ring had, it seemed to be entirely dependent on the Gobbler Ring actually being visible.

...Wait, what if I were to make myself invisible? Would the ring also vanish? Johan mused, deciding to test it out later.

"So..." Noah started as he placed a hand on his chin in a contemplative manner. "Did you see the Root?"

The reason why the Lawrence family kept pursuing this ring in the first place was just for that, to take a glimpse of the Root.

Those who have beheld the Root of Akasha without going insane are able to comprehend and use True Magic, making them Magicians capable of performing impossible Miracles.

It was the ultimate, singular, overarching goal of all Magi.

"No." Johan answered. "...But, it wasn't a complete waste."

There were only five True Magics that have been created so far.

...The Gobbler Ring itself is said to have been 'a gate' to the First Magic, Denial of Nothingness, which was wielded by the Witch Yumina in ancient times.

In fact, the Lawrence family wasn't even interested in the Gobbler Ring at first, they were more or less searching for the First Magic.

Unlike most Magicians, which later gained their Magic from witnessing the Swirl of the Root, Yumina had always possessed the First Magic from her birth.

Coincidentally, she had also been born a day before Joshua of Nazareth's own birthday...

Every time a new Magician is created, the 'gate' that they entered through to glimpse at the Root ceases to function as a 'gate'. However, another Magician can still inherit the same Magic from a different 'gate' altogether.

Since Yumina acquired the First Magic from an unknown, unrelated 'gate' during her birth, the Gobbler Ring should still be viable, as long as it actually was a 'gate' and not just a scam.

Considering it had the power to reverse the Timeline, it clearly wasn't just a scam.

"What do you mean?" Noah asked with a confused expression as he transfered some of his Od to the unconscious Amon.

"It's not exactly a gate, but more like a... Pathway." Johan explained as he retrieved a small notebook from the inner reaches of his suit.

He flipped through the page before giving the notebook to Noah.

"...What is this...? Sequence 9? Sailor? Bard? Uh..." Noah read through the notes as his eyes widened. "These are... Potion Formulas?"

"Exactly." Johan nodded at his brother's conclusion. "Instead of True Magic, the Ring gave me these Potion Formulas..."

Any knowledge gifted by an exoanthropic artefact would undoubtedly be extremely valuable.

It's why Johan only revealed such information to his brother, even then, he only told Noah about the Potions, leaving Dreamland and the Timeline Reversal for himself to contemplate over.

"...Well, have you made one yet?" Noah asked with a special mixture of brotherly concern and scientific curiosity.

"No." Johan shook his head. "It's too risky to do it alone, I can only blame myself if something goes awry..."

What if after making the Sailor Potion, the fumes created from the brewing process gave him sudden cardiac arrest, who would help him then?

"Honestly..." Noah muttered as he handed the notebook back with a complicated expression. "I never thought our family would actually find the Ring, I already gave up a long time ago..."

Johan frowned at this statement, before he shook his head and released a tired sigh. "...I don't blame you."

"Since you were the one who found it, I hope the First Magic ends up in your hands." Noah gave a genuine prayer. "As for me..."

"That girl, Ayaka Sajyou." He continued. "Her father participated in the last Holy Grail War. Of course, he died."

Realizing where this was going, Johan raised his brow. "You're planning on participating in the next Holy Grail War?"

"...I'm not sure." Noah shrugged as he gazed at the unconcious crow. "I don't think I would win."

If Noah were to participate in the Holy Grail War, Johan knew exactly why.

After winning in the Holy Grail War, a Magus could wish upon the Grail to take a glimpse at the Root and comprehend True Magic.

In this case, it's definitely another 'gate' to Magic, one that was more straightforward, yet also much riskier.

After all, the chances of actually winning were quite slim.

"But for Sajyou, she's definitely planning to participate." Noah said with utter conviction.

"...How can you be so sure?" Johan asked with uncertainty.

"Her family situation is a bit complicated, but if she wins the War, everything could be resolved." Noah revealed openly.

"You'll have to kill her if you participate." Johan said with a frown. "Can you do that?"

"I might not really have to..." Noah remarked back. "A Master loses the War when their Servant dies, I can just kill her Servant and still win in the end without having to kill her."

"But she'll hate you, won't she?" Johan pointed out.

Noah didn't seem to have a response and he merely sighed.

Johan slowly walked up and planted a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Noah."

"...Honestly, I don't want you anywhere near that War. To me, it just seems like a glorified deathgame." Johan conveyed with a heavy gaze. "But if you're set on this, I probably can't change your mind..."

"However, the War is still far from now, we can think about this later. How about you help me with these Potions first, and then I'll help you with the Holy Grail?" Johan proposed.

Noah exhaled as he gazed at the crow in his hands before staring up at Johan.

"Alright."

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