By the time I opened my eyes the first thing that I noticed was the pitch black darkness covering every fiber of my being. A grunt of annoyance escaped from my throat; tired of being stuck in places such as these.
"Well just fan-fucking-tastic" I shouted out loud. Looking down, I saw that this place was a bit different than the one before. Previously when the girl and I were stuck in the void, we were somehow able to see ourselves and each other, as if the girl and I were radiating our own light source. In contrast to my current case, where no amount of squinting allowed me to see a single of my own body parts!
At least the invisible floor was still there! Standing up and stomping my feet onto the floor, I was quite pleased to hear the resounding thud of my boots hitting the cold barrier. After confirming the existence of the barrier, the very next thing that I wanted cleared up was the feeling of a cold small weight that was stuck on my right hand. Using my other hand to feel around, I felt the touch of a smooth metallic object worn across my middle finger. As I moved my fingers around, trying to piece its image in my head, I felt a small semi-circular obtrusion from the top. The obtrusion was smoother, and it did not have the same cold touch of metal, making me guess it was some sort of gem. I was wearing a ring!
Now I would have continued inspecting the mysterious new object, but the unexpected groans coming from just a few meters away stopped me dead in my tracks. Having stopped what I was doing, I decided to zone in on the new voice.
"Why the hell does my head hurt, and where the fuck did I get sent to now?" said a female voice.
"Well somebody finally decided to wake up!" I said, having already guessed the identity of the girl.
"Uhh, man this blows!" she said, her tone making it sound as if she was having a terrible fit of migraines. "How long was I out?" she asked.
"Can't tell! I woke up not more than a minute ago" I replied.
"For Pete's sake, what is up with the pitch black? Couldn't whoever the hell that chose us pick something nice for a change, like a waiting lounge with a TV and sofa?" she said in an annoyed outburst. I felt the same annoyance that she did. This really was getting a bit tiresome!
However, I put such thoughts away, and felt like trying something out, but unfortunately had to push those urges to the side for something more noteworthy. At this point in time, what I was about to do was necessary.
"Uh hey, this seems pretty awkward to ask but, what is your name?" I said, looking towards where the voice originated from.
"Oh yeah! Can't believe we haven't even introduced ourselves. The name is Seilah Rinehart"
'Not a bad name' I thought.
"Yours?" she asked.
"Alex Mercer, and please for fucks sake don't you dare mention even a word from 'Prototype'!" I said, my voice making it evident that I was somewhat pissed. Seilah just gave off a small chuckle, right before passing it off.
"So Seilah, I've been meaning to ask you this, but have you felt something unusually heavy around the middle finger of your right hand?"
"Oh, did you mean the ring? Of course I did! I was just expecting it to see if I can find anything worthwhile. I don't think it's too hard to figure out what it is!"
"Oh really, because I was about to say the exact same thing!" I said, a bit surprised that she was able to figure it out so fast.
"Oh were you now? Sounds like someone just wants to make it look like they're not a collectively slow learner!"
"Excuse me! The last time I checked, I hold the Athenian Lineage alongside the Enhanced Intellect Perk. At this point I have absolute memory over everything, and the understanding of all knowledge that is encompassed in my head surmounts anything that you can ever hope to imagine!"
"That may be true, but don't reminisce over having two Intellect Enhancing abilities just yet. You remain completely ignorant over the fact that I have an Intellect Enhancing ability as well, and while although my comprehensive abilities may be lagging relative to you, it's still enough to keep me right on your tail!" Was it me, or did I feel as if she was trying to make a contest out of everything. At this point we were basically just throwing around unnecessarily long lines of dialogue to make ourselves seem a bit more reputable. That or we both had a competitive spirit! Regardless of what it was, there was no time for such things.
"You know what, just forget about it. I have something much more important to figure out!"
"Wait a minute, what are you ..." I never let her finish!
I opened up my palm and pointed it straight into the surrounding abyss.
"Lumos" Saying the incantation clearly, and with the effect having been kept in mind, I felt a sudden rush of energy flow throughout my body. Without any delay, my outstretching palm lit up.
'Lit up' was an understatement!
"WHAT THE HELL! TURN IT OFF ... TURN IT OFF" she shouted in despair.
"AHHH! I'M TRYING I'M TRYING"
It was probably one of the brightest things that I had ever seen in my life, and after the run in with those Angels, that was saying something! Even with our eyes closed, the light was so immensely powerful that it was as if we had never closed them at all! In that moment of desperation, I imagined the power rushing through my body recede. As it did, the once blindingly powerful light slowly began to abate.
When it died down to a point that it was no better than a lighted wooden torch, I stopped calling back my power. Both of us giving ourselves another minute to adjust to the new light, we each finally opened our eyes. When we did, we had to blink a several times before we got accustomed to the new level of light.
"It seems I was correct" I declared, now delighted to know that my magic output had been amplified.
"You meant to say that one of our hypotheses is correct. For all you know the increase in magical output was just due to the divine blood now running through your veins"
"That may be true, but there is a simple way to test this!" I said, confident in my predictions.
"Alright, and that is?" asked Seilah, who now looked tired from hearing me speak in constant riddles.
Not giving any hints I pulled off the ring. The moment I did, the light dimmed even further. From the lighting blaze of a wooden torch, it was now as weak as a dying candle. Seilah looked at it and understood automatically, although I could see she looked vexed. It was probably her feeling disappointed in herself over not coming up with such an idea.
While the cogs in Seilah's ego slowly began to turn, I will give you a brief rundown of the logic that I used while performing my little test.
The reason that I used the spell 'Lumos' was due to the fact that it was a spell whose effectiveness was measured in a quantitative manner. If unsuccessfully cast, it would create a spell with a lower yield of luminosity. If successfully cast, then it is safe to say that the light would increase in intensity, relative to the unsuccessfully cast one. Now if one was to apply a magical power boost to this spell, then the change would be quite visible, and in this case it was very visible indeed! Now my original hypothesis, if you do not remember, was that by choosing the perk that allowed someone to perform conduit-less magic (A.K.A Wand less magic), then it was likely that a wand less magic user may have his magic power amplified if he was to actually use a conduit.
