I always knew I wasn't normal. I have a birthmark right on my chest in the shape of an odd heart. It is completely black, and just touching it sends a sharp touch of electricity going through me.
It wasn't until I was five that I found out what the marking meant.
I am the Echidna. A girl born once every five hundred years with the magic power of the world crystallized in my heart. When I turned sixteen the power will ripen to the point that anyone who can use magic can kill me, take my heart and obtain the power.
But I didn't understand that until much, much later.
When I was six, I met a boy wandering the wilderness near my tiny house. He looked so hungry and alone that I had to help him, despite the fact my guardian wouldn't like it. I had always been alone, ever since I could remember, surrounded by briars.
I had no idea what helping that small boy would do to my future, or how it would change mine.
When I was ten, I found a book on an old ritual called the Millennium Archive. It would take many years just to complete it, but it essentially gave you a library in your head to use whenever you wanted. It was the first piece of magic I had ever attempted, and why shouldn't I? The day I understood what I was, I knew I had the ability to use magic. During the initial process of the ritual, my mind split into two pieces.
One was me, Willow, which was the name I gave myself. My guardian called me Emma, but I never liked it that much. The other part of me, the one created by the ritual, was called the Archive.
Humans cannot handle having such a large amount of information stuffed into their minds, particularly at such a young age. The ritual had the side effect of creating a second personality inside the mage's mind. I called her Ivy.
Our existence together was rather pleasant, especially when Ivy found a way to cut the time to finish the Millennium Archive in half.
That was the day we split into two. We could return the way we were if we wanted, or we could stay apart. I preferred having her there, even if my guardian didn't notice her.
When I was eleven, an owl managed to make it past the vines to deliver a letter to me. It was for a school of magic.
But Ivy didn't want me to go, because something felt off. Who knew where I lived? How did they know I was there? And why did they call me Emma Potter?
So we did something that would later come back to haunt me. Ivy took my place, since she was my doppelganger only with blue green eyes the color of jewels. Ever since I started the Archive, my eyes had changed color. My right eye was emerald green and the left was sapphire blue. Ivy had a blue right eye and a green left.
The strange thing was that everything Ivy saw, I saw as well. And for the past six years I saw what would have happened if I had gone.
And I had no intention of ever returning. Ivy had already insured that no one would find out about me.
Today is my sixteenth birthday. The day that the power inside me will mature and be ready to take.
I can only hope that I survive long enough to complete the Archive.
Willow walked into the town, enjoying the anonymity that came from being herself. Because Ivy took her place and effectively kept the wand wavers off her back, she could walk outside the house without anyone trying to claim her. While Ivy learned all she could about wand magic, Willow spent every year reading and performing random rituals that she could. Rituals like punching a rock countless times to gain the Fist of the Underworld.
She could even create food, because she had finished the ritual of fasting. Certain rituals could only be completed thanks to the odd basement of her home, which turned into whatever she wanted. Once, she even summoned a Kiriko so she could complete the broom magic ritual.
However even she knew it was a pale imitation of the real thing. Her broom magic wasn't nearly good enough, and even Ivy had complained about it. It barely stopped a werewolf!
She stretched, and walked into the city without a care in the world.
This city was Eaglyas, the Hawk Eye City. Willow couldn't believe the city was so big. And unlike the European continent, this place was brimming with magic of all kinds. It wasn't hidden, nor was it flaunted.
It took her ten minutes to realize there was a problem. Everyone was staring at her. When one guy started chatting with her like he was in love, she knew she was in real trouble.
Ivy! Everyone around me is acting crazy!
She felt a shift, and Ivy was seeing through her eyes.
Ah, I see what's happening. The Echidna is acting up and affecting everyone in the surrounding area. You might want to get out of there before something really bad happens.
Right as Willow was about to run for it (mostly because multiple men had just proposed out of the blue) her luck ran out. The king who happened to be passing by the area spotted her and the power she had inside her took control of his senses. Before she could run, she was surrounded by guards and taken to a chapel.
Unseen by the women getting her ready for the sudden wedding, in her hand was a small knife, razor sharp. If she had to, she would use that painful ritual she had completed years ago as a last resort measure. It turned cuts into blades. The deeper the cut, the bigger and more powerful the blade.
It was lucky that the odd birthmark on her chest didn't scar, otherwise she would have to explain why she had such a weird mark on her chest. It was bad enough that her arms had scars from when she gave that boy bread.
