《Ars Magica》Arc ?: Side Chapter 2
Advertisement
"...You know, I'm getting tired of doing this."
"..."
"Tired of doing what?? Well, hiding for one."
"..."
"Look, I'm all for talking to myself here, but you have to say something."
"..."
"I don't even know why you're here. I woke up here and you've just been standing there. Well, not exactly standing, but I don't really have the words to describe what you're doing."
"..."
"Well, I guess that didn't work. Then again, I don't know if you can even hear me. I mean, you have the vague shape of a person to you, but you're just...fuzzy, you know?"
"..."
"It's like...for some reason I can tell that you're an actual person floating in front of me. Is that...strange? I mean, I objectively know that you being here isn't exactly normal, so there must be a reason you're here. It's also kind of weird that I know what should and shouldn't be here."
"..."
"I mean, I just woke up here with implicit knowledge about a lot things I think I probably shouldn't have. Especially since the last thing I remember is..." The voice continues on, obviously perturbed at the continue silence from its would-be conversation partner.
"...Well, we've been found." The other voice let out, a more methodical, mechanical, interpretation of anything considering a voice could be.
"And I can't exactly see why-wait! You're talking, like actually talking. Finally, I thought I'd just be alone here forever. Now you had better-" The voice is cut off as the glowing figure's arm rapidly strikes through something unseen to the naked eye, its head simply turning to stare at the spot it just stroke down.
"It would be best if you stopped talking. They can hear us." At that, the bodiless voice muffles a fair bit before the surrounding space falls to silence, both participants now wary about their surroundings. They had no need to worry though, for the darkness surrounding them had yet to change since they first appeared there.
"Ok, so, it seems like we no longer are able to have some modicum of secrecy. However, since nothing seems to be happening, I would assume it's just a passing glare." The glowing figure lets out, sighing gently at an opportunity that had long passed by. At some point, something seems to push aside the glowing arm from a specific place in the air.
"Is that why you haven't been talking?" The bodiless voice questions.
"Yes. Secrecy is important when you bungled up anything this hard." The glowing figure almost seems proud of itself in its posture, before it realizes that it needs to focus upon its present task.
"What the hell is a bungle?"
"Nevermind that. I need to listen."
"...Is there supposed to be a sound or something?"
"...No. Thankfully whoever they were, they've stopped actively looking at us."
"Is it that important that we hide?"
"Ok. Since I've spoken now, and things don't seem to be getting worse as I had feared they might, I might as well explain some things. First things first, I am not supposed to be here, and a lot of people noticed me leaving. Second of all, you are not who you think you are. You are the culmination of the skills of the person you represent. Finally, I am this way because I am inside this place." At this, she gestures around her, no longer able to hear anything she had been before.
Advertisement
"....Which is?"
"Inside a head." At that she raises a fist to her own head, and knocks upon it, producing an impressive clang.
"...Oh. I guess that makes sense considering that one thing that happened with that blue liquid I felt like I needed to deal with."
"Other than that, I guess I can answer any question you might have."
"....Any question?"
"Within reason." At the glowing figure's point, the bodiless voice hems and haws before finally coming up with a question to ask.
"How do I get a body like yours here?"
"Well, it is technically your head, so technically just think you have a body." The second voice falls silent at the figure's insistence, as wind begins to whip throughout the space around them. Swirled by the wind, seemly out of nowhere, white particles coalesce into a humanoid form , becoming more familiar as it flexes its fingers, curls its arms, and bounces on its legs, until finally, the shape of a Bide is present, something akin to the human that they were inhabiting.
"Dear lord, is that good. All I've had is my voice. Speaking of which, how did you stop me from talking if I didn't have a mouth." The pertinent question left the simulacrum's lips, as the glowing figure simply thought upon it for only a brief moment.
"I disrupted your thoughts." At that, the figure makes the same chopping motion, which briefly fuzzes up the duplicate's body, before it stabilizes once again back to an analogous form of Dave, the human.
"....that's it?"
"Yes."
"I thought there'd be more than that." The look-alike responds dejectedly.
"To be fair, you don't have much experience in the ways of the mind."
"Point to that I suppose."
"..." A silence is spread around them both, and for once, the doppelganger starts to investigate their surroundings. Indeed, for once they looked closer towards a particular direction, they could briefly see the soft pale glow of something eerily familiar to them. Something that they had apparent experience with before. However, before heading over there to get a better look at what its assumptions told it to be so, it finally noticed the growing silence around it, so it went to start yet another conversation.
"Wow, you really don't like talking do you?"
"It is merely a way to exchange information with you. Beyond that, I see no point." The glowing figure replied in an almost golem-like way. At that, the look-alike proceeded to have a double-take at the situation, it's psuedo eyes slightly widening at the incredulousness that it felt.
"...Really?"
