-Locke-

Magic. What is it?

I never thought I'd ask myself that question.

Mysticism never interested me. Even as a kid, parlor tricks didn't impress me. Not when I had a voice screaming in my mind all the time.

But now, magic might be my only hope.

So, what is it? And how do I get it?

I sighed, staring at the gray ceiling above me.

It's hard to find an inspiring answer when you're stuck in a cell. A four-by-four room with sturdy walls and a steel door that could only be opened from the outside.

I woke up here a few hours ago with a nasty bruise on the back of my head, courtesy of Wanda's rampage. I must have been caught in the crossfire and passed out.

She probably had Vision lock me in here to prevent my escape, especially since I still had what she wanted. The Darkhold.

Which brought me back to the first question: What is magic?

A phenomenon that can't be explained by science?

A weird energy that breaks all known physical laws?

Or just the power of imagination made real?

It could be any or all of these answers. I don't think there's a wrong one.

I also don't think I could stall any longer.

"Time to open the damn thing."

I exhaled, sitting up in a lotus position.

With a thought, the weight of the Darkhold settled on my lap, a large black book that oozed an ominous aura.

I stroked the spine, the cover shivering in delight and anticipation. It was as if it could sense what I wanted to do. What I was about to do.

"Read it," my inner voice ordered, destroying the last of my hesitation.

I grabbed the edge of the front cover and opened it.

The first thing I noticed was the picture on the first page: an image of a fully dissected child, with the organs and body parts clearly labeled.

I threw the book on the bed and ran to the toilet, the taste of bile filling my mouth.

Heaving produced nothing; my stomach was empty. I hadn't eaten or drunk anything for the week it took to get here. Wanda had refused to make any stops.

I think she kept both of our bodies nourished through chaos magic. But that's beside the point.

"What a vile thing," I muttered, staring at the book lying innocently open on the bed.

I was now less eager to read it after seeing what was on the first page.

It made me consider what other nasty stuff was waiting for me inside its brown pages.

Although a shudder rocked me at the thought of touching it again, the Darkhold was unfortunately my only ticket out of here.

"Okay, you piece of shit..." I breathed out, determination and the will to live welling up in me.

"I'm not going to die by that insane woman's hands, not if I can help it. So get ready, 'cause I'm not backing down."

To prove it, I grabbed the book, placed it on my knees, and made myself comfortable.

Ignoring the gory details of the image, I focused on the text above it: a header I hadn't noticed earlier.

"Magic Extraction Ritual."

I read, my eyes passing over the image to the rest of the text below.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Magic, as humans understand it, comes in three forms. The first, Universal Magic, is the natural energy suffusing everything in creation. It is in the air, the water, the trees, the rocks, and is the most readily available, yet the most stubborn to move. Sorcerers and Mystics prefer to carry out rituals in locations with a high concentration of Universal Magic called leyline nodes."

I see. If I recall correctly, Wanda did mutter something about this place having a high amount of mystical energy.

It was the reason for the Yeti Zombies that attacked us. And the rituals the passage mentioned—could that be why she brought us here?

I wonder if I can tap into this Universal Magic. Not very likely. If it was that easy, the Darkhold would have said so, but instead, it described it as "stubborn to move."

I continued with the text.

"The second, Dimensional Magic, involves summoning or channeling power from other dimensions or mystical entities. It taps into the energies of powerful beings or realms, offering potent and versatile abilities. This is achieved by opening the Third Eye."

How shrewd of the Darkhold not to mention the part about owing favors or attracting the attention of powerful beings when channeling magic from other realms.

I saw how Kaecilius turned out in the first Doctor Strange movie. For now, let's leave that out.

"The third, Personal Magic, is drawn from the practitioner's own life force or psionic energy. It involves abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, and other mental powers. This type of magic requires significant skill, training, and can be draining on the user."

Personally, this was more my style. But the part about requiring training and the danger of being draining on the user made it less useful than the other two kinds.

For starters, my situation was far from ideal.

