ULTRAMagic Interval - Chapter 22
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Valentin sat there at his work space that night, unsure what to do. He was drained, exhausted, and frustrated. All the months of planning and preparation he had done had gone right out the window over the course of two weeks. His mind was blank and his stress was slowly fading into apathy. There was nothing but an occasional sigh from him as he waited for time to move on. The dank chill of the crypt and discomfort of his stone seat were finally starting to get to him as he realized how truly annoyed he was. Valentin’s melancholic brooding was interrupted by the scraping of the giant doors.
Bethany was greeted by the sight of dismembered, disintegrating shadow constructs all over the place. “EXCUSE ME?! What happened here!?”
“Did you get rid of Orion?” Valentin sounded a little hoarse, like he had been shouting and yelling.
“Erm, yeah. I guess they’re sending him away tomorrow…”
Valentin sighed. “At least something went right…” he then tossed her an envelope. “That piece of subhuman garbage is on the way. The recent batch of constructs were spying on us.”
Bethany had a scowl grow on her face as she read the letter, appalled by Sebastian’s arrogance. “Well that’s just great!” she exclaimed as she tore up the letter. “Now what are we going to do?”
“Now what are we going to do…” he repeated in a mocking manner. “Do you even understand what I’ve been up to? Truly?”
“There’s more to it? Well what then?”
He got up and began pacing. “I was never actually aligned with that bumbling Death Knell coven. They’re nothing but a bunch of pompous, spoiled aristocrats that wouldn’t last one day in the real world and would never understand the strife I have experienced…”
“Can’t say you’re wrong on that one,” Bethany admitted.
“Had things gone my way, I would’ve taken Will’s potential for myself! Then I could have been rid of Sebastian once for all.”
“But he only has five fragments. We can still do it…”
Valentin gave her an incredulous look, with a hint of him expecting that response. “Are you truly that ignorant? He is surrounded by so many potential donors that he might as well have ULTRAMagic at this point. All he has to do is go up to one of his friends and go ‘oh cheerio, good friend! May I trouble you for a fragment of your soul?’ and that’s it.” He then clenched his fist, anger visibly building within him. “WHY DOES WILL GET EVERYTHING HANDED TO HIM ON A SILVER PLATTER!?” Valentin yelled. “WHY IS HE SO SPECIAL?! Me? I tried to be good, but I got nowhere! I tried being bad: NOWHERE!!!”
That outburst caused Bethany to recoil a bit, with her becoming quite bothered by the rage. “Alright, settle down a bit. What is your problem with Sebastian? Ranting about Will isn’t telling me anything…”
Valentin took a breath as he facepalmed. “I was a peasant boy back in Finland, born in 1930. My family wasn’t the wealthiest, but we got by. Things were looking up until THOSE BRAIN DEAD GERMANS SCREWED EVERYTHING UP! Those blithering imbeciles will go along with whatever fascist nonsense is the flavor of the month! Oh and of course those insufferably cocky Russians just have to go full steam ahead into a pile of cow dung with their stupid and unnecessary revolutions.”
“Jeez, sounds like it was a real party… So how does Sebastian play into all of this?”
“That filth, unworthy of the mercy of God, got my Uncle Ensio killed. He was one of many propagandists whose foul words pitted friend against friend and brother against brother. Uncle Ensio was part Jewish, so you fill in the gaps…”
“Oh God, he didn’t…”
“No, he wasn’t a victim of the holocaust. Uncle died in a riot in Germany. Regardless, the news broke my father’s heart, leading to him taking his own life. This led to the ruin of my family.”
Despite all that she had been through since her resurrection, Bethany felt her heart ache. “That’s… that’s so awful.”
Valentin sat back down with a sigh. “Sometimes I wonder if I should have just faded into the wind. Sebastian never knew Uncle Ensio nor encountered him, so my attempts at revenge are a bit one sided… Thankfully my plans to sabotage the Death Knell coven still went through, so at least I got that.”
Bethany was alarmed. “Sabotage? What sabotage?”
“Oh, just a couple of C4 charges planted in some of their important libraries and store houses, especially in the crucial compounds. I also took the liberty of planting evidence that would frame their higher ups, leading to an inevitable power vacuum in the coven.”
