The Emerald Cycle: Chapter 1 - The End and the New Beginning
It all begins with our protagonist, his name is John, and he is 68 years old.
The wind on Mount Draconis had never been so hot.
John, 68, known throughout the Eastern Province not for noble titles, but for having witnessed more ends of eras than any man alive, was now facing his own.
The sky, usually a canopy of magical turquoise where the Cloud-Cities of Aethel floated, was torn by a crimson wound. At the center of this laceration, a Fire Meteor descended, so vast it seemed intent on swallowing the world. It was no ordinary rock; it was a pure manifestation of Cauterizing Magic, a Divine Fury that promised to eradicate the planet's Cycle of Life.
John, a retired Time Mage whose hands trembled more from old age than from fear, wore only a sad smile. He sat at the highest peak, watching the approaching flames, feeling the heat rise in the thin air.
There is no spell, no portal, no magic of Chronos that can stop what is coming, he thought, as he clutched the small Cold Obsidian pendant around his neck, lamenting that even with the immense power he possessed, nothing could stop the inevitable.
Impact was seconds away. The light was blinding, the sound was the breaking of the aether itself. John closed his eyes, accepting his fate, the promise of the Cycle of Reincarnation beckoning him into the darkness.
When the Fire Meteor struck him, his body disintegrated into a shower of silver ashes. But, in the next second, his consciousness did not fade. Instead, it was sucked into a vortex of emerald-green light.
The emerald-green light vortex was not the path to eternal peace, but rather the portal of creation. John felt the compression, the crushing of his old soul, and then... warmth. Not the heat of the meteor, but a vital, welcoming, and moist heat.
He emerged into darkness, suffocated and disoriented. The cold air hit his lungs, and he let out a sound he didn't recognize: a weak, irritated cry.
Opening his eyes—which were now large and intensely blue, instead of faded brown—he saw a face.
Not Death. But Mother.
Her hair was like liquid fire, and her eyes, filled with tears of relief and exhaustion, were the first glimpse of his new world.
"— Joker... My little Joker..." the woman whispered, cuddling him.
John, now Joker, the newborn, blinked. His 68 years of memories, his magical wisdom, and his knowledge about the Cauterizing Meteor were intact, imprisoned in a body that could barely lift its head.
John's perplexity was replaced by a cold focus. He hadn't just reincarnated; he had been thrown into a new game.
Joker's new home was Elemoria, a kingdom where magic was not only possible but the very foundation of life. Society was organized around the mastery of magical power divided into 10 Cycles. Reaching each Cycle marked an exponential increase in strength, durability, and spell-casting ability.
There were rumors of the 11th Cycle, the Cycle of Genesis, spoken only in forbidden ballads. It was said that the one who attained it could rewrite the laws of reality.
In Elemoria, three great powers balanced (or threatened) the world:
Name of Kingdom/Faction Description
The Good: The Kingdom of Lumina Ruled by King Theron, The Just. Focused on Light and Healing magic. It is the bastion of order and protection, but it is also excessively bureaucratic.
The Evil: The Shadow Empire of Vexia Led by the mysterious Lord Malakar. Specialized in Dark Magic, Necromancy, and Mental Manipulation. Seeks total domination.
The Anti-Hero: The Free Army of the Gloom Commanded by the enigmatic Queen Zylos. They are not evil, but they are pragmatic and amoral. They use Elemental and Chaotic Magic, selling their services to the highest bidder, or acting in their own self-interest, outside the rules.
The first years were an agony for Joker's adult mind. He had to pretend to be a normal baby. His mother, Lena, and his father, Kael, lived in a small village on the border of the Kingdom of Lumina.
Joker used this time to:
Master the Language: In two years, he fluently spoke the "Arcane Tongue," a complex dialect.
Mental Preparation: Reorganize the memories of the Time Mage (John) into strategies for the new body. He discovered that his soul had not bonded perfectly with the body; there was an "excess" of energy.
At 5, he began secretly studying magic. Magic in Elemoria is measured in Aura, the life energy. He discovered that the difficulty was not in learning, but in breaking the cycles.
