ULTRAMagic Interlude BC - Chapter 44
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Once everyone had had their fun, Gabriella asked Blood-Wraith if he still wanted to go to the arcade. Since he had not been able to meaningfully play any video games over the past couple of days, he was more than happy to go. Sullivan was willing to drive them given that Weaver and Stolas were also going. The trip was a fascinating one for Blood-Wraith as Inferno was a lot more stable than the Unlight. Truthfully he wanted to explore more of this universe in the future. Seeing New Paradiso city was also a treat for the boy.
New Paradiso Mall was a fantastic place as it reminded Blood-Wraith of the market district, something Weaver could relate to. Making their way to the Critical Chance Arcade, Blood-Wraith was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds. Weaver noticed this and patted him on the back, followed by a rundown of how the arcade worked, which seemed simple enough. Once he had his coins, Blood-Wraith went straight to the video games. Of interest was Apocalypse Conquest Requiem, of which Weaver happily joined him.
“Alright, what next?” Blood-Wraith wondered as he looked around.
A fighting game in the corner of his eye grabbed his attention as it thundered and flashed. It was a fighting game with a cast of eerie-looking fighters, taking place during the heat-death of the universe. After running through a training mode, he played a bit of versus mode. Someone then added some coins and joined him.
“Hey, I like this game too,” a demon in a red bodysuit said. “Want to do a few matches?”
Blood-Wraith was excited. He picked a fighter that looked like a flaming, humanoid dragon and the demon picked what looked like a villainous general that focused on grappling. The match was quite intense as the demon was quite good. It was a best three out of five and Blood-Wraith had already lost two rounds. On the third, he put his game face on and discovered that the dragon character had a super form (in the lore, it was the power of the hero’s ancestors). This led to Blood-Wraith winning and sweeping the rest of the rounds, coming out as the victor of the match.
The demon was surprised by this comeback. “Well, shoot, not bad for a beginner. And General Bloodthresher is a pretty broken character too. Hi, I’m Zasiel,” he said as he held out his hand.
Things slowed down for Blood-Wraith as they shook hands. Visions of the future filled the boy’s eyes. He saw what looked like a mage in an odd bodysuit stumbling around and appearing to be confused. When Blood-Wraith came to, he noticed he was just standing there with the others, who looked concerned.
“Blood, are you okay?” Gabriella asked.
“Wha… what’s the matter?”
“Zasiel says you just zoned out on him” Stolas stated.
“Did you see something strange?” Weaver inquired.
Blood-Wraith shook his head to get his bearings. “Sorry about that. I guess I had a vision.”
“Interesting,” Stolas remarked. “Anyways, Blood, this is my friend, Zasiel. He was the primordial we were referring to. And oh, Zas, where’s Cynassa? I’m sure he’d like to meet Sir Raynot.”
“He got called away for work. Like I said earlier, today was going to be a crapshoot if he was available” Zasiel answered. “Also, Sir? Like a knight?”
“Indeed,” Gabriella replied with a nod. “He’s a knight of The Iron City, knighted by King Englehart himself.”
“Wow, that’s so cool!” Zasiel stated. “So do you guys get a suit or armor or something like that?” He asked Blood-Wraith.
He chuckled. “You’re looking at it,” Blood-Wraith said, indicating his uniform by straightening it out.
“Nice” Zasiel said with a thumbs up.
The red demon was eager to know more, so he hung out with Blood-Wraith as they played. He had many questions to ask and Blood-Wraith was more than happy to answer them. Naturally the boy asked about Zasiel in return. There was certainly a lot to tell on his end and it utterly fascinated Blood-Wraith. He felt so bad for him in regards to the Mt. Hermon incident. Of course, Blood-Wraith nearly forgot to ask Zasiel about his nature as a primordial.
“Oh boy, that mess…” Zasiel remarked as the two finished up a racing game.
“I take it that it’s a complicated subject?”
