Chapter 52: Druids

As Asmodeus held the stone, he approached Nicolas.

"Do you feel it?"

"Yes... as if something is hidden within it."

"Indeed, I speak of the mana within. Hold it in your hands, and you'll sense it," he said, passing the stone to Nicolas.

Nicolas frowned. "Hmm, a peculiar sensation, as if the mana inside holds an element. An element of... nature or perhaps... plants?"

"Yes, I mentioned this to you. I have a feeling they didn't vanish without a trace but left their legacy in this stone."

"So, how do we unlock it? I'm an alchemist, not a hacker."

"Follow me. Remember the formation of stones at the cave entrance?"

"Yes... one of them had an indentation."

"Finally, it dawned on you."

"Hey, I'm old; my thoughts aren't as swift! So, do we just leave this place and head to the exit?"

"Hmm, you're right." Asmodeus surveyed and found a spot suitable for drawing a teleportation magic circle.

"Let's leave a mark there, one that can be remotely activated."

Asmodeus no longer wanted to travel inconveniently through the fireplace. He decided to leave marks wherever he could. He wouldn't open this gateway until he finds someone to look after this place. He didn't want anyone to destroy the local beauty while the portal was open, though he doubted he'd come back himself, except maybe to admire the views. According to his hunch, the stone concealed the legacy of the druids. In the future, this place could be passed on to those who would become druids.

After finishing the mark, Asmodeus and Nico closed the passage with illusion magic and headed towards the stone formation. It was already dark outside, with only the moon illuminating their destination.

Approaching the boulder with the round recess, Asmodeus cast all the concealment spells he knew. They were unsure of what would happen when they placed the stone inside, but it was better to be safe.

Carefully, Asmodeus placed the moonstone in its designated spot and stepped back a few paces. He watched as the recently partially ruined stone formation gradually returned to the state when the Celts once dominated the area.

Certain parts of this magical formation, worn down over time, were becoming whole again. Stone pieces that had fallen due to erosion were gradually returning to their place. Where there was once a stump, a tree grew anew. Even the nearby oak, which had bent under the weight of its foliage, was slowly straightening. Despite it being winter outside, within a 100-meter radius of the moonstone, the world seemed to have returned to spring. Trees regained their greenery, snow melted, grass awoke from its slumber, bugs that hadn't succumbed to the cold, and animals that slept in their burrows moved toward the moonstone.

"A beautiful sight," remarked Nicolas.

"Yes, nature in all its glory," replied Asmodeus, not taking his eyes off the unfolding spectacle.

For half an hour, Asmodeus and Nico observed the restoration of this place to its former state. They were only interrupted by the awakening animals.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak." Asmodeus felt a tug on his leg. Looking down, he saw a small hedgehog trying to get his attention. Seeing that it had finally succeeded, the hedgehog pointed at Asmodeus and then at the moonstone.

"Do you want me to go with you to the stone?" Asmodeus asked.

The hedgehog nodded (o´∀`o) and ran towards the stone, periodically looking back to make sure Asmodeus was following.

With a smile on his face, Asmodeus obediently trailed behind the hedgehog.

When they were almost at the stone, the hedgehog approached Asmodeus again.

Asmodeus: "What?"

Hedgehog: *waves its paws*

Asmodeus: "?"

Hedgehog: (￣ ￣|||)

Asmodeus: "....."

Seeing that verbal communication wasn't working, the hedgehog decided to demonstrate. It pointed to itself and then at Asmodeus, as if saying, "Repeat after me."

The small creature then jumped to barely touch the stone and returned to Asmodeus.

Hedgehog: "ヽ(ー_ー )ノ"

Asmodeus: "Alright, I get it. I need to touch the stone."

Hedgehog: "(→_→)"

Asmodeus: "Am I being lectured by a prickly mouse or something?"

Ignoring the haughty little creature, Asmodeus did as it asked.

"So be it," he muttered to himself and touched the stone.

As he touched the stone, he felt mana being drawn from him, but there was no sense of threat. On the contrary, he felt remarkably light, as if... as if an overflowing river had found a new stream. It was a strange but pleasant sensation.

Digesting these feelings, Asmodeus decided to open his eyes and take a look around. He was surprised by what he saw. What did he see? Don't get the wrong idea; he didn't find himself in space or another place. No, he was still standing in front of the moonstone, surrounded by the stone formation. However, beside each of the stones stood an old man, smiling at him.

"Um, good evening?"

"Good, I would say a very good evening," replied one of the old men with a smile stretching from ear to ear.

"May I ask, are you horcruxes? Or who?"

"Ugh, don't mention that disgusting life-extending technique in front of me, it offends me!" retorted another old man.

"Yes! We told that young Herpo that there are far more methods of life extension than that silly soul-splitting magic. In fact, he paved his own way further by doing that nonsense. Oh, he could have lived another 200-300 years like us and gone to sleep awaiting your arrival. Although he's probably still alive... just in the form of a Horcrux. But can that be called life?"

"Excuse me for interrupting, but may I ask, what does it mean to wait for me, and why?"