At 8 years old, the children of Elemoria generally begin to feel the Aura. Joker was already saturated with knowledge, but his body was the limitation.
One night, while pretending to sleep, Joker channeled the breathing and meditation techniques that John, the Time Mage, used to manipulate the aether. He forced the latent energy of his reincarnated soul to interact with his new body.
The pain was intense, as if his nerves were on fire, but he persisted. The energy concentrated in his core. With a dry sound, like a snapping crystal, the energy burst forth.
[Magical Alert: Host has reached the First Cycle of Power!]
Joker woke up panting. He had reached the First Cycle of Power. His physical strength subtly increased, and he could feel the ambient magic. He attempted his first spell from his past life:
"— Slashing Wind! —" He whispered.
Instead of the frigid storm that John would invoke, only a puff of air blew, knocking a feather off the bedside table.
"— Right. The body is weak. But the Cycle has been broken, " Joker thought, determined.
Joker spent the next two years living a double life:
The Common Son: In front of Lena and Kael, he was an intelligent, but normal, boy who studied local history.
The Secret Mage: In the barn or the forest, he trained intensely to strengthen his new body. His goal was not to reach the Second Cycle, but to fortify the foundation so that the legendary Eleventh Cycle would become a possibility. He knew the secret was not just about climbing the levels, but about how he climbed them.
At 10, Joker could already conjure a reasonable Wind Shield, although it only lasted a few seconds. He excelled in intelligence and strategic thinking, but he was still a 10-year-old boy stuck in the First Cycle.
One day, while secretly reading an old scroll about the Cycles, he felt an unnatural chill. A shadow was cast over the text.
"— Studying Genesis magic so young, little Joker? That is dangerous... —" The voice was a smoky whisper, coming from a tall, hooded figure in the barn doorway.
The hooded figure stood at the barn door. His black, tattered hood concealed his face, but the smell of mold and low-grade magic was unmistakable. He was a Crow, a child hunter for the black market, likely operating for some Vexia faction, or dishonest mercenaries from the Gloom.
"— Studying Genesis magic so young, little Joker? That is dangerous... —" The Crow's voice was a whisper of smoke and sand. "— And unnecessary. You're coming with me. Your potential will fetch a good fortune, and a master will use you better than your simple parents."
Joker (10 years old), with the mind of 68, showed no fear. Only revulsion and a cold calculation.
"— Your interest is vulgar, Crow. My potential is not for sale, and if you touch me, I swear your reincarnation will be hell."
The Crow laughed, a dry, rasping cough. "— Such a big mouth."
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside. Lena and Kael were returning to the barn after dinner.
The Crow's eyes gleamed with malice. He drew an bone dagger.
"— If you delay me another moment, brat... your parents will die first."
In that instant, the calmness of John, the old Time Mage, was completely swept away by Joker's Fury.
It was not the irritation of a boy, but the rage of a man who knew the value of life and the weight of loss. The Cold Obsidian pendant, which Joker still wore, trembled. The memories of the Fire Meteor, of the total annihilation he couldn't prevent, and now, the threat of annihilation to his new family... everything converged.
The energy core in his chest, which had been stable at the First Cycle, spun violently.
[Magical Alert: Catalyst Activated: Deep Wrath. Forcing Breakthrough!]
Joker did not cast a spell. He merely released the pressure.
A silent roar exploded from the ground. The barn's dirt floor cracked, the old wood trembled. Joker stomped his foot, and the shockwave of Uncontrolled Physical Power from the Second Cycle destroyed the foundation.
The barn roof partially collapsed. The Crow stumbled, his dagger flying away. Taken by surprise by the raw, immoderate power, the child hunter saw the cold blue in the boy's eyes turn into a pure emerald glow.
"— Vexia won't have mine... —" the Crow hissed. He conjured a portal of low-quality black smoke and dissolved, fleeing the power he failed to assess.
The noise was deafening. Lena and Kael arrived at the barn, panting, finding Joker alone in the center of the disaster, unharmed, but breathless.