Zasiel nodded and brought him over to a skeeball machine. “You could say that. Dad, mom, and my godmother are not sure how this will affect me going forward. Originally I was a properly reincarnated grey angel, but something caused me to revert back into a primordial when I came here. I have all this knowledge bouncing around in my head and it’s driving me nuts.”
Blood-Wraith hit a string of perfect shots, causing the machine to go wild. This gave him an ungodly amount of bonus tickets. “Hehe, sorry about that. Bad timing.”
Zasiel laughed as he collected his tickets. “Don’t worry, you did great. Honestly I think I just need to learn to live with it. I mean hey, who ever said too much knowledge was a bad thing?”
“Knowledge is a great thing to have, Zasiel. It keeps us from turning to evil.” After taking a moment to organize his tickets, a thought occurred to Blood-Wraith. “Hey, Zasiel? I sensed potential in you earlier. Would you like to join The ULTRAMagic Guild eventually? We have a few primordials already and I’d imagine we could potentially help you out.”
It was an interesting proposition that made Zasiel think. “Not right now. I’m a bit of a mess at the moment and the wardens want me to come work for them. They also said I have potential, haha.”
Blood-Wraith smiled. “Alright then, I’ll leave the offer open.”
The group convened to cash in their tickets. Gabriella could not think of anything she wanted at the moment, so she donated her tickets to Blood-Wraith. There were so many things to choose from. Unsure what to pick, he settled on a giant teddy bear for Aureolus and a giant dragon plush for himself. The decision was quite endearing to the rest of the group. Zasiel went for a new game for his handheld console back at his home and wondered why Blood-Wraith did not follow suit since he clearly enjoyed the arcade cabinets. The boy cited his duties back in The Iron City and that he was not familiar with the games on offer.
Since it was pretty late out, Sullivan offered to drive everyone home. Valentina and Xavier had already gone home with Dragoslava and Desislav, so it made sense to drop off Blood-Wraith, Gabriella, and Weaver at the Pari Mansion. After thanking Sullivan and saying goodbye to the others, the three headed inside. Valentina was happy to have them back and offered for Blood-Wraith to stay the night since he was clearly exhausted. He wanted to go back home, but his drowsiness got the best of him.
After a light dinner (since the three had been snacking at the mall), Gabriella decided to do a small movie night. Weaver really wanted to show Blood-Wraith and the others the movies he had seen when he first visited. The movie about the giant robot was not a problem as it was quite enjoyable, but the movie about the bomb concerned Gabriella in regards to how Blood-Wraith would react. Thankfully he found the movie quite funny, despite the grim ending (which was the point of the movie).
The next day, Valentina saw the three off. Blood-Wraith, Dragoslava, and Desislav were about to board the train home when Stolon came running up. He needed a moment to catch his breath, so the conductor stood there, waiting patiently in the doorway of one of the cars. The raven demon felt bad as he knew he was holding the train up.
“Blood… just in time…” Stolon said.
“Hey, Stolon. What’s up?”
He presented a night black feather to him. “Take one of my feathers and call on me if you ever need help. I figured since I gave Drago one, it wouldn’t hurt for you to have one too.”
“Thank you, Stolon. It’s an honor” Blood-Wraith said as the feather vanished into the palm of his hand. “Besides, Vex has been saying I should learn necromancy at some point.”
“Haha, there you go. Also it would be great if you could summon me at some point in the near future. I’d love to see your house and meet Vexation.”
“Sure thing, Stolon.”
Once everyone said their goodbyes, the three boarded the train back to The Iron City. The journey was not too long, which was good as Blood-Wraith was eager to give Aureolus his teddy bear. Interestingly Blood-Wraith shook again as they reentered the Unlight. Dragoslava and Desislav made a note of this. It made them wonder if this would keep happening and what that implied for the nature of his existence.
After a quick trip to his house, Blood-Wraith went straight to Barna’s house. Answering the knocking at the door, Barna was greeted by a giant, stuffed animal. “Blood, my boy, what’s all this?” He was a little dirty from his work.
“Hey, Barna. Is Aureolus home?”
“Yes, he is. He’s in his room doing some note taking.”
