Curiosity of a God

When a girl named Maria Campbell opened her eyes, she noticed that there was something wrong.

She didn't know why, but when she woke up, she felt that there was something out of place. The blonde girl stood from her bed and walked towards the door, exiting her bedroom.

When she did, she saw that the rest of her house was gone. Outside of her room was dark as far as eyes could see, with the only source of light being what appeared to be a small sun in the distance. What remained of the building appeared to be creating some kind of path.

Maria immediately closed the door, counted to ten, before opening it again. Seeing that nothing changed, she tried slapping herself really hard, thinking that it was merely a dream.

It was not.

"Ouch…" She rubbed her cheek. "Well, I suppose there's no other choice."

Leaving her room, the girl walked through the path that had been created. She took her steps slowly and steadily, fearing that it might break under her and made her plunge into the deep of the abyss.

After walking for a minute, she arrived at what looked more like a floating island at the end of the path. It was made from stone tiles, not materials used in her home. She continued her walk towards the island and once she reached the center…

…it began.

"Welcome, Maria Campbell."

Maria did her best to not jump in surprise at the sudden voice reaching her ears. A man appeared just as suddenly in front of her, wearing a brown coat, paired with blue-grey pants and black boots. Just from seeing him alone the girl already knew that the man was something else.

For one was the fact that the man was floating. His feet did not touch the ground and there was nothing that could support him in the air. Most obvious, however, was his pitch-black eyes; no color could be seen from them. It was as if his eyes were the darkness itself.

"Your life has taken a turn, has it not?" He spoke to her. "Not too long ago, you discovered your affinity for Light Magic. Prized both for its property and rarity, your path is more than obvious. You will go to school, deepening your knowledge regarding magic. You will be employed by the Ministry of Magic, a job envied by many, ensuring that for the rest of your life, your need would be fulfilled. There is no way that humans will find this an unhappy life."

Upon hearing those words, Maria's mind went back to what happened shortly after the discovery of her Light Magic.

Her home was visited by people from the Ministry. They explained to her family how rare it was for a light mage to appear in even a single generation. How, with that, she had a chance to enter into one of the most prestigious schools in the entire kingdom. From there, she could take a job in the Ministry itself, ensuring that she would have a comfortable life.

Yet…

"Yet that is not how you see it." The man continued. "Your father abandoned you, believing that your mother betrayed his heart. Your mother hated you for your magic. She immediately felt guilty about that, of course, but who knows how long until she snaps? And the people around you? They believe that you are nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing. Every kindness that you have ever done…means nothing to them."

The dam broke.

Tears formed up in the young girl's eyes. Her life, to put it short, had gone wrong all over the place. The magic that she possessed had brought her nothing but misery. Her loving parents, gone. Her friends, gone. And even her hobby was no longer something that she loved, merely something that remained of her old life. One last thread that she didn't want to let go.

"People like you are not usually those that I think about." He kept talking. "Admittedly, they will always choose the easy option and let their base desire leads them. You, however, will always choose the hard option because the thought of hurting others is something that you dislike – no, hate. Interesting change, but nevertheless predictable."

The man suddenly smiled, even if only just a bit.

"But what happens if there's a new factor?" He stated. "Let me introduce myself: I am the Outsider and this is my Mark."

Maria gritted her teeth upon feeling a scorching sensation on her left palm. She raised it and saw that there was a mark appearing on it; the Mark of the Outsider.

"Come find me, Maria." The man – the Outsider – told her before disappearing.

The blonde looked around, trying to find him. Instead, she saw that another path had been made when she was focused on the Outsider. Seeing no other option, she decided to walk through the newly-created path.

Maria stopped upon finding herself at the edge of the path. The way forward was no longer a straight path but rather a series of floating platforms.

"I…I have to…jump…?" She muttered.

