Any day that Misa and Maybella knew I was meeting Eclis they would spend an exceptional amount of time fussing over my appearance. Misa and I had become comfortable enough to joke with each other during the process and even Maybella was beginning to relax. A week ago, she would be stoic and silent, but now she added to the conversation. It seemed the way to her heart was through her sister.
"I'm so excited. Madam and Master have such a wonderful relationship." Misa spoke in a sing song voice while she fussed with the finer details on my dress.
"Misa, it is rude to comment on these things." Maybella often chastised her younger sister.
"He has been exceptionally kind to me." The power of a sacrifice had its root in the relationship between them and their contractor. It would be good for me if Misa spread rumors that mine and Eclis' relationship strong.
It was a beautiful sunny day. The air was heavily perfumed by the flower gardens we passed on our way to Michael's tower. It was on the edge of Eclis' estate surrounded by forest. I was excited to finally see it. It was described in the book only once since Michael hated Julia and never invited her there. Like the palace, it wasn't what I'd imagined. Surrounded by beautiful oaks and maples stood a square tower that was seven stories tall. It was made of blackwood, a type of wood resistant to all magic, nonconductive, and inflammable. The building itself was reinforced with a metal akin to silver, with a slight multi-chromatic sheen. Mythril. The front door was heavy and inscribed with a multitude of activated sigils each glowing a different colour. A slight brush of my fingers was all it took for it to swing inwards. Inside, Eclis, Alphonse, and Michael were waiting for me. Misa and Maybella both bowed before leaving.
In the center of the room was a massive square table covered with glowing runes, sigils and imbedded with gemstones. Around the room, all the wall space was taken up by various magical instruments. Some made of metal and gems, others of wood and bone. The room hummed with sound as things whirled, vibrated, or sung.
"Welcome Miss Jasmine." Michael smiled as I approached the table. He still refrained from calling me Jazz much to my annoyance. Not that I particularly cared if Michael did but rather that Eclis had prevented him from doing so.
"Thank you for your time Michael." Since I'd last seen him, I was informed that proper etiquette dictates I call him Sir. Dropping that title meant I considered him close.
"Anything for the Miss." Michael at least was using a term that also bid familiarity. If Eclis felt anything particular about it though, he did not show it. "Then, if you may, would you stand right here. This artifact is going to scan your vitals and help us determine your affinity." He gestured for me to stand inside a rather large implement in the corner of the room. It had multiple circles similar to a gyroscope, except each one was made of a different precious metal and each were inscribed with millions of tiny glowing runes.
Once I took my position Michael explained, "You'll feel a slight hum in your body while it works, but it won't hurt." I nodded for him to start. He placed a clear blue mana crystal in the base of the machine. Immediately it began to rotate, at first with all circles lined up but soon each one began to move in their own direction. A strange warmth spread through my body, starting from my center.
"While we wait, why don't you tell us what goal you've decided on, Miss." Michael stood in front of the machine and looked to be inspecting the flashes of light and runes that would appear from the swiftly spinning arms. Eclis stood to his left and Alphonse remained in the background passively listening.
"I want to join the adventurer's guild and explore the world." To me it was the obvious choice. What else would you do if you'd been transported into another world like this. The only person who wasn't shocked though was Eclis.
"Can you even hurt anything?" With other people present I would be shocked if Eclis ever smiled, but I could still hear the amusement in his voice.
"Well... Probably not right now but I'm not going to give up." My voice sounded perfectly confident, reflecting how I felt. Sure, at this point my body could barely handle a single spell... And stairs winded me but I had time on my side. I was also counting on the guild to help pair me with a party that could make up for what I lacked.
Michael laughed confidently as well. "Well with proper training you could join a party as their healer. Here, let me test your magic proficiency while you're here." While Michael spoke, I corrected him.
"I want to learn combat magic." Eclis was the only one I'd told about my 'proficiency' in magic. His eyes twinkled. I glared at him.
