It was April 15th, 2025. A bearded man with short brown hair and glasses leaned over a table with his shoulders tense.
His eyes were locked on a glowing page in front of him as symbols fluttered about. He wasn't writing in any known language; it was alien. He rushed his writing as rain poured down from the outside in the middle of the evening.
Inside his hands was the Book of Spells—the last of its kind, and still incomplete.
"It's not close to being finished... I'll never make it on time!" The house was silent except for his rambling. The bearded man was in a rush, but he seemed to accept his fate once the lights started flickering.
He paused his actions.
There wasn't a power outage, it was something else.
Slowly looking up, he could see something.
Just ahead, in the doorway, stood a man in a black coat.
He appeared tall and motionless as his face was hidden beneath a smooth white mask with no features. Just two empty holes for eyes.
The pen slipped from the man's fingers as a nervous grin spread across his face.
"I was wondering when you'd come," He said quietly.
The man didn't answer at first, he only took a few steps into the room as his boots echoed against the floor in the silent abode.
"You should've burned it," the masked man said with a deep, sharp voice. "You know the consequences of that book, it's forbidden magic."
"Forbidden magic? Hah! I spent twenty years creating it," the bearded man replied. "I'm not going to destroy it now just because the Ordo Genesis are afraid!"
"You weren't supposed to get this far, Atreus."
Atreus smiled bitterly, seemingly taking pride in his response.
"You should've stopped me sooner, then. Now there is nothing in this world that can destroy this book! It will be the perfect tool to rebel against science once and for all! Magic will soon rule supreme, like it always has!"
The man stood still for a moment, as if thinking, before stepping to the side.
All of a sudden, two more masked figures walked from behind him. They said nothing and only watched.
"You realize this doesn't end with you," the man continued. "If even a page of that book is released, the balance will collapse. Science exists to prevent foolish sorcerers like you from destroying the world."
"Pwa ha ha!" Atreus laughed at his response. "All of the Metahumans are mindless meatbags! Just because you obtained superhuman powers from science, you think you are above magic! You pretend as if sorcery is toxic! Well, I'll prove the Ordo Genesis wrong! Even in the face of death!"
"You're either brave or incredibly foolish, Atreus."
"Bravery and stupidity go hand in hand! I'd rather be stupid than die a coward."
Atreus reached for the book again before pulling it closer.
"The Ordo Genesis will not kill anymore sorcerers. This book is the last chance to rebel."
"..."
The masked man's silence was enough to indicate his conclusion; he was going to kill, without mercy.
Atreus stared at the masked man, keeping a stern and bold face.
"I built this to change the world. Why can't you understand that, brother? Even if you kill me, my daughter... your niece, will come along and finish what I started."
"Sable Hasteheart?" The masked man chuckled out loud, his deep voice faltering in amusement. "She possesses no mana, and she's meant to be a Metahuman. You believe some Manaless child will change the world of sorcery?"
Atreus stood his ground, frowning at his brother.
"She has what it takes."
The masked man lifted his hand, holding a gun.
"The book will become the Ordo Genesis' property. Sable won't have the chance."
A loud sound filled the room as a flash of light went off. Atreus widened his eyes, stumbling backward as blood squirted from his chest. He clutched his wound, feeling it spill through his fingers.
"You should've joined the Ordo Genesis when you had the chance, brother..." His voice softened, lowering his gun. "Everything would've been different. We would've been together again, just like the old days."
Atreus collapsed to his knees, one hand braced on the table.
The masked man slowly stepped forward.
"I may have been born without mana, while you were born with it, but that shouldn't have stopped you from joining the right side, Atreus."
Atreus smiled weakly.
"You were only jealous of my magic... Rigord... nothing more..."
The masked man paused for a second, as if angered, before lifting his firearm once more. Multiple shots, at least three, soon echoed throughout the house.
Atreus widened his eyes as his body slumped forward; blood squirting from his gunshot wounds.
