The Newt and Demon-8.7 - Cast The Spell

The seaside town Balkor wanted to settle in was quaint. Few places on Theo's planet were built up, so all the houses were low and relatively shabby. However, the people there all had smiles on their faces as they went about their business. They waved at the duo as they settled into an open-air cafe along a primary thoroughfare. Bordered by palm trees and with the bright sun overhead, the alchemists could see why this chain of islands was so attractive.

Thanks to his coat, the heat didn't bother him much. However, with the humidity settling into the air, the drinks that were brought out shortly after ordering were welcome. They were slightly alcoholic and sweeter than Theo liked. The little umbrella in each was a delightful touch.

“The seal is pretty simple,” Theo said. “The gods use it as a way to prime the system for future change. So they’re anticipating a shuffle in the attributes.”

“Do you know what this seal looks like?” Balkor asked, taking a sip of his drink and humming a pleasant tune. “This is fantastic.”

Theo had to take a moment to consider how strange this current situation was. He was having a conversation with Balkor, a person he would have once considered an enemy. Now they were enjoying tropical-themed drinks by the beach. Stranger things had happened, though. A bubble of darkness appeared around them, at first garnering yelps of surprise from the other patrons. However, after they recognized the owner of this world, they settled down. The alchemist ensured nobody was eavesdropping on them. Not even the gods.

"I don't entirely trust you. I hope you don't mind," Theo said with a shrug. "For whatever reason, you and the other dronon are tricky people. You're very good at slipping between the cracks."

“That’s a shared trait from our homeworld,” Balkor said. “How about this: I’ll lay out my motives for you.”

“Go ahead,” Theo said, shrugging slightly. He was interested to see where this was going.

“You might be surprised to learn how many details spread through the middle realms when you helped that man escape from the hidden realm. I am very interested in studying how that happened and where he went,” Balkor said.

Theo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. That’s a recent event for me. Something I don’t have enough information on yet.”

“Of course. But you’re talking to one of those tricky dronon,” Balkor said with a wink. “There are few in the demonic pantheon who pushed the limits of magic. I spent much of my time in my realm both experimenting and searching for answers. Perhaps we can share information to gain a better understanding.”

“Wouldn’t Toru’aun be a better candidate?” Theo asked.

“If you enjoy riddles,” Balkor said, taking another sip of his drink. “Think of it this way. Toru’aun studied deep, but I studied wide.”

Although Theo didn't want to agree with anything this man said, it made sense. The Queen of Mysteries set her sights on deepening her knowledge of the existing system, while the Demon God of Undeath set his sights wider. Necromancy was a topic of his study, but that didn't mean it was all he was interested in. The alchemist decided to hear him out, although for now he would offer no information, especially not about the seal.

"While I offer nothing, I'll hear out any theories you might have. Perhaps I can narrow down the topic of study you want to discuss," Theo said, trying to keep it all business for the time being.

"That's fine. I'll start with the topic of heavenly seals. This wasn't a feature we had available to us when we had the Ascendant Realms. Everything was set in place, and we reached a point where we could change nothing." Balkor took a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts as he sipped on his drink once again. Beads of moisture tracked the path down the edge of his glass, finally settling in a pool at the base. "From what I could study during my time in those realms, there have been seals since the beginning. These seals direct the flow of magic or determine a person's growth. There were seals for everything. It was the system's way of keeping everything in check."

“So, seals are normal,” Theo said. “Like a person’s genetics or something.”

“Maybe,” Balkor said with a shrug. “Using the genetics example, the seals are additions. They’re not natural.”

"So, this is the system's way of trying to rebalance nature," Theo said with a shrug. "What does that even matter?"

"Because it suggests a natural order outside of the system, which, if you're thinking about it, doesn't make sense. When we were dragged from our world, we suspected we were absorbed or perhaps layered on top of another reality. But I have an entirely different theory now. I think our world still exists out there somewhere. Perhaps it is destroyed, and that seems more likely than anything else. But the physical space it once occupied is still there. Tell me, how far along was your world in inspecting the cosmos?"

“We had space travel, although it was crude. My people never got to that point before we blew ourselves up,” Theo said.

"We suffered a similar fate," Balkor said, a look of sadness crossing his face. He soon corrected it, straightening his expression and posture as he sipped more of his drink. "As long as you're familiar with the concept of celestial motion, that should be enough for my example."

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Theo picked up on what the dronon was putting down. He wasn’t sure what he thought of the implications, as it flew in the face of what he knew. Planetary motion was nonsense in this place and the void dominated. The void itself was a dimensional layer, allowing passage for those who could traverse it. But what exactly was out there in the place of regular space?

“We could go up into ‘space’ if you like,” Theo said. “I assure you, the place between the planets is just the void.”

