The next day… I decided to look for the source of this madness…
However, I know now that… it was rather pointless…
Nothing can stop it… nothing…
~Line Break~
Shelby got up from the bed when she heard the cries of her daughter. She yawned as she stretched her arms and legs. Her husband groaned and placed the blanket over his head, not really in the mood for this thing at this time of day.
"It's like… what 6:00…? We hardly ever get 5 hours of sleep at best anymore without her crying…" Her husband groaned. Shelby narrowed her eyes at him and then shook her head. She can't believe him sometimes. The purple haired scientist quickly placed on a robe to cover her naked body.
"James, she is a baby with needs. It's our jobs as parents to fulfill them. If not, Social Services would like a word with us…" Shelby rolled her eyes as she quickly headed into the bathroom to wash her face. After doing so, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes tell a story that she has been up most of the night. She only had like… what… one… maybe two hours of sleep? She had her research and somewhat of her husband to blame for that. However, she could have refused to have sex with him, but she wanted it… a little.
Sydney's high pitched crying shook her out of her reverie. She sighed and headed out the bathroom. "I'm coming sweetie." Heading into her daughter's room, she gently picked up Sydney from her crib and gently cradled her in her arms, hushing her with sweet words.
"Mommy's here… Are you hungry little one?" She sees her make a small nod in response to her question. Smiling, she sat herself down on a lounge chair nearby. She opened her robe a bit and let her daughter feed off of her breast. She used to think it felt weird, but now she has gotten used to it.
"Good thing I have the day off today…" Shelby sighed. It is Wednesday, August 19th. She had a lot of things to do today. One of them is finding concrete proof for Ambrose as she did not manage to find anything last night.
She decided to watch some news while Sydney is busy getting her hunger satiated. Shelby did not want to disturb her daughter with loud noise, so she reached for some headphones and placed them on. Turning it on, she reached for the remote and turned on the TV.
As usual, the cartoons pop up. She lets her daughter watch them from time to time, even though she doesn't quite understand them. However, that isn't what she wants to watch right now. She inputted 949 in the remote for the news channel.
"Expect rain to come tomorrow! There might be a chance of thunderstorms!" The weather lady in a skimpy outfit exclaimed to the camera. Shelby almost wanted to smack the person who thought it was a good idea for the weather lady to be wearing such revealing clothing. Sure, she admits the woman is sexy, but in no way does she accept such stupid decisions just to get people, mostly men, to watch the news more.
"Thanks, Chelsea. Now then, we have more news regarding the body found in Wizard City Shore."
There was a body found at the beach? Had there been a murder? Shelby upped the volume a bit. She wanted to hear more about this. News like this had always interested her. Heck, she even solved a murder case herself once.
"Carl LeafBracer is the name of the man that was found in Wizard City Shore by a young girl named Jamie NinjaMaster." They showed an image of a 5 year old red haired girl and a picture of the deceased. "The body was found at 4 PM underneath the sands with his eyeballs completely gone from his eye sockets and a note next to him." Hearing that really disturbed Shelby.
"According to Jamie, Carl told her to kill him. Just before paramedics could even get to him, he died. They say the cause of his death is due to all of his magical powers being gone from his body. Police are unsure how, but this case is definitely similar to that of Kat FireWard, who is now in a coma from lack of magic."
Oh god… Shelby placed a hand over her mouth in shock. Another person has fallen due to lack of magic. This is getting more concerning. If this keeps up, seeing people pass out on the street in Wizard City will become the norm! However, it is just two people so far… but still…
"The note, according to Police, says the following…"
THE VIRUS WILL SPREAD!
SAVE YOURSELVES!
A Virus? So, perhaps this whole thing is happening because of a Virus? You would think doctors would find such a Virus when examining both Kat and Carl. Also, I didn't detect any virus when doing my scientific researching… Shelby wasn't quite sure if that was the case, but it will be something she'll look into today. Also, is the virus a natural cause… or did someone create it? Either one sounded horrible no matter how hard you look at it, the fact of the matter is that there is a Virus… well if there is one.
She feels Sydney let go of her breast with a pop, probably full. Shelby placed her on her shoulder and lightly patted her on the back to get her to burp. After 10 of them, a satisfied burp came from her, and then she gently cradled Sydney in her arms. She continued to listen to the news.
