From among the rubble of the Demon King's castle, the rays of dawn fell upon what had been the battlefield. And from among them, a young man rose without showing serious injuries; only his clothing seemed to have suffered damage.

The soldiers shouted with joy upon knowing that this was the sign they had been waiting for: humanity's greatest threat had been eradicated. For his part, the young man only let out a big sigh, with a dejected expression.

"I couldn't get any books..." he murmured to himself, while looking up at the sky with a resigned face.

He was Fazil, who after that day began to be known as The Savior for his great feat. He managed to become the most powerful magic user ever seen. Elves and dragons, the best users by nature, couldn't even dream of rivaling him. The only ones who were above, according to the great sages, were the Superiors, the entities that taught living beings the use of magic.

Peace among all the existing kingdoms in the world arrived, and the story of the great mage Fazil spread through each of them by word of mouth. This made humanity a respected race among the others. Those fragile creatures had defeated the fallen ones who inherited the divine power of the gods and corrupted it with their evil: the demons.

But Fazil was not someone who sought peace, he was not a hero; he was just someone whose goal had the Demon King as an obstacle.

What was that goal he was seeking?

The answer was simple, and at the same time something no one would imagine: Fazil was looking for his books of demonic magic.

When it came to obtaining knowledge, and even more so if it had to do with the Superiors, Fazil was like a black hole devouring everything that stood in his way.

That was the simple reason why he took part in the war against the Demon King's army.

Years passed since that glorious event, and he did not stop in his search for knowledge to understand the why of the world. Although with the passage of time, something began to worry him; in his eyes, and in the eyes of his acquaintances, this had gotten out of control.

"Savior, we need your help."

"We need you to eliminate this threat, Savior."

"Only you can help us."

"Savior."

"Savior."

"Savior."

"Savior."

"Enough!"

People began to depend on him for even the smallest problem. All his life he had always been someone who went unnoticed and isolated from the rest, despite his enormous magical power. He only helped those who really needed it.

"This has to end, and it will end with this."

A huge smile appeared on his face after those words. He was in his private room, where he always locked himself in to study his findings in ancient books.

"And with this, we're done."

Strange symbols had been drawn on both the floor and the walls of the room that Fazil used to create rituals. In this place, everything had happened, from the transmutation of materials to the invocation of spiritual beings.

Giving the final touches, a sleepy expression came over him as he made sure everything was in order.

Having confirmed this, Fazil simply fell to the ground, overcome by sleep.

He didn't want to know anything else; what he had been investigating had come to an end, and judging by the satisfied look on his face as he slept, it could be deduced that it had been a success.

"Mr. Fazil...!" someone shouted while knocking on the door of the aforementioned private room.

It was a young woman dressed in a maid outfit. Her blonde hair was tied up to avoid problems while doing chores, leaving only her bangs loose; the fine features of her face denoted her great beauty. She wore glasses with a thin frame, whose lenses did not obscure the beauty of her emerald eyes.

"Any sign of him, Ametsa?" asked another girl.

She also wore a maid outfit, although hers didn't look as traditional as the other girl's. Her orange hair was styled in two pigtails. Her eyes were the same shade as her hair and matched well with the cheerful aura she conveyed. Her appearance was that of a fifteen-year-old girl.

Ametsa only sighed in response before speaking.

"You know how he is when it comes to researching ancient books, Kara," she said in a discouraged tone.

For them, this was nothing new. Their lord had always been like this, especially when it came to books written by "them."

"But now he's really outdone himself," she replied, astonished. "He's been in there for two months. How does he even go to the bathroom?"

Kara put a hand on her chin while analyzing what she had just said. Ametsa, for her part, decided to say nothing; she knew from experience that Kara sometimes said nonsensical things.

"What if we open the door?" Kara mentioned.

"I've already tried several times. What makes you think...?"

"Look...!" she exclaimed with surprise. "He opened..."

Ametsa watched as Kara raised her thumb in a sign of victory while pushing the door open.

Is she serious? she wondered internally. She had tried several times to open it and never could. Why was it different with her?