In this case, I was actually trying to test several things at once! After successfully casting the spell 'Lumos' on my first try, I was able to affirm one thing, which is that my increased intelligence has led to me mastering the most basic of spells, even if I only know their name from far reaching memories. Secondly, after successfully casting the spell, I came to learn that I can channel the amount of power that I put behind each of my spells, so it is likely that the way we improve our spells may follow a similar semblance to 'The Gamer', just slightly altered in certain unambiguous ways. Thirdly, by removing the ring off my finger while I was still using the spell 'Lumos' I can confirm one thing, and that is the fact that magical conduits do in fact overlap with our wand less magic, and they do give us an extra boost in magical power.
The things that I learned were crucial for my future growth. A satisfied grin made its way onto my face, my entire figure now relishing in pleasure over the power bestowed onto me. But those thoughts were quickly abolished. I still had a lot to learn, and what I did just now was nothing more than just a quick experiment to see how my very own power functioned.
With all that now being put out of the way, I looked towards Seilah, who during my train of thoughts, had now adopted a bored and slightly annoyed expression.
"You know, you don't have to be so moody" I said, trying to see if I could cheer her up. "The affirmation of my hypothesis into theorem does not invalidate your previous claims! It is highly possible that divine blood does in fact augment the magical abilities of the person in question" I said, sounding quite smug and arrogant as I did. Do not get me wrong, arrogance will get you killed in this world … err … I mean any world, but it was not like I was going to do this all the time. It was just a onetime thing, big deal!
"First of all I'm not moody, I'm just bored after sitting in this boring ass space doing boring ass stuff! Like when are we going to get there? What's with all this mysticism? Just drop us into the new world for fuck's sake!"
"Okay, and ..." I asked, not wanting to be left in the dark.
"And I'm sick of speaking about weird philosophical mumbo jumbo crap! And for god's sake, can you stop using SAT style vocabulary for even two goddamn minutes? Like who gives a shit? I'm thinking about ruling over the world, and then there's you who seems to be fixated on being some sort of modern day William Shakespeare" A droplet of sweat rolled down the side of my forehead. Not even a day into being reborn and some girl is already grilling me out, sheesh! I wanted to contend what she was saying, but the less rational side of me got the better.
"Wha-wha-what the fuck are you talking about?" I retorted. "I was speaking perfectly normal English. You're the one who's just bitching about everything!"
"See, that's better!" She said, now struggling to make a smile. "Now for fuck's sake just stay this way! Short sentences, quick replies and nothing more, got it?"
"Fine! *whispers*Crazy bitch*whispers*"
"What the hell did you say?"
"Oh nothing, nothing!"
'Jeez, the hell is wrong with this girl. Is she just pissed that I have a higher intelligence stat than her own. I guess pride really does come before the fall!'
Not wanting to start another argument I just shut up. I slowly walked towards her and sat down next to her crouched up body. As I was hunching down, I realized that this meagre light would not be enough. Equipping my ring, the light immediately brightened, the features of the girl became much clearer. Seilah was not really bothered, having just closed her eyes. And so with neither of us having nothing to do, we each began to just wait!
For days, four to be exact, we both remained unmoved in the quiet and still darkness. Four days without food, water or even sleep. Why not sleep? It is not like we would not do it, but we could not do it! Maybe it was an additional effect of the 'Sorcerer's Mind', or it was just a property of this strange abysmal world. Either way, it did not bother the either of us two, and so we pushed it to the back of our minds.
As for how I knew it was four days? Simple answer; I counted! Every single second, adding up to every single minute, adding up to every single hour, that lead up to every successive day. How did I memorize all those numbers and simultaneously keep count of every successive second without ever losing track? You know the answer! It was also the reason my count was so precise, my mind having a natural knack timing in all forms of procedure.
So there I was, counting in the dark, with Seilah sitting beside me, eyes closed, with her soft and shallow breathing falling on my chest. I counted, and counted, and waited, and counted again. With each of the four passing days, I was starting to get worried that this might be our current fate. What if this went on for weeks, or months? Maybe even years!
It was the sole reason that I was filled with happiness when everything began to shake.
Seilah and I shot up, neither of us looking nervous, but rather excited at what was to come. The still and ever so silent platform that we were once standing on was now shaking with an indescribable tremor. Only through extreme concentration and effort were either of us able to remain on our feet.
"What the hell do you think it is now?" asked Seilah
"Probably us getting close. Be prepared for anything! The moment the tremors stop, have your ring hand at the ready and treat everything with extreme prejudice." I said, a resolute, but excited, look having crawled onto my face.
Within a minute, the violent tremors had suddenly subsided. When it did, a wooden door had materialized right before us. The moment I saw the door, my breathing hitched, but only ever so slightly. Seilah caught on and figured something was off!
"What is it? Doesn't look to be anything out of the ordinary!" She said, a bit skeptical over whether she should trust me or not.
"You mean you don't recognize this door?" I asked, unable to see how she could miss something so obvious.
"It does look a bit familiar, but I just can't place my finger over where I last saw it" Her response made a bit of sense. After all, the details of a door were not something that one significantly remembers. "Anything I need to know, or are you intentionally leaving me in the dark?"
"No, I just don't think we need the two of us to be worried. I'm sure the moment we cross, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to" I said, ensuring that nothing I said came out to be too worrisome. She looked at me with a critical face, but the time to argue was scarce. Now was the moment we were waiting for all along. It was time to do this! We both walked up to the wooden door, prompting it to open. There was nothing behind it, just a connecting frame to a continuous black world. Me and Seilah looked towards each other and nodded. With nothing more to lose and with everything said and done, we walked through.
