What is magic?
We often call the mysterious and unbelievable phenomena created by an unknown force “magic.”
Magic comes in many forms.
There are spells that summon fire or wind with just a word, spells that transform appearances, and even spells that summon bizarre, unidentified creatures.
Despite the wide variety of magic, there’s one commonality: the reaction people have when witnessing it.
Most people, upon seeing magic in action, probably think one of two things:
“It’s fascinating.” Or, “It’s terrifying.”
I was no exception.
I still vividly remember the first time I saw magic in this world.
The sight of someone eliminating a life-threatening danger with just a word was astonishing.
It was so mesmerizing, so awe-inspiring.
And at the same time, I wanted it.
Of course, I wanted it.
Having that power would mean no longer trembling in fear.
It promised a semblance of safety in this strange, unfamiliar world I’d found myself in.
So, I desired it.
It’s only natural for humans to yearn for what they don’t have.
Not having something makes you want it even more, makes you imagine what it would feel like to have it.
And those thoughts still linger in my mind.
Even now, I wonder:
What does it feel like to use magic? How would it feel if fire burst forth from my hands?
Would it be frightening? Or would it be fascinating?
There’s a reason these questions weigh on my mind.
That reason is…
I’ve never successfully used magic.
I close my eyes and concentrate, imagining strong gusts of wind swirling in my hands. I picture the fierce wind resting within my grasp.
Then, I open my eyes and shout with all my might:
“[Wind]!”
But when I look at my hand…
Nothing. No wind, no magic, nothing at all.
“Again. Failed this time too,” my master’s voice says from beside me.
Ah… another failure.
“Haa… another failure,” I sigh deeply.
Yes, as it stands, I can’t use magic.
It’s not for a lack of effort. I’ve been trying so hard. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to grasp it.
The concept of “using mana” feels foreign, as if it’s beyond my reach.
Master says that living in this world will eventually help me grasp the sense of it.
But how would I know, having never lived in a place rich with mana before?
“I guess I just don’t have any talent for magic,” I muttered.
“That’s not true. From what I can tell, you have a body perfectly suited for learning magic. You have plenty of mana and a highly sensitive constitution.”
“I have a lot of mana?”
“Yes, enough to be counted among the top people I’ve ever met,” Master said confidently.
“That can’t be…”
“Don’t worry too much. You have plenty of potential for magic—it just hasn’t blossomed yet. Trust me,” she said with a reassuring smile.
I looked at her skeptically, but she rested her chin on her hand and smiled warmly.
“Hmm… then let’s find the reason why. Why do you think you keep failing?”
“I just can’t seem to grasp it.”
“Grasp what? Can you be more specific?”
“I don’t understand how to use mana.”
“Not understanding how to use mana, huh? That’s a fundamental problem. It’s like not knowing how to use something you already have.”
Master fell silent, her face adopting the familiar serious expression she wore when deep in thought.
After a moment, she spoke again.
“Hmm… alright, I’ve got an idea. Hella, what do you think is the most important thing when using magic?”
“Mana?”
“Mana is important as a power source, but that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is imagination.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. That imagination, not mana, was the key to using magic seemed counterintuitive.
“Our magic draws mana based on the strength of our imagination. If what you imagine exceeds your limits, the spell won’t work. If it’s within your limits, it will manifest.
The key is believing firmly that your imagination will become reality. That belief moves mana.
In a way, our magic is more like a wish or a prayer—a desire for the impossible to become possible.”
Master raised her finger as she continued.
“The essence is this: you must fervently wish for it to happen. Believe that it has to happen, or you might die. That’s how strong your conviction needs to be.”
“That much conviction?”
“Yes. It’s about believing so strongly that your imagination turns into reality. That’s what moves mana.”
Magic truly was a complex and mysterious world.
“I think your problem, Hella, is that your belief and conviction are lacking.”
“Is that so…” I sighed deeply.
Hearing my heavy sigh, Master quickly spoke again in a flustered tone.
“Don’t be discouraged! It’s not your fault. It’s perfectly normal.
It’s hard to imagine something as real when you’ve never experienced it. If it were easy, that would be what we call talent.”
“So, I don’t have talent for magic…”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant! What I mean is… even if you don’t have talent, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn magic.
You’re just taking a bit longer to grasp it. It’s completely fine!”
Master’s attempt to console me only left me feeling more disheartened.
Seeing my defeated expression, she averted her gaze, clearing her throat awkwardly.
“Hella, there’s no need to rush. The hardest part is getting the hang of it initially.
If the time comes when you truly need magic, I’m confident you’ll be able to use it.
But that time isn’t now. Right now, you have me, so you don’t need to worry about such situations.
Take it slow, step by step. Learning is supposed to be a gradual process.”
Take it slow and steady, huh?
It’s true I don’t urgently need magic right now. In our current life, Master takes care of anything requiring magic.
“Everything you’ve done so far has been helpful, and it will continue to help you in the future.
