Uhyon's dream was extremely strange. He knew very well that dreams are a chaotic and illogical sequence of memories, but this didn't match any memory he had. His body was dark gray and around 180–190 cm tall, but because he wore a long black cloak from head to toe, it was hard to tell his actual skin color. In his hand was a dagger with a handle made of wood-like material, slightly longer than a regular one, and the blade shimmered a deep crimson. Even though he was dressed, his body was still splattered with blood.
All around him lay corpses of humans, savagely killed. The location was equally baffling—a field of slopes and hills. But the plants in the area were stained red with human blood. He stood at the lower part of the field.
On the higher ground stood a humanoid creature—though something about it was distinctly non-human. Except for its head, the entire body was clad in metallic armor that gleamed like silver, decorated with ruby and emerald patterns. Its eyes were red, like filled with blood, and its long green hair reached its waist. It held a shining sword in its hand, surprisingly similar to the legendary Excalibur. The sky was blood-red as the sun was setting. Uhyon wanted to wake up from this illogical dream, but the gray-bodied version of him began to speak:
— Why? Why? WHY? WHYYYYY?! — the voice, male, grew faster and louder.— What did I do to you? Is my crime just that I had this ability? THEN TAKE IT. But why did you take him from me?! I won't forgive you. I WON'T FORGIVE YOU. WHETHER YOU'RE MY ENEMY, THOSE TWO, OR THE CREATOR, IT DOESN'T MATTER—ALL OF YOU WILL DIE.
— You? Us? PHAHAHAHAHA... In your condition? Look at yourself, you're finished. Once the seal completes, you'll vanish into eternal nothingness. It's over. Your ability now works only for us. — the figure on the hill replied in a thinner but still masculine voice, laced with mocking laughter.
— You think this seal can stop me? Fine. 100, 200, 300, 400, even 100,000 years can pass—it still won't pull me off this path.
After those words, glowing lines appeared in front of his body. They seemed to stretch and converge toward each other.
— We'll see. You don't even have the strength to break the seal.
The glowing lines formed a ring and quickly constricted Uhyon's dream-body until he was immobile. But just before it completed, the body surged with energy, and he hurled the dagger toward the creature on the hill with all his might. It moved with near sonic speed, aiming directly for the figure's head. But the figure cast a spell, and a 2.5-meter-thick stone wall rose up two meters ahead of him in an instant.
It was the first magic Uhyon had seen. "Wow... how fast. The dagger hadn't even hit yet, and he summoned that. Impressive," thought Uhyon.
But the dagger pierced through the stone wall. Uhyon froze in shock. However, just before it struck the figure, the seal activated.
The rings flared and suddenly he fell into a strange red space—as if he were inside slime. But the body's owner didn't care. Somehow, Uhyon could feel the emotions within this being. "Such unbearable hatred… this creature can't tolerate injustice. How is he enduring this?!" thought Uhyon.
The being's face twisted, and tears streamed from its eyes.
— WHYYYYY?! What wrong did I do to him? People said goodness should be repaid with goodness, but this? Everyone sees him as good and me as evil—why?! My only crime is that I was given this divine mission? To everyone's eyes, I am just HATRED. No one cares about the real me. No one. Only Anitalus cared about me — my one and only true friend. But those bastards took him from me. I swear, until I kill all of you, none of you will live in peace.
— "There's no point in seeking justice in this world, my lord. It doesn't exist. Even if you create it, someone will always see it as injustice". - at that moment, a small portal of pink and black light appeared—it looked like a tiny dungeon gate. From it came the red dagger, and it started conversing mentally with the being, though Uhyon could hear it.
— Did it hit? — the creature asked.
— No, he managed to deflect it.
The being tried to calm himself, breathing deeply.
Then he said:
— By the way, there's a golden rule of magic: "If the action doesn't resolve a past calamity or change history, then any spell's properties can be altered." If I can do this, I'll break the seal.
He spoke to himself as if he were mad. He brought his hands together, and glowing symbols emerged. Then, the magical rings binding him became visible again. They too bore inscriptions. The creature's symbols merged into the ring.
— Three times. I just need to step into the outside world three times by 'Alone's' own will, and the seal will break. But when will he allow it? Never mind. The real issue is forming a plan against those three. They've awakened the dragon sleeping in the cave—let's see if they can still live peacefully in their castles.
Suddenly the dream faded into pitch-black darkness. Uhyon, realizing nothing interesting was left, opened his eyes and sat up. Usually, dreams fade unless recalled immediately—but this one wouldn't leave his mind. It sank deeper into his memory.
"What were those beings? Why was his body gray? Wait... what about that attack?"
Uhyon ran to grab a pen and paper and began calculating.
"A dagger around 50 cm, weighing 1–2 kg, speed at the speed of sound—300 m/s, stone wall: approx. 2 m tall, 3 m wide, 2.5 m thick…"
He calculated excitedly: "If I can find the stone's density and the dagger's kinetic energy…"
But then his excited expression went blank.
"What's the point of calculating a dream warrior's power? Just do your homework."
He threw the paper in the trash, looked at the clock—5:20 AM—and remembered he hadn't done his homework. He washed his face and hands, drank a glass of water, and began studying.
"So, the anti-sealer—as the name implies, it cancels seals. But it can't cancel just any seal. It can only extract mana trapped within monster body parts, like teeth or bones. These parts carry innate mana from magical creatures and thus can be used to harm others. But taking, say, a random tooth from a dead monster won't work—it won't have effect, or only weakly so. That's because once the monster dies, the mana flow into its parts stops. The mana inside becomes inactive. The anti-sealer reactivates that mana, concentrating it around the item's sharp areas.
Modern anti-sealers can even boost the protective mana of shields made from monsters. — Uhyon read aloud to himself.
"Interesting, but the name doesn't fit... Wait, that's it. The one who named it misunderstood its purpose, thinking the item contained sealed mana." Like how atoms were once thought to be indivisible, hence the name.
"But not everyone can use an anti-sealer. You need to be a highly focused hunter or mage. Here's how it works: First, a monster part with mana is placed inside the anti-sealer. The hunter starts channeling mana into the device. But as soon as the mana within the monster part starts moving, the hunter must stop—if not, it will disperse, and the item becomes inert."
Wow, what an amazing item, especially for the 6th–8th centuries.
Uhyon reread and memorized the material. Then he began studying mathematics and magical biology: anatomy of monsters.