Willow couldn't believe her eyes. Right as the king was about to force a kiss on her, a dragon appeared! And not one of those feral ones that Ivy saw, but an honest to goodness tamed dragon!
She watched in shock as the mouth opened...to reveal a boy who looked very much like the one she had saved, only he was older and in proper clothes this time. She was so startled that he had to use magic to grab her.
What really surprised her was the fact he used proper broom magic.
Once they landed on the ground, the boy changed her out of the rather gaudy dress into something much easier to get around in.
Well now, this is interesting. Shion, the Great Criminal of Ages. I wonder why he rescued you?
Maybe he remembers me? He looks like an older version of the boy I gave bread to.
That might be it. Be careful.
Willow nodded inwardly, barely aware of Shion speaking.
The more she watched him, the more she was convinced that he was the boy she saved.
"...Um, are you the same boy who appeared near the briars that day? I never really got your name," she asked.
The mage, who was in fact the same boy she saved with the bread, looked really happy.
"You...remember me?" he asked.
She nodded.
"My guardian tried to erase that memory but it didn't stand up to Ivy. She removed all the blocks when she first appeared."
"Ivy?"
Willow, at least wait to see what he wants for saving you. If he's just repaying the debt then you can tell him about the Archive.
"She's...a friend of mine. She noticed the block when we first met and removed it."
The minute Willow heard the reason why he rescued her (it really was because she shared her bread with him) she debated how to tell him about the ritual she was currently undertaking. She decided to wait a while.
Though she did giggle at the look on his face when he tried his own cooking.
Fortunately Ivy managed to get her skill to a reasonable level after her first attempt nearly killed her.
Once Shion explained about the Echidna and how one could obtain it's power by killing her, her face paled.
"I knew I had that kind of power, but isn't that kind of overkill?" she asked.
"There are people out there who will do anything to obtain that power, even if it meant killing an innocent girl. I'm one of the few who would rather seal it in a way that it won't harm others," said Shion.
"So my nickname will be Willow the Black Witch, because of this power?"
Shion nodded.
"I'd prefer to be known as Willow the Archive, but I suppose Black Witch works as well," said Willow.
"The only mages known as Archives are those who have successfully completed the Archive ritual, which has been lost for over a thousand years," said Anise. Anise was a black cat who was just as skilled at magic as Shion was, but left the heavy lifting to the boy.
Willow grinned, and said "Archive Open!"
Books of all shapes and sizes surrounded her and eventually stilled. She took a quick count and frowned.
"Still need 57 more. Ivy's almost done with her end..." she muttered.
"How...?" asked Shion with surprise.
"That's Archive...but where did you...?"
"It wasn't that hard, and it helped that I had nothing better to do. You can complete Archive by filling a few minor requirements...though the amount of time it takes to finish it are absurd."
Shion looked very interested now. But he had to do something else first.
"There is a ritual which may return you to normal. But it will be very difficult."
"What is it?"
"We have to get married..." he said with a blush.
"EH?!"
In the European Continents, Hogwarts Castle...
Ivy choked on her drink. Willow got into the most absurd situations. But at least it was never boring. She took a deep breath...and then said "Archive Open!"
Once she took stock of the rituals she had completed or memorized (wand incantations counted as one-third ritual, which meant she had to study three times as much just to fit that qualification) she smiled. Only 30 more to go, and then she could ditch them all in the name of freedom. That old man gave her the creeps, and his manipulations annoyed her greatly.
He had not been happy to find out that she was a mage who used rituals more than she used her wand. That had only been added to when he learned she was a natural Occulmens who didn't even notice the defense she had in her mind. In order to find anything one had to go through countless books and the mind kept rearranging everything the second you put one down. It was infuriating.
Not to mention the odd ability she demonstrated when she got her first broom from her godfather.
Sirius and Remus had left the continent after she got to speak to them in private, and he had yet to find out where they were. Not even the mandatory Ministry trackers could find Remus because of his condition, which was very concerning.
"Once I complete my half...I am so out of here."
"You're taking us with you, right?" asked a blond haired girl with wide open eyes. This was Luna Lovegood, one of her few friends.
"Of course. Like I would allow my only friends to become breeding stock to these fools," said Ivy pleasantly.
