Taylor and Taila sat on a bench, waiting to undergo Taylor’s scheduled magic rituals.

“Is she really going to be a witch? Or something else?” Taila asked.

“Maybe. The ritual to become a witch was lost a long time ago, so…Kait would need to remember it.”

“So she does have an affinity! Is Kait going to teach her?”

“When did you even meet her?”

“Just a few days ago. What sort of spells has she cast?”

“Well, you already know she cursed Hailey. That’s a powerful spell.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty strange now that I think about it. How did she cast the spell? It must have been a great ritual. If so…I wonder how that works?” Taila seemed more excited at the possibility of secrets to uncover.

“That’s more than possible, but I don’t know anything about these ‘great rituals.’”

“Oh! Well, there are a lot of texts from before the Crusade that described the powerful rituals the witches used. Though none of them referred to them specifically as ‘great rituals,’ so I understand why she didn’t recognize the term. Hey! Did you know that the best witches were said to have the ability of harnessing souls into power? It’s part of some super rare info your father found on an old tablet from the Renaissance era.”

“Souls…” He frowned. Something about that sounded…familiar to Taylor. He didn’t know why.

“Crazy, right?”

“How is that crazy?”

She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “I’m just about to make a magic education movement. Why don’t they teach you this stuff in schools?!”

“It’s just souls, what is there to learn?”

“Well, admittedly, we still don’t know much about them, but souls are known to be extremely important in magic!”

“How, exactly?”

“For example, your affinities for magic are determined in your soul before you are born.”

“So if there was an identical version of me with a different soul, they would have different affinities.”

“Exactly! Also, witchcraft and most of its root magics are known for being able to manipulate souls in various ways!”

Taylor pretended he knew what a root magic was. “Like how?”

“Well, fortune reading, for example. We read someone’s soul, then find The Consciousness’s prediction as to what will happen to that soul.”

A woman approached them, causing them to stop speaking. “Hello,” she said, speaking slowly and methodically. “I’m Mrs. Kukui, the witchcraft branch ritualist. I’ll be conducting your first few rituals today.” The woman was about the same age as Taylor’s mom, though the dark circles under her eyes made her look older. She had a clipboard in hand and wore a robe similar to Talia’s, though not as fluffy.

Taylor couldn’t help but ask a question about them, though. “Just out of curiosity,” he said, “why do you and Taila wear those robes?”

The ritualist glanced to Taila with recognition, then back to Taylor. “It’s just a tradition. People who deal with magic often try to separate themselves from the crowd. Not that I use my magic often. You look familiar…you said your name was Taylor?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry if I’m mistaken, but weren’t you one of Jaine’s friends a while back?”

Taylor opened his mouth, tempted to mention what had happened nearly two months ago, or, for that matter, when he had punched Jaine a few years back for unrelated reasons, but only said, “Begrudging classmates would be a better term for our…current relationship.”

“Ah, so it’d be a stretch to say you’ve kept up to date with him?”

“Actually–”

“So! Have you met Kait yet?!” Taila blurted out.

“Kait? Who is Kait?”

“She’s a–”

In a panic, Taylor forcefully jabbed Taila with his elbow, gutting the air from her. “Taila, Kait wouldn’t appreciate it if you violated her privacy.”

Talia’s eyes widened in pain.“But…Magi–”

He squeezed Taila’s arm. “Sorry about that, Mrs. Kukui. Taila doesn’t know how to keep a secret.”

“Sure…” Her eyes remained half-closed, disinterested in whatever they were arguing about. “So you wanted to do a few rituals?”

Taylor nodded.

“Okay, just to be clear, all of them together will be three hundred and five dollars.”

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Taylor’s eyes narrowed, “I expected it to be a bit more expensive.”

“Rituals are tax-exempt,” she simply stated.

“Huh, the more you know.”

“Erm, Lady Taila, you look as if you wish to speak.” Mrs. Kukui said, looking at the slightly younger woman whose cheeks were practically puffed out, waiting to release air.

“Nothing…nothing at all,” Taila said with a depressed sigh, holding her head down.

“If you say so. Now, come along with me.” She motioned for them to follow.

“So, which ritual are we doing first?” Taylor asked, a little hopeful after all the talking that he’d get his own magic to brag about.

“The appetizer one.”

“Oh. That.”

“Why did you even choose that? To be fair, it’d make you one of four in the world, but it’s questionable.”

“Because it was cheap. Why do you know that statistic off the top of your head?” Taylor raised his eyebrow quizzically.