I was a novice with no training. Expecting me to somehow learn how to access my life force or psionic energy out of the blue, and without an instructor, was asking too much.

Secondly, it was risky to try something the Darkhold itself warned against.

As if to remind me of my situation, the memory of Wanda tearing through the Avengers flashed in my mind. That could be me...

I can't give up yet. Giving up means dying.

Even if there are risks involved, do I really have the luxury to avoid them?

My eyes fell back onto the page.

Another row of text continued at the bottom. Hopefully, it was information on how I could use magic. Any of the three was welcome. I just needed a clear way.

"Anyone can use magic to varying degrees. Universal Magic requires a complex understanding of incantations and arcane knowledge. Dimensional Magic requires one's spirit to be expanded to a level where they can interact with other realms. Personal Magic requires dedicated discipline and meditation."

Fuuuuck. None of this is helpful to me.

Fortunately, before my hopes were completely dashed, the passage continued,

"However, for those without the patience for learning the mystical arts and would rather skip to the end, the Magic Extraction Ritual is for you. Through the careful dissection of a sorcerer whose body has grown accustomed to magic, or a virgin child yet to reach adulthood, you can harvest their life force into a magic circle and absorb it into yourself, thus stirring your own Personal Magic..."

I stopped there, disbelief coloring my face.

What in the actual fucking hell?!

Now I know the purpose of the Heading. This was a spell or rather a ritual for someone looking for a shortcut to power.

I guess this is why the Darkhold and anyone who uses it are branded as evil.

The text went on to describe the exact procedure to be followed in the ritual to attain the maximum benefits.

Thoroughly disgusted after completing the first page, I flipped to the second one, only to find it blank. The third, the fourth—all the pages were blank except for the first one.

I guess the Darkhold judged that with no magic of my own, showing me anything else was a waste of time.

With a defeated sigh, I closed the book and placed it on the side of my bed, stumped on what I was supposed to do to use magic.

Without it, I was basically a sitting duck, waiting for Wanda to find a way to take possession of the Darkhold, likely ending me in the process.

I considered the information I'd learned.

Universal Magic was impossible to use for the current me.

Dimensional Magic relied on having my Third Eye open to be able to channel power from other dimensions. Also impossible.

And Personal Magic required lots of discipline and meditation. And while not impossible, it was time-consuming and carried with it certain risks.

Unless you went the route of sacrificing someone in a ritual to skip all of that. And there was no way I considered that as an option.

With that said, it was clear what path I was going to take. Personal Magic. The long way of course, no shortcuts.

"Meditation, huh? I'm not unfamiliar with that..."

I said, recalling the guided meditative practices I'd been taught by a guru in India to deal with my mental issues.

And while I had no idea the specific disciplines to follow to activate my personal magic, I had loads of pop culture memories to draw inspiration from.

Who knows, I could be a prodigy like one of those anime protagonists. And even if I failed, when I do meet my end, I can say I tried.

My hope reignited, I sat up on my bed, crossing my legs in a lotus pose.

My forearms rested on my knees, with three of my fingers on both hands splayed open.

The middle fingers curled inwards, held in place by each of my thumbs.

This was a position meant to promote spiritual healing by opening hidden gates across the body, according to my guru at least.

The next step was meditation.

I closed my eyes and tried to quiet my mind.

Due to past practice, I was able to mostly succeed, with only the occasional stray thought passing through.

The next step was syncing my breath with the rhythm of my heart, which had slowed down dramatically.

'Now what?' A stray question arose in the blank canvas of my mind.

According to the Darkhold, awakening one's Personal Magic relied on being able to sense life force. So I should be looking for a weird energy in me.

Okay, let's try that, although I'm sure it's going to take more than one meditation sessio—

WHOAAA!

A strange warmth invaded my entire body.

It rushed up from my toes, reaching my legs, abdomen, torso, all the way to my head before going down to my toes again.

It was so unexpected that I dropped out of the meditation, a shocked look on my face.

"D- Did I just succeed on the first try?!"