"We waited for the day when there would be enough mana in the world to awaken us."

"More precisely? No, first, please tell me who you are!"

"We are the Druid Council! The seven most powerful druids in the world! Although... in your time, probably no one knows about us."

"In my time... druids... are you from the Celtic period?"

"Yes, our people were called Celts..." said one of the old men sadly.

"Why did the Celts disappear, and more importantly, why did the druids disappear?"

"It will be a very long story. Do you have time to listen?"

"Of course, I'm not in a hurry."

"Then... Our group lived somewhere two and a half thousand years ago. Magic was at its dawn back then... ordinary people respected wizards, and magical creatures were considered gods. There were countless types of wizards. Druids, summoners, necromancers, Animancers, enhancement mages, time mages, blood mages, voodoo practitioners, runic masters, psions, Beast Masters, witchers, temple mages, elemental mages like you, and many more kinds of wizards. Each mage studied the branch of magic closest to them. But one day, all powerful wizards felt that magic in the world began to weaken. We and other mages of our level tried to find the reason for this phenomenon, and it seemed that we succeeded. We learned that the world suddenly became smaller. Literally smaller. Previously, there were 20 continents in this world, and after the disappearance of a large part of the mana, we realized that we had lost contact with many familiar ones from other continents. After that, we sent an expedition around the world to discover that there were only 6 continents left. We understood that the reason for the decrease in mana in the world was that there were fewer wizards and people who believed in magic. In our time, wizards relied much more on the mana floating in the air than you and people of your time. Understanding that due to the loss of so many people, there would gradually be not enough magic for our level of life in the world, we decided to direct our research in another direction. How to wait for the moment when magical energy in the world would strengthen again. You know, although magic depends on people's belief in it, it is only part of what mana represents. We were sure that as long as people continued to believe in magic, magic would not disappear completely from the world. Rather, it would weaken. But there was no longer a place for us in this world. Our bodies were sustained by the magic we consumed from nature, and other types of mages of our level simply absorbed the mana floating in space. The only good news was that over time we noticed that wizards born after the weakening of magic in the world began to produce more magic with their bodies. We were lucky; wizards no longer depended on magic in space as much, but they themselves became small generators of magic. Although it was not a solution to the problem... Because the more powerful magic is used, the more mana is consumed, and many wizards couldn't use the magic passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, gradually, wizards began to develop new methods of magic. That's how our descendants became the wizards you are now!"

Asmodeus chose not to refute the last thesis about descendants. Although his magical blood did not originate from this world, he understood what they meant.

"In 50 years, magic had declined to a level where even the strongest among us could barely move. Although our bodies now began to produce mana in large quantities, it was still insufficient... We decided that our last hope was that our descendants would gradually restore magic to its former glory! Then, many high-ranking wizards began using their methods to preserve their lives. For example, we preserved our souls and bodies in this stone. To be more precise, there is a liquid inside the stone—it's dew collected from the moonflower. It can hold our souls and bodies inside almost indefinitely. Moreover, such a method allows us to continue observing the world. The problem was that when we started preparing for the ritual, the Romans attacked these lands... We wanted to help the locals, but we decided that continuing the legacy of the druids was more important... So, placing our bodies and souls in this space, we began to wait. Wait for someone with enough mana in their body to appear because that would mean that modern wizards are now comparable in strength to us in the past. And they can restore magic's recognition. We just had to wait... Honestly, waiting took us a long time. We witnessed the fall of civilizations, armies, wars, and much more. Gradually, we felt that magic in the world began to strengthen again, although not enough for us to emerge from the stone, but enough for us to use some magic. We decided to explore the world, becoming one with the nearby animals in spirit. We saw that the world was on the brink of war. Ordinary people, this rabble, dared to hunt wizards! How could they, without us, human civilization would not have reached even a fraction of the greatness it has now! But seeing this, we understood why magic in the world began to strengthen again. We expected that wizards would soon win the war and show why one should fear magic and the forces of nature. But! Do you know what they did? Idiot wizards buried their heads in the sand like ostriches, adopting some law they called the 'Statute of Secrecy.' This idiotic action weakened the already weakened magical force in the world... Honestly, we lost hope. Until you appeared. As soon as you took the stone, we felt that there was no less mana in you than in an average wizard of our time. We were so happy; we could finally return to the world! We thought until you handed the stone to that alchemist... although he has an amazing body that has lived for more than 600 years. But damn it, why does he have so little mana!!! There is barely half of what we saw in you!! This shouldn't be, he's clearly much older than you by tens of times, and with age, magic in the body should strengthen! Therefore, we decided to ask you personally about the state of the magical world at the moment. Could you please explain to us what is happening in the world now, and why you have so much mana in your body, while an old man like us has so little?"

"Um, actually, I'm not from this world, so the measurement of my mana in your dimension cannot be used to understand the current state of the magical world."

"... What do you mean?"

"Well, this world is connected through a passage to my world, and I ended up here accidentally... In my world, one-third of all people are elemental mages. More than that, even though my power is considered outstanding there, I'm definitely not the strongest person in that world."