Blood-Wraith stepped inside and noticed Gratiana and Gummi over by one of the forges. “So what’s going on?”
“Oh I’m just showing these two some of my smithing and alchemy know-how,” Barna answered. “Aureolus was with us until he had an idea he needed to go write down.”
“I see. Hey Gratiana, hey Gummi.”
“Hello, Blood,” Gratiana replied. “Goodness, that teddy bear is adorable,” she said with a giggle.
Gummi was amazed by the size of it. “Wow, how much did it cost?”
“Nothing, I got it with arcade tickets” Blood-Wraith said before he went up stairs.
Aureolus had finished up his notes when he heard a knock at the door. “Come in.”
“Aureolus, I got a present for you,” Blood-Wraith announced.
His eyes lit up as he took the teddy bear, hugging it firmly. “Thank you, Blood! Where did you get this?”
“The Critical Chance Arcade, over in Val’s universe. Stolon invited me, Drago, and Desislav for a picnic. Then Gabriella and Weaver took Stolas and I over to the arcade.”
“Cool, very cool” Aureolus said as he set the teddy bear on his bed. “Oh, what did you think of Weaver?”
Blood-Wraith took a seat, glancing at the papers on the desk. “He seems alright. Pretty friendly, if a little awkward at times. He told me about some of the Shadowland stuff.”
“Yeah, all of it was pretty crazy looking back on it.”
“So what are you writing?”
Aureolus shifted some of his notes around. “Just some thoughts and formulas. The thoughts are primarily on how I’m changing over time. I feel more and more real as time goes on.”
“Do you still want to return to nothingness some day?” Blood-Wraith asked.
He shook his head. “At this point, no. I’m way too invested in everything to just throw in the towel like that. Besides, you still need my help.” The two chuckled. “Oh, I’ve remembered something from my days of being nothing.”
“You did? What is it?”
“It’s only one memory, as time is meaningless when nothing happens. It was the day you were born.”
The realization was incredible for Blood-Wraith. “So you were the voice I heard?”
Aureolus nodded. “I saw you floating in the void and wanted to be friends, but then you just vanished. And of course then I got yanked into reality by Milosh.”
“Is that why you were so protective of me when we first met?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t fully recognize you back then. If I had to guess why I gained awareness, I’d say it was because of you. You know, the whole ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’ thing.”
Blood-Wraith contemplated what Aureolus said for a second. After muttering to himself, he snapped his fingers, causing Aureolus to glow for a second. “There you go.”
Aureolus felt the odd sensation for a brief second as he felt around his head and chest. “Blood, what was that?”
“I altered the curse I used on myself so now it will also bring you into existence too.”
He then gave Blood-Wraith a hug, feeling like he had a true brother. “Thanks. Looks like I'm definitely going to keep existing now. As long as you’re here, I don’t mind.”
“We’re in for the long haul, no doubt about it. I’m not looking forward to facing off with Valerie, truth be told.”
“I don’t blame you, Blood. Gratiana was telling me about her. She sounds like a bit of a rogue and a shifty, smooth talker. We’ll have to have our wits about us.”
Blood-Wraith sighed. “Oh boy… Well, I guess Valentina’s insight is relevant here: If there’s a problem, there’s also a solution.”
“Exactly…”
“That currently eludes me.” Blood-Wraith looked annoyed.
Aureolus smiled and shook his head. “Blood, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Focus on right now while preparing for the future.”
“I guess you’re right. I’ve got school to get ready for after all.”
“Precisely. Don’t let this stuff distract you during a test or exam.”
Blood-Wraith laughed. “Who knows? Maybe my school experience will help me.”
“Well you won’t know until you try.”
The conversation was interrupted by a knock, followed by Barna sticking his head in the door. “Hey, boys? We’re about to break for lunch. Want to join us?”
“Sure, dad,” Aureolus replied as he organized his papers into a neat stack. “Come on, Blood.”
“So, you two have a good chat?” Barna inquired.
“Yeah,” Blood-Wraith answered. “Still worried, but yeah.”
