《A Witch at Midnight - A Contemporary Progression Story 🌈》 Prologue It will start right at the North Pole. Predictions from the distant past failed to calculate the exact point of impact, but modern technology has made things so, so easy¡­ we can pinpoint the precise spot where the first lightning bolt will fall, even if we can¡¯t do anything to stop it. The sensors will go awry, the entire world will take notice for a moment. A lightning bolt? On a perfectly starry night? Where did it come from? Questions that will stall the minds of the brightest minds in the world, while disaster spreads through the ice fields, crawling so close to the floor, devouring everything on its way. The Loathsome Mist will return, and with it, the shadows of the beings we stole this world from, so long ago that no one remembers anymore. The Second Sacrifice will begin, and this time there¡¯s no unlikely hero, no charitable soul to stop it as its core. As time draws near to the end of the world, and all my attempts to stall it crumble to dust, I am faced with a choice. I can either brave this alone, and pray to the stars that I find a solution like I did almost six hundred years ago¡­ or I can submit, and seek his aid. I¡¯d rather die and take the whole world with me than having to talk with that pusillanimous buffoon again. So I guess I am on my own. Diary of Mustaf¨¢, the Witch. Entry Number 882. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ My heart is beating so hard, it feels like it could just jump straight out of my throat in any second now. My lungs are on fire, my neck and my arms hurt as I get up. I can feel my own blood flowing from my arm and falling on the floor, mixing with the magic flowing in the air. Green, purple, golden, red, I can¡¯t distinguish them as they swirl and dance¡­ and I can¡¯t really stop and marvel at it. Not with this sense of impending doom on my back. I try to get my bearings, after all I hit my head real hard on my fall down the stairs. The stairs! I am standing on the stairway of the apartment complex where I¡¯ve lived for the last three years. It¡¯s dark, pitch black in fact, and yet I can perfectly see my blood dripping and my favorite hoodie being ruined by it. It¡¯s a very small space, barely having any room for an extinguisher on every floor. Ah, that¡¯s right, and I¡¯ve seen several extinguishers already, so I must have gone down a few floors. I started on floor eight, and I am on floor¡­ With some of the blood on my fingers I paint the wall, illuminating some of it with the bright color of pure magic. 3rd Floor. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. I fell five floors straight!? No way, I must have run a little at least¡­ run¡­ run from¡­ The sound of steps interrupts me. They are slow, calm, she¡¯s getting closer. She knows I don¡¯t have the physique to run nor the knowledge to somehow disappear myself. And yet I push myself to start trotting down the stairs again, no point in trying to hide from her! As I go, I furiously tap on my phone, sending messages to the Fellowship. It¡¯s not like any of them can help me now but, at least they can make sure to save whatever we can from the work before she takes it from my cold, dead hands. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: SHE¡¯S CHASING ME, 82 IS CHASING ME. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: WHAT. OMG RUN, RUN!!!! O.o jeepers creepers man: what do you mean ¡°chasing you¡±??? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: SHE¡¯S CHASING ME, SHE APPEARED IN MY HOUSE AND IS NOW CHASING ME. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: TAVY-CHAN RUUUUN!!! jeepers creepers man: ok ok, calm down, calm down. jeepers creepers man: i assume you tried to talk to her and it went poorly xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: CAN¡¯T TALK RUNNING jeepers creepers man: ok ok, fuck, hmmm¡­ ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: I¡¯M GONNA WAKE UP CANNY-KUN HE¡¯LL KNOW WHAT TO DO GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: shit shit SHIT I knew this was going to happen man GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: she¡¯s gonna come for us next guys you better get ready. I don¡¯t have time for this. With a loud sigh I jam the phone in my pocket and stop running, panting, gasping for air and fighting for my life as I reach the door of the bottom floor. I didn¡¯t even notice how her steps were no longer echoing in the stairway, I was just desperate to push that door and look for an exit. Only to find her standing right there, a bored look on her face and her hand raised in my direction. The Alchemist was a head smaller than me, at least! But her tiny frame commanded a strange, powerful presence. Her skin was dark, darker than mine at least! But what really caught my attention from the very start were her eyes: unnaturally golden, wide awake and yet so dull, dead. ¡°End of the line, Tav.¡± Her cold, emotionless voice makes me shiver. ¡°Give me the book or I¡¯ll take it from you.¡± ¡°C-Can¡¯t we discuss this?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want a part in this game, kid. If this is the only way to make you understand, so be it.¡± Green, purple and golden, the octarine light of magic, flowed through the Alchemist¡¯s veins and straight to her hand. I have no idea what she has in mind but I do not want to just wait and figure that out. I raise my own hand, throwing it down as I jump back into the stairway. I may not be powerful enough to cast a proper fire, but I know how to make smoke. ¡°SMOKE BOMB!!¡± I don¡¯t know why I yelled, it just felt appropriate. There¡¯s a very small yet loud explosion, as if something had broken on the floor between us, and then a thick cloud of smoke expanded and covered the whole door. As I fall back, I can feel something brush past me, mere inches from my head. A ball of green light that breaks into pieces of glass on the wall behind me, surely aimed at my face before my little gambit. This woman wants to kill me. ¡°Don¡¯t make this harder than it needs to be.¡± Oh I¡¯d make it as hard as I could. As I ran back up the stairs without really thinking where I will hide from this crazed Alchemist, I can¡¯t help but look back and wonder how I ended up here. To think that a few months ago I would have simply kneeled and submitted my life at the first chance to end it all¡­ And now here I am, running for my life, clinging to my backpack with all the strength I can muster and pushing my body far beyond its pathetic limits just so I can continue pushing my nose where it doesn¡¯t belong. Truly, the life of a translator is non-stop excitement. Chapter 1 I would¡¯ve liked to pretend I didn¡¯t hear the alarm. I don¡¯t mean it in the ¡®I don¡¯t want to wake up¡¯ way, because of course I don¡¯t want to wake up, no one really does. No¡­ I mean I wish I didn¡¯t hear it, so that way I could just excuse myself. I would say ¡®Oops, I fell asleep!¡¯ and leave it there. But no.I heard it perfectly. I just chose to ignore it. You know the worst part? I couldn¡¯t even go back to sleep after I turned it off. I fell back into that strange state of mind where time passes in an irregular way while I close my eyes, not really dreaming, but not really experiencing reality either. Just, keeping myself still (or as still as I could be), while once again not going to college. ¡°Another day lost. That makes it a month, almost.¡± She speaks to me in whispers, staring from the other side of the room. I try, but I can¡¯t really ignore her while I¡¯m in bed. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll call, or something?¡± I wish they would call me, chastise me for not attending¡­ but deep down I know they won¡¯t. As long as I pay (or my parents pay really) for the ridiculous fee they demand, they couldn¡¯t care any less about what I do with their time. I could be dead for all they care, they¡¯d still charge my parents the rest of the fee even after my corpse is rotting in a box. ¡°It¡¯s not that they don¡¯t care, but, imagine how many people are going to college at once. Do you think they have infrastructure to police them all?¡± I feel another voice stir awake from deep inside. It is angry, not necessarily at her, but at the world. Sadly, we happen to live in that world. ¡°They have infrastructure to charge them all though, don¡¯t they!?¡± ¡°Just¡­ shut up.¡± I try to speak up, only to be pushed by the voice once more. ¡°For that matter, why are we asking for a special treatment? Are we really that desperate for attention of any kind? Do we really need it so badly? Selfish asshole¡­¡± Do I really do this because I want to be reprimanded? No¡­ but I wish they did anyway. I wish my parents did, too. ¡°They would if you stopped lying. If you just told them straight up ¡®I am not going to college, I spend my days on my bed, eating, wasting time and nothing more¡¯.¡± ¡°...They wouldn¡¯t, though.¡± She sighs. ¡°They would feel betrayed, yes, but they wouldn¡¯t hold it against you. They would understand, and receive you back home.¡± But doesn¡¯t that make it worse? Knowing that they will hug me, pamper me, even if I am being the biggest asshole in fucking Wohl¡­? ¡°What, are you going to complain because you have it too good? Your parents love you too much? Insensitive prick. Die. Drop dead this instant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what they mean¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s totally what he means.¡± I flinch. Why does that hurt so much? When I say it like that¡­ it¡¯s the truth and yet, it hurts so deeply. It makes me stir and try to find a better position to actually sleep in. At least this silences me for a moment. ¡°You are doing your best.¡± I finally stop moving and let out a deep sigh. No, I am not. I am doing nothing at all. Soon enough, I hear myself again. ¡°You¡¯ve gained weight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just gratuitous.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true though. Eating trash all day has ruined your already bad physique. Remember when Preston saw you in school and was appalled by how fat you were back then? What would he say now?¡± ¡°To Hell with Preston. Who cares what he¡¯d say?¡± ¡°Back in the day, Maria said that you would be handsome if only you took more care of yourself. What would she say now?¡± Silence. I take a sharp breath in and cling to my bedsheets. ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t matter anyways. After all¡­ in a matter of years, we¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get nihilistic. It¡¯s a long time until then. Three times the life we¡¯ve lived so far. Can you imagine that? We¡¯ve lived for only a fourth of our lifespan!¡± ¡°And then, death.¡± ¡°Look at you, edgy bastard. What, are you going to start quoting Nietzsche next?¡± ¡°I am not being nihilistic, I am afraid, you ignorant idiot! What, do you think there¡¯ll be an afterlife or something after we kick the bucket!? Get real!¡± I catch my breathing getting faster. I open my eyes and stand up quickly, my hands going to squeeze and sink my nails in my arms. Before it finally goes away, I manage to catch that last phrase. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°No matter how long you want to make it, time will run out. And then¡­ infinite unconsciousness¡­¡± Now standing, I look around myself. The Sun is brightly shining outside, so much so that rays of its light filter through my blinds. The room is an absolute disaster, my bed is pushed to one side, totally undone, while there¡¯s a growing pile of clothes at its feet. There¡¯s a desk that I¡¯ve never used since we installed, not too far from my bed¡­ and near the balcony window, my old and broken no-longer-reclinable couch with my computer and some plates resting on it. ¡°It was an inheritance from graunt Muriel¡­to think that it would end up here, with us, after so many years of service?¡± ¡°...everything breaks down¡­¡± I can feel myself whispering again. I have to find something to do, fast. It¡¯s not hard anyways, considering all the things around me. The plates, the clothes, the filthy floor, the undone bed, my studies¡­ The college. Maybe I still have time, maybe I still can run and catch class? ¡°People will ask you what happened, why you had been gone for so long. We can make up some excuse, don¡¯t worry.¡± She says. I can feel she¡¯s smiling. With a faint hope I pick up my phone from the floor¡­ It''s 12 o¡¯clock. ¡°Oh¡­¡± It¡¯s too late to go to any class right now¡­ ¡°Y-You can probably ask for the notes from someone, and then you can study them and get back on track!¡± No¡­ It¡¯s been a month. The last time I did this, Patricio covered for me so nicely. But not this time, I can¡¯t ask for that many notes and especially can¡¯t ask from Patricio again. ¡°Maybe someone else?¡± Angelica is the same thing, she helped me already. And I know they are bothered by me not going to class¡­ being so lazy¡­ ¡°Now now, you¡¯re not being lazy! You¡¯re just depressed! I¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± I glare at the corner of the room where she should be. A mere shadow, a reflection of a woman I don¡¯t know. A mere faint presence in my mind that refuses to leave. But at least she quiets down when commanded, unlike myself. I slowly walk over to the no-longer-reclinable chair, putting the plates on the floor and sitting down with my computer open on my lap, quickly tapping away the password. The computer lazily wakes up, fans quickly going crazy from the amount of tabs open. I peruse them one by one, trying to remember what I was thinking last night. Tutorials on how to write for videogames, music videos, old visual novels, the forum I grew up in¡­ nothing interesting right now, really. ¡°You don¡¯t even participate in VirtualZone anymore. Why even bother checking it out?¡± It grounds me a little bit. It makes me feel like I am still part of a community¡­ like I am still just ¡®Tav93¡¯. I can¡¯t help but smile a little. In the forum, and on the internet really, I can just be some random person. Not the model student I used to be, not the burnt out trash I am now. Not Santino, just¡­ Tav. ¡°Lying to yourself shouldn¡¯t make you feel better. At the end of the day, you¡¯re still Santino.¡± ¡°You can be whatever you want to be.¡± ¡°No. Not really.¡± Not really¡­ I am not brave enough, not pretty enough, not thin enough to really be what I wanna be¡­ Who I want to be. Checking the messages used to be so exciting, looking for what the gang was doing. I used to have friends through this medium, you know? I was never especially popular, be it offline or online, but I had my groups of people to talk to¡­ but they all grew up, just like I did. No one is online in my contact list. They must be studying, working, or doing something more productive with their lives than just wasting away. Either that or they simply forgot about me. ¡°They are just busy, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not about you!¡± ¡°It never is.¡± I close my computer and stand up again, opening the way to the balcony and walking out. The fresh air and the light of midday hit me like a truck, forcing me to recoil for a moment before looking out. Sa¨¹le is a beautiful locale, full of churches, plazas and parks¡­ too bad I can¡¯t see any of them from here. I just see rows upon rows of old buildings and ugly houses. My eyes inevitably look down. Eight floors down. Before I know it, the balcony access closes behind me. I am back in my room. ¡°... I have to take my meds.¡± I walk over to open my room¡¯s door¡­ I don¡¯t even know why I close it, Venus doesn¡¯t come anymore. I am the only one here¡­ Slow steps take me out of the room, passing by the door of the bathroom, Venus¡¯ old room, and then to the living room. An ugly pink couch rests there, in front of a TV that hasn¡¯t been turned on since we moved. There¡¯s a table with some creaking wooden chairs too, mementos from when we used to have visits. We were so excited to live alone, together, like grown ups¡­ ¡°And then you fucked it up.¡± With a heavy sigh, I walk over to one of the chairs and pull out my backpack. The notebooks from the last time I went to college are still there, and they stab my heart with guilt the moment I lay eyes on them, but that¡¯s not what I am looking for. In one of the pockets there¡¯s a box of prozac¡­ the doctor said not to take it without food. But then again¡­ the doctor said many, many things last time we talked. Box in hand, I walk over to the kitchen. It¡¯s clean, miraculously! But that¡¯s just because I never use it anymore. ¡°Remember when we used to cook here? It was nice¡­ everyone liked our curry, back in the day. I miss it¡­¡± I miss it too. Water fills my tall glass, and then I down the pill with some of it. ¡°Look on the bright side, at least I don¡¯t drink¡­ hah¡­ hahah¡­¡± I can vividly remember how smug I was when comparing myself to others like that. My pathetic attempts at being positive only hurt me a little more, to be honest. I don¡¯t know why I even try. What, am I trying to say I am better off than a drunkard on the street or something? I quiet down, looking to the floor. These pills never work fast enough. My stomach rumbles loudly, complaining. It¡¯s almost time for lunch. What should I order today¡­? ¡°Maybe we could cook something simple, right?¡± It would mean having to clean¡­ ¡°But it would be fun!¡± I do have some money from my allowance. And eating so many burgers and pizza every day will kill me. ¡°Let¡¯s make curry! Or soup! Or stew! It will be fun, come on!¡± No. Something simple. Rice and sausages, that would be enough, and I would finally get to use the sushi rice Venus left on the counter. ¡°If she finds out you started eating her things she¡¯ll be very mad when she comes back.¡± She won¡¯t. Because she won¡¯t come back. I stop myself before thinking harder about that and quickly go back to my room, pulling out a pair of pants, boxers and a shirt. I still have clean clothes from last time¡­ unironed but clean. I am dressed in a matter of seconds. Then I look into the mirror. Ugh. The sight of my own body makes me disgusted, really. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so hard on yourself¡­¡± If I could, I would tear myself apart, just to escape from this body. Like a bad skin, just, pulling it off myself¡­ Before I can keep rambling, I just turn around and look for my keys, walking out of the room and, after a little pacing, confronting the front door with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll just go out, buy stuff, and come back in. Easy enough¡­ maybe it¡¯ll be good. If the guard sees me, he¡¯ll tell Dad that I have been going out. No suspicions¡­¡± Why did Dad have to be friends with the damn guard of this building? ¡°Probably to make sure you¡¯re safe!¡± Guilt pierces my chest again. I ignore it, opening the door and then gently closing it behind myself. WIth another deep breath I put on my headphones and set the cellphone to its maximum volume. Alright. Here we go. Chapter 2 The store wasn¡¯t very far, just a few blocks away from my apartment. I¡¯ve taken the same trip so many times in the past, and yet these last months it feels completely different. My back hurts when I walk for too long, my legs tire much faster, and I have this incomprehensible, unshakable feeling that someone is watching me. It¡¯s nauseating¡­ ¡°Take a deep breath. No one here is paying attention to you¡­ they are all busy with their own lives, just like you!¡± She says that as she walks by my side, but I still feel it crawling on my back, the eyes of people around me. Loud instrumental music used to block the feeling but these days it really doesn¡¯t help. My hands nervously open and close, until I realize what I am doing and force myself to stop. No, I don¡¯t want to look like a freak. I don¡¯t want to be a freak at all. I just want to be normal. ¡°You are normal.¡± Please don¡¯t lie to me. Eventually I did reach the Munimarc, one of those old supermarket chains that you can see anywhere in this part of Wohl. The place greets me with a cold breeze from the AC, and an annoyingly catchy tune from the speakers. ¡®Be the King of the Barbecue!¡¯, said Alejandro Villegas, ¡®With our exclusive meat cuts!¡¯. Man. I remember when Villegas was the sensation across the nation, as the children say. A young and handsome actor appearing in the latest telenovelas of the time¡­ now a washed up old man selling you sirloin. In a way, it makes me feel a little better about myself. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t. You call him a washed up old man but he still makes more in one day than you¡¯ll make in several years.¡± I can¡¯t have anything good here. Slowly, nervously, I walk into the building and go straight for a basket, then turning to go to the sausage section. I need a big pack, some soda¡­ maybe some Tavs¡­ ¡°Sugar would pick you up.¡± ¡°And fatten you up even more. Gluttonous bastard, don¡¯t you dare pick up Tavs. It¡¯s already bad that you¡¯re eating sausages!¡± Sigh. I pick up some of the good sausages, then go for a bottle of Chugga Cola¡­ and a package of Chocolate cookies. ¡°Bastard. You put those back where you found them. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re being so stubborn!¡± With my loot on hand, I walk straight for the check-outs¡­ but then, a sound freezes me to the core. A voice I recognize. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Patricio! Let¡¯s go say hi!¡± I don¡¯t even turn around, I don¡¯t dare to. It¡¯s distant, so clearly he hasn¡¯t realized I am here yet, but it¡¯s definitely him. Oh no. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s a good chance to test the waters! See if he¡¯s still¡­ you know¡­ a friend.¡± He and I were good friends in college, or at least I think we were? Never had much in common beyond our predilection for anime and videogames, but hey. That was enough for conversation. We used to hang out after class, eat trash together, study and try to get by together, it was nice. But now this is not nice. This is the opposite of nice. For a moment I feel the need to push the volume of my cellphone up to the maximum, but no, on the contrary, I stop the song on its tracks just to make sure I can know where Patricio is at all times. Oh right, that¡¯s it! The headphones! I can just pretend I can¡¯t hear him and walk my way! ¡°That¡¯s mean¡­¡± ¡°And impractical. You will be talking to the cashier, right? Besides, you know how Pat is, he¡¯ll come straight to you if he sees you.¡± I hate being right. I can hear the guy walking closer. Quickly I go back to the cashier, a nice old lady who looks at me with concerned eyes. Am I freaking out? Is it too visible? She idly checks out my products and comments: ¡°Oh dear, you shouldn¡¯t eat so many sausages, they are bad for you¡­¡± Oh. Okay. That¡¯s okay. She just recognizes me. That¡¯s normal. I recognize her too, so that¡¯s normal. ¡°You¡¯re so fat it is showing already. Told you.¡± Shut up. ¡°I¡­ sorry.¡± I mumble, passing the money to the cashier. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize to me dear, apologize to yourself.¡± She smiles. She thinks she¡¯s being sweet¡­ I am not sure if that makes me feel indignant or guilty. With a nod I take the bag and walk out. Patricio is walking out as well. I brace, taking a sharp breath and closing my eyes for a moment. ¡°Just say hi. He won¡¯t bite!¡± Gathering all my strength, I turn on my heels to face Patricio. My cheeks force the rest of my face to smile, pulling from those muscles I barely use anymore, and then¨C He passes me by. I freeze right there, just feeling the wind of the AC hitting my face as the guy just walks out of the supermarket. My body refuses to move for a second as I am hit with the realization that I was ignored. What? ¡°Maybe¡­ maybe we heard wrong? Maybe it wasn¡¯t him? I mean, why would he shop here anyways, it¡¯s far from his house.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to avoid him anyways? Why do you even feel bad? Little crybaby, you¡¯re just looking for excuses to feel miserable.¡± My breath picks up for a moment, to the point where I have to bite my lower lip to control myself, to not just cry right then and there. What? Why did he ignore me? Is he mad? Of course he¡¯s mad, I¡¯ve been gone a month and I haven¡¯t even tried to talk to him or communicate in any way. He has all the right to hate me. ¡°He could at least say something about it though¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s a fucking coward, he¡¯d never say it to our face unless pushed to it¡­ Not that he¡¯s too different to you in that aspect.¡± My shoulders slump, my whole body slouches a little bit. I have to push myself to turn around and abandon the building before making a scene. I am not even sure if anyone noticed how humiliated I feel right now¡­ I really hope no one did. When the discordant sounds of the city hit me again, I remember that I have to turn the music on. Anime openings and videogame instrumentals feel a little too happy for me right now, but it¡¯s better than the noise old trucks make when passing by. As I trudge my way out of the supermarket and begin the walk back home, I can feel the plastic bag digging into my flesh. It¡¯s not even that heavy! And yet the damn thing gets so thin on my hands, it cuts my circulation. ¡°Hypertension is a bitch, huh? Fatty.¡± Like my grasp on my own humanity, those comments grow ever weaker. At least it¡¯s a bit of a relief, it gives me space to think. Why should I go straight home? What¡¯s waiting for me there? ¡°A warm meal. Which you need to survive, mind you?¡± That¡¯s a good point. But at the same time¡­ My eyes wander to my left. I look through the street, beyond the street, remembering the trips I used to take to and from College, walking through the central streets of the city, passing by the pit, and then through the market district¡­ I enjoyed going there, seeing all the things I couldn¡¯t buy. Checking out new games, merchandise, books. Maybe buying something will make me feel better. ¡°Or it will be wasting precious money.¡± Sigh. ¡°Besides. You already had one person ignore you today. Do you want to risk another? Considering you don¡¯t even want to be acknowledged either, you tiresome bitch.¡± My body slumps again, as I take a turn back towards the apartment building. Maybe some other day I¡¯ll feel better to just go out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sausages and rice. So easy to make, so fast too. I am never sure if I am overcooking or undercooking the damn things but, it tastes good¡­ just, not as good as it used to. I am aware that the natural tendency for people is to always think past times were better, but maybe they changed the sausage formula? ¡°It¡¯s the exposure. When you were a kid, sausages were a sometimes food. Now you eat them all the time.¡± As I fill my plate with three sausages and a bunch of rice, like the decadent bitch I am, I think about where to eat¡­ I¡¯ve been eating in my room for the last month. It¡¯s getting full of plates, so maybe it would be best to eat in the living room¡­.? ¡°Why? There¡¯s literally no reason, there¡¯s no one here to eat with.¡± My heart aches. Not physically, at least not yet, but you get the idea. There was a time when Venus and I ate together every night, sharing our experiences in college¡­ whatever happened to that? ¡°You started eating and doing stuff in your room by yourself.¡± ¡°You neglected her for a long year or so. And of course, she neglected you right back.¡± I feel like it¡¯s not as simple as that but, at the same time¡­ ugh¡­ Shaking my head, I set my food on the table, then go for the old computer to set it up in the living room. Today I am eating like a normal person. ¡°It¡¯s a start!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to clean this fucking garbage bin of an apartment eventually. But you won¡¯t. Lazy bastard.¡± When I open my computer, I spend a moment checking the dirty keyboard and the smudged screen. For someone who spends as much time online as I do, I really need to take better care of this thing. If it were to break, I¡­ I honestly don¡¯t know what I would do. Trying not to dwell on the inevitable but still eventual catastrophe, I search for an old episode of ¡®Golden Bawl¡¯, setting it up while I eat and listen along to Kintoki¡¯s shenanigans. I don¡¯t watch a lot of Comedy shows, or even anime for that matter, but they can be good for passing the time. ¡°There was a time where comedy was our entire world, remember that?¡± Yeah¡­ My one claim to ¡°fame¡± in VirtualZone was a silly comedy ¡°Road of Ninja¡± fanfic I wrote back in the day. Saints, just remembering all the fourth wall breaking jokes and needless references makes me cringe and shrivel to my core! I have advanced as a writer, at least enough to recognize the mistakes of my past and be haunted by them. Maybe¡­ maybe what I need is to actually write something. A short tale, a little poem, whatever. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You haven¡¯t written anything in months, if not an entire year. What would make this different?¡± I, I have ideas. I have this whole world in my mind! A tale of generations, about passing the torch from one person to the next. Not connected by blood, but by a shared destiny. ¡°Well isn¡¯t that interesting? And tell me, who¡¯s going to read that, exactly?¡± I¡­ ¡°Writing should be done for the sake of itself, for the enjoyment of writing.¡± ¡°Uh huh. Sure. Tell him that. Without a public to read his stuff, he¡¯ll shrivel up and die. Won¡¯t you? You attention starved asshole.¡± I hate it. I hate it because it¡¯s true. My motivation dies so quickly when I don¡¯t feel like someone¡¯s going to read my things¡­ it¡¯s like throwing more and more messages in bottles to the sea, until all I see are bottles floating around me, unattended, ignored. It¡¯s¡­ painful, honestly. ¡°We can always look for new venues! New sites to post, right? Maybe a new forum?¡± ¡°A new forum to be ignored on.¡± A sudden sound pushes me out of this depressing spiral and scrambles the voices around me. A new message? Really? From whom? My eyes go back to the computer, where a new window has suddenly popped up. Mesenen is like that, a little invasive, but honestly, the other popular programs are terrible. At least in my eyes. ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: ayyyyy santi! ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: how¡¯s it going man? it¡¯s been a while! Pepe. Has it really been a month already? He always checks on me every month or so. That bastard¡­ he¡¯s always been such a good guy, since primary school. I can¡¯t help but smile a little bit, my heart warming up a little bit and my head immediately getting rushed by memories. The Bohr to my Einstein, my rival¡­ ¡°Can you imagine how much he would freak out if he heard you refer to him so tenderly?¡± I stop myself immediately. Yes, true. Those sorts of thoughts can only get me in all sorts of trouble. I push them back, back I said! To the pits of my mind, where they couldn¡¯t hurt anyone¡­ Better to answer him quickly, or else he might think I¡¯m ignoring him. ¡°Or he may think you¡¯re a good for nothing who spends all day on his pc. Oh wait!¡± Biting my lower lip a little bit, and putting my empty plate aside, I get to writing. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Hey man! n.n xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Oh you know, it¡¯s going alright. Can¡¯t really complain. uwu xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: What aboutcha? o.o ¡­ ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: tired man, tired like u got no idea. ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: exams are a bitch, am i rite?? ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: thanks The Saints it¡¯s over My hand hits my face so fast that, for a moment, I don¡¯t even realize. Saints damn it, I forgot! The exams were this week, weren¡¯t they!? Another row of exams I¡¯ll just fail by default. Fuck. ¡°Welp, there¡¯s no way to recover from that one. It¡¯s official now, you¡¯ll fail most if not all of your classes this semester. Isn¡¯t that funny?¡± Panic starts to boil and pushes its way from the bottom of my stomach and through my entire body at prodigious speeds, my eyes are wide open, am I sweating already? No, no no no no, how did I allow it to get to this!? Can¡¯t I fix it somehow?! My hands reach for my hair, pulling down harshly as my breath picks up so much that I start panting. Fuuuuuuck. This is it, I will fail the semester, I¡¯ll have to talk with my parents, they will all learn of it. The looks of disappointment on their eyes will kill me, the sadness in their voice as they try to console me. No, no no no. Wait. Wait. I can still save it. I just have to get a good grade on the next row of exams¡­ for every single class. ¡°Y-You can afford to fail a few of them, it¡¯s college after all! Everyone fails once or twice.¡± ¡°A cope out¡­ Remember highschool, smartass? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a prodigy or something? Start acting like it, work.¡± My body hurts, everything is moving so fast. But yeah, I can do this. I did it before, I used to be a real smart kid¡­ I can do this. But before anything, I need to answer to Pepe. I don¡¯t like lying to him¡­ so, let¡¯s make a compromise. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Pffft. Tell me about it. ewe xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I hate to be pessimistic but, I think I failed everything this time¡­ u.u ... ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: oh shit, rly?? ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: im sorry man¡­ ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: but there¡¯s always the next midterms! u can pick up the pace then ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: The Saints know im gonna try too lmfao ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: maybe we¡¯ll end up repeating this time, but we have to keep trying, alright?? ¡°Failing? As if he was capable of that. The bastard¡¯s studying medicine for a reason, he¡¯s the real genius here¡­¡± Shut up. I won¡¯t let you talk about Pepe like that. ¡°He¡¯s probably pitying us.¡± You know he¡¯s incapable of stuff like that. Whatever he says, he means it with all of his heart¡­ the bastard is incapable of being facetious. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Alas, these old bones can¡¯t keep trying forever hahaha. :3 xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I need to pick up the pace. >.< ... ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: man what i¡¯ve told u about talkin like that? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Like what? o.o? ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: like an old fart, lmao ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: ur like what, 20? you gotta act ur age man! ¡®H¨¦¨¢l¨¦rFr¨®mTh¨¦H¨¦¨¢rt¡¯: i bet you are still acting and dressin like an old man too xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Shirts and coats are cool man! >. I do not know who may read this. Honestly, I am not even sure if I will read it myself after I finish writing it, but whomever is picking up this torn and ugly book? This is dedicated to you. ¡°Pretentious and needlessly emotional.¡± Ah, there you are. I was starting to miss you. With a sigh, I shake the thoughts off and keep writing.