The moment we passed through the frame, the first thing I noticed was the bright light shining over the dull and empty room. A few window panes to our right let in a few beams of sunlight into the dusty, seemingly unused, area. To the wall opposite was the door that had brought us here originally, although unlike the previous door that acted as a trans-dimensional gateway, this one was nothing more than a plain and ordinary door, similar in appearances only. From behind it came several voices, but all bunched up, making it sound like a busy school corridor that one would hear during the middle of a school day.
"Oh shit!" said Seilah, unable to control her emotions. She recognized the room right away. A few distant watch towers that could be seen from the windows made it all the more obvious as to where we were. "Why here? It clearly said we were going to the Percy Jackson Verse! What the hell are we doing in Ho …"
"Hey Drake, are the new ones here yet?" said a male voice coming from behind the door opposite. The voice was quite loud, making it apparent that whoever so was behind it was about to enter. Seilah had immediately shut up, instead raising up her ring arm and pointing it towards the door.
"Nah, I heard that they're taking time! Some are saying they may be the latest ones yet! You think they're special or something?"
"Ha-ha, real funny man! 'Special', suurrreee!" Judging by the voice of the two people speaking, the two must have been in the same age bracket as both me and Seilah. In fact, after hearing those two, I realized that all of the voices from the corridor were of similar age as well. A sudden thought came to my mind and I acted on it quickly.
"You won't need to do that!" I said in a low voice, not wanting my voice to carry across the room. I looked to the side at Seilah, motioning her to lower her ring arm. She gave me in incredulous look, almost as if I were crazy.
"Why?" She hissed. "What happened to 'treat everything with extreme prejudice'? For all we know they could be hostiles! Haven't you heard the phrase 'better safe than sorry'?"
"And have you ever heard the phrase 'first impression is key'? Look just trust me when I say that we don't have to be worried."
"Oh ho, and how do you know everything all of a sudden?" I said nothing but tapped the side of my temples.
"Look just follow my lead, okay!" I said in a hushed tone.
"Follow your lead! Since when did you become team leader all of a sudden? Look, if we get killed …"
"We're not getting killed! Now be quiet, they're coming in any second" I said, keeping my voice low. I did not want to tip off the people outside! Seilah gave me one last bitter look before sighing in defeat. Despite the slow lowering of her arm, she still remained on guard. It was in moments like these that I got to see the beauty of 'The Sorcerer's Mind' in action. Many people in her place would have just acted trigger happy, unable to control their feelings of unbridling fear. Her figure showed none of that, instead showing someone relaxed and completely incautious. It was a good act laid out by her, but I saw through it clearly!
Not a minute after Seilah lowered her arms, two faint snaps were heard rebounding through the room, as two kids that seemed to be around the same age as us were now standing towards us the either of us, face to face.
The two people group consisted of a boy and a girl. The guy was tall, toned and a natural redhead. He was wearing leather boots with blue jeans and a matte black leather jacket, leaving the front zipper open just enough to see the white undershirt. The slick and shiny hair combed to the front end back, along with the laid back attitude that he set off made him seem all the more like a 'greaser' from the 1940's. That was not to say that it was a problem. In fact, he just looked like someone who was pretty chilled and relaxed. Even as I describe him, he guy gave off a kind of happy-go-lucky vibe that just went well with the way he looked. Sure, he was not someone you wanted to hang around in a fancy dinner party, but I was never into that kind of stuff anyway!
The girl on the other hand was something else entirely. She wore a two-piece black collar suit equipped with a white folder tucked between the folds of her arms along with black high heeled leather shoes to complete the set. Unlike the guy who seemed lax in his appearance, the girl was completely stern, making it seem as if she was irritated in having been brought here. She ran her sight across the two of us, almost as if she were evaluating two products for inspection. After taking a cold analytical look, she raised her right arm and snapped her fingers. The sound of a crack was heard, right before a pen had materialized in her hand. Opening her folder up she began to scrawl in some notes, having completely ignored the both of us.
It was only while she was writing did I notice that both of the two teens had a ring equipped on one of their fingers. The shape and make of each of the two rings were pretty different, which was kind of odd seeing as me and Seilah had a matching pair. It also lead me to wonder why in all of the world these people would be equipped with magical rings as well. I would have pondered over it more, but 'Ms. Tuxedo' was done writing whatever she found so important. Giving us one last glance, she signaled the boy on her left, motioning him to give introductions.
"Okay, sorry about that, but Alyssa over here is a bit of a detail freak. Thinks that it's important to have every single little thing noted down!" said the guy in the jacket.
'Well she's not wrong!' I thought.
"Oh! Where are my manners? The name's Drake" The tall guy moved forward and outstretched his hand to the either of us. When Seilah made it apparent that she was not going to budge I decided to do it for her.
"The name's Alex" I said, now firmly shaking his hand. "As for the paranoid hag next to me, her name is SeilaaaaaahhHHH!" After a commenting on a person with an ego as big as hers, the kick in the back was pretty much expected. Tying my best to rub the area where her foot connected, I shot a glare to Seilah, who likewise did it back. The other girl, Alyssa, had no reaction to the entire thing while Drake just chuckled under his breath.
"Okay, so Alex and Seilah. Got it! Now I would want to give you all the brief run down right here and now, but rules are rules and first we gotta ..."
"You're taking too long!" Alyssa cut in having, surprisingly, already run out of her patience! "We've wasted forty-three seconds in unnecessary conversation. Take the male and go get the registration done while I deal with the female"
"You know they have names right?" said Drake, raising his eyebrows at the emotionless teen.
"Get the job done!" said Alyssa, a violet edge now evident in her voice. She outstretched her arm towards Seilah, implying that she take it. For a moment Seilah looked at me with concern, almost as if she were asking me what she should do. When I gave no response, she just shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
"You know what, fuck it! If going with you means answers ..." she did not complete her sentence, suddenly grabbing on to the outstretched hand. The sound of a crack was heard, and in a whirlpool of twisting black, the two ladies had disappeared.
The moment the two were gone, Drake gave off a low whistle.