Next: Chapter 45
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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Once everyone had had their fun, Gabriella asked Blood-Wraith if he still wanted to go to the arcade. Since he had not been able to meaningfully play any video games over the past couple of days, he was more than happy to go. Sullivan was willing to drive them given that Weaver and Stolas were also going. The trip was a fascinating one for Blood-Wraith as Inferno was a lot more stable than the Unlight. Truthfully he wanted to explore more of this universe in the future. Seeing New Paradiso city was also a treat for the boy.
New Paradiso Mall was a fantastic place as it reminded Blood-Wraith of the market district, something Weaver could relate to. Making their way to the Critical Chance Arcade, Blood-Wraith was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds. Weaver noticed this and patted him on the back, followed by a rundown of how the arcade worked, which seemed simple enough. Once he had his coins, Blood-Wraith went straight to the video games. Of interest was Apocalypse Conquest Requiem, of which Weaver happily joined him.
“Alright, what next?” Blood-Wraith wondered as he looked around.
A fighting game in the corner of his eye grabbed his attention as it thundered and flashed. It was a fighting game with a cast of eerie-looking fighters, taking place during the heat-death of the universe. After running through a training mode, he played a bit of versus mode. Someone then added some coins and joined him.
“Hey, I like this game too,” a demon in a red bodysuit said. “Want to do a few matches?”
Blood-Wraith was excited. He picked a fighter that looked like a flaming, humanoid dragon and the demon picked what looked like a villainous general that focused on grappling. The match was quite intense as the demon was quite good. It was a best three out of five and Blood-Wraith had already lost two rounds. On the third, he put his game face on and discovered that the dragon character had a super form (in the lore, it was the power of the hero’s ancestors). This led to Blood-Wraith winning and sweeping the rest of the rounds, coming out as the victor of the match.
The demon was surprised by this comeback. “Well, shoot, not bad for a beginner. And General Bloodthresher is a pretty broken character too. Hi, I’m Zasiel,” he said as he held out his hand.
Things slowed down for Blood-Wraith as they shook hands. Visions of the future filled the boy’s eyes. He saw what looked like a mage in an odd bodysuit stumbling around and appearing to be confused. When Blood-Wraith came to, he noticed he was just standing there with the others, who looked concerned.
“Blood, are you okay?” Gabriella asked.
“Wha… what’s the matter?”
“Zasiel says you just zoned out on him” Stolas stated.
“Did you see something strange?” Weaver inquired.
Blood-Wraith shook his head to get his bearings. “Sorry about that. I guess I had a vision.”
“Interesting,” Stolas remarked. “Anyways, Blood, this is my friend, Zasiel. He was the primordial we were referring to. And oh, Zas, where’s Cynassa? I’m sure he’d like to meet Sir Raynot.”
“He got called away for work. Like I said earlier, today was going to be a crapshoot if he was available” Zasiel answered. “Also, Sir? Like a knight?”
“Indeed,” Gabriella replied with a nod. “He’s a knight of The Iron City, knighted by King Englehart himself.”
“Wow, that’s so cool!” Zasiel stated. “So do you guys get a suit or armor or something like that?” He asked Blood-Wraith.
He chuckled. “You’re looking at it,” Blood-Wraith said, indicating his uniform by straightening it out.
“Nice” Zasiel said with a thumbs up.
The red demon was eager to know more, so he hung out with Blood-Wraith as they played. He had many questions to ask and Blood-Wraith was more than happy to answer them. Naturally the boy asked about Zasiel in return. There was certainly a lot to tell on his end and it utterly fascinated Blood-Wraith. He felt so bad for him in regards to the Mt. Hermon incident. Of course, Blood-Wraith nearly forgot to ask Zasiel about his nature as a primordial.
“Oh boy, that mess…” Zasiel remarked as the two finished up a racing game.
“I take it that it’s a complicated subject?”
Zasiel nodded and brought him over to a skeeball machine. “You could say that. Dad, mom, and my godmother are not sure how this will affect me going forward. Originally I was a properly reincarnated grey angel, but something caused me to revert back into a primordial when I came here. I have all this knowledge bouncing around in my head and it’s driving me nuts.”