This made her deduce that perhaps her lord had already finished his research. She felt as if a great weight had been lifted, if that was the reason. Although she always showed a serious attitude, for her, her lord's well-being was the most important thing.

Upon fully opening the door, a putrid smell attacked them.

"How disgusting, Ametsa!" Kara shouted. Her eyes were teary.

Ametsa covered her nose and tried to see where that nauseating smell was coming from, which wasn't difficult.

"As careless as ever, my lord," she said upon seeing the scene before her.

An immense amount of half-eaten dishes, piled on tables, were the reason for such a horrible smell. Most of the food was already black from how putrid it was. Mold was already doing its work, and there were even cockroaches walking on it.

The smell was terrible, but after a few brief minutes, the girls managed to get used to it.

"Mr. Fazil! Are you still here?!"

Kara didn't hesitate to shout to see if there were any signs of her lord. After all, it wouldn't be the first time they found him unconscious due to some error in his research.

"Mr. Fazil!..."

"I heard you, I heard you," someone replied, opening the door to another of the rooms in the place.

A man with somewhat disheveled blonde hair and crimson eyes came out of it. He wore a simple white shirt and brown pants. He was Fazil, the considered savior of the world.

The girls' joy was noticeable, but it was quickly cut short by Ametsa, who looked furiously at Fazil.

"Well, how do you explain that?" Without taking her eyes off him, she pointed to the row of dishes as she asked him that question.

Fazil seemed somewhat disconcerted and looked at the dishes.

"Wow, that's a lot of food for having only been a few days."

"Actually, he's been here for two months," Kara said with a clueless smile.

"Actually, Kara, sir has been here for eight weeks, two days, fourteen hours, twenty-eight minutes, forty-five seconds, and counting," Ametsa said precisely.

Fazil was terrified of that side of Ametsa, although he knew it was just her way of showing concern.

"Alright, I know I went overboard, and I understand you're upset," he said apologetically. "But what I just discovered will put an end to the eternal suffering I've endured in these last few years," he mentioned with euphoria.

Ametsa's accusatory gaze disappeared. Her lord had never spoken that way about his discoveries. Was this really something of that magnitude? she thought.

The book that her lord had researched for so long was found in some ancient ruins located in remote mountains of the Dracon country, the place where dragons live.

She remembered the happy face of her lord when he learned the language in which it was written and how he locked himself in his room when they arrived at his mansion.

From there, he locked himself in for all this time until today. Food and personal hygiene were not a problem; she even wondered how Kara came up with mentioning the bathroom, since she knows perfectly well that there is one inside.

Ametsa had no choice but to resign herself from continuing to accuse her lord and sighed bitterly. He had always been like this, and no matter how many times this scene repeated itself, for her, far from bothering her (contrary to what she showed), she loved the passion her lord displayed; it was something she admired.

"If it weren't for us, you would have been lost a long time ago," Ametsa said smiling.

Fazil, in response, patted Kara's head, who was the closest.

"And that's why every day I wake up, I'm grateful that you still remain by my side," the mage replied.

Kara only showed her joy at being patted by her lord, without needing to have done anything.

"Since sir has finished his research, please go take a good bath. I inform you that the food will take a little longer to be ready. We will be with you as soon as we finish cleaning up this mess."

Judging by Ametsa's posture and way of speaking, one would think of how elegant and serious she must be. However, the blush on her cheeks didn't quite match the aforementioned. Fazil's words seemed to have a greater impact on her.

Fazil noticed this and decided not to mention anything. Words like these didn't come out of him often, although that didn't mean he didn't truly feel them.

Before leaving, Ametsa mentioned something else.

"By the way, we have some guests visiting today."

Fazil glanced sideways and raised an eyebrow in uncertainty. He didn't give it more importance and went to take a bath.

Finishing his bath, Fazil walked towards the dining room while Ametsa went ahead of him.

"Your guest didn't wait for you and is currently eating."

Fazil's face only conveyed disinterest. If his guest had that kind of manners, he already had a clear idea of who it was. And he confirmed it the moment they entered the dining room.

