What defines the moment between when you are a child, and when you are an adult? Some might say it’s as simple as your age, a number that records how long you have walked the earth. Others claim it’s experience, what you’ve gone through and how much you have worked and suffered to get there. But one man had the answer, and it wasn’t time, or experience, or pain that separated a child from an adult. It was the moment the world stopped being magical.  

Every kid that ever was comes into the world with eyes filled with wonder. They look upon everything with such awe that it simply must have been special in some way. Their minds will even attribute magical aspects to an object that simply wasn’t there. That stick isn’t just a piece of wood, it’s a sword. This box isn’t just a storage space, it’s a castle. That tree wasn’t a plant, it’s a tower to be climbed so that you might survey the world around you and marvel at all that it contains. 

That was what makes a child, and what breaks an adult. Some take longer than others, some resist, fight against the change, try to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible. In the end, though, it is a futile attempt. Eventually all the mysteries are unraveled. The magic is explained as nothing but a trick of the mind or sleight of hand. The extraordinary becomes mundane as you can pick apart its every aspect for all its material worth, quantifying and measuring it for its importance to your own little bubble of reality. 

This was the truth the man had come to, and its realization weighed heavily upon his shoulders. For a long time now, he had felt no magic in the world. Everything was simply various shades of grey in his eyes, and he could remember the exact moment that it became that way. It was the day his mother died. 

She had fallen ill, cancer, as it was. He had tried everything that a ten-year-old boy could possibly do at the time. He tried magic, because if all those colorful characters on TV could use their powers to help people, maybe he could too. It didn’t work. He tried praying, because even if he didn’t have any special powers the gods surely did, right? It didn’t work. He tried every folk remedy that he could find, because if the gods couldn’t hear him somebody, anybody, would know what to do, right!? 

It didn’t work. 

She died, and that was the moment he realized that there was no magic in the world, no gods, no special powers, and no abilities that would set anyone apart from the person right next to you. Everyone was only the sum of what physically made them what they are, and it crushed him. 

So, he became an adult at the age of eleven, stopped watching those cartoons that lied to him at twelve, and he ceased to see color in anything once he hit sixteen. He was already prepared for the harshness of the world by the time others were just starting to figure it out. He marched forward through the fog of adulthood while his peers hesitated at its precipice. There was nothing to fear, and no reason to seek anything more than what you needed to get through your day, because there was no magic in the world. 

Thus, he lived his life with no expectation of anything fantastic happening to him. He got a job that he could tolerate, an apartment that could fit all his things comfortably, and a lifestyle that saw him saving all his money in preparation. For what, he could not say, but you had to be prepared, because he was not special, and the world would crush anyone who was not prepared. It was simply the way things were in a world with no magic. 

He became ordinary, painfully so in many ways. There was nothing unique about him. He wasn’t taller than most, he wasn’t fat or fit, and his hair color was a bland shade of black. Even his name was of no consequence as he rarely used it except when he had to introduce himself for some business-related tasks. 

Things had been tough at work for him recently. Everyone was pulling extra hours to deal with the deluge of paperwork and people were desperately trying to hold onto their jobs as culling season had come. It wasn’t until late in the night that he was finally able to clock out and shuffle on home.  

Exhaustion was his world at that point. Dark circles were prominent under his eyes and the first signs of a receding hairline were starting to appear. Thirty years old, and nothing special had happened to him. Why would it?  

It was cold that night as he walked home, and everything felt empty as he was alone on the street. He ended up walking by the local mall district, and in the gloom saw some advertising posters that were trying to get people to watch some new anime movie. He hadn’t seen any sort of cartoon or anime in years, and the memories of them were bittersweet at best. 

Walking by the building he made to cross the street, casting only a quick glance behind him as if he could see his own past getting farther away. Unexpectedly, everything started to get rapidly brighter around him, and when he turned back around, all he could see was two piercingly bright lights rushing towards him accompanied by the sound of a roaring engine. It was a truck that was barreling down on him.  

Everything seemed to slow down as his mind began to process exactly what was happening. He didn’t know why exactly of course. It could be that the driver had a long night like him and fell asleep at the wheel, or perhaps they suffered a medical emergency and lost consciousness. Whatever the reason, it didn’t change the fact that several tons of metal was rushing at him. 