Blood-Wraith hit a string of perfect shots, causing the machine to go wild. This gave him an ungodly amount of bonus tickets. “Hehe, sorry about that. Bad timing.”
Zasiel laughed as he collected his tickets. “Don’t worry, you did great. Honestly I think I just need to learn to live with it. I mean hey, who ever said too much knowledge was a bad thing?”
“Knowledge is a great thing to have, Zasiel. It keeps us from turning to evil.” After taking a moment to organize his tickets, a thought occurred to Blood-Wraith. “Hey, Zasiel? I sensed potential in you earlier. Would you like to join The ULTRAMagic Guild eventually? We have a few primordials already and I’d imagine we could potentially help you out.”
It was an interesting proposition that made Zasiel think. “Not right now. I’m a bit of a mess at the moment and the wardens want me to come work for them. They also said I have potential, haha.”
Blood-Wraith smiled. “Alright then, I’ll leave the offer open.”
The group convened to cash in their tickets. Gabriella could not think of anything she wanted at the moment, so she donated her tickets to Blood-Wraith. There were so many things to choose from. Unsure what to pick, he settled on a giant teddy bear for Aureolus and a giant dragon plush for himself. The decision was quite endearing to the rest of the group. Zasiel went for a new game for his handheld console back at his home and wondered why Blood-Wraith did not follow suit since he clearly enjoyed the arcade cabinets. The boy cited his duties back in The Iron City and that he was not familiar with the games on offer.
Since it was pretty late out, Sullivan offered to drive everyone home. Valentina and Xavier had already gone home with Dragoslava and Desislav, so it made sense to drop off Blood-Wraith, Gabriella, and Weaver at the Pari Mansion. After thanking Sullivan and saying goodbye to the others, the three headed inside. Valentina was happy to have them back and offered for Blood-Wraith to stay the night since he was clearly exhausted. He wanted to go back home, but his drowsiness got the best of him.
After a light dinner (since the three had been snacking at the mall), Gabriella decided to do a small movie night. Weaver really wanted to show Blood-Wraith and the others the movies he had seen when he first visited. The movie about the giant robot was not a problem as it was quite enjoyable, but the movie about the bomb concerned Gabriella in regards to how Blood-Wraith would react. Thankfully he found the movie quite funny, despite the grim ending (which was the point of the movie).
The next day, Valentina saw the three off. Blood-Wraith, Dragoslava, and Desislav were about to board the train home when Stolon came running up. He needed a moment to catch his breath, so the conductor stood there, waiting patiently in the doorway of one of the cars. The raven demon felt bad as he knew he was holding the train up.
“Blood… just in time…” Stolon said.
“Hey, Stolon. What’s up?”
He presented a night black feather to him. “Take one of my feathers and call on me if you ever need help. I figured since I gave Drago one, it wouldn’t hurt for you to have one too.”
“Thank you, Stolon. It’s an honor” Blood-Wraith said as the feather vanished into the palm of his hand. “Besides, Vex has been saying I should learn necromancy at some point.”
“Haha, there you go. Also it would be great if you could summon me at some point in the near future. I’d love to see your house and meet Vexation.”
“Sure thing, Stolon.”
Once everyone said their goodbyes, the three boarded the train back to The Iron City. The journey was not too long, which was good as Blood-Wraith was eager to give Aureolus his teddy bear. Interestingly Blood-Wraith shook again as they reentered the Unlight. Dragoslava and Desislav made a note of this. It made them wonder if this would keep happening and what that implied for the nature of his existence.
After a quick trip to his house, Blood-Wraith went straight to Barna’s house. Answering the knocking at the door, Barna was greeted by a giant, stuffed animal. “Blood, my boy, what’s all this?” He was a little dirty from his work.
“Hey, Barna. Is Aureolus home?”
“Yes, he is. He’s in his room doing some note taking.”