"Maybe your world is one of the parts that disappeared in our world?"

"No, definitely not. I have information from reliable sources."

Asmodeus couldn't reveal the details of the system. He had long been curious about why the Avatar and Harry Potter worlds were connected through a passage. So, he decided to inquire with the system. It responded that this world was once severely damaged, resulting in spatial rifts forming and certain passages between worlds emerging. When he asked how such passages were formed, the system explained that these passages appear entirely randomly, not connecting close worlds. On the contrary, a passage could link two fundamentally different worlds with nothing in common. Therefore, Asmodeus didn't think that the Avatar and Harry Potter worlds originated from one large world as the old men mentioned.

"...Okay, then what is the current state of our magical world?"

"Well, probably everything is fine. And you might be able to return to the world in a couple of years."

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because in two years, everyone in the world will possess magic!" Asmodeus confidently replied.

"What do you mean by everyone? Only wizards can use magic. Everyone knows that!"

"I've developed a methodology through which Muggles, or ordinary people, can gradually make their bodies produce mana!"

"...What do you mean?!"

"I created a method by which Muggles, or ordinary people, can gradually make their bodies produce mana!"

"...You know, this is not funny."

"I'm not joking."

"What?!!! Are you saying that you really managed to turn ordinary people into wizards?"

"Yes. Honestly, I also realized that the more people believe in magic, the stronger it will be. And I was extremely annoyed by the Statute of Secrecy that you mentioned. So, I gathered the strongest wizards of this generation around me and started changing the world."

"Clap, clap, clap." The old druids began clapping one by one.

"Ah, only one foreigner, who is not from our world, has to solve the problems of our world, huh?"

"Well, actually, I'd better stay in your world and continue changing it. In my world, there will be nothing but war in the next 20-25 years."

"Well, then, welcome. We thank you on behalf of all those ancient wizards who are still alive in any form."

"So... what should I do with the stone? Leave it here? Will you wait until magic is restored in the world? Or do I somehow help you?" asked Asmodeus.

"In fact, there's a method for us to return to life earlier. We'll just look a little different..." one of the old men replied.

"Oh yes, and with this method, we'll have enough mana. One by one, we'll all be able to get our bodies!" added another.

"Hmm, may I ask what you're talking about? I thought you wanted to wait until magic was restored...?" Asmodeus inquired.

"Well, we can wait, and we'll be able to return to our old bodies. But... to be honest, without that missing part of the world. No matter how many wizards there are, the density of magic is unlikely to become the same as it was before. The entire world has significantly weakened. Mana in space is composed of half of people's wishes, and the other half is what the world itself produces and because the world has become smaller, the planet now also produces less magic... and we have no solution to this problem," explained one of the old men.

"Okay then. I'll help you return to your bodies, and afterward, you'll help me achieve my goal."

"We'll be glad. Although it will be a bit difficult with our new bodies..."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll become huge walking trees - ents. By reducing the consumption of mana from the air, we'll strengthen our connection with nature and increase the amount of mana our bodies produce."

"But don't you want to travel around the world? Instead of becoming trees"

"Not trees, ents! We'll become those who taught us druidism, and we'll similarly start teaching the new generation of druids!"

"Yes! To be honest, we don't have a strong attachment to life. In normal bodies, we lived for 300, some even 500 years, then another 2000 years in this stone... If it weren't for the desire to pass on the legacy of the druids, we would have long severed our connection to the stone and finally slept."

"So, you want to find those who will become druids in the future?"

"Yes, of course. Actually you'll also receive our legacy. But that's just an exception because you're helping us. Otherwise... well, sorry, but your mana... it's like fire... poorly compatible with our nature. But don't worry, we'll pass on all our knowledge of druidic magic to you, but it will depend on you if you can use it... And you can't pass on our knowledge to people we haven't approved! We'll personally select future druids!"

"I agree to your conditions. Just tell me what is required of me to turn you into ents."

"Mana! A lot of mana! Gather powerful wizards and inscribe the runes we'll give you around this formation! Pour as much mana as possible into each of the runes. And place an oak tree seed on the rune. After that, you just need to guard us for three days. We'll need time to form the body and transfer our souls into it."

"As I understand, you need a lot of life energy, and the runes transform mana into this life energy?"

"Yes, you guessed it right."

"Then I think I have a way to spend less mana and provide you with enough life energy directly!"

"What is it? You know, we're not sure if anyone besides you has enough mana even to resurrect one person..."

"Remember the old man you assessed as having a small mana reserve for his age?"

"Well?"

"He's actually recognized as the best alchemist in the world…... he managed to create an elixir of life that allows eternal life. The elixir contains a huge supply of life energy. Besides, I believe he'd be happy to exchange it for magic that prevents aging."

"That's wonderful! If he can indeed provide us with a sufficient supply of the elixir of life, we're ready to share with him our techniques for preserving youth and strengthening the body! Summon him, we can't. Only those who touch the stone can see us."

Asmodeus nodded and turned his head toward Nicolas. "Hey! Come here! Someone wants to talk to you!"

"I'm coming!"

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