"You are wrong, Atreus, I was never jealous of your magic, it only disgusted me."
The masked man stood still, slowly lowering his firearm. The other two masked figures waited in silence behind him before Rigord took a step forward.
The Book of Spells rested on the floor with its surface having a quiet, strange glow... until it had softened now that Atreus was gone; almost as if it fell asleep.
"Let's get this back to Solomon. Our job here is done."
Rigord reached for the book without hesitation, but the moment his fingers brushed against the cover—everything changed.
A harsh screeching sound, like metal scraping against glass, echoed through the room.
The book suddenly levitated into the air as symbols on the outside glowed ominously.
Countess strange symbols began spinning off the surface, circling the book like orbiting moons.
"What—?" Rigord stepped back as his hand recoiled, but it was too late.
Magic erupted from the Book of Spells as color and light drained from the room.
Shadows inside the room were pulled inward unnaturally, as though they were being sucked into the book's mysterious magic
One of the masked figures tried to run, but the air snapped, and he vanished mid-step; his body ripped out of space with no sound.
The second masked figure turned to Rigord.
"What is this?! What did he do?!"
Rigord didn't answer, he could only watch as the air around them warped.
"Damnit! That bastard, Atreus, set up a failsafe after his death! Me touching the book must've triggered it!"
Another flash of light shot from the book, and the other masked man screamed before disappearing; torn from existence like paper in a fire.
Rigord dropped his gun as his tone of voice became regretful.
"Even until now, I'm still falling for your magic tricks, Atreus!" The book emanated one last time as a faint circle of light manifested under Rigord's feet, similar to a seal being drawn in chalk.
He didn't try to move and seemed to accept his fate.
"You're more dangerous dead than alive, brother..."
And with that, he vanished.
The room returned to silence once more, as if the roaring engine of a jet was turned off.
The three masked men were banished somewhere else, far... far away.
+
About ten minutes later, the front gate clicked open.
Sable Hasteheart, a brown haired girl with green eyes, and a student uniform, was soaked from head to toe. She released a sigh before stomping up the front steps of the porch with a tired grunt.
"God, I hate physics," she muttered to herself, adjusting the strap of her backpack. "Why are energy conversions a thing? Who decided that?"
She reached the front door and paused... it was cracked open?
"Huh?" Needless to say, it was pretty strange.
Her dad always locked the door behind him. Always!
"...Dad?" Sable called out with a worried voice, but there was no answer.
Pushing the door open slowly, she stepped into the oddly silent house. There was no TV on, or anything. How odd.
The lights were also flickering, and the atmosphere felt off... it was far too still for her liking.
She glanced around the living room, and there was nothing broken, or missing. Investigating the house, she soon came across her father's room.
Stepping inside, that's when she saw it...
Blood—
"Dad?" Her voice cracked. "Dad!"
Her heart dropped as she rushed forward, seeing her father slumped on the ground with his arms limp at his sides.
Blood soaked his shirt and the floor beneath him, still fresh and warm.
"No! no no no no!" She rushed to him, crouching to grab his shoulders. "Dad! Wake up! Come on! Wake up, please!"
There were no signs of movement.
Sable's breath hitched while her hands trembled, still holding onto him.
Her father, Atreus Hasteheart, the only family she had... was he truly gone?
Tears slipped down her cheeks before she even realized she was crying.
Sable squeezed her eyes shut as she clung to his shirt. "Dad... no! You said you were gonna stop writing that book... you promised me!"
She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, sobbing. Sable clutched his hand, pressing it against her cheek like he could still hold her. "I was only gone for a few hours..." She whispered with a trembling voice.
Sable moved to bury her face in his chest, wailing.
"You said you'd always be here!!" Her tears soaked into his bloodied shirt.
The smell of iron and ink filled her nose.
She didn't want to move... or breathe... because if she did; Sable would have to accept he was really gone.