I found the original version of the text I¡¯m working through in the old antique shop ¡°Ricardo¡¯s¡±, where the titular man himself had been keeping this book for¡­
I honestly have no idea how long Ricardo has been clinging to this one. It can¡¯t be that long, right? Ricardo said ¡®a long time ago¡¯, but that¡¯s all the reference I have. Urgh.
¡­for a while. The book was originally written in a set of symbols similar in function to hieroglyphs, with each symbol representing a different word. Luckily for me, my predecessor left me with transcriptions to the latin alphabet, and a final chapter written in a language I am yet to identify and translate.
I am still placing my bets on roman, but honestly, I feel less and less confident about that with every second that passes.
I will record my findings in this book and then share them to all who may be interested. Please bear with me.
After writing that messy introduction, I focus back on my computer and start my investigation by opening Gaggle Translations. I input the first words I find in the book¡­ and beg. Asu tlo¡¯ikovithiio The translator suggests Kauaian, but changing it to that language shows no results whatsoever. It¡¯s not Kauaian.. I then try all the permutations I can come up with in the search. I try ¡°Asu¡±, ¡°Tlo¡± ¡°Ikovithiio¡±, ¡°kovithiio¡±, and beyond the Arizona State University and some western guy called Vito Iio, I have no better luck. That pretty much confirms my suspicions of this being a code, a sort of new language, or just plain nonsense. What differentiates a language from a code anyways? Intentionality? I smack my head for a moment there, trying to keep myself focused. Now that the easy solution is not available, I have to get resourceful, and before I start working with the final chapter, Gaggle still has one tool up its sleeve. It¡¯s still a bit of an experimental feature, but by taking a picture of these runes I can actually search the internet for similar things¡­! So I quickly copy one of the symbols on the page, the one I see repeating itself the most, take a picture of it with my phone and just wait for the best. The result? A bunch of unfiltered stickmen, some of them with dicks. Because of course, Gaggle¡¯s image searching is still a new tool and it needs plenty of work to properly function. With a sigh, I debate for a moment if I really should bother to check image per image¡­ until I decide to just check the first two pages before abandoning all hope. ¡°Stickman, stickman, stickman with a dick, another stickman¡­¡± ¡°Stickmen animations and games really have boomed these years huh?¡± ¡°I guess so¡­ another stickman¡­¡± I promised to myself I wouldn¡¯t go beyond the second page of results¡­ and yet here I am, going deeper and deeper, trying to find anything at all. It¡¯s dark outside already¡­ and that only means that the pills will stop working soon. ¡°Not that they ever really worked to begin with. Have you stopped feeling sad since you started taking them?¡± There it is. With a loud sigh, I set my computer down and stop messing with the search. Maybe I just picked a bad symbol. Maybe if I pick another, I will get actual results. ¡°Or maybe you won¡¯t get anything at all. You¡¯re no translator, and you can¡¯t start pretending to be one now, you know?¡± I breathe in deeply, holding it inside for a good few seconds before letting it out. With that, I stand from my chair and pick up my computer. I¡¯ll leave it for tonight¡­ ¡°Yeah. Just leave it like you leave anything: incomplete. It¡¯s not like you ever finish anything anyways. You may as well toss it to the side and ignore it until you forget about it.¡± ¡°But we were so excited about it¡­ Come on, don¡¯t give up now¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just leave it. It¡¯s vacation time anyways, right? Let¡¯s just play some videogames until your body can¡¯t take any more. I promise I¡¯ll be quiet while you do so! Let¡¯s play some King of Legends.¡± I don¡¯t even like that game¡­ ¡°But it passes the time, doesn¡¯t it? Precious time, so full of suffering too. You don¡¯t even notice death encroaching ever closer while you have something to do.¡± ¡°You only rage in that game, it¡¯s not good for you. Come on, please?¡± ¡°Just lay down and sleep then¡­¡± ¡­ No. ¡°Hmmm?¡± You know what? No. I am not sleeping tonight. ¡°Let¡¯s not go to the extremes!¡± Alright then, I am sleeping, but not now. Not until I get through some of this book! I set the computer back down on the table and get myself a glass of soda, sitting down and cracking my knuckles with renewed determination. Spite can be quite the fuel, even if it¡¯s spite for your own inner voices. ¡°I am not letting a stupid book defeat me.¡± With a grin, I open my notebook to start transcribing. ¡°Let¡¯s do this!!¡± Chapter 5 After a little ruminating, I divided the book in three parts using pink washi tape: the Rune section is the main meat of the book, full of untranslatable symbols; the Transcription section, which I think converts those symbols to their phonetics; and finally the Epilogue, which was the final chapter of the book, written entirely in some strange language I¡¯ve learned is Hesperian. It was almost eight in the night when I finally gave up trying to find any matches in Gaggle from any of the words I could catch in the Transcription section of the book. Nothing, not a single clue. With a heart full of frustration and a growing need to engage in self destructive gaming, I decided to start working with what I *could* understand: the Epilogue. The translator was limited on the amount of words I could do at the same time so, I had to improvise and do several batches. In the end, this is the result I got:
A long and winding road opens before you. From the moment you pick up this book, you have three options: You can ignore this challenge and give it to someone who wants to take it; You may destroy this book and be content to destroy another line that connects us with the Tree of Origin; or dare to read and seek the meaning of these symbols. This post is for you, the brave, who want to translate the untranslatable and understand the unintelligible. It is very likely that the person destined to translate this book will not be blessed with the Arcane Infection (if we can really call it such a blessing), so here are a few words of caution. 1.- Once your mind connects signifier and signified, don''t read these words aloud unless you want to confront their effects. 2.- Do not comment on this book to any uninitiated. They wouldn''t believe you anyway. 3.- Your perception of reality will slowly change with each new word you identify. Don''t worry, it''s natural to see the colors of magic once you wake up to it. 4.- Look for the gold sign in your city, probably in libraries and hospitals. If you can''t find it, you''re safe to practice in your own home. If you find it, dig around and find the Elysium before experimenting. 5.- Avoid the Black Cloaks at all costs. I don''t recommend taking this book to public places, much less to the Elys¨¦e. Study him in the safety of your home, quietly, eating snacks. Take your time, this is a task that can take years, but I assure you that it is worth it. Once you reach the end, I''ll wait for you at the point where it all begins... A couple of hints before I go: I wish you the best of luck. Please survive. Humiko
Once the process of transcribing (which was honestly quite an ordeal considering this Epilogue was written in cursive by a shaky hand), translating and recording in my notebook was done, I am left staring at this nonsense for a while. The worst part of all this? I can¡¯t even promise the translation is faithful, Gaggle Translate is still in its baby phases¡­ My eyes turn to the clock on my laptop. Already thirty past ten¡­ it¡¯s getting a little late for this. ¡°Not that it ever mattered to you. What time have you been going to sleep these days anyway? Three in the morning? Maybe four?¡± Sigh. The voice is getting harder to ignore, but I make an effort to just bite my lower lip and keep my focus. There¡¯s a lot to unpack here. Magic being the most prominent deal, this seems to be implying that magic is real? The insensitive skeptic in me wants to disregard that entirely, after all I am a person of science! But the rest of my body can¡¯t help but want it to be real¡­ after all, what¡¯s the worst that could imply? At best, hell yeah, magic is real! Neat! At worst¡­ there¡¯s a lot more power in the hands of a mysterious, underground government that keeps tabs on us at all times not only with technological means but now with magical means too. I shudder for a moment there. My head has not exploded instantaneously upon the thought so, at least I can either assume they can¡¯t read my mind or there is no little microchip in my brain just waiting to destroy me for learning ¡®The Truth¡¯. Then again, is that technology even possible? I¨C ¡°Focus, dear.¡± Yes. Yes, I need to focus. What other concepts are introduced here that this Humiko just assumes I know what she¡¯s talking about? ¡®The Tree of Origin¡¯. Okay that¡¯s easy, it¡¯s probably some ¡®Tree of Knowledge¡¯ kind of allegory in the mythology I am getting my nose into. Probably an equal to the Saints¡­ or maybe Yggdrasil? The tree of the world? That¡¯s another possibility they could be referencing. No idea what this goes into, but apparently it is connected to the contents of this book. ¡®Arcane Infection¡¯. Does she mean magic? Or something else? Why call it a ¡°blessing¡± and then backpedal a bit? Should I be worried about my health now? I have asthma so another infection in my body wouldn¡¯t really be welcome¡­ ¡®Signifier and Signified¡¯. She must be talking about the runes. No idea what she¡¯s going on about though. Maybe I have to connect each word in my mind or something? Like a huge riddle¡­ and then, only then, something magical will happen. ¡°This sounds like you are entering into a cult or something¡­¡± Look, if they start trying to convert me into a cult I will run away as fast as I can. ¡°If you ever realize that. It¡¯s not like the people making cults are experts brainwashing losers and outcasts like you.¡± Moving on. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡®The Uninitiated¡¯, clearly not-mages. So there is a separation between them and us, probably some sort of magical cloak to keep entire sections of the city hidden or something like that. Like in the Wizard Boy books! I wonder if there are magical schools and such too¡­ ¡°Focus.¡± Yeah, yeah. The whole ¡®Golden sign¡¯ is pretty straightforward. I have to find some symbol hidden in the frameworks of our society. No idea what symbol, the internet is not exactly useful when I put something as vague as ¡°golden sign¡± in it, but I guess I can leave that for later. What is ¡®The Elysium¡¯ though? I mean, it probably doesn¡¯t mean the fields from greek mythology, right? It is not telling me to go die, right? Finally, the Black Cloaks. That¡¯s vague, too vague. I have to avoid emo kids now? It probably will make much more sense when I get to work with deeper concepts but, it¡¯s something to look out for¡­ ¡®The point where it all begins¡¯. Another vague note, nonsense really. ¡°Most of this, if not all of it, is nonsense. You should be used to it by now¡­ why do you pay so much attention to this when you could be studying something actually useful?¡± Guilt pierces my heart like a frozen dagger. Saints damn it. It¡¯s true. Why can¡¯t I muster all this intense attention and initiative when it comes to my studies? It used to be so easy! ¡°It was never easy. You always struggled paying attention.¡± And yet in highschool it was all so easy¡­ I was the first of my generation. The most promising child to ever graduate from there, and now¡­ look at me. Look at all I¡¯ve accomplished. ¡°You wasted your future. Now you can only do your best to pick up the pieces and beg for mercy from your parents and the world at large. Squandered your potential to the worst result possible. You know the worst part? You can¡¯t really blame anyone but yourself¡­¡± With a heavy sigh I stood from my chair, leaving the book, my notes and the laptop on the table. ¡°Are you finally giving up? Can we go to sleep now?¡± Yeah¡­ yeah I think I will. ¡°We can always continue tomorrow! Don¡¯t worry, it will all be still here when you wake up!¡± ¡°Yeah, waiting, like everything you¡¯ve left unfinished.¡± My feet take the first step back towards my room. ¡°...Don¡¯t you want to at least check on that last couple of hints? Particularly about the title of the book?¡± My curiosity is piqued. I stop, and turn right around to read the translation again. It says it is translated to ¡®The butterflies of Creation¡¯. That¡­ means nothing to me. ¡°Signifier to signified¡­¡± I need to make the connections¡­ in the notebook, I quickly scribble the words side by side with the translated text. The Asu Butterflies tlo¡¯ikovithiio of Creation It¡¯s easy to link ¡®the¡¯ and ¡®asu¡¯, but I am not even sure if the words can correlate in the same order, or something like that. The arrows do seem to tell me that. The rest of the word though¡­ ¡®Tlo¡¯ikovithiio¡¯, that could mean ¡®butterflies of creation¡¯, right? I look for the runes in the first part. Particularly the one in the cover page I see one symbol, and then a circle containing several others. Saints damn it I am not even closer to understanding this than before, am I!? The first one must be ¡®asu¡¯...which must mean ¡®the¡¯, right? The rest of it is ¡®tlo¡¯ikovithiio¡¯, Butterflies of creation¡­ ¡°We are tracing circles at this point. Let¡¯s go to sleep.¡± ¡°Shhh, they¡¯re onto something.¡± I am honestly tempted to simply give up, when suddenly it hits me: Look for patterns! Passing the pages, I may find the signs on their own! Eureka! ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± And if the transcription is faithful, which I just have to beg for it to be now, this has to be read ¡®tlo¡¯iiio¡¯. Again ending in ¡®iio¡¯? Now that I think about it, that symbol, the one with two dots and a line, I can only see it in circles indicating combined words. I know for a fact these are two glyphs now, and if they are a combined word¡­ ¡®Tlo¡¯i¡¯ and ¡®iio¡¯ must be the particles! Iio must be a particle you only apply to other words, to give them a quality. ¡°Dear, the room¡­¡± Shh! I am focused!! So back to our original word, ¡®tlo¡¯ikovithiio¡¯... It would be three words! ¡®tlo¡¯i¡¯, ¡®kovith¡¯ and ¡®iio¡¯! Three symbols. And if I really squijnt my eyes, that symbol in the middle, the ¡®tlo¡¯i¡¯, really kinda looks like a butterfly right? Or some flying creature for sure!! ¡°Santino, really. Stop for a moment.¡± So there¡¯s the big U (that maybe represents a finger), the butterfly, and the particle ¡®-iio¡¯. Maybe ¡®Creation¡¯ means the literal creation of things, the act of making! So that U, that finger, is making the butterfly by touching it. Tlo¡¯i and kovith would then be ¡®Butterlfy¡¯ and ¡®Creation¡¯. Putting them together maybe acts like a mixing of its properties. The butterflies, they are created AND create! ¡°Tav!!¡± I snap out of my hyperfixation for a moment, only to notice that everything around me is moving. The chairs, the table, the computer, everything has been taken by sudden gusts of wind that blow around me. I am in the eye of a storm of my own making. All that remains stationary is the old, badly bound notebook. The rune I wrote on it is shining a bright green¡­ no, it¡¯s purple¡­ or golden? It shifts so quickly I can¡¯t really tell. ¡°Make it stop!¡± No. Deep down, I know what I have to do¡­ I have to finish the thought. I have to connect the signifier with the signified. ¡®Asu Tlo¡¯ikovithiio¡¯. ¡®Asu Tlo¡¯i-kovith-iio¡¯. Iio must indicate something, a quality, a status. ¡°A plural.¡± Yes. The pluralism! It indicates more than one! ¡°I got it!¡± ¡°Good! Now make it STOP!¡± Raising my hand, I try to take a deep breath and touch the words on my notebook. Without really thinking on what will happen next, I focus.. and now with a full understanding of what I am saying, I whisper. ¡°Asu tlo¡¯ikovithiio.¡± Suddenly the tornado around me stops mattering at all. I feel how the air suddenly escapes my lungs, pushed by some invisible force that also spreads an indescribable warmth from my heart and through my whole body. I see the same light of many colours spread through my veins, brightly shining as it pushes and escapes from the fingers of my raised hand. Just as something forms on the tip of my fingers and spreads its wings, my body loses all strength. My eyes lose their focus, I feel myself trembling before falling down. I can only feel the gentle, fragile touch of a butterfly for the faintest of instants before everything becomes black. Chapter 6 If the Alchemist was really capable of being happy without the help of her Balm, then we can say without any doubt that she would be happy while studying. Her arms waved and swung from side to side, as if she was directing an invisible orchestra, while several books floated and danced, orbiting around her like tiny moons full of secret knowledge. Her eyes darted from book to book, passing pages, jumping from footnote to footnote, checking that every citation made was still relevant and properly made, while also making sure that the spells in every grimoire were still as fresh as they were the moment they were written. It was a thankless job, but one that she really enjoyed doing! She was in the middle of her housekeeping when a distant sound echoed through the caverns. An alarm? Had time truly advanced so fast that she had skipped sleeping entirely again? No. This wasn¡¯t her alarm clock. This was her computer, calling her back to her room. With a frustrated sigh, the Alchemist clapped twice and sent all books back to their spots. After that, she tapped her foot on the floor thrice in rapid succession, and her body was then violently ripped from that little pocket dimension of hers and pulled right out of her portal-book, back to the depressing, gray bedroom. Rubbing her eyes softly, she walked over to the noisy computer and tapped a few buttons to turn the screens on. Whatever could be so important to interrupt her studies? ¡°TEMPORAL DISPLACEMENT ALERT.¡± What? Temporal displacement? Some idiot in some corner of the world was probably trying to mess with Time again. The fool was probably a bloody pulp by now, poor bastard. The Alchemist sighed and shook her head softly, clicking the dismissal button and turning the alarm off¡­ when suddenly, her eyes locked on the Lefebvre Compass. 233.C.828.XXX What. Corner one had shifted. That never happens. And then corner three had advanced by almost eighty units! Did a breakthrough happen? Did someone discover a new Axiom or something like that? With another annoyed sigh, the Alchemist opened the Ermes browser and went straight to Universe Beta. The forum remained as dead and insubstantial as ever¡­ she chastised herself for ever thinking that useless site would ever produce anything of note, and accessed ¡®The Belltower¡¯, the main arcane newsletter sanctioned by the government. It wasn¡¯t that reliable considering the heavy censoring, but if something truly important had happened, the Brotherhood would certainly make a post about it, even if to cover it up! Nothing. Just shareholding meetings, law changes and useless factoids meant to entertain the old readers. Next was ¡®Styx Riverside¡¯. A gossip place for those who were smart enough to not trust the government. No one was bragging about a new breakthrough, no new job postings for studying mysterious events were made either. Stolen story; please report. These were the moments where the Alchemist wished the technology behind the Lefebvre Compass was available to the public, but alas. She only knew of three other computers with a functional device¡­ ¡­ of course, just as she thought of Him, her phone started ringing. Her hand reached for the old flip phone, hesitating for a moment before holding it and opening it next to her ear. ¡°What did you do.¡± She immediately said. ¡°Well now, is that a way to say hello to an old friend?¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°Funny that you ask, for I¡¯ve done nothing this time! I was about to ask you though¡­¡± The young boy¡¯s voice was as warm and calm as usual, totally unconcerned with what was probably one of the biggest advancements in human history, at least for the last fifty years. She hated that, she hated that this man could still keep up with the ¡°happy, careless boy¡± act even in the face of change. She really wanted to slap the smile off his wrinkled face. ¡°I have been limiting myself to my own studies.¡± The alchemist finally said, letting out a grumble. ¡°But if it wasn¡¯t you, and it wasn¡¯t me¡­ do you think it was the Brotherhood?¡± ¡°I sincerely doubt they would manage to push the timeline by THAT far¡± He said. ¡°They lost their interest in reaching the Safe Quadrants a while ago.¡± ¡°So we are looking for a third party.¡± She loudly sighed. The annoying surprises never stopped. ¡°Great. That will take years to find, and we don¡¯t have that much time.¡± ¡°Do you think it could have been Humiko?¡± ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡± Again, she shot him down. ¡°I-I know, I know! But. You know how she enjoyed preparing things for a while! Maybe¨C¡± ¡°She is gone, Giovanni. Get over it.¡± There was a moment of pained, awkward silence. Mustaf¨¢ the Alchemist looked back at her compass¡­ the numbers were going back down. 233.C.382.XXX ¡°Whatever it was, it was temporary.¡± She finally said. ¡°The fact that it happened at all is enough of a good sign to try to look for it, right?¡± He said with determination growing stronger once again. ¡°I will keep my eyes open. You do as well.¡± ¡°I will do so, but not because you told me.¡± ¡°Good to know you are still as stubborn as ever¡­ remember to take your medicine soon, alright?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do.¡± The conversation was over. To be honest, it had been going on far longer than it needed to anyways. Mustaf¨¢ chastised herself for allowing that while setting down her phone, walking slowly to the one window on her home and looking out to the skies. The Sun was setting down. Time was still ticking, slowly but surely, towards the End of Everything. The Alchemist closed her eyes, and turned off the light on Universe Gamma to let her crabs know it was time to play. In a way, it was also a sign for herself. She had to act now, before it was too late¡­ no matter how convenient that breakthrough could have been, it meant nothing if it couldn¡¯t be replicated anyways. She was tempted to just ignore it and go back to cleaning her house¡­ but she had already promised she would keep her eyes open¡­ Patting both of her cheeks in exasperation, Mustaf¨¢ decided to actually do her part of the job, and walked back to her computer. With some luck, the Brotherhood had already noticed this shift as well, and their measures would help narrow the field on where to look¡­ Bad news for the poor bastard causing all this ruckus though, but that really wasn¡¯t Mustaf¨¢¡¯s problem or concern in the slightest. Chapter 7 I was floating. I am not sure where or how, but I was floating. The wind was carrying me over plains of infinite, white sand. The sky above me was warm, dark and purple, with no sun in sight, and yet there was a radiance illuminating from every direction. Maybe the purple were clouds? Covering the sun? The moment I started rationalizing is when I realized that I was dreaming. But this isn¡¯t like the dreams I usually have, it was no memory of the past, no fantasy of the future. It wasn¡¯t an inspiration for a new story or a grim reminder of the works I have abandoned¡­ no, this was brand new and, what¡¯s worse, it felt awfully real. I looked around myself, trying to understand more of my surroundings in this strange vision, but I could barely make sense of the desert itself! There was nothing but sand and sky¡­ until in the distance, I saw the Tree. The biggest tree I have ever seen, bigger than an entire city, its roots and branches spreading like wriggling tendrils. That¡¯s when I suddenly realized, the things covering the skies weren¡¯t clouds, they were leaves from this huge tree, floating in the stratosphere. A long and tranquil river was born from the base of the tree, flowing with bright blue water and soon getting lost among the dunes. The wind was carrying me closer and closer to the tree, to the point where for a moment I feared I could crash with it, but my body stopped right in front of its trunk. The bark of the tree was covered in markings, carvings made a long time ago. My hands softly caressed the symbols, the very same I had seen somewhere, sometime ago¡­ One of the symbols was shining though, calling for me. My body floated up until I was right in front of it. I stare at it. So simple in design¡­ even simpler in meaning. It means ¡®To ignite¡¯ or ¡®Turn on¡¯. It¡¯s¡­ dependent on context, I think. ¡°Golthoi¡­¡± My eyes suddenly opened. I was no longer floating, no. I am just laying on the floor of my living room, awakened by the blaring of my alarm clock. I really gotta turn that thing off, considering I am technically on vacation. My body hurts, I feel tired even if I slept for a whole night. I barely have the energy to stand and take a look around myself. The place is an absolute mess, the table and the chairs are all over the place, my computer lays upside down on the couch, the pages of my notebook are scattered everywhere! The good news though: this confirms that it wasn¡¯t a dream at all. Any of what happened las night. ¡°I am not sure what you think this proves, beyond the fact that you can make a mess out of anything and everything.¡± Sigh. ¡°Magic is real. It¡¯s absolutely, completely real! Do you have any idea of the implications this has? It¡¯s the discovery of the century!¡± ¡°Too bad it literally has no way of fixing your broken life.¡± ¡°Maybe it does? This honestly means we have to keep checking that book!¡± I start to pick up the pieces of paper around me, trying to repair the binding of my notebook before sighing and shaking my head. I will just staple this all together later. Eventually I get to the page where I made my latest discovery¡­ The Butterflies of Creation¡­ The symbol was smudged now, burnt, but I still remembered it. And I still have no idea what that spell did, if anything at all. A part of me wanted to try luck again, see what would happen. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t. Last time you tried, you blacked out. Remember?¡± Of course I remember. I also remember my dream. The tree, the many symbols on its bark¡­ I scramble to pick up the book, only to confirm that the symbols in my dream were the same as the ones here¡­ I even see Golthoi, the ignite symbol! What I don¡¯t see as much as I thought I would is Asu. Considering it should be the equivalent of ¡®the¡¯ in this weird language, I would assume it would be used rather frequently, right? Then why is it so scarcely present¡­? Was it not ¡®The¡¯, then? The whole moment last night would suggest I was on the money about it but, maybe I am still missing some key detail, or a cultural significance? ¡°Before you do anything stupid, remember the notes in Humiko¡¯s note. You need to look for the ¡®Elysium¡¯ before experimenting.¡± Oh that¡¯s right! This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Shit, does last night count as an investigation¡­? What if I got the wrong attention from that? In fact, did anyone in the building hear what happened last night? It¡¯s impossible it just happened in a vacuum, right!? I can start feeling the anxiety mounting and building up in my chest, my heart pounds loudly and my hands tremble¡­ The fear is such that I even leave the book down, and even forget about my computer. I just slide out of the living room and back into my bed, turning off the alarm as I sink into the warm embrace of my covers. ¡°Sleeping will not take away the fact that you just made yourself a target, homeboy.¡± Is this my life now? Will I have to live in fear of my own phone now? Afraid of being perceived, found? I don¡¯t even know who these ¡®Black Cloaks¡¯ are but, honestly, considering magic is real, they must be the magical equivalent of the Men in Black or something of the sort¡­ ¡°You didn¡¯t even translate that phrase properly and already made a mess of things. Why don¡¯t you just give your notes to someone else and save yourself the trouble?¡± Honestly, that didn¡¯t sound like a bad idea¡­ ¡°You are working hard to do something special here, don¡¯t just let him take it from you like that!¡± She sounds indignant. ¡°Besides, if someone wanted to come, they would have come in the night, right? If they really are as infallible and well informed as you think they are!¡± ¡­ Now that¡¯s a good point. ¡°Yeah! Besides, are you really going to give up now? After feeling that magic coursing through you? Remember how it felt? To decode those little words? Tell me¡­ didn¡¯t that remind you of the good old days?¡± The days when everything made sense, when I could see through most questions with the effort of my brain¡­ ¡°So that¡¯s what this is about? Reliving the good old days? News flash, Santino: Those are over. You¡¯re a burnout, no amount of magic will change that.¡± I feel the air leave my lungs again. With a groan, I wrap myself a little more with the covers. Why do I even try to do things? Why do I even get up in the morning? Every Saints damned day is the same, I feel the same, I hear the same. The pills may stop it for a moment but, are they really enough for me to get a normal life¡­? Am I really going to live my life forever like this? How does Pepe do it? How does EVERYONE do it? Am I the one who¡¯s built wrong here? Or did I ruin myself on the way here? ¡°So much self pity¡­ get over yourself.¡± I tremble for a moment, stifling a sob. I don¡¯t want to cry, I don¡¯t have the energy for it. ¡°Let¡¯s go have some breakfast¡­ okay? We got those Tavs you like. You can take them with your pills.¡± ¡°And grow bigger and fatter as a result.¡± Honestly, I don¡¯t feel like eating at all¡­ but sleep is not coming to me. It probably won¡¯t come during the day anyways. So, with a defeated sigh, I stand right up and start walking back out of my messy bedroom and into the messy living room, then straight into the kitchen. I serve a glass of milk and some Tavs on a plate, mostly to give myself the illusion of a proper breakfast, before I walk back out. Ah. Right. I need to put the table and the chairs back in place. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing nothing broke!¡± I guess so¡­ One by one I put the furniture back in place, sighing in relief when I set the computer on top of the table and it actually turns on again. The case is a little battered but, the insides are still working! So that¡¯s all that matters. ¡°Clearly you don¡¯t care about how it looks anyways. Look at how filthy the keys look.¡± With a sigh I go get my breakfast, swallow my medication, and sit down to start browsing. The screen opens back to the translation I had to transcribe. Oh, that¡¯s right, the book. I pick it up from the floor, dusting it a little bit before passing the pages. ¡°Congratulations, you can read the title and the word ¡®Butterfly¡¯ in the text. Don¡¯t feel too proud of yourself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a start. Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day.¡± I go from the Glyphs to the Transcription, and from the Transcription to the Epilogue. It feels so bizarre to be holding this after last night. My eyes narrow for a moment, letting out a deep sigh¡­ and then, I notice it. The strange colour, the mix of purple and green, sliding from my fingers and staining the last page of the book. I drop it out of fear, did I ruin it!? But then, the colourful stain begins taking form¡­it becomes words. http://dejima08646F6E2774.pmkn A¡­ pumpkin link? ¡°Isn¡¯t that the browser people use for crimes and stuff?