"Hey, Fazil. Ametsa cooks better every day, this stew is incredible," said the man who was eating heartily.

He was a man of robust build. Compared to the mage's slender body, the difference was noticeable. In height, the two would be even. His eyes were blue, and his hair was short and black. The most striking thing about him was the imposing armor he wore, with meticulous details that denoted a quality above average.

"Geoffrey, may I know what you want? If it's another request from the old man, you know perfectly well that I won't cooperate."

His attitude didn't seem friendly towards him. For his part, that armored man was slurping from the bowl. The joy on his face reflected how good his dish must taste.

"If I came personally, it's because the king wants you at the castle, no matter what," he said with a confident smile.

The atmosphere became tense between them, being broken by Kara, who arrived with a cart carrying the food.

"Please, take a seat, my lord," Ametsa said courteously.

Fazil didn't answer or refer to what the so-called Geoffrey had mentioned. He just waited for his food to be served and began to eat.

"Hey... at least resp..."

Geoffrey stopped what he was about to say as Fazil looked at him. But instead of answering, he simply mentioned Kara's name.

"As you command, Mr. Fazil," she replied with a big smile. Immediately after, she took a breath. "The King is just an idiot who thinks Mr. Fazil is at his service just because Mr. Fazil was born in this kingdom. But he should keep in mind that the only reason Mr. Fazil defeated the demon lord is far from helping the kingdom, the nation, or the world. And if there's anything Mr. Fazil should have with the kingdom, it would be the fact of having massive hatred for it due to the past..." The girl ran out of breath after saying everything in one go.

Geoffrey made a serious face at the mage's attitude.

"Hate or not, I was ordered to take you, even if I have to drag you," he said, standing up and drawing his sword, which was leaning against the chair.

He put the tip close to Fazil.

"So the kingdom now wants to force me to work for them. Do they want to start a war against the 'Savior'? Or rather, can the best warrior of humanity take me by force?" Fazil's eyes emitted a faint glow of the same color for a brief moment.

Geoffrey, far from being intimidated, seemed excited.

"Well, they say the best warrior of humanity is equivalent to an army. Will an army be enough to bring before the king the one they say is a god among mortals?" In his eyes, a faint glow of a similar color could also be perceived, just as it had been with Fazil.

Ametsa and Kara placed another plate on the table; this plate, along with the cutlery, was more luxurious than the ones Fazil and Geoffrey had used, and they ignored what was happening in front of them.

Both Fazil and Geoffrey stared at each other for a few moments. Suddenly, they both started laughing uncontrollably.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Equivalent to an army? Where did you get that? Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Fazil's laughter was noticeable; he even hit the table repeatedly.

Geoffrey sheathed his sword again after finishing laughing.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said calmly. "But you should visit my house from time to time," he added while putting Fazil in a headlock with his arm.

Fazil felt good, even though Geoffrey was bothering him. Friends since childhood, fate separated them when Geoffrey left for the capital to begin his training as a knight. Years later, he would reunite with his best friend.

"Where is he?!"

In the distance, a female voice was heard. There was something Fazil had overlooked; if it was just Geoffrey and him, why were the girls preparing another plate? It wasn't until he heard that voice that he understood: she was there too.

"Sorry," said Geoffrey, who released Fazil and put his hands together in apology. "When she found out I was coming here, she took the opportunity to come too."

Fazil turned towards the entrance of the dining room, and there she stood, with her hands on her hips, a young woman in her twenties who was also wearing armor. Her long hair and eyes were a shade of pink, and her features made her beauty on par with Ametsa's.

Her armor, unlike Geoffrey's, although it also had meticulous details, had extra ornaments that made it stand out more, the most prominent being a small cape.

"Darl..."

"How dare you abandon your wife all this time?!"

At that comment, Fazil could only let out a bitter sigh.

"You know perfectly well that we're not married," he said, completely ignoring her.

Fazil decided to continue focusing on his food rather than continue chatting with her.

"It's always the same with you!" she said, throwing a tantrum and stomping her foot in a fit.

