“Hey, are you sure this is safe?” Alex said, some time had passed but by now
Alex was far to deep in.
His pointer finger was extended above the mirror, Cleo was Opposite him and Shim was standing above watching the two, both Alex and Cleo where on the ground, Cleo said holding out a little pin with a sharp tip;
“Totally, though it depends entirely on you…” He said holding the sharp tip of the needle just above Alex’s finger, “Would you like me to explain it again?”
Alex had listened beforehand, but seeing just how much Cleo knew, along side the fact Alex had never used magic and barely hear of it before, he agreed; “Yes”
Cleo drew the pin back from his finger letting Alex relax, with a sigh Cleo explained what was going to happen;
“Allow me to explain, what we are doing here is extracting your mana, your mana goes through your gate and almost ‘remembers’ parts of that journey.
So when your blood, which holds mana fragments comes into contact with the mirror, it will display what the mana ‘remembers’ this is exclusive to you though.
So if you see anything, we won’t be able to see it.
Again, nothing bad should happen, since we aren’t draining your mana or contaminating it, you are just bleeding, and then the mirror handles the rest.” Alex had understood that much better then prior attempts, it was clear Cleo had been making the upmost of preparations to ensure Alex’s safety..
But something about Cleo made Alex’s skin crawl, perhaps it was the way he was treated as more of a test subject for Cleo’s enjoyment rather then a living being.
Yet this didn’t stop Alex, if anything he kind of sided with Cleo for once, even if Cleo had bad enjoyment intentions, the fact of the matter was still interesting.
“Oh, I almost forgot…” Cleo said, getting the attention of Alex, Cleo continued “Along side seeing what your mana ‘remembers’ you will also get a look at the inside of your gate, what lays there is unknown and different from person to person.
Mine had looked like a water palace, with many fountains around and water running through the entire city, to explain more simply; The gate, or the core output of your mana, is a manifestation of either yourself or your affinity, mine was my affinity being water.
tell for an affinity.
However, since your gate it pitch black I doubt anything good is in there let alone an affinity, so we shall kill two birds with one stone by seeing your mana and your gate, from this mirror, got all of that?”
Though Cleo had talked on and on, Alex had listened, and was interested in the matter, considering the ‘gate’ of a person was either a manifestation of an affinity or self.
That was the intriguing part of what Cleo had said, it made him wonder what he would see in his gate?
The mysteries of both having a pitch black gate, along side what had happened with Cael and Alex, 『 Is now finally be the time I get an answer to my situation?
』 He thought, putting his finger back out over the top of the mirror, Alex spoke;
“I got all of that, and I want to see what happens aswell, so can we start?” Cleo started to smirk seeing his willingness, to do such a thing let alone on the first day of school, Cleo spoke moving the pin closer;
“Very well, and anything you see in your gate isn’t real in the traditional sense, your gate belongs somewhere else entirely from the psychical, so don’t get scarred if you see something bad. Ready?”
The pin’s sharp small tip was touching Alex’s finger by now, not enough to draw blood but just enough to know it was there waiting for the word.
Alex took a breath in, his face had calmed down, as much as he wanted to think and strategies and what the very next moments where, he wasn’t allowing himself to do so, clearing his mind he spoke with confidence;
“Do it, I am ready.”
“Very well” Cleo said slowly stabbing the sharp pin into the pointer finger of Alex, ‘――tsk’ Alex couldn’t help but say as the sharp end ran into his skin, he thought about it;
『 Come on, I have died before and I can barely take a small pin?
I guess the pain is more centered and precise, but come on is that really all it takes to hurt my body?
』 The pain was bearable, and wasn’t to extreme considering what he had been through in his life’s.
What looked strange to him was his blood, as it slowly piled at the tip of the pin, by now Cleo had removed the needle and watched as Alex’s blood fell.
The blood fell down onto the mirror, and instead of splashing everywhere like a normal water droplet would to any solid surface.
The blood behaved differently, like water droplets falling into water, his blood blood;
“What the..” Alex said, his confusion wasn’t met with mutual confusion, as Shim and Cleo looked to Alex, Cleo spoke;
“What do you see? Did something happen? Tell us, tell me.”
Alex looked up for a second, seeing how confused Shim and Cleo where to his confusion of the glass, Alex spoke jumping up pointing down at the glass;
“It’s a liquid for you guys right? The Glass is A Liquid RigHT!?” Alex had caught onto what had been happening mid sentence, it was clear that the glass was only behaving different for Alex’s eyes, Shim and Cleo nodded side to side.
Cleo had held the mirror up slightly at an angle so Alex could see better into it, that being said when Alex had looked back down the mirror had been completely black, Cleo then spoke;
“We don’t, it’s just you, but what else do you see Alex?” Peering into the mirror Alex didn’t see anything, he didn’t see himself, he didn’t see
Cael, he didn’t see anyone he knew or anything, it was just black..
The blackest black, with shades of reds, greens, purples, yellows, light whites, despite the many colors painting the mirrors sky, it felt empty, a feeling that only be described as the lack of ‘something’.
It was none other then the mist, old as time, bright as birth, nothing would pair, nothing would connect, nothing, nothing, nothing…
Alex’s eyes went dull, he slowly fell back down to the the level of the mirror, he remembered and felt that time of nothing, that time of something, the angel, the red star.
Cleo looked a bit confused at Alex’s new look as he fell back down, it was like despair had taken seat in
Alex’s eyes, yet only one thought had risen in Alex’s mind:
『 Is the mist part of my gate?
』 It was a scary thought, a thought that would tremble, a thought that had legs and would run, a truly horrifying thought; 『 Does that mean… My gate is where the mist, and that star, stay?
Does that mean I had died in my gate?
I had thought the mist place was different, far from the bounds of the physical, but had I been the mist?
Am I..
The Mist!?
』
“Hey! What do you see? I want to know as well, this is my mirror after all!”
Alex held his breath, he wasn’t dead, nor was he inside of the mist, he was just watching the mist, but something still felt wrong like he was peering into the secrets he couldn’t even comprehend.
Alex spoke, raising a hand to his chin as he studied the mist, watching it like a hawk to a dragon;
“I see, a mist, as old as time, dark hues dancing with brighter ones, no up or down, no life, just stillness beyond time itself, truly best described as the lack of ‘something’…”