“Impressive” Bethany remarked as a devilish smile grew on her face. She then walked over and rested an arm on the table. “Look, I’ve never truly been on the covenant’s side either. I was only in it for the chaos and anarchy after… well, you know…”
“You were hung in the Salem witch trials, correct? Quite barbaric I must say.”
Bethany cringed as she grabbed her neck. “It wasn’t fun…”
“Foolish Americans…”
“Anyways, a friend in need is a friend indeed. You’re cool in my book, so you’ve got my support. What’s the plan going forward?”
Taking a moment to think about it, Valentin realized he had struck gold. There was a kindred spirit in Bethany and he needed to capitalize on it. “How good of an actor are you?”
“Uh…”
“I see. Well as long as you keep your cowardice in check, we should be able to keep Sebastian in the dark, leading to a convenient knife in the back.”
Bethany rubbed her hands together and cackled. “How ruthless, I love it… hey, wait! Cowardice!?”
Valentin gave her a critical look. “How many times have you run away from Zoltan at this point?”
“Hey, hey! The last time was a tactical retreat!”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll let you slide on that one.”
“So no more trying to kill Will then?”
Valentin gave it some thought. “Push him to his limits, so he has to finish his ULTRAMagic training as soon as possible. He may still be of use to us yet…”
Back at M.A.I.G. headquarters the next day, Orion was being taken to a grassy field within the premises. After having a good lunch, he was ready to head off to Sam’s house. Milan, Jackson, Will, and Sam were all there to see him off. Orion was still a little nervous, however, as he reviewed the maps he had been given. Fortunately the gentle breeze and rustling of the leaves in the trees helped ease his nerves. It was a nice, sunny day, making it perfect for what he planned to do.
“Doing this is so much easier outside of the Cosmos, you know?” Orion declared. “Here there is so much you need to account for…”
Milan chuckled. “Don’t worry, Orion. You’re not me, so you should be fine.”
“Now Orion, I got a ton of movies, games, and anime to keep you from getting bored,” Will clarified. “Feel free to go into my room and watch or play whatever you want. Just make sure the discs get back into their cases.”
“No problem, dad. I’m pretty careful with that stuff.”
Sam then gave Orion a hug. “If anything happens, head to the nearby town of Witchaven, and seek out Ellen the Wayward. She lives there and will keep you safe if things hit the fan.”
“Thanks, mom.”
“Best of luck to you, kid,” said Jackson. “Don’t hesitate to call us if you need anything.”
“I promise we’ll all come back in one piece,” Will assured.
“I’ll hold you to it, dad. See you all later!” Orion replied as he walked off, vanishing into nothing.
Walking around reality would never not be a strange experience for Orion. At first, everything began to slowly curve, followed by entire cities and towns passing by in the blink of an eye. He could hear the sounds of civilization and nature, but they were too distorted to properly make out. Upon reaching his destination, everything normalized with Orion shuddering for a brief moment. The boy found himself at the top of a colossal hill, with a breathtaking view of many, forested valleys below. All of it was quite beautiful.
Turning around, he was greeted by a three story house flanked by trees on the right and a two story house accompanied by fields on the left. Both were fairly old looking, but held up despite the years of wear and tear. Orion walked over to the house on the right, stepping up the creaking steps to the entrance. He knocked on the door, with Antonio opening it a moment later. His red hair gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.
“Orion, there you are! Come right on in!”
Sam’s house was modest and spacious, with a nice, homey feel to it. Orion looked around, noticing various objects and knick knacks that were indicative of Sam’s magic studies. Will’s touches were few and far between, indicating he was not one for decorating. Truthfully Orion expected things to be a little messy, but it was obvious someone had been cleaning up, most likely Antonio. Orion took a seat on the comfy, blue couch as Antonio finished explaining how things worked.
“I hope I’m not causing you too much trouble with the paperwork, Antonio…” Orion said as he made himself comfortable.
“It’s no big deal, Orion. My mom warned me about this kind of stuff when I took on this life… and she’s an eighth dimensional chaos angel, so she knows what’s up.” That made Orion chuckle.