¡± It¡¯s way more complicated than that, but that¡¯s not the point. That¡¯s a link. It¡¯s something I can understand! And soon, there are more words underneath! Tripolar? What the hell is an edge router?! I am not that kind of nerd! Technology has never been my fort¨¦! ¡°Do you even have a fort¨¦?¡± Not the point! With my curiosity piqued once again, I start checking on Gaggle¡­ to my surprise and infinite delight, there are results this time! An edge router seems to be a special kind of modem that specializes on¡­ blah blah blah¡­ it¡¯s more intensive and specialized than a regular modem, and it doesn¡¯t have Wifi with it, only ethernet cables.So far, so good¡­ but what the hell is a ¡®tripolar¡¯? What does that even mean!? Looking for it on FreeMarket.net, I actually find people who sell them for¡­ ¡°FOR HOW MUCH!?¡± The numbers on my screen are outrageous, even for technology! I can afford it yes, but it would take me a lot of my savings for that damn black box. Frustrated, I start checking what makes a tripolar router so special¡­ and it takes me straight to several technology magazines and sites debunking the ¡°Tripolar Craze of the Nineties¡±. Apparently these things were all the rage back in the day, but the difference in materials used to generate the ¡®Tripolar effect¡¯ (whatever that is) cause no improvement in the signal whatsoever. So it¡¯s just a myth, a technobabble term to make things more expensive for no reason. Maybe Humiko just let herself be swayed by those things? I mean, mages are not savvy with technology, are they? That¡¯s how you balance them and keep them from being too powerful. Just for now, I will simply work without it¡­ see if I can advance. Downloading the Ermes browser is the easiest part of the day. When I connect to it, I can¡¯t help but feel a little¡­ cool. Like I am some sort of hacker, avoiding the mainline internet to go into the depths of the so-called ¡®Dark Web¡¯. It takes a short time to download and install, but actually accessing it takes a long while. It¡¯s not as fast as the internet, at all¡­ ¡°Maybe I should get a VPN¡­¡± I mumbled to myself a little bit, waiting. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna get in trouble for th¨C Ah, it¡¯s open!¡± Now all that is left is accessing the proper link, and¡­ INVALID LINK Of course. Chapter 8 There¡¯s something intimidating about doors. Or at least, I think there should be something intimidating about them. A huge slab of wood meant to keep out everyone except the select few allowed in your home¡­ or, well, the one, flimsy defense you have against the rest of the world. I¡¯m stalling at this point, just standing in front of my door now that I took as long as I could washing up, getting dressed and pretending I was excited to go out again. When did I become such an outdoorsy person? During the last month I¡¯ve done nothing but hide from the outside world, looking for one excuse after the other to not go out. Now I think I¡¯ve gone out once every day for the last three days, counting this one. Am I really getting better at it? No¡­ I¡¯ve just found excuses to actually go out. Maybe that¡¯s what stopped me before, feeling like there was no real reason to return to the real world. I am failing college, and I¡¯ve been avoiding my friends all this time¡­ of course, this only feels important to me. The world keeps spinning even if I choose to not participate in it. It doesn¡¯t need me or my contribution¡­ Again. I am stalling. ¡­ But I really, really don¡¯t want to do this. When did I start this whole translation business? Yesterday? And now I have to go out again and risk being found out by my classmates and stuff? Being battered with uncomfortable questions? All for some stupid book that in the end might not even matter at all? Yeah, sure, magic is real. Big shocker! I am still doubting myself about it to be honest! But how much does that really matter!? Will it change my life for the better? Or for worse? Am I really in position to make this sort of gamble? ¡°If you really don¡¯t want to go out, then don¡¯t. You can stay and take your time, it doesn¡¯t have to be immediately.¡± That¡¯s the problem. It has to be. This is the first time I¡¯ve felt energetic, curious and actually motivated in a whole month, maybe even more all things considered! What if I lose this momentum? What if I run out of gas? What if the spark in me really dies out this time? No. I can¡¯t risk it. I have to go. ¡°Then go already. Tiresome bitch.¡± Alright¡­ Alright¡­ I close my eyes. Take a deep breath. And after taking my notebook and my cellphone, I push the door open. Here we go. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The bus is shaking quite a lot as it passes through a particularly bad street, and every bump in the road makes the crowd of people inside bounce around against each other. I made sure to be standing near the exit door, clinging tightly to the bar on the ceiling of this infernal machine and trying my best not to puke out of fear while feeling people pushed and pressed against me. It was worse when I had to worry about my backpack, back when I still took this same bus to go to college. My belongings were a constant concern, considering how common it is to be robbed these days. One would think ¡°Oh all I am carrying are books and notes, why would anyone want that?¡±, but trust me, there are some people out there who will take anything for the smallest chance of profit. ¡°Some of those people need it. Times are hard, especially under rampant capitalism.¡± ¡°And some others don¡¯t, they just want money for drugs and such. You can¡¯t just pity your robbers, idiot. Also, stop with the communism bit, it¡¯s not like you actively resist living under capitalism, you slop.¡± Sigh. At least right now all I gotta worry about is the cellphone in one pocket, and my notepad in the other. I keep my eyes to myself during most of the trip, feeling way too anxious to even try to look at anyone in the bus. It¡¯s always been a big fear of mine, what if I look at someone too meaningly and they think I am trying to start a conversation, or worse, they may think I am ogling them or something like that? I don¡¯t want any trouble, so I just look at my feet. At least, I try to. But then there¡¯s the anxiety about not reaching my destination. I have to keep an eye on the windows to make sure I took the right bus (I hope to the Saints that I did) and to keep track of where in Sa¨¹le I am at all times. I want to arrive at the University City, as they call the part of the Central District with all the Colleges, but I don¡¯t want to get out at my college at all. What if anyone recognizes me there? Hell, what if anyone recognizes me on the bus!? ¡°No one pays attention to you if you don¡¯t act like a freak. Just keep calm for once in your life, damn it.¡± Right. I take another deep breath and close my eyes to try and steady myself. I just need to go to the public Library, and that¡¯s it. Nothing more, I¡¯ve done it before! ¡°It¡¯s just been a while since you¡¯ve taken public transportation, anyone could lose the habit if they just stop taking buses for a bit!¡± Being around people has gotten harder with time, to the point where I even avoid going to the Mall! And that was even before I started flunking college¡­ Alright, it¡¯s time to press the ¡®Stop¡¯ button. ¡°Don¡¯t press it too much. No one likes an impatient asshole.¡± I press it two times and just beg for the driver to hear the loud buzzing. I don¡¯t want to be a bother, I swear¡­ but sometimes I really fear he¡¯s either too focused or too distracted to hear the button pressing. Luckily for me, this wasn¡¯t the case this time. When the bus stops by the Public Library, I mutter a ¡®Thank you¡¯ and quickly move through the people to escape the bus, rubbing my arms a little bit to fight the cold outside. The day is overcast, dark and cold today. Depressing, but too cold to really appreciate that. ¡°Alright¡­¡± I mumble to myself, steeling my determination and walking towards the old square building. My hand goes back into my pocket to start the music, something not too upbeat but, well, energetic enough to keep me going. Now, let¡¯s go over what I know. My computer won¡¯t be able to access the link I found. I really hate to admit it, but that ¡®Tripolar Edge Router¡¯ may be what I need after all, so with all the pain of my heart, I bought the damn thing. It should arrive tomorrow. So, to avoid losing momentum and falling back into my rotting ways, I decided to do a bit of field research on the Humiko hints. After all, I still need to find this ¡®Elysium¡¯. My best bet is going for the ¡®Golden Symbol¡¯ that could be hidden somewhere in this library. I am not sure if that means ¡®Any symbol that happens to be golden¡¯, or ¡®a symbol that represents gold¡¯. Putting ¡®Golden Symbol¡¯ on Gaggle just gave me the usual pseudo-arcane icons (like Yin Yang, a Fleur de Lis, kanji, even a tetragrammaton!) painted gold, so that wasn¡¯t going to go anywhere. Now, going into a deeper search, and ignoring the actual symbol for gold in the Periodic Table, I did find a few suspects that I quickly noted before coming here. When I entered the Library though, I came to quite a considerable problem: the place is huge. It is not even close to some of the biggest libraries in the world or even in Wohl? But Sa¨¹le¡¯s Library is a respected and well nurtured institution with plenty of shelves, sections, a second floor and even a basement. And considering I have to look through every damn nook and cranny, every wall, every shelf? This will take a long while. I look at my clock: it¡¯s 10 in the morning. ¡°Can¡¯t we just ask the librarian about Elysium or the symbol?¡± ¡°What are you, lazy? You insisted we come here, so now you deal with it. Unless you want to return home already.¡± I am certainly tempted to abandon this altogether but¡­ damn it, not now. If I go back home I will just lie down and probably sleep the day away, occasionally waking up to eat trash food! No. I have to keep up, keep determined! With a deep sigh, I walk to the reception and get ready for a very, very long morning. Maybe, with some luck, the librarian will know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ¡°I¡¯ll take a number 3. No pickles, please.¡± One in the afternoon, time for lunch. I really want to stop going to burger joints and actually enjoy some real, nutritious food! But considering I used all my money on that damn router and I am saving my spare change to go back home in a taxi, I just have to settle for the cheapest alternative. It wasn¡¯t the best for me, but it would work in a pinch. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. At least I buy from a local place, instead of going for one of the big chains. It makes me feel a little better to contribute to the boycott over their terrible practices. ¡°Wow. Well done. Let¡¯s hope the manager doesn¡¯t cry over the $4500 empires you didn¡¯t spend on them. How will they ever survive?¡± Feeling my heart sink once again, I take a seat at the restaurant¡¯s bar and dig in. The burger is not good, not by any measure, but it is big and fills you well. ¡­ Heheheh. ¡°Grow up.¡± I sigh, taking another bite. The search through the public library was a bust: not only did the librarian know nothing of what I asked, mentioning a symbol carved somewhere in the place only made her suspicious of me! To the point where I could feel her following me with the eyes as I combed the whole place side to side, top to bottom. Nothing. All I could find carved or doodled in there were dicks, cocks and penises. I hate it here. Nothing even resembling a meaningful symbol! ¡°But it is fine. Remember that things may be even easier if you don¡¯t find anything.¡± I take another bite and wince. Urgh, pickles¡­ Carefully I open my burger and, with a grimace, I pull the pickles out and set them on my plate. Perfect, now the rest of my burger will taste weird. Blergh. Best to focus. ¡°If it is really that important to find the symbol, that means it has to be hidden but also, you know, findable. It wouldn¡¯t make sense if they put something like that somewhere no one will ever see it.¡± I am still not sure what that symbol may mean? I have the theory that it indicates that the librarian, or the people working at the library, are ¡®in the know¡¯ or something like that. So yeah, it wouldn¡¯t make sense if it was too well hidden. It should be in a place where people know they have to look, probably a specific section or something like that. Well, really, this all may really be completely unnecessary after all! Maybe there¡¯s no Elysium in Sa¨¹le, and I can just chill at home without a worry! ¡°Now you¡¯re just saying this because you know the place to look through next, aren¡¯t you?¡± Gulp. There¡¯s more than one Library in the City, but the rest of the libraries are protected by their respective universities. There¡¯s at least five colleges here in Sa¨¹le, but the two biggest (and the only ones that allow entry on their libraries to non-students) are Saint Helena¡¯s Sisterhood College¡­ and Sa¨¹le University. My university. Can¡¯t I just say I failed already and assume there¡¯s no Elysium? No. I can¡¯t just leave this task half baked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be the first time.¡± Letting out a sigh, I finish my burger and stand up, slurping what¡¯s left of my soda and then turning right on my heel. ¡­ then I turn again, to grab my platter and throw the stuff properly in the garbage. Then I turn right around on my heel to exit. It was best to finish this quickly, you know? Rip the band-aid off in one go, instead of just waiting. If anyone was going to recognize me, so be it. I would just make up excuses for my absence and that¡¯s that. I am pretty good at it. ¡°It comes with practice.¡± I wince. Saints damn it. The way from the burger joint over to Sa¨¹le College is not that long, I have it memorized at this point. Patricio and I used to come there all the time! After a little walk, the smaller buildings give way to the Medicine School, a beautiful white structure that serves as the front and the main entrance to the Campus. I stop right in front of the arch that gives way into the College Grounds, in front of the College Crest carved on the floor. People say that if you step on it while entering, you will never manage to exit with your degree¡­ ¡°Didn¡¯t you shamelessly step all over it your first year, huh? You egocentric asshole?¡± Another sigh. This place really fills me with dread. There''s the Main Library of the University, overseeing everything in the campus. However, there''s also the Engineering, Humanities, Medicine and Law school libraries, which are also open to anyone who wants to visit (not lending books to non-students of course, but that¡¯s enough for me). With a frown, I am ready to start my search¡­ when I hear a voice again. ¡°Hey.¡± I freeze. My eyes lock on a figure standing right beside me. How long was he there!? A young man, dark skinned like any other Wohlian, with dark hair combed in the shape of a bowl and big eyes. Patricio, looking a little upset and depressed himself. A part of me immediately worries, what¡¯s up now? What¡¯s with him? ¡­ But the problem is: the rest of me is panicking. ¡°A-Ah. Hey.¡± I manage to blurt out. ¡°... How¡¯s it going?¡± He says. Clearly, he¡¯s just saying this to start the conversation. ¡°Ah, you know. It¡¯s going.¡± I say almost immediately, robotically. ¡°Of course.¡± He nods. ¡°... How are you doing? You seem a bit, uh, upset.¡± Questioning it only seems to make it worse. The young man stirs in place and frowns, before saying. ¡°Can we talk for a moment? Or are you busy?¡± Saints know I want to say I am busy, and run the fuck away. I am scared, I don¡¯t want to have this talk! What will he say? Is he here to scold me? To tell me we aren¡¯t friends anymore? I don¡¯t want to do this, I really don¡¯t! I really, really don¡¯t! ¡°... Sure. I¡¯m not busy.¡± ¡°Good, let¡¯s go to the Plate.¡± There¡¯s a building, deeper in the campus, that¡¯s perfectly round and happens to hold a cafeteria. That¡¯s ¡®The Plate¡¯. With a nod, we both start walking without even looking at the crest we¡¯re stepping over, uncomfortably looking at each other and then quickly away. ¡°...How did you do in the midterms?¡± I say with a worried smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure I failed most of them.¡± He said without even blinking. ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Looking down for a moment, I clumsily try to joke around. ¡°I guess it¡¯s good I didn¡¯t take them, eh? I would have failed too ¡­ hahaha¡­ hah¡­¡± Paticio wasn¡¯t laughing. He wasn¡¯t laughing in the slightest. I gulp again, deciding to shut up and just¡­ pray. The Plate was full, it was time for lunch after all. Long lines of people waited for their turn at the cafeteria, while others went to quickly pick one of the tables. Patricio and I go straight for a table, for none of us like the food they serve here. Yet another thing in common that made us connect. ¡°Such flimsy bonds you have¡­¡± I have to physically restrain myself from grumbling. Once we are sitting, I take a deep breath and look Patricio in the eye. For five seconds. After that I just can¡¯t keep it up, it¡¯s way too much pressure. ¡°... I am sorry.¡± He starts with that. I blink. ¡°What? What for?¡± ¡°The other day, I saw you and I pretended not to. I know you noticed.¡± ¡°See? It was him.¡± I can¡¯t help but feel relieved when he apologizes for this, honestly. I don¡¯t even care about the pressure anymore, I smile a little bit. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine. You¡¯re probably very mad at me¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Now that blows the air out of my lungs. I wasn¡¯t expecting such an unequivocal answer. ¡°Since when does this guy have such guts!? He¡¯s always been a coward, just like you!¡± ¡°... I am sorry.¡± I say, looking down at my hands. ¡°Don¡¯t avoid it.¡± He demanded, and I can feel how he glares at me. ¡°I don¡¯t want your apology. Dude, you need to get your life together.¡± I slowly look up again, and he continues talking. ¡°You haven¡¯t come to college in a month, you only talk to us when you need the notes and even if you get them, you don¡¯t come! And look at you! You look terrible!¡± ¡°Fatty.¡± ¡°You have bags under your eyes, your hair is all greasy¡­ man. Tell me, what¡¯s going on? Is this about Barbie?¡± Barbie¡­ Shit. I totally forgot about her. How long has it been since we broke up? Two months or so? Well¡­ the fact that I didn¡¯t even remember tells me a lot about the connection between her and this whole rut. ¡°No, no. It¡¯s not about her¡­ it¡¯s just.¡± I sigh, deeply. There¡¯s so much I¡¯d like to explain, so many thoughts, so many feelings, so many¡­ everything! ¡°... I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You can talk to me, you know? You can tell me what¡¯s wrong! We¡¯re friends!¡± Are we? I wanted to ask, I really did. But no. I am not that cruel, or that much of an ingrate. He¡¯s worried about me¡­ I made him worry. Again. Why does he still consider me his friend? ¡°... I am changing careers next semester.¡± He finally dropped, closing his own eyes. ¡°I am failing this one and I feel like maybe something different will suit me better.¡± just like that? Changing without even thinking much!? Can I just do that¡­? ¡°I think you should do the same.¡± Patricio looked me in the eye. ¡°If you feel like you can¡¯t make it, you have to be responsible and do something about it.¡± ¡°And admit that we have really failed? That we are as useless as people think!? Never.¡± I cling to myself for a moment. I want to say that I¡¯ll do it but¡­ saints damn it. There¡¯s something that stops me. Is it pride? Do I really still have something as pathetic as pride? After all this time!? ¡°Have you told your parents that you are not going to the classes, man?¡± I have not. I have not and I cannot. My breathing starts picking up for a second, before I bite down my lower lip and force it to stop. No. I am not having an episode over this. I refuse! ¡°... Tell me what¡¯s on your mind, dude. I¡­ I really want to see you doing fine.¡± He said, offering me a smile. ¡°Come on, open up to me.¡± Well. For one, I think I have no idea about my gender anymore. I have never been comfortable with myself and these days it¡¯s only gotten worse. I feel inadequate, useless and completely defeated by college. I excelled in Highschool, and probably peaked there too, but now I am burnt out and broken. I feel lonely, but at the same time I don¡¯t feel like approaching people. I feel like a nuisance wherever I go and even now I am fighting against my instinct of running away. I feel like I fucked up my relationship with Venus to a point of no return and I really crave the times where we were inseparable. Same with you, really. Finally, I just discovered magic is real and our entire understanding of reality may be a complete falsehood! Isn¡¯t that funny, Pat!? So much I want to say, I feel like the words push against each other in my mouth. Until finally I blurt out. ¡°... I think I am depressed, Pat.¡± ¡°Keep going, you have something there.¡± ¡°I am depressed. And I don¡¯t mean ¡®sad¡¯, I mean legit fucking grieving. I have no reason to be though. No one is bothering me, I am fine with how things ended with Barbie, and yet I am so fucking depressed all the time man.¡± I am tempted, for a moment, to tell him about how I¡¯ve been contemplating my window lately¡­ but no. He¡¯ll think I am just trying to get attention. ¡°He would not. He clearly cares.¡± I am not risking it. ¡°I have so much shit in my head, I don¡¯t know how to sort it.¡± ¡°Have you gone to a psychiatrist?¡± ¡°I am taking pills. It¡¯s¡­ working, at times. But still. I have a long way there¡­ and I am not sure if I can take that long way, Pat.¡± He looks at me, staring for a good moment as I am doing a great job stopping myself from breaking down into tears right here and now. ¡°Think about what I told you, dude. Change careers, or take time for yourself back home.¡± No way. ¡°Just, don¡¯t stay home all day, okay? Now you have two weeks to think of what you will do. No matter what, just. Try to get your shit back together.¡± He said, finally getting up. ¡°I am still your friend. I am mad, but I am still your friend¡­ so, tell me if stuff happens, okay? You can count on me.¡± ¡°...Thank you, man.¡± He smiles again, and without another word he leaves the building. This was probably too much emotion for him to show. As for me? I am shaking, looking down at my hands. Eventually I get right back on my feet and walk out of the Plate¡­ then out of the campus. And then into a taxi. I should feel happy, I should feel relieved. Why do I feel so upset!? Why am I so ungrateful!? My friend supports me and I am sad about it!? I feel guilty¡­ Fuck this. I need to sleep. Chapter 9 ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually ran away. Weren¡¯t you ¡®serious¡¯ about the whole search? And you let a little talk dissuade you immediately? You little snowflake. So weak, crybaby.¡± My eyes remain glued to the ceiling, my body completely motionless in bed. By the time I arrived home I no longer wanted to cry, and the shaking had completely stopped. I just felt ridiculous, exaggerated and annoying. The need to run away had been replaced by a need to hide, to the point where I closed my bedroom¡¯s door and even the blinds, quickly wrapping myself in sheets to look at the ceiling. Comfortable, yet dreading every second. It¡¯s a very strange kind of Hell. Time passes irregularly, sometimes crawling, sometimes at full speed. I feel like I¡¯ve slept but I am not actually sure, for I don¡¯t remember any dreams or even darkness, only the ugly, rough cement ceiling. Kinda reminds me of when Venus and I just moved to Sa¨¹le. Back then we rented a tiny, rather dodgy bungalow, or to be more precise the second floor of a bungalow. One time, the place got so humid that Venus¡¯ ceiling came crashing down on her. Poor girl. I wonder, what would happen if the ceiling came crashing down on me? It¡¯s quite a bit heavier, considering this is an apartment complex¡­ would I die instantly? Would people be bothered? They probably would be. Kinda reminds me of a conversation I had with my psychiatrist once. I told him I was having suicidal ideas and didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡®Think of your parents¡¯, he said. ¡®Think of how sad everyone would be if you were gone¡¯. Out of frustration I asked if I was actually living for other people, and not for myself. He didn¡¯t know what to say. He was right about one thing though, the thought did keep me going until now. I would feel so guilty if I caused grief because of my inability to deal with life like a normal person. It¡¯s no one¡¯s fault but mine, really. Then again, I have to wonder if I will even ¡®feel¡¯ anything after I die. Kinda reminds me of the first time I thought about death. I was, what, 15? Maybe younger. The sudden realization that one day everything I am and everything I experience will end hit me like a truck, and no matter how much I tried to repeat the promise of Heaven to myself, I ended up running to the bathroom and scratching my arms like a madman, I assume out of panic. No idea why that was my first impulse, or why it still is every time I am overwhelmed by fear, but it just happens. My hands go straight for my arms and start scratching, up and down, until the pain is enough to make me stop thinking. I¡¯ve never drawn blood or left marks, thankfully. Kinda reminds me of when Venus used to cut herself, back in highschool. I never understood that, at least not until I had my first panic attack. To me it was just something irrational she did without really thinking about it, a reaction to grief or something. I couldn¡¯t really understand the levels of that grief until now, and even if I do it now, it¡¯s way too late¡­ I wonder what she''s doing now¡­ she ran away with her boyfriend as soon as she had the chance to bounce on me, and I honestly don¡¯t blame her at all. I am tiresome, and worst of all, when she needed me the most I simply chose to ignore her and sink into my own self pity. I wonder if she thinks about me sometimes. A part of me wishes she was worried, but the rest of me wishes she just forgot about me. She has other things, other people, other deals to meditate on. I miss her. Or maybe, I miss the her I remember, the her I made in my brain. Not actually her. The last months before her departure, our relationship had devolved quite a bit! She was clearly hurt by my dismissal, my laziness, my hermit ways. We both became such passive aggressive assholes to each other¡­ Were we friends at that point? Did we still love each other? Back in the day, everyone said we would end up married or at least as a couple, we were together all the time¡­ but I always tried to keep my distance and avoid falling in love with her. I knew we would be bad for each other¡­ or maybe I was just coping, assuming she would reject me if I ever took a step closer in that direction. A sudden knock on the door wakes me up. Was I asleep all this time? More importantly, who the hell could that be? ¡°Venus¡­¡± No. She wouldn¡¯t come back unless she really, really needed to. Then again, vacations are starting, so maybe she¡¯s back for her things? Saints damn it, I really don¡¯t want to see her right now. ¡°Why would she knock though? She has a key.¡± Maybe she lost it or something. With a heavy sigh, and preparing myself for some more uncomfortable moments, I get right up my bed and walk over to the front door. I guess it¡¯s a good thing I fell asleep with my clothes on. I feel paralyzed by the presence of the door again, at least for a few seconds, before a second more insistent knock forces me to actually open the door. ¡°Hello¡­?¡± ¡°Delivery for Santino Belnades?¡± ¡°A-Ah, right¡­¡± It was a good thing that it wasn¡¯t her, right? I took the small package, signed the papers and tipped the delivery boy the few stray coins in my pockets, before closing my door and looking down. Why am I so afraid of everything¡­? ¡°You¡¯re ignoring the fact that you slept for long enough that an entire day passed. That¡¯s not normal.¡± I¡¯ve always been good at sleeping, it¡¯s not really that weird for me. Wait. My meds. It¡¯s almost 12 o¡¯clock. Damn it! I set the box on the table and trot over to check on my backpack, pulling the meds and swallowing one just like that, shivering at the lingering rubbery feeling. Blegh. ¡°You keep doing this to yourself, you know? If you know these don¡¯t work, why keep taking them?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Because my body is already dependent on them. If I stop, the withdrawal will kill me. Simple as. In fact, just by missing the proper time I will feel queasy all day today. Maybe I should ask my psychiatrist to lower my dosage¡­ ¡°It hasn¡¯t been two months since you started the medication, don¡¯t give up on them yet. Your body is still getting used to them!¡± It¡¯s taking its damn time, for sure¡­ With a sigh, I sit down by the table and open my computer with one hand while messing with the package with the other. After unwrapping, I am left with a white plain box, and after opening that, a tiny black box with several ethernet ports. That¡¯s when I realize that I have no idea how to set up this thing. ¡°Another masterful gambit. Well done, sir.¡± Oh don¡¯t be a drama queen, it¡¯s nothing that cannot be solved with our good ol¡¯ friend: the Internet! I immediately go looking for tutorials on setting up routers. I don¡¯t even try to put the ¡®Tripolar¡¯ word in, for I know there won''t be any results there. The videos I found seem solid enough for an introduction, but¡­ ¡°Twenty minutes¡­ what. What kind of video goes on for twenty minutes?¡± Not only that, but the first thing I see upon clicking the video is an ad¡­ disappointed beyond belief, I decide on plan b. ¡°Quick, call for Vito!¡± The old messenger opens. There are some people online! Maria is around, Patricio too¡­ but I can¡¯t get distracted right now. I need the boy. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Boye! Hey boye! owo UndeadVito: oh hey bro. UndeadVito: what¡¯s up? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I have need of your expertise in technology, boye! UndeadVito: expertise? I mean, ok. UndeadVito: shoot. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: How do you install a Router? UndeadVito: a router¡­ UndeadVito: well usually you just connect it to the service cable and that¡¯s it. UndeadVito: unless you bought it from some rando in FreeMarket, like a chump. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Uhhhm¡­ .< UndeadVito: ok???? that¡¯s not suspicious at all?? ¡­ UndeadVito: bro you¡¯re not on drugs are you? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: What!? No? O.o UndeadVito: and you¡¯re not sharing bad shit, right?? UndeadVito: I love you man, you¡¯re my bro, but if you are dealing with illegal material I dunno if I can look at you the same way. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: It¡¯s nothing illegal! T.T Shit. I hope. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Just¡­ I don¡¯t feel comfortable talking about something so serious like this. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Come on man, trust me u.u please? UndeadVito: ok man, ok. I trust you. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Thanks boye. n.n UndeadVito: now, I¡¯ll send you a tutorial video xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: What!? No! Why a tutorial video? >.< UndeadVito: because it¡¯s the fastest way to explain it? If I explain it myself you wont get it and you¡¯ll forget the details. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: But the tutorials are so loooooooong TwT UndeadVito: bro watch the fukkin tutorial. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I don¡¯t wannaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! TwT!!!! UndeadVito: dew it. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No. UndeadVito: but dew it tho. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No!! UndeadVito: DEW IT. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: OKAY FINE! twt Sigh. There¡¯s no sense trying to force him to do something he¡¯s determined not to do, he¡¯s stubborn like that¡­ besides, he does know his stuff. So really, I shouldn¡¯t doubt him like this. But honestly, I really like when our conversations get heated and silly like that. ¡°You should tell him that.¡± Shhhhut up. The tutorial Vito linked is quick and concise, honestly much better than I was expecting. I just had to connect the new router to the one we already had, then connect another cable to my computer and go to a specific link (all numbers, wonder what they mean) to start checking the configurations. It was a very simple checklist of things to do, write and change, but honestly, I felt a bit like a hacker with so many cables around me. ¡°It¡¯s like that one anime about the girl who becomes a goddess!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to be more specific.¡± By the end of an hour, the router is connected to the internet and working perfectly. I smile with great satisfaction, nodding to myself slowly. UndeadVito: so? did it work? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: It works! Thank you so much! n.n!! UndeadVito: good luck in whatever the hell you¡¯re doing. UndeadVito: remember, it¡¯s all good unless you¡¯re getting into the illegal shit xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I never thought of you as a law abiding person o.o I¡¯m impressed. UndeadVito: there¡¯s some shit you gotta respect man. UndeadVito: some line must be drawn. UndeadVito: as long as you don¡¯t bring trouble home, we¡¯re fine. I bite my lower lip for a moment. Isn¡¯t that exactly what I¡¯m doing right now? I guess I¡¯ll have to wait to see him in person to properly explain it. With an excited breath, and noticing how my internet seems to have suddenly improved with the usage of this contraption, I take the paper with the mysterious link and pray for a second. ¡°Please, Saints. Let this work¡­ I don¡¯t wanna see all that money wasted¡­¡± My heart races for a second. Not because of excitement though, but because of my meds. I feel dizzy for a moment, I even need to close my eyes and breathe deeply before my body adjusts. It will take a moment for my brain to realize I actually took the pills it is demanding right now. ¡°Okay¡­ ok. Let¡¯s do this.¡± Chapter 10 The Ermes browser starts up as slowly as ever, even with the help of the Tripolar Edge Router. The front page loads eventually though, and as soon as it does I input the link: http://dejima08646F6E2774.pmkn Then, I wait. It doesn¡¯t immediately tell me to go away, so that is some progress. It is still taking an eternity and a half to load but¡­ With enough time, a black screen appears in front of me. Then, pleasantly green vines curl on the sides of the window, while words start to load in light gray. The banner on the center reads: DEJIMA 08, which I assume is the name of the site¡­ Dejima? Isn¡¯t that a real word? A quick search in Gaggle answers: yes, yes it is! A very specific island in Cipango, artificial, made specifically to deal with pesky easterners that intruded on their lands. A sort of public spot where foreigners could come and trade. But this is not a Cipangian forum, so it is clear these people are a bunch of weebs. ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t the donkey complaining about long ears!¡± Ahem. The forum is written in Dobrand, so this is a southern forum. Luckily for me, that¡¯s my second language. ¡°We should always thank mom for helping us play those Dobrandian games back when we were young.¡± Looking right under the banner I find the usual buttons. Buttons for the Home Page, to Search, a Link Tree, and the Sign Up and Log In buttons. The only visible subforum is the ¡®Rules¡¯ section, with a single sub-section called ¡®Terms and Conditions¡¯. Clicking it allows me to see a few topics¡­ ¡®Closing of Topics¡¯ and ¡®Coexistence Rules¡¯ are there, as usual. ¡®Colour Palette¡¯, probably for those who want to get fancier with their posts. The last part is strange though: ¡®Sleepers and The Link¡¯. On the side there are a bunch of statistics: Amount of posts (respectable, if not a little low), latest posts (only on topics, not on profiles? I guess this is a private place), and the members online. No names for the members though, just numbers: 12 registered users and¡­ oh. Only 1 guest. That¡¯s me. Oh damn it I am being singled out immediately! I better get this done quickly before someone notices and decides to check on me¡­ Reading the rules is a good spot to start. The Coexistence Rules were posted by a user with a dark purple name called ¡®Ventotto¡¯. They are simple enough, easily summarized on: Don¡¯t be an Asshole, don¡¯t be a Bot and don¡¯t spam. I am surprised to see actual mentions of homophobia and transphobia as punishable behaviors in this year of our Saints 2012! People really liked making the same kind of ¡°Oh I actually identify as an Attack Helicopter! lol¡± joke on the internet, all the time. This is a breath of fresh air! ¡°Funny. You made that same kind of joke several times in VirtualZone, remember?¡± I shudder in intense guilt. Saints damn it. ¡°Oh yeah, sure, now you don¡¯t find them funny because you¡¯re in your own struggle. You had to suffer to learn to be kind to others, huh? Can you really call yourself a kind man if you had to live through something to actually be merciful? Piece of shit.¡± ¡°Focus.¡± A-Anyways. The rules also mention sanctions, like temporary kicks, denial of access to the Chatbox (Oh my, they have a chatbox! That¡¯s fancy) or even a complete ban from the forum if people failed to accept these rules. There were special rules about protecting the anonymity of the users though: no doxxing, no sharing personal information in the forum OR the chatbox. I wonder how much trouble this rule causes¡­ Closing of Topics is for users to ask for their topics to be closed, that¡¯s basic. I can¡¯t access it though, so they seem really into security. This one was made by a Green name, ¡®jeepcreep¡¯. Like the movie? I guess even mages have a sense of humor. Colour Palette is nice. Just a single topic with colours usable for your posts, and it had all the colours in the spectrum! There is one outside of it though, one that the rules specifically said should be used only in moderation: that impossible light again! Brightly shining in green and purple, mixing and flashing¡­ it was labeled ¡®Octarine¡¯. Staring at it for too long is going to give me a headache, that thing is an epilepsy hazard for sure! I am surprised they even allow its usage! At least now I have a name for that damn colour. It is another post by this ¡®jeepcreep¡¯ guy, he seemed to handle the more social stuff! The final topic, ¡®Sleepers and The Link¡¯, is interesting. It wasn¡¯t made by ¡®ventotto¡¯ nor ¡®jeepcreep¡¯, but another Purple Name called¡­ uh¡­ ¦Ï¦Ã¦Ä?¦Í¦Ó¦Á. ¡°Is that Helenian!?¡± I frown. I am good with languages, yes, but I never even thought of learning that one. ¡°Saints damn it, I have no idea how to even begin to pronounce that¡­¡± After cursing for a bit, I decide to focus on the contents of the topic.
It goes without saying that the sharing of this Link with Sleepers is completely and utterly forbidden. Dejima 08 and all material that comes from it are a part of the Secret and, as such, must remain undiscovered by the Sleeper populace, lest we wish for the Brotherhood to come and seize all our hard work. I am aware that MagiNet is protected by several layers of technological knowhow and a Physical Key, but this is no reason to be complacent and forget that our activities are supposed to be confidential. The fact that we are doing these activities outside of the bounds of local Elysiums means that we must be careful whom we trust. Share this link only with people you know are trustworthy, and know that you will be personally responsible for their actions during their stay in the Forum. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Dejima 08 is a forum dedicated to the translation and transcription of Magical Hearts, and even if we have caved to the popular demand of adding ¡°casual¡± subforums for you to enjoy, you must never lose sight of the objective.
Sleepers must be the people who ain¡¯t magic, that much is easy to understand. But magical Hearts¡­? What even is that? Do they mean books? The curiosity is killing me. I don¡¯t even think about it twice: as soon as I finish reading, I immediately go over to Sign In. Username: Tav Email: [email protected] Password: ********** Date of Birth: 08-09-90 Under all of that, there is a tiny white square with a play button. Under that, there is a little instruction that reads: ¡®Write the Rune¡¯. Clicking the square expands it, taking over the entire screen for a moment before octarine coloured lines begin to spiral in it. It forms a very specific symbol. A rune! I make sure to grab my book and quickly look for a matching one¡­ I only find *one* case, but I do find it! Thako No way to translate it without context for what the hell that word means, but I will certainly test it after I draw it on the computer. It¡¯s a matter of following the lines with my mouse¡­ and there. I am confirmed. The white screen disappears, and the Forum confirms that I have been registered. A quick check of my gamail confirms it! They sent me mail and everything! It went straight to spam though, for some reason. I guess it¡¯s to make sure people who are not in the know just ignore them? After all that, I scribble the symbol in my notes and stare at it for a moment. ¡®Thako¡¯, whatever could it mean? It won¡¯t do anything no matter how much I read and enunciate it , at least until I learn its ¡®signified¡¯. But maybe one of the people in the forum will know? ¡°Hold on right there, Buster. This forum is not a place for beginners! Did you not catch that from the read?¡± ¡°True. But that doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t be willing to help, right?¡± ¡°They probably will look at you like a nuisance if you barge in and immediately demand answers.¡± I hate to admit it but he¡¯s right there. ¡°... Look, just, don¡¯t close yourself to the possibility of getting help, okay? Do it now, or later, I don¡¯t care. Just do it.¡± How uncharacteristically harsh of you¡­ but, sure. I will go with that. Now that I can log in, the forum spreads into a few more sections. ¡®NEWS¡¯, ¡®SLEEPER LIFE¡¯ and ¡®TRANSLATION¡¯. On the bottom of it all, there os the black Chatbox waiting for people to join in! There are only two people in the box right now. On one part, that¡¯s great! No anxiety from big numbers of people or not being able to follow conversation. On the other¡­ oh no. I could be intruding in private conversation. ¡°Now now, if they wanted it to be private, they could go to more secure channels.¡± That may be true, but the anxiety is still there. ¡°Well, there is a section in Sleeper Life that says ¡®Introductions¡¯, maybe that¡¯s a good start?¡± I guess so. Let¡¯s see what other introductions there are! Click! ¡­ My heart sinks when seeing that there hasn¡¯t been a post in introductions in over a year¡­ This forum is abandoned and only maintained out of some sense of obligation by the mods. The place receives little traffic being so secret, so this makes sense! But why do I still feel so nervous about it? Taking a very deep breath, I push myself to just ignore the dread and quickly write a post. People usually mention their hobbies, their work and where in the world they are posting from, so it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to start, right? Hard or not, I ended up rewriting the thing like five times before pushing myself to press the ¡®Post¡¯ button. Alright, now to wait¡­ ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Waiting is going to kill me. If I just stand here begging for attention, I will legitimately die. ¡°I think it is time for a distraction. How about King of Legends?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve gone over this. That game is toxic, look for something better.¡± ¡°Team Stronghold 2?¡± ¡­ Sure. Fine, why not? ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Urgh.¡± I disconnect my computer from the Tripolar Edge Router and, after closing everything and making sure I didn¡¯t catch all of the viruses in my little expedition to the Dark Web, I pick up my things and return to my comfy spot in the bedroom. I¡¯ve been way too active during the last few days, and I deserve a break. Right? ¡°No. But who cares?¡± With a heavy sigh, I sit back down on my lazy boy chair, closing my eyes before getting everything connected and properly wired once again¡­ and lose myself to some mindless diversion, trying my best to avoid thinking. With some luck, at least one of the mods will see my post and say hi¡­ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The alarm clock rang loudly in Gal¡¯s ears. He wasn¡¯t ready for it, taking a sudden leap from his bed and ending up on the floor while wrapped in his covers. The young boy snarled, struggling, kicking and rolling to set himself free from the warm embrace of the mantles before getting up, looking around himself. He was no longer in dreamland, fighting with dragons and saving princesses. It was his good ol¡¯ room, covered from side to side in videogame paraphernalia, illuminated by the first rays of the day filtering through his thin blinds. It was a bit disappointing, considering he really was enjoying his slumber, but he would get over it. ¡°Hmmmngh¡­ good morning, world.¡± With a loud yawn that almost unhinged his jaw, Gal walked out of his room and went straight to the bathroom, cleaned himself up and then walked straight to the computer room. He could get breakfast later! There were emails to check and things to do even on summer vacation! ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see¡­¡± ¡°Aron! Are you up already!?¡± The voice of Gal¡¯s grandma called from outside of the room. ¡°Yes Gangan!¡± ¡°Oh good! Good morning sweetie!¡± The old lady chuckled gently. ¡°I¡¯ll put breakfast on in a minute then. Make sure to brush your teeth!¡± ¡°I will, Gangan!¡± Ahh, breakfast, the most important meal of the day according to most Sleepers. He wouldn¡¯t dare to challenge tradition by missing it! But before anything, he wanted to give a look to a few topics in the Forum¡­ ¡­Huh, what¡¯s this? LATEST POSTS HI There! by Tav , in Introductions, posted one hour ago. A new user? Now that¡¯s fun¡­ and they actually used the intro forum? Gal couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little bit, that was adorable. The mark of an absolute noob. They must be so scared right now¡­ Moved by curiosity, Gal immediately checked the post. This ¡®Tav¡¯ person had the picture of a big, green rabbit smiling as their avatar¡­ from freaking Grenademan? Now that¡¯s an old school choice, but respectable. Gal already liked this guy. Now, onto the post itself¡­ Oh boy here we go. Uhm. Hi there! I¡¯m Tav, I am 22 and currently reside in Wohl. I am an aspiring writer, spend most of my time playing games and practicing my craft, and, well¡­ I hope we can all get along fine! ¡°Oh. My Saints.¡± Gal¡¯s smile curled even more. This person was an absolute, utter nervous wreck, weren¡¯t they? Oh boy, Sou was going to absolutely destroy them if they got their hands on them. This was way too earnest! He couldn¡¯t allow it. No sir. He had to make sure this guy wasn¡¯t immediately pushed off the Forum! They never got new people because of it! Sou wouldn¡¯t get up for a while, enough time to actually welcome this Tav in¡­ ¡°Alright then. I guess it¡¯s up to me now.¡± Gal smirked, cracking his knuckles and getting to tap an answer. ¡°Don¡¯t worry friend! The hammer of indifference will not hit you today!¡± Chapter 11 An old desk phone stands on a marble pedestal, lost in the middle of a dark room. A perfectly circular, dark room, dug deeply into the bedrock of a city far, far away from anywhere important to our story. Silence reigns in this room¡­ until the phone starts ringing. It rings for such a long time, uninterrupted, insistent, inconsiderate even! It rings for longer than any person should be willing to wait, longer than anyone would stomach. A sane person would simply give up and call later¡­ But this caller? No. This caller refuses to be ignored. So it rings, even while a set of long, skeletal fingers stretch from the shadows. Knuckles and joints crack as the hand does a few stretches, taking the time to caress the nasty, annoying phone for a moment without picking it up. ¡°Oh bother¡­ I wonder who that could be¡­?¡± The voice was raspy, nasal and grumbly. It loved to complain, and it had done so for so long that even when it wasn¡¯t complaining, it sounded annoyed and legitimately upset. The hand stopped uncomfortably caressing the vibrating phone for a moment to grab the caller ID. Its dim green light was perfectly reflected on the hand¡¯s glossy white skin. ¡°Ah¡­ G again, huh¡­?¡± Understanding that it couldn¡¯t simply ignore this annoying sound forever, and that the call may actually mean something important (and lucrative), the hand returned to the phone and finally picked it up. ¡°You interrupted my nap.¡± The raspy voice said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t sleep for so long. It¡¯s bad for you.¡± The young boy¡¯s voice answered, legitimately concerned. ¡°Oh yeah? You suggest I should go out instead? Take a shower, get dolled up, and then bask under the full concentrated power of the Sun?¡± ¡°Come on now, don¡¯t be like that. You know what I mean.¡± ¡°You better mean something important, to interrupt my nap like that, you old bastard.¡± The white, skeletal hand made a few sassy snaps, loud enough to be heard over the phone. ¡°Alright alright, I am done beating around the bush. Sorry.¡± The calm, youthful voice sighed over the phone, these conversations were enough to exhaust him. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right, bitch.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ we have a new visitor in The Forum, and I¡¯d like you to give us a little check on who or what.¡± ¡°What, are you afraid of a few gremlins and jinxes finally finding their way over your precious forum? Or is this a troll hunt?¡± The raspy voice finally got up from the sea of cushions and empty bags, and with another snapping of his fingers, he activated the widescreens that covered every single spot of his walls with the exception of a single metal door. The lights were warm and orangey, designed to avoid straining the eyes. The room had returned to life! It was an absolute disaster, pillows and empty bloodbags laid scattered around without a care, and the whole place had a disgusting aura of filth to it. Blanco was fully illuminated now. His figure was enough to cause nightmares to a few children: a tall, lanky and wide-shouldered man, skin white as marble and cracked as an old dry cookie, full of darker spots and nasty scars. His arms were long enough for the knuckles of his free hand to feel the floor. But what was worst of all was his face: a perfectly round, perfectly smooth face, lacking hair, eyes and ears, only showing a few dark veins underneath the glossy skin. His mouth was another crack in this otherwise flawless surface, showing myriads of sharp, black teeth. ¡°Now let¡¯s see¡­¡± The screens all showed the same picture of Blanco¡¯s face, a toothy smile covering his visage. With a mere gesture of his hand, a wireless keyboard came floating to the creature, big and wide enough for his disproportionate hands. The keys were shining in beautiful purple, producing a hypnotic wave effect across its length. After cracking his knuckles, the creature began typing and accessing one of the many screens, the one permanently connected to Dejima 08. Blanco stretched again, sitting in the air and crossing his lanky legs as he checked the analytics. ¡°Yep. You have a new visitor, and they immediately registered. ¡®Tav¡¯, huh? Too generic.¡± ¡°Can you give me a bit more info on them?¡± The young man asked. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Are you officially commissioning me now? Because this is as far as our friendship will get me without pay.¡± Blanco smirked, a purple tongue licking his nonexistent lips. ¡°...I¡¯ll have the payment sent immediately. I want an hour of your time.¡± There was hesitation on the old voice. He clearly didn¡¯t feel good about this, but one could never be too careful. ¡°Oh boy!¡± The creature clapped rapidly, and before he knew it, there was a notification on another screen. Ka-ching! The sound of money going straight into his PayBud. ¡°Ohhh Giovanni, you gotta be my best client, really. Most people whine about my prices.¡± ¡°You probably tell that to every client you get.¡± G chuckled, taking it like a good sport. ¡°I do!¡± Blanco admitted with a bright, big smile, and then slid over to face a cluster of 9 screens on a wall. ¡°This will take just a moment¡­¡± The screens would go to black at the same time, before glyphs of many sizes, shapes and forms began flooding them, spiraling to the center of each display. The lines that draw them were a pale, regular blue at first, before suddenly taking a bright octarine hue. Blanco¡¯s fingers tapped wildly on his keyboard, while his mind focused on the seeking runes that took him straight into the second layer of reality. Mages didn¡¯t usually deal with the technology of the Sleepers. Not because they felt it was below them (even though many of them would certainly take that posture to protect their fragile egos), but for protection: Technology born out of the mundane rules of the natural world did not meddle well with magic, and even in a world that had lost 95% of its magical population, infusing magic on mechanisms and electrical circuits was a great way to attract pesky fairies. Blanco, however, was not just any mage. After several lifetimes of work and study, he had mastered the art of using magic in conjunction with the power of the Internet itself, turning him into one of the most prolific hackers and trackers in the whole world of Jericho. Perhaps even the single most requested man in the business! He, of course, didn¡¯t accept just any job. He only took the work that interested him, that made him think outside of the box, or that paid particularly well. But Giovanni here? The old man was an exception. Giovanni had been good to Blanco in a time where no one else would even look at the creature, and as much as he hated showing gratitude for things, Blanco was a man of honor¡­ to a certain extent. He at least appreciated a friend when he had one. The screens began changing one by one as the creature found information. A national registry page, a Vapor gaming profile, a VirtualZone profile¡­ ¡°This one¡¯s not dumb. They keep good opsec, rarely sharing personal information. That¡¯s good.¡± Blanco smirked. ¡°Sadly, that¡¯s not enough to stop me.¡± Soon a picture appeared on one of the screens, the face of a smiling, bright child. An honor student with many dreams and possibilities in the future. Then, on a fifth screen, a grainy image stolen from an unsecured webcam. A burnout stares at the screen with dead eyes and no spirit in their posture. ¡°Oof. Growth has been rough on this one.¡± The creature commented sarcastically, taking a moment to stop and crack their knuckles. ¡°This is your guy, G. Real name: Santino Belnades. A random kid from Wohl.¡± ¡°Wohl?¡± Giovanni was beyond surprised. ¡°Yeah, you know. The country in the north. The one that looks like a pen¨C¡± ¡°Yes yes, I know Wohl. I just¡­ didn¡¯t expect to hear from the mages of the north. It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Ah, no this is not a born mage. This is a sleeper.¡± ¡°Impossible. They passed the Le Guin test and made an account in the Forum.¡± ¡°Alright then, a Bastard Mage for sure.¡± There was a moment of silence as Giovanni meditated on the implications of this¡­ only broken by the camera feed¡¯s catching Tav screaming. ¡°Spy Medic, Spy Medic! Kill that motherfucker!¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­ TS2. I really should get back into it one of these days.¡± Blanco commented with a bit of nostalgia. ¡°So? What do we do? You still have some minutes of my time, G! I could scare them real good if you want them out of the forum.¡± ¡°No, that won¡¯t be necessary. It¡¯s just another mage in the world¡­they¡¯ll probably benefit from learning a few things.¡± ¡°Eighty Two will get really, really mad if she finds out you allowed a Bastard Mage in her precious project.¡± ¡°Mustaf¨¢ will get angry no matter what, but she rarely shows up in the Forum anyways.¡± ¡°Hah. Old bastard.¡± There was another moment of silence, interrupted by the heavy clicking and intense gaming from the webcam feed. ¡°... So.¡± Blanco finally spoke up. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just say hi to them and let them be.¡± Giovanni said, probably smiling. ¡°They are probably scared and insecure, after all.¡± ¡°Are you serious? I mean, this is a Bastard Mage. They shouldn¡¯t have had the means to find your forum and yet, here they are. Don¡¯t you find that suspicious in the slightest?¡± ¡°Hmmmn¡­¡± ¡°And this is happening just as we had that Temporal Displacement alarm, remember? I really doubt that¡¯s a coincidence.¡± ¡°Keep an eye on them, please. Just to make sure they don¡¯t get in trouble.¡± ¡°That will cost you extra.¡± ¡°Fiiiine.¡± ¡°Yes, excellent.¡± Blanco rubbed his hands together, before stretching lazily and tapping a few keys. He would start a file on this ¡®Tav¡¯ person now. ¡°Whatever the case may be¡­ I really hope this doesn¡¯t get them in trouble. I mean, more trouble than they already are in.¡± With a heavy sigh, Giovanni finally decided that enough was enough. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it. I trust that you¡¯ll inform me if anything happens.¡± ¡°If I can trust you to keep paying me, of course!¡± Giovanni sighed again before finally hanging up. Blanco, now with something to do with his day, stretched in his invisible chair and looked at the webcam feed for another moment before turning it off. If he kept it on for too long, he risked Tav realizing that the webcam was suddenly on, and he really didn¡¯t want to scare them. For now, at least. He wanted to pretend he wasn¡¯t interested, and that this would just be another boring, fruitless job with nothing to show for it but a few factoids about a random mage¡¯s life¡­ but he had a strange feeling about this one. There was an odd trinkle in the dead, depressed eyes of that bastard. ¡°Let¡¯s hope you know what you¡¯re doing, kid¡­¡± Chapter 12 When did I allow this to happen? How is it ten at night already? I just played a couple of rounds and it¡¯s already dark outside! ¡°You should know already that your perception of time is FUBAR. Not to mention these hobbies of ours really don¡¯t help grasping what¡¯s going on.¡± It didn¡¯t use to be like this. ¡°Oh yeah? Can you remember how long you¡¯ve been using the computer?¡± Of course I can. It¡¯s been in my life since I was like six or something, when Dad brought home that used computer with all the Dobrand games! But I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it back then¡­ ¡°That¡¯s not how I remember it. We used to spend entire afternoons playing with the Encyclopedia, and trying out those games we barely understood. Maybe going into the Cartoon Central website too, even if we couldn¡¯t read very well. Face it, we¡¯ve always been addicted to distractions¡­¡± Ok, maybe a little, but¨C ¡°And even before we started to use the internet more seriously, we¡¯ve never been very into sleeping at all. Remember how we used to check the channels back then? Zapping and looking for stuff on the TV? Back then everything was so scary and novel at these hours¡­ Now it feels just like a routine. We¡¯ve always been night owls.¡± Frowning and feeling the voice creeping on me more than usual, I finally close the game and my computer, standing up and turning on the lights to look at my room. The floor is still filthy, the plates are still scattered about¡­ opening my closet, I not only see what remains of my clean clothes and the old montgomery hanging, but also the old bamboo blade I used to train with. ¡°Yeah. Remember that? How everyone looks for a local sport to practice and you chose fucking kendo? Not sure if that was just the weaboo in you, or you are just that pretentious.¡± I pick up the long stick and take a look at it from the sides. Four bamboo sticks, held together tightly by leather straps and string. It¡¯s elegant in its simplicity, firm enough to hurt a little when hit by it, but not strong enough to really harm, mostly thanks to the white leather covering its tip. The handle has the dark stains of sweat coming from the months of use. ¡°Before you left it incomplete, like everything in your life.¡± Sigh. I put the blade back in the closet and then turn around, grabbing the many plates and cups that were piling up in the room and walking the dark way over to the kitchen to clean them up. ¡°Cleaning plates in the middle of the night. That¡¯s the kind of stuff Venus did back when she was here, just to call your attention.¡± Ignoring this annoying voice is getting harder¡­ I am tempted to pick up the S.O.S. pill, but if I do that I can say goodbye to my agency for the entire night and maybe even a few hours after waking up. Urgh. ¡°Guess you¡¯re stuck with me, huh?¡± Biting my lower lip, I try to focus on the task at hand, cleaning each plate as carefully as I can and trying to ignore the feeling of grease building up on my hands. Saints above, it is so disgusting! I can¡¯t stand it, really. But if I keep letting the plates stack up, I¡¯ll never do it. ¡°Look at you trying to be responsible. So silly. You¡¯ll just let them stack up again soon enough.¡± ¡°What matters is that you are trying your best.¡± Ah, there She is. Still talking from the corner of the room¡­ Her kindness has always felt fabricated to me. Fake. ¡°It¡¯s hard to accept mercy from yourself.¡± You are not me. The glugging of the drain interrupts me before I can start arguing again. With a heavy sigh, I let the water run away to clean my hands for a moment, and then, now that everything is clean and in place, I close it and walk back to my cave and take a seat back beside the window, opening the blinds just to see the darkness of a misty winter night in Sa¨¹le. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time to sleep after all.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll just start rolling around, kicking and stirring all night.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll eventually fall asleep!¡± ¡°Or maybe you won''t. Let¡¯s just keep playing until the Sun rises.¡± I¡¯ll do you both one better and just go back to the living room to check Dejima. ¡°Oh right! It has been a few hours, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°If you are so eager to be disappointed¡­¡± Taking the computer back to the dining table and reconnecting it to the Tripolar Edge Router is easy enough, and yet I still feel the anticipation killing me. My hands tremble a bit as I type the address again, and even more when I have to wait the eternity until it loads. My post¡­ it got answers! Four answers to be exact! It¡¯s not much but, considering how few users are online at a given time here, it¡¯s good! ¡°omg it¡¯s so cute when people actually come and use the ¡®Introductions¡¯ spot. I mean it, it¡¯s great. It¡¯s also cool to see new faces here, welcome! My dms are open if you want to ask anything.¡± ¡ª GalaxyTaco ¡°Hey there! We are all glad to have you here! If you have any doubts or questions, throw them my way and I¡¯ll see to answer them whenever I can!