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"Basically, the Dark Mirror is a manifestation of all of your inner desires. Henceforth, you can consider the Dark Mirror literally as a mirror to your soul, showing off all the things you’re afraid of showing to other people. The Dark Mirror has seven abilities all in all called the Seven Dark Gifts, aptly named after the Seven Sins of Christian religion -- Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Sloth, Envy, Pride and Lust -- each with their own powers and uses which can aid you in times of crisis.

Gluttony allows the Dark Mirror to absorb an almost infinite amount of things no matter how strong or big they may be. Greed lowers the reiatsu cost of all abilities related with the Dark Mirror by ¾ of their original cost. Wrath doubles the power of everything that went inside the Dark Mirror for a short period of time. Sloth allows you to use Dark Mirrors as portals to other places with an effective range of two miles. Envy allows you to replicate your opponent or yourself. Also, Envy is the most flexible Dark Gifts since the number of combinations one can create using Envy are only limited by your imagination, as well as your reiatsu.

Pride envelops you in a malicious energy aura that dispels any magic or ailment once every minute as well as reduce physical attack damage by half and increase natural regenerative powers by a factor of ten. And finally, Lust, one of my personal favorites in more ways than one, allows you to manipulate the darkness within the Dark Mirror into any form you want; bands, hands, spikes or whips, anything that gets your fancy. I believe you‘ve already had the pleasure of getting tangled up by one of my bands, tee-hee.”

Cosmic energy is one of the universe’s most powerful elements, yet is also an element shrouded in mystery. Aside from its seemingly innumerable uses, it is also capable of impossible feats that are only comparable to that of a divine handiwork like manipulating dimensions, time, and even create entirely new worlds. However, in all of its power, cosmic energy, as I have discovered, had a very corruptive influence on those who were able to wield it, eating away at the positive energies that their souls possess until only negative energies remained.

In my studies, I have found out that some ancient civilizations long, long ago had been using this unknown energy for their own advancement and may have been used in the creation of some of the world’s fantastic megalithic structures that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for normal humans to create. Unfortunately, the names of these civilizations, as well as their locations and any other trace of evidence to their existence were forever lost in the eternal sands of time. However, I was lucky to come across ancient tomes in the Grand Magus Library which accounted for two civilizations that have been able to successfully utilize cosmic energy for their advancements -- Atlantis and Ancient Dwarka.

Atlantis, the great city all in a cultural, military, economic, and political sense, which the great Greek philosopher, Plato, had praised in his works and the model of every other city-state present in the ancient world. It was a city that lay in the middle of the Pillars of Heracles. For many years, it was a superpower of the ancient world and its citizens thrived with the help of cosmic energy. However, as time went by, its rulers grew more violent with each passing generation succumbing more and more to the cosmic energy’s corruptive influence until one Atlantean king, whose name had been omitted from history, succumbed to it and decided to use cosmic energy as a weapon. Using it, the Atlantean empire conquered the lands around them and expanded their territory incessantly until they were defeated by the Athenians. In dismay, the unknown king pushed his scientists to create an even more powerful weapon using cosmic energy. Unfortunately, it failed with unbelievably catastrophic results, and Atlantis sunk beneath the waves in a single day and night of misfortune.

Another similar story would be the ancient city of Dwarka, Krishna’s holy city mentioned in the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, built on the Western shores of Saurashtra. Using cosmic energy, the people of ancient Dwarka also thrived and was able to build a great kingdom for their lord and ruler, Krishna. It was an organized city which had six well-organized sectors, residential and commercial zones, wide roads, plazas, palaces, a thriving harbor, and many public utilities. The city also had 700,000 palaces made of gold, silver, adorned with precious stones, and beautiful gardens full of rare flowers and cool, crystal clear lakes. However, it’s leaders, too, succumbed to the cosmic energy’s influence and used it as weapons against each other so that only one would claim the throne. Unfortunately, like the Atlanteans before them, Dwarka, too, sunk beneath the waves.

In studying these two accounts of two different civilizations who had used cosmic energy, I was shocked at how powerful and dangerous this unknown element -- cosmic energy -- really was. In the right hands, it was able to give happiness, but in wrong hands, it was capable of untold death and destruction. Immediately, I researched into ways on how these two ancient civilizations were able to utilize cosmic energy and found that both Atlantis and ancient Dwarka were employing people who were able to brandish cosmic energy. From my research, these people, whom I have dubbed as “Aether”, due to their capacity to manipulate the powerful element known as cosmic energy, giving them seemingly god-like powers, I had found out that there Aethers during those times held modest jobs within their cities with some Aether working as doctors, priests, or entertainers -- all are jobs having to do with the virtues of socialization, patience, diligence, discipline, understanding, and kindness.