"Man, is it just me, or can chicks be cold?" said Drake, looking at where the two girls were previously standing. I did not pay much attention to his words, but was more intrigued towards the ring around his fingers. The moment Drake saw where my eyes were focused, he gave off a hearty laugh, which for a moment startled me, seeing as I was in deep thought.
"You seem like a guy that wants to get straight to the point. Now of course I could tell you everything here but ..." Drake motioned his hand around the room, pointing towards all the dusty equipment pushed to the side and all the cobwebs that had formed in the abandoned crevices of unused chairs and tables. "I think my room might be a bit more hospitable! Come one, I'll try to explain some stuff on the way" Walking towards the door he motioned me to follow. I followed him without question!
The moment I passed through the door, I realized that I was standing in a corridor that was filled with teens moving left, right, and center. Some would seem to be in a hurry, while others seemed to be taking a casual leisurely stroll. There were a few groups in the corridor, all of them just standing to the side, everyone chatting away with each other like they were lifelong friends. The moment I made my appearance through the door, half the teens in the corridor had turned their attention towards me. They did not stop walking or talking, but just shot me a small glance. The entire thing only lasted a second before everyone just brushed it off, as if seeing a new face was something they saw on a weekly basis.
One of the few things I noticed was the age bracket of the teens. The youngest seemed to be around fifteen years of age, while the oldest were around eighteen. At the far end of the corridor, where there were a lot less students, was a group of kids that made the cut for the older part of the age bracket. From where I was standing it looked to be a group of, fifteen to sixteen, eighteen year old boys and girls. They all had a dead set expression written on their face, making it seem they were discussing something of utmost importance. Despite all of them looking roughly the same age, only two of them stood out. It was, unsurprisingly, another boy and a girl. I guess being a couple held some importance in this world!
The main thing that stood out about the guy was his rough spiky hair and blood shot eyes, making him seem like some demon that came out the underworld. Unlike everyone around him who was wearing some assortment of whatever fashion trend kids followed nowadays, the guy wore nothing but a white no-collar T-shirt with black-belted jeans. Unlike everyone else who I saw up till now, even from where I was standing, I felt the guy give off a type of meaner and rougher edge, telling anyone he was not someone to be trifled with. He was not crazy looking, but rather he just gave off a more powerful and respected vibe! It was the same reason that caused everyone to form a semi-concentric arc around him.
While although it is true that the guy gave off a type of uncomfortable feel, the girl to his right was another matter entirely. If anyone was to try and describe her with one look, there was only one word that would come to mind; an angel!
Scarlet-red hair flowing and fluttering to her sides, a charming angelic face, only to be finalized with her mature voluptuous body, any man would have been swayed in an uncontrollable sense of concupiscence and lechery. Just by staring at her alone told me the amount of work that 'The Sorcerer's Mind' was putting into keeping me from drooling on the spot.
"So you've got a good eye don't you!" said Drake from behind, prior to him having been leading me down the corridor. "Yeah she's a real beauty alright, but we've learned to stop ourselves from falling over in pure horniness. You on the other hand are gonna start having problems if we don't get you registered. The faster we can get you registered, the faster we can stop you from going googly eyes over every beauty we cross paths with" I stopped and looked at him, expecting him to give even a bit of an explanation as to what he just said. The only response I got was him turning his back to me as he walked off. "You coming? Look I know this is all new and stuff, but trust me when I say that you should just follow me. Everything will be explained in all due time." Not having much of a choice, I gave off a quiet sigh and followed. Catching up the laid-back teen, we turned right around a corner, from where I got one last glimpse at the two 'alphas'. Right before their view disappeared behind the turn, the blood-shot teen turned his gaze towards me. Our eyes connected and in that split second in which it did, all the hairs on my body stood on end. Was that even supposed to happen? Now walking a bit faster, I paced myself with Drake who seemed to have been increasing his speed ever so slightly.
We ended up walking the length of three different corridors and a flight of two stairs. In that time I had seen an assortment of teens moving back and fro across the corridors, most of them looking like they were in an apparent rush, while others just stood around idle, as if they did not have a care in the world. As we passed by, some of the teens would shoot me a glance, but nothing beyond that. It was as if the appearance of a complete new stranger was something that was a common occurrence.
While although I was really keen to figure out what was going on, I had no other option but to follow willingly and await proper answers. Otherwise, the only other thing I could do was jot down details in my head. Everything from the clothing styles of the people that passed by, to the walking suits of armor that we would occasionally cross paths with, and not to mention the magic rings that was located on one of everyone's digits. I made sure that I took in as much information as I can, hoping to utilize it later. Although, after five minutes of just walking in a slow bristle pace, I could hold back no longer.
"So you going to explain shit or what?" I said, not able to understand why it was taking so long. I guess going with Alysa would have been a better option!
"Patience dude! We're almost there. There's no better place for me to go all 'exposition machine' on you other than my room. I'm already tired as it is and I don't want to explain everything while I'm on an empty stomach. You're probably hungry as well, so we both could get some blueberry pies and a couple of cokes. Once we're both fed and settled down ..."
By that point half my mind was already shut down. He seemed like a nice guy, but the problem was that he just rattled on and on like there was no tomorrow. Technically speaking we did have time, but I was a guy that liked doing things quick. It made me wonder how different this would have played out had I gone with the girl.
"Uh why exactly are we walking? Apparition is an option too you know!" The guy turned to look at me and gave me a look that made it seem like I was asking about the obvious.
"Well I mean we could walk, but everyone needs to take a jog every now and then. I mean you are getting to stretch out your legs a little aren't ya."
"For ... A jog?" I asked quizzically.
"Yup" He said, turning his head forward and continuing on without a word.
'This guy really is something else isn't he' I thought dejectedly. Fortunately my dejection lasted for no more than a second, as we finally reached our destination.
