It has been six years since Natsu's Purge War.
In that war, Natsu achieved a crushing victory over the allied forces of the three continents and, afterward, completed the total cleansing of them.
From that point forward, the social structure of "nations" entered a countdown to extinction, vanishing one after another within three years. In their place, a loose Aslant regime began to take shape, centered around Natsu himself.
During the disappearance of nations, people of different races and civilizations began to regroup, not around political boundaries, but around culture, customs, and even skin color. Signs of entirely new collective organizations began to emerge.
This process was interrupted by the arrival of social upheaval.
Six Years of Change
Control of Chrono Ratio (周率) fell into Natsu's hands. He used countless death row convicts to mass-produce research personnel—"Prechto"—which reshaped the way magic was utilized and its entire direction of development.
No longer was magic pursued solely for destructive attack, defense, speed, or strange effects. Instead, it shifted toward practicality and universality.
For example, in the past, if a Wizard Saint created a super-spell with extremely high entry barriers, one that could level a mountain with a single strike, such magic would be judged "special-class."
But now, such a spell was considered only mid-high tier. Its threshold was too high, preventing most wizards from ever learning it, its universality too low, leaving it doomed to stagnation.
By contrast, if one created even a tiny flame spell that could be used by anyone with the slightest trace of magic, that spell would be judged as "special-class"—or even higher.
Because its applicability was vast, its threshold was negligible.
Such a spell could light fires and thus provide warmth. For those living in frigid regions, an improved version could change lives fundamentally—such as enabling universal heating. Ordinary people's quality of life would improve drastically.
And with lower living costs, resources could be reallocated to education, which would in turn spread literacy and magical knowledge, further driving magical innovation—a positive cycle.
Unified Laws and Enforcement
Beyond magic itself, the laws of all three continents were unified.
Natsu mass-produced legal, economic, and political experts. Through questions, answers, practice, and correction, they compiled a legal code well-suited to the times, regulating all aspects of life.
Unlike the old era, however, the new one did not rely on vast armed enforcement forces.
Instead, Natsu himself invented micro-Chrono Ratio units—nanoscopic, self-replicating, and self-modifying. They spread throughout the world, monitoring all activity constantly. The instant an illegal act was detected, they would stop it and transport the perpetrator to prison.
In a sense, all people were transparent before Natsu.
For complex cases involving powerful mages where intent was unclear, Natsu would use the Heptagonal God Wheel to probe memories and true thoughts.
In this system, wrongful convictions were virtually nonexistent. At most, sentencing might be imperfect.
The Issue of Old Ideals
Because of Natsu's reforms, magic's trajectory had shifted dramatically—but not everyone welcomed it. Many clung to old ideals:
The pursuit of strength, the thrill of adventure, the reckless lust for battle.
Some were genuine explorers and innovators—forces of progress. Others were simply thrill-seekers, dangerous elements.
To solve this, Natsu and Ed-Zeref built planetary-scale magical ley lines and magic wells across Aslant.
Ley Lines were derived from Edolas' research on controlling magical currents. With them, no one could awaken or practice magic without passing strict examinations. Those with criminal histories or disruptive records were flagged, their magical rations tightly controlled by the central system.
Magic Wells were based on an Edolas theory that the world possessed reservoirs of stored magic, like wells, that spouted to sustain circulation.
Natsu believed this theory was critical.
He had learned from Anna, his teacher 400 years ago, that the real cause of Aslant's magical collapses was not dragons, demons, or even Zeref—but the periodic ebb of magical tides.
Without magic, a magic civilization could not progress.
During prolonged low tides, new civilizations might sprout. But when the tide rose again, magic returned—and destroyed the fragile seeds of those non-magical civilizations.
This endless cycle made human progress nearly impossible.
By constructing magic wells with Ed-Zeref's guidance, aided by Prechto's team and funded by Natsu, surplus magic of the present could be stored and rationed for future eras—preventing collapses.
By X790, the project was completed.
Control of the World
From then on, Natsu held complete control over Aslant's magical climate.
He could regulate total magic levels and flows. He could influence weather, temperature, and humidity with precision.
Agriculture no longer depended on the whims of nature. With mage-breeders developing improved seeds, farming flourished with unprecedented vitality.
Social Effects
The number of top-tier battle mages declined sharply. But the number of mid- and low-tier mages soared, surpassing one billion registered wizards worldwide.
Surprisingly, society remained remarkably stable. Crime was minimal. Unemployment hovered at 5%. Society brimmed with harmony and ambition.
In commerce, billions of wizards created vast new markets. Their needs forged industries, empires, and fortunes. Every day, magical devices entered countless households, driving productivity and transformation.
This was a new enlightenment. A magical revolution.
Countless heroes arose. Countless others rode the wave to greatness. Some ideas even inspired Natsu himself, altering his own plans.
The Emperor Ascends
Of course, no merchant empire could grow unchecked. Whenever hands reached too far, Natsu severed them.
"Is this the world I longed for?"
Six years had changed everything. Nations vanished. Guilds dwindled. Natsu himself underwent a new transformation.
Life, for one person, was too short. The burden of ruling such a vast system would shorten his years. And if there were no successor, everything might turn to dust.
But if he could become an ideal, an eternal will, would things be different?
Using the Heptagonal God Wheel as his core, tens of thousands of Natsus as his brain, and countless micro-Chrono Ratios as his body's nerves, Natsu made the entire human society his vessel.
And he succeeded.
Emperor · Supreme Leader · Natsu ascended.
Embryonic Human Will. Embryonic Alaya Will. Natsu descended.
Watching society flourish, his heart swelled with pride