“Yet even you realize that doesn’t make sense. You’re looking at this from the perspective a person sitting on a rock, floating in space. No matter how hard you try, you can’t see it any other way,” Balkor said. “Unless there was some seal in place, creating a pocket dimension, or some other form of containment.”

“For what purpose?” Theo asked with a sigh. “What motive would the system have for cloistering everyone for so many thousands of years.”

“You act as though time is linear so far as the system is concerned,” Balkor said. “Here. I’ll get to my proposal. The core of my theory is that we’re in prison. When you broke King Leon from his cell, it solidified my conviction.”

“Why would Leon have anything to do with your theory?” Theo asked. “Just because I sprung someone from their cell doesn't mean we're all in prison.”

A smile spread across the Balkor’s face. He pressed his hand into the table, smearing it around as though to remove some smudge. But when his hand came away, he had left behind green smears that formed a spell core. It was unlike anything the alchemist had seen before. He could understand parts of it, thanks to his training and magic, but the overall effect was lost on him.

“What am I looking at?” Theo asked. He felt the barrier around him rumble. “And why are the gods pissed?”

“They’re sensing ancient magic, so they’re responding,” Balkor said, waving a dismissive hand. “Back in our time, we agreed not to use powerful spells like this. I have a few that can bring entire continents back as undead thralls. Zagmon had one that would infuse entire armies with untold power. During our wars in the heavens, we only used them after approval. This isn’t mine. This one belongs to Uz’Xulven.”

“With a touch of Zaul,” Theo said, giving Balkor a flat look. “Are you up to something?”

"Yes, I am up to something," Balkor said with a shrug, "and I'm telling you what I'm up to. Well, this spell is a tracking spell at its core, but we can use it to do something far more interesting. You're certain Leon is alive, right?"

“That’s right. He was powerful. I doubt he would’ve been killed, and he evaded the gods,” Theo said. “So he knows how to go unnoticed.”

“He only evaded the gods because they’re still weak,” Balkor said. “Once the change happens, all that goes the way of the Haxoni. The spell is interesting. It has three potential responses. A location, yes, and no.”

“How is that useful?”

“If you get a ‘yes’ response, it means the target is alive but out of your range. But the ‘no’ response means they’re dead, or… Otherwise disconnected from the system. Thanks to the way the spell is constructed, we’re basically tapping into the registry of the system. Which means if you get a ‘no’ response, Leon is outside of the system. Since he cannot be dead, it means he broke out of prison.”

Balkor seemed quite pleased with his deduction. With a bit of instruction from him, Theo could see those parts of the spell. He didn’t fully understand them, but they were there.

“No way I’m casting this spell,” Theo said after a long pause. “I don’t understand all of it.”

“Then let me cast it,” Balkor said. “Add your willpower to the spell to encompass every realm, and I’ll prove my point.”

Theo let out a heavy sigh. Unfortunately, Balkor’s logic was sound. If the spell could tell him that Leon was outside of the bounds of the system, it would confirm the alchemist’s own theory. Both he and Balkor had reached a similar conclusion about Leon without first talking to each other. That was enough for the alchemist to gain some amount of trust in the spell. Should anything wacky happen, he would rely on his acute danger sense.

“Okay. How does this work?” Theo asked.

"The spell is simple enough. I'll create the ritual circle, and you add your willpower to it," Balkor said, a smile spreading across his face.

"And where does this exactly get us? Knowing he's outside of the system's bounds is interesting, but I'm uncertain if it helps us."

“We’ll know the truth of the system,” Balkor said. “At least, we’ll understand a hint. Once we have that knowledge, we can work from there. Perhaps we can’t do anything about it. That’s fine. But we’ll know.”

That was good enough for Theo. He had reached a point where the system wasn't something he implicitly trusted. It had, after all, been the reason why the world had become what it was. It didn't step in and flex its power enough to influence the world. Perhaps it was restricted by those seals, but it hardly seemed to matter. Yet the alchemist had to take everything Balkor had said in this conversation into account. More than likely, he was interested in probing those seals. This was just the first step to gaining his trust.

"Cast the spell," Theo said with a wave of his hand.

Rubbing his hands together, Balkor gathered energy in his body. Theo watched in anticipation, noting every swirl of magic. The man shouldn't have been able to cast spells without a system, but there he was, piecing together each fragment of magic manually within his soul. It was nothing short of impressive to witness and gave the alchemist something to reflect on. Perhaps those who were once ascendants were worthy of recognition, if only for their raw talent.

The spell spread out from Balkor, encompassing a large swathe of Tero’gal. Theo watched in amazement until he was given the signal to add his will to the spell. He felt it draining out of him like an open dam, flooding into the spell and empowering it beyond anything that should be possible. As quickly as the spell had been formed, it faded. The magic dissipated into the air.

A smile spread across Balkor’s face.

“The spell claims he is dead,” he said.

“King Leon broke the bounds of the system,” Theo said, turning his eyes to the sky. “What the hell is that guy up to?”

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