Just one more corner and we would arrive. When we did turn that corner, however, what I saw made me stop in my tracks. All the way down the other end of the corridor was a large archway, one that was at least ten times the size of the doors leading to Hogwarts's dining hall. The archway connected the corridor to what seemed like another large hallway, one that extended far beyond what the eye could ever hope to reach.
Within the hall, a strange semi-circular carving seemed to repeatedly run along the length of the wall; each spaced a good fifty meters from one another. I would have not paid it much attention, if it were not for the fact that for every carving a teen, or a group, would be seen apparating either to or from it.
It was clearly evident that the main hall was made using 'spatial manipulation' magic. That was not too surprising, seeing as the Harry Potter verse had already shown such utilities. What really struck me surprising was the sheer size of the space that was being manipulated. It must have taken time for something like this to have been built, and if it did then that means that there must be enchantments put in place in order to fortify it. While that in itself was something that would draw a lot of attention, something else that really drew my mind were the people apparating into and out of the strange carvings running down the length of the hall. Nobody used a carving that was previously used by someone else, and anytime a group of teens were seen apparating next to one of the carvings, there was always someone that everyone gave a little room to. By the looks of it, said carvings was specific to one and only one person. Every time a group of people wanted to apparate together, it seemed one of the group's members would allow the others to tag along. By my best guess, each of these carving were a seal that lead to a personalized room. The room was stored in a pocket space, once again utilizing 'spatial manipulation' magic. If that was true, then in others words what I was seeing was manipulated space within manipulated space, something that was astounding in both words and practicality.
Drake stopped right next to me, allowing me to take in the full picture. By the looks of it, it seemed even he was entranced by the sight, unlike many of the individuals seen moving to and from the hall. Nevertheless, from afar, I would not in the slightest have doubted that any one of the individuals to disregard something such as this. It was only from where I stood could someone come to appreciate its looks.
"Yeah she really is something! I heard it took everyone three months to make, even with all the founders pitching in to help."
"The founders?"
"Yeah I'll tell you about them later, but for now, let's venture forward my newbie friend!" Brushing off the feeling put on by such a spectacle, Drake went on forward, leaving me behind to catch up.
As we got closer, I began to feel myself shrink, metaphorically of course! The sheer overwhelming size of the archway made me feel small, while simultaneously beginning to wonder if someone was just trying to compensate!
As we came nearer towards the gigantic arch, I only just began to notice how the leading corridor was starting to stretch a little wider. It made sense, seeing as something as big as this would have never fitted in the original castle setting. This entire portion of the castle would have to be expanded for something as large as this to fit. It was because of this that lead me to wonder if the corridor was being manipulated by spatial magic. Honestly at this point in time I was walking through what is an equivalent of a real live-action 'pocket-ception'!
Crossing under the arch, strangely, we walked onwards without a care in the world. The sheer size of the inner hall was not something that should be scoffed at. The walls to either side were at least a hundred meters apart, accompanied with a roof that should have extended upwards by several hundred at the very least. If any regular person was to suddenly walk inside these very halls, their heads would roll over onto their sides trying to comprehend its unfathomable size. It was, obviously, not something that they get to see very often. Fortunately for the two of us, we are not your everyday regular people, and something like this did not keep us down for the keep.
Walking further inside, 'the hallway?', we continued onward at a meagre pace. After ten minutes of walking did I begin to notice the dying levels of light! When we were nearer to the entrance, the light of the connecting corridor had illuminated everything up till a certain hundred meters or so. Now that we had ventured on further into the hall, it was clear that the level of light had reduced. With no windows present, the only source of light were the flaming torches located above each and every carving, but even they were not enough, leaving the hall looking like it was an abandoned atrium in the mines of Moria. The only difference, however, lied in the fact that we would still see a couple of others every now and then. There were as many people here as there were at the entrance, although as we ventured further I had the feeling that the frequency had reduced.
"So how long are we going to be walking, or do you plan to let your legs fall off before just giving up?" I asked.
"Oh it's not that far! Just a couple of more minutes and we should be there." He said merrily.
And so we ended up walking for the next hour and a half!
By the time we neared the end, the entrance that we had walked through was now nothing more than a tiny lone white sized dot in the dark distant horizon. As for what lies ahead, much of it was shrouded in darkness, but by squinting my eyes and concentrating, I saw that a distant wall was slowly closing up.
"Are we there yet?"
"No"
"Are we there yet?"
"No"
"Are we there yet?"
"No"
"Is this pissing you off?"
"Nah, I'm a chill guys, and anyways we're here!" I turned my head up to see Drake walking towards one of the carvings. Said carving was ten carvings away from the last to the end of the hall. Drake who was now standing directly in front of it motioned me to stand beside him. Not seeing any reason as to why I should not, I began to walk towards him, and I would have continued doing so had 'it' not happened. Drake did not see it, and I was sure that had anyone else been there, they would have not seen it as well. Looming in the darkest part of the hall, appearing right behind Drake, the silhouette of a pair of red-bloodshot eyes stared right back at me. I took a step back!
"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're going to doubt me only after we walked all that" said Drake, teasing me in the slightest. I looked to him for a moment, only to realize in that split second of a gap they pair of eyes had disappeared. I did whatever I could to hide the shock and for a moment I did nothing. Then came the pain!
[Warning]
Foreign Entity Detected!
Foreign Entity is infiltrating User's Mind Scape
Sorcerer's Mind has begun enacting basic mental countermeasures
It hurt!
[Warning]
Basic Mental Countermeasures failed!
Foreign Entity detected in User's Mind Scape
Sorcerer's Mind has begun enacting mediocre mental countermeasures
It hurt so much!
[Warning]
Mediocre Mental Countermeasures failed!
Foreign Entity detected in User's Mind Scape
Sorcerer's Mind has begun enacting advanced mental countermeasures
I had already doubled over, the pain having made me lose all control over my body.
[Warning]
Advanced Mental Countermeasures failed!
I would have screamed, but I was too weak to do that as well.