Blood-Wraith stepped inside and noticed Gratiana and Gummi over by one of the forges. “So what’s going on?”
“Oh I’m just showing these two some of my smithing and alchemy know-how,” Barna answered. “Aureolus was with us until he had an idea he needed to go write down.”
“I see. Hey Gratiana, hey Gummi.”
“Hello, Blood,” Gratiana replied. “Goodness, that teddy bear is adorable,” she said with a giggle.
Gummi was amazed by the size of it. “Wow, how much did it cost?”
“Nothing, I got it with arcade tickets” Blood-Wraith said before he went up stairs.
Aureolus had finished up his notes when he heard a knock at the door. “Come in.”
“Aureolus, I got a present for you,” Blood-Wraith announced.
His eyes lit up as he took the teddy bear, hugging it firmly. “Thank you, Blood! Where did you get this?”
“The Critical Chance Arcade, over in Val’s universe. Stolon invited me, Drago, and Desislav for a picnic. Then Gabriella and Weaver took Stolas and I over to the arcade.”
“Cool, very cool” Aureolus said as he set the teddy bear on his bed. “Oh, what did you think of Weaver?”
Blood-Wraith took a seat, glancing at the papers on the desk. “He seems alright. Pretty friendly, if a little awkward at times. He told me about some of the Shadowland stuff.”
“Yeah, all of it was pretty crazy looking back on it.”
“So what are you writing?”
Aureolus shifted some of his notes around. “Just some thoughts and formulas. The thoughts are primarily on how I’m changing over time. I feel more and more real as time goes on.”
“Do you still want to return to nothingness some day?” Blood-Wraith asked.
He shook his head. “At this point, no. I’m way too invested in everything to just throw in the towel like that. Besides, you still need my help.” The two chuckled. “Oh, I’ve remembered something from my days of being nothing.”
“You did? What is it?”
“It’s only one memory, as time is meaningless when nothing happens. It was the day you were born.”
The realization was incredible for Blood-Wraith. “So you were the voice I heard?”
Aureolus nodded. “I saw you floating in the void and wanted to be friends, but then you just vanished. And of course then I got yanked into reality by Milosh.”
“Is that why you were so protective of me when we first met?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t fully recognize you back then. If I had to guess why I gained awareness, I’d say it was because of you. You know, the whole ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’ thing.”
Blood-Wraith contemplated what Aureolus said for a second. After muttering to himself, he snapped his fingers, causing Aureolus to glow for a second. “There you go.”
Aureolus felt the odd sensation for a brief second as he felt around his head and chest. “Blood, what was that?”
“I altered the curse I used on myself so now it will also bring you into existence too.”
He then gave Blood-Wraith a hug, feeling like he had a true brother. “Thanks. Looks like I'm definitely going to keep existing now. As long as you’re here, I don’t mind.”
“We’re in for the long haul, no doubt about it. I’m not looking forward to facing off with Valerie, truth be told.”
“I don’t blame you, Blood. Gratiana was telling me about her. She sounds like a bit of a rogue and a shifty, smooth talker. We’ll have to have our wits about us.”
Blood-Wraith sighed. “Oh boy… Well, I guess Valentina’s insight is relevant here: If there’s a problem, there’s also a solution.”
“Exactly…”
“That currently eludes me.” Blood-Wraith looked annoyed.
Aureolus smiled and shook his head. “Blood, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Focus on right now while preparing for the future.”
“I guess you’re right. I’ve got school to get ready for after all.”
“Precisely. Don’t let this stuff distract you during a test or exam.”
Blood-Wraith laughed. “Who knows? Maybe my school experience will help me.”
“Well you won’t know until you try.”
The conversation was interrupted by a knock, followed by Barna sticking his head in the door. “Hey, boys? We’re about to break for lunch. Want to join us?”
“Sure, dad,” Aureolus replied as he organized his papers into a neat stack. “Come on, Blood.”
“So, you two have a good chat?” Barna inquired.
“Yeah,” Blood-Wraith answered. “Still worried, but yeah.”
Next: Chapter 45
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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