Life is unpredictable—you might need magic as soon as tomorrow.
So, don’t be discouraged. Keep trying, alright?”
“Yes,” I replied, forcing a small smile.
Even though her words of comfort had felt like daggers earlier, seeing her earnest attempts to cheer me up made it impossible not to smile.
Master’s relieved expression at my smile was enough to ease some of the heaviness in my heart.
“Alright then, that’s enough for today! You all did great,” Master announced.
“We’re done? Finally?”
“Yes, Reina. Now you can do whatever you want.”
Reina’s face lit up at her words. She immediately jumped up and ran toward me.
“Really?! Then I want to play with Sister Hella!”
a scene that was no longer familiar.
I was back in the room, but it wasn’t the same warm, bright space I’d shared with Reina and Master. The air was heavy, and an unsettling silence blanketed everything around me.
“Dream…?”
My voice trembled as the word escaped my lips. I looked around cautiously, taking in my surroundings.
The once-vivid colors were now washed out, the textures rough and distorted as if the world itself had become unstable. The comforting warmth of the sun was replaced by an eerie chill that bit at my skin.
In front of me, Reina stood frozen, her head tilted slightly, her face devoid of emotion.
Her crimson eyes—once lively and filled with mischief—were now empty, staring at me with an unnerving stillness.
“Reina?” I called her name hesitantly, my voice barely audible in the suffocating atmosphere.
She didn’t respond. Instead, her lips curled into a cold, unnatural smile.
“You’ve figured it out,” she said in a voice that wasn’t hers. It was layered, distorted, and resonated with a sinister undertone.
My heart sank as I stepped back instinctively, my legs trembling beneath me.
“What… is this?” I whispered, trying to steady myself, though my mind raced in panic.
The figure that looked like Reina tilted her head even further, her movements jerky and unnatural.
“You should’ve stayed in the illusion. It was safer there,” she said, her tone mocking yet filled with venom.
“Who… are you? What have you done to Reina?” I demanded, my voice shaking but louder this time.
“Reina?” The figure repeated the name as if testing it, then chuckled darkly. “There is no Reina here. Only your memories, your regrets, and your fears.”
At those words, the room began to distort further. The walls twisted and bent as if they were alive, pulsating with an eerie rhythm.
“No…” I whispered, clutching my head as flashes of distorted memories invaded my mind.
The figure began to move closer, each step echoing unnaturally in the space.
“This is your reality now,” it said, its voice reverberating in my skull. “A nightmare of your own making. And there’s no waking up.”
Panic gripped me as I tried to summon magic, my trembling hand raising instinctively.
“[Wind]!” I shouted, pouring every ounce of desperation into the spell.
But nothing happened.
“No… no!” I screamed, trying again, “[Fire]! [Barrier]! [Anything]!”
The figure only laughed, the sound echoing endlessly in the distorted space.
“You can’t escape this, Hella,” it said, its voice growing closer, more overwhelming. “You can only face it.”
I fell to my knees, the weight of despair crushing me.
But somewhere deep within me, a voice whispered—a faint, familiar voice.
“Remember why you fight. Remember what you protect.”
Reina.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I forced myself to stand.
“I don’t know what you are,” I said, my voice trembling but resolute. “But I will get out of here. I will protect her!”
The figure stopped in its tracks, its smile faltering for a moment before twisting into a grimace.
“Then show me,” it hissed, the room plunging into complete darkness.
And in that moment, I prepared to face whatever was coming, no matter how terrifying.
Pupil.
Four eyes opened wide as if they would tear apart.
I gasped for breath.
Two people were staring at me intently from right in front of me. With no expression, their eyes were so wide that I wondered if it was possible for a human to open their eyes like that.
Reina and my master’s appearances were somehow grotesque. I wanted to say something, but my mouth wouldn’t open. I was overwhelmed by a strange atmosphere that pressed down on my entire body, leaving even my fingertips unable to move.
A suffocating silence filled the air.
Then, suddenly.
Her face twisted in what seemed like anger.
And she began to glare at me with bloodshot eyes.
It was a gaze that seemed as if she wanted to kill me.
She stared at me in that state for a moment and then spoke.
“What did you just say?”
Breaking the silence, she questioned abruptly.
I couldn’t answer.
“I asked, what did you just say!!!”
She shouted.
I couldn’t answer. My head suddenly began to ache. Memories floated up and sank back down again. My mind grew dizzy.
My memories were jumbled.
My ears were ringing. Dizzy. My head felt like it was burning.
I struggled to breathe. I exhaled raggedly.
One, two, one, two.
My breath, once shallow, refused to even escape now.
I bowed my head, pounding my stifled chest. Still, it didn’t help. It was agonizing. I coughed harshly, gasping for air. My head grew heavy as air failed to reach my lungs, and my vision blurred.
It was painful.
Painful.
Painful.
Then, suddenly, I looked at my hands.
My hands were covered in blood.
“Blood?”