She drew her sword and charged directly at the mage. Her sword had a blade of a peculiar color: although it showed the typical color of steel, a slight sapphire glow could be seen when reflecting the light. She didn't hesitate to attack him, seeing him distracted eating.

"Empódio."

The instant Fazil mentioned that word, the girl's sword bounced off inches from reaching him. Anyone without knowledge would have been stunned by this situation, but she continued to attack him.

"Come and fight, you damn coward!" she shouted, while continuing to attack without showing any signs of stopping.

Each blow seemed to have more force. Even the room began to tremble slowly from the shock of the impacts.

"Calm down, Princess Darlina," said Geoffrey, noticing that her effort was useless. "No matter what you do, you won't be able to break his Empódio with such basic strikes. Come on, better take a seat and eat peacefully."

"Not until he apologizes," she replied, pointing at Fazil. Then, she sheathed her sword again. "It's incredible that, after all these years, he continues to reject his wife in this way."

Geoffrey's face showed the discomfort this scene generated in him.

Some time ago, after the defeat of the Demon King, the ruler of the kingdom where the mage currently lives, who is also the emperor of the human nation, offered the hand of his youngest daughter, Princess Darlina, as a reward to Fazil for his victory. He rejected the engagement without hesitating for an instant and told the emperor to stop seeing his daughters as bargaining chips.

For the emperor, his daughters were the greatest gift he could offer. He had already strategically married all of them, except Darlina, to princes from both human and other races' kingdoms. Fazil understood the intention of this reward: if he married, he would be forced to be at his service.

"Come on, Fazil, can't you accept the engagement? There's practically no man who wouldn't want a beauty like her."

Geoffrey tried to persuade his friend, but he wasn't lying either. Fazil was rejecting one of the most beautiful women in the world, in the eyes of many. And not only that, Darlina was the exception to the rule of a delicate princess. If Geoffrey was considered the strongest warrior of humanity, Darlina was his equivalent on the female side.

"It's good that all this will end soon," Fazil said with a smile, while playing with a piece of meat in his stew. "It's good that you're here, Geoffrey. It will be good to say goodbye to my best friend."

Geoffrey didn't understand any of those words. Say goodbye? What did he mean by that? he thought. Analyzing his current life, what he believed was his only solution came to mind.

"Hey, don't scare me. It's true that this Savior thing is out of control, but that's no reason for you to do something crazy."

Ametsa and Kara also showed concern. The fact that their lord had told them that his research had apparently been a success didn't make them think of that possibility of escaping the life he currently had.

"What are you talking about?" the mage asked, confused. "I want to understand how the world works, and I won't achieve that if I take my own life."

Everyone present felt relief in their hearts. In part, he was right: Fazil's greatest obsession was to know the why of everything, and committing such an act would not help him at all.

He had finished his plate and looked satisfied. Being locked up and focused on his research didn't allow him to fully enjoy Ametsa's delicious cooking. He thanked them for the food and stood up.

"I'll miss this food," he mentioned with a bitter sigh. "Without a doubt, Ametsa's food will be what I miss the most."

"You're acting very strange, even for you," said Geoffrey with a confused face. "Leave the mysticism and tell me what you discovered."

A smile formed on Fazil's face; it seemed that he had been waiting all this time for them to ask him about his discovery.

"It's easy, Geoffrey. I finally found the answer to something my master raised in his time, and that I continued after his disappearance."

Not only Geoffrey, but everyone present didn't understand what he was talking about. His master was considered the most powerful magic user in his time and took in Fazil to instruct him in his learning of its use.

A thorn that Fazil will always carry is not being able to show his master what he became, as he disappeared when he was a teenager. Being him, as the only disciple, who continued with his legacy, since his master was also like him: an imaginative visionary looking to understand the why of everything. Something that could be said to be the philosophy they had devised for themselves.

"I need a whiteboard to explain what I'm talking about," he said as he headed towards the dining room door.

He gestured for them to follow him, which everyone, including the princess, did.