The machine let out a song like beep and gradually the arms came to a stand still. Michael motioned for me to follow him and we returned to the enchanting table at the center of the room where he placed the mana stone into a perfectly fit slot. Above the length of the table a transparent screen appeared, similar to the ones Eclis worked with in his study. The entire length of it was filled with bar graphs and writing, all in runic.
"This must be the amount of mana I have available to me." I pointed to an area displaying several bars in different colours.
"I'm surprised you can read that. Does Abyssal exist in your world too Miss?" Michael perked up. He seemed highly curious and excited with anything new.
"No. We don't speak either of the languages in your world actually, but I seem to have inherited that knowledge from the previous owner of my body."
"That is incredibly interesting Miss. Would you mind sparing more of your time in the future, I would love the opportunity to ask you some questions on the subject." Michael couldn't contain his excitement.
"Of course. I'd be curious to learn more about my situation as well." Michael was often not at the tower, instead travelling throughout the world for his studies in magic so I wondered when we'd find time to talk next.
"I would be honoured." He smiled appreciatively, "Now, it appears you have an average amount of mana for a human your age Miss." I interrupted him.
"I do? Are you sure?"
Michael gave me a questioning look, "Well yes, it is indicated by that blue bar you pointed to." With no benchmark to compare it to, I still doubted it.
"That's really odd then. A couple days ago I cast my first spell to dry a handkerchief. I collapsed right after and had a boiling headache for the rest of the day." My cheeks flushed. It was embarrassing admitting that I could barely cast a single level one spell to one of the greatest mages in this world. To my surprise, and benefit, he didn't laugh or give me a pitiful look. He was simply curious.
"Do you mind attempting to cast that spell here?"
"Madam, when did you collapse?" Alphonse looked genuinely shocked.
"Oh, did I say collapse? Poor choice in words, I meant I unintentionally sat on the floor." Alphonse looked like he had more to say but I turned back to Michael.
"Sure, I'd be happy too." Michael pulled out a handkerchief, placing it in front of me. Behind me Alphonse had placed a chair insisting I sit before I try. "So... It took me a while to figure out how to actually cast the spell the first time."
"Take your time Miss." As Michael spoke both he and Eclis' eyes began to glow. In response to my curious glance Michael explained, "We're observing your mana flow Miss. It is likely your struggle to cast magic has something to do with the way your soul is bonding with your body."
I nodded before shifting my focus on the handkerchief. It only took five minutes this time for me to remember how to activate the spell. The familiar sense of fatigue rippled through my body and at the same time Michael clicked his tongue.
"It would seem there is a disjointedness between your souls' ability to control the flow of mana in your body..." Michael looked thoughtful as he walked towards me.
"How so?"
"Well, it is as if there is a gash in it bleeding out all of your mana at once." Michael reached his hand out in front of him where it disappeared in thin air. From this void he produced a tiny blue vial. In it swirled a bright blue liquid with what looked like crushed pearl shifting in the light. "This should help with the fatigue." I downed it without a second guess. It was thick and sweet tasting. After a moment, my gut clenched and a sharp stab in my chest caused me to wince and cough. In my hand, tiny droplets of blood twinkled. The fatigue subsided, but that familiar sense of anxiety took its place.
"Hm. This doesn't bode well." Michael spoke aloud under his breath. Beside him Eclis also looked grim as he handed me his own handkerchief.
"What just happened?" They were making me feel more anxious and that was the last thing I needed right now.
"Your soul is rejecting mana." My brows knit together in confusion.
"So what does that mean?" Michael's expression was somber while he explained.
"In our world there are three aspects to a being's existence. Their soul, their mana, and their body. All living beings possess these things and what makes each of us different is the qualities each aspect takes. Your soul is at odds with your body, this can be fixed with the right mentality, but your soul is also rejecting mana. This..." He sighed, "This will prove a much more difficult fix."
"Do you think it has anything to do with the fact that there is no such thing as magic in my world?"
"Is that true?" Michael's expression flickered from serious to bewildered and back.
"Yeah. It's part of the reason why I want to learn it so badly. I've never had the chance to experience something like magic and it seems so fun." I closed my eyes, battling against the tide of anxiety in me.
