Of Ice, Death & Monsters

“Well… he was a little bit eccentric.” I mumbled out loud once they left the room. Not that I minded, at least he was somewhat helpful.

“All great people are as they say. You would need a few loose screws to suggest ever heading up north.”

I thought about that for a moment. ‘Yeah, you'd have to be mad to suggest something like this, that's for sure. ’

We both began to walk back to the elevator, and a small silence emanated between us before I broke it.

“So you agree that this whole thing is crazy?”

The elevator door opened up, allowing us to enter as Matthias pressed a button for one of the lower floors.

“Crazy is not the word I would use for it. I would like to say it’s a new experience. For everyone involved, this is unknown territory. No one else had launched something of this magnitude for quite a while.”

When we reached their floor, the elevator door opened up to reveal a large, open, spaced lobby similar to that of a hospital.

“But we have the technology that the past did not. The information that they could not possess. And the Magick that they could only dream of.”

Matthias strode on ahead, entering the left hallway where he used his tail to open the door to a private room filled with both arcane sigils in the middle as well as computers to the side.

“We don’t fight with swords and shields anymore, Peter. We fight with rifles and bombs.”

That was a good point; life has advanced so far compared to the olden days. Before, you couldn’t snipe a monster from over a few kilometers away or telekinetically carpet bomb them.

Well, technically speaking, you could do both back then, but they were reserved for the most powerful of people and not for the common man, unlike today.

I walked inside of the room, looking around in awe. Everything was so strange and wonderful here. It was so clean, and nothing smelled like three-day-old cup noodles. I looked around like a child in a candy store. The monitors were crystal clear, with no cracks or blemishes, unlike mine. The wires, too, I noticed, were seamlessly hidden in the walls, giving such a sterile look to the surroundings.

“Wow… what is this room for exactly?”

Matthias closed the door, locking us both inside. “So that we could dissect you, of course!”

He quickly grabbed a wand and stepped forward towards me. In fear, I fell onto the ground, crawling backward towards the circle.

“Wow… did you really believe that?” Matthias pointed at me as the Magi looked like he was on the verge of laughter.

“Who wouldn’t! This place looks like a hospital; what else was I supposed to guess?”

The catboy just smiled smugly and activated the monitors around the room. “Here is where we grant you Names. It’s a little new, though, so hopefully, it works out... Although you won’t have any idea how it works in the first place…” He then muttered under his breath. “…Not like we do either…”

I turned to Matthias, curiously narrowing my eyes. “Did you say something?”

“Hmm? Well, I was going to ask if you had any Name in mind, you’re eligible for at least one subscription.”

Immediately, I responded, already with an answer in mind. “The Performance Arts of Telekinesis. That’s one I’ve always wanted for the longest time…”

Why wouldn’t someone desire the power to control other things from a distance? It was one of the most versatile powers of all time.

“Hmmm, a classic, very standard, but it’s not bad for a first Name.”

My eye twitched a little. Maybe it was just me, but it sounded like I was almost being judged for that kind of choice.

I watched as Matthias pressed a few buttons, causing the monitors to flash with millions of data points, completely filling up the screen as it scrolled down.

Then, the floor runes began to glow, crackling with lightning as radiant white light emerged from below, shining upwards towards me.

“Alright, brace yourself now. You’re going to feel very tingly… and try to empty out your mind, think of nothing at all.”

I already knew this. From interviews and other records I gathered around, it was reported that the ritual involved several runes around the individual mixed in with anything that could hold information, such as usually books. But in the modern age, computers were used.

Then, a Name would be shoved into your very mind and being, permanently etching itself into your existence. It was best that you weren’t actively thinking so that the sudden influx of information wouldn’t cause you to become brain-dead.

I emptied my mind and took a deep breath.

"Alright... Here, we go!" Matthias pressed a few more buttons, and the process began.

All around, a deluge of information crashed into me, completely overwhelming any other thought at once as I felt everything and nothing at the same time.

I stopped thinking, and yet thought of everything. The very Essence of the Spell, how to use it, and what it meant. It was the only thing that he could understand.

It was as if I were trapped in a cage of information, my very existence interlaced and interlocked with power as if my soul was being tattooed with the etchings of the power to alter reality to its very core.

Everything and anything, all of which was laid bare for just a moment, I could neither understand nor comprehend, yet I could admire and praise. With all that I had left in my mind, I tried my best to hold on to my slipping sanity, gripping tightly all the way through.

Then, it finally ended. The light show was over, and I stumbled onto my knees before doubling over. My mind slowly came to grips with the whiplash of returning to processing regular information.

Matthias rushed to my side, shaking me awake. “Are you alright? You’re not brain dead, right?”

