According to the memories of Commanders Jancko and Valter, the Archivistas were a collective of individuals who walked the Thaum Path.
The Thaum Path was chosen by those who sought power but lacked the ability to sense or manipulate Mana, and who were unwilling to endure the pain and discipline required to enter the Aura Path.
In this sense, Thaum was often regarded as a shortcut to power—one that bypassed both bodily transcendence and metaphysical comprehension by acting directly upon the soul.
The Thaum Path itself was not universally condemned. What earned the Archivistas their hatred were the methods they employed.
Through deliberate self-mutilation and forbidden techniques, Archivistas forcibly accessed their own Truesoul. By killing practitioners of other paths, they harvested fragments of soul and stitched these remnants onto themselves.
In doing so, they could absorb the physical strength of Aura practitioners or the accumulated power and knowledge of Mana practitioners.
The results were immediate and potent, but deeply flawed. Soul grafting introduced severe instability: fragmented identity, emotional volatility, cognitive dissonance, and progressive psychological collapse. Corruption was not a risk, but an inevitability.
Within the broader power structure, each path aligned with a different domain of mastery. Mana practitioners engaged primarily with Mind Arts, while Aura practitioners focused on Physical Arts.
Thaum, however, dealt exclusively with Soul Arts, making it the most volatile and dangerous of the three.
Thaum practitioners did not negotiate with the laws of the world, as Mana users did, nor did they transcend those laws through physical assertion, as Aura users did.
Instead, Thaum overwrote reality by projecting personal will directly through the soul. This fundamental instability was the reason most Thaum practitioners—commonly referred to as Archivistas—eventually descended into madness.
As a result, Thaum users were universally regarded as enemies by both Mana and Aura factions.
The Mana Path was the most stable and academically structured of the three. Its foundation lay in the acquisition of knowledge, specifically the study and manipulation of the metaphysical laws governing existence.
Mana practitioners did not impose their will upon reality; they aligned themselves with its logic and exploited its rules. Depending on specialization and institutional affiliation, they were known as Magi, Wizards, or Scholars.
The Aura Path, by contrast, rejected metaphysical abstraction in favor of embodied transcendence. Its philosophy was paradoxical: to accept the insignificance of individual life within the Grand Scale, yet defy that insignificance through sheer force of presence. Aura practitioners sought to break bodily limits not through understanding, but through assertion.
This path produced the greatest diversity of martial archetypes, including Conquerors, Kings, Blade Masters, Duelists, and Brawlers, all unified by a single principle: survival and dominance through overwhelming existence.
That said, Zachary possessed the capability to create a magic-based ability by exploiting the knowledge he retained from his past lives.
Because its primary purpose was to mask Zachary's Code Peering ability, he decided to name the ocular technique Eyes of Heaven—a metaphor implying that nothing could be hidden from authority.
Zachary also gave the technique several secondary functions, such as Burden of Heaven, which carried intimidation effects, and Pride of Heaven, which weakened designated targets.
The interrogation took place at dusk that day, and on paper, things were not looking good for Zachary.
He was escorted to a small room in the basement beneath the Law Enforcer building. At its center stood a table. Two chairs were placed on one side, and two on the opposite side.
A standard interrogation room setup.
Zachary was told to sit quietly and wait for the officers to arrive, and he complied without protest. He even wore a smile.
After some time, the door opened again. This time, two people entered—a man and a woman in uniform. Both took seats opposite Zachary, their expressions neutral.
The man carried several sheets of paper, which he placed on the table after sitting down.
"State your name, age, origin, and affiliation," the man said. A writing utensil levitated above the papers, ready to record information.
Zachary chuckled. "Wow. Straight to business. Very professional."
"Speak, or we will make you," the female officer said, flashing the sword in her grip toward him in a clear threat.
"Judging from your attitude, you must still be unmarried, correct?" Zachary smirked mockingly.
The remark hit its mark. Veins bulged on her forehead, but she did not retaliate. Instead, she closed her eyes in irritation.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Unfortunately for her, hearing could not be shut off.
"Hits the mark, huh?" Zachary continued. "Well, I'm not surprised. Only the deaf would consider a girl like you. What a waste of that beauty, you have."
