Master of the Loop

Chapter 49: Invisible

Chapter 49

Invisible

Magic wasnt hard, Sylas learned quickly. It was impossible. He was currently holding onto his head, vacant-eyed, while Derrek shouted wildly inside the shard. Hed broken the man, but couldnt even care for it as hed broken himself too. No matter how many times and in how many ways Derrek tried to explain and teach him, Sylas was unable to do, well, anything, really. Theoretically, it didnt sound difficultit was really just a mantra of visualization. But no matter how hard he tried, Sylas was unable to visualize the energy itself, the elusive thing guiding the worlds magic.

As such, he may as well not have even tried since everything was dependent on that first step. And since he'd failed that first step, it was as though he failed them all. He didn't want to admit it, that he was an utterly talentless hack when it came to magic. It would be the most depressing thing in the world if he had landed in the world of magic without being able to utilize it. It'd be like getting to live in a chocolate castle while having diabetes.

Fine, fine, look, not all is lost, Derrek suddenly said, trying to encourage him. For some, the first step is the hardestusually those who have never been exposed to magic before. Have you ever even seen it properly utilized?

no, Sylas replied honestly. He saw after-effects of the sort, what with Dyn appearing and disappearing, and, naturally, whatever the hell was that up in the north. Not really.

There you goitd be stranger if you could visualize something youd never seen before, Derrek said, as though to console the both of them. It would be like describing to someone a color theyd never seen before. Its simply one of those things that need to be seen.

though it helped slightly, Sylas was still feeling miserable.

"Think think of time," Derrek suddenly said, pulling Sylas' attention onto him as well. "Time is in the constant flow forwardeven the highest tiers of magic are unable to interrupt it. Not even for that brief moment. There are tales in old histories of sages who could freeze the momentum of time, but we havemany timesproven they were all falsified. Time is one of the things that elude the touch of magic," Wait, so youre telling me even my solitary power of rebirth isnt magic?!! Oh, come the fuck on man!! Im dying here! Because time is personal. Everyone experiences moment-to-moment differently, Wait, did this guy just casually espouse fucking relativity? What the hell?!

Just with time, magic is personal as well, Derrek continued. That is why the two remained unaffected by one anotherthey exist in equilibrium. And just as everyone experiences time differently, everyone experiences magic differently. What what is the most magical thing to you? What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think magic?

invisibility, Sylas replied honestly. It truly was the quintessential magic that he visualized upon hearing the word.

The ability to cloakyes, it is very distinctly magical, Derrek continued. But what is invisibility? Is it simply painting your clothes the color of your surrounding? Is it a mute personality that does not stand out? Ability to stand still and be unnoticed? All of those and more? Everything, magic included, is broken down into smaller and smaller chunksyou cant visualize invisibility altogether because its a combination of many other things. So, instead of starting at the top, lets start at the very bottom. Forget energyforget magic. I just want you to visualize standing still and blending in with this environment. Become a statue, so to say, that nobody bats an eye upon seeing. Youre not invisible. Youre simply visibly indistinct. Again, take a deep breath. Close your eyes, Sylas followed Derreks instructions once again, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Youre in a room. Theres a hundred people all around, chatting, living, existing. You are alone. Alone in their midst. They dont see you, that wasnt a difficult thing to imagine, Sylas mused.

Rather than envisioning himself in the castle, his memories drifted back over to Earth. He was nineteen again. It was raining. It was at night. He sat in the mud, a dirty bag at his side, staring at the swinging light of the porch. Hed just been kicked out. He could see them still, in the windows. Watching. Judging. Them. The neighbors. A hundred eyes looking but not seeing, as though he wasnt there. The phantom eyes that bored right through him. He was alone. He was alone in the midst of a thousand souls, adrift in the rainy dirt. He remembered the pain, remembered the shame, remembered the rage, the agony, the compendium of a thousand emotions swelling into one in the end: indifference. Cold, abandoned invisibility.

He remembered standing up. He remembered kicking the bag at the house. He remembered giving them one last look. He remembered turning around and walking away into the night. Nobody came out. Nobody called out. Nobody said goodbye. Nobody asked. Nobody saw. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody.

Yes, yes, thats it! Derreks voice managed to pierce through into his mind. Feel it, his voice guided him. That strange, almost tingling sensation in your limbs? Can you feel it?