More surprising perhaps than the sudden truck were the thoughts going through his head at that moment. Oh, I'm going to die. Huh. A part of him was wondering why he wasn’t more panicked or at least trying to get out of the way despite there being no time to do that. The other part knew exactly why he wasn’t freaking out. There was no point in doing so. 

What did it matter if he died or not? The world didn’t care if he lived, so why should he care if he dies? Even if he did live through this, what would that leave him? Just continuing to do the same thing day in and day out? Not to mention what medical bills and conditions that he would have to live with. It would be better if he just accepted it now. 

That was about the moment when the truck finally hit him, and everything went black instantly. In that darkness he was aware of himself, yet he couldn’t figure out if he was alive or dead. He was leaning more towards dead as this was far too lucid to be simply unconsciousness. Well, at least it didn’t hurt. He thought to himself as he drifted through this bizarre situation. 

There was no sensation here, no touch, sound, sight, or even taste. All told, it was rather bland if this was supposed to be an afterlife of some kind. He considered the possibility that this was that purgatory place that he had heard so much about, but that didn’t exactly feel right. In the midst of his contemplation, there finally came the sound of a voice, that even though it was calm and collected, still sounded deafening in the absolute void he was in. 

“Speak the greatest wish that you hold in your heart.” It told him.  

What I wish for? Why does that matter?  

“You will be given a second chance, to live a life more fulfilling than your last. Thus, you must speak your greatest wish that you hold in your heart.” 

He had never considered what his heart felt, not for a long time. Part of him wondered if he was still capable of it. But when it came down to it, he already knew what he wanted more than anything else. 

I just... I want my life to be magical again. 

“I have heard your heart, and your wish is true to it. May you find happiness once more.” 

There was no time to even consider the words the voice spoke as a blinding light enveloped him all at once. It was warm, and there were so many colors in it. He could hardly comprehend it all. It was beautiful, and overwhelming at the same time. It didn’t last long, however, as the light started to shift to a dull red.  

Sensation flooded through his body like a tidal wave. Warmth, dampness, light shining on him. It was then that he began to realize that he was lying down with his eyes closed. The reason this was strange for the most part was the fact that he should be dead, so there shouldn’t be any light or warmth. Not knowing what else to do, he opened his eyes and winced at the brightness of the afternoon sun in his face.  

He found himself in a field at the edge of a forest. Sitting up from the tall grass, he was able to see the rolling plains around him as the wind created waves along the surface. The most prominent emotion that came to mind was confusion, which was quickly replaced by a bit of worry. All of that was until he shifted his hand and ended up touching something wooden next to him. 

Looking over, he saw a gnarled looking piece of straight wood next to him. Just a piece of wood? No, it’s more shaped than that. A walking stick then?  

He didn’t know for sure, but if it was there, he should probably use it, at least until he found civilization. Reaching out he grabbed the haft of the walking stick only for his eyes to go wide at the sight of a blue light bursting out of the splits in the wood from the point that he touched it. It came as such a shock that he jerked his hand away like the thing was on fire.  

“What the hell was that!” He ended up saying out loud.  

Carefully he examined the piece of wood, trying to see if there was something strange to it or perhaps if it had a set of lights installed inside somewhere. By all appearances, it was just a simple bit of wood with no electricity, battery packs, or technology involved. He couldn’t make sense of it, so there was nothing else he could do but try and grab it again. 

With a little more hesitation than the first time, he gripped the stick again. That same blue light appeared once more as it wormed its way through all the little folds in the wood. He stared in awe as the light finally filled up every pore in the wood before disappearing completely. There wasn’t much time to lament the loss of light as suddenly his vision was filled with a rainbow of colors. 

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Strands of various colors drifted along in the air like little rivers and streams. Some of them were large and vibrant, others small, nearly hidden underneath the others. One of the most prominent amongst them was a blue-green strand that seemed to dominate the whole area. Curiosity overwhelmed him, and he reached out and stuck his hand in the stream.  

It coiled around his fingers and seemed to come alive at his touch, wrapping itself around his hand. Pulling back from the larger stream, he ended up taking a small portion of it with him as it stuck to his skin. It felt cool, like a breeze on a hot summer day. He spent some time examining it and the way it reacted to his movements, but eventually he decided that he had had enough, and attempted to remove the strange substance. Giving a shake of his hand in an attempt to dislodge the weird colorful substance, he was quite surprised when it burst forth from his hand like a powerful gust of wind, flattening the grass all around him in a several meters radius. 