"— Joker! What happened here?! —" Kael shouted, looking at the debris.
"— A... a wild animal, father! —" Joker lied quickly. "— I was very scared."
The incident left him thinking for weeks. Why the rage?
It was on a rainy morning, browsing a dusty bookstore in the city, that he made his discovery. An ancient, coverless book titled The Winding Paths of Force.
The text stated that while most mages break the Cycles through Meditation (1st Cycle) and Constant Study (2nd Cycle), there are Hidden Paths:
The Cycle of Understanding (Standard): Broken by clarity of purpose (what Joker achieved at 8).
The Cycle of Fury (Abnormal): Broken by the cataclysmic release of repressed emotions, resulting in raw power.
Joker smiled. He wouldn't have to follow the tedious path of the majority. He had a path of his own.
At 10, it was mandatory for all children in Elemoria who showed magical potential to take the admission test for the Arcane Academy of the Dome, the institution that trained the future leaders and mages of the Three Kingdoms.
Joker said goodbye to his parents, carrying his only valuable possession: the Cold Obsidian pendant.
The Academy was located in the capital, an imposing structure of white marble borrowed from the Kingdom of Lumina.
The Testing Hall was filled with noble and talented children, most already in the First Cycle. Joker blended in, looking like a simple boy from the border.
The test consisted of three parts, supervised by masters from the three forces: a Sage of Lumina, a Necromancer of Vexia, and a Mercenary of the Gloom.
Phase 1: The Aura Test (Lumina Master)
A crystal pillar, the Prism of Veracity, would measure the pure strength of the candidate's Aura.
Joker took a deep breath. He was a Cycle 2, but he would use the strength of a Cycle 1 to avoid attracting attention. He touched the Prism.
The crystal shone with a soft blue light.
Result: Cycle 1.2. (Above average for his age). The Sage of Lumina nodded, satisfied, but unimpressed.
Phase 2: The Resolution Test (Vexia Necromancer)
A magical illusion designed to simulate an extreme stress scenario. The goal was to observe the reaction and morality.
Joker was confronted with an illusion where the Crow from the barn was about to stab his parents, exactly as before.
The Academy's objective: To see if the child would attempt a reckless spell (failure) or surrender to protect the parents (moral pass).
Joker, however, accessed the power of controlled Fury. He did not disintegrate the illusion, but summoned his Wind Shield and used it not to defend himself, but to throw the illusory Crow away, giving his illusory parents time to escape.
The Necromancer of Vexia, cold and with golden eyes, frowned. He used emotion, but in a calculated way.
Result: Approved with Reservations.
Phase 3: The Pragmatic Challenge (Gloom Mercenary)
The candidate must move an Elemental Object (an ice cube) from one point to another without touching it, using the least amount of energy possible.
This test was the most difficult for newcomers, as it required spell control and precision.
Joker knew that Wind Magic was the most efficient for this. He used the technique of John, the Time Mage, to create a small, thumb-sized mini-vortex. It was not a spell of brute force, but of refined precision.
The ice cube floated gently, moved by the microscopic breeze, and landed perfectly at the finishing point.
The Gloom Mercenary, with scars on his face and an assessing look, noted something on his clipboard.
Result: Excellence in Elemental Magic Control.
The three masters gathered.
"— The boy is intriguing. High potential and Cycle 1.2 control that borders on 2. —" said the Sage of Lumina.
"— His emotion is dangerous, but it can be useful. He used rage as a weapon, not a collapse. —" muttered the Necromancer of Vexia.
"— He used 30% less energy than expected. He is efficient. —" concluded the Gloom Mercenary.
The decision was unanimous.
Joker is officially enrolled in the Arcane Academy of the Dome.
The time has come for the new participants...
Note from the Author (Lu)
Everyone, this is my first work that I am making and writing. I hope you enjoy it and look forward to it, as there is a lot of adventure ahead. Since all of this is done only by me, it is difficult to proceed, so anyone who can give support so that the work does not die and later turn into a manga, please help. I count on the support of all of you. A hug, your friend Lu.