He led them to the library he had in the basement—if we could call it that—of his mansion.

Fazil's mansion wasn't particularly large compared to others. But what was striking about it was what was hidden inside: its immense basement. Here were his laboratories, his private room, and, most notably, his library.

The library was even larger than the mansion itself and was completely filled with books written by Fazil, his master, and those found or that the mage considered good acquisitions. The best place to store a book is to retain it in your head, the mage mentioned from time to time; although it was also good to have a physical copy for future generations. Everything recorded in this place was the knowledge and discoveries made since the dawn of reason by all existing intelligent races.

They arrived at the center of the library. There was a whiteboard and some armchairs surrounding a table, which were somewhat worn, revealing their age. The lighting throughout the room was excellent despite being underground. This was thanks to a huge crystal in the middle of the entire place, providing the light they needed to be comfortable.

Everyone, except Fazil, who was adjusting the whiteboard so they could see it better, sat down in the armchairs.

"Alright, explain to us what you discovered," commented Geoffrey with some incredulity.

In the past, Fazil had claimed many things that ultimately turned out to be wrong. This could discourage many and make them abandon what they were doing, which is what regularly happened. Although with Fazil, it was the opposite.

Geoffrey always admired his determination, even when faced with that great wall that meant failure. One day he asked him what made him keep trying, to which Fazil replied at that time:

"It is through mistakes that progress can arise. That something fails doesn't mean it's completely impossible, it just means you have to find the right variable."

Many of the advances in different fields of magic, as well as in other disciplines, were due to Fazil's determination to find the solution to the enigmas that existed and made the world work.

The mage seemed excited as he drew a horizontal line on the whiteboard. After doing so, he pointed the chalk at the seated attendees.

"When I was just starting my studies in magic, one day my master asked me a question," Fazil's eyes showed a nostalgic gleam as he looked at the others.

Geoffrey couldn't help but smile when he heard Fazil. This was because memories of his childhood sprang to his head; the same way his friend behaved had luckily remained the same for so many years.

"Hey, Geoffrey."

The mage's voice pulled him out of his trance.

"Huh? No, nothing. I was just thinking about something, continue," he said calmly, while scratching his cheek.

Fazil said nothing, although he vaguely had an idea of what he was thinking.

"Well, as I was saying, the question my master asked me that day..."

Fazil remembered his childhood, when he began to study magic. Although he didn't show it, a feeling of melancholy flooded his heart, as he remembered what the only feeling was that was his reason for living at that time: revenge.

Hatred, sadness, fear, among other negative feelings, had come together to form the mass of resentment that inhabited his heart.

His eyes at that time were empty and expressionless. And then, one day out of nowhere, his master asked him the question that caused that Fazil that Geoffrey remembered to return over time.

"Do we exist?" the mage asked those present.

Everyone, without exception, was stunned by that question.

Fazil gave a half-smile, having achieved what he set out to do.

The silence his question had generated was not long in breaking by Ametsa.

"What do you mean by that question? Of course we exist," she said with a somewhat incredulous expression. It wouldn't be the first time her lord asked something outrageous.

"Ametsa is right, Mr. Fazil. We exist, the fact that we are all gathered here, isn't that proof of it?" Kara didn't hold back from speaking.

For his part, Geoffrey just tilted his head trying to understand that question. Darlina didn't want to take part in the opinions; she was surprised by the question, but her anger prevented her from concentrating to give her opinion.

"My master didn't want an answer at that moment. He had probably already found his own. He only mentioned it so that my desire to understand the world would return."

Fazil pointed to the crystal that illuminated the entire library. It was about two meters in diameter and was placed about eight meters high. The color of its glow was a combination of white with slight yellow tones.

"I only found one answer to that question. Answer me: apart from white, what color predominates in the crystal?"

Everyone, upon seeing it, answered yellow. It wasn't very difficult to know.

"That's true, we are aware that we see the sky as blue when it's daytime and black when it's nighttime; the color of fruits, food, and our clothes; how they smell, how it feels to touch them, how we hear things," Fazil gave a serious look with a smile and pointed back at the crystal. "We all agree on that, the color is yellow. So I ask you another question: do we all see the same yellow?"