Y-yes, Sylas replied uncertainly.

Thats magic, Derrek said. Grasp at it. Dont let it slip away. Hold on to it. You hear me? Hold onto it!

Im holding! Im holding! Sylas exclaimed, pooling all his attention to the six sweet spots where he was feeling strange. It was a sensation hed never experienced beforethe best he could describe it would be as though his throat was itching, that back spot but also being scratched at the same time. A unification of frustration and pleasure.

Open your eyes, following Derreks command, Sylas opened his eyes and looked down. Cradled between his two hands was a tiny ball of lightit was the size of a rice grain, barely visible. But it was there. It was shimmering. It was beautiful. Thats energy. Use it, now, to free me.

Sylas smiled brightly, tears cradling the corners of his eyes. He pushed the tiny ball into the shard mindlessly, not even caring anymore. Hed done it, after all. Hed used magic. It was brief, it was weakpathetic, reallybut hed done it. It wasnt impossible. He wasnt entirely crippled in the field, at least. There was hope. Not for this loopsince he was undoubtedly dying the moment Derrek left the shardbut for the future ones. Magic seemed to be tied to knowledgejust like talismans. If it was all about visualizing, he could practice for as long as he wanted within a single loop, becoming the strongest in the world. Shit, why do I have a feeling I just jinxed myself again?

A shard beamed out in a bright, emerald hue, blinding Sylas for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the shard had disappeared and that, in its place, Derrek stood. His expression was complex, to say the least. There was a lot of anger in there, some curiosity, a bit of shame, and some more anger. Sylas smiled gingerly at him.

Go ahead, he said. Do what you must.

I will not kill you, fake messiah, Derreks words shocked Sylas. Twice now, he realized, hed been shocked by peoples actions.

Why not? Sylas asked.

Because you spoke the truth with me, Derrek said. And I cannot in good conscience kill an honest man, even if he is a charlatan. Hah. An honest charlatan. The world is truly going mad

Oh, so I won you over?

Not in the slightest.

But you wont kill me?

Personal creed.

Sounds a whole lot like you coping with the fact that you kinda like a charlatan, Sylas said.

Oh, I hit a nerve? He he. You know, you shouldnt really feel ashamed. Ive won quite a few people over with my inexhaustible charms.

haaah, Derrek sighedit was a deep, deep sigh, one that seemed too loaded for even Sylas to mention it. "You are playing with fire. Briefly, it is finebut do not expect the world to be as kind as the Prince and I to you, fake messiah. The first time you do it to someone else, you will be burned.

Not unless I burn them first! With my magic!

Derrek rolled his eyes and groaned. What magic? You accomplished something that I did at the age of two. You cant even use your magic as a candle in the dark since it would sap your energy within seconds, probably killing you. So, I ask againwhat magic?

He he, my magic, Derrek was confused. Looking at that smile, that was the smile of a childan innocent, excited, foolishly proud smile. He couldnt help it in the end, smiling himself. Hed forgotten, these little things. The little moments. While what Sylas did was a joke to him, something he saw children do all the time, to the man it seemed to be beyond description. Everything was relative, Derrek mused. All experiences, good and bad.

"I must go now," Derrek said. "Apologize to the Prince for me. If a chance allows me, I shall return. I am expressly curious about his fate. Her Highness, the Queen, had loaded quite a few questionable Writs recently all patented after the Prince's supposed death."

Oh? Such as?

Assigning the Crown even more power due to the fears of assassination, among others, Derrek said. Guard him and guide him. All else aside, he doesnt seem to be a bad fruit, like his lot. Men of honor are expressly rare to find these days. Good luck, fakeno, good luck, Sylas. I pray you succeed in your endeavorsso long as they do not harm others.

likewise, Sylas smiled faintly. Everyone had plans, plans that would never come to be. Plans that would end with the snap of his neck. So many futures entirely unfulfilled. So many potential lives never to be lived. Good luck, the guy whos too ashamed to admit I won him over.

Derrek said nothing but sighed once again and left, leaving Sylas alone. Pooling his thoughts together once again, he visualized being alone, invisible, and opened his eyesin his palms, there was the rice-grained ball of light. Sylas stared at it intently for a few moments before he suddenly felt a lull. Before he realized what happened, he passed out.

You have died.

Save point Ignorant Awakening initialized.