Randalph had been at the dining table and got up. “Hello, Orion! My goodness, you really are an astral, aren't you?”
He nodded. “Yup. Hey, are you from Limbo by any chance?”
“Most certainly, but my people have long since moved to the Unlight. Now, Orion, I’ve been teaching Antonio and Kyu magic ever since Will and the others left. Would you care to join us?”
“Sure, Mr. Scarfe. Thank you… especially given my encounter with Bethany. That was scary…”
Randaph adjusted his coat, feeling a bit of pride emerging. “Well I can personally assure you that after my lessons, you’ll have nothing to fear…” A dinging timer cut him off mid sentence.
“Oh, Kyu’s food!” Antonio said as went over to the oven.
Putting on some oven gloves, he pulled out a toasted sub bun that was split in two. It was a nice golden brown, with what looked like the right amount of crispy crunch to it. He then retrieved some fried Salmon from a toaster oven. All of it smelled quite tasty, causing Orion’s stomach to growl a little, despite being full.
“That looks really good…” Orion remarked.
Randalph nodded. “Kyu really likes fish, toasted sandwiches being his favorite.”
“Kyu! Your lunch is ready!” Antonio called out.
“Coming!” could be heard from upstairs.
Orion watched as Kyu happily came downstairs. He felt a tinge of adrenaline as he noticed Kyu’s feelers and torso organ. Seeing an alien lifeform on camera was one thing, but seeing him in person was surreal. And while Orion was technically an alien himself, he had spent a decent amount of time as a human amongst humans. All of this would need some getting used to.
“Good lord, I’m hungry,” Kyu declared as he put his sandwich together. “Oh, hey, Orion!”
“Tearing through that new data Bran sent you?” Antonio inquired. Kyu nodded. “Oh, Orion, have you eaten yet?”
He nodded. “Yup, I ate at M.A.I.G. Dr. Reynard makes some great sandwiches.”
Kyu eventually noticed that Orion had started staring at him. “What are you looking at, Orion?” He then looked up and smiled. “It’s the feelers, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. You’re a bit strange to me, Kyu… no offense.”
Kyu laughed as he administered some hot sauce to the mayonnaise he had spread on the fish. “And Randalph over here isn’t? He’s literally a humanoid goat!” Randalph smiled and shook his head.
Orion scratched his head in slight embarrassment. “I don’t know… I mean, I guess I’m used to people like him, given the ones who usually make it to Somnium or my universe.”
Kyu shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“Orion?” Antonio interjected. “Just as a heads up; Nathaniel, Adelaide, and Trevor will probably be here soon.”
“Thanks, Antonio. So what have you guys been studying?”
“Alchemy and Necromancy,” Randalph answered. “Classical necromancy, to be clear. Not the pop culture kind. As for these two, they have been doing great in regards to alchemy. It’s no surprise for Antonio given that his mother is Valentina Pari, a well-renowned alchemist in Heaven, Inferno, and The Unlight.”
Antonio blushed a little. “Aw shoot…”
Kyu swallowed his food and wiped his face. “I was a little leery at first, but it turns out alchemy is fairly technical in terms of magic, which is right up my alley. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do what Randalph does, but I’m learning some cool stuff regardless.”
“Kyu, you’re doing better than you give yourself credit for,” Randalph pointed out. The four then heard what sounded like a thump from below the floor.
“OW! Blasted ceiling…”
“That’s the floor, Nathaniel…” Randalph corrected.
The purple ghost stuck his head up through the boards. “Is it now?” He then lifted himself up and dusted off his spectral coat. “Alright, where is the lad?” Nathaniel then spotted him on the couch. “Orion, a pleasure to meet you! Fernsby, Nathaniel Reginald Fernsby,” he said, holding out his hand.
Orion nervously shook it, feeling the cold grip chill his hand to the bone. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Fernsby.” If it was not one weird thing, it was another so far… not that he was complaining.
“Any second my wife and son should be here. I think you’ll like it here, Orion. And a little fun fact for you: Trevor is in a similar situation family-wise to you, Orion.”
“Wait, really?”
“Indeed.” He then leaned over to look out the window. “Ah, here they come now! You’ll be able to ask all about it momentarily.”