She could climb a tree, yes, but that didn't mean she could jump very far. She calculated the distance, remembering how far she could jump and decided that such a jump would be very risky. Thus, the girl decided to turn around…

…only to find the path had disappeared. Which meant that she could only proceed forward.

Maria put her left hand on her chin, trying to figure out how to cross the platforms. It was at that moment that she remembered about the Mark that had been given to her. Inspecting her palm, she wondered if it was the key to solve her problem.

"Perhaps…" She stretched her left arm, pointing it towards the platform.

Suddenly, her body moved towards it. When it sopped, Maria felt dizzy for a bit and took several seconds to recover. Once she did, she realized that she was now on the platform. She looked back at the path to confirm if, which was proven.

"Did…did I just…teleport…?" The blonde spoke to herself.

She decided to do it again. She looked at another platform, pointed her left arm at it, and just like earlier, her body moved towards it. Finally figuring out how to deal with the platforms, she started to move from one to another.

At some point, she stopped on one of the platforms and tried to control her breath. She knew this feeling; one that she would suffer if she used her magic too much.

"So, there's a limit," Maria stated. "And this…teleportation appears to be magic."

"Indeed."

She was surprised by the sudden voice of the Outsider. She was even more surprised when she realized that he appeared right in front of her…

…causing her to fall from the platform.

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

She desperately tried to stop falling. She tried to use her power, but without solid ground, it was impossible to do so.

Suddenly, she stopped. She looked to her right and saw the Outsider grabbed her arm. He placed into a floating island, not harshly but not gently either. Maria fell to her knees, trying to calm down after the terrifying event.

"As I was about to say," He said, showing no sign of remorse. "The power that I bestowed upon you is indeed magic. One that terrifies many, to the point that for countless age, there will be a cult dedicated to its destruction."

He moved his face closer to her.

"Be careful. You might find yourself burned at stake alive." He stated before disappearing once again.

Maria remained in her position for several minutes. After that, she recovered and stood up, continuing her journey through this strange place. It was when she turned away from the edge that she realized that there was something on the island.

The best way to describe it was an event that was frozen in time. It was occurring inside a fancy room that was in a fire. The people involved in the event were a man wearing clothing befitting of the nobility, a woman wearing a gown, and several people wearing a military uniform. The noble was having a swordfight with one of the soldiers while the woman was trying to escape. The rest of the soldiers split up; some chasing her while others fighting the noble as well.

"Want me to tell you a story?" The Outsider suddenly appeared again. "Once upon a time, there was a noble family who lived a happy, comfortable life. But then something happened and the man found himself as the enemy of the government. The result is as you see. This, along with others, is why magic could be found among the common people."

Once he disappeared, Maria continued her journey, wondering along the way why he told her that story.

When she encountered the platforms again, she no longer confused about what to do. From one to another, she swiftly moved around. Upon reaching a floating island, she was about to take a rest when she noticed that there was something on it; something that was letting out a song-like sound.

It didn't take her long to find the source. There was a table in the middle of the island and on it was an artifact. Maria picked it up and inspected the item. It appeared to be made from bones of unknown origin, welded together with leather straps and bolts.

"A charm made from bones." The Outsider, once again, reappeared. "People created it to worship me, attaining a bit of power of the Void, or maybe even both. However, power comes at a price, one that many tend to forget."

She inspected the bone charm in her hands closely. Just as he said, she could felt a little bit of magic seeping out from it.

"It appears the time for us to part away has come, Maria." He stated. "I will suggest you to…make yourself better so that you are prepared for what's to come."

"W-What is it?" She asked. "What is it that about to come?"

"In due time, Maria." He told her. "In due time."

When she opened her eyes, Maria found herself lying on her bed, inside her room. She sat up, rubbing her eyes to get rid of her drowsiness. As she became more awake, she noticed a certain sound in her room, coming from her table.

She stood up and walked towards it. There, on top of her table, was the bone charm along with a paper underneath it. She picked the charm with her left hand and the paper with her right. She then read the words written on it.

