Marvin stood alone, an infinite white void overtaking his entire vision. He couldn’t hear or smell anything.

Whatever this was, he was completely alone in an unending void. Looking down at himself, he realised that he was completely naked, excluding a pair of shorts that kept his privates, well, private.

It had been a long time since he had paid attention to the scars on his body and, to be frank, they were every bit as disturbing as he remembered. Littered all across his body, he couldn’t help but wince as he looked at them.

Then there was his prosthetic leg with dozens of illegible symbols inscribed on it. Back when it was an ordinary prosthesis, he would often find himself uncomfortable with it, as well as having to take it out more often than he had originally thought. After Kara made it into a conduit, the teen had found that it slowly transitioned into feeling more and more like an ordinary leg.

If only that was the case.

Suddenly, a train appeared in front of him, the whole cityscape soon fading in from the whiteness. He recognised the area the train station he took from the small town in order to reach his high school.

He looked down at himself once more, finding that he was wearing the same clothes he had on all those months ago. Pushing his glasses up his nose, he took a tentative step in the vehicle, finding it unusually empty. The only person other than himself to be in the train was a teenager sitting in one of the seats, looking directly at Marvin.

He was wearing a simple black short sleeved shirt, combined with dark grey shorts that reached down to his knees, revealing various scars on his body as well as a prosthetic leg. His hair was tied in a low bun, and he was wearing glasses.

The only person other than Marvin in this train was Marvin himself.

“What-What the-” he began speaking but found he couldn’t bring himself to actually say anything as he-he began chuckling.

“I have to commend you. You aren’t the first person to see themselves in me, but you certainly are one of the more interesting.” said the doppelganger, standing to his full height. It wasn’t that impressive considering Marvin’s stature, but it managed to intimidate the aforementioned teen.

“Who-What are you?” said Marvin, preparing himself for battle, glowing heptagrams appearing in his hands.

“I am the it Kara Snow talked about. Some people have called me magic incarnate. Or an avatar of whatever deity they believed in. But as for what I actually am, well, why would I tell you?”

“I’ve told you before to not let the universe break you. When the time comes, when you see it, remember my words. That-no matter how real it feels, even if it prays into your deepest fears, remember them.”

That was what Kara had told him. Don’t let the universe break you. Was this-was this really what she meant? And he remembered the first time he ‘awakened’ so to speak. All the memories he went back to. But it was all in his head. And this was too.

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“You’re not real.” said Marvin, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. The heptagram circles faded. “I made a promise to myself. I’ll become a sorcerer worthy of being Kara Snow’s apprentice. I won’t be consumed by you. I’ll rise to be the most powerful sorcerer in this world!”

The other version of himself laughed at Marvin’s declaration. “And that’s why you’ll never make it. Look within yourself boy. You did well in the Nigredo stage. But this, this right here is different. This is where most would-be sorcerers fall. Let’s see if you have what it takes, Marvin Perlie.” he snapped his fingers, looking Marvin as the world once more began fading into white.

“What are you?” Marvin found himself asking once again, barely having had the time to comprehend everything that had happened. There was only one thing he was certain of. He wasn’t going to lose to that short, pale idiot.

Yes he knew he was technically insulting himself.

“I’m you, you idiot. The one and only Marvin Perlie. The challenge you have to overcome in this stage of your training. Now, begone!”

In a flash, everything became completely white once more, the colour overtaking all of his senses.

-

Breathing heavily, he found that everything was a blur around him. A voice calling out to him barely registered, as he struggled to come to his senses.

A burning sensation on his cheek was enough to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, allowing him to see Ava Mallory staring at him intently. He never realised this before, but she was the exact same height as Marly.

In fact, save for her left eye not being crimson in colour and the few years of difference between them, they appeared to look almost identical.

“Marvin? Are you alright?” she asked, shaking said teen from his shoulder.

“I-I don’t know.” he mumbled, struggling to remember what he saw. There was-there was another version of himself. Something about that being a challenge? “I saw-”

“Don’t say anything.” said Ava quickly, darting her eyes across the now empty room. The Magesmiths had disappeared. “Whatever you saw there, it isn’t for me to hear. It’s your own.”

Don’t let the universe break you.

Kara’s words rang in his head once more. He saw Ava nod to something behind him, obviously struggling to hide her smile. Looking behind him he saw what had captured her attention. Within a medium sized dome was lodged a sword different to whatever Marvin had ever known.

It had a pitch black hilt, with a silver crossguard that had a small blue gem in its middle. But the sword’s blade was what really caught Marvin’s attention. It was pure white, with tiny little particles slowly floating off it before disappearing in the air.

It almost looked like snow.

“They called it the ‘Snow blade, named after the boy’s master’. And that’s a direct quote by the way.” smirked Ava, squeezing Marvin’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Snow blade.” repeated Marvin, picking it up and examining it. He ran his hand through the blade to see that it actually felt rather warm. And it also just felt right. The hilt in his hand, its weight, its balance.

“Take a deep breath.” said Ava in an instructional tone. “Remember, magic is knowledge and resilience. Don’t forget the basics.”

Right. Don’t forget the basics. Taking a deep breath, Marvin spoke with more certainty than he’d ever used for a spell before.

“Snow Blade.”

The sword itself began to glow gold, before disintegrating, lost to the winds until he called it again like his bow or shield. For that one, brief moment, he felt as if he really was at peace.

“Bravo!” clapped Ava enthusiastically. “You’re finally on the other side. It’s painful, horrifying, but holy shit is it fun.”

“Thank you.” he said quietly, ignoring the silent tears that fell down his cheeks. He had gone farther in these past few months than he ever thought he would in his life.

“I hope you’re proud.” he said ever more quietly, hoping that his parents and Kara could hear him.

He was one step closer to his goal, and he wouldn’t have anyone’s schemes stand in his way.