Prologue

In the practices of occultism, there exists the idea of a Supreme Being, an infinitely unknowable force as far above God as God is above mankind. A presence that IS ALL and of which the entire universe is simply a small piece of. It is both many and singular, masculine and feminine, light and dark, and it makes up all of the other beings, gods and spirits, that mankind has believed in since the dawn of its existence. The ultimate goal of all occultists is to seek enlightenment and ascend closer to The All, and to acquire the power and knowledge of the universe itself.

As above, so below, As below, so above.

That is one of the primary maxims of Hermeticism, that by enacting changes within yourself one may become capable of changing the world around them. This “Mental Alchemy”, to build and refine one’s self, is necessary to become closer to The All and therefore become capable of what is known to the lay person as “Magic” or ESP, extrasensory perception.

In the same vein, that also means that the Immaterial, the mental plane that we all connect to, mimics the physical universe and the people within it. Mankind and its innate need to organize and categorize things caused the Cosmos itself to acquire a form that ultimately all beings recognized and feared.

A bureaucracy.

Holy wars and battles over the souls of other deities’ worshippers had gotten so bad that the Supreme Being itself, being and knowing All, organized all the gods and spirits into a hierarchy, and gave each pantheon dominion over their own realms.

It was this current state of affairs that lead to an angel, one of the Dominations of God, filling out the paperwork sent from a neighboring branch of the Celestial Bureaucracy. He examined the accompanying scrolls, frowning at the knowledge within and stamping the appropriate spaces to approve it, then rolled them up and took it to his supervisor, a Throne. It was a request from the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi, for a single person to be transferred to the Jade Realm. A demonic practitioner had somehow erased himself and four others from reality, and now the empty spaces they had left were causing problems.

“He has filled out all the necessary paperwork, great one, and is only asking for a single human. I expect he has requested more than just the Heavenly Host, and is trying not to take too many from one realm.”

The Throne looked on, eyes blinking and wheels spinning in place as a fire burned both within and without it. The Domination merely nodded and the scrolls floated up before the word APPROVED burned itself along their surfaces yet damaging nothing.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“I understand, great one. I will return with a suitable candidate.”

=====

“You people are just idiots!”

The shrill scream of a boy pierced through the laughter of a half dozen other children, pointing and making fun of him.

His name was Colt Emerson, and he was a self proclaimed occultist, having become fascinated by paganism, and through that became obsessed with the studies of the esoteric. To most kids, he was a weirdo, believing in magic and psychic abilities just meant that he was an easier target to pick on and bully. Calling him names, stealing his stuff, goading him into getting in trouble. He didn’t retaliate, though he could have. Curses and hexes might fulfil his sense of vengeance, but Colt believed in karma, and the threefold law. Whatever energy you project to the world will come back to you threefold, especially magic. Cursing the fools who made him miserable would be gratifying, but would hurt him even more later.

So he had continued to bite his tongue and hold himself back, but this last time was too much. Colt saw this cute girl, wearing all black clothes and glasses, and had wanted to talk to her so badly. He saw that she wore a necklace with a pentacle on it, and had thought that she wouldn't make fun of him. But then his bullies walked up to him and surrounded him, pushing him over to the sidewalk next to the bus stop.

“Is the little fag wizard gonna cast a spell on me? If I’m an idiot, then you’re a retard believing in magic.”

Brayden was the bane of his existence, having made it his goal to drive Colt to the edge. Colt looked around for a teacher, but he didn’t see any of them. He tried to cut through them, but they just grabbed him and held him there. Brayden opened up his backpack and pulled out a smushed snack or cupcake of some kind.

“I got you a present, loser. Here you go.” He said, just before taking the whole thing and slapping Colt with it. Icing smeared across his face, he cried as the kids let go of him and started walking away. As he wiped his eyes, he saw the cute goth looking girl from before staring at him, and his heart broke. A sob escaped his lips as his eyes filled with tears, and he turned around and ran away.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten that he was right at the edge of the road, waiting on the bus. He just wanted to get out of there. That's why when he looked up, the last thing he comprehended was a school bus heading right at him, going much faster than it should have been.