I Don’t Want to Start a Story!

“Have you seen what’s happening at the front of the mayor’s house?” Max asked as he watched Cy hop down from the tree. He seemed a little uncomfortable, but it was a given considering how close he was to the magic neutralisation symbol. Max waited for a moment for Cy’s story prompt to appear. Where was it?

“Seen it? I was there when Adelaide began rounding up the villagers and leading them to the mayor’s house. You know, she really has a soft spot for you. Maybe you should ask her-”

“The feeling isn’t mutual,” Max began to walk away. He would’ve been pleased to have the freedom to ignore him, but prior story prompts were changing. Could they be mutating because Max hadn’t picked one? If Cy’s follows the same pattern as Adelaide’s…

“Oh…” Cy looked a little surprised. “You might want to make that clearer to her then. I think she’s got the wrong idea.”

“You think?”

“Max!” The pair froze. Speak of the devil.

Story Name:

A Fatal Romance

Genre:

Horror

Description:

After experiencing multiple rejections, the village darling has snapped.

Goal:

Help Adelaide find peace.

Difficulty:

★★☆☆☆

How to Start:

Reject Adelaide’s advances.

Cy turned to look at Adelaide, who was quickly marching towards them, before whispering to Max. “You’re in luck. She’s alone, but maybe hold off on telling her you’re not interested until after the mob has gone home.”

Max froze for a different reason. Another prompt was flickering in his vision.

Story Name:

???

Genre:

???

Description:

After an entire village turns against a hidden magician, the world falls into chaos as a power struggle takes root.

Goal:

???

Difficulty:

★★★★★

How to Start:

Cy dies.

First, he couldn’t ignore him. Now, he can’t kill him. What was with Cy being connected to five-star stories? “We gotta go.” The village was already assembled into a dangerous mob. If, for whatever reason, Adelaide or anyone else decided to lead the mob against Cy then it would be difficult to keep him alive.

“Go? I mean, I get why you don’t want to face her quite yet-”

“Teleport us back to Bessie’s farm.”

“I’m not strong enough-”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Max snapped at Cy causing him to flinch. The sudden animosity was unsettling. “Did you really think for one second that I believed that a drunk Bessie could climb up a ladder and go through the second-floor window? Get us back to the farm now!”

Max felt the ground beneath him give way before he hit it hard with his ass. It took his mind a second to realise that they were on the road back to the farm, about half-way from the mayor’s house to the farm. “What happened? Why are we here?”

“I did the best I could,” Cy grumbled, rubbing his ass from the hard impact. “You didn’t really give me much time to cast a well-formed spell.”

Time to cast a well-formed spell? “You must be really weak if you need time to make a simple teleportation spell.” Max watched Cy dust himself off. He didn’t bother. Perhaps the griminess of the village was starting to rub off on him.

“What do you know? What experience with magic do you have?” Max didn’t answer as he stared at the road towards the village. Bessie was going to be pissed if they didn’t go back for her berry girl, Elder, and her cart. But going back meant potentially running into Adelaide… “Well, what magic have you seen?”

“Who knows?” Max played off the question. On second thought, maybe it would save a lot of hassle in the long run to let Cy in on a few things. Especially since the system was gunning for his death. “I’ve got no memories… But I did see something while at the mayor’s house.” The colour in his face drained again from mentioning the mayor’s house. “Some kind of weird, big… symbol, I guess?”

“You did?” Cy suddenly had excitement in his voice. It was like he wasn’t sure until now. “Tell me all about it! What did it look like? Can you draw it for me?” Cy ran off to fetch a stick before handing it over.

Max began doodling a design on the dirt path. “Have you ever noticed something about the mayor? Like with his fate or anything?”

“Hmm… Nothing particularly unusual. It’s one of the vibrantly coloured fates.”

“Vibrantly coloured?”

“People’s fates appear in all different shapes and colours. Some have very bright fates, some are dull. For example, the mayor’s fate is vibrant, burnt orange, but his son has a gloomy, grey fate.”

… Colours and vibrancy? “What about others? What colour of fate do they have?”

“Let me think. Adelaide’s was a soft pink. Fairly bright, but not as strong as the mayor’s. Thinking about it, it’s pretty similar to Noah’s.” Similar to Noah’s? They were both originally major characters in romantic stories. Could it be connected? “But the colours and brightness sometimes change. Recently, Adelaide’s has changed to an orange.” Orange for horror?

“What about the vibrancy?”

“About the same.”

“And what about me?”

Cy gave him a confused look. “You’re fate-less, so there’s no colour.”

“And what about you?”

“… Are you finished?”

Max looked down at his work of art. It was incomplete so it wouldn’t activate and with some additions. It also wasn’t the same as the one on the mural. He had a slight hope that a magic user could appreciate some of the intricacies which came with rune-work. If Max were to choose another story in another life, maybe he should dabble with them again. He had no need for them in his last lifetime, but they were crucial and a passion in some of his lives before. “Yes.”

Cy looked at it for a couple of seconds. “…Are you sure?”

“Yes.” There was a little excitement showing in his voice, but Cy was too focused to notice. “Why?”

“Because I have no idea what the fuck I’m looking at.” Max kicked up the dirt and began the long walk back to the farm. “Hey! Why did you do that?”

“It doesn’t matter since you have no idea what it is.”

“Well, do you have any idea? Did the mayor say anything else about it to you?”

Max gave Cy a cold glare. “Yeah, he told me it was a magic neutralisation symbol.”

“Magic neutralisation?” Cy seemed surprised but understanding. It was clear that this type of magic hadn’t been developed in this world