"Perhaps we should call an end to this conversation for the day." Noticing my condition Alphonse interjected.
"No. I'll only feel worse if I don't know the answers to what's wrong and what to do to fix it." I smiled at him, "Don't worry. This much I can manage."
"A soul that's never been connected to mana..." Michael was deep in thought for a long moment while all of us waited.
"Is the idea that at odds with how things work here? "Coming from a world without magic world hadn't seemed that big of a deal to me before.
"To put it simply, your soul is like your heart while mana is the blood in your veins and your body is the vessel that houses everything. One cannot be alive with only two of the three. To have a heart that doesn't need blood is simply impossible by this worlds standard."
"But I do have mana, so I'm not quite understanding what the issue is." Michael looked grim.
"Since you cast your first spell, how many times have you felt that pain in your chest."
"Um... At least once a day since then." No one seemed impressed to hear this news. "I didn't mention it because I haven't coughed up blood at all. It didn't seem as serious."
"And before that, how often did you feel that pain?"
"Once. I coughed up blood once while I was with Alphonse."
"Your condition must be aggravated due to your soul using mana for the first time."
"Then I guess we'll just have to get it under control then. What can we do?" I waited anxiously while Michael considered things.
"I'd like permission to study you while you sleep." Michael quickly added, "Monitor I mean. I do not see you as a test subject." He had quite the way with words. "It will be uncomfortable for you but if you sleep in the tower for the next couple of days, I'll be able to monitor your condition with the equipment here." He gave me a reassuring smile, "And perhaps we'll find the solution to your casting problems while we're at it."
"Sure, I'd much rather face this head on. Does this mean I shouldn't use magic at all?" The idea that I may not be able to use magic... It was better not to dwell on it for now. I didn't feel good as it was.
"For now. Miss Jasmine. I will ensure you are able to cast magic and achieve your goal." The spark of determination in his eyes made me feel like I could trust his promise.
"Then I suppose I'm in your hands again Michael." My smile was still sad. This wasn't the amazing start to my journey I had envisioned when I'd entered the tower today.
"Ah, on that note, I have a promise to uphold now, don't I?" Ah right. He did say he would prove too me that I could trust him. Michael motioned for all of us to follow him upstairs. On the second floor was an entirely empty room with a large stone slab floor spanning the entire length of the room. Painted on it was a giant magic circle, delicately crafted with multiple mini circles branching off of it. Each smaller circle was filled with an array of herbs, stones, and shells. As I inspected it, I realized they weren't using abyssal to form the lines. It was Nordic runes common to our world.
Michael moved to the center of the circle, slowly, taking care not to disturb any of his work. "This is a summoning circle. It uses a very archaic and ancient form of magic no longer practiced in this world; I've only learned enough about it to perform this one task." At its center he turned back to face us, a proud smile on his face. "Miss Jasmine, if you would take your place in that small target circle, I will begin." He indicated towards the second largest circle, connected by three thick cords to the larger circle Michael stood in. "Do be careful of the paint though." It looked like he had spent days constructing this. The larger and more complex the magic circle is, the more things could go wrong. I trusted Michael as an expert mage though.
After a slow and gruelling process of picking my way through the tiny gaps in the magic circles design, I was finally in place. "I do not know enough of this magic to send you back to your world yet Miss. I can, however, bring something of yours from your original world. An inanimate object most tied to your soul." What could possibly be tied to my soul?
Michael activated the spell. The center began to glow a bright blue, travelling through all the runes and sigils till it reached the edges. Once it did, it grew brighter until flames licked the rock it was painted on. When I'd cast my first spell, I got a taste of the feeling of mana being burned. It was like a drip of rain compared to Michael's storm. The air felt thick and wet with it. A strong pressure coming from Michael made it difficult to breath. The amount of power he was pouring into the room made me very aware of how tenuous of a string my soul was attached to. As it touched the threshold of being unbearable, the spell released. The pressure in the room popped and the circle disappeared. In its place, between me and Michael sat my cellphone.