Next: Chapter 23
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
Valentin sat there at his work space that night, unsure what to do. He was drained, exhausted, and frustrated. All the months of planning and preparation he had done had gone right out the window over the course of two weeks. His mind was blank and his stress was slowly fading into apathy. There was nothing but an occasional sigh from him as he waited for time to move on. The dank chill of the crypt and discomfort of his stone seat were finally starting to get to him as he realized how truly annoyed he was. Valentin’s melancholic brooding was interrupted by the scraping of the giant doors.
Bethany was greeted by the sight of dismembered, disintegrating shadow constructs all over the place. “EXCUSE ME?! What happened here!?”
“Did you get rid of Orion?” Valentin sounded a little hoarse, like he had been shouting and yelling.
“Erm, yeah. I guess they’re sending him away tomorrow…”
Valentin sighed. “At least something went right…” he then tossed her an envelope. “That piece of subhuman garbage is on the way. The recent batch of constructs were spying on us.”
Bethany had a scowl grow on her face as she read the letter, appalled by Sebastian’s arrogance. “Well that’s just great!” she exclaimed as she tore up the letter. “Now what are we going to do?”
“Now what are we going to do…” he repeated in a mocking manner. “Do you even understand what I’ve been up to? Truly?”
“There’s more to it? Well what then?”
He got up and began pacing. “I was never actually aligned with that bumbling Death Knell coven. They’re nothing but a bunch of pompous, spoiled aristocrats that wouldn’t last one day in the real world and would never understand the strife I have experienced…”
“Can’t say you’re wrong on that one,” Bethany admitted.
“Had things gone my way, I would’ve taken Will’s potential for myself! Then I could have been rid of Sebastian once for all.”
“But he only has five fragments. We can still do it…”
Valentin gave her an incredulous look, with a hint of him expecting that response. “Are you truly that ignorant? He is surrounded by so many potential donors that he might as well have ULTRAMagic at this point. All he has to do is go up to one of his friends and go ‘oh cheerio, good friend! May I trouble you for a fragment of your soul?’ and that’s it.” He then clenched his fist, anger visibly building within him. “WHY DOES WILL GET EVERYTHING HANDED TO HIM ON A SILVER PLATTER!?” Valentin yelled. “WHY IS HE SO SPECIAL?! Me? I tried to be good, but I got nowhere! I tried being bad: NOWHERE!!!”
That outburst caused Bethany to recoil a bit, with her becoming quite bothered by the rage. “Alright, settle down a bit. What is your problem with Sebastian? Ranting about Will isn’t telling me anything…”
Valentin took a breath as he facepalmed. “I was a peasant boy back in Finland, born in 1930. My family wasn’t the wealthiest, but we got by. Things were looking up until THOSE BRAIN DEAD GERMANS SCREWED EVERYTHING UP! Those blithering imbeciles will go along with whatever fascist nonsense is the flavor of the month! Oh and of course those insufferably cocky Russians just have to go full steam ahead into a pile of cow dung with their stupid and unnecessary revolutions.”
“Jeez, sounds like it was a real party… So how does Sebastian play into all of this?”
“That filth, unworthy of the mercy of God, got my Uncle Ensio killed. He was one of many propagandists whose foul words pitted friend against friend and brother against brother. Uncle Ensio was part Jewish, so you fill in the gaps…”
“Oh God, he didn’t…”
“No, he wasn’t a victim of the holocaust. Uncle died in a riot in Germany. Regardless, the news broke my father’s heart, leading to him taking his own life. This led to the ruin of my family.”
Despite all that she had been through since her resurrection, Bethany felt her heart ache. “That’s… that’s so awful.”
Valentin sat back down with a sigh. “Sometimes I wonder if I should have just faded into the wind. Sebastian never knew Uncle Ensio nor encountered him, so my attempts at revenge are a bit one sided… Thankfully my plans to sabotage the Death Knell coven still went through, so at least I got that.”
Bethany was alarmed. “Sabotage? What sabotage?”
“Oh, just a couple of C4 charges planted in some of their important libraries and store houses, especially in the crucial compounds. I also took the liberty of planting evidence that would frame their higher ups, leading to an inevitable power vacuum in the coven.”
