CHAPTER 30

“A Key, Yet No Lock To Match”

September 4th 2040: Multiple miles above the “New South America Jungle”

Inside an S-97 Raider and flanked by three other sister helicopters, Director Stevens stared at his tablet while incomplete combat footage played on. From the perspective of a running US army grunt the radio had little to no discipline as panic filled the forest air.

“Be advised, Abrams airborne, repeat Abrams airborne!” A crackling male voice screamed as almost outside the camera’s lens an Abrams tank landed hard on the sparse underbrush, doing multiple rollovers--flinging dirt and debris everywhere before slamming into a tree. Not long after, a deep, thunderous roar echoed around the forest.

“Fucking AT crew is gone! Long, you still got that AT 4?” A different soldier asked.

“Negative!” A female voice answered.

“Fuck! All units, broken arrow, broken arrow! Newman, get that damn 40mm up here!” And at that, the video abruptly ended. Leaving Stevens to let out a heavy breath and hold the bridge of his nose.

“Trolls again Director?” One of the three scientists riding along asked.

“Trolls, Cyclops, Giants--the goddamn forest itself for all I know.” Looking through the door window at the dense jungle below, Stevens’ mind raced with the thoughts of what man-eating horrors lived down there--and they were flying straight into its mouth. “This better be worth my time.”

“If what the report says is true, it will be, Director. This… Manor of Magic, will likely answer most if not all our questions.”

“And inevitably lead to new ones. Looks like we’re here.” As the S-97 made a sharp bank to the left Stevens got a clear view of the overgrown manor. In front of it, a sizable area had been cleared for tents and landing zones.

With a slight jolt, the S-97 landing gear bounced, then stuck to the rocky ground. Stevens was the first to step out and be greeted by a friendly face.

“Director Jim, struck gold yet?” After shaking hands, the two walked towards the tent town that had sprung up in front of the manor's main entrance.

“Rhodium in fact. This place has answered more ‘million dollar’ questions than anything the locals have given us. For a start--and a favor to ask, I need you to secure funding from the D.O.D to form a new branch, or make it a new section of an existing one. There is the real possibility that we can reverse-engineer magic to be of use to us.”

“Well I can tell you right now The Army will be scrambling to be first. But I’ll see what I can do. So, give me the rundown.” Walking inside the entrance hall that had been illuminated by floodlights they could see scientists everywhere taking pictures and samples of the building.

“From the beginning we expected magic to be its own energy type, and more evidence is pointing to it being a type of ray like alpha, beta and gamma rays. We’ve confirmed that gemstones do in fact act like a battery to this type of radiation and can be discharged into the wide field of magic we’ve seen so far. Though the way it recharges is still a mystery, with running theories being it absorbs the ambient radiation from the air around us, or the newest energy source we’ve discovered.” Hearing that, Stevens raised a concerned eyebrow.

“There’s another one?”

“Yep, simply known as soul magic. The user can use an energy called “soul essence” to wield magic, but at a diminished capacity.”

“Of course they can. Wouldn't be a fantasy world without it…”

As the duo continued to walk towards the main library Stevens couldn't shake the unnerving feeling of being watched but with no surveillance system put in place yet it didn’t make much sense. Upon reaching the open double doors to the library, Stevens didn’t hesitate to enter the room, and once inside quickly leaned back to avoid one of the hundreds of yellow orbs that were floating around.

“Wow. Okay, this place was definitely underplayed in the reports I got.” Feeling slightly lied to about how fascinating the Manor of Magic truly was both Jim and Stevens began walking around.

“Okay Siv, this should be the final calibration. Try speaking now.” Hearing a conversation to their right, Stevens and Jim looked over to see a team of scientists huddled around their equipment watching as Siv held a small circular object in her left hand.

“.--llo? Is -- w--kin- now?” A soft female voice cut in and out as it transmitted from the device. Leaving one scientist to scratch his head.

“Well, it’s better than before. We could just do rapid sweeps across all frequencies.”

“That will pick up a lot of useless noise as well, still making it hard to understand her. Best thing we can do is just narrow the window to where she is speaking.” Another scientist pointed to a different screen with a long list of frequencies they were trying, leaving many there to groan in annoyance at the idea of playing “Where's Waldo” with frequencies.

“So that’s the kitsune spirit I read of in the file.” Walking toward the group, Siv was the first to notice them and gave a friendly smile to Stevens.

“Director Stevens, head of the Central Intelligence Agency. I act on behalf of President Dresden while I’m here.” Offering a handshake before his mind could even process how ridiculous that was, Siv accepted the offer and ‘shook’ his hand. Making it feel like he had just grabbed a handful of snow.

