Chapter 364: Shadow Cast By The Wind (7)
The relationship between humans and dark beings was one-way. This was a matter of fate, a concept not difficult to understand.
'Humans can become dark beings, but dark beings cannot become human.'
This was a very simple and clear axiom as well as an unchanging law.
In this context, the term human included most of the intelligent races in the world.
Elves, beastmen, dwarves, and any intelligent being capable of using magic. Those who possessed emotions and rational thought.
Any being capable of using magic, whether it was a squirrel or a dog, could make a contract with the otherworld, offering their heart and turning their mana to black.
In exchange for offering their heart, the mage transcended their natural abilities and gained extraordinary power and knowledge, and became attuned to the mysteries of the otherworld.
There was even a famous story about a certain mage who, in his curiosity while researching the Persona Gate, made a contract with a powerful Persona, but couldn't withstand it and lost all of his knowledge and rationality.
However, obtaining great power required mages to sacrifice more than just their heart.
In many cases, they also sacrificed their emotions and even their rationality, losing the ability to live as humans.
They must consume the hearts of their original species before becoming dark beings in order to survive.