“Impressive” Bethany remarked as a devilish smile grew on her face. She then walked over and rested an arm on the table. “Look, I’ve never truly been on the covenant’s side either. I was only in it for the chaos and anarchy after… well, you know…”
“You were hung in the Salem witch trials, correct? Quite barbaric I must say.”
Bethany cringed as she grabbed her neck. “It wasn’t fun…”
“Foolish Americans…”
“Anyways, a friend in need is a friend indeed. You’re cool in my book, so you’ve got my support. What’s the plan going forward?”
Taking a moment to think about it, Valentin realized he had struck gold. There was a kindred spirit in Bethany and he needed to capitalize on it. “How good of an actor are you?”
“Uh…”
“I see. Well as long as you keep your cowardice in check, we should be able to keep Sebastian in the dark, leading to a convenient knife in the back.”
Bethany rubbed her hands together and cackled. “How ruthless, I love it… hey, wait! Cowardice!?”
Valentin gave her a critical look. “How many times have you run away from Zoltan at this point?”
“Hey, hey! The last time was a tactical retreat!”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll let you slide on that one.”
“So no more trying to kill Will then?”
Valentin gave it some thought. “Push him to his limits, so he has to finish his ULTRAMagic training as soon as possible. He may still be of use to us yet…”
Back at M.A.I.G. headquarters the next day, Orion was being taken to a grassy field within the premises. After having a good lunch, he was ready to head off to Sam’s house. Milan, Jackson, Will, and Sam were all there to see him off. Orion was still a little nervous, however, as he reviewed the maps he had been given. Fortunately the gentle breeze and rustling of the leaves in the trees helped ease his nerves. It was a nice, sunny day, making it perfect for what he planned to do.
“Doing this is so much easier outside of the Cosmos, you know?” Orion declared. “Here there is so much you need to account for…”
Milan chuckled. “Don’t worry, Orion. You’re not me, so you should be fine.”
“Now Orion, I got a ton of movies, games, and anime to keep you from getting bored,” Will clarified. “Feel free to go into my room and watch or play whatever you want. Just make sure the discs get back into their cases.”
“No problem, dad. I’m pretty careful with that stuff.”
Sam then gave Orion a hug. “If anything happens, head to the nearby town of Witchaven, and seek out Ellen the Wayward. She lives there and will keep you safe if things hit the fan.”
“Thanks, mom.”
“Best of luck to you, kid,” said Jackson. “Don’t hesitate to call us if you need anything.”
“I promise we’ll all come back in one piece,” Will assured.
“I’ll hold you to it, dad. See you all later!” Orion replied as he walked off, vanishing into nothing.
Walking around reality would never not be a strange experience for Orion. At first, everything began to slowly curve, followed by entire cities and towns passing by in the blink of an eye. He could hear the sounds of civilization and nature, but they were too distorted to properly make out. Upon reaching his destination, everything normalized with Orion shuddering for a brief moment. The boy found himself at the top of a colossal hill, with a breathtaking view of many, forested valleys below. All of it was quite beautiful.
Turning around, he was greeted by a three story house flanked by trees on the right and a two story house accompanied by fields on the left. Both were fairly old looking, but held up despite the years of wear and tear. Orion walked over to the house on the right, stepping up the creaking steps to the entrance. He knocked on the door, with Antonio opening it a moment later. His red hair gleamed in the afternoon sunlight.
“Orion, there you are! Come right on in!”
Sam’s house was modest and spacious, with a nice, homey feel to it. Orion looked around, noticing various objects and knick knacks that were indicative of Sam’s magic studies. Will’s touches were few and far between, indicating he was not one for decorating. Truthfully Orion expected things to be a little messy, but it was obvious someone had been cleaning up, most likely Antonio. Orion took a seat on the comfy, blue couch as Antonio finished explaining how things worked.
“I hope I’m not causing you too much trouble with the paperwork, Antonio…” Orion said as he made himself comfortable.
“It’s no big deal, Orion. My mom warned me about this kind of stuff when I took on this life… and she’s an eighth dimensional chaos angel, so she knows what’s up.” That made Orion chuckle.
