Erin did not sleep much that night, her mind abuzz with a maelstrom of thoughts and worries. Everything she knew, both about her family and the world itself, was a lie. And she was expected to simply roll with these revelations, to become a 'Fulcrum' and deal with magical nonsense.

After washing and dressing, throwing on an old blue blouse and dark slacks, she ventured down to the kitchen. Oscar was already waiting for her, in his human disguise. He met her eyes, only briefly, and looked back into the coffee in his hands.

For a while, neither of them spoke. The atmosphere was so frosty that it could've turned water into ice.

"Where do I even start?" Erin eventually asked. She grabbed an apple from a nearby bowl, and crunched a juicy mouthful.

Oscar sighed. "I'm... sorry, alright? I wanted to tell you. I should have told you. But your father swore me to secrecy. He wanted you to be safe, to be able to lead a normal life for a time. Eventually... eventually we would have come clean and told you everything. Your immortality means we'd have to have to tell you the truth when your lack of ageing couldn't be avoided. But... twenty years of normalcy and safety. That's what he wanted for you."

On some level, she understood what he meant. That more rational part of her brain was even a little bit grateful. A chance to be normal... it sounded nice, now that she was on the precipice of absolute lunacy.

But, on the other hand, she'd trusted and looked up to Oscar for her whole life. And now she had to deal with the fact that the person she trusted the most, the man she relied on, had lied to her on basically everything.

And with the secrets he had kept from her so far, what else had he been keeping from her?

"If this was going to happen eventually... You should have told me when I was younger. He should... he have been with me!" she spun on Oscar, anger and grief surging through her. She gripped the apple tighter, and didn't even register when she suddenly crushed it into a pulp. "My dad... I could have known my dad! I could've seen him! And now he's gone, and he left a mountain of shit on my doorstep!"

Silence filled the kitchen. Oscar grimaced, looking away from Erin. "We didn't expect things to go this way. It's not fair, and it ain't right to thrust this on you all at once, but... it is what it is. For now we need to hit the ground running, train you up on the fundamentals. And then once you have your footing on the fundamentals, we can... get around to unpacking all that emotional baggage."

Erin took a deep breath to try and calm herself. She tossed the ruined apple into the trash and spent a few moments scrubbing the juices from her palm.

Her anger slowly faded, going from boiling to a steady simmer. Having to shelve her feelings made her want to retch. But he had a point, loathe as she was to admit it. From what Conviction said, being a 'Fulcrum' entailed a lot of danger.

She could afford to be angry when the risk of getting murdered by a monster was markedly smaller.

"Fine," she eventually replied. "I... need to learn magic. In case something tries to kill me." She could shelve her grievances for now. And, ideally, she wouldn't need to wait too long to get a moment to breathe.

"Right," Oscar said. He took a sip of his coffee and set his mug aside. "I suppose we should start with the most basic of basics. Which is to say, describing the source of all magic in your body: Your Golden Core," he said.

Erin took another breath to steady herself, before leaning her modest weight against the fridge. "And what would that be?" she asked.

"Think of it as..." Oscar furrowed his brow, darting his eyes to the ceiling. "A mystical organ. A bit like an extension of your very soul. While you can't see it, you can feel it deep within yourself when you're using magic. It ignites every cell in your body, until you're humming from your surging strength. And, once active, power flows from there to the meridians that surround your body like an unseen circulatory system."

"So..." Erin tilted her head, "just using my 'Core' makes me stronger?"

Her guardian nodded. "Stronger, faster, and tougher. You've actually tapped the power unconsciously in the past. Usually under stress, or..." His gaze darted to the juice stains on the kitchen tiles. "... Anger. The effect will become more pronounced once you learn how to actively manipulate the flow of energy from your Golden Core, and as you further cultivate strength in your body."

"Like... an anime protagonist?"

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"I prefer the comparison of 'mythological hero' but... yes, I suppose," Oscar admitted. She'd be lying if she said that didn't sound cool as hell. A silver lining to this entire obscene situation.

But, for now, she had to focus on the practicalities of learning magic.

"So, for now, you need to focus on actively drawing out your magical energy. It will take concentration, at first, but in time you'll develop enough skill to draw the power subconsciously."

Erin nodded along to his explanation. "Makes sense," she noted.

"Now... I need you to close your eyes. Tune out everything but the sound of my voice."

Erin hesitated, but ultimately obliged. She shut her eyes, blackness swallowing her vision. Gradually, the noise of the world outside their house grew faint and hazy.

"Take slow and steady breaths. And as you calm your body, direct your focus to your chest. Now, given that time is a bit... sensitive for us at present, I'm going to reach out to give your Core a little bit of push with my own power."