“Siv here has been a tremendous help with finding and translating the books we’ve so far needed.” Walking up beside Stevens, Jim motioned to multiple folding tables holding stacks upon stacks of books and rolls of parchment. “Suffice it to say, we still have a lot to learn.” Stevens simply responded by scanning the grand library around them. Watching scientists carefully remove books from the top shelves, taking hundreds of photos or simply sitting down to read to understand the material better.

“Makes you wonder, just how far down this rabbit hole goes.” Starting to pace along one of the walls, Stevens' keen eyes noticed something… odd about one of the floating gemstone lights. The pedestal the gemstone was floating over had a pointed end which showed more wear and tear than all the others. With his mind going back to his younger days of being a field agent Stevens grabbed a free chair and placed it underneath the pedestal. Standing on it, he reached up to fiddle with the anomaly.

“You find something, Director Stevens?” Watching the show as it unfolded Jim was perplexed as to what he was doing.

“Maybe. If there’s one thing I learned from the Chinese it’s that they love hidden buttons and levers.” Indeed, finding the pointed end to be loose, Stevens began to unscrew it from the rest of the pedestal. After multiple rotations, it became loose enough that he could take it off, revealing a cord. Turning to Jim with a devilish smile, he held up the false piece. “Hundred bucks says this reveals a hidden room.” Jim simply responded by raising his arms in defeat. Stevens gently tugged on the rope, causing multiple creaking sounds as a pulley system behind it activated.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

As he quickly stepped down from the chair they watched as a large square section in a nearby pillar pulled inwards and upwards revealing a hidden compartment and, sitting on a red cushion, a crystal ball.

“And people say that curiosity killed the cat.” Stevens reached for the crystal ball, instantly Siv’s speech box sprung to life.

“Wait, -- --t --uc- that!” Her voice cutting in and out so much that no one could understand, Stevens continued to reach for the crystal ball, and as soon as his left hand touched it a blinding white light engulfed the room.

Once the glare had subsided, Stevens found himself no longer in the grand library but in a dingy, empty room with what looked like decades of neglect on its stone walls and floor. Quickly drawing his handgun, he twirled on his feet, scanning the room in mere seconds for any threats, finding nothing but a single, decaying wooden door. Stevens slowly slid his feet across the stone floor, feeling for any loose stones that could be his demise.

“I had to fucking speak, didn’t I? This is far worse than anything that happened in Beijing.” Reminiscing about his younger days of being a field agent, Stevens’s mind began to shake off the decades of accumulated rust. Reaching the door, he removed his suit jacket, and using it as a protective cover for his left hand, he slowly turned the doorknob. Standing behind the door as it opened, a very familiar--yet unclear voice, filled a small portion of the eerie silence.

“Eleven, ten--ignition sequence start, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero. All engines running.” A male voice announced. Peering from behind the door, Steven’s mind immediately thought this room to be a modern living room, though rather neglected. Looking at the source of the male voice, he saw a flat-screen television playing a grainy film of a rocket ship taking off from its launchpad. In front was a scratched wooden coffee table and well worn black leather couch.

Before Stevens took a single step, a golden ring appeared just in front of the only other door into the room. Diving back into his original room, Stevens pointed his handgun at the open doorway as the sounds of footsteps filled the air.

“Ah man, I missed the launch again! Why couldn't Selvsker have added a rewind option to this thing?” An old male voice huffed. Hearing the sound of something being dropped on the coffee table, followed by the groan of the leather couch as it was sat upon, Steven pulled out his phone and activated his camera. Poking just the camera lens out, Stevens could only see the long white hair of the male figure, who at this point turned his head ever so slightly to the right.

“You know, you're always invited to spend time with me.” The old voice boomed. Before turning his head over his shoulder to look directly into the phone’s camera. Dropping his phone to the floor, Steven raised his handgun and turned the corner, aiming square at the old man's head. “Oh. You’re not who I was expecting at all. And here I thought the sudden surge in magic was Yenmek coming to spend time with me.” With a low chuckle, the man stood up and completely turned around to face Stevens. “Is that a semi-automatic pistol? I thought we were still in the age of flintlock!” Seeming not to give any attention to the fact that it was pointed at him, the old man walked towards Stevens--who at this time was equally backing away, and not by choice. Steven’s mind was screaming at him to “Get away from this thing.”

“W-what the hell are you?” Releasing the safety on his handgun, Steven’s hands struggled to hold it straight and aimed at the old man, who now had a dejected look.

“You… aren't from the board, are you mortal? Tell me, what do you call your homeland?” The old man questioned.

“...The United States of America.”