[Notice]
Foreign Entity has left User's Mind Scape
[Warning]
Foreign Entity is infiltrating User's Astral Plane
Sorcerer's Mind has begun enacting Basic Astral Purging
Death did not come!
[Warning]
Basic Astral purging failed!
Foreign Entity detected in User's Astral Plane
Sorcerer's Mind has begun enacting strenuous Astral purging
I wanted it to come!
[Warning]
Strenuous Astral Purging failed!
Foreign Entity has begun altering User's Astral Plane
User's Astral Plane has been damaged
Sorcerer's Mind has begun enacting extreme Astral purging
Neurons fired like crazy; my head felt like it would burst into flames! My heart may be racing, but my breathing was jagged!
Anymore longer and I would have lost all my sanity.
[Warning]
Extreme mental purging failed!
User's Astral Plane has been altered
User's Astral Plane has been damaged
User's Astral Plane has been altered
User's Astral Plane has been damaged
User's Astral Plane has been altered
User's Astral Plane has been damaged
User's Astral Plane has been altered
User's Astral Plane has been damaged
Seconds … Minutes … Hours … Days …
None of these came close to describing how long I was in there;
It was probably my mind playing tricks on me, dilating time to make it longer than it seemed.
But did it matter?
Relative to me, it felt like an eternity;
an eternity of utter hell and pain!
As crazy as it sounds, I think I began to pray!
And as crazier as this sounds, I think that prayer was heard!
[Notice]
Sorcerer's Mind wishes to use [Astral Cataclysm]
[YES — NO]
I had never selected the option. I did not have to capacity to do so, but I think that 'something' had already known that;
from the core of my body, I felt something glow warm, and then hot!
The sensation washed through my entire being until I thought everything would burn.
The pain washed away, and darkness enveloped yet again!
"Earth to Max, I repeat we are live and running!"
"Huh" I had no idea what was going on. The unprecedented pain had taken me by a clear surprise. The only thing I remembered before the unwarranted torture session was a wall of black taking me whole. To see Drake standing over me, hand outstretched, smiling at my downed figure made me wonder if he had noticed what had happened. If my memory served me right, I was stuck in that hellhole for at least several days, but the way Drake was acting (not to mention the fact that I was right where I was before I went off) made me wonder if anything had happened at all. Did drake really not notice anything?
"Hey man you okay? You kind of blacked out for a moment there!" He did not notice anything!
I was still lying flat on the floor, until I decided to get up, remaining careful as to not push myself; residues of pain having still ben reverberating throughout my body. Finally, once I was on my own two feet, I looked up to see Drake giving me a questionable look.
"Look I'll be honest with you, not a lot of people here fall face flat on the floor after their first few hours. I would recommend going to the sick bay, but it's up to you."
"I'm fine, really!" I replied after seeing the raised eyebrows from the foolhardy teen. "Just a bit light headed is all. I wasn't the first pick for the rugby team back home if you get what I'm saying!"
"Sheesh, well you had me worried there. Okay, not really! Anyways, we'll get plenty of time to rest inside. So if you'll just step right here …" said Drake, motioning to his side. Without anything getting in my way this time, I walked up beside him.
The moment I did, Drake raised his arms and seemingly began to channel energy up and around his body. It was a faint golden glow that originated from his chest, and it spread everywhere, traversing down his pants to climbing up the length of his arms. Placing his palm onto the carving, the whole thing suddenly lit up and glow.
Before I could even so much as utter a syllable, my entire form had suddenly felt itself twist and morph in, seemingly, impossible ways. It was similar to the experience I felt back when I was pulled into the abyss, only this was not as unbearable.
By the time the feeling of vertigo was over, I was sprawled over the floor, keeping down the urge to puke out my guts.
Either my mind was playing more tricks on me, or people were faster than I gave them credit for. Drake was not only fine, but he was already sitting down on a couch, slowly sipping away at a beverage, his feet inclined against one of the sofa's armrest. Shaking off the uncomfortable whirring in my head, I decided to check out where I was.
It was a living room that measured by at least ten by ten meters, with two other additional rooms adjoined to the opposite and adjacent side. The accessories of the living area consisted of a white two-person couch that Drake was resting on currently, with two one-person couches located just to its left and right. A filament light was in an electrical socket just overhead, giving off the traditional warm yellow light that gave us all that reminiscent comfortable feeling of home.
"Just plop yourself down anywhere. I got some leftover chicken wings that are inside the fridge, and a couple of cokes if you feel like drinking anything. In case you're wondering, tap water is drinkable. Oh and the fridge is in the kitchen area right behind me" said Drake motioning to the door frame facing the backend of the sofa, "And if you want to use the bathroom it's in my bedroom. That's the other room by the way" He said now pointing to the door frame adjacent to both of us.
"And what about answers?" I asked, wondering if any of this was even necessary.
"Dude it's been a long day! Not to be rude, but I wasn't the one falling face flat from walking. Not to mention, it's been a long day for me, so I really, and I mean I really need to take a small nap!" I took a long and hard look at Drake. "Come on man, pour out your heart for a brother!" He said jokingly. I gave caved in, and not bothering to waste anymore words, I made my way to the kitchen. I figured I may as well get something to eat!
Three chicken wings and a bottle of coke later I found myself sitting on the couch, waiting for Drake to get up. Not wanting to just sit around doing nothing I decided that I may as well check his place out. Going into his bedroom I was disappointed to find out that it was even barer than his living room. The only thing I could find was a single-person mattress lying face down in the middle of the room, right next to a three legged table that had absolutely nothing on it. Sighing in defeat I made my way back to the living room and slouched down onto one of the two couches.
With nothing to do and nothing to look at I figured may as well begin inspecting my ring. Trying out a few simple spells should not be too harmful, right?
Facing the couch opposite I pointed out my ring hand, thinking about a few simple spells that I remembered from long time past.
"Wingardium Leviosa" Saying it in the shallowest breath possible, I was pleased to find the couch slowly and gradually hover two meters into the air. Once I was satisfied with the result, I lowered my hand, which likewise caused the couch to do the same.