Since cosmic energy had such a corruptive nature, it was obvious that people within these traits were the ones who were most likely to be able to use cosmic energy without the least bit succumbing to its influence, if succumb to at all. Linking this new information to my current knowledge, I had made a list of those who were most likely to be able to wield the aforementioned energy without much repercussion, but these is only limited into the realm of the occult.

Magister Magi - they have years of experience in the arcane arts and have a far better understanding of the magical concepts which govern the universe than those below them. Magister Magi, aside from reaching the pinnacle of the magus order, are known as kind-hearted people who use their powers for the benefit of others. It would not surprise me if a number of them were able to wield cosmic energy.

Spiritual Beings - some of those who are composed of spirit energy are also capable of using cosmic energy, but only to a certain extent and only limited to a certain field and the appearance of one who could manipulate cosmic energy only appears about once in an eon. However, since their cosmic energy expertise is only focused on one aspect of cosmic energy manipulation, they are usually the best in that field whether it be manipulation of dimensions, manipulation of time, manipulation of objects, or anything concerning itself with cosmic energy.

High Priests - due to their powers being tied to divine healing, High Priests are able to summon cosmic energy to perform feats of healing considered by some as miraculous. Their mental and emotional fortitude are also enough to keep the cosmic energy under control for as long as they live.

Revenants - the most interesting race who could manipulate cosmic energy, yet the most unpredictable ones. They have total freedom in using it and suffer almost no sign of succumbing to its corruptive influence. However, this freedom comes at a price which I would elaborate on more later.

Creators - the highest level in the realms of alchemy. Creators are master alchemists who have the knowledge to create anything and manipulate the structures of things at an even greater level than normal alchemists. However, what mostly separates them from normal alchemists is in fact that they have been successful in their attempt to create a Philosopher’s Stone, thus, allowing them to use cosmic energy via the stone’s power. However, the same rules apply to them and they would still need a strong heart to combat the corruptive force of cosmic energy.

Weapon Spirits - weapon spirits are a physical manifestation of a weapon’s aura which have accumulated over time within the material it was made from. Weapon spirits differ from each weapon and no two weapons have the same weapon spirit. In the same sense, a weapon spirit’s physical appearance is linked to its user’s heart and gains powers depending on a number of factors including its user’s personality, outlook on life, and so on. There have also been accounts in the past of wandering spirits possessing weapons which could also account for the creation of weapon spirits. Some weapon spirits are said to be able to use cosmic energy, but I have yet to see for myself a genuine weapon spirit that can use cosmic energy.

Now that we have enumerated the various types of people who could manipulate cosmic energy, let us go to one, interesting case found in the revenants. Although the term ‘revenant’ is usually related to a ‘zombie’ or a ‘vampire’, revenants are far from those sorts of creatures. Revenants are living “vessels” of all the evils of the world -- the ‘Angra Mainyu’ -- which is sealed deep within their souls through the eyes (since they are considered as windows to the soul). This is the reason as to why a revenant’s eyes are blood red because the color comes from the evil aura of their sealed Angra Mainyu and have to constantly wear protective eyewear like blindfolds made from blessed cloth, eye patches made from tanned demon hide, or any object with immense magical power to cover up their eyes so that the Angra Mainyu won’t go out of control within their bodies. I have studied some revenants who are in active service within the Magus Guild and have found out that a number of them have the ability to manipulate cosmic energy in the form of dimension bending, but it seems as if their powers are only limited to dimension bending. However, this doesn’t mean that their powers cannot be honed to achieve even greater levels of cosmic energy control proven by one such revenant codenamed ‘Zero’.

Little is known about this revenant, and accounts vary from person to person. However, from what I have been able to sum up from asking those who have worked with him, revenant ‘Zero’ had red hair which complimented his red eyes and always wore black shades. He was always accompanied by his weapon spirit, battle partner, and wife, an Oni princess by the name of ‘Nyuu’who takes the form of a long and beautifully-designed katana. The two of them are allegedly able to use cosmic energy, but they have since disappeared without a trace where even the Mage Guild’s Magister Magi have no clue as to where they have gone, leaving my prime research material on revenants and weapon spirits who could use cosmic energy gone. It was said that they had a son, but the name still eludes me since the Mage Council have refused to give me assistance into this matter, saying that I should just “leave it to fate”.

Honestly what I wouldn’t give to complete my research on cosmic energy and those who could use it.