You forgot your gift.

Sign, the Outsider

The paper then turned to ashes in her hand. The blonde turned her attention towards the charm before turning her hand, confirming the existence of the Mark. Cold sweats started to form on her forehead, realizing that her dream – if it could even be called that – was not an ordinary one.

After all, one didn't simply have a tattoo on their palm and receiving a gift out of nowhere.

Maria took a bath and got dressed before she went to the kitchen. Upon arriving, she noticed a note on the table. The girl picked it up before reading the paper.

Maria, I will be out for a while. I already made your breakfast. It should be under the napkin.

Mom

Part of her was glad that her mother was not here. It would be…awkward to explain how and why she gained a tattoo. She already had it hard with Maria possessing Light Magic. Knowing that her daughter was visited through a dream by an unknown entity would likely push her to the brink.

Speaking of the entity, she couldn't help but wonder who or what exactly was the Outsider. She never heard about being like him even once. Considering the fact that he could easily grant magic to anyone and that people could gain power by creating bone charms, one would think that such an entity would be more well-known.

And yet…

"Perhaps the Ministry knows more about him?" The girl wondered. "Maybe I should ask them when there's a chance."

Deciding to focus on another matter, Maria went towards the napkin and picked it up, revealing a plate of sandwiches under it. She picked one up to inspect the content; cheese, lettuce, slices of bacon, and sauce. Wasting no time, the blonde girl took a seat and ate her breakfast.

After she finished her breakfast, Maria decided to go outside. Upon exiting her house, she used her left arm to cover her eyes from the sudden sunlight, revealing that she had bandaged her hand.

She decided that it was better for her to hide the Mark of the Outsider, at least until she knew fully well what she was dealing with. She already brought enough problems for her parents for simply being capable of using magic.

Maria walked towards a certain area that she frequently visited; a lake with several trees around it. She remembered playing with other children there; stone skipping, fishing, climbing tree…

She shook her head, realizing that tears started to form in her eyes. Those memories would be simply that; memories. There would be no more playing, for others were now avoiding her.

She walked towards a tree, rubbing its trunk. A part of her was thinking of climbing it, reminiscing of happier times. Another part of her reminded her of the reason that she went to the lake in the first place.

The girl looked at a branch of the tree. She then pointed her left palm at it. Power flowing through her limb and – before long – her body moved towards the branch, immediately grabbing it so that she didn't fall to the ground.

Once she gained her balance, Maria focused on another branch, pointed her arm towards it, and used her power to change her location. She then looked at yet another branch and did the same thing. Again and again, she repeated this movement several times, training her newly-gained power.

After several minutes have passed, the blonde girl used her power to move towards the ground. She put her hands on her knees, trying to control her breath. While it wasn't something that required a lot of physical strength, the exercise that she did was nonetheless mentally exhausting.

As she took a rest under the tree, she took out the bone charm that she had carried in her pocket. There was no change at all with the artifact; she could still feel the magic seeping out from it. The Outsider told her that it was made to gain power. But of what kind?

Once again, she lacked the necessary information to make her choices. In fact, that was currently her entire problem; she didn't know who the Outsider was, she didn't know what kind of magic that he bestowed upon her, she knew nothing about the bone charm or anything related to the godlike being.

Maria was not the type of judge people by their appearance, but she had to admit that the Outsider had a…sinister aura surrounding him. There was also the condition of her dream, his attitude around her, and being quite cryptic. Furthermore, he seemed to look down on being predictable, even if that predictability was "guaranteed to be a good person."

In any case, she should ask the people of the Ministry of Magic the next time she went there. For now, the best course of action would be to stay low and didn't attract too much attention.

"The power that I bestowed upon you is indeed magic. One that terrifies many, to the point that for countless age, there will be a cult dedicated to its destruction."

"Be careful. You might find yourself burned at stake alive."

For some reason, they sounded less like a warning and more like a prophecy.

And it's done.

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review, please!