They say hair and fingernails keep growing even after one’s death.
They say that throwing ice into boiling oil would cause an explosion.
They say that if you shorten the existence of the universe to one year, then, proportionally, humanity would have only existed for just over 7 minutes...
They say a lot of things. Some of it is true, some mere folklore, and most is utter bullshit. You know all of that, of course, but there was still one such saying that stuck with you.
You were born to explore places no human has ever treaded before, to have adventures, thrills and discoveries. You knew as much ever since you found your deceased grandfather’s broken old compass and took it in an attempt to find treasures in the local park when you were six years old, and you still felt just as strongly a decade or so later when your high school counselor asked you what you want to do after graduation.
However, you found yourself to be somewhat unlucky, as you were born too late to explore and discover any new lands on Earth, yet simultaneously too early to fly to the stars and find other planets humans could potentially call home.
At least, you thought you were unlucky. That feeling changed when you heard that phrase: “They say that over 95% of Earth’s oceans have never been explored”. Now you know your calling, your destiny, and no amount of stupid fish can stop you from stumbling upon something completely novel.
If one wants to explore the great deeps, ey would need funding, for which ey better have some form of credentials others can associate with expertise on sea faring. So you decided to become a marine biologist. You are nothing if not driven, therefore getting accepted to a good university and moving to the big city was a given.
You did not yet know what kinds of barriers you would find blocking your way to the sea; your dream may be shattered before even attending your first class. Shattered… or changed.
----------------------------------------
Carrying two large-ish suitcases in tow, you open a door and step into what would be your dormroom for the short foreseeable future. The small room you find yourself in is currently empty of other people, but visibly lived-in. It would appear that your roommate to be has arrived before you and has stepped out for the time being.
You spent more than an hour unpacking and getting yourself comfortable before your roommate shows up. At least you hope it’s your roommate, because the man that just burst in through the door is kissing another woman so furiously, it looks to you like their lips are glued together.
“Ahem” you say, causing the couple to separate and jump away from each other, then they both look at you. You chuckle lightly for their reaction, then take in their actual looks; They are both goth or goth-like, you aren’t sure since you have never encountered someone like this in real life. They both have unnaturally pale skin, copious amounts of black eye-liner, and a few piercings, the guy only a couple, while the woman has at least half a dozen on her face at first glance.
“Ah, you must be my new roommate! I was told I would be getting one this year.” exclaims the guy as he walks towards you with his arm posed for a handshake. “I’m Everet, though I prefer to go by Night Freeze.” he says in a much more cheerful and energetic voice than what you associate with his looks.
You stand up and hesitate for a moment, looking from his face dawn to his stretched-out hand, then back to his face. You wonder where that hand had been recently, or when was it last washed, but eventually you decide to not discriminate just yet and take his hand with an awkward smile. “Sean, though I prefer that you call me Sean”, you say, noting to yourself to wash your hands at the earliest convenience, just to be safe.
“A wannabe marine biologist named Sean Waters?” Chimes in the woman, “I bet a lot of people ask how suspiciously perfect that name is for that profession.” She had said all that in a flat, almost monotonous voice. Much more in-character with her looks, she even didn’t show any emotions on her face.
“How did you…” you start to say, when you notice that you left your enrolment papers on the counter, then grunt inwardly. “I actually hadn’t gotten that a lot so far, but they would be right to be suspicious, I hadn’t had that name all that long.” You say, trying to sound mysterious. “May I know your name?”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Winter Storm” she says, not adding anything more. You cringe at her ‘name’ as you did at his earlier, hoping that nothing showed on your face. You are intrigued, though, the explorer in you wondering what their deal is.
“Oh cool, you legally changed your name? Maybe I should do that.” Everet, or should you say Night Freeze, ponders out loud, obviously doing so to prevent an awkward silence rather than fishing for anyone’s opinion. You only shrug in response.
“Well, you two have some talking to do, and the mood is ruined anyway, so I’ll be going. See you at midnight, Freeze.” Says Winter Storm from the doorway.