'I can perform basic first grade spells without any much difficulty, but with all the enhanced intellect stats that I have stacked over one another I wonder if ...', I placed my hand out once more, only this time I had a different idea in mind.
'Wingardium Leviosa' This time, I did not speak at all, but I let the thoughts come to mind. The couch once again began to slowly rise into the air. A satisfied smirk found its way onto my face.
Now at the time I had no idea whether or not Drake liked to clean up his room or not, but a few specs of dust found their way into my nasal, and so without any prior warning I let off a sudden sneeze. The jolt caused me to lose hold of my concentration, and the couch that was once suspended in the air came crashing down. The combined forces of my sneeze and the crash caused Drake to stir from his sleep!
"Wazz going on?" was the only half woken response that I got.
"Uhh sorry about that!" I said, watching him get up half-groggily and begrudged. He looked like someone had woken him up from the climax of his ever-so-desired fantasy.
"Ah it's no problem man! Anyways, how long was I out?" Letting off a yawn he shot up and off the couch and began taking a stretch.
"Must have been nothing more than an hour. Why? Do you need to be doing something?"
"Huh, oh no, nothing noteworthy really! I just wanted to make sure I didn't over sleep and miss my late night jog!" I mentally sweat panned at his statement.
'What is up with this guy? Is he the cross fit god reincarnate?' I thought sheepishly.
"Didn't want to miss out on my daily routine. Anyways, if it really was under an hour then it should be around maybe fifteen minutes after noon? What do you think?"
"Me? Uh yeah, it should be, unless you're saying time works differently here in these, 'what do you call them', pocket spaces?"
"Pocket spaces? Nah, we wanted to call them something a lot simpler. We settled on calling it the 'Space-Time warped personalized pocket dimensions'." I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah I'm just pulling your leg! They're called 'pocket dimensions' so you're not that far off to be honest. Although just keep in mind that we categorize anything that warps Space-Time into a relatively small personalized volume as 'pocket dimensions'. As for the hall we just walked down, we settled on calling it 'The Keep'.
"Okay. That's that, but you and I both know that's not all I wanted to hear" I looked towards Drake expectantly, only to see him give off an unwarranted sigh.
"Okay do you want me to sugar-coat the truth or …"
"Just give it to me straight" I said is a monotone voice.
"Alright" Drake got up and began walking around the room, swaying his arms to the sides. When he turned around to face me, he was no longer smiling and finally started looking serious! "So I don't think I have to tell you that you died, or the fact that you got reincarnated. I'm also going to assume that just like all of us, you were pretty much a sociopath in your previous life, often avoiding people altogether, and pretty much remaining friendless for the majority of your life." He said it spot on! "I'm also going to assume that you were a straight A* sciences student, and you often liked divulging into topics that other people either did not understand, or were too simple minded to ever pursue. That being said, you developed a sort of superiority complex and often assumed that you were better than everyone else even though you very well knew that you were no prodigy; just a bit ahead of the average man." It was like he was reading the synopsis of a book titled 'My Miserable Life: And other Stories'. It was kind of amusing, to see someone stand right there in front of me and discuss all my good and bad traits. Made me feel a bit more human! "I don't even need to ask you if you were a battle forum Viner, because I haven't met a single person here who isn't. I could also assume that you've read a lot of those cliché cultivation light novel, along with a lot of very good crossover fan-fics, and maybe even a couple of those boring gay-ass romance crossovers where the MC doesn't do anything interesting and just spends his time saving people and blah-blah-blah you get the point! Am I correct?" I nodded. "Good! But honestly I'm not surprised, and I know what you're thinking" he said suddenly as soon as I was about to ask him, "and I'm just getting to that part. You not only want know how I know about you, but you're also curious as to who I am, who everyone else is, why aren't you in the Percy Jackson Universe, and what the hell are you doing at Hogwarts?" Okay, that just about sums up every question I had up till this point in time. Of course there were a few more, but I decided to chalk them up for later. "Let's go over those things one by one! As for how I know so much about you, it's because, well … we're all the same. What I mean is that we are all reincarnates! All of us, and I mean the guys down in the corridors to the ones in the field, were all once nothing more than just your everyday 'more than average' Joe. And I'm assuming now, but I'm probably right, when I say that you were dragged to this world from a small black-hole type orb the size of a truck, am I right?" I was shocked to say the least. I was never expecting this kind of a development, and while although it was a real eye opener to say the least, there was something about his statement that I could not help but notice.
'No, that's not right! It was several tens of kilometers at least. What does he mean the size of a …' I never got to complete my thoughts seeing as Drake continued on with his explanation.
"Now we were all like that; Smarter, sadistic, sociopathic, fan-fic reading, battle forum debating teenagers. We all died in our own ways, and we were all brought here!" I felt like the ground was going to open underneath me. If what he was saying was true, then this was way more than what I could have ever imagined, especially after being reborn. Regardless of how I felt, Drake gave no indication of ever stopping. "So we got that part out of the way, so I'll move on to the next part which is 'why aren't we in the Percy Jackson Universe?'. Well the funny thing is that we actually are in the Percy Jackson Universe, but you probably didn't know that because of the castle layout, which I'll be honest, may have thrown you off!" I looked at him in utter confusion, expecting him to offer an explanation. "All right, so you're in the Percy Jackson Universe, but you're still asking 'why the hell am I in Hogwarts?' Well the reason for that is simple! Whatever all powerful being gave us sadists a second chance at life also decided to give us a pretty cool base of operation, which is an exact replica of the Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry." My mind was gyrating on its nimble axis, ready to fall apart at even the slightest perturbation. This was all just … unreal, which is rich coming from a guy that was just reborn!
"Wait, so if we're in Hogwarts …"
"Uh yeah one more thing" Said Drake, cutting in. "While although the castle is modeled around Hogwarts, we all collectively decided on calling it a little bit something else. Something cooler, and more intimidating." My ears perked up, interested in what he was saying. "I only called it Hogwarts so that you could recognize the place in case you didn't the first time!"