¡± ¡ª Ventotto ¡°Fresh meat, bring out the paddles! Just kidding, welcome in, kid. Hope to see ya in the chatbox one day.¡± ¡ª jeepcreep ¡°Welcome. Complete your profile data.". ¡ª ¦Ï¦Ã¦Ä?¦Í¦Ó¦Á Three of these are mods, so that was to be expected¡­ but this ¡®GalaxyTaco¡¯ guy. He seems like a nice fella. Maybe trying to gun for mod too, or maybe just a legitimately friendly person! Whatever the case, the Helenian mod had made a fantastic point. I did have to complete the profile stuff. ¡°Does it have to be now? It¡¯s late¡­¡± Yes, it does. I click back to my profile and, well, it asks stuff like ¡®Email¡¯, ¡®Country¡¯, ¡®Languages Spoken¡¯ and ¡®Gender¡¯, all easy to answer. Email: [email protected] Country: Wohl. Languages Spoken: Wohlian, Dobrand. Gender: I¡¯d rather not say. ¡°What sort of stupid answer was that?! Are you really this delusional!?¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Please. Just¡­ let me have this¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t come crying when they learn you¡¯re a man and you get all embarrassed.¡° ¡°Are they a man? Have you not stopped for a second to think that maybe they would be more comfortable as a¨C¡± Shut up. Both of you. You are looking way too deep into this. I¡¯ll leave it as it is and that¡¯s final. With a huff, I go to the next section of the profile¡­ ¡®Referred to by:¡¯ Oh no. ¡°Well, time to skip that one.¡± There was no way I could just say ¡®Ah, I found it in a book¡¯ without getting strange looks. Not to mention the book itself told me not to talk about it for anything. Next. ¡®Mystical Specialization¡¯. ¡°Saints damn it.¡± I could just copy the specialization from some other profile, but then what if they decided to ask me about it? Well, that wouldn¡¯t be a problem if I decided not to get in the chatbox at all¡­ but I won¡¯t advance in my investigation at all if I don¡¯t talk to people, right? I decide to just leave it open, for now. Finally, I just gotta put a ¡®Comment¡¯ in the end of my profile¡­ hmmm¡­ Comment: ¡®Please don¡¯t kill me.¡¯ ¡°A little on the nose¡­?¡± It¡¯s all in good humor. I hope. With that done, I don¡¯t waste time on making a signature for myself (yet) and go straight to check on the Chatbox. Four people: ¡®GalaxyTaco¡¯, ¡®Ventotto¡¯, ¡®souseiseki¡¯ and¡­ uh¡­ ¡®Canned Tea¡¯. I take a deep breath¡­ and log in. Tav has connected to the Chatbox. souseiseki: byeeee canny!! <3 GalaxyTaco: bye dude Canned Tea has disconnected from the Chatbox. souseiseki: ¡­ who tf are u o.o Fuck. That was fast. Immediately singled out and everything, oh no. I panic, unable to really write any answers, when suddenly: GalaxyTaco: sou that¡¯s tav! the new peep? you saw the introductions post right?? souseiseki: oh right o.o i don¡¯t care for those GalaxyTaco: how¡¯s it going dude? man, if youre wohlian it must be fucking late! Tav: Hi, hi n.nUu Tav: Yeah, it¡¯s a bit late but I can¡¯t sleep u.u GalaxyTaco: hah, been there¡­ Canned Tea has connected to the Chatbox. The guy came back again? What gives?? Canned Tea: sorry tav, didn¡¯t see you come in. Canned Tea: don¡¯t want you to think Im avoiding ya. The fear WAS in my brain, to be honest. I can¡¯t help but smile a bit when the guy returns to clarify. Tav: Oh it¡¯s all good! n.n thank you though uwu souseiseki: don¡¯t cuddle this f**got Canny o.o I wince. Oof. That¡¯s¡­ wow. Canned Tea: sou. Canned Tea: i¡¯ve told you not to shittalk like that, girl. souseiseki: sorry, slipped off my mind Canned Tea: anyways, now im going to sleep. Canned Tea: welcome in Tav. i¡¯ll be seeing ya later. Tav: For sure! n.n bye Canned Tea! Canned Tea: just call me canny, girl. Canned Tea: see ya. Canned Tea has disconnected from the Chatbox. I feel my face burning for a moment there. Am I blushing!? Fuck. ¡°Welp, you¡¯re proving souseiseki right, at least.¡± Shut the fuck up. @ Ventotto: Hmm. I¡¯ve told him not to assume gender like that. GalaxyTaco: Holy shit 28 ur alive!!! O.o GalaxyTaco: Now THAT is surprising. @ Ventotto: I was about to leave but, like Canny, I wanted to say welcome again to Tav. Ventotto: I hope you find your spot here soon. If you have anything you¡¯d want translated and analyzed, go to the Translation subforum. Ok? Tav: For sure! Thank you uwu @ Ventotto: See you all later. @ Ventotto has disconnected from the Chatbox. souseiseki: i¡¯m not staying here with you losers o.o souseiseki: bye. souseiseki has disconnected from the Chatbox ¡°Well bitch I didn¡¯t want to talk with you either!¡± I practically snarl in real life, taking a deep breath and rubbing my temples. ¡°Urgh. Not even an hour in and I¡¯m already fed up with someone¡­¡± GalaxyTaco: bah pay her no mind dude. GalaxyTaco: she¡¯s just Like That? Tav: I¡¯ll try¡­ Tav: Thank you for the welcome post, by the way uwu Tav: I was worried no one would answer¡­ u.u GalaxyTaco: not gonna lie dure, that was a big possibility! GalaxyTaco: people here ain¡¯t the most social, honestly. GalaxyTaco: speaking of, that reminds me! GalaxyTaco: how DID you find the forum? if someone gave you the link but didn¡¯t show you the ropes, that¡¯s kind of an asshole move to pull! Damn it all. That question again! This guy seemed nice so he probably didn¡¯t mean anything by it but, it was a little frustrating to have to give explanations like that. Then again, this was supposed to be a secret of sorts, so I shouldn¡¯t be that surprised I guess? But well, surprised or not, I need an answer to give. Come on, brain, make up something! An excuse! Anything! ¡°How the Hells do you want us to make up something if we know nothing of mages and such!? Are you stupid!?¡± ¡°We do know something. This ¡®Elysium¡¯ place seems to be important, maybe mentioning it would be enough to throw GalaxyTaco off your scent!¡± ¡°He¡¯s not an idiot. Using jargon without really understanding it is a great way to look like an outsider.¡± ¡°Remind me again why we can¡¯t just tell him the truth¡­?¡± ¡°The woman from the book, Humiko, told us not to talk about it if we can avoid it.¡± ¡°Well then, can we avoid it now¡­?¡± ¡­ GalaxyTaco: ah shit dude, sorry to cut this short but I gotta go get lunch GalaxyTaco: talk to you later! GalaxyTaco has disconnected from the Chatbox. I deflate for a moment there, closing my eyes. Lucky break, I guess! Or at least, I think it is ¡­ until I get a notification from the forum: a direct message! Clicking the icon, I can see it¡¯s from GalaxyTaco. Sorry for the intense question but, it¡¯s kind of important. If you don¡¯t fill your profile soon, 82¡¯s totally gonna ban you. You weren¡¯t referred here by anyone you can mention, huh? Let¡¯s talk more privately. [email protected] Don¡¯t disconnect from the TER when talking, that way no sleeper government can check on us. I¡¯ll be up after lunch. Trust me, it¡¯s important.¡ª- GalaxyTaco Oh shit. I was read like a book. A part of me is relieved the guy is worried about me¡­ but then, the suspicions arise. What if this guy is working with the mods? Or worse, with the cloaks! I haven¡¯t even encountered these people and yet their presence around me fills me with dread and anxiety, mostly because I have no idea what to expect from them! But another part of me is simply desperate for having someone to talk to about this, and he did say that while I keep the TER (which I assume is the Tripolar Edge Router) on, no orgs can check on me. So maybe¡­ ¡°You¡¯re gonna regret that.¡± Maybe. But we will see about that when we get there. Chapter 13 Minutes feel like entire hours while I wait for GalaxyTaco to return, and my anxiety is just mounting up like crazy! So instead of becoming a victim of my own fear, I decide to take a moment to explore the forum and see what I can find that''s interesting! The Sleeper section is by far the most active, with people commenting on their daily lives, talking about media, food and experiences in general. It¡¯s so casual it almost makes me feel nostalgic for the good ol¡¯ days! I am¡­ surprised. Mages watch anime too? I guess that makes sense, as magic is usually viewed as an intellectual endeavor, and it is not rare for intellectuals to have this sorta hobby. ¡°They even have an old timer section, for old timers like you.¡± What? Old timer!? I am 21! ¡°Alright then, youngster. What anime is popular right now?¡± Chlorine is pretty popular! ¡°That¡¯s one of the Big Three and won¡¯t stop being popular for a while, not to mention it¡¯s all filler these days, that¡¯s cheating.¡± Alright then, big baby. How about Soul Devourer? ¡°That ended three years ago.¡± What!? No it didn¡¯t! What about Ouran?? ¡°Five years ago.¡± Higurashi? ¡°Six.¡± Lucky Channel?! ¡°Five.¡± MEDUKA MEGUKA?? ¡°Oh that one¡¯s pretty new actually. That one was last year.¡± Alright then smart guy, what is airing right now then!? ¡°Destiny/Zero, Girls and Tanks, Kitty Tale Black, Moon Brothers¡­¡± What in the hell are any of those!? ¡°If you don¡¯t know, I know even less! Idiot!¡± I guess I am a bit of an old fashioned weeb. ¡°We are getting distracted. Remember what we are here for.¡± Right! The Translation section! It¡¯s rather unused, compared to the Sleeper side of it all. There are a few active translation topics but all of them seem to be focused on actual, current languages. Sure, there are a few in old Helenian and Latin but the others are surprisingly modern. Thereare some in Wohlian that immediately get my attention, but they seem like finished works. Mostly directed by that ¡®souseiseki¡¯ bitch. ¡°Don¡¯t waste time thinking of her. Focus on what you can learn from the books themselves!¡± That is a good point. Once they are fully translated, the material is left available for anyone to take it! So I immediately go for the ones in Wohlian and Dobrand. There are only five texts available, biographies all of them¡­ except for what looks like a flier. ¡®El Arte del Contrahechizo¡¯ it read in Hesperian, ¡®The Art of Counterspell¡¯ in Dobrand. It apparently was an advertisement for a short lived ¡®Combat Spell Course¡¯ in Hesperia? Closed by the ¡®Brotherhood¡¯ for ¡®breaking the sanctity of the secret¡¯. Maybe this ¡®Brotherhood¡¯ is somewhat related to the cloaks. Nevertheless, there is something in the flier that interests me: a Symbol! I immediately start looking for it in the book¡­ and what I find was overwhelming. This has to be the single most used symbol I¡¯ve seen so far! It is in a lot of combined words, almost never on its own¡­ but after keeping my eyes narrowed for a while, I find it. Jo As in ¡°Hoh¡± or as in ¡°Yo¡±? Bah, I guess I¡¯ll find that out later, when I can actually start experimenting on my own. Ah, damn it that¡¯s right! I do need to go investigate the library! It¡¯s huge too¡­ Hmm¡­ What if I made a trip out of it? The library closes at 12 for students, but if you stay inside you can spend the night working there! I could spend all night surrounded by books, coffee and the sandwiches some people sell there¡­ ¡°That could mess with your sleeping schedule a bit¡­¡± ¡°Not to mention how useless the whole endeavor can be. What if you don¡¯t find the damn golden symbol, huh?¡± Won¡¯t know if I try. This will be my last night staying up, I promise! ¡°Hmmmn¡­ well, if you are sure about it.¡± Yes! Feeling energy surging through my body again, I immediately get up again and look for clothes, fishing for some cash and then trotting out of my room¡­ only to be stopped by that Saints damned door again. I swear, every time I see it¡¯s worse. It becomes more and more ominous with each attempt to pass through it. I really, really have been going out too much these days, huh¡­? This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°...I better talk with GalaxyTaco first, then I can go to the library.¡± ¡°Coward.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t talk to them without the TER anyways.¡± Walking back to the computer, I internally beg for GalaxyTaco to not have appeared on my contact list yet¡­ but alas, fate is always working against me. There he is, right there. Well, at least I can solve this quickly and still get out in time¡­ Maybe. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx has begun messaging GalaxyTaco to your rescue! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: H-Hey! I immediately cringe at myself for that written hesitation. Damn it, keep the emotions inside! Why must I be like this!? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: This is Tav, you know, from the forum? n.? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: oh hey dude! nice, I was wondering who the hell was this lol GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, now we can talk proper. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: so¡­ you just found the link somewhere, didn¡¯t you? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: unless I¡¯m totally wrong and you were just referred by some cold mf Alright. This is it¡­ where do I go from here? I can¡¯t exactly lie my way out of this without knowing much of the magical world. But that doesn¡¯t mean I have to say all of the truth, right? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: ¡­yeah u.u xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I haven¡¯t been Awake for a long time to be honest, and I found this link on a book I read at the local library. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ahhhh shit. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, that¡¯s trouble GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: do you have a teacher? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No u.u GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, you¡¯re a bastard GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: not to imply anything about your family dude, that¡¯s just how we call mages without teachers. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ok that¡¯s kinda mean xD GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: tell me about it. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: anyways, shit, uh¡­ GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok, do you know what an Elysium is? I don¡¯t. But can I just admit that? I mean¡­ maybe I can tell him I know where to look for it? ¡°What are you, stupid!? He¡¯s assuming you know jack shit! This is your chance to squeeze all the information! MILK IT!¡± A-Ah! Right! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No idea. I hope you don¡¯t mean the other world? O.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: nope. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: an Elysium is a safeground in a city, a place where mages can go and practice legally. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: shit, I hope you haven¡¯t been doing magic around people right??? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: No no! O.o I swear! GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: ok good. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: that¡¯d get you in trouble with the Brotherhood in no time. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: The Brotherhood? o.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: The Brotherood of Black Pages. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ominous¡­ are they like, magic police? .-. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: sorta GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: you wanna avoid them as much as you can, them black cloaks. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I mean, you won¡¯t be able to avoid them if you wanna get your license but, beyond that, avoid them. Ok, that¡¯s confirmation of a few suspicions. The Elysium is a place, I need to find that place, and the black cloaks/brotherhood were bad news, probably super strict or something like that. I am a ¡®Bastard Mage¡¯, still not very happy about the name, and I should look for instruction before I blow myself up! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Can¡¯t you teach me things? ;w; the meaning of these runes and stuff? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: sorry dude, I don¡¯t have a teacher¡¯s license GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: but tell you what. I¡¯ll get you something that will help you for sure! GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I just gotta talk to a few friends. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Oh okay! Good! n.n thank you so much for this, Gal GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hah, it¡¯s no problem xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Imma be outside of the TER for a while so, don¡¯t talk to me about magics until I return, okay? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: arite, thanks for the heads up! gives me time to talk to Aoi and Mort xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ok I assume those are your friends! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I¡¯ll be seeing you later! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx has disconnected. Alright. No more excuses. I close my computer, take a deep breath and walk to my door. I try my best to ignore the shaking of my hand as I grab the knob and open up. The air in the hallways outside was cold, making me go back in, pick up my long coat and then right out I went again! The descent in the elevator had never felt this slow¡­I am excited and nervous at the same time. ¡°This will be fun!¡± ¡°This will be a disaster. You¡¯ll stay up for nothing, you hear me? Nothing.¡± Taking a deep breath, I walk out of the elevator as it arrives at the first floor and wave at the night guard, stepping right out and checking my phone. It¡¯s already a quarter past eleven. I have time¡­ but I may need to call a taxi. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cities are completely different at night. I have never been an active resident of Party City or anything, but I have been in the streets at the high hours of night, at least back in my old town. I assumed stuff would be quiet here too in Sa¨¹le, but turns out I was completely wrong. There were people stumbling around the streets, ladies of the night smiling and parading themselves in some of the corners, a few college students clubbing and singing¡­ Only now I remember we are technically on vacation. Of course everyone is partying! Drat, does that mean the library will be closed!? ¡°Too late to ask the cab to take you back home. No, you''ll just have to freeze for a few hours.¡± The taxi leaves me in front of the University¡¯s main entrance. After paying and waving the guy away, I let out a deep sigh of relief when I see that the lights of the place are still on. So either they leave the lights on all vacation or they are still open despite it all. I try to jog along the dirt trail, straight for the library! But I quickly realize my body is simply not made for running. I still try to keep the pace, panting and gasping for air. Passing right by the Pharmaceutical Sciences building and the Biology building, feeling lucky that no one can see me fighting for my life like this. The campus is gigantic, with many different buildings focused on the different sciences and disciplines taught at the University. The Library stands in the middle of it all, a perfectly square, five story building comfortably constructed on a plateau and looking over the entire campus. As cool and impressive as that is, it also meant a long climb a massive set of stairs¡­ ¡°Saints damn it all¡­¡± It¡¯s a miserable jog, but eventually, I make it to the gates before the Librarian closes. An ancient lady of dark skin and thin white hair, eternally dressed in a black, long dress. ¡°Hmph. Right on time, night owl.¡± She says with a mix of annoyance and playfulness in her tone, turning her back on me as soon as she closed the door. ¡°Do not run like that inside.¡± Still recovering my breath, I just nod and walk towards the machines that scan your credentials. I fish my wallet out of my pockets, scan my old card, and then walk straight in, looking around the main hall with a tired smile. Ah yes¡­ I''ve always felt more at ease in libraries and the like, especially when there are no crowds of people around. Right now I could see only a few furtive shadows sliding around, and no sandwich sellers at all! With some luck, the librarian will try to gain a few extra Empires by selling stuff, but that will have to wait. Right now, we are back on the hunt for the Golden Symbol! I need to focus all of my strength on finding it this time, because if they really want it to be both private and easy to find, it has to be here. Chapter 14 I was at a disadvantage before, looking around in unknown territory, but here? This is my house. My country. My library! I have walked around these halls so many times that I have a pretty good mental map of where everything is. Considering the most requested academic tomes are under the protection of the Librarian, I go investigate the shelves on the first floor, where you find mostly reference books. All this confidence I managed to build up disappears the instant I notice there¡¯s a group of students in the lodges to the side of the hall, just minding their own business. My throat dries up, my knees shake a little bit. Saints damn it, why aren¡¯t you all on vacation!? And they are sitting right on my way, between me and the shelves. I am sure the symbol has to be on the shelves¡­ ¡°Time to turn tail and run, like always.¡± ¡°You can do it. Take a deep breath, look straight onwards and walk!¡± Taking her advice, I do my best to not look at ANYTHING and just go straight as an ant to the shelves. ¡°Wait. What if any of them say hi? Oh no. Uhm. Take a quick look! But make it super, super quick!¡± Damn it. My eyes slowly turn to the left as I am walking. Are they looking at me? Did they look at me? WILL they look at me? They don¡¯t seem to even notice me. Should I call for their attention? Should I say hi? I don¡¯t even know them, that would be weird. But what if I do know them and I just don¡¯t remember? There¡¯s lots of law students around, maybe they are law students? I can¡¯t see their books from this distance, maybe I need glasses. Would glasses make me look unassuming? I wish people didn¡¯t look at me¡­ Eventually I reach the shelves without exchanging a single word with these people. I really, really hope I didn¡¯t look like a nervous wreck while walking by, but I guess there isn¡¯t much I can do about that now, can I? Ugh, I can barely focus as I start looking on the shelf itself, trying to find anything out of the ordinary¡­ ¡°You¡¯re nervous when there¡¯s a lot of people, and you¡¯re nervous when there¡¯s few people. What will it take for you to be happy about something, huh!? Tiresome bitch¡­¡± I sigh loudly. I left my S.O.S. at home, so I can¡¯t really get rid of these voices tonight¡­ I¡¯ll have to brave them. ¡°It will be a hard time¡­ but you can do it.¡± Taking a deep breath, I continue trying to focus on finding that damn ¡®golden symbol¡¯ around the shelves, even taking out a few suspiciously out of place books, just to check if the symbol could be carved on the back of the shelf or something¡­ Nothing. I spend a good long hour checking each shelf on the first floor as methodically as my body allows¡­ before I know it, I have given up on everything and am sitting on a bean couch at the main hall, letting my eyes close slowly¡­ ¡­ When I open them again, I practically jump out of my chair. Did I just fall asleep!? ¡°Oh boy.¡± I pick up my phone to check¡­ It''s 2 in the morning. ¡°Oh boy! Who could have guessed things would go wrong, huh?¡± I can still feel the sleepiness in my limbs, my eyelids feel so heavy. Saints, help your poor servant! The lights feel so vibrant here, so annoying and white. I can practically hear them buzz¡­ but then, I notice something else. The smell of decent coffee, recently brewed. I look around, quickly finding the librarian at her desk, serving cups of coffee to the group I saw¡­ I think of going over and taking one but that would probably imply conversation. And I am not ready for conversation! I¡ª ¡°Oi! You finally woke up!¡± The librarian catches me instantly with a knowing smirk. ¡°Want a cuppa?¡± I freeze. For a moment I think: ¡®hey, let¡¯s pretend I didn¡¯t hear her!¡¯, but I don¡¯t have my headphones on and I made eye contact. I am trapped, TRAPPED. ¡°M-Mhm.¡± I manage to whimper, nodding my head quickly. ¡°Then come over, don¡¯t be shy. We¡¯re all night owls here.¡± There is a sense of community there that¡¯s quite alluring, but the curious looks of that group of students really feel like cold daggers on my chest. Still, I gather all my courage and robotically walk over to the group, taking a styrofoam cup, and then watching the woman fill it up slowly with coffee as black as my soul. Just like I like it¡­ just with a hint of sugar, though. ¡°So you finally came around again. I was wondering what happened to you.¡± The old lady looked at me, knowingly. ¡°You¡­ you recognize me?¡± I can¡¯t help but feel a mixture of happiness and abject horror mounting on my back. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°My child, I recognize every single person who comes to my library! I know them all, believe it or not! Including these rascals over here.¡± The others laughed. I just looked at my coffee while mixing a teaspoon of sugar in it. She¡¯s probably joking, right? I mean¡­ there¡¯s no way she actually memorizes every visitor, right? ¡°Maybe she¡¯s a witch.¡± Knowing what I know now? I wouldn¡¯t be surprised. I just take a sip of my coffee. ¡°You¡¯re not here to study for the special tests, are you?¡± The lady again read me like a saints¡¯ damned book. ¡°You¡¯re looking for something special.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing that ominous.¡± I quickly cover. ¡°I am just looking for a particular book, but I am not sure where I could find it in the library.¡± ¡°Why not ask for help? I am right here, precisely for that!¡± The Librarian puffed up her chest. ¡°If I don¡¯t get anything to do, I get bored.¡± ¡°Ah, well, you see¡­¡± I start getting nervous again. I can¡¯t just tell her the truth! What if I slip and this woman turns out to be a cloak testing me? Or worse, a sleeper! I am quite sure the whole ¡®Secret of magic¡¯ is a very serious matter! I could get her and myself in a big pickle! The woman seems to notice my distress¡­ and instead of trying to reassure me, the damn crone just goes and says: ¡°Is it poooorn you¡¯re after, boy?~¡± Saints help me. The others are laughing and looking at me all smiley, why!? Why must this lady put me in a situation like this!? ¡°T-There¡¯s the internet for stuff like that!¡± I blurt without thinking. ¡°I mean! Ah! Damn it!¡± More laughs. At this point my face must be lighting up red and radiating hotter than active uranium. ¡°I. Can¡¯t. It¡¯s a symbol!¡± ¡°A symbol?¡± One of the other students tilted his head with curiosity. ¡°What kind of symbol? Are we talking chemical or arcane?¡± ¡°Nerd spotted. You¡¯re among comrades here, breathe easy.¡± It¡¯s hard to breathe easy when people are actively laughing at me, saints damn it! ¡°It¡­ symbolizes gold.¡± I finally relented. ¡°I am not sure which one of the many, many interpretations it could be. I thought of the alchemical symbol for gold, or a Sun, who knows¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little vague.¡± The student said, frowning a little bit and rubbing the back of his neck. ¡°The symbol is in the book? Like, on the cover?¡± What am I even supposed to answer to that!? ¡°I. Think?¡± ¡°Well.¡± The Librarian recovers the reigns of the conversation with a grin. ¡°If that thing you are looking for isn¡¯t here? It may be a literature tome. You know, on the second floor.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± I sigh. This whole conversation has just been so stressful. ¡°Well! It could be the Golden Ratio!¡± One of the girls says. ¡°You know the Golden Ratio?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the whole shell inside a rectangle thing?¡± I blink. ¡°Yeah! They use the helenian letter ¡®phi¡¯ to represent it.¡± The girl is nice enough to draw it for me¡­ I stare at the symbol on the paper for a moment. That¡¯s¡­ actually useful. And it does make sense! It could be this! Suddenly inspired, I stand right up and finish what¡¯s left from my coffee in one gulp, not even caring that it burns my damn throat as I do so. ¡°Okay, this works. Thank you!¡± Without even feeling the anxiety attack me again, I bow my head and turn around to go right for the stairs! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When Tav had turned around and moved out, the Leader of the Coven looked at her young apprentice with a frown, shaking her finger slowly at the girl. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so obvious with your hints, young girl.¡± The woman shook her head softly. ¡°We could have had fun with her for at least another hour!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like being cruel today.¡± The apprentice said with a sleepy grin, while some of the others ruffled her hair and called her a ¡®softie¡¯. ¡°The Bastard needs a way to learn! And it would be sad to see the Overseer waiting for another night¡­¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I rush past the empty reception desk on the second floor, joging without even caring about the ¡®No Running¡¯ rule as I go head first into the wooden shelves of the literature section. And it doesn¡¯t even take me that many attempts to finally see something: a symbol carved on the wooden side of one of the shelves. Phi. Lower case. Small enough to not be disruptive, but big enough to be noticeable. My eyes widen, and I immediately approach the symbol with awe invading my body. I don¡¯t even dare to touch it at first, that¡¯s how big my excitement is! Whatever does this mean!? Is this whole building the Elysium? Or just the second floor? Isn¡¯t this place way too public for what they mean to do? Finally giving up on trying to be cautious, I just touch the symbol. For a moment nothing happens, and I feel the panic starting to take over again. ¡°Trust the process, maybe it takes a moment!¡± I keep my finger pressed on the carved symbol for a moment, taking slow, deep breaths as I try to keep myself from going into a saints damned anxiety attack. But then, something does happen. Octarine, that strange colour, starts filtering from my very veins and into the symbol, filling in the carving before flowing on the air like a river of vibrant purple-green. It advances in front of my eyes, dancing and spiraling before flowing deeper into the library. ¡°What¡­?¡± ¡°What are you waiting for!?¡± ¡°Follow it!¡± I don¡¯t have to tell myself twice! My legs don¡¯t have the energy to keep running, but the colour is not flowing super fast, so I can just walk behind it until it reaches an empty wall on the deepest side of the second floor. I put my hand against it and push slightly, this time trying to cause the flow myself! My excitement knows no bounds when the colours flow from my forearm to my palm, and then spread on the wall like vines growing in all directions. ¡°Idiot! What if someone can see you!?¡± Biting my lower lip, I quickly turn around. No one followed me, good! I can focus again on the wall, or in this case the lack of it: where there was a wall now there¡¯s an entrance, a black hole just waiting for me to jump in. With a sigh, I decide to ignore my anxieties and just go into the darkness, being quickly surrounded by it as the wall quickly appears again behind me. It takes a moment for my eyes to get used to the room, but when they do the way is clear: a spiral stairway going up. ¡°More stairs¡­ why do people here love their stairs!?