Holy Necromancer: Rebirth of the Strongest Mage
Chapter 26: The Ancients

Lambard sat on his throne and closed his eyes. For a moment, there was only silence as no one spoke. Even the heartbeats of people could be heard in the silence.

After a long time, the old man broke his silence as he opened his eyes which looked really deep now. It was as if his eyes were filled with centuries of wisdom.

"This world of ours, it's something that no one truly understands. Not many people know the true history of this world or how it came to be. The people don't even know why we have the Mages and where they get their powers from? Who made the Grimoires? Who made the Ancestral Staffs? How did they achieve it? Where did the first mage get his powers from?"

"What people don't understand, they start assuming. They start believing that it was the Gods who gave these powers to the humans, selecting them as their warriors. They believe the first mage gained his abilities because he was selected by the Gods. And that oldest Element to be awakened is known as Origin Element."

"Most people think that the first Element which was awakened by someone was the Element of Light. That's why they think light is the Origin Element, but most people are wrong."

"They are wrong about everything, not just the Origin Element. They are wrong about the Origin of these abilities. They are wrong about how the first Mages got their abilities. They are wrong about thousands of things. Even the most educated people are wrong about such things." As Lambard spoke, he kept turning his ring around his finger as if he was playing with it.

"What are they wrong about exactly?" Gabriel asked. "And how do you know all this if even the most knowledgeable don't know about this?!"

"I'll answer all your questions. But first, your tea is here, it seems." The young man gazed behind Gabriel.

Gabriel looked back, only to be stunned. Another person had appeared behind him without making a noise. It was the same maid who had brought them to this place in the first place.

The maid was carrying two cups filled with tea on her tray.

Watching Lira pick up a cup, Gabriel felt like he should pick the cup as well as courtesy, but he didn't. No matter who this person was, he couldn't believe this tea couldn't be poisoned.

"I'm sorry, but I'm full. You can give it to Master Lambard," Gabriel told the young maid in the back.

"You are really careful, it seems." Lambard smiled. "Don't worry. There isn't poison in the tea."

"I'm sorry, but I've stopped trusting people with their words for now. Moreover, I don't think I want to drink anything at the moment," Gabriel answered calmly.

"Well, it's certainly a good trait to be suspicious of those around you. You never know who can betray you if you're not too careful. And by the time you realize, it's already too late. But still, don't go too far in your suspicions. Don't push your genuine supporters away because of suspicions," Lambard calmly stated before he picked the cup that wasn't taken by Gabriel.

He took a sip right before the young man's eyes. "The tea is delicious as always. Thanks, Maria."

The woman smiled in response. "I'm glad you liked it, Master."

The maid waited for everyone to finish the tea before she left, taking the empty cups and giving everyone the privacy they wanted.

"Ah, so where was I? Ah, yeah. Don't push away people; you should keep some close. Because the Element that you have? It's going to attract too much trouble for you."

"The ones who don't know what that symbol means will confuse it with the Element of Darkness. That is troublesome indeed, but not as troublesome as it's going to be when the ones who truly know about the truth of your Element find out about your existence. You will need all the help you can get at that time, so yeah."

Lambard didn't speak much about the actions of Gabriel and his lack of trust. In fact, he didn't mind it at all since it was a good trait when used in limitations. Still, he didn't forget to impart some knowledge to the young man, speaking from experience.

Gabriel understood what the young man was trying to imply. He was trying to say that the path ahead was treacherous and that he couldn't walk alone in this path since there was a risk of losing himself in the process.

"This Mark of Karyk, what is it? Can you answer me that first?" Gabriel asked, getting back on track. "You were talking about it."

"Right. The Mark of Karyk..." Lambard straightened his back.

"To know Karyk's mark, you need to know how the abilities that the mages use originated. How did they gain these abilities? Where did they come from? And no, as much as people like to claim it, these abilities didn't come from the Gods."

The man started explaining in a solemn tone.

"According to the last remaining scriptures that managed to survive the test of time, I have managed to gather quite a lot of information about these abilities that people call Elemental Magic."

Gabriel listened carefully to the man's words. He wanted to ask many questions, but he didn't interfere and let the man continue at his own pace.

"Millions of years ago, there were no Mages in this world. There were only humans who populated this world. There was no magic in this world. However, even though the people here didn't have magic, they had something else entirely. They had what they used to call Science..."

"Now, you may not understand what Science means. Even I don't understand it entirely, but it was something really miraculous. The civilization of that time couldn't use magic, but they were still very advanced for their time."

"They managed to make tall buildings, things that could carry them from one place to another without them having to walk. They also made something that can fly in the air to take them to a faraway land," the man explained.

"Isn't that just magic? It's impossible to fly without magic. Could it be possible that those people used the word science for what we know as magic? I don't think there is any other way to fly," Gabriel asked.

"No. You're wrong. Initially, I also used to think what you think right now, but I soon found out that I was wrong. Science wasn't magic. It was something much more complex. Science could make many things possible that we can do with the help of magic."

"They made weapons that could destroy cities without using magic. They could fly and more. As I said before, that civilization was more advanced. If only I could go back in time to live in that timeline, I would in a heartbeat."

The man let out a deep sigh of disappointment. "Unfortunately, I can never see that glorious civilization."

Gabriel was amazed at the story he heard. Lira seemed calmer as if she had listened to this story many times before.

"Why did Science not exist anymore? How did people gain magic? How did that Ancient Civilization end?"

"Greed and hate... These two things can destroy even the most prosperous of Empires. It was no different for those people," the old man answered.