A Villain's Survival Guide

A group called the Seekers set out fifteen hundred years ago to understand the mysteries of this world. Before their journey, giant frameworks stood unexplained, ancient ruins seemed to come alive at night, collapsed cities defied logic, and everywhere they looked, mystery followed.

Most people went about their lives without caring much for it, referring to the times before recorded history as the Novel Ages. But no one knew when the Novel Ages started, or when they ended.

That was what the Seekers were after. Their findings suggested that certain things, or beings, coexisted with humans. Things that humanity had long since lost the ability to perceive or comprehend.

The Seekers exhausted every avenue to connect with the mysteries, and all roads led to magic. Noble as their cause was, they ventured into rituals they weren’t familiar with. In the end, they were all killed, leaving nothing behind but their research.

Their efforts weren’t in vain, though. A few people who called themselves the Re-Seekers, just as perplexed by this world as the Seekers had been, took the research and carried it forward. In the end, they too tapped into something beyond their understanding and died, leaving everything they’d found behind.

Before long, a Braek Empire soldier held as a prisoner in the Prism Empire stepped in to continue the search. His name was Dr. Zenith. The best of Emperor George I of the Prism Empire.

Zenith respected the sacrifices of those who came before him, and with his assistant at his side, they resolved to see everything through to the end. They actually did.

Zenith took a different approach entirely. Rather than trying to understand what lay before him, he sought simply to recognise it.

What he ultimately discovered was that different beings lingered in this world, invisible without assistance.

This led Zenith to form a bond with one of these beings, called the Entity of Seal, and his assistant to contract with the Entity of Knowledge.

With these beings at their side, Zenith and his assistant caught a glimpse of what truly lay beneath this world. Both, however, vanished without a trace soon after, leaving their research to the son of the man who had trusted Zenith and made it all possible, Emperor George II.

After their "death," young Emperor George II brought the four empires together. Each empire put forward a trusted scholar to dig deeper into what Zenith had discovered.

’The scholars later established pacts with the Entity of Seal and the Entity of Knowledge. Through the power of Seal, they inscribed unique magic circles into grimoires, enabling them to bind creatures within them. The Entity of Knowledge, in turn, granted them a fundamental understanding of these creatures.

Consequently, these two Entities are the only ones without grimoires of their own, allowing them to form pacts with multiple individuals simultaneously.’

Leomaris traced the magic circle on the floor using the provided red powder, following what his grimoire laid out. He was slightly paranoid, but he had a fair idea of what to expect.

His mother had told him it was an Entity, though whether divine or dark, neither of them could tell. Not uncommon, though. Even the main character’s entity had carried the same confusion.

This narrowed things down to two options: form a pact with the entity or possession. Entities couldn’t be summoned, that was for beasts and spirits only.

Why? There was a shallow conclusion he’d drawn once while reading the novel. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

According to the history of the Five Stages of Magic, a creature had to understand the nature of being sealed in a grimoire before the process could work. From that, he drew the conclusion that beasts and spirits had similarly chosen summoning over a pact or possession.

’Entities, however, are quite troublesome. Their abilities are immensely powerful, and the cost of wielding their magic is extraordinarily high. Some can even determine the moment of their wielder’s death as part of that cost.’

Any cost not equivalent to the ability given would be rejected by the Entity of Seal, that much was certain.

Once Leomaris finished the magic circle, he placed the rose candles around the room, casting everything in a crimson hue.

Settled on the floor, grimoire and blade in hand, he took a deep breath. The grimoire was empty, save for a few words left by the entity within. Once those words were recited, it would use the circle as a medium and reveal itself.

Hands trembling, heart hammering, he struggled to open the book. The thought of what this creature might look like was enough to terrify him. Magic had been pure fantasy less than two weeks ago, and now he was on the verge of forming a pact with something he couldn’t begin to comprehend.

After wrestling with his inner demons, Leomaris finally opened the grimoire. What he saw was perplexing enough to wipe the fear clean away.

[ If there’s a place between the lines, that’s where I’ll be. Say it like you mean it, and don’t stop halfway. ]

For all the build-up surrounding this grimoire, he hadn’t expected it to leave such niche words. But before he could curse the entity within, the words disappeared, and another set took their place.

[ You don’t have to call my name. Just read it like you already know me. ]

Those words barely left his mouth before a chilling breeze swept through the room. His body reacted to the cold, then he felt heavy breathing against his neck. Nearly as cold as the sensation filling the room. Leomaris’s heart nearly leapt from his chest. He hadn’t seen anything leave the magic circle.

He turned slowly in the direction of the sensation. His heart skipped a beat. He gulped bile.

"Who goes there? Who are you?" The only words that came to mind, and out they came.

Soft giggles.

"Call me Mystery."

’Mystery?’