¡± With a frustrated grumble, I take a step on the stairs, only for them to start moving on their own. Huh. Now that¡¯s convenient! I just let them take me higher and higher, without even questioning how they move without mechanisms or electricity. Magic is just Like That?. It doesn¡¯t take long until the light hits me: a faint, gentle blue light, like a beautiful night sky. My observation proves right on the money, for what I find on top of the stairway is a tremendous planetarium: a dome of darkness with distant white lights showing the spectacle of the stars right above us. There are some tables and chairs around, some bookshelves too¡­ and sitting on one of them, was the specter of someone I know. The figure of a certain book vendor. Miss Pelafina gently brushed some of her dyed black hair behind her ear to look at me with a mocking grin. ¡°Took you long enough, didn¡¯t it? Kid.¡± Chapter 15 For a moment I am shocked. If I had expected anyone to be here, aside from the Librarian herself, it would be Ricardo! But I guess the world is trying to surprise me today? Then again, considering the rumors, miss Pelafina wasn¡¯t that much of an outrage either. Then it hits me. What does she mean ¡®took you long enough¡¯, huh!? ¡°She was waiting for y¡ª¡± Yes I get that part! Was this whole deal a game for her? I take my first steps towards her, a little indignant and I feel it is justified, but then I notice something in the corner of my eye. Movement. I immediately turn on my heels to face it: there¡¯s shades of black in the darkness, at least in one spot. Soon, a figure steps up from the corner of the room, dressed in a long black cloak, dressing pants and elegant shoes. The hood covers their head and some magical darkness obscurs their eyes, but I can see a few locks of green hair slip from underneath the shadow. The figure lifts a hand, they are even wearing black gloves! That¡¯s some commitment to the bit. ¡°Yo. The name is Luc¨ªa. Sorry for skulking around but it is kind of my job; I assume you already know Overseer Pelafina?¡± She smirks. ¡°She gets around! She said she was waiting for a Bastard to arrive but, Hell, we thought it was just an excuse of hers to skip work!¡± ¡°I am very responsible, excuse you.¡± Pelafina frowns, shaking her head softly. ¡°Ignore Lucy, dear. She¡¯s just my assigned guard, here to keep me safe!¡± Her assigned guard? So she IS with the Cloaks after all! I mean, if the cloak she¡¯s wearing wasn¡¯t indication enough. I don¡¯t like her, not one bit. She¡¯s smiling too much, just balancing on her heels and toes while I stand there. I don¡¯t wanna say I hate her, we¡¯ve barely exchanged words¡­ but I don¡¯t like her. Not one bit. I decide to take Pelafina¡¯s words to heart and ignore her, when another thing hits me. ¡°Overseer Pelafina!? But you¡¯re just the lady from the bookstore!¡± I think my eyes are going to jump right out of my skull like in one of those old cartoons. ¡°A girl has to move up in this world if she wants to survive.¡± The old lady chuckled, just a little bit. ¡°You know my name, but I never truly caught yours though. How do we call you, dear?¡± Fuck, here we go with names again¡­ but hey, maybe this is a great chance to build a new identity for myself! ¡°People call me Tav.¡± I say, trying to puff up my chest a bit. ¡°That was not what she asked though!¡± Luc¨ªa intervenes with a singsongy voice. ¡°Oh let her have her own nom de guerre, Lucy. It¡¯s adorable!¡± Having these two messing with me is really going to be bad for my health. I¡¯ll have to endure it though. ¡°Alright then, Tav. If you¡¯re here, I assume you managed to read through the book at least a bit?¡± I flinch. Just how much does this woman know? Did she know the contents of the book from the start? Is this a weird ¡®Hero¡¯s journey¡¯ situation? A mysterious adventure she has sent me into so I grow as a person? Or is she just fucking with me. ¡°Well? Don¡¯t keep me waiting! It¡¯s been days!¡± Pelafina insists with a twinkle shining in her eyes. ¡°... I have a few words translated.¡± I managed to say. ¡°Oh great! So Humiko left you hints. That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Miss Pelafina¨C¡± ¡°Please, just call me P.¡± ¡°Uhm. Miss P.¡± I gulp. ¡°Just how much do you know of the book, exactly?¡± ¡°Well, Humiko asked me personally to keep it safe, so that¡¯s one thing.¡± The overseer counts with her fingers. ¡°I know it is written in Magic Runes, which¡­ shouldn¡¯t be possible, and yet, there it is! I trust Humiko enough to know it has to be real.¡± ¡°Wait.¡± I blink. ¡°What do you mean ¡®shouldn¡¯t be possible¡¯?¡± ¡°Magic is not a language, or at least it hasn¡¯t been understood as one until¡­ well, right now.¡± The old lady smiles a bit wider. ¡°If you manage to make more sense of it than a few phrases, you¡¯d be making history, boy!¡± Again with the damn gendering¡­ I frown a little bit but, try not to make it too visible. I gotta focus. ¡°Yeah, get it together. This is not the time for your ridiculous whining.¡± Sigh. ¡°So you know what the book is, but you don¡¯t know what it says.¡± ¡°To be honest, I am not really sure what it is either.¡± Pelafina admits with an embarrassed grin. ¡°All I know is that it is a project Humiko had for a long time already, and according to her express instructions, the hints could only be read by a sleeper.¡± I haven¡¯t really checked if I can no longer check Humiko¡¯s note in the book, so there¡¯s homework for when I return. ¡°I am sorry we put this on you with deceit and all, but would you have really believed me if I said ¡®You have to study magic¡¯ just like that?¡± The old lady shrugs. ¡°It was necessary, and if Ricardo could see the potential in you, then this was surely the correct choice.¡± ¡°Is Ricardo an Overseer too?¡± I feel like that is a sensible question. ¡°Oh heavens no, he¡¯s a Sleeper. Not a word of this to him, you hear me?¡± P¡¯s gesture grows severe for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t want him involved in such things at his age. He had enough adventures already.¡± I guess the rumors of Ricardo being a world-trotting adventurer are also true. Huh. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°So. Tell me, what did you learn?¡± She¡¯s very eager¡­ I can notice Luc¨ªa¡¯s gaze on me, too. They are both very, very eager. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Right? It¡¯s all wrong. The book¡¯s first warning was to avoid the cloaks, and yet here¡¯s P! Just hanging out with this one, talking about the book like it¡¯s nothing! Well, if it¡¯s true that she doesn¡¯t know the contents, I can lie through my teeth! ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ve learned a few characters. Do you have somewhere to write?¡± My body suddenly relaxes, my demeanor tightens. I may be bad at many things, but lying? I was born lying in this world and I can keep it up no matter what. ¡°Ah, sure. Lucy!¡± The guard walks up to me casually, offering me a fancy black leather notebook decorated with a golden apple and a silver arrow piercing it. She even opens the yellow pages for me, and provides a cheap plastic pen. I nod, and quickly begin scribbling. I scribble ¡®Tlo¡¯i¡¯, ¡®Golthoi¡¯ and ¡®Thako¡¯ with their respective symbols. ¡°There. These are the ones I¡¯ve learned.¡± Luc¨ªa looks at me dead in the eye for a moment. I can feel the sharpness of her wit, she¡¯s trying to read me¡­ but it will be useless. I am in a dissertation now, bitch. I¡¯ve been doing these for years, it¡¯s my one skill. ¡°Interesting.¡± Luc¨ªa nods. ¡°So, what do these mean?¡± Pelafina approaches us to check on the symbols. ¡°Terrible calligraphy, by the way.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± The confidence abandons me for a moment, before I puff up my chest again and begin talking. ¡°The first one is the word for ¡®Butterfly¡¯. The second one is a word for the action of turning something on, the third one¡­ I am not sure yet.¡± ¡°When used on a spell, it makes the effect happen upon touching the glyph.¡± Luc¨ªa knows. ¡°It¡¯s a very common one.¡± ¡°Glyph?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°She means a combination of Runes, dear.¡± P smiles warmly. ¡°Alright, so ¡®Butterfly¡¯, ¡®Ignite¡¯ and ¡®Touch¡¯, then?¡± I never said ¡®Ignite¡¯ for Golthoi, but I guess that is a interpretation of it? ¡­ Interesting. That these things have different meanings in different contexts, would that affect casting? ¡°Ah, I also found this.¡± I draw ¡®Jo¡¯ in the book. ¡°Does this mean anything?¡± ¡°That one is used to counteract spells. If you draw this in a Glyph, it cancels its effect.¡± Luc¨ªa seems happy to provide the knowledge I lack. I actually appreciate it, for it immediately made something click in my brain. ¡°It means ¡®No¡¯.¡± Yes. It¡¯s a negative. That¡¯s why it isn¡¯t so common on its own. When added to another symbol, it negates it. ¡®No-Light¡¯ must be a way to say ¡®Darkness¡¯ or such¡­ or¡­ backwards, ¡®No-Darkness¡¯ equals ¡®Light¡¯. Would this be dependent on the culture? I smile a little bit to myself. This knowledge I will keep up my sleeve for now. ¡°What¡¯s that smile for? Did you see something new?¡± Luc¨ªa is way too sharp to keep that smile from. I have to make something up quick. ¡°I realized I now know how to counter spells. That¡¯s so cool¡­¡± I whisper to myself, channeling some of that wonder into my lie. She seems to buy it, for she immediately focuses on correcting me. ¡°Knowing the Counterspell Rune is not enough, there are other factors to consider, so don¡¯t go around trying to counter every spell so quickly.¡± She give me a smile I really dislike. ¡°Hmmm¡­ well, that¡¯s plenty for now,if that is all.¡± Pelafina shrugs softly. ¡°It is quite late already¡­ go back home for now, Tav.¡± ¡°B-But. I have so many questions!¡± I immediately pout. Saints damn it, so close to learn actually useful stuff! ¡°Yes, but sadly I cannot teach you. As the Overseer, I am bound by oath to remain neutral and not show favoritism for anyone.¡± The woman shrugged. ¡°So, I can¡¯t really teach you much. But, if you identify more words, I can definitely give you a few more pointers!¡± ¡°Fine¡­¡± A defeated sigh escapes my lips. So I¡¯ll have to buy knowledge with knowledge, hmm? I look at Luc¨ªa for a second. ¡°Nope. I am too young to teach.¡± She immediately denies me. ¡°Tsk.¡± I look down¡­ but then, an idea comes to me. Just a confirmation I need to get. ¡°Can I check more stuff online? Maybe there¡¯s resources out there¡­¡± Pelafina frowns, looking at Luc¨ªa and waiting for her to explain. She eventually does, with a sigh. ¡°The process of getting on the internet as a mage is hard. You need a special router and everything, it¡¯s honestly not worth it.¡± The guard shakes her head. ¡°If you want, we can provide you one next time. But really, there aren¡¯t many resources online for this¡­ mages are isolationists, usually.¡± Ah hah! So they don¡¯t know of the forum! Alright then, that¡¯s another point to my advantage. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need that, I have enough with mundane internet thank you very much.¡± I chuckle a little bit. ¡°I never got the so called ¡®interwebs¡¯ to be honest.¡± P grins. ¡°Now, off to bed you go. Shoo, shoo. Remember coming back here at night, alright? That¡¯s when it is nice and empty.¡± Honestly, a nice and empty place to try and translate sounds fine to me. But I can just do that at home¡­ Besides. These people are dripfeeding me the information I need, so they are probably not trustworthy in the slightest. I feel a little bad for not trusting Pelafina immediately, but¡­ ¡°She threw you into this mess without consent.¡± ¡°Yeah, fuck her.¡± Right. ¡°Alright then, I am going. Thank you again for everything, miss P!¡± I fail to hold back a yawn as I turn around and stand on the stairs. They¡­ are still going up. ¡°Uh.¡± ¡°The other stairs dear, there¡¯s a magic escalator down.¡± Luc¨ªa tries not to laugh at my face, and fails. ¡°A-Ah, thank you.¡± With a heavy sigh, I take the right escalator this time and disappear down the stairs. Looking at my clock, it¡¯s already three in the morning¡­time to sleep for sure. With some luck, the pillow will make this all make much more sense. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As Tav finally disappeared from the Elysium, and the sound of a closing door echoed through the room, Pelafina let out a little sigh, shaking her head. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to work.¡± She commented, crossing her arms. ¡°This girl is no good.¡± ¡°She seems smart enough. The type to keep notes¡­.¡± Luc¨ªa suggested, her smile growing slowly. ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± ¡°Well. If we give her a few months and turns out she doesn¡¯t make any breakthroughs, we can always¡­ you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°We can take her stuff.¡± Luc¨ªa finally said. ¡°Just erase her memory and take the book and the notes back! With some luck, she probably took notes of the hints.¡± ¡°...Lucy, you¡¯re diabolical.¡± The old crone chuckled loudly. ¡°Ohhh, I guess we will get our chips back no matter how this gamble goes, then!¡± ¡°Of course! But I still don¡¯t know why we can¡¯t just go to a family of Mages and put this on their sleeper child!¡± ¡°That bitch Humiko probably thought of something like that.¡± A grumble escaped from the old lady. ¡°This is our safest bet.¡± ¡°Well, I am just saying. If this experiment of yours doesn¡¯t pay up, I may have to talk about this with the rest of the Coven¡­~¡± Luc¨ªa¡¯s eyes were, for a moment, fully visible under that hood, brightly green. ¡°And you know the captain wouldn¡¯t like you skulking around with unapproved knowledge.~¡± ¡°Oh shush, you won¡¯t.¡± Pelafina seemed quite confident of this. ¡°Not after coming this close to finally finding that bitch¡­¡± The overseer sighed, looking up to the fake stars for a moment while rubbing her hands together. What was this she felt? Anxiety? ¡°... It has to work, Luc¨ªa.¡± She finally said. ¡°It has to.¡± ¡°What if it doesn¡¯t though?¡± The guard tilted her head. ¡°It has to¡­ it is our only way to free our King from his cell.¡± ¡°Welp, let¡¯s hope this girl works fast!¡± ¡°I know. After all, King Hamil isn¡¯t a patient man.¡± Chapter 16 When I wake up the next day, my head is swirling with questions. As I get up from my bed and go to clean myself, I can¡¯t help but question everything! Did last night actually happen? I am pretty sure it did, but it all felt so bizarre¡­ and wonderful! There¡¯s a planetarium in the city, and it is magical in the most literal sense of the word! There are books on magic there, too! So I can probably start studying and learning more next time I visit! Speaking of books¡­ I have something to check there, don¡¯t I? As soon as I am out of the bathroom I go to the living room to get my pills and then, I start passing the pages of Humiko¡¯s book. As I reach the ¡®Epilogue¡¯ section, I confirm to my horror that the words have completely disappeared. In a panic, fearing the worst, I check my notes¡­ oh, good, those were still here. ¡°What, were you fearing they would simply disappear too? Idiot.¡± ¡°Hey, with magic we really know nothing. It could have happened!¡± I do feel a little silly but, yeah. For all we know, it could have happened. The point is that it didn¡¯t! Breathing way easier now, I sit down on one of the couches and sigh. Picking up my phone, I can confirm that it''s Friday and it¡¯s already eleven past noon. I guess this time I am justified in sleeping so much? But at the same time, I can¡¯t help but feel a little guilty. ¡°Because you¡¯re being lazy, even with your free time.¡± With another deep sigh, I try to ignore the voices and just look straight up at the ceiling, tapping my chin for a moment. How do we proceed from here? Pelafina said I shouldn¡¯t visit the Elysium early, because it gets full of people. I wonder how true that is¡­ actually, I wonder how true anything she said was. ¡°Since when are you this distrustful?¡± I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even know why I lied to her in the first place, but I just felt that this phrase, the one long complete phrase I managed to translate, is far more important than I know. I can¡¯t share it¡­ I actually don¡¯t want to share anything with this lady? ¡°She will probably send the Cloaks if you stop cooperating though.¡± That much I know, and I hate it. She has all the control over the situation! ¡°There¡¯s one thing she can¡¯t control though. She has no idea about your internet activity now, does she?¡± ¡­ Good point. I have to focus on that! I actually have to get back to GalaxyTaco, too! See what he''s been doing and all that! ¡°But before all that, breakfast.¡± Ah, right. Almost forgot¡­ although, wouldn¡¯t it be better to just ask for lunch at this point? ¡°Fair.¡± Yes! Time for a burger. ¡°They feel blander and blander every time you buy one. Why even bother?¡± Because they are still delicious, and more importantly, they are cheap and fast! I quickly order a special Bisontian burger, with extra cheese of course, and then sit back down at the table, connecting my computer to the TER and tapping away a message at GalaxyTaco, to let them know I am up. Then, I write down my discoveries in the file I¡¯m keeping. I¡¯ll transcribe them to the notepad later. I am adding the symbols (which I¡¯ve learned are called Runes after a visit to the Elysium), meanings and effects I¡¯ve learned. I¡¯ve also learned that I can create Glyphs, which are combinations of Runes to create different effects. I wonder if they are phrases in the language! Speaking of. They don¡¯t even know it¡¯s a language, they just seem to assume the symbols have effects and that¡¯s it! Maybe they use it, but they haven¡¯t fully grasped the implications yet. That feels surprisingly shallow though. Just how much knowledge do these people have of magic? Is magic a recent discovery? Or is there something else keeping people ignorant¡­? The burger arrives not too long after I am done writing. I eat it while ruminating on the subject a bit further. They are not idiots, are they? To me, the first thing that comes to my mind when seeing symbols if they are part of a bigger language or something like that. Then again, maybe the lack of translation dissuaded them from experimenting further? Stuff is not fitting as nicely as I wish¡­ I am about to write a little more when suddenly, I am added to a group in my messenger service. GalaxyTaco is alive! But not only them! There¡¯s two other people in the conversation too. Panic ensues, at least for a moment. ¡°Okay. Just keep calm.¡± I tell to myself. ¡°Take a deep breath¡­ phew¡­ and let¡¯s do this.¡± My fingers are preparing to write some quick and tasteless introduction, when suddenly someone beats me to the punch. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: HIIIIIII!! ^0^!! Oh no. A weeb, and a very strong one at that. I can feel her aura, her reiatsu, pushing down on me like a wave of augmented gravity. There are two chances here: I either get along real well with this person, or we hate each other on sight. There¡¯s no middle ground among us. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: don¡¯t be shy! :3 we¡¯re friends here, I swear! Well they are being real nice at least. Could be worse, they could be souseiseki. man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): yo, you there? Who the hell are these people!? I assume they are friends of GalaxyTaco, right? I really want to be patient but, damn it, new people get me nervous so easily¡­ xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Hi there, hi! n.nUu sorry, this whole deal took me by surprise. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: ohhhh it is fine! uwu gal-kun told us everything! ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: you must be so scared Dx I know I was when I got started! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Well it has certainly been a journey, heheh n.n but I¡¯ve managed. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I found the Elysium last night so, at least there¡¯s that! man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): good job, that¡¯s a big advancement actually man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): next you gotta find the clinic, though xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: There¡¯s a clinic too? O.o man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): yep. but we¡¯ll explain all that later man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): i¡¯m canny btw. cannedtea at the forum, remember me? My face burns a little bit when remembering this guy. I wasn¡¯t expecting to find him again so quickly. ¡°Gay.¡± Shut up. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: the name¡¯s Aoi! ^0^/ UwU28 at the forum! ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: sorry I didn¡¯t comment your topic, i am a bit shy xwxUu xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: It¡¯s all fine, no worries n.n I¡¯m Tav! But you two probably know that already man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): it bears repeating, girl. it bears repeating. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: yeah! ^^/ GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: alright I¡¯m back! sorry I was seeing grandma to bed heheh I sigh in relief, cleaning the sweat off my brow. Thanks saints, this was going to be a little too much for me to handle alone! ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: oh hey gal-kun ~ GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: reading up I see you¡¯re all introduced, good good! GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: now I just gotta introduce the plan to you Tav, so pay attention! Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I¡¯m ready! o.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: alright, so GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: to avoid 82¡¯s wrath? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: canny here will be your voucher. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: huh? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: just put him in your profile and he¡¯ll cover for you. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: And you¡¯re okay with that, Canny? ;w; really!? man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): eyeup, don¡¯t worry girl. I gotchu. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: canny-kun and mort-sama covered for me when I just got in too :3 he¡¯s the best! For a moment I blink. Huh? Covered for Aoi? Does that mean they are also a Bastard Mage? What does that mean? Did they just find the link somewhere, too? Questions for later, I guess. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Thank you so much Canny! ;w; man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): no prob bob man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): is it chill if I add you? you seem cool xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ah, of course! :3 Add away! You too, Aoi-chan. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: EEEEE! Arigatou!! ^w^ <3 <3 GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: oh yeah that reminds me. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: Aoi, ain¡¯t you forgetting something? ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: ah right!!! Tavy! what are your pronouns? o.o! What? ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: you put you¡¯d rather not say your gender and that¡¯s so cool! I wanna know what to call you though! uwu ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: if that¡¯s okay of course ^.^ GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: Aoi that is NOT what I meant damn it! man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): nono, she¡¯s right. man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): sorry i kept callin you girl GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: not you too canny¡­ focus! I have never been asked that before¡­ I mean, I have, by computers. But by people, it feels¡­ odd. I like it. ¡°You¡¯re going to start with your delusions again?¡± ¡°They can identify as anything. Stop being so harsh!¡± xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: ¡­ I think I will go with she/her. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Is that okay? n.n man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): girl, don¡¯t ask US man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): ask yourself man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): not the mean voice of anxiety, not the shit your guardians told ya man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): are YOU okay with it? I feel the words pierce my chest for a moment. I gasp for air, my eyes opening a little more. ¡°This is all just play pretend. Don¡¯t take it so much to heart.¡± Shut up. ¡°What!?¡± I said shut up. This time, this is for me. I decide this. ¡°You little ungrateful asshole¡­¡± I want this. This makes me feel good and I will seize it. And you can go kiss my ass, you hear me!? ¡°...¡± xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: ¡­ Yeah. Yeah, I think I am okay with it n//n man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): atta girl man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): it¡¯s chill to call you a girl right? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Yeah yeah, I like it! n.n ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: yayayay Tavy-chan! :3 GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: huh. that¡¯s unexpectedly wholesome¡­ GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: but let¡¯s focus! Aoi! do you have the book? ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: right here boss! o.o7 ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!! has sent you bastard_recipe_book.pdf Accept? Huh? A pdf? I hesitate for a moment but, hell, maybe it¡¯s magic and magic can¡¯t get viruses or something. I just click it. ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: this is the rulebook for us Bastards, don¡¯t tell nobody about it though OoO! ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: it¡¯s a seecret~ xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: A secret book¡­ now that¡¯s cool uwu man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): man, tav¡¯s first secret man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): granny get the camera GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: lol GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: no but really, read it, study it well GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: it¡¯s all vital. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: will do! I¡¯ll print it and get to it right now GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: NO! ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: TAVY-CHAN WAIT man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): wait a sec tav xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Huh? O.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: don¡¯t print that one! ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: yeah you can¡¯t print magic books, it¡¯s risky man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): the runes can activate and shit would go boom xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Oh, okay o.o xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Man I hate reading on the computer! ;w; ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: sorry tavy-chan ;w;!! but that¡¯s the only way! GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: yeah¡­ anyways, I gotta go to bed, real badly. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I trust you got it from here right? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Yep! n.n ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: byeeee everyone!! uwu see you in dejima! man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): see you around I sigh and slowly lean back on my chair. That was intense, way too intense¡­ but I am smiling. Really, this is some proper progress! I finally have tools to work on my own! Maybe I can even translate some more after learning magic! ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all you¡¯re happy about?~¡± ¡­ Shut up. Don¡¯t look too deep into the whole ¡®pronoun¡¯ thing. I am opening the file I got when, suddenly, another message hits me. It¡¯s from Canny! man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): hey tav man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): if you don¡¯t wanna read it on computer you can get it physical. Whuh? man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): you said you found an elysium, was it in a library? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Yeah! o.o man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): thought so man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): look through the mundane part of the library, specifically in the section where you get cooking recipes man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): see if you can find a cheap notebook that says ¡®MAGIC¡¯ in it. man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): open it, say ¡®jantar mantar¡¯ to it, and that¡¯s your ticket. My eyes light up. A secret book, hidden under the cloak¡¯s noses like that? That¡¯s perfect! man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): the book¡¯s written in draconic, which basically means only mages can read the real shit and you can¡¯t destroy it xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Wait what? O.o Draconic? Are dragons a thing here? man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): not anymore they ain¡¯t xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Aww :c xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Wait,I can¡¯t destroy it? O.o No matter how much I try? man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): i mean, you can, but it won¡¯t do nothin man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): don¡¯t worry about it xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ok! n.n but hey I don¡¯t know Draconic D:! man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): don¡¯t worry about it girlie xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Yay! n.n I will go get it then man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): get some other books too, in case you¡¯re being tailed. man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): good luck tav xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Thank you Canny! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ah! I will be on my phone so don¡¯t send me magic stuff for a while, okay? man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): gonna teach you the glyph for your phone later. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Yipee!! n.n xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ah hell, sorry for that ¨²wu man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): you¡¯re fine girl man don¡¯t you lecture me with your $30 haircut 8): good luck. I feel motivated, so motivated that I stand up immediately, close my computer, and finish my hamburger on the spot. ¡°Going out again!? Hah.¡± I am running out of mean things to say, that¡¯s a good sign. ¡°Don¡¯t count on it.¡± ¡°You are doing great. Let¡¯s go! The day¡¯s young and we have notes to take!¡± Yes! I don¡¯t even notice the door in my way this time! I just go out and hop my way over to the elevator. To the library! Again! Chapter 17 Spying on a college student wasn¡¯t exactly riveting, mostly because it was so easy! Connecting to Tav¡¯s computer had been a breeze, and taking over the microphone on her phone wasn¡¯t exactly hard either. Blanco had a good look at the girl¡¯s files, checking her old writings with little to no interest, and then reading through the notes she was taking on a ¡®Translation effort¡¯ with legitimate curiosity. The creature was sitting in the air, slowly sliding from one side of his room to the other, lit only by the lights of the many screens on its walls¡­ all while the grin on his face was only growing wider and wider with each new discovery. So a language, hmm? Wasn¡¯t that the thing that G and Eighty Two had been rambling about for years now? Ohhh, he couldn¡¯t wait to tell them¡­ or, at least, tell G about it. He had been paid quite the hefty sum to not tell 82 a thing of what they discovered, at least for now¡­ the fight between those two had always struck Blanco as arbitrary and stupid, but alas! It wasn¡¯t his business, really! In fact, that fight had brought much more business to him than anything! The phone suddenly rings. Speak of the devil! A quick check on the caller ID showed Eighty Two¡¯s private line. With a broken glass grin covering his otherwise smooth face, Blanco took the phone. ¡°Bianccio Pizzer¨ªa! Thickest pizza around! How can I help you?