“You’re… from Earth, aren't you? Why are you here, of all places?”

“I should be asking that, and you didn’t answer my question.” In a vain attempt to regain some control of the conversation, Stevens steered it back to the start.

“I am Gamult, and that’s all you need to know. Do not fret American. I will bring you back to your world before any--”

“Wait, you’re one of those theorized living deities, right? The clergy in The Autoriario Empire keep bringing up multiple names, like Aurtas and Potias. You’re… you’re one of them, right?” His mind racing at a million miles per hour, Stevens' anxiety spiked.

Hearing the comparison, what exposed skin there was on Gamults wrinkly face went red with rage.

“Those, deadshit bastards! Are you actually on the board?” Not waiting for Stevens' reply, Gamut turned around and went over to the television. Holding his right hand out, the video of the moon landing changed to a world map.

“Uhh, yes? Not sure what you mean by that.” Using the wall behind him to hold himself up straight, Stevens looked on in mild confusion as the supposed “deity” seemed to be just as confused as to why America was here as they were with Gamult making multiple head swings from the television to Steven.

“How in all the realms are you humans, here?”

“You make it sound as if we aren't like the other humans on this planet?” Not understanding the separation, Stevens watched as Gamult returned a laugh.

“You most certainly are not! There is a reason why--” but before Gamult could finish, a high-pitched hum filled the air, causing both to look around the drab room. “Just try and stop me, you damn control freak. I’ll say whatever I want!” Seemingly talking to the humming, it just as abruptly ceased and Gamult turned back to the television, which now showed multiple red sections of different shapes and sizes--North America being nearly fully red. “As I suspected, an incomplete transfer.” he muttered.

“A-what-now?” Not catching what was said, Stevens finally mustered the courage to take a single step towards Gamult, though kept his handgun trained on him. Turning to face Stevens directly, Gamult smirked before raising his right hand and pointing his index and middle finger at the handgun, doing a quick circular motion. In rapid succession, the handgun had its magazine ejected, the slide pulled back to unchamber a bullet already set, and once again the slide-lock unlocked causing the slide, recoil spring and barrel to be launched from the handgun’s frame, and fall to the floor.

“Come on now. It might be advanced, but did you really expect it to be useful against me?” Seeing that the rest of his handgun was no more than a chunk of metal now, Stevens threw it to the side. “Let me guess, you can read minds as well?” In response to the comment, Gamult just laughed.

“Don’t be absurd. You humans always thought the worst when it came to magic--where in fact it’s far more limited than you might think. After all, the rules can’t change when a game is in session.” Looking back to the television, Gamult huffed in annoyance. “Or, usually they are abided by the players. Seems like more than just a couple rules were broken while I was on vacation.”

Getting a severe case of whiplash from the words he was hearing, Stevens went to take a step forward but quickly lost his balance and fell back against the wall. With a searing migraine forming, he went to rub his temple but stopped short as he felt something wet oozing from his nose. Sliding his finger across his upper lip, it came away covered in blood.

“What is happening to me?” Feeling like he was losing consciousness Stevens' vision went blurry for a few seconds. Seeing the state he was getting into, Gamult quickly moved in front of Stevens and put his right hand on his chest.

“There’s too much magic in the air, your body can’t handle it. I must return you before you die.”

“Just… one question. Can you send us back to Earth?” Stevens ground out but before Gamult could even open his mouth, the high pitch hum returned louder than before, and another golden portal spontaneously appeared; with a golden chain shooting out at Gamult. With movement too fast for Stevens’ compromised eyes to process, Gamult grabbed the chain with his left hand, causing it to wrap around his forearm.

“Heed this warning, American. There are many here that wish to see the demise of The First Realm for what it did, and the embarrassment it brought to them. I am one of the very few who see you as more than just simple mortal beings, but there is only so much we can do. And though it seems you have forgotten your history, you can still be victorious. Just like you were all those millennia ago.” As Gamult spoke, Stevens could see steam radiating from where the golden chain was connecting with his arm. “You have killed our kind before, and you have the power to do it again. Do not let fate dictate your outcome. Manifest your own path through the Cosmos.” Removing his right hand from Stevens’s chest, Gamult opened a small golden portal of his own, stuck his hand inside and pulled out a white glowing gemstone the size of a golf ball. Then with a bright white flash, Stevens was brought back to the manor.

Finding himself on the floor, surrounded by army medics, Stevens tried to sit up--only to be pushed back down.

“Sorry sir, but I need you to lay still. You took a heavy fall.” One medic voiced. With bloodshot eyes, Stevens looked right at the medic.

“I need to speak with Washington. Now. This whole thing has gone from a crisis, to a national emergency.”