The bushy haired girl with a problem with her teeth beamed at her. This was Hermione Granger, who was the first to ask why her eyes were hetero-chromatic instead of the emerald ones like in the books. Once Hermione discovered her love of books and the rituals which the Ministry refused to even acknowledge existed. The second she learned about the Archive magic, which allowed you to use any spell or ritual to the fullest extent without having to worry about certain drawbacks, she waited until she was home for the summer before completing the most basic form of the ritual.
Ivy grinned. These two would be in for a real surprise when they found out her true nature. In the meantime she listened in to Shion's plan to keep the Echidna under control until it could be sealed properly. She told her creator to go for it, since she didn't sense any malice behind his plan. In fact Shion was just as embarrassed as Willow was about the idea. Hell, he had a nosebleed when she showed the mark of the Black Witch (something Ivy didn't have, despite being a carbon copy of Willow) to him!
Once she took stock of the number of books, she decided to hit the Ravenclaw library for the older tomes. She found a lot of ancient and long forgotten rituals in there. One of which she sent to Willow so the girl would have more offensive magic in her arsenal. It was a Freeze ritual so powerful that it could even stop time and the senses.
Willow was asleep after the events, and it was so deep that she ended up seeing the magical construct inside her.
Willow, what the hell is that?
I think...that's the Echidna!
That headless thing? Why are we seeing it now?
Maybe because the power is matured? Or because I'm sleeping deeper than usual...
Either way if that thing goes out of control it will be bad.
As if the power inside her sensed Ivy's intent, it started to fight back. Willow's power was going out of control!
"Willow!" cried Shion in surprise and horror. Ivy watched as Shion placed the ring on her right hand, and the Echidna calmed down. She had heard of Magico, and she knew it would be a long road ahead for the pair.
On the other hand, it would also complete the requirements Willow needed to complete the Ultimate of Archive Magic, the Millennium Archive.
Once completed it would give the user an unlimited Archive of any magic they came across. And since Shion was a mage like them, he might come in handy in completing the rituals.
I like this kid Willow. Maybe we should keep him...after all, it's not every day a complete stranger risks themselves to contain such a powerful out of control magic.
I agree. Shion-kun is really nice...
Which reminds me. Could you possibly find Sirius and Remus? Last I heard they were heading towards the town of Rituals so they could ditch the old goat. They really want to meet you ever since I told them I was sent in your place to keep you safe.
Send me a visual, and I'll keep an eye out for them.
I have noticed that for some reason there is only one OTHER Magico crossover, and it's with Fairy Tail, which is kinda disappointing because it's a really great series, even if it's not serialized in America yet. If you want to read the real one, go to MangaReader dot Net and look it up.
Now, here are the requirements for Archive Magic, and I'll try to add the others if I get any information on them from the manga.
Ritual: Archive
Type: Gathering
Requirements: Mages must read books nonstop for at least 100 hours while awake, or at least some form of text so long as they don't repeat the same sentence twice in a row. The longer they read, the more powerful and larger the Archive will be. Archive Mages can use multiple forms of magic without worrying about opposite forms canceling each other out, and are literally living libraries. The more powerful Archives have a secondary personality which can document and store any magic they come across, so long as there is a similar spell already in their collection.
The most powerful form of Archive is the Millennium Archive, which requires at least a level 10 form of the Archive magic, and the Mage must collect at least 1,000 rituals or 3,000 wand spells to be completed. Most Mages can only handle having 300 rituals at best without Archive magic, and even then the chances of the rituals canceling each other out are high.
Anyone who can complete the Millennium Archive are able to disassemble, analyze and eventually duplicate any ritual or spell seen or physically felt and then use it against other mages. The main issue is that at best there are around 500 known rituals, and over a 1,000 forbidden ones which are almost impossible to complete without getting arrested.
There are no known documented Archives who use both Wand and Ritual magic.
At this point both Willow and Ivy have almost completed half the Millennium Archive, but since both are essentially the same person, the moment they reunite it will be complete. The only downside is that when one personality is dominate in the body, the only rituals accessible to them are the ones they have completed personally.
Also, the reason why Ivy and Willow have two different eye colors is rather simple.
Ivy was created using the magic of the Echidna, but since she was essentially part of Willow's mind she ended up like one of Naruto's shadow clones. Her eyes are naturally sapphire blue, while Willow's are emerald. When she split apart, Willow and Ivy exchanged their eyes. Willow has Ivy's left eye while Ivy has her right. This is why they can see through each other's eyes even when they are thousands of miles apart.