~¡± Oh how he relished pissing people off. ¡°Shut up.¡± A cold, feminine voice came from the other side. Eighty Two always sounded so annoyed¡­ ¡°I need a service. Payment will be in advance, as per our usual accord.¡± ¡°Ohhh straight to the point huh? I like it!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a new user in Dejima 08. Perform the usual Safety Scan. They claim to have been invited by user ¡®Canned Tea¡¯, but we know he has lied about it before.¡± ¡°Ok, let me check!¡± Just to cover, Blanco tapped gibberish on his keyboard while softly going ¡®beep boop¡¯ as he worked. ¡°... Alright! Got it!¡± ¡°That was fast.¡± ¡°Tav. Real name Santino Belnades. A Bastard Mage living in Sa¨¹le, Wohl.¡± ¡°Is he dangerous?¡± ¡°Actually she goes by she now!¡± ¡°Is she dangerous?¡± Mustaf¨¢ grumbled, more annoyed than usual. ¡°Nah. Just a college student like many others. She¡¯ll give up or die in a month tops.¡± ¡°...¡± Mustaf¨¢ remained silent for a moment, ruminating. ¡°So Canned Tea is just covering another random bastard¡­¡± ¡°Ahem. My pay?¡± ¡°Why is this kid like this? Can¡¯t he realize that he¡¯s getting them into far more trouble than it¡¯s worth?¡± ¡°I thought you said nothing ever happens in that forum of yours. Isn¡¯t that your main complaint?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean nothing ¡®can¡¯ happen at any moment. If the Brotherhood finds out about this forum, they could seize all of us for questioning.¡± The alchemist let out a deep sigh. ¡°Yeah, real tragic. Pay me.¡± ¡°I wonder how this one got turned. Probably some mage¡¯s irresponsible usage of spells¡­? No, Wohl has such a low magical population, and such a high conscription by the Brotherhood¡­¡± Blanco let out the deepest of sighs, rubbing his smooth face with a hand while spinning slowly on his non-existent chair. This was exactly why he prefered working with G, that and the lack of emotions that witch had¡­ And people called him inhuman! Hah! ¡°Keep an eye on her. I will pay you right now.¡± There was a loud ¡®KA-CHING!¡¯ sound coming from one of the computers in the room. Blanco sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you for your patronage! I will keep you updated.¡± ¡°Good.¡± With that, the alchemist hung up. Blanco growled again. No one said ¡®Good Bye¡¯ these days now, did they!? Rude pricks. And bad news kept coming up! This ¡®Canny¡¯ guy was now telling her that he¡¯ll teach her the glyph for digital security? ¡°Guess baby time is over.¡± He¡¯d have to work a little harder to stay hidden if Tav decided to install that on all of her devices. At least it would keep him entertained! Blanco decided to focus on preparing for when things would get more intense. After all, he had some time. The kid was going to the library, right? There was only one book she wanted from there, and Blanco had read it several times over already. Gato¡¯s old scratchbook held no new knowledge for the vampire to be interested. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is no such thing as an entire section dedicated to recipe books in Sa¨¹le University¡¯s Library, but I manage to find that stuff in the ¡®miscellany¡¯ section. That¡¯s where all the hobby and self-help material ends up, and even if it took me a moment to come to the conclusion, that¡¯s where I went too. It takes me even longer to look through every single tome I could in that section, but finally, after all my hard work¡­ I think I have found it. Canny was right, this is a cheap notebook. Soft covers, spiral-bound, both sides stamped with wizard hats, frogs, potion phials and many other pieces of typically ¡®witchy¡¯ imagery. Looking through the pages, it is just a bunch of cake and kuchen recipes, nothing to write home about. It is old, the pages are all yellowish and fragile, and there are stains everywhere. Then, when I am sure no one is watching¡­ I whispered the words. ¡°Jantar mantar¡­?¡± It is instantaneous, as soon as I say the password the pages begin to change, words disappearas the ink that wrote them starts gathering in a single, dark blotch, and then begins rearranging again¡­ This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Something compels me to close the book, feeling a little embarrassed. For some reason I equated it to catching someone changing up clothes, how outrageous! Finally, after waiting for a moment, I open it again. The Bastard¡¯s Guide to Magic By Gato Okay, that was certainly a title. Now that I have it in my hands, I quickly close it again and add it to a pile of books I have picked up. Stuff on ancient symbology and old civilizations. With my loot in my arms, I quickly go over to the main desk and get it all sorted. The second floor librarian smiles at me for a moment before scanning all the barcodes, giving me a week to return all the books, and then offering me a bag to carry them. I shake my head, setting it all in my backpack. ¡­ Wow, it¡¯s been a while since I''ve taken this old backpack out to Uni, huh? ¡°Feeling nostalgic?¡± ¡°For the times you were an actually useful member of society?¡± Maybe a little bit, to be honest. I still remember when I used to come here with Patricio looking for academic books and I escaped the duties to look for something interesting to read¡­ ¡°Back when you actually read as a hobby.¡± Shut up, I¡¯ve been reading more these days, I am returning to it. Walking out of the Library, I once again avoid the gaze of any acquaintances and run straight for the streets to take another taxi back home. There aren¡¯t that many people around today anyways, probably because of Winter Vacation. Maybe I should send Patricio a message¡­ ¡°Oh yeah? And what will you tell him? That you¡¯re ditching formal studies for a fantasy? That magic is real and shit?¡± I¡­ thought of saying hi. That¡¯s what friends do, right? ¡°When was the last time you spoke to a friend? Pepe? Vito? What about Venus?¡± I flinch for a moment. ¡°We can fix that right now! Let¡¯s go chat with Patricio when we get home!¡± I¡­ don¡¯t think I will, no. The mere idea of getting in contact with him makes me a little sick from the nerves, especially considering I don¡¯t really have an answer for what he told me before. I remain as undecided on the whole ¡®career¡¯ deal as I was that day. With a hand I call for a passing taxi, and I have the luck of being acknowledged. You never know with the Taxists these days, it is very well known that they dislike the college students in this city. Maybe he is hurting for money. I sit down, tell the man where I need to go, and stop thinking about things for a moment as the car moves¡­ only to feel my phone vibrating. It vibrates more than once. That means someone¡¯s calling me. I start sweating almost immediately, as I carefully pull the thing out. Two possibilities, it js either spam, or it is my parents. It is my parents. ¡°Calm down.¡± ¡°How do you think they would feel if they knew how fucking distressed their presence make you? Do you think they would ask ¡®whatever did we do wrong?¡¯ or something like that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen. Just¡­ remember that they¡¯ve never meant anything bad, ok? They will accept you, regardless of your results in college.¡± I gulp¡­ and with a deep breath, I put on the mask. All trembling stops, just like that night at the planetarium¡­ although it really pains me to compare mom and dad to the cloaks. With another deep breath, I pick up. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°Ohhhhh hi there Santi! How are you today? I hope I didn¡¯t catch you too busy!¡± Mom was as vital and energetic as ever. Despite her old age, she really always acts like a far younger woman. That¡¯s admirable, at least to me. ¡°She will die eventually, too.¡± Saints above, shut up. ¡°I¡¯m fine mom! I was just returning from the library. We started vacation this week, so I was picking some stuff to read on my own.¡± Not technically a lie. ¡°How are things over there in Sumpf?¡± ¡°Ohhh you know, there¡¯s never much to tell around here. Your dad and Vito always at each other¡¯s throats¡­ I really hope they''ll get along a bit better with time.¡± ¡°They wont. If anything, it will get worse.¡± Vito will grow wiser and dad will grow older, I am sure things will get better. ¡°Hah, I guess some things never change¡­ what about you? Feeling fine?¡± ¡°Oh you know me, I am fine! For now.¡± She laughed loudly. ¡°And you, Santi? How do you feel?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Damn it. I hesitated. I need to give that a reason NOW. ¡°... Well I had a bit of a toothache before, but beyond that, all¡¯s¡­¡± I sigh. ¡°Okay, maybe not so good. Mom, I think I flunked my exams this time¡­¡± ¡°Oh my dear¡­¡± She sighed, before going back to her positive self. ¡°Don¡¯t torture yourself over it now. Wait for the actual grade to be announced, then torture yourself!¡± ¡°Moom!¡± ¡°I am just kidding sweetie.¡± She chuckled a bit. ¡°It is fine, we all fail sometimes¡­ really, it¡¯s not the end of the world, I swear.¡± ¡°She¡¯s trying to soften the blow from the fact that you¡¯re a fucking failure.¡± I shudder. ¡°You are doing your best, that¡¯s all that matters.¡± ¡°Are you?¡± ¡°We are proud of you, Santi. Never forget that.¡± ¡°They were proud. Now? They are just enduring you.¡± My lips tremble, a sharp breath escapes me. No, please. I can¡¯t cry in a damn taxi¡­ ¡°...Mom.¡± ¡°Yes, dear?¡± ¡°... What if this career isn¡¯t what I am meant to do?¡± ¡°We are not ¡®meant¡¯ to do things. The Saints put us here to try and improve ourselves, but there¡¯s no one dictated path, dear.¡± Sometimes I forget that mom is quite religious, it makes me smile a little bit. ¡°I know, I know. But that¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± I hesitate again, breathing in and out, trying to keep the panic attack at bay. ¡°... Mom¡­ what if this is not the career I am built for?¡± ¡°Well¡­ you can always change, dear! It is no problem, don¡¯t worry about the money. We can afford it, especially with your scholarship!¡± I certainly lost that one with my disastrous performance here, but I don¡¯t have the guts to tell Mom that. ¡°As if she didn¡¯t know already. She¡¯s not stupid.¡± ¡°... Thank you mom.¡± ¡°Any time, dear. If there¡¯s ANYTHING at all that you feel like telling me, remember that I am always on your side, okay?¡± ¡°Yes mom.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, ¡®yes mom¡¯, that means ¡®shut up already, old lady¡¯, right?¡± She giggled. ¡°Mooom!¡± ¡°Alright, alright¡­ I hope you can come back soon, okay? We miss you.¡± ¡°I miss you too.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t believe you. None of them do. They think you¡¯re cold, distant and a failure on top of all that.¡± ¡°I love you mom.¡± ¡°Love you too, Santi.¡± Click. The taxi is not moving, it hasn¡¯t been for a while now. The old man behind the steering wheel looks at me with concern. ¡°We¡¯re here¡­ kid. If something is wrong, you gotta tell your mom. Trust me¡­ there are many things I wish I told mine before she passed.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know us. You have no idea about us. Stop talking so familiarly to us and go away.¡± I flinch, pushing down that response and just sighing. ¡°I know¡­ thank you.¡± After paying the man, I walk out of the taxi and let it go, standing in front of my apartment complex for a moment. I really don¡¯t want to cry today. But I already feel some tears going down my face. Why am I like this? Chapter 18 A good shower helps temper my feelings a little bit. I don¡¯t usually take multiple showers on a single day but, after the close encounter with Mom¡­ I really felt like I needed one. I can¡¯t help but feel a little guilty about it too, considering she would feel so terrible if she knew the distress talking with her caused me. ¡°She tries her best to be good to you and you answer with such contempt. You always find ways to be worse, huh?¡± Ignoring myself is easier in the shower. The warm water makes it all feel so distant, after all¡­ but eventually, I have to go out. I can¡¯t just stay here until I die. There¡¯s still work to be done, after all. When the water stops running, I get out of the shower and dry myself up, get in my pajamas (as I don¡¯t plan to go out or talk to any more people today) and then walk over to the living room¡¯s table. My latest acquisition, ¡®The Bastard¡¯s Guide to Magic¡¯, is resting right beside my computer and ¡°The Butterflies of Creation¡±. To be honest, I am quite excited to start reading and practicing. Or, well, I was pretty excited. Right now I am more like, neutral towards it. Neutral towards everything. I honestly am just going through the motions of life, and the more I think about that fact, the more bitter I become. I am seriously considering just throwing the rest of the day in the garbage bin and just dedicating myself to playing and sleeping (again), when suddenly the computer dings. A message? UndeadVito: hey. UndeadVito: what¡¯s your favorite kind of engine? My eyes are glued to the screen for a solid three minutes, as my brain races to try and understand the question. Engine? As in, a car¡¯s engine? Knowing Vito, it had to be a car¡¯s engine. That boy has always been very into cars even at his young age¡­ I remember telling him he was ¡®obsessed¡¯ with the stuff¡­ ¡­To this day I regret saying that. I am sure it has contributed to him being cagey about his interests with others. No, no time to get lost in guilt. Focus. He¡¯s reaching out, that means he has an idea he wants to share, or he¡¯s bored. Either way, I want to be there for him. Time to push all that depression deep inside and ignore it for a bit. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I dunno o.o hmm¡­ xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Never really thought of it! uwu Are V-Engines still a thing? UndeadVito: V-Engines are very much still a thing, ye. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Then that! n.n UndeadVito: normie. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Bitch! w< it was hard but, I did! souseiseki: what are we talking about now? I doubt for a second. Can I even talk about this book in the chatbox? Considering it is supposed to be a secret¡­ Canned Tea: things Canned Tea: and stuff Canned Tea: nunya biz souseiseki: o.o souseiseki: you¡¯re getting awfully chummy with this one. Is that jealousy I feel in the air? I can¡¯t help but smirk a little bit there. But I shake it off immediately. No, don¡¯t start trouble! ¡°Homewrecker.¡± We don¡¯t even know if those two are a thing! Not to mention, it is not even like that. We¡¯re just¡­ ¡­ Can I really say we¡¯re friends this early? Acquaintances. We¡¯re acquaintances. Canned Tea: no idea what you talkin about here Canned Tea: it¡¯s nothing souseiseki: o.o souseiseki: if you say so. @ Jeep creep: ahhh children these days @ Jeep creep: it¡¯s so cute souseiseki: shut the fuck up mort. Tav: lol Anyways, see you all! n.n/ Tav has disconnected from the Chatbox. With a satisfied sigh, I turn to check on the book, carefully opening the old thing and whispering the keywords once again, this time watching the ink swirl and shift around the page like the waters in a rowdy river. Chapter 19 To my beloved Marcus I know you will make sure this Heart reaches every lost Bastard or any curious soul in general until this guide is no longer necessary. It makes me so sad to think I won''t live to see that day. It is hard for me to say this, but if this book has made its way into your hands, it means that it is already too late for you. For some reason, whichever it may be, you are already in the middle of our situation. And taking the chance now that I already said something so depressing, here is another thing: there is no way for you to get out of it. Are you being surrounded by strange events lately? I don¡¯t know, maybe the lights around you blink more often than not, the radio changes stations without anyone touching the dial? The animals are suddenly extremely aggressive, or maybe unnaturally tame towards you? Suddenly you can¡¯t shake the feeling that someone, or something, is staring at you from somewhere unseen in the room¡­ I guess that I don¡¯t need to mention how this all started. You probably saw something you weren¡¯t meant to see, didn¡¯t you. Some random person breaking the rules of reality in one way or another. A guy flying, a girl on the streets spitting fire, objects appearing out of nowhere. Nothing makes sense and no one seems to care or know how to explain it. Well my friend, I am sorry to inform you that you have been infected. You are incubating the Arcane Infection, and you are now Awake. Now, you are a Mage. A Bastard Mage, if you don¡¯t have a master to guide you¡­ which is most probably the case. If this is the first time you read this book, or any kind of Draconian Text, this probably doesn¡¯t make any sense. I know, it didn¡¯t make sense for me either when I was in your place, almost seventy years ago. But trust me, everything will be explained in time. Just be patient, and stay with me, ok? Keep calm, and keep reading. The first thing you need to learn is to shut up. You cannot talk about this with anyone who hasn¡¯t experienced it and holds some sort of relevant position in society. Really. Famous scientists, politicians, Mayors, I don¡¯t know. Anyone who tends to be trusted by non-mages. Just. Don¡¯t. If you already did, let¡¯s hope they didn¡¯t believe you. With some luck, you were disregarded as a fool, a maniac or a person with too vivid of an imagination. If you survive past three days or so after opening your dumb mouth, you should be safe? Now don¡¯t do that again. The Black Pages don¡¯t like it when you try to talk about this¡­ Remember that sensation of being stalked? Let¡¯s say that it will eventually go away, unless you are stupid or naive enough to try and bring attention to this deal. Yes. Magic is real. Good for you. Now shut your piehole and keep reading unless you want to be remembered soon. Walls have eyes and ears, and they¡¯ll probably continue to have them for two or three months. Trying to run away will only perpetuate this, so the best thing you can do is not think about it. Do something stupid in these months and you will die. Disappear. Kaput. Remembered. There are people who want to maintain this as a secret. That is another thing I will explain in time. Right now you have two options: You can learn how to manage this new ¡°gift¡± (if you want to call it that) in a remotely appropriate way; or you can just be another idiot, and try to live a normal life. What? You think I am being unnecessarily aggressive? Well maybe I am. But you need to understand the gravity of this situation. Because I lied. You have no options. Learn how to use this new capability to your advantage, or you will die in a freak accident. If after reading this you prefer to just keep on with your life like nothing happened, then good for you. Close the book, and put it back where it was. With some luck it will land in the hands of someone less dense. . . . Still reading? Good. Excellent! Sit down, get comfortable, maybe grab a drink. This is going to be long. Among the words of this tome in your hands, you will find all the information I have been able to gather along my eighty god damn years of life, or at least all that you need to know to keep yourself alive until getting a proper guide. It will be a long journey, and many of the things here won''t make much sense, especially because I had to take the time to adapt and translate documents three or four centuries old to a mostly understandable format. So you better be thankful. The first thing I want you to know: please, for the love of God, do not settle for the things I am exposing here. All the information in this book will be absolutely basic, it won¡¯t replace a formal education.. All the information here is for you to know where you are, how to start, and where to aim. And now is when I am going to start telling you what IS inside this book. We will start with something simple: what is Magic (or ¡°The Art¡±) exactly, how did you end up in this situation and why is it important that you study it by yourself. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Then, after the general explanation, I will talk a little about our ¡°Society¡±, if we can call a bunch of lonely, grumpy jackasses a ¡°Mage Society¡±. There are some non-written rules of etiquette and other details that you need to keep in mind, if you want to keep the head on your neck. Another section of the book will talk about the dangers around us¡­ and this section will be, ironically enough, quite short, because the less you know about it, the better. Mystery is your greatest ally, it¡¯s everyone¡¯s greatest ally. All that you don¡¯t know is as important as what you do know. And that is what the fourth chapter is about. Each Mage has their own magical system, according to which they can create a Heart. There are as many ways of Magic as Mages in the world (so, not really that many), but all of them share some similarities. Chapter Five is about the foundations of a ritual. Not every magical system has rituals, but it is always useful to learn and understand how these work, just in case you may find yourself in a desperate situation.. Finally, Chapter Six will be a directory with Formulas, Glyphs and Thrills that should serve as a starting point for all of you. Nothing too complex, but still, very useful. I left a few blank pages here, for you to add anything you learn and feel convenient. If any of you misuses it, I swear to the Gods. And this would be the real reason behind this tome: take whatever you can, leave what you create for others to use. I started this book as some sort of reproduction of the classic ¡°Metodolog¨ªa del Fant¨¢stico¡±, that dear Gwendolin de Recattio left for us almost four hundred years ago, and that is obviously beyond obsolete at this point. That and also probably burned to ashes as many other manuals end up. Take notes damn it, I will leave spaces for everyone to make a little mark. But for the love of the Gods don¡¯t use your real name, don¡¯t be an imbecile. Let¡¯s make something together. Let¡¯s create something important for once in our stupid lives. Let¡¯s make the Bastard''s life a little easier. Gato. That casual exclamation to the so-called ¡®gods¡¯ makes it clear that this book is either heretical or very old. Then again, the Wohlian it is written in is quite modern¡­ but that could be the effect of magic, right? After all, this thing is written in ¡®draconic¡¯, which seems to be a magical language that self-translates or something? But that was not the only thing that kinda came to my attention. This guy, Gato, is treating magic like this incredibly serious and dangerous thing¡­ and I can¡¯t help but feel a little nervous about it. I mean, everyone seems to be doing just fine, even if there are a few rules that I have to consider. Was this deal really so complicated? Well, Gato was the expert, and it felt like everyone respected them plenty so¡­ I will abide by them! Besides, the knowledge here is beyond promising! A part of me wants to skip right to chapter 6 and start learning new runes! But no, I have to be patient, I have to learn the way it was intended and take my time absorbing/acclimating to the knowledge! That does remind me, I have my own runes to learn and start using, too¡­ should I begin practicing that before I start learning new ones? ¡°Wait. Before you do any of that¡­ there¡¯s more on the page?¡± Huh? I will add as much as I can! This book is a great resource but it is also a bit outdated, after all it¡¯s been almost 80 years since its writing! Don¡¯t give up! We will see this through! ¡ª Giovanni. If I leave that idiot in charge of the notes he will undoubtedly forget things. Take his optimism with a grain of salt. Pay attention. ¡ª Mustaf¨¢. Annotations? I quickly open the file on my computer to compare¡­ and just as I thought, these annotations are not on the scanned version. The beginning is exactly the same, but the writing makes it obvious that these two were written at different times, by the same hand but, still, copied individually! I look down at my physical version again. Who are these people? And why did they feel the need to vandalize the book like this? I can only beg for them to actually make sensible and useful comments. If this book is as old as they say, maybe the updates will be a good thi¨C Wait, only 80 years? I thought a book like this would be at least a century old. Maybe magic is surprisingly modern after all! ¡°Fat chance. Gato quoted one of his sources, ¡®Metodolog¨ªa del Fant¨¢stico¡¯, which should be around five hundred years old.¡± Hmmm, whatever the case¡­ I should ask someone about this. But I can¡¯t just go right back to the Chatbox after saying I would be busy, that would be silly! I instead connect to the Messenger. Pepe is not online, probably planning a cool vacation with his family or something. Vito is out drawing, Patricio is online but busy¡­ ah, there it is! The group Gal made. Someone should know something there¡­ xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Hi hi! n.n Anyone here? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hey Tav, just me for now! the others are busy or snoring. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I wish I could go for some zzz right now xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Is it late where you live? o.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: early, we have a few hours of difference between Wohl and Rayah. The Commonwealth of Rayah¡­ that¡¯s on the literal other side of Jericho, so of course we have half a day of difference! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Wait O.o is it like, five in the morning over there then!? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: eyeup GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: today I gotta take care of granny¡¯s business and that means waking up EARLY xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Damn u.u I hope you have a good day, remember to keep hydrated! GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hah, will do, will do. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Hmmm¡­ hey, sorry to bother you with this but, I gotta ask¡­ uwu xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Have you ever heard of Mustaf¨¢ and/or Giovanni? uwu GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: in what context? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: those are names, you¡¯re saying names right now xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: In magic contexts? O.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: not a clue, sorry xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Bah, probably just a couple of randos then u.u xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Oh well, thank you anyways! n.n GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: where did you even find those names? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ah! I found them in the physical version of the book you sent me! GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: why did you go looking for that? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I don¡¯t like reading in electronic media TwT GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hmmm ok but be careful GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: don¡¯t go testing the knowledge of randos or something like that xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I won¡¯t, I won¡¯t -u- I will be nice and careful! Cracking my knuckles, I finally get back into the book. Finally, some answers at hand! Chapter 20 The halls of the Alchemist¡¯s inner library were flowing with the scent of burning incense sticks. Mustaf¨¢ herself had never really cared for the mystical ambience so many other magicians favored, all the smoke and mirrors, the flashy silks and the sparkly crystal balls, but she couldn¡¯t really deny their use when it came to matters of the soul. She despised working on her own decaying, dwindling flame, but she knew that it was a process she needed to repeat every three months or so. To ignore it for longer proved not only damaging to her health, but also terrible for her mental faculties; and as much as she was willing to sacrifice her own well being for the pursuit of her craft, her mind was something she was not willing to compromise. So, after spending some time watching her hermit crabs and reading a few old books, she decided it was finally time to feed the hearth of her soul some fuel. So there she was, in the very center of her beloved library, right where many bookshelf hallways converged into a perfectly circular section. She sat cross legged on the secret spiraling circle she had designed specifically for this purpose, runes long forgotten by the world now traced on the floor''s dark rock, accompanied by exactly eight candles positioned in an octagon contained within the circle. This configuration alone was enough to make the air feel dense. It got even worse when Mustaf¨¢ actually lit the candles. The energy, normally thin and flowing in the air, now began to converge on the circle which the alchemist sat upon; vibrating octarine light seeped through the carvings like water through the cracks of a ship breaking down. Bubbling, foaming, rising like fat drops of magic from the floor to the ceiling¡­it was a dangerous sign. If the mage didn¡¯t keep a close eye on the balance of energy, on how magic flowed around her and through her, it could easily overwhelm and break through the tears in reality she was making. She was used to this process, to the risks that it entailed, but not even she was prideful and foolish enough to ignore them or take them for granted. Every time she borrowed energy from the Infinite to rekindle her own life force, she was risking not only ending her own life, but many others as well, in an explosion beyond anything mankind had seen so far. It all could be so, so much easier if she simply sacrificed a few lives. Five beloved pets, a dozen pieces of cattle that no one cared for. One or two humans. But no. She refused in principle, not out of love for humanity but out of¡­ of¡­ Fear. She would never admit it to anyone but herself, but despite being as irresponsible and unethical as the people with the cloaks would say, she had set her own limits at consuming the souls of others. She had seen what this path led to, how the sensation of extinguishing a life and stealing it from the very Cycle of Existence changed a person, usually for the worse. Mustaf¨¢ was her own person. With all the flaws and hardships that implied. She would not be consumed by such base cravings and feelings. She would remain herself to the day she died. At least, this is what she had been repeating to herself for centuries now. ¡°... I am¡­ stalling?