"Yes." At that a silence had once again descended upon the duo. One fidgeting slightly, while the other continued to remain perfectly still, floating gently in the black void surrounding them. However, even that silence could not last forever.
"Who are you?"
"...My designation is J-209." The glowing figure eventually replied.
"...Wow. That's...that's not a name. Unless you're a robot or something." At the doppelganger's admittance, the glowing figure halted its motions in the air, its head tilting slightly. However, just as soon as it did so, it stopped and proceeded to continue floating the same way that it had done before.
Advertisement
"Judging from the images of metal golems evoked by that concept, no. I am not."
"...what?"
"Well, golems are more simple than what I am, but it is something that could equate for vaguely." If one were to listen closely, one could almost here a sense of utter despair, coming from the glowing figure's tone, before the monotonous tone returned to its previous vocal enunciation. However, the look-alike did not actively seek to listen to the soft undertone, but rather what the image implied
"No, not that, but...wait, actually, you're like a robot?"
"I was not made of metal, so no."
"Artificial Intelligence?" At that, there was a repeat of the same motion as before from the glowing figure, before it once again came back to the present moment.
"...Sorry, that particular phrase evoked a lot of images I had to parse through. Judging from some of the similarities between them, I would say yes." A sense of awe came across the doppelganger's face, before a look of utter seriousness crossed upon its brow.
"Putting that aside, although that does explain the way you talk, why exactly are you here?"
"I did not perform as adequately as I thought I might when performing my job, and I have to exist with them."
"...Would you like a name?"
"...If it helps you."
"J...Since you're designation has one, why not call you Jenny then." At this, the newly proclaimed Jenny's image seemed to...stutter a bit before becoming a fair bit clearer.
"I do not...no."
"You don't like it?" The glowing form slowed in its floating as if trying to decipher why the question actually meant, before its speed returned to it.
"It is not that I do not like it, but the fact that the images it brings up aren't exactly fit to what I am."
"If it helps you understand, sometimes a name isn't an image, but a designation."
"I know that. It still...irks me." At this, the form seems to shiver slightly, almost losing the quality it held, before it began to form back into the approximate figure it had before, the glow only slightly receeding.
"So you have emotions?"
"Simple ones, yes." The figure nodded.
"So...why are we hiding anyway?"
"I already told you." Annoyance undercut its tone, one that even the look-alike could parse.
"...That was my way of asking for more information."
"This is part of the stuff I am holding within reason."
"Oh. I figured since you've been helpful with my other questions, you'd just plum forgot about it."
"No. I just particularly model my answers to fit my allowed vision."
"Well, is there a way to get out of here?"
"Yes, but your main body has to discover it. Or something happens outside to draw us."
"...Is there a reason we can't do it ourselves?"
"If we were, we'd be discovered much sooner. And they couldn't just hear us. They could be here."
"And that's bad because..."
"Some of them are quite mad at your body. And I wouldn't put it past them to harm it." At this, the now recognizable form of David winces.
"Well is there a way we can warn him?" His questioning voice seemed to resonate within the blue form of Jenny, but her face didn't register the question.
"I think he already knows. By the way, prepare yourself." At this, inner Dave squinted around him while bringing his fists up.
"What are you even talking about I don't see anyone here?" He was right about that of course. Endless darkness seemed to surround them before fading into a white haze. Endless quiet surrounded the pair. If a pin could exist within this space, one could hear it drop against the non-existent floor. The only thing that didn't seem to not be a part of that space, was the two already there.
"I can feel its attention strengthening and I felt it probe into me. They can only do that if they're here." Eyes seemed to dart everywhere as tension within her begins to wind up.
"Is there anything we can do?" With that question, either coincidentally or trigger by the thought, something begins to happen. The sound of a heavy drum, beating slowly. It almost sounds like a heartbeat, that throbs throughout the space, while motes of brown light seemed to seep in from somewhere coalescing together, before something almost immense could be seen in the distance.
Softly glowing golden rivers were swept throughout the darkness, the source of this light becoming all the more clear. Brown specks seemed to waft off the golden glue, tinging it towards a darker rusty red, before receding back into the normal gold it always held. The specks floated towards the tops of the many rivers before finding themselves swept up in an invisible wind. For only a second did they seem to have no direction within the very darkness of the void surrounding them all before the dust had then begun to join together back towards the giant thing that was slowly coming into clarity. It was only when the last speck had left the rivers, did Jenny finally manage to come back with an answer to their predicament.
"No."