He was so surprised by this that he could do nothing but sit with his jaw agape while trying to comprehend what had just happened. Needing to confirm it, and totally not because it was awesome, he stuck his hand back into the stream and gathered even more of the colors. With a more directed flourish, he projected his palm out straight, and the results were quite spectacular. All the grass for the approximate length of a football field in front him was pressed flat against the ground by a powerful gust that could very well have pushed over a person. 

Laughter, genuine laughter erupted from him as he stuck his hand into the stream of colors again and again, each time making a different gesture which earned him a new result. Magic, it was actual, real, magic. It all felt too lifelike to be a dream, and even if it was, it was one he was okay not waking from.  

He was so lost in the revelry and situation that he almost failed to notice another, almost equally important fact. His hands looked different. They were missing the callouses and little scars that he had acquired over the years. This was enough to distract him from the magic as he started to investigate himself.  

It appeared that he was younger than he had been. If he had to place it, he’d say that he had returned to being around eighteen years old. He felt great, better than he had in years. At this point it was an unmistakable fact that some entity or force had brought him to another world, a common trope in all those stories he used to watch as a kid. It had been a long time since he dragged those memories up from the pit that he had tossed them in, but now he desperately needed to remember as they were becoming very relevant very quickly. 

He could walk and think at the same time, because right now he needed to find civilization. He took what was now identified as his magic staff, picked a direction that seemed good, and started walking. Along the way he noticed that the streams of magical energy were all flowing in a similar direction. He reasoned that if there were other mages that could see this then they would probably follow where the magic is going. An hour into traveling he saw signs of life in the form of smoke rising on the horizon in orderly little stacks.  

Heartened by the prospect of people, he picked up the pace. Soon enough the towering walls of the city he arrived at stood to welcome him with their magnificent splendor. Fantastical towers with gigantic gleaming crystals floating in the air above them scraped the sky and seemed to draw in the magical streams of energy into them.  

Approaching the gate, he saw that it had a few guards posted in front, and they looked plenty ornate in their elaborate armor that looked like it had runes etched into it. This world was meeting all his old expectations for a magical reality. Now he just had to make sure that he didn’t mess anything up.  

The guard noticed his approach and spoke first. “Hello sir, please state your name and reason for your visit.” 

“Uhm, right, my name is-” He stopped himself as a realization struck him. Usually in a situation like this telling other people that you’re from another world usually brings a whole lot of problems. His name might tip people off to the fact that he wasn’t from this reality. The guard noticed the pause and lifted a brow at him questioningly. He needed a new name, and quickly. 

“It’s... It’s Arc.” He just went with the first fantasy sounding name that came into his head. 

The name earned another brow raise from the guard, but it was quickly forgotten as the conversation continued. “Well, Arc, what is your business in our town?” 

“I guess I'm looking for work.” He did need a source of income if he was planning on surviving long term. 

A glance was given at his staff. “A mage I take it? If you need work the academy is always willing to hire those with magical talents. If you’re looking for something less committed than that, we have many jobs in the adventurer's guild that need doing.” 

Adventurer’s guild! The idea of that excited him quite a lot. “Thank you for the tip, sir, I’ll be sure to look into that.”  

He received a nod and the guard let him pass by and enter the city. Immediately he went about following the various signs around the busy streets until he ended up in front of the guild hall. It looked like one of those large lodges that you find when visiting the mountains and forests, very rustic and rugged style.  

When he pushed the door open and got his first look inside, the many stereotypical things he saw made him smile. There was a bar, naturally, and it was currently being patronized by a cast of colorful and eccentric characters of all varieties. The rough and tumble, the shady and mysterious, and the mystical and enchanting. Arc would have plenty of time to find which group he would become a part of in the future, but for now, he had his sights set on gaining membership. 

The reception desk currently had a very lovely looking lady with an ample bosom that most likely resulted in a fair few tips in this line of work. Trying to be as calm as he could be, he approached and asked about possibly registering. She gave him a friendly smile and started to pull out a piece of paper. 

“Very good sir, we have just a small test to determine your rank before we register you. Please follow me for one minute.” He was led into a separate room that was certainly designed for combat practice as it was filled with dummies and mock weapons. “What is your prefered method of combat?” She asked once they were inside. 

“Uhm, magic, I suppose.” 

“Ahh, mages are a rare delight to have working with us. Please give me a demonstration of your magical power, that dummy may serve as your target.” 

