

It is said that the beginning First changed everything, the following Second acknowledged many, the resulting Third showed the future, the linking Fourth concealed itself, and the final Fifth had already lost its meaning.

Those who do achieve newly acquired Magic are killed by a "red shadow." It is considered an irrefutable crime against both humanity and the planet, so reaching out to the Root is something that brings about the Counter Force. Magecraft focuses on the studying of history, the works of man and the circle of life of the planet, but Magic is considered the providence of a god beyond the skies. Magecraft can be classified as human wisdom and the world, while Magic is the solitude outside of that, included in neither. In the case of the Fifth, the path was discovered and left unentered by Aoko Aozaki's grandfather, and its mysteries were passed on to her when she "turned tail and ran right at the front of the door." The Aozaki's land was the only land where Magic could be achieved in Japan until that point, but the land itself no longer mattered after she inherited it. The First and Fifth are similar in that a path to the Root, a Gate of Akasha, was created and Magic was gained upon their arrival, while the Second, Third, and Fourth were created as a means to reach that place. It is possible, however, to inherit Magic from one's predecessors. Moreover, in order to acquire Magic, the magus must be the very first to travel through a specific path to the Root even if the same theory and method are used to reach the Root, those who came after the first magus using a certain path cannot acquire Magic. Magic is attained by reaching the Root, but not touching it like those who are said to have disappeared from the World upon touching it. The red shadow that appears when Aoko first activates the Fifth Magic. The Denial of Nothingness (無の否定, Mu no Hitei ?), Operation of Parallel Worlds and Time Travel can all perform resurrections, but the resurrection of the dead through conventional methods is something that not even Magic has granted since the days of old. Concepts like time manipulation, teleportation, spatial warping and quarantine, and the resurrection of the dead are miracles thought to be possible only through the application of Magic. "Magic" can be differentiated from "Magecraft" in that the consequences of its use are ostensibly "impossible" or "miraculous." The end output of a spell that creates fire is within dictates of the world because something as mundane as lighting a match can yield the same effect. The acquisition of the capacity to perform magic is considered the ultimate accomplishment of a Magus, and only within the grasp of those who have accessed the Swirl of the Root. It represents the actualization of events that are impossible to reproduce in a certain era, whether by humans or the planet, even if given an infinite amount of time and resources. Magic (魔法, Mahō ?), also referred to as True Magic and Sorcery in other translations, is the highest class of Mystery that surpasses Magecraft and all current sciences of that age.
