The Mage of Primordial Chaos

  After meeting up with Ming Hao, on the way back to the dormitories, he sent me a list of the weak people in his class — the ones I should try and pair with the girls and I, in case I have the selection privilege. Similarly, I sent him a list of names with all the girls and I on it, plus Long Lu and Da Bao. — the ones I could control in the class.

When I got back to the dorms, all the girls were up already.

"Oh, Xuan Kai," Feng Mian waved with her toothbrush still in her mouth. She quickly spat out the foam in the sink and turned back to me. "Where have you been?"

"Just figuring out our plan of action for tomorrow's exam," I replied truthfully. "Where's everyone else?"

"They're just getting ready," she said, eyeing the bathroom a short distance away, where the door was shut and the sound of the shower could be heard. "What are we doing today?"

"I want to visit the school library in the Facilities Campus. Actually, I wanted to explore it ever since the tour we were given, but decided to hold off until the weekend to get the maximum amount of time possible."

"Oh yeah… I'm sure Xiao Su would love that," Feng Mian giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'll go change and let the others know."

"Can I come too?"

"H-Huh?" She froze, cheeks flushed.

"I mean, to tell them myself, so you can change faster…"

"O-Oh, uh, yeah, of course."

That was close…

Soon, everyone was ready, having changed into their uniforms. And so, we set out.

*****

After grabbing a quick breakfast at a restaurant in the Recreation Campus, we backtracked to the Facilities Campus, where the library was located. As it was still the weekend, plenty of people were out and about, though there would probably be more in the afternoon given how late people tended to wake up.

"Hm… there's so many people walking around without a uniform… do we even have to wear them on weekends?" Lan Xiao Su asked, speaking more actively than usual today since she was eager to go to the library.

"They were selling casual clothes in the Recreation Campus, so I'm guessing not," Yu An Yan said thoughtfully. "Though at our old school, we were required to wear our school uniforms at all times."

"Do you want to go shopping later? We spent all of yesterday in the arcade, so we never really got to actually explore the shops that much…" Feng Mian trailed off, laughing awkwardly.

"Hm… personally, I would much rather just say in the library, but it's up to you," Lan Xiao Su said with a shrug. "Some casual clothes would be nice, but books are more important to me."

"No surprise there," Qing Yue chuckled. "How about this? We spend the day at the library today, then once this special exam is over, we can relax by shopping all we want next weekend!"

"Nya… I don't wannya read…" Amane pouted, lightly hitting my arm repeatedly.

"Qing Yue used to dislike reading as well," I told her, ruffling her hair with a gentle smile on my face. "But then she got into anime and manga… and now she's an addict to them. I doubt this enormous library will only have non-fiction, magic-related books, so you and her can just read whatever you want."

"You'll enjoy them, I'm sure!" Qing Yue cackled with a toothy grin.

Several minutes, we arrived at the Facilities Campus. It was split into several different buildings, from the computer lab to the gym. But the most impressive one of them all… was a massive three-story circular structure in the middle — the school library.

Through the transparent windows, dozens of large bookshelves could be seen, placed neatly in parallel with one another. Students sat within it, diligently reading books and studying within the private rooms. A nice, peaceful atmosphere enveloped the library, harmonious and tranquil.

"Wow…" Lan Xiao Su breathed in the air and exhaled deeply, taking in the very essence of this place. 

"This feels… different from the Library of Infinite Beginnings, somehow," Feng Mian murmured.

"Yeah… this feels more like a real library, if that makes any sense," Yu An Yan added.

"…!" Yu An Xue suddenly spotted a book in the distance and hurried over to get it. I noticed that her footsteps were pretty much inaudible, despite the fact that she wasn't particularly trying to get that effect.

This place… it must be enchanted with some sort of spell to automatically lower voices… I wonder…

"Ah." I opened my mouth and tried to yell, but it came out as nothing more than a soft whisper, proving my theory correct.

Yu An Xue soon returned with a book in her hands. She excitedly handed it to me, and I realized what she was so hyped up about.

The book's title read:

'The Primordial Chaos: Legends of the Universe'.

*****

After finding a private room for Mei Gui and I, we sat down and began flipping through the book Yu An Xue found. The other girls also found private rooms to go in themselves, agreeing to meet back at lunchtime.

About an hour later, we finished reading through the book. Snapping it tight, I turned to Mei Gui.

"What do you think? Did that help you recover your memories a bit?"

But contrary to my expectations, she shook her head. "The tales in this book are nothing but legends and myths. Blinding believing in the information told in them is not recommended, Master."

"That's true, but legends and myths aren't just created out of thin air," I argued. "They all are based on something in real life. In all such tales, there is a sliver of truth in them. It's just that most of the time, no one is able to locate it."

"Then… what do you think, Master? To me, this book is quite unrealistic, as for one, the Primordial Chaos is not just a paracausal entity with no thought. I am a living counterexample of that. The Chaos possesses its own consciousness — that's how I am able to think, and it is also what led me to finding you, the chosen one."

"… I don't know about all that, but one thing mentioned in this book does intrigue me quite a bit," I replied with a wry smile. "That is… the theory of there being worlds other than this one."

"Are you… referring to realms, Master?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm talking about the theory that our universe, may in fact be a multiverse, and the place we are in right now is but one of many, with the Primordial Chaos at the center of it all."

"That is…" Mei Gui trailed off, genuinely considering the possibility. After a short silence, she continued.

"I can't deny, that is possible. Given the Chaos's intrinsic trait to bloom endless creation, there is in fact a high chance in the existence of worlds other than our own. But one thing is for certain — even among all those worlds, you are the only one who can master the Chaos's power."

"How can you be so sure? How do you know you don't have any 'siblings' of sorts, also connected to the Primordial Chaos, and are helping other individuals right now, as we speak?"

"Because if I did, I would be able to detect them," Mei Gui replied flatly. "If they really do exist, they share the same source of power as me — the Primordial Chaos. Thus, I would be able to feel their connection, yet I do not. That is what leads to my conclusion. Besides — there can only be one ruler of the Chaos. Having multiple would only lead to… chaos."

"I suppose that's true," I murmured, stretching my arms. "Well, unfortunately, we didn't find any actually useful information regarding the Chaos Realm and whatnot, but at least we learned some interesting theories that could be true."

Mei Gui nodded and took the book from me, before heading out of the private room in search of more. She soon returned with various new ones, but their titles somewhat surprised me.

"Pyromancy: The Art of Fire…? Cryomancy: Whisper of Ice… Mei Gui, what are these?"

"I flipped through them, Master. There are Legendary-Tier spells inside, based on their respective element. Since I found a whole series of them, I just brought them all here."

"Legendary-Tier spells, you say?" I grinned and immediately flipped the Pyromancy (fire) book open. Luckily, there was a table of contents, which saved me some time. Skipping to the Legendary spells section, I browsed through the various ones listed.

"Well, well, well… Mei Gui, where did you find these?"

"The third floor, Master."

I raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't locked or anything?"

She shook her head. "It was open to all students, Master. Though… most of the people up there wore black uniforms. There were also some green ones, and the number of blue ones there could be counted on one hand. I didn't see anyone wearing red."

Huh… how nice. The school doesn't limit the higher-tier resources to the upper years only. This is good for younger students with talent, who have already polished their magic far beyond their age.

Man… I'm liking this school more and more.