Chapter 2: To A Perpetual Journey; Part 1

  Karkus gazed in confusion at the videos projected on the wall in front of him divided by a golden line spanning from the ground to the ceiling. Each video played myriad events — lasting from a few seconds to, at most, a minute — one after another. Silhouettes of humans, human-like figures, and creatures unknown to him were shown. Despite watching, he can’t remember a specific scene nor recall anything about it. Even if it was displayed and ended a few seconds ago — he simply saw them. As if a wind inside his brain fanned out the created memories through his spores without him noticing.

  He drew towards the wall, and hovered his left hand near it. Not a hint of light reflected on his arm, it seemed that only his eyes could perceive the videos. He placed his hand on the wall. The golden line from east wriggled toward his palm. A shivering cold bit his hand and slithered toward the center of his chest. His pulse slowed down as the cold tried to constrict his heart. He jerked his hand off the wall and gasped for breath; the cold was no more and the golden line went back to its place as if nothing happened. He reminded himself not to touch the wall again.

  The wall had some kind of security on it. Since it was risky to touch, he stepped back a few steps away, and continued observing the wall. The video in front of him faded into black. A video ended, another one must replace it, he thought.

  As the wall regained color, it showed silhouetted figures of a robust man fighting four large wolves on a grassy patch of land between the river and the forest. They were not completely silhouetted though, just their flesh. The man had a silver-plated armor with two thin blades crossed against each other engraved on his chest plate. On one of the wolves, a long, thin blade punctured its back revealing an ooze of green blood.

  The wolves ran around the man at a faster pace — a series of sharp object protruded on their head and expanded. A wolf pounced, curled midair, toward the man like a spiked ball. The man stooped, reached for the pouch hanging on his waist, and pulled out a small blade. He stepped sideways, dodging the wolf, and stabbed it as it passed. However, it didn’t affect the wolf. It growled furiously as it joined the circle. A gust passed by, taking the fallen leaves along with it.

  The man yanked his pouch, and unloaded two blades onto his right palm. He bent his knees and spun — throwing a blade to the unharmed wolves. The blades lengthened as it arced to the wolves’ flesh. The man clenched both of his hands as the blade pierced. Immediately, the blades widened and sliced the wolves’ body apart. The man fell onto his knees, raised his fist, and cried a triumphant roar.

  “Strange,” Karkus said. “How could that tire the man considering his build?” The man stood at the same place from the beginning of the scene until the end and moved minimally without wasting any movements. Yet the man looked very tired and took long, deep breaths — eventually the scene faded.

  “It’s a Special Magic.” A voice said.

  Karkus looked behind, and found no one. Now that he thought about it, he never saw what the place was like or might have forgotten what it looked like. The whole place a circular single floor, videos also playing on all the walls. Below him were yellowish tiles plastered with white-colored intricate symbols interweaved together making a complex yet unified symbol. And on the ceiling, there was a pulsing light encircled by an array of dark hues.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Suddenly, a gravitational force prostrated him to the ground. His legs gave out immediately and his vision blurred. It didn’t last long. As he looked up, a levitating lanky man dressed in golden tunic and trouser appeared. He had strange eyes, like the symbols on the ground, but in some way — simpler.

  The lanky man smiled and said, “It’s called Sunder, a magic exclusive to Perditions.”

  “Magic?” Karkus said.

  “Indeed, that armored man and those wolves used magic.”

  “There’s no such thing as magic. It’s some kind of CG film, I suppose.”

  “Look around you. Does it look familiar to you? Try to remember something.”

  Karkus nodded and began to look around the hall. The pulsing light on the ceiling looked like a heart sending a weak pulse through its thin arteries toward the dark hues. The dark hues pulses were somewhat forming shapes: linear, curving, and making edges. However, those shapes and pulses had the same lifetime. A transient life, much shorter than the videos he saw on the wall.

  The videos on the wall, obviously, were ever-changing too. Different life forms, different places and yet they felt normal to him. Everything in this strange hall gave him no anxiety or weirdness only the emotion of amazement.

  “Feels like I’m in a museum,” Karkus said.

  “Not done recovering yet?” The lanky man murmured. “Anyhow, Karkus, I am Trakun: the master of this hall, creator of destinies, and guide of heroes.”

  “I’m—”

  “You don’t have to say anything. I know who you are.”

  “I see. I’m unsure whether you’re trying to trick me or not, so I’ll let it pass for now. Still, I’ve never seen a place advanced like this. A wall that showed videos around, and you. Everything here and the videos played on the wall, they’re truly a marvel.”

  “I designed it like this so I could see whatever I want to see. Those walls project into anything I want, whenever I want. The symbols on the ground and the light above means something. I’ll tell you about them later.”

  “This place...must be expensive with all the things here.”

  “No. All of this is done using my magic. Magic like the one you saw earlier. You already know what magic is, right?”

  Chapter 1; Part 1 End.