“Right.” He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and prevent performance anxiety. The magical stream in this room was mostly red, and he dug his fingers into it to collect some of the magic energy. With a quick thrust of two fingers pointed towards the dummy, a fireball formed and flew at speed until it collided and engulfed the dummy in flames. It would probably reduce it to ash in just a few minutes and Arc was very proud of that. 

He looked over at the lady for confirmation and saw that her mouth was agape. Oh shit, what did I do? Panic arose within him as he wondered if maybe he put too much into that attack and he wasn’t meant to destroy the equipment.  

“How did you do that?” She said with shock in her voice. 

“I... What do you mean?” 

“How did you cast that spell without incantation or ritual?” 

Was that not normal? “Uhm, well, I just reached into the magic in the air and pulled out some of the energy, I guess.” 

“That... That sounds like primal casting! Only a handful in any given generation are capable of doing that!” 

Oh, definitely not normal then.  

“How did you learn to do that?” She asked.  

Another on the spot question, so he dug into his old reserves of knowledge of situations like this. “Well, I was adopted by my master who lived as a recluse from society. He taught me magic and how to tap into the energy since I was little. Unfortunately, he died recently, but he bade me go out and see the world before he went.” 

“I am sorry for your loss, and for the loss of what was undoubtedly a great man.” 

Whew, she bought it. He congratulated himself on the quick thinking. He was getting better at this. 

“Now, considering your talents, I am confident that you are deserving of the highest starting rank that I can provide you. If you work hard, you will be able to rise quickly to even higher levels given your skills.” 

He was presented with a silver guild tag which would permit him to skip all the boring jobs like herb gathering and other tedious fetch quests. He could start working on monster extermination jobs immediately, which he was eager to do so. Once word got out about him being capable of primal casting, it was easy to find groups to join for these jobs. Their acceptance of him helped him hit his stride early on.  

It was almost second nature the way he fell into his role as a mage, like he was born to it. With time and experience he grew more powerful, learning how to twist the rivers of magic into whatever shape suited him best. He excelled above the other mages in the guild, quickly taking the number one position in terms of magical strength. Of course, being in such a position, he had to look the part, so he had a special robe made from magma worm silk and enchanted to resist a wide range of dangers. It looked sleek and wizardly too.  

Arc was enjoying his new life immensely. Every day he got to experience something new, learn a new trick, fight a new monster, and talk to a variety of interesting people, some of which weren’t even human. One day, he was checking in at the guild hall when he noticed someone new was there at the job board. 

His jaw dropped as he laid eyes upon the most gorgeous young woman he had ever seen. Her hair was a deep crimson, striking and vibrant. Her skin was richly tanned yet smooth and soft. And her body had the perfect balance of muscle with shapeliness that gave her ever sought after hourglass figure. Upon her shoulder she carried a double headed axe nearly the size of her torso, yet its weight didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest. 

Curious, he started to ask around about her. Evidently, she had just been admitted into the guild the other day, achieving the same rank that he did when he registered upon defeating one of the trainers with almost casual ease. That was intriguing, and he couldn’t help but approach and welcome her to the guild. 

“Hey, you’re new here, right?” She turned her head in recognition of his attempt at conversation and he was once more struck by another feature of hers. Oh wow, her eyes are so blue.   

“Is that a problem?” She asked, somewhat standoffishly. 

“Oh, not at all! I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. Let me try again. My name is Arc, it’s nice to meet you.” He stuck out a hand in greeting. 

The woman contemplated it for a moment before accepting the hand. “Lily. Nice to meet you Arc.” 

“So, Lily, if you were looking at taking on a few jobs, I wouldn’t mind partnering with you for them, help you get used to things.” Please say yes, please say yes! 

She gave him a small smile. “Sure, don’t see why not.” 

YES! “Perfect! Well, which ones had your eye?” 

They started to talk about the various missions and which ones would be easier for a beginner to start with. Arc was ecstatic at the chance to spend some time with her. Maybe he could form a more long-term party with Lily, get closer to her.  

Only one thing came to mind that put a damper on his plans. If he somehow let slip anything about him being from another world, he probably would not only lose whatever chance he might have with her, but she might go around telling everyone else who would either think him to be crazy or bring him a bunch of attention from people who might not have his best interest at heart. That left him with only a single objective, if he was going to spend time with her... 

She could never find out he was from another world.