"Police are still investigating the area to find any more clues. We will notify you more once we have more information…"
Hearing enough and disappointed that there wasn't more info, she shut off the TV. She was going to head to the Lab after she makes Breakfast. Shelby looked down at her daughter who was staring back at her with questioning eyes.
"Ma?"
"Mommy is going to do a lot of work today, sweetie pie." Shelby told her daughter. She wondered how she is going to explain this to her husband. How would he react to it? She then scoffed and shook her head. Well, if she knew her husband, he'd probably just laugh and think she is full of herself. What a supportive husband… but she still loves him anyways.
"It's going to be a long day, isn't it?" She asked to no one in particular.
"Ba?" Her daughter said, confused. Shelby smiled and just hugged her.
~Line Break~
"Hey, what's that in your ear?" An 18 year old black haired girl with chestnut eyes asked to her friend walking with her. Her friend in question was a 17 year old brunette with blue eyes and freckles. Both of them were in a White T-Shirt and a black skirt.
"What, a quarter?" The friend asked, knowing where this was going. The girl laughed and shook her head.
"No, silly." She reached for her ear and pulled out a pigeon. "You had that in your ear!" She laughed at her friend's face as she let the pigeon fly off into the sky. The brunette groaned and smacked herself in the face.
"You and your so called, 'Magic'."
"I am a Magician, what can I say?" The black haired woman shrugged her shoulders with a smile. The brunette sighed, but smiled as well. As annoying her friend is at times, she cherishes her company. Both of them placed their hands behind their heads and continued to walk forward.
"Do you ever wonder if Magic really exists, Kelsey?" The brunette asked. The aforementioned girl looked at her as if her question was stupid.
"Magic does exist! It is all around us! In the air! In the soil! It is everywhere, Victoria!" Kelsey stated, throwing her hands up for emphasis. Victoria patted her friend on her shoulder as if pitying her. She pouted in response and crossed her arms with a huff.
"Sure it does…"
"Then how did I get that pigeon out of your ear?"
"You are just using tricks, nothing magical about it." Victoria sighed. Kelsey blew raspberries at her. She would never understand. Sure Earth seems to be a non-magical place… but there are some things that can't be explained.
"Anyways, my birthday is in 6 days. Are you getting me something good?" Kelsey asked with a smile. Victoria rolled her eyes and gently smacked her friend upside the head. The black haired girl pouted, rubbing the area where she smacked it.
"Of course, idiot. God, you're such a dork."
"Stingy…"
The pair soon reached the St. Mary's High School where they were attending classes. This was their last year of school before they can finally graduate and move away from their annoying parents. Both of them didn't really like this school all that much, but at least they need to survive one more year.
"Hopefully we get some nice teachers this time… not those monotone teachers last year… Ugh." Kelsey deadpanned. Victoria could only nod in agreement. Those types of teachers were horrible. Every word the spoke made her want to shut that mouth for good.
"The end is near… the end is near I tells ya!"
Both of them turned to their right to see a bald black man with a sign on him. The sign says, "The World will end soon!" The girls sighed. They've seen this guy way too many times around these parts. He is always going on about how the world will end soon. Yet, every time he predicts something, it doesn't really happen. Not like they believe him anyways.
"Yo, old man, still think the world is ending eh?" Victoria decided to mess with him a little. Kelsey gave her a look as if to say that is rude of her. Sure he is annoying, but he doesn't deserve to be called that.
"It is I tells ya! I know I am right this time!" The black man laughed hysterically. "You'll all see! We'll all be sacrificed! It is what God has in stores for us!" He then looked around and spoke in a loud whisper. "Between you two and me… There is 6 days left! 6 days left to live your pathetic teenage lives!"
"Pathetic? I'll show you pathetic you inaccurate bastard." Victoria was about to kick his butt, but Kelsey prevented her from doing so by grabbing her by the arm. The man laughed and walked away to do his usual business of telling everybody that the world is ending. Victoria scoffed and shook Kelsey off of her.
"No violence on school grounds, Vic, sheesh… Do you want to get suspended?" Kelsey asked softly.
