At this moment, Lu Kang was actually still in seclusion. The majestic library, bathed in the slanting sunlight, was filled with a warm glow. The bell high above chimed, and dust motes danced around the closed doors. But Maria had not deceived Anna. Today was indeed the day Lu Kang would open the library—according to his own calculations, in his own timeline.
[Day 320. This is the seventh day you have been in seclusion in the Kremlin library. In ancient myths, God spent seven days creating the world. You are not God, but you believe you can use seven days to sort out what you have gained and lay the foundation for your own system of mystery.]
[You do not expect to create your own family's magical foundation in such a short time. The foundation of every magus family requires many generations and a much longer time to establish. Your time as 'Lu Kang Luvest' is limited, and you are not in a hurry.]
[Therefore, for you, seven days is enough.]
[This is the last day.]
[At sunrise, you finished sorting out what you have gained.]
[You have mastered the application of 'Miracles'—having grown up in a convent, you are no stranger to faith. After understanding the principles, you were quickly able to put it into practice. But you did not connect to the Church's foundation. The power of 'Miracles' you have grasped originates solely from your own mind, and not just from faith. This is not a divine miracle, but the manifestation and externalization of your own will.]
[You know that this is, in fact, a kind of magecraft. A brand new 'Magecraft of the Mind' that combines 'Miracles' and 'Magecraft'.]
[It originates from magecraft but uses the 'present' power of miracles instead of past phenomena.]
[The past is fixed: fixed formulas, fixed attributes, a fixed total amount of mystery and a fixed foundation.]
[But the present holds infinite possibilities. The 'present' that manifests 'miracles' is not bound by the past.]
[On this basis, what the mind thinks can become 'magecraft'.]
[This is your definition of the new system of magecraft.]
[The Magecraft of the Mind is born and nurtured in your hands. It is still weak now, but like a newborn sprout, it will sooner or later grow into a mighty tree, rooted in the soil of mystery.]
[It will become the first step of your inheritance into 'reality'.]
[You begin to record.]
In the library, Lu Kang's expression was calm. He sat cross-legged on the floor, the cool touch of the smooth tiles beneath him. The black priest's robe billowed in the autumn breeze blowing from the high windows. His thoughts were a whirlwind. Feeling the changes within himself after mastering both 'Miracles' and 'Magecraft', he couldn't help but sigh. He thought to himself that he was truly a genius to be able to do such a thing. However, he also knew that this was only because, despite his seemingly commoner background, he had actually brought with him the more mature system of magecraft from the Clock Tower several decades in the future.
For the world as a whole, mystery was constantly fading. Correspondingly, the formulas created to preserve the fading 'mystery' became more refined and superb with each passing era. The power that those formulas could display might not be as great as in ancient times, but their underlying concepts were advanced. In a way, Lu Kang could be said to be using the formulas of the 'future' to grasp the miracles of the 'present' and encompass the mystery of the 'past'.
And now, everything was about to come to fruition. He only had one last step. This step was both recording and inheritance. Recorded between the pages. Recorded in a book. And even more so, recorded upon the world itself.
This was a process that every new type of magecraft or 'miracle' had to go through. Just as a seed must be placed in the soil to sprout, only after the seed has sprouted can this new system of magecraft be effectively used by people.
[You begin to record.]
In the quiet library, the scattered books flipped open in the wind, rustling loudly. Lu Kang opened a blank book in his hand. He took up his pen and drew his theories and ideas on the paper.
[You continue to record.]
The ink flowing from the pen tip spread across the white pages, soaking through.
[You keep recording.]
[You are completely focused, yet your mind seems to wander far away. You feel as if you have passed through the past, present, and future, reaching a more distant place.]
['Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.']
['What thou thinkest, that is reality.']
[You wrote down these words.]
[A thought suddenly stirred in your heart, an idea.]
[And so the thought in your heart, in that instant, became reality.]