I coughed a little while groaning, smiling as I raised my hand with a thumbs up, laughing a little. “…I… I have it… after all this time. I can finally use it.”

Magick was within my grasp. The information running through my system was immense, practically infinite, but now my mind was only picking at the important bits.

“That’s great; if it worked properly- here, try taking this.” Matthias took out a small pen from his pocket, holding it up in the air.

I already knew what to do, raising my hand up, grasping the air as I focused on the pen.

All of a sudden, the pen stiffened and flew into the air as if held by an invisible source.

“Hah… it’s all real… all of it…” I began to laugh. 22 years, so many times I had dreamt of this moment. The time when I could finally do Magick. I used to daydream and pretend to be casting spells well, even into adulthood.

There was something more profound and wonderful about this feeling than I could ever put into words. It was pure, unadulterated joy.

Some tears even started to roll down my cheek, but very quickly, I wiped them away.

I then stood up, taking a deep breath as I smiled. “Thank you… I can’t believe it. I’m actually doing Magick of all things.”

Matthias sighed in relief. “Welcome to the wonderful world of the Arcane. Anything you want me to explain about?”

I shook my head. “No need, I know everything that needs to be known already.”

Then, Matthias raised his eyebrow. “Everything, huh? Oh, really now? Think you’re clever? Then tell me why exactly do we call it a Name?”

Hah? That’s elementary knowledge, but I bet he wanted me to add something more to it. “Because Names are what define anything. It’s the meaning behind whatever you could think of. It’s the label you can give to something. Peter is my Name, but it’s one of many I can be granted, even a Nickname like Pete, if it’s referring to me, would work. The sun is also a Name, too, or the moon and even gravity.”

Matthias crossed his arms, scoffing a little as a glint appeared in his eyes, like he was being challenged. “Hah, then why can’t everyone just cast Magick immediately if we all know everyone’s Names?”

“Because knowing is different from understanding and comprehending.” I shot back with a growing grin on my face. Man, I always wanted to pull that line.

“To wholly have a Name, you would need to comprehend and understand on such a level that you would know every aspect of it. According to the Scales of Nahas, you’d need to experience every facet of it from the past, present, and future. That must have been why my head was filled with so much information, but we can’t really comprehend it with our finite space and knowledge, so we can only grasp enough to do one specific action with that Name, and we call those… spells.”

I paused for dramatic effect, a triumph that I long awaited to sound out.

“Oh? You’ve read the Scales of Nahas? Not bad… not bad.” Matthias clapped his hands while his tail swung excitedly.

“But… why does learning Names even grant us power then? Just because you know something doesn’t mean you automatically have power over it, otherwise everyone should have at least some amount of power over others, shouldn’t they?”

Now that was tough, really tough. Now, this was not something they taught in school, so why would it be? It’s not that important. You just give people the whole shtick about Names, and they’ll just accept they have powers.

“Because you’re not just understanding the Name. You’re connecting to the essence of it. You would need to find a way to implant information like Epithet does that allows us to connect to the essence of the Name and use it.”

I levitated the pen again with my telekinesis.

“After that, even if we did not fully comprehend it. We are still in some way connected to the essence of it, allowing us access to making what we know as spells, depending on what we touched upon.”

I then grabbed the pen mid-air. “Vocalization, spells that can be created by speaking them into existence. Acting, spells that destroy when you play pretend. Performance Arts, spells that manipulate the world through movement, and Drawings, spells that bind effects by creating rituals.”

Matthias clapped his hands together, leaning back again as he spun around. “Well, well~ guess you do know your stuff after all. Looks like I really don’t have to explain anything to you.

“Being a Magi was always my dream. I don’t think you need to explain anything to me… but thank you anyway.”

Matthias smiled and returned to the monitors, turning off the machines. “You’re welcome. And with that, you are done. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Yeah… done…”

There was this strange awkwardness in the air as, for a few moments, only silence would be heard between the two of us.

“…Is there any chance I can somehow stay here for the week? Before we leave?” I definitely didn’t want to stay in my dingy apartment after coming to this place.

“Well, hmm, considering you’re part of the help… maybe you could ask John or someone like the Professor for that.”

“I see, well…uhm… thanks for that too.”

“No problem. I’m happy to help.” Matthias gave me a smile and I tried to return it.

However, there was still this feeling inside of me that bubbled over whenever I saw Matthias. An ugly feeling of jealousy.

This was the type of life he had. All so cushy, stable, and happy. Everything was determined and safe; there was nothing to be scared of when you had so much power.

It was disgusting, and it was everything I ever wanted to have. I tried my best to smile as I walked out of the room, taking a deep breath as I entered into a new stage of my life.

Everything would go according to plan. I would have what I wanted, and it would be as I desired it. No matter what, that was the future I should have above all else.