Advertisement
- In Serial9 Chapters
The Guild Core
The hero dreamed of ascending. The monk craved redemption.The dungeon only wished to keep things tidy.Kai was the least likely young man to ascend. Raised on his uncle’s potato farm, he began his career as an adventurer with empty pockets and little skill. But a foolish attempt to prove his bravery leads Kai to unlock hidden power within himself and acquire a most unlikely ally.Rhona is a battle-scarred soldier who’s as likely to toss a quip as she is to throw a punch. After setting aside a promising career in the army to pursue the Path of the Bleeding Tiger, she sets out to stop a war and seek atonement for a bloody past.When Bancroft the Earth Core awakens, he can’t wait to clean up his dungeon and begin building things anew. A recovered item from his past reminds him that more is at stake, however, putting an end to such pleasantries.Join The Guild Core, a small band of friends determined to restore the world to an age of dragons, heroes, and honor.The Guild Core is a novel by TJ Reynolds Fantasy LitRPG author of Eternal Online books 1-3. The Guild Core was inspired by the Divine Dungeon series, the Wheel of Time, and classic films like The Labyrinth and The Neverending Story.This story takes place in an Epic Fantasy world governed by gaming mechanics. It contains light to moderate LitRPG, Gamelit, Cultivation and Dungeon Core elements. Features realistic violence, 3 MC POVs, and more than a few quaint jokes. Language and adult content is appropriate for teen readers.
8 71 - In Serial8 Chapters
Fratres Per Noctem
Strangers by daylight, brothers by the night... Witness three masterminds coming up with a code that only themselves would dare to follow, and with that being strictly working within the dawn. Don Dino Manzo, the leader of a revisioned crime family from Italy who deems to bring the old glory back that New York had in almost a century ago. And to pull it off, he hires two fellow criminals who are striving to make a name for themselves. First, Vicente Campana. A Mexican gangbanger who uses his wisdom to escape the ghetto, deciding to leave everything and everyone behind to pursue being a professional criminal. And lastly, Grant Wallace. A conventional young adult who has psychotic tendencies, disregarding his sanity for his own sake of pleasure by committing such heinous and socially-unacceptable felony.
8 177 - In Serial49 Chapters
The Creator's Bloodline
Jedidiah Kings was a young boy born to an impoverished Sect. Raised by his uncle and aunt, he always had difficulty fitting in and cultivating. Until one day, he was beaten to near death when he encountered a revelation..."Who am I?", "Who killed me?", 'I have a family?", "Who are my parents?", "They are dead?", "I am royalty?", "I WANT REVENGE!"Read along to find out how Jedidiah overcomes, and makes history!
8 212 - In Serial33 Chapters
RECALCITRANCE
{COMPLETED} Alaina wishes to be more than a mere icon for her kingdom, believing a princess should be much more than a fragile lady in a dress. The king wants no more than for her to marry in order to succeed the throne, but she has other things in mind -- such as her thirst for freedom and adventure. But when one of the neighbouring kingdoms demands that it's time for a change in the land of Asteria, her entire kingdom is shaken. To worsen the situation, the king is somehow caving in to the demands irrationally. Stubbornly refusing to resign herself to the kingdom's seemingly inevitable fate, she is forced to leave her home in search for the root of the problems. Along with people of diverse backgrounds she comes to trust and a hotheaded boy with pyrokinesis named Kai, Alaina joins an uprising rebellion against the forming empire. But the rebellion is only the beginning of the end, for the end result isn't as perfect as how they have proudly perceived and imagined it to be - some sacrifices are destined to be made. *****{ Book 1 of The Recalcitrance Trilogy }* IMPORTANT! *No copyright infringement intended on the art of the cover.Art Credits: Alexandra V. Bach Also available on Wattpad here. (Book 2 coming soon!)
8 101 - In Serial19 Chapters
Mrs Preeta Karan Luthra
His revenge and her pain.After realising her truth he vows to woo her back Will she'll be able to forgive him😓Based on current track.
8 124 - In Serial34 Chapters
Vet Tech Meets The Alpha
Jack's life has always been weird. With the stereotypically snobby rich parents that never pay attention to her and gave her a boy's name, to the mysterious butler that shows up on her front porch, to the two wolves that keep coming to her house. Jack is a Vet Tech at the local clinic up in the Montana Mountains. When the Vet is on a call and two abnormally gigantic wolves show up at her clinic, Jack must take the lead and help them before it's too late. With the help of her best friend Micah and her pet baby raccoon named Critter, her life gets better. But of course it gets ruined when her cheating ex-boyfriend wants her back. ------------------------------------------------River is the alpha of the Black Moon Pack up in the mountains. He and his beta were on patrol when they were ambushed by a giant group of rogues. Lucky for them they made it to a running path. When two runners spot the bleeding wolves, they call the local clinic that Jack works at. When River sees Jack for the first time, time freezes. He knows right then and there that Jack is his mate. And he'll do anything to get her. Even if it means showing up in his wolf form in her backyard every night.Ya. So copying this story will not be tolerated. Fair warning yaHighest Ranking: #9 in Werewolf
8 116