Erin lifted a brow, her eyes still shut. "Wait, what the hell does that me-"

A jolt rocked Erin's body from head to heel, earning a shrill gasp from her. She screwed her eyes shut tighter, gritting her teeth. A warmth rushed through her body, a great heat that left her veins tingling. Something flickered in the blackness of her vision. A spark of golden light.

Erin let out a shuddering breath through clenched teeth, the raven-haired woman nearly tripping over. "What... what is that?"

"Your Core. You can see it with your mind's eye, you can feel it burning through your veins. I want you to reach out, to embrace it. That's how you can tap into your Golden Core."

Erin focused on the burning warmth in her chest. The glow in her eyes grew sharper, more vibrant, She opened her eyes and let out a deep gasp, sweat beading on her brow. She would've pitched over entirely if Oscar didn't settle a strong hand on her shoulder.

"Holy crap," Erin said in between shaky, uneven breaths. "Does it... does it always feel like that?"

"Only when you're a novice. The more you cultivate your strength, the easier the power will come to you," the spirit replied. "You being physically fit will help you acclimate faster with time. Getting you involved in all those extracurriculars was a good call on my part." Oscar nodded sagely, and looked about ready to award himself a medal.

Frowning, Erin braced her palms against the counter and again reached deep inside herself. Now that she knew where the power was, it was easier to reach out and touch it a second time. But the tingling shock that ran through her body was no less intense, as if she'd wrapped her hands around an electric fence.

Another gasp left her. "Damn," she murmured. "That feels... that feels amazing!" All the prior grogginess she felt vanished in an instant, like a shot of adrenaline directly into her veins.

"It's a rush alright. But try not to do it too much just yet. Can't have you passing out when we're just getting started."

"Right, right," Erin replied, nodding quickly. The power faded, replaced by a tingling in her arms like pins and needles. Even her past workouts felt nothing like this. She cleared her throat. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well, tapping your Golden Core is the essential starting point for casting all magic. Burning your inner spiritual energy produces the fuel that powers your Signs."

She gave her guardian a quizzical look. "Signs? Are those, like... spells?"

Oscar winced. "Sign is the preferred term for magical symbols across the planes."

"But why-"

"It's just the preferred term. And the terminology has caused a great deal of strife over the years so, for now at least, don't go poking that nest," he insisted, a pleading look in his eyes.

An irritated grunt rose in Erin's throat. "Fine," she replied. She had bigger concerns than getting wrapped up in that sort of history lesson. "Then... how do these 'Signs' work?"

"Ah, well, that is where the fun comes into things. I'll try and keep the jargon to a minimum, this is our first lesson after all." He paced to the other end of the kitchen, downing the last dregs of his coffee as I went. "Sorcery is... on its most basic level, the ability to manipulate reality. From tiny, minute changes, to bending space and time through sheer exertion. It's... enforcing your will on reality to make it comply, and the power of your Core is directly proportionate to how well you can force that will."

He turned to face her and raised his left hand. Something flickered into existence above Oscar's left shoulder, emitting a sapphire glow. It looked like a tongue of fire, framed by a series of angular lines. At that exact moment, a flame blossomed onto Oscar's palm, making Erin recoil.

"Signs are the... language of the universe. A language that only Sorcerers and other magically-inclined beings can 'speak.' Provided they can accurately 'draw' the Sign with their mind's eye. Every aspect of creation has some corresponding Sign, or can be recreated with a proper string of Signs. Like... an equation. This, for instance, is the Sign of Fire."

A second symbol appeared beside the first, depicting a trio of concentric circles. "This is the Sign of the Sphere. Useless in isolation, but when you combine it with something else..." The two Signs floated close enough to touch, at which point the flame in Oscar's grasp morphed into a fireball the size of his head.

Erin's eyes widened at the sight of it. So that was how magic worked. In some respects, it seemed there was a nugget of truth to those old fantasy books she'd read in her youth. Using 'magic words' to cast any effect.

Assuming you knew the right words to speak, at least.

"Must be a lot of these Signs to learn," she mused, making a mental note of the symbols hovering at Oscar's shoulder. As she committed the designs to memory, so she could recall them if the need arose, she couldn't help but get a strange sense of familiarity from looking at them. The Signs and the fireball vanished in the blink of an eye. "Probably takes a lot of time to master them."

"Indeed. But... fortunately, you may know more of them than you think." He turned and led the way to the hall, and Erin quickly followed after him. She felt a touch woozy, but her curiosity drove her to ignore it. She was built tough, she could handle a little bit of tiredness. He came to a halt at the staircase, and motioned to the pictures framed on the nearby wall.

Erin's eyes immediately settled on the closest picture, one depicting an assortment of strange symbols. "These... are Signs?" she asked.

Oscar smiled and nodded. With a snap of his fingers, lines of text suddenly materialized under each of the painted symbols, as if they had always been there. Labels, Erin realised, describing what each Sign represented.

"I suppose I didn't want you being totally ignorant," Oscar replied, smiling warmly.