What one thinks, what one conceives, can become the 'magecraft' that activates mystery. This was the greatest feature of the Magecraft of the Mind that Lu Kang had envisioned. As long as one had enough 'magical energy' and grasped enough 'mystery', making thoughts come true was easy. Of course, the current Lu Kang did not have enough magical energy. His seed had not yet been planted, let alone sprouted, so naturally, he could not grasp more mystery. Many of his ideas existed only in theory. Right now, he only had theory.
But even with only theory, under the influence of miracles and magecraft, Lu Kang's power could still affect himself. He could now use the most basic of mystic spells without any preparation. He didn't need to prepare the paths and formulas of magecraft in advance; a thought could become law. Although he could only do this with the most basic of spells, the most basic 'illusions', it was enough for now.
He thought of the creator of the modern system of mystery, the first Magus-King, who was also the king of saints in religion, Solomon. And at this moment, it was as if he could truly see the shadow of King Solomon...
[This is a phantom from the past, an illusion.]
[This is a record of the world's false image, manifested because of what you thought.]
[It is as if you are looking at the most ancient Magus-King across a vast expanse of time. You cannot see his face, cannot see his form, but in the haze, you can feel his gaze also looking at you.]
[The most ancient Magus-King, the King of Saints—you remember his legends, remember King Solomon's only two displays of mystery in his life. The first was when he received divine revelation, which established his identity as a king. The second was before his death. That time, he created 'Magecraft' and 'Miracles'.]
[Once for man, once for God.]
[This was him.]
[And perhaps, it is the path you will walk.]
[To this day, you have already displayed your first mystery.]
[You know that the second may be in the near future.]
[The last stroke of ink flows out.]
[You have completed the final stroke on the page.]
[The thought in your heart also dissipates at the same time.]
[You look at the book in your hand, but then you take up your pen again and write the last few words on the cover.]
[You give this book a name.]
[And you give the system of mystery you created a name.]
"The Book of the Law."
With a soft thud, Lu Kang closed the book. He held it in his hands and tilted his head up, letting the sunlight fall on his face. He could feel that in this moment, the world hadn't changed, yet it felt as if it had been turned upside down.
Maybe I should change my name to 'Aleister'... Lu Kang thought to himself. But on second thought, the Aleister of this era has probably already been born, so I'll have to give up on that idea. He also hoped no one would come knocking on his door demanding copyright fees.
As he was thinking this:
[At this moment, the Magecraft is complete.]
[It is still weak now.]
[But the seed of mystery has been sown. You only need to wait for it to sprout and grow, for theory to become practice.]
[You firmly believe that with each of your simulated reincarnations, it will appear in more ancient eras, encompass longer periods of time, and grasp even older mysteries.]
[It will grow with you, becoming more ancient and powerful alongside you.]
[The more ancient, the stronger.]
[The stronger, the more ancient.]
[You still firmly believe this.]
...
"The Book of the Law."
"In the world of mystery, there is more than one book with this title. The one we will discuss today is the manuscript left by Luvest, a man who rose to power in the late Tsarist empire by gaining the trust of Nicholas II."
"Luvest has been called the most wicked and audacious man in the world. In his book, he wrote: 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law'."
"In his book, he merged the powers of 'Miracles' and 'Magecraft', which should have been at opposite ends of the mystic spectrum. He used the miracles of the mind to manifest the magecraft of the past—a very incredible idea, and a very unbelievable practice."
"It is difficult for us to imagine how he did it, and it is also difficult to imagine how, as a heretic to both the Church and the Mage's Association, he escaped their joint pursuit and annihilation."
"But even though many people condemn him and curse him, his ideas have been passed down and have indeed influenced many magi and members of the Church."
"He was a man of reckless audacity."
"He was a rebel in the world of mystery."
"But perhaps he was also a pioneer who dared to be the first to step into the unknown."
—From a bold lecture by Clock Tower Lecturer and Lord of the Department of Modern Magecraft, Waver Velvet, 2004.
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