Randalph had been at the dining table and got up. “Hello, Orion! My goodness, you really are an astral, aren't you?”
He nodded. “Yup. Hey, are you from Limbo by any chance?”
“Most certainly, but my people have long since moved to the Unlight. Now, Orion, I’ve been teaching Antonio and Kyu magic ever since Will and the others left. Would you care to join us?”
“Sure, Mr. Scarfe. Thank you… especially given my encounter with Bethany. That was scary…”
Randaph adjusted his coat, feeling a bit of pride emerging. “Well I can personally assure you that after my lessons, you’ll have nothing to fear…” A dinging timer cut him off mid sentence.
“Oh, Kyu’s food!” Antonio said as went over to the oven.
Putting on some oven gloves, he pulled out a toasted sub bun that was split in two. It was a nice golden brown, with what looked like the right amount of crispy crunch to it. He then retrieved some fried Salmon from a toaster oven. All of it smelled quite tasty, causing Orion’s stomach to growl a little, despite being full.
“That looks really good…” Orion remarked.
Randalph nodded. “Kyu really likes fish, toasted sandwiches being his favorite.”
“Kyu! Your lunch is ready!” Antonio called out.
“Coming!” could be heard from upstairs.
Orion watched as Kyu happily came downstairs. He felt a tinge of adrenaline as he noticed Kyu’s feelers and torso organ. Seeing an alien lifeform on camera was one thing, but seeing him in person was surreal. And while Orion was technically an alien himself, he had spent a decent amount of time as a human amongst humans. All of this would need some getting used to.
“Good lord, I’m hungry,” Kyu declared as he put his sandwich together. “Oh, hey, Orion!”
“Tearing through that new data Bran sent you?” Antonio inquired. Kyu nodded. “Oh, Orion, have you eaten yet?”
He nodded. “Yup, I ate at M.A.I.G. Dr. Reynard makes some great sandwiches.”
Kyu eventually noticed that Orion had started staring at him. “What are you looking at, Orion?” He then looked up and smiled. “It’s the feelers, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. You’re a bit strange to me, Kyu… no offense.”
Kyu laughed as he administered some hot sauce to the mayonnaise he had spread on the fish. “And Randalph over here isn’t? He’s literally a humanoid goat!” Randalph smiled and shook his head.
Orion scratched his head in slight embarrassment. “I don’t know… I mean, I guess I’m used to people like him, given the ones who usually make it to Somnium or my universe.”
Kyu shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“Orion?” Antonio interjected. “Just as a heads up; Nathaniel, Adelaide, and Trevor will probably be here soon.”
“Thanks, Antonio. So what have you guys been studying?”
“Alchemy and Necromancy,” Randalph answered. “Classical necromancy, to be clear. Not the pop culture kind. As for these two, they have been doing great in regards to alchemy. It’s no surprise for Antonio given that his mother is Valentina Pari, a well-renowned alchemist in Heaven, Inferno, and The Unlight.”
Antonio blushed a little. “Aw shoot…”
Kyu swallowed his food and wiped his face. “I was a little leery at first, but it turns out alchemy is fairly technical in terms of magic, which is right up my alley. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do what Randalph does, but I’m learning some cool stuff regardless.”
“Kyu, you’re doing better than you give yourself credit for,” Randalph pointed out. The four then heard what sounded like a thump from below the floor.
“OW! Blasted ceiling…”
“That’s the floor, Nathaniel…” Randalph corrected.
The purple ghost stuck his head up through the boards. “Is it now?” He then lifted himself up and dusted off his spectral coat. “Alright, where is the lad?” Nathaniel then spotted him on the couch. “Orion, a pleasure to meet you! Fernsby, Nathaniel Reginald Fernsby,” he said, holding out his hand.
Orion nervously shook it, feeling the cold grip chill his hand to the bone. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Fernsby.” If it was not one weird thing, it was another so far… not that he was complaining.
“Any second my wife and son should be here. I think you’ll like it here, Orion. And a little fun fact for you: Trevor is in a similar situation family-wise to you, Orion.”
“Wait, really?”
“Indeed.” He then leaned over to look out the window. “Ah, here they come now! You’ll be able to ask all about it momentarily.”
Next: Chapter 23
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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