"So what did you guys decide on calling it?" I said, trying best to control the overwhelming flood of emotions that tried to burst their way into my voice, weird considering that 'The Sorcerer's Mind' should have been doing that for me!
"Well, if you've ever seen 'OverLord' you can pretty much figure it out on your own!" Did he really mean it? "We decided on calling this lovely little castle … Nazarick!"
"Holy Hell … This is just … This is just … So wait, where's Hogw-err I mean Nazarick located? New York? Los Angeles? Chicago?"
"Uh okay so about that, I find that the next thing that I'm about to tell you may be the hardest to believe out of all of them. Well, you see the castle is not exactly … fixed! Remember when I said our entire base of operations is this castle? Now just imagine for a second, if someone copied, not only the castle, but everything in a ten kilometer radius around it. Now imagine yet again, that someone not only copies this entire area, but suddenly pulls it right out of the Earth, and just decided to turn it into a floating island made entirely for us! By all means, take your time!"
I'm not sure if I gave Drake a chance to finish his sentence, because the most significant thing I could remember about that talk was me suddenly standing up in complete excitement, much to the expositional teen's surprise.
'Apparition wards are already disabled, so if my memory serves me right … deliberation, determination and destination … it should be possible!'
"Whoa there, I know it's hard to digest but I'm not really finishe …" said Drake, completely unaware of my intentions. *POP* and I was gone!
F.Y.I, apparition is not a pleasant experience; my first time almost leaving me in a puddle of my own bile!
'Deliberation; making sure one apparates while acting and thinking carefully. Determination; not holding in the slightest bit of doubts as to where I want to reach. Destination; Duh …' I kept these three things in mind both before and after apparating to wherever it was that I wanted to go.
Apparition was often said to be something that required a skilled wizard for success. If performed with even the slightest mistake it could lead to entire body parts being completely severed from the unfortunate witch or wizard. I had no plans to be that wizard; not today or tomorrow! Needless to say for my first time, coming out in one piece and managing to keep in my guts was far from spectacular results! However, that did not excuse me from the terrible headache that came my way. It left me sitting to the side rubbing my eyes for a good five minutes.
Once the terrible head splitting pain had resided, I finally got a chance to look up and see where I was. It was the forest that surrounded the Hogwarts castle. Or at least I thought I was!
If what Drake said was correct, then an entire chunk of land in a ten-or-so kilometer radius from the castle had been cut out of the earth like a cake, destined to be suspended over wherever the hell this floating 'loopy land' was supposed to be located!
What is important to note is that, while apparating, I was not focusing on a particular destination as much I was focusing on a certain distance. Once I calculated the range of error that a nearly-circular floating island should have, I decided to try and apparate a good hundred-or-so meters from the edge to get as close as I possibly could. Although, I will have to admit, I was being a bit reckless. There is no telling what could have happened if I apparated right off the edge. Also, if I was apparating based off of pure distance alone, then it was quite possible for me to have apparated right inside a solid object, which would have been the end of me right there. There was also the possibility of apparating several stories above the ground, or exactly right into it. I had no idea what part of the forest I was apparating into. For all I knew it was the most infested and dangerous part of the entire lot, teeming with all kinds of hostile creatures. Who knows what could have happened? The possibilities are endless! I guess due to my newfound wits and intellect I was at least able to calculate an angle from which I should apparate, preventing me from falling right to my imminent death. So I guess there was one outcome that I could cut out of the equation! But let us forget all that! That is not want why I was there. What I was really interested in was the landscape.
The forest itself did not contain anything too special, or at least, there was nothing too special that I encountered for my short stay. The evening sun was still shining bright through the open canopy, providing light to the spacious forest floor. At the ground level, the bed was littered with brown leaves, remnants of the seasons that this small patch of land has encountered.
As I got up and began walking about, in about half-a-minute or so I saw a clearing up ahead. It extended forward for a hundred meters, right before dropping right off a steep edge, from where I was standing, I could see a white bundle of clouds forming out in the distance, as if to prove itself further. Walking into the clearing, I saw it extend to both sides, their ends falling behind the curves.
Exiting the forest, a powerful gust of wind had nearly swept me of my feet! With no buildings or obstructions in the way, up here the wind reigned as a powerful intolerable force. With a bit of focus, I walked towards the edge, making sure I looked back every so often, not wanting a random beast to get the better of me.
Now just a meter away from what would be considered plummeting to perpetual doom, I got a good look at the world below.
Drake was not lying when he said the view was good. It was more than just good, but rather mind-blowingly spectacular! The view outstretched too far beyond what the eye could normally see. Vanes of stratocumulus and stratus clouds could be seen travelling a few thousand feet beneath the land mass. From the gaps in between, I could make out the color of ocean blue waves crashing and churning within itself. Far out near the horizon, like a towering god, was a cumulonimbus extending tens of thousands of feet into the clear blue sky.
It may sound a tad silly, but for once I really felt human! To just look and admire the beauty of the world, giving in to the emotions of one's heart. Am I wrong to do so? We are all human, and we all have our emotions, despite sometimes not wanting to feel it, sometimes not wanting to admit it. Maybe it is not so bad to just give in sometimes, and I did!
After checking to see if stable, I sat down and let my feet dangle off the edge. Sitting down, I let my thoughts wonder. I was carefree and relaxed, a leisure that I knew I should cherish.
Rooted onto Heaven's Earth;
Foe of wind and sea.
Man sought peace on barren Hearth,
Finds naught, but misery.
Looking down upon a hallowed Earth;
Atop a sundered sky.
Only when Fate plays its final cards;
Will one be allowed to die.
And so destiny writes the tale of old;
Written in the blood of his blood.
And the kin of his kin shall be reborn;
And an OverLord will rise!
I looked at the elegance of this world, its peaceful systematic process, and I made up my mind!
'This world is fucked!'