“I looked into the subject a few years ago out of morbid curiosity.”

“I guess we’re in the same boat.”

Mrs. Kukui led them through a hallway and opened a door, beckoning her two customers into the dark room behind it.

The inside was lit only by a dim red light, and there was an intricate, red ritual circle in the middle, black walls, a table with a grocery bag atop it in one corner, and shelves lined with various knick-knacks in the other.

“So, Taila, please take a seat at the table, and Taylor, you must sit in the center of the circle.”

While the two took their positions, Mrs. Kukui took the grocery bag into her hands, then keeled down beside Taylor to set it down. She began sifting through it for an item.

“What’s that for?” Taylor asked, leaning to see what was inside.

“This bag contains the ritual catalysts for the first three of your rituals.” She pulled a banana, a piece of uncooked pork meat, a baggie of salt, a box of crackers, and a bottle of ketchup from the bag and placed them on the floor.

“Is this really what you need for the ritual?”

“Yes. One condiment, one typical seasoning, one plant-based item of food, and one piece of meat.”

“And the crackers?”

“You need to eat those while we conduct the ceremony.”

“I guess I won’t complain about food.”

Taila watched with interest as Mrs. Kukui placed each part of a balanced breakfast on the cardinal directions of the circle, and Taylor snacked on crackers with the box in his lap.

“Now, I request that you remain relatively quiet, Taila. We will begin the incantation now.”

The ritualist cleared her throat as she took her place on the outskirts of the ritual circle. “Now, Taylor, repeat after me.”

Taylor swallowed, preparing to speak. “O–”

“With a cracker in your mouth.”

Taylor looked around questioningly, as if asking, ‘Is this girl serious?’ but threw three crackers in anyway.

“Now, repeat after me,” she held up a piece of paper with the lines printed in large text to help him say the right words.

“Okway.”

“I ask the spirit of appetizers to unlock my talent.”

“Why ashk the shpirit of appetaishers to unlark mry talhent.”

“With the prayers of my bountiful food.”

“Wich the prawyersh off my brountifull frood.”

“And the healthy abominations of my kin’s creation.”

“Awnd the healthwy obamanations of my kwin’s cweation?!”

“So I may spread tastiness across the realm.”

“Shwo Ai mway shpreat the tastiness acwross thwe wealm?”

The items on the ground suddenly dissapeared.

“HA! THAT NEVER GETS OLD!” a boyish voice telepathically yelled into their ears, cackling mockingly. “Yeah, no, you don’t have an affinity for appetization. On the bright side, here’s my latest dish.” A salad bowl fell on top of the table with a Post-It that said, ‘consolation salad.’ “See ya later, cappuccino!”

Taylor stared forward blankly and swallowed the crackers. “What was that?”

“You just spoke to a being of great power. How did it feel?”

“Like I just got pranked by a being of great immaturity.”

I don’t want to do this. Hailey thought as she entered that blue void for the second time.

A staircase of platforms rose up to a black mist high in the sky.

Hailey saw Kait look at her with pity. She recognized the black mist as well.

Hailey’s heart pounded. She clenched her hands and gritted her teeth. In her chest, she felt apprehension, fear, disgust, hate, and pain surge through her body with each heartbeat. She did not feel at home anymore, not knowing what was ahead.

There wasn’t a harsh penalty for failing, perhaps only a day of her time. There wasn’t any reason to be afraid. Yet…she didn’t want to move forward.

To her, that memory represented all the suffering in her life. Her powerlessness, her hate, her stress, her fear, her past, her flaws…and her pain.

It was in that moment that she understood what Taylor had said. She was in pain, and she didn’t want to admit it. She knew it, but she hadn’t ever really acknowledged just how much she hurt inside. Deep inside, she’d always hurt.

And what lay ahead of her was what caused all of that pain. Just remembering those events made Hailey freeze like water to ice, unable to think or move as she tried to forget how it made her feel.

And though she didn’t want to do it, now she would have to remember that pain, to face it head-on.

After a minute of not moving, Hailey stepped forward without a word and began ascending the steps.

The clatter of shoes on stone rang out with each step.

After what felt like—or perhaps was—an hour, they arrived at the top, and the platforms suddenly collapsed into one.

“So,” Kait said as they approached the mist.

Prompted by Kait, Hailey said, “I guess I go in and stick it out.”

“Whatever you want,” Kait replied impartially, a knowing look on her face.

Hailey didn’t want to, but she stepped through.

And the world collapsed.