"Pfft, whatever. I just don't get that guy. What makes him think the world is ending?" Victoria asked as they both entered the school. Kelsey thought about it for a moment, trying to think of a rational answer. However, she can't simply come up with one that doesn't end with him being crazy.
"I don't know. All of us have to die have to some point though… Like the thing that wiped out the Dinosaurs…"
"Well duh, idiot, I know all of us will die no matter what. What kind of Apocalypse is going to "Supposedly" come I wonder…?" That man never did say how the world will end… he just thinks it WILL end soon.
"Something about us being sacrificed…" Kelsey stated. "Well at least it ain't no Zombie thingy. God knows that's cliché… and overdone…" Both of them laughed at that.
"I hear that…"
As they walked down the hallway to their classes, Kelsey felt the atmosphere… change a bit. She stopped in her tracks and looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary… everything seemed the same.
Victoria, noticing her friend's behavior, stopped and looked at her. "Hey, what's wrong?" Kelsey didn't respond. Instead, she reached out with her hand as if to grab something that wasn't really there and trying to feel it. Okay, now she was really concerned.
"The fuck you doing?"
"… I don't know… Is it me or… is there a slight change in the atmosphere all of a sudden?" Kelsey asked her. She didn't know what it was…
"They probably turned on the air conditioner you goof… Whatever, we're going to be late for class… Hurry up…" Victoria walked on forward and Kelsey reluctantly followed. It definitely wasn't a change of temperature… it was something more… complex…
~Line Break~
Shelby typed away on the computer furiously. She has spent a total of 7 hours searching for the cause of this decrease of magic throughout the Spiral. There has to be a cause for this… Magic wouldn't just suddenly say, "Sorry, goodbye!" and then go away bit by bit. So far, all of her searches have turned up negative.
"Maybe if I can collect some skin samples from those unfortunate souls that had their magic drained… No… that's stupid…" She muttered to herself. If talented Doctor's couldn't find anything… what makes her any different? Sure, she is a scientist, but even she has her limits.
She pulled out the graph she made yesterday and stared at it. Magic levels were decreasing slowly but surely. Roughly 1.6 percent decrease every year. It isn't much, but it is enough for her to have been concerned enough to talk about it with Ambrose, who still refuses to discuss it if she has no evidence to back it up, but it is not like she made this graph to make people afraid.
"Hmm, perhaps there is a Virus that transformed into this… It could be a long shot, but it is worth a try." Shelby rolled her chair she is sitting on to the other side of the room where the bookshelf is. She skimmed through until she finds a book on known Viruses across the Spiral. She pulls it out and flips through it.
"Okay… Viruses… Viruses…" Shelby looked through multiple pages, HOPING to find something that involves magic. She sees Zombie Viruses, Toxic Viruses… Plant Viruses… After 5 minutes of looking in this big book, there was nothing about draining magic from people or things…
"Maybe… a spell? But I don't think there is even a spell that could do this!" Shelby bit her lip, debating on whether or not to look it up. Figuring it wouldn't hurt to look; she put back the Virus Book and then pulled out the Book of Spells…
She flipped through it like she did with the other, looking for anything relevant. It is a huge book, likely going to take her 20 or so minutes to skim pages to find a spell about it. She was about to give up when something caught her eye. She gripped the book tighter and stared at the page detailing of a small but very deadly spell that a user can cast. The spell didn't seem relevant… but something in her mind told her to look at it.
Epitomus Sacrifice Zilbalba
A spell that can extract magic from nonliving things or dead people. It can also work on that of the dying. You can use this spell with a cost of little of your magic to sacrifice a dying or dead person and inanimate objects that contain magic and transfer them into your body. Beware though, the more you use it, the more it takes its toll on you.
All you have to do is reach out with your hand and say those 3 words. It will literally drain the victim and or thing dry and you will get the magic from it.
"Such a spell exists? I would never use such a thing. While it is certainly interesting, I don't know why I bothered to read it at all…" Shelby decided she had enough for today and slammed the book shut. She placed it back on the shelf and got up from her chair. She yawned and stretched her arms, feeling very tired from all the work she had done today.
"All that work and nothing to prove my discovery… Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow…"
Shelby packed up her things and left the Lab.
I didn't know how important that spell was back then…
Never have I thought that it will become a thing…
I wish I never saw that spell…
5 days until the End of the Spiral…