¡± The alchemist finally catches herself thinking in such morbid directions, just wasting precious time she could be using in the ritual. The effects of her soul¡¯s decay were definitely getting to her. With a deep breath, the mage stretched and repositioned herself within the circle-octagon. She held her hands together and held the air inside her lungs until her head felt light, and only then she let go with a slow, deep whisper¡­ The words she spoke were fast, crisp, and practiced. Her lips moved at great speeds as she recited the incantation in the Language of the Gods. Such knowledge had also been lost with time¡­ maybe for the best. The energy of the world, precious flowing mana, changed direction and began swirling around the mage, just as her lungs grew emptier and emptier as she held the ludicrously long words on her lips. Then, she paused. This was the trickiest part of the spell. Before all that mana could escape, Mustaf¨¢ took another deep breath, forcing it deep into her lungs. A literal breath of lifeforce was absorbed by her body. Her soul, a mere smouldering ember by then, suddenly burst with amazing power right then, turning into a pyre so big it was almost visible as a pale blue aura around the woman. In that instant she was one with everything, she was breathing just like the planet did, feeling the pain of pollution and disrepair aching on her body like a thousand cramps that almost forced her to curl, but she resisted it. Right as it was about to become unbearable, as sweat dripped down her dark skin, she began the new incantation. The one that severed this connection. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Slowly, gently, she cut the threads that now bound her to Jericho itself, and the pain subsided. She had succeeded, once again stealing a negligible part of the planet¡¯s life for herself. Somewhere in the world a flower shriveled too soon, a tree lost some of its leaves¡­ Now, came the convenient but oh-so-unpleasant side-effect. Right as energy stopped flowing, and the liquid octarine light of the circle itself stopped dripping upwards, Mustaf¨¢ had to open her eyes. With a hurting body and an unprepared psyche, she forced herself to go through with it; once she opened even the slightest of ways, it was too late: magic forced her eyelids open in its escape from her body. It felt like torrents of thick, luminous water, pushing out of her eyes and spilling all around her before dissipating. While this all happened, Mustaf¨¢ was temporarily granted the gift of prophecy. And the visions of the North Pole would begin once again. She saw the mist rising after the final smite of the Gods striking Jericho¡¯s frozen soil, and then: shadows of many sizes and shapes began to form from the darkness that had accumulated in this world. All the fear, the ill will, the anger and the sadness of an entire world manifested in the shape of creatures humanity had not seen since the dawn of the Age of Silence. All of them hellbent on the destruction of the world that had banished them. After that, there was little that could be done. Sleepers were not equipped to deal with such a menace, the secret of magic would be revealed and thus, the sorcery of man would lose its light. She saw people of all nations joining and trying to face this danger together, a little too late for it to be truly a factor. The world would be set aflame, and then consumed by Oblivion. The visions had become foreboding and repetitive with time, Mustaf¨¢ had analyzed each one carefully in her mind at this point, trying to find clues to stop the coming of this catastrophe: The Second Sacrifice. Nothing had changed this time¡­ except that, for an instant, it did. Mustaf¨¢ herself trembled, as she saw another figure abandoning the mist, a small figure wearing an old black and white dress, a cape and a witch hat a little too big for her own head. The figure smiled, addressing the observing mage directly. ¡°H¡­ Humiko¡­!?¡± The alchemist instinctively reached out. The woman in her visions held a finger to her lips for a moment, asking for silence, before pulling something from under her cape. An old, weathered leather book. Simple at first, but then under the right light, the weavings of a particularly powerful magic could be seen. Mustaf¨¢ stared at it intently, memorizing its form, the patterns in the old cover, every crack on its back¡­until suddenly, the vision was no more. She was lying on the floor once more, the candles snuffed, the floor still a mess of raw, slowly fading octarine light. The alchemist slowly stood back up, cleaning the tears and the sweat off her face and taking a deep, clean breath. Her throat was sore, burning, but she knew it would fade as well. This wasn¡¯t the time to dwell on the pain of her physical vessel, especially not now that her soul was burning as brightly as any other. She would be fine no matter what, so all this time was better used to comprehend her vision. What was Humiko doing there? Was this a way to communicate from beyond the veil of Death? It was not unheard of that a few particularly enduring souls could leave messages and even create new ones on the other side. But it was also not impossible for visions to be tainted with the thoughts of an individual, and thanks to a certain undesirable, she had been remembering her old friend these days. There was a non-zero possibility that this vision had been a fluke. After all, when Humiko died, she had taken all the tomes the huntress had accumulated and added them to her own collection! And none of them resembled the book she had seen. ¡­ Did they? Damn it, now she had to perform a full-on scan to make sure she was remembering correctly. The strange book in her vision could have been an invention of her subconscious, a mere fabrication, a hallucination! Or it could also be a sign, a message left by Humiko in preparation for the Second Sacrifice. The possibilities were, again, non-zero. So, she had to prepare for all possible scenarios. She had not survived this far making assumptions! And so, as her body recovered its energies and her legs stopped trembling, she went straight to the section of the library where the tomes written by Humiko Suzumura had been sealed. There were quite a few, each a treasure trove on how to face the few remnants of supernatural activity left in the world after the Great Exodus Manuals on the calming of angry spirits, the costumes of a few supernatural communities, the antidote to many a magical ailment. This was the kind of folk knowledge that had once been abundant around Jericho, now completely lost due to the actions of the Brotherhood. All for the sake of keeping humanity on ¡®the right track¡¯. ¡°Bah.¡± Mustaf¨¢ was still a bit emotional from the encounter with wild magic. At least, more emotional than usual¡­ she had to shrug off the impulse of swearing loudly in contempt of the Brotherhood¡¯s creed. She understood it and was aware that technology would have never advanced as much as it did if not for them. But she still found it lacking and restrictive. Worst was the absolute disrespect they felt for her. They treated her like a geriatric mess, a dementia-riddled ancient remnant of the old world, too powerful to be erased, so instead they chose to keep her busy with their trivial chores and inane questions¡­ Sigh. Best to try and focus on the job once more. One by one she took the precious, old books¡­ all of them had the same leather binding, but none of them looked quite like the one the alchemist had seen in her vision. They all looked older, much more weathered, without the intricate patterns that one tome had had. They were not as protected as that tome had been. She took a few hours to look over each book in the Humiko section, amplified by the time-warping effects of the L-Space¡­ and yet she found nothing, not a single one fit for her search. With another grumbling sigh, Mustaf¨¢ decided to simply let go of all work for the day and returned to her ¡®cage¡¯, the old apartment where she was kept. Back in her room, she looked around herself. She felt restless, not even in the mood to observe her crabs. Instead, she simply floated over to the tiny round window, unique in the whole room, to observe the city of Obuda. Life was still going, so simple, so rushed, so uncaring of the impending doom encroaching around them¡­ Mustaf¨¢ watched, and she wondered. ¡°Should I feel envy of the Sleeper? She who does not know a thing and simply goes by the motions of life without a worry about the true matters of this world?¡± She meditated on it for a moment. She then decided that no. She would much rather be a mage. But it did get tiresome sometimes. Chapter 21 My eyes go through the book with evergrowing emotion. Magic, or as we in the community call it: ¡°The Art¡±, manifests in many and mostly subtle ways. You¡¯ve probably read it in books before, with huge blasts of magical fire, or instant teleportation across hundreds of miles. All of that is true, and very possible, but also quite complicated to pull off without making yourself explode in the attempt. As I said before, I am here to stop you from exploding, so you have quite a lot to look forward to! The possibilities are almost literally infinite. A very important concept that you must understand is that ALL spells, every single one of them, share 2 very specific characteristics: So, if you have been paying attention, it is clear that ¡°Magic¡±is the art of communicating messages as clearly as possible, while at the same time keeping the mystery of its methods. It¡¯s all about shock and awe! And this gets some strange fellows to develop entire personas for their magical purposes. We may laugh a little at their rather unorthodox position but, we can¡¯t deny how effective such things are, so never look down on a mage for their theatrics. Trust me, most of them have it very well calculated. Finally I am getting to the interesting parts of it all. My pen moves so quickly as I make a few little notes on my own notebook while reading the context provided by Gato. If I am understanding this correctly, magic shouldn¡¯t be too different to writing or talking, but I have to start getting used to talking in riddles! ¡°It¡¯s all about trying to make yourself sound interesting and mysterious.¡± ¡°So all mages are pompous assholes then? Oh boy, what a headache.¡± I guess it makes sense, if this ¡®language of magic¡¯ really is the root of it all, and people barely even know it is a language at all? With a few nods, I continue reading down. Speaking of arts, The Art is not just named like that for no reason. Magic seems intrinsically tied to human passion, and there is no better way to let said passion out and seen than through art. So, having a good, basic knowledge of the 7 Fine Arts may prove useful to understand the ways in which magic manifests: Always remember that these different Arts can be useful to classify the ways magic manifests, but they are only one way out of many. I can feel my eyes widen as my brain suddenly expanded. So that¡¯s why they call it ¡®The Art¡¯ then, huh? This only got me more into it, I can¡¯t wait to start writing spells! I wonder if making them rhyme has any interesting effects on the spell itself¡­ if they don¡¯t know it is a language, maybe no one has tried writing poetry with it, hmmm? ¡°Focus on actually learning how to do things without exploding. That should be your priority, idiot.¡± Sure, sure. Saints above, my excitement knows no bounds. I can¡¯t even focus on reading anymore! I have to tell someone! I go straight to the messenger again¡­ people are talking! Reading up, I realize they were welcoming this new person to the group¡­ ¡®Jeepers creepers man¡¯. ¡°Well at least Mort is consistent.¡± xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Aaaaaaaa! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Hey everyone! n.n Jeepers creepers man: hi there Tav GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: hey Tav! have you met Mort yet? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Yeah, he¡¯s nice :3 Jeepers creepers man: Gal couldn¡¯t keep his excitement about his new friend group quiet and I demanded to be included Jeepers creepers man: hope that doesn¡¯t bother you xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: The more the merrier n.n ¡°You say that, but I bet if they tried to include Souseiseki here you¡¯d be crying like a baby.¡± Shut up. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I started reading the book today! >w< Jeepers creepers man: the book? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: gato¡¯s guide Jeepers creepers man: oh shit that¡¯s right, you only recently woke up right? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Yeah¡­ n.nUu I blink for a second, smacking my own face. That¡¯s right, I am not supposed say stuff about that. Fortunately, Gal seems to be ready for me to screw up! But that does make me wonder, exactly how much did Gal tell Mort? Then again, how much could Gal tell? I haven¡¯t been saying much of myself or my situation beyond what¡¯s required of me, I haven¡¯t even mentioned the book I am supposed to translate! The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Should I do that? ¡°The book said not to.¡± ¡°Maybe we can do it, but only if we are stuck. No need to take unnecessary risks!¡± Maybe, maybe¡­ xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: So magic is like Art in a lot of ways, hmmm? o.o Jeepers creepers man: yep yep, or well, it¡¯s like the act of creating and expressing. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: so art? lol Jeepers creepers man: no no, not necessarily? Jeepers creepers man: i wouldn¡¯t call what i do art at least heheheh xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: What do you work with, Mort? n.n Jeepers creepers man: artifacts, mostly xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Artifacts? o.o Jeepers creepers man: eyeup. GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: mort is a weaver, he makes magical items Jeepers creepers man: some people call them miracles, but i feel that¡¯s a bit conceited Miracles, eh? I wonder if it is too hard to make magical items like that¡­ My eyes go back to the Guide. There¡¯s so much more to cover, I can¡¯t help but feel a bit excited about it. ¡°If only you were this intense and motivated when it came to your actual studies.¡± The First Law Also called ¡°The Law of Contagious Magic¡±, or more recently simplified to ¡°Law of Contagion¡±, it is a very simple concept: The Art spreads like fire on dry grass, and easily inspires those who see it. Being witness to a Magical Event has a 99% chance to brand you as a mage ready to be born*. Ah hah! So it doesn¡¯t happen at birth, you contract it, like a disease! A particularly cool disease but still a disease! I guess that¡¯s why they call it the ¡®Arcane Infection¡¯ and all that. But it always is talked about with such contempt! Do mages hate magic or something? Or maybe it is way more dangerous than I realize. Reading down, I realize there are footnotes. Mustaf¨¢ and Giovanni already have something to say, huh? * I apologize for the note, but I feel it¡¯s important to make a little addendum here. You need to be a Direct witness to magic for the Infection to affect you. Digital means won¡¯t cut it. There, just that. Keep on, you¡¯re doing great!! =) Huh. I don¡¯t even have time to wonder about that¡­ why doesn¡¯t it work with recordings? I guess that¡¯s convenient, means that being caught on camera doesn¡¯t mean the birth of several other mages. Maybe there¡¯s an element of physicality to magic? Tiny microorganisms causing the power to flow in interesting ways or something? ¡°No midichlorians, please.¡± Hey, I wouldn¡¯t discard the idea if I were you. Anyways. There¡¯s another note under that one. * Also, the possibility of being branded is only 90.7%. There are people naturally resistant to the infection, those we call ¡°Savants¡±. Now that¡¯s some strange trivia. I guess that like any sickness, some people are simply more resistant to it. Once you have been branded, it is a matter of a few days before your ideas turn into inspirations, and these are not always benign. Your thoughts will grow louder, especially the intrusive ones, and magical beings of all kinds (including your fellow mages) will start taking notice of your presence. Machinery will start to malfunction in your presence, or behave strangely*. Machinery? I mean, I haven¡¯t been close to any industrial kind of machinery but¡­ ah, a note from Giovanni. * Sorry, me again. This manual was written in 1930! So its references may be a little stale¡­ electronics will also start behaving strangely around you, so be careful next time you get on a computer! ¡­ Now I look at my laptop, warily. I haven¡¯t experienced anything weird since I ¡®woke up¡¯, and I have been giving the old girl quite the use these days! If anything was to happen, it should have happened already! The rules of reality will become looser around you, and that will bring all sorts of problems. Iron will acquire the properties of rubber but only for a second, the wind will whisper things, people will get headaches more often looking at you. That sort of thing. All will culminate in an event we call ¡°The Awakening¡±. An idea like none other will strike you, inspiration that feels heavenly, and in what will feel to you like a flash of light, you will catch a glimpse of The Tree of Origins. Specifically, a Rune on its bark. Congratulations, that is your first Rune! The first magical effect at your disposal. Ah. That¡¯s why. I woke up almost immediately after witnessing magic, so I probably didn¡¯t have time to destroy my computer or anything around me. I didn¡¯t live through the unstable period between witnessing and awakening¡­ sad. ¡°What do you mean ¡¯sad¡¯!? You could have destroyed our computer! This was a lucky break, really!¡± I guess so¡­ but a part of me really wanted to live the whimsical period of magic a bit more. ¡°You¡¯re an ungrateful slut.¡± My eyes narrow again at the book¡­ there was nothing wrong with it, so call me crazy for saying this, but: it feels like something is missing. As if an entire section of the book had been erased and the remaining parts had been folded together. ¡°That¡¯s a very specific feeling.¡± I told you, call me crazy! But that¡¯s just how it feels to me¡­ So things are simple so far, right: Be witness to magic, awaken and acquire your first Rune, then you learn to use it. But how does any of this happen? No one really knows. But we have a theory. Anvil Theory Magic breaks the rules of Reality every time it is used, without fail. Of course there are people who don¡¯t feel satisfied with this and actually want to know why and how, and the answers are¡­ varied. To the point I¡¯m writing this, the most accepted theory is the Theory of the Anvil*. * If a new theory comes along and is accepted as widely as the Anvil Theory, I will note it here. If there¡¯s nothing, just assume the Theory still holds¡­ or I am dead. Imagine there is an Anvil in your head, a base upon which every thought is forged. This Anvil is the thought of Reality as Mundane, the reliable feeling that things are just the way they are, and that they can¡¯t change. Magical Ideas hit this Anvil like a hammer, confronting and eroding it, but also creating sparks in the friction. These sparks are what we know as Astral, or Magical Energy. This is the energy that gets used on every spell you cast. This is why it is said that every Mage needs to keep a bit of a Cynic inside of them,an inner Critic that keeps them grounded in reality: without the sparks, there is no magic, so if the Cynic disappears and you go completely insane, your magical effects will cease to be*. * The opposite is also true! If your Anvil becomes too robust, from a lack of whimsy and self-belief, magic will cease to flow as well. Keep your sense of wonder!! * But do not lose your objective view of the world. Magic is nonsense and you must remember this, keep it close to your heart. The other factor in this is Emotion. The Hammer must hit the Anvil with enough strength to make sparks fly, and this can only be done with enough emotion put behind the swings. Now in easier terms: You won¡¯t cast the spell just by thinking lightly on the rune, or even drawing it on the mud or something. There needs to be emotion and focus behind it. Otherwise, there is no effect. I take quick notes of this. Okay, anvil on the brain, that isn¡¯t too hard to understand. I can picture the sparks flying and magic going wild¡­ and it really makes me excited. To the point where I simply can¡¯t take it anymore! I have to try it, at least once, before continuing my studies! With haste I write the runes I know this far on a piece of paper: ¡®Butterfly¡¯, ¡®Creation¡¯, ¡®The¡¯ (I am still unconvinced on this one), ¡®Touch¡¯ (I am still unsure on this one too), ¡®Negative¡¯ and ¡®On/Ignite¡¯. That last one is the one I saw during my Awakening, and the one with the easier effect to understand¡­ I will try that. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Yes. ¡°Alright then, your funeral.¡± Alright. I draw ¡®On¡¯ on another piece of paper, stand up, and hold it in front of me. Without being able to wait anymore, I enunciate. ¡°GOLTHOI!¡± I put on as much emotion as I could, imagining¡­ oh damn it I didn¡¯t imagine a thing, I didn¡¯t try to communicate a thing, didn¡¯t I? I just said it! Oh n¨C Before I could say anything more, the piece of paper bursts into bright green flames, before turning back to regular fire in an instant. By instinct I drop it on the floor, where the burning flames start to devour the carpet. Oh no. Chapter 22 ¡°AH! FIRE! BURNING EVERYWHERE! OH HELL NO, HELP, AAAAA!¡± On the screen, one could see young Tav running around the living room for a moment, before picking a barely used extinguisher from behind a closet¡¯s door and spraying it wrong at the growing fire on her floor. Blanco stared, amused, as the little baby steps this Bastard Mage was taking into The Art. The flames of Tav¡¯s first (or well, maybe second) spell were beautiful, healthy, full of emotion¡­ He saw potential on the Bastard, at least a little bit. Potential for greatness, but also potential for a lot of mayhem. Out of mere mockery he took a picture of the moment where the panicked Tav took her books off the table, trying to protect them from the flames she failed to extinguish. ¡°They have to see this.¡± The vampire said with a wide, wicked smile. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ send!¡± The creature chuckled, visibly entertained as he sent the picture to the two mages he confided in, just to see if he got any reactions from them. To nobody¡¯s surprise, Giovanni immediately chastised him for laughing at other people¡¯s misfortune. Meanwhile, Mustaf¨¢ sent him no answer¡­ huh, not even going to humor him this time, huh? Fine, he didn¡¯t need her. Giovanni¡¯s righteous indignation was enough for him to smile and chuckle a bit more. Maybe the woman was busy or something. He didn¡¯t really care. The old man sent him a message, even! Ventotto: That better not be Tav killing herself, Blanco! I told you to watch her! [] : And I am watching her and it is hilarious. [] : :3 Ventotto: Do something! [] : Ah she has that covered, old man. No need to fret. [] : 8) [] : Oh by the way she totally has forbidden knowledge on her hands Ventotto: qu¨¦. [] : Yeah. She holding a book, old, leathery. [] : It¡¯s FULL of runes. Ventotto: How full. [] : I didn¡¯t see a single word written in there, only runes in long rows. [] : :o Ventotto: ¡­ it¡¯s written in the Language of the Gods¡­ [] : Can I spook her now? [] : >:) Ventotto: Not yet. I have a feeling¡­ Ventotto: I¡¯ve seen this, in a dream. [] : Oh you and your dreams! Ventotto: I¡¯m serious! Just, make sure she¡¯s safe. [] : Yeah yeah, I will. [] : >:( Blanco stretched his arms lazily and simply laid back for a moment with a yawn. ¡®Look after her¡¯, yeah right. It¡¯s a Bastard Mage! She barely knows how to read the runes. What¡¯s the worst that could happen now? ¡ª--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fire! The books! My computer! MY HOUSE! I have no idea why the extinguisher isn¡¯t working but, it just isn''t! The fire burns right through the chemical powder, somewhat bothered but always roaring back up with enough time! In a panic, I decide that mundane methods will NOT save me right now. So, I try to remember. Do I know any other trick!? ¡°You don¡¯t know the word for ¡®snuff¡¯ or anything. You¡¯re doomed. This is it.¡± Saints damn it all! I can feel tears escaping me as the fire just grows, and grows, like a pillar of flames bursting from the piece of paper. If this really is inextinguishable by regular means then the whole building is doomed too! Urgh! But then, something hits me. Don¡¯t I know the word for ¡®No¡¯? I immediately point at the flames, yelling. ¡°JO!¡± I try pronounce it like ¡°Hoh¡±. Nothing happens. Maybe I am pronouncing it wrong!? I try again, this time pointing at the paper on the floor. ¡°JO!¡± Nothing. It still burns. I pull my hair and try not to just break down sobbing as I think. And then, it hits me again. Maybe just yelling ¡®No¡¯ is not enough! Lucia said I had to write the thing! I can¡¯t really write on the circle without burning my hands. So maybe¡­ I quickly put my books down, grab a piece of paper and scribble a combination, then I seal it in a circle. Not a full circle though, just like the words in the book. Begging for this to work, I hold the paper with my hand, point it facing the fire and breathe in to yell. ¡°JOGOLTHOI!¡± The paper on my hand shines in octarine light immediately¡­ and the fire is snuffed out in an instant. All that¡¯s left is a slowly rising spire of smoke. I stare at what I¡¯ve done for a moment¡­ I messed up, yeah, but I was able to control it! Sorta! A smile begins creeping on my face. I did it? I really did it! ¡°Quick, open the windows!¡± Oh, right! I run over to the windows and open them, letting the smoke out of the living room with a sigh. People will complain about this, and it will be annoying¡­ but that didn¡¯t take away my merit¡­ But now, more questions come to my mind. I still remember, and insist on remembering, that the meaning of ¡®Golthoi¡¯ is not only ¡®Ignite¡¯, it also means ¡®Turn on¡¯! And this is important¡­ because maybe I can use it in more creative ways, then? ¡°Or maybe you shouldn¡¯t, and maybe you should read a bit more before risking it¡­?¡± ¡°I hate to say it but I agree with her. Restrain yourself, damn it.¡± Not yet¡­ There are things I wish to try. Still holding the paper in my hand, I point at the lit lightbulb on the room. If I focus on the message I want to send, point my finger at it and then pronounce the spell as if it was an order. ¡°JOGOLTHOI!¡± Click. The light was off. Marveled by my sudden power over electronics, I run over to write another ¡®On¡¯ rune on a paper and point at the lightbulb, begging to the Saints that it wouldn¡¯t simply burst into flames. ¡°GOLTHOI!¡± Click. The light was on. My smile was back on, trembling and hurting my face from how wide it was. ¡°Do NOT try this on the computer!¡± Yeah no, absolutely not. I suspect turning off my computer suddenly would not do anything good to it¡­ But I have to go and tell someone about it! Now that the smoke has cleared, I close the window and run back to my computer, ignoring the burnt stain on the floor to immediately start typing. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I DID IT! O.O Jeepers creepers man: hmmm? what did you do? xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I have learned MAGIC! My power is LIMITLESS!! O.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I guess that means things are going well huh? lol This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I can turn lights on and off with my mind! Jeepers creepers man: wait what? GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: I thought you couldn¡¯t do that xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Huh? o.o Jeepers creepers man: magic and technology don¡¯t really get along well GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: yeah, careful there! you can¡¯t really know when something will explode! xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I will be careful! n.n I can¡¯t help but feel that these people are exaggerating a little bit, but I have seen many shows in which the nervous and eager apprentice starts doubting their superiors and then chaos ensues. So I better refrain from that and instead focus on what they have to say¡­ for now, at least. ¡°That hubris will be the end of us all, you know?¡± Oh sillyness! What¡¯s the worst that could happen now? ¡ª--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The alchemist was bored. Bored out of her mind. Floating gently around Universe Gamma, all while watching Socrates and Plato frolic about in their enclosure, wasn¡¯t as exciting as it had been in the past. She loved her crabs all the same, even if she would never admit it to anyone (not even herself), but to be honest, it simply didn¡¯t stimulate her! Nor did the silly tasks the Brotherhood sent her way. Solving riddles, making calculations, performing commission spellsmithing for them¡­ it was frustratingly boring. And then, there was the damn Second Sacrifice coming. She had been knocking her head on the wall that was that conundrum for years now, and even if she had made a few interesting advances in the past, right now she was stuck. Trying to get unstuck was terribly frustrating, too¡­ So really, she was just sulking. Mustaf¨¢ was getting ready to actually let the day pass and simply go to sleep, when suddenly her phone vibrated. A message? Who even had her number? The alchemist rolled her eyes and opened the old device, checking the screen only to see a picture of some fool crying in panic over a fire. Blanco often sent her the most bizarre things while he was awake, so she wasn¡¯t fully surprised. It didn¡¯t make it less annoying though. She was more than ready to just disregard the message and simply erase the picture, when suddenly something in the background bothered her. Something familiar. Moved by instinct she connected the phone to her computer, and immediately zoomed as much as she could on the books this fool was carrying. An old notebook, an awfully bound tacky book¡­ and then, a leather bound tome. One carrying the very same patterns she had seen not too long before, in a vision. The alchemist stared long and deep at the image before her until she was fully convinced that this was, indeed, the very same tome. But how! How did it end up in the hands of a bastard!? This had to be corrected, post haste. That book had to be the key to what Humiko was trying to tell her, to the Second Sacrifice, to everything! She had to grab it quickly, before any members of the Brotherhood could find it and burn it. Ignoring her disdain for the damn Forum, Mustaf¨¢ sat at her computer and with one hand began directing the keyboard and the mouse ¡­ while the other summoned forth one of her many tomes and searched through the pages for the correct glyph. There was a very specific reason why she always asked for people¡¯s emails, and it wasn¡¯t just because of protocol. She needed a way to contact them directly, a way to create a connection between her computer and theirs. With some luck, this Tav would still be by her computer. ¡°And¡­ send.¡± ¡ª--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: I mean, if you don¡¯t see the gay undertones in Meduka, I am not sure how to help you man -w- ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: RIGHT!? xD ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: People are coping so hard trying to say ¡®NOOOO MEDUKA AND HAMERU ARE JUST FRIENDSSSSS¡¯ ¡¯ ? o.o ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: Not a clue! O.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: isn¡¯t that 82? Jeepers creepers man: yeah that¡¯s 82. xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: 82? o.o GalaxyTaco to your rescue!: yeah you know, one of the Admins, the one that isn¡¯t Ventotto xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: Ohhh! o.o She just added me¡­ xXxCallMeBigCookiexXx: ¡­ Am I in trouble!? QwQ ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: REMEMBER THE PLAN TAVY-CHAN!! O0O!!! ¥±¥ó¥¸©`?¥¤¥º?¥Þ¥¤?¥ï¥¤¥Õ!!!: Canny-kun got you here! She doesn¡¯t have the right to ask for ANYTHING else!