Zachary knew he was being excessive. Antagonizing a law enforcement officer was not a wise move.
"You have been charged with multiple theft reports and failure to present proper identification," the male officer said, placing a calming hand on his partner's shoulder. "Illegal immigrant. You have made things worse for yourself by antagonizing a law enforcement officer of the Redheart Empire."
Apparently, all foreigners were required to carry documentation, which they would possess if they entered the empire through proper channels.
"Well, I was hungry and had no money," Zachary shrugged. "I can't eat dirt, right?" Leaning back in his chair, he added, "My proof of identity was lost along the way. Nothing I can do about that."
"You did not report directly to the nearest imperial registry after losing your documents," the male officer said.
"I was hungry, so I took a detour. Lost my wallet too. Can't be helped, can it?"
"Then why don't you provide the information I asked for? That would resolve your identity issue."
"…."
Zachary fell silent, considering his options.
"Provide your identity information," the male officer said. "And you owe her an apology."
Zachary rolled his eyes.
"Sorry. I don't remember who I am—or where I came from," he said.
The male officer nodded and retrieved an item from his pocket. He infused mana into the spherical object, which emitted a dim glow.
Zachary felt the light pass through his eyes and sweep across his body. His eyebrows rose as he studied the object with undisguised curiosity.
The male officer, eyes closed, frowned.
After a few moments, he opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Zachary, his expression now far more serious.
"Who are you?" he asked gravely.
Even the female officer looked perplexed. Her partner had just used a Probe Sphere, an artifact capable of revealing the origin of anyone below the Champion Level.
In this world, strength was categorized into standardized levels, beginning at Limit Level and progressing upward.
Beyond Limit Level came Apprentice, Bronze, Silver, Golden, Master, Grandmaster, Lord, Champion, King, and finally Emperor Level.
This tier system existed to allow consistent classification across disciplines and Paths.
The Probe Sphere's failure to determine Zachary's identity carried only one implication for the two officers. Zachary was above Champion Level.
Seeing the male officer's expression, Zachary smirked. "Sorry, officer. I don't remember," he said.
Before the female officer could lash out, the male officer grabbed her and exited the interrogation room, leaving Zachary inside, blinking in confusion.
Behind the door, the female officer was about to protest, but her partner shook his head.
"Don't antagonize him. This matter has spiraled out of our control. Classic interrogation methods won't work at all. In fact, we're entirely unqualified to handle this case anymore," Officer Andrew said.
"What do you mean?" Clara inquired.
"He's at least a Champion Level Aura practitioner—that's what I mean," Officer Andrew answered.
"…Come again?" Officer Clara muttered blankly.
"A Champion Level Aura practitioner so broke he had to steal food? Was he starved for decades, then?" she asked, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow.
"Who among the strong doesn't have a few screws loose?" Officer Andrew replied with a question of his own, and the reasoning struck Officer Clara hard.
She tried to think of one, then realized her partner was right.
"We're reporting this to our superior as an emergency," Officer Andrew said in a serious tone. They couldn't delay matters at all; a ticking time bomb was waiting to explode.
"And how do you know he's at least Champion Level?" Officer Clara asked, still unconvinced.
"Because the Sphere malfunctioned. It can't measure energy fluctuations above Lord Level. Did you forget?" Officer Andrew replied. With a troubled breath, he sighed and walked toward the upper floor.
Only then did Officer Clara understand why Officer Andrew had dragged her out so abruptly. Cold sweat ran down her back as she hurried after him.
Normally, illegal immigrants would have their assets seized and then be deported. But this case had clearly escalated far beyond that—and even Zachary, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, was stunned.
"But I already concealed my power, right? Ah… I get it now," Zachary chuckled. He had concealed his power only to interfere with people's senses. Clearly, the item had been designed by a highly capable Mana practitioner.
"They're quite competent. I'll give them that," Zachary laughed. "Anyway, why did they leave me here alone?" he muttered, scratching his head lightly.
Assuming they had simply panicked and fled, Zachary decided to do the same. Leave—through the front door.
He walked up the stairs after removing the cuffs they had placed on him, acting casually. He greeted everyone he passed with polite nods and even smiles.
This left everyone thoroughly perplexed. They couldn't understand why he was in such a cheerful mood.