“Nice to meet you?” You ask more than state. ‘Freeze’ says his own goodbye from beside you as Winter’s figure disappears into the hallway. Apparently closing doors is beneath her, or perhaps the way she previously jointly burst the door open was some sort of statement against doors in general?
“Sorry about earlier,” says Night after closing the door, “there’s still some time before the semester starts, I thought it would be another week or so before you moved in.”
“S’fine.” You lie, looking sheepish. “Just warn me from now on so I know when to not be around. On that subject, when you two hook-up at midnight, can you do it at her place?” You knew beforehand a lot of barely adults come to uni primarily to party and sleep around, but that’s part of the young adult freedom you are not too keen on participating in.
“Pff” Night tries to stifle a laughter, “no, we’re not going to hook-up. We’ll meet-up with a group of true believers to pray to Priq’har, Lord of Change and Chaos.” He says in an attempt to be nonchalant, but only comes off as completely full of himself.
It takes all your willpower not to laugh, roll your eyes or facepalm at the jumble of words that just came out of the person standing in front of you. Even if you were given a full day of concentration to come up with a response, you wouldn’t be able to think of a single word to say to that. Instead you just raise an eyebrow and wait for him to continue.
“You probably think I’m crazy” ‘that’s an understatement’ you think internally, “but listen, there’s a lot more to this world than the physical realm. There’s magic, knowledge; powers beyond what has ever been explored. Join me to our meeting tonight, we’ll introduce you to a world few have heard of before, and even for them it was just the tip of the iceberg.”
The temperature in the room drops by a few degrees. ‘Explore you say?’ You start to think, ‘the occult has been a rather esoteric topic pretty much by definition. So maybe there is something to look for in there? Hell, I have 10 days before I start my chosen course, why not pass the time before then exploring something new?’
“What will this praying meeting be like?”
“For a new member to be inducted, one must receive the patronage of one of the Eternals. I cannot tell you what will happen later before you achieve this.” Night Freeze chooses to be cryptic.
“Are you sure you aren’t going to hook-up while trying to reel me in to your orgy?” You are only asking for his word, but you have to make sure.
Night rolls his eyes at you, sighing. “Yes, I’m sure. No one is going to touch that flat butt of yours tonight, not even if you want us to.”
“Fine. Let’s see what your lord has to show me.”
“Great, your horizons will be broadened soon.” He says smiling without showing his teeth.
----------------------------------------
Later, after nightfall, Everet takes you to a nearby building, still on campus, into a small room you could have sworn was only meant for storage. Inside you find three other people you don’t know. They are all different shades of goth in your eyes.
“Ah, Night Freeze has brought a new member!” Exclaims the person most directly opposite the door you came in through. He has well defined muscles and shoulder-length hair, causing you to immediately assume he is the leader of this here group. “Sorry, new guy, you have to go through induction before we make any introductions. We can do that before the other two join us.”
Mr. Muscle, as you decide to temporarily call, takes out an old mirror from the case at his feet, puts it on the small table at the back and beckons you to get closer.
‘Of course a group of occultists need at least one “ancient” (read: 19th century) item to sell their aesthetic.’ You’ve stopped counting how many times you cringed in the last day once the number reached the low twenties. Still, you decide to oblige and see what these people have to show you.
Mr. Muscle starts to give you instructions. “Look at the Mirror Eternal. See not your normal reflection, but what you want to become, what you wish to achieve.” You imagine yourself wearing a ship captain’s hat, standing in the ruins of Atlantis or some such lost sunken city, surrounded by a colony of mer-people (you’re still technically a teenager, you are allowed to have some childish goals, right?). Once you have built that image in your head, you try to impose it on your reflection in the mirror.
“Now, when you’re ready, call upon the Eternals to give you guidance and patronage.”
‘Don’t cringe, DON’T CRINGE’ “Eternals,” you start, “please show me the way and provide…”
Before you can finish the sentence, you see the mirror in front of you leap onto you. Without having time to muster any resistance your vision fades and you get enveloped in darkness.