Everyone was about to answer. It was at that moment when they understood that the depth of that question was greater than it seemed. It was true that the color was yellow, everyone agreed on that; but could one explain or understand what they saw of the color in the same way? Stopping to think about it, the answer was obvious: there was no way.

Only someone as eccentric as Fazil or his master would go so far in answering a question that seemed so obvious.

Silence, once again, made its appearance. The difference was that now everyone had a doubtful expression. Apparently, they were still trying to assimilate what the mage had told them.

"Interpret..."

That word mentioned by Fazil only caused the group to have an even more confused expression.

"Whether we exist or not is something that in my current capacity I cannot answer," the mage just shrugged with an ironic smile. "I can only affirm one thing: everything around us, everything we observe day by day, is nothing more than the interpretation that our eyes make."

Among those present, Ametsa was the one who now had a fascinated expression. She was not only Fazil's servant but also his disciple. So hearing one of the many hypotheses that her master said filled her with admiration for him. She only regretted the fact that she couldn't keep up with the pace of his teaching.

It's not that she was bad, in fact, she was considered an elite mage; but her way of seeing things couldn't even rival Fazil's.

She couldn't help but speak to him as a disciple.

"And did that have to do with your discovery, master?"

"Actually, no. I just wanted to mention it."

Her bubble of admiration was burst by those words. Fazil laughed nonchalantly while scratching his cheek.

"Then why are you telling us this?!" Geoffrey exclaimed.

Although his reaction was one of anger, he knew perfectly well that it was useless to remain upset. It wasn't the first time, nor the last, that Fazil would do something like this. After all, he wouldn't tell them this if it wasn't necessary.

Fazil sighed in resignation before speaking again.

"As I mentioned, this has nothing to do with what I discovered. However, it was this first question that led to this one later on," Fazil pointed his chalk again at the line he had drawn on the whiteboard at the beginning. "Do other worlds exist?"

From one second to another, Fazil returned to his serious gaze as he looked at the others. For the first time, Princess Darlina seemed to take interest, because although she had been shocked by the mage's statements before, she had not decided to participate.

Fazil didn't wait for an answer and continued with his explanation.

"This line is our world."

Kara immediately raised her hand to get his attention.

"Didn't you claim that our world is round?"

"I think I explained myself badly. It's true that all the experiments I've done confirm that; but I'm not talking about our world itself, but about the plane on which it is located."

Pla... ne?

That was everyone's first thought. Even Kara was starting to get a headache due to the terms Fazil had been using. Words whose meaning they understood, but used to explain very complicated things to assimilate was not an easy task.

"Observing the stars, my master and I realized something: that they move away from us, which implies that we are in a kind of place where, apparently, we are in motion. We decided to call this a plane. This gave us a clue: if this plane is here, hypothetically more should exist," Fazil drew more horizontal lines.

This time, it was Darlina who raised her hand.

"So the spaces in magical inventories are also other planes?"

"In principle, my master and I thought the same thing," Fazil drew a small circle on the first line he drew. Then, in a separate space, he drew a larger one and connected them with two more lines. "Investigating, we discovered that the spaces of magical inventories belong to our plane, but separated from it. We call these spaces Nadas, because they are practically that: a space where not even time exists."

He drew a line in the center of that large circle and, around it, drew more circles and ovals of different sizes to represent those Nadas.

"After years, I finally managed to prove the hypothesis of other worlds. And I will prove it with these objects."

Fazil materialized two objects. These had been taken from his magical inventory. Two small openings appeared in the air, and the mage put his hands in to take them out.

They were two gems approximately fifteen centimeters in diameter. One had a peculiar amber color and he held it in his hand; while the other, although of the same color, he made it levitate in his other hand, surrounded by a kind of white aura.

"I call these little ones Ether Gems."

Ether was not a word used at random. Fazil had just mentioned the name of the world's energy. This, without a doubt, was no longer one of his failed experiments.