For those who don't like to read fantasy; even if this story have fantasy elements, they are not the selling point. This is written as a story made to make you think.
It was early morning in dying city. There were no clouds in the gray sky and wind did not bother to blow. It was nearly silent, only voice being distant footsteps of vert early workers.
Two figures were looming at empty market square, measuring each other with their eyes. They were two wizards.
The one was merly apperentice magician, while the other reached caliber of a master.
They had just bumped to each other during their morning routines. Two public wizards meeting like this is a rare occurance, so smalltalk is a polite manner if they do have any spare time. Miracelously, both did.
It was all regular, talking about the weather and political state of the city. But the younger one was curious of the old one's knowledge being obiviously order of magnitude greater than his.
"Show me your sharpness, can you?" The younger magician begged. He wanted to learn faster than his colliques; his master was very orthodox but teached powerful mystic arts. The methods hindered his potential.
"I just want to understand more of the reality."
The master looked silently at the gray sky above.
"All of us wish to...", he whispered. He slowly switched to drill deeply upon young's eyes, his own showing suffering. "The truth is the truest of horrors. Your mind might not be ready."
The young one distressed. "Why so? My master has sent us bind countless demons and unnamed horrors." He kneeled upon the wiser. Apparently he had waited for this. "I can get over any fear. Only if you could tell me any advice, I could appriciate anything you told as truth."
The old man preened his long beard. "Yeah, yeah I know that. That's not exactly what I meant..."
"Alright, you have nothing to tell me... " The young one treaded the cobblestone below. He made a nasty look at the master. "I thought you all knew something you wished to know as a scholar..."
The master remembered somethig. "I guess so. But now that you said that, one thing comes to my mind..." He focused to think about something, preening his silky beard. The apperentice's eyes filled with joy.
"I want to show you something that has always been there... prepare for the worst nightmare. This won't take long, but take your stance."
The boy looked at all directions and lowered his pose, preparing to make a counter-spell. He was ready as ever.
The master pulled something from his sleeve, which extended to be a 9 feet long staff. He struck the ground below with it's lower tip.
Instantly, the air begun to feel hot. It quickly turned so intense boy had to close this eyes and forced him to kneel right away. "Damn, you really make for an attack...", he muttered, and gnarred his teeth.
He tried to make an ice spell, but the temperature rised so hot his skin begun to burn. He screamed in pain, not managing to cast his intention. Eventually the young dropped uncosiscous as sweat from his body begun to steam, after his whole clothes bursted in light flames...
It all vanished. In another instant, the world turned over, as if one had woken up from a dream. The old man was standing without a staff and the boy, along the whole world, standing where they just had been moment ago.
The young was a bit shocked by the last few seconds, but did not succumb to fear. He calmed down looking at his body. Everything was fine. Nothing was in fire.
That what he just saw was merely an illusion. The master was clearly a capable illusion mage.
The old man stretched his arms a bit, then begun taking steps towards the boy. He rubbed his hands together, creating red flames. He proceeded to rapidly threw the energy at the apperentice like small rocks!
The boy however were prepared. He took agile stance and grabbed the fire mid-air, crushing it instantly. He showed his art in arcobatics as he danced his way from fireball to another, destroying them all.
As a surprise, the old man was way too quickly in point blank range, ending by spitting flames like a dragon to face of his target.
The world had become the same again. The two were in exact same pose and position as before. Excitement rose in the apperentice. Double illusion? Maybe this was expected from a master, but it was still quite a feat...
The old man, this time, took a dagger from scabbard tied to his left boot. After short fistfight, the master had landed a single hit. The world reseted again.
Next old man simply walked towards the apperentice, without any weapon...
After another hit taken, the boy's mind was exhausted, but his body was not. "How long will this take?" It felt stupid for him to repeat this all over, all over.
"About that... ", the old man said. "I'll do my trick only once." Instead he stood still, doing nothing.
The apperentice raised his eyebrows. This did not make any sense. What did the old man teach him about? What connected this all?
Oh, the act of being hit? Did it break a layer of illusion from the spell? As the master simply stood still, the apperentice tried to test his conjecture.
He took few steps to left. It just couldn't go on forever. He slapped himself to cheek...
...and of course the world turned same. He got bit frustrated. "So it's over? I didn't get it. Can you give
a book reference or something?" The old man yawned. "What is over? I'll do it only once." Again, he just stood there, doing nothing.
The frustration built up. The boy scratched his left hand, but nothing happened. "Oh, so it IS over?" The old man laughed a bit. "But that was just a scratch. You need much more." The young sighed, took a nail from ground below and poked it deep to his left arm, and his pose, along the world reseted again.
Now he was angry. "Really, I don't get it. Both of us could do something else this time."
"Yes we could. Why not just continue our paths?" The old man fixed his hat, looked at somewhere and went on his way. But what was the lesson?
The boy was greatly concerned. Something was way off. Anyways, he had his business for this morning anyways. He, too, went down the street.
After few minutes, a dark thought came to his mind, which he could not shred off. It tormented him like a mosquito.
His mind was mix of confusion and anger. Maybe there was still a layer? Maybe the wizard mocked him?
He prepared a strong healing spell, took a herb knife and stabbed a deep wound to his arm. So much blood spilled to the ground he was surpr-
Not long till a terror became to life in him. The world DID it. Again. He was still standing facing that man in that square.
The old man asked: "Why a pale face? Did you remember something important?" A small laughter escaped his lips. The anger shifted to wrath in the apperentice. "How long do you continue this loop!? Is this the lesson?!" The old one answered: "Test it yourself. Based on your accent, you are close to finishing it."
The boy took his small knife and without any hesitation thrusted deep into his throat.
Nothing happened. He was in shock. Maybe it needed more, he thoght. Pain numbed his mind, desperation grew to
exhaustion. He gathered his leftover strength to stab himself again. And again. And again..
Only then, the world did reset again. The boy fell to his knees. It could not be true. The wounds needed growed exponentally for an illusion to break.
With shaking voice, he cried: "But if it's over accidentally... If I kill myself while it's over... When will it be over, o' master?"
The old man preened his fine beard, and walked slowly to his side.
"No one can tell you that. No one can know that." He walked away with despair in his sound. "No one can tell if hey are ever awake... or only wake up in their dream. "
The apperentice was left alone at the square. He stared at the distance and listened the silence of the empty square.
It was calming. It felt real reality, his senses tingling with input, but he was unsure.
He searched the knife, and stared his reflection on his blade. How can ever be sure? How can he continue living in this knowledge? How did the master live his life knowing this horror?
Was life, all along without him knowing, all about this?
The young made a choice, which we do not know this day.
What choice would you make? If you had to choose right now?
Submitted June 13, 2018 at 09:54AM by Jabutosama https://ift.tt/2y3GahH
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