Chapter 0: The Start of the Blade

“So you are saying that… magic exists? Do you have any way to prove that?” An elderly gentleman with a short gray beard smiles as he asks me this.

“Unfortunately not. But something I do know… is that it exists.” I say with a strong tone.

“No. Hm, okay then. I say this man next to me exists, but to you, there is clearly no man. I will continue to try and convince you there is a man using words, but unless I show you physical proof of the man being there, is there even actually a man there?”

“I see your point doc, but I have this feeling that it is something that exists. My mind tells me it is so.”

“When did this all start? You know, the voice in your mind telling you it… no, magic, exists.”

“It was when I was a young child. I started to play those new games that were becoming more common, Role Playing Games. RPG’s for short. While I started playing one that had a main focus on magic and arcane, I felt something inside me say, ‘This is real’. I pushed the feeling down, deciding later that it was my childishness taking over and wanting it to be real.” I pause to take a breath.

“I see, go on.”

“As technology advances, my mind keeps saying louder and louder, ‘That’s possible! It exists!’ I have no idea what the feeling I get is. A part of me believes my mind, but the other says that there is no way for magic to logically exist in this world.”

“Hm. Did this impact your relationships or education in any way?” The man says while looking at his clipboard and stroking his beard.

“Uh… I don’t think it did, I’ve never mentioned this feeling to anyone else. It’s never really bothered me too much either.”

“Then why book this appointment? You could have easily told this to someone like: your mother, father, sister, brother, significant other, a close friend, or even an acquaintance. Why would you bring this to someone like myself?”

“You make a point, but if I tell my parents, they’d be the ones booking this appointment for me. I am twenty years old doc, I’m fairly independent now. I have no reason to bother them with such trivial concerns. Plus, I've got no siblings, nor loved ones. Got a few friends though.”

“You’re right. When this started I was worried that you were some crazy fanatic that was so in to fantasy settings that he wanted to try and kill himself to reincarnate in a fantasy setting.”

“Ha! I can totally see people trying to do that, but probably not too much anymore.” I laugh even after I finish talking.

“Yeah. We are straying from the main topic though.” The man sighs as he flips the paper on his clipboard.

“I don’t mind, I’m having fun here. I’ll pay if we go over the hour. It’s not often you meet someone else at our ages that is so in to new technology.” I wave my hand slightly while smiling.

“You’re still much younger than me. You’re still in your prime! Ah, whatever. Yeah, technology has come really far since I was born. When I was young, we played with partial virtual reality, now a company is producing full virtual reality. Takes over your brain and you move around like you would in reality, but it wouldn’t be reality. As someone who studied the human mind my entire life, it really makes me wonder how it works.”

“Yeah, I’m just a simple office worker who’s lived on dried noodles and beef jerky.”

“How would a simple office worker be able to pay for a psychiatry appointment and then say they’ll pay for extra time, just because they want to chat with an old man?”

“Well, I was saving up for one of those new fancy full immersion VR pods, you know, the super sleek ones that would make a sports car cry in a corner?”

“Of course, even if you lived in a cave, there’s no way someone wouldn’t have heard about it. Even someone like me who talks to people for a living, if I didn’t hear about it I should have quit my job already!” He smiles as he sets his clipboard down on the glass table, picking up his coffee.

“You are so right! Anyways. I entered in to a draw, see if I could get it for free, I had enough money saved up from over the years. So even If I lost the draw, I could get the thing anyways, but what would you know, I won the dammed thing!”

“That’s incredible, you sure it’s not a scam? I know scams can be pretty awful these days, even taking your house right from under your feet!”

“Nope! They’ve already delivered it to my house!”

“Why are you here then and not playing with it? Also, what about someone breaking in and taking it?”

“You see, no games have been released yet! They just have the software demos and I’ve already played the shit out of them! The real games come out in a month with the release of the actual thing, what I have is a working prototype machine. Also, I’m not exaggerating, they’d have to take my whole house with them. It’s bolted to the ground on a concrete pad, not to mention, the thing weighs as much as a small truck!”

Suddenly, the man’s watch starts to beep. He looks at it and makes a complicated expression before sighing.

“Sir, unless you actually want to pay more, our talk will end here.” He frowns as I stand up, he might have been having fun, but I actually have somewhere else to be.

“Sorry to get your hopes up, but I have a schedule I need to keep. I appreciate our talk, Mr. Grayden.” I bow slightly as I start to walk out of the room.

“No, the pleasure is all mine, Phillip…” He pauses, forgetting my last name, I just sigh. People forget my name all the time. It doesn’t even bother me anymore.

“Tethers. My last name is Tethers, it’s weird, but oh well. I’ll see you around doc.” I wave as I leave. Excited about upcoming events, but also dreading my next appointment.

I had a promotion interview I needed to go to. I just wanted to get this one last thing off my shoulders before I was interviewed for a management position within my office.

I was dreading it.