I questioned it. And at the same time—
“My name is Asphodel Blood. The Sixth Duke of the Demon Clan and a Vampire Lord.
Someday, I’ll be waiting for you to come. And when that time comes, I’ll devour you.”
The scenery before my eyes began to change rapidly.
A man stood before me. He spoke in a tone that sounded regretful.
“Perhaps she wasn’t pleased with this.
That’s why I killed her and forcibly took it away.”
I looked down. A woman with long black hair lay collapsed before me. She was in a terrible state.
Her chest was punctured, as if by something sharp. Blood flowed freely, spreading into a pool around her.
The moment I tried to run to her, the scenery changed again.
I checked my surroundings.
A child with black hair stood in front of me, as if shielding me.
“I’ll protect my sister!”
“I’ll listen to you. In fact, I just came up with a great idea.
So, you want to protect that one, huh? Fine. Then you take the punishment in that one’s place.”
At that moment, the scenery shifted once more.
This time, a man with pale skin and long white hair was looking down at me.
“The victor has it all. That is the law of this world.
There was no particular intention behind this. I merely followed the rules of the world, and you were swept along with it.
So curse your powerlessness. If you were stronger than me, none of this would have happened.”
The scenery shifted again.
I hurriedly looked around.
I felt relief.
Finally, at last—
There was no one around.
I thought it was all over.
But in that moment—
“Sister, sister… it hurts so much… help me…”
A voice came from below.
I looked down.
In my hands was a young girl. Her face was filled with pain. Blood flowed from her neck.
“Ah… Ah… Aaaaaaahhhh!”
I screamed.
The girl slipped from my hands with a soft thud.
Desperately, I moved my arms and legs, trying to put distance between us.
But then.
“Sister… it hurts so much… help me…”
The girl reached out her hand.
I shook my head violently. My entire body trembled as if paralyzed by fear.
Memories began to flow through my mind like a video playing on fast-forward.
Fear, anger, joy, sadness—every kind of emotion surged through me, taking turns controlling my body.
I felt like I was going mad.
My emotions changed erratically, as though someone else were controlling my body.
One thought filled my mind.
Domination.
I was being dominated.
All that surfaced in my mind was—
Fear, happiness, fear, more fear, fear.
Fear, anger, fear, more fear, sadness.
Fear, fear, fear, more fear, fear.
Fear, joy, fear, more fear, pain.
Fear, hatred, fear, more fear, fear.
Hatred, joy, sadness, happiness again.
Fear, loneliness, fear, fear, fear.
Fear, longing, fear, happiness, fear.
Fear, self-reproach, fear, fear, fear.
“Stop it! Stop! I said stop!!!!”
I shouted into the empty air. My voice carried a mixture of all my emotions.
In that moment—
-Crack.
The scenery around me began to crack. Like glass or a mirror shattering, cracks appeared in the surrounding scenery.
-Crack. Crack, crack.
The cracks grew larger and larger, spreading their reach.
As the cracks finally consumed everything around me—
Bang!
With a tremendous noise, the scenery shattered into countless pieces.
After everything crumbled away, all that remained was—
A pure white space.
Everywhere I looked, there was only white, making it impossible to distinguish ground, sky, or anything else.
I scanned my surroundings.
Although I wasn’t even sure if I was actually looking around, I turned my head.
And then I saw it.
In this pure white space, something with color.
It was a figure of a person. No—it was a person.
In this empty space,
A person stood there.
Whether it was a man or a woman, I couldn’t tell. The person was moving.
To be exact, they were walking.
As the silhouette grew closer, it seemed they were walking toward me.
As they approached, a single color filled my mind.
Black.
On their pure white clothing, black flowers were sparsely visible.
That person approached me.
They stopped walking when they were right in front of me.
They stopped and stood before me.
I looked up at them. My gaze was lower than theirs.
To meet my eyes, they bent their knees and crouched.
Thanks to their action, our eyes were on the same level.
In that position, they stared at me intently.
Then, they asked.
“Let me ask you. Who are you?”
I couldn’t answer their question.
As soon as I heard their words, drowsiness began to overtake me.
I tried desperately to open my mouth.
But cruelly, my lips wouldn’t even twitch.
Instead, the drowsiness grew stronger. The more I tried to speak, the more overwhelming the sleepiness became.
It felt as though my entire body was conspiring to prevent me from talking.
My eyelids grew heavy. I was so, so sleepy.
I tried to fight the sleep, but it was no use.
My eyes began to close.
Was it because I no longer had the strength to lift my eyelids? My vision grew darker and darker.
Eventually, unable to resist the drowsiness any longer, my eyes slowly closed.
“Why…”
As the world was swallowed by darkness again, I thought.
“Why does she have the same face as me…”
The mysterious figure that appeared in this enigmatic space.
Her face was the same as mine.
Why? My mind was filled with this question, but it seemed I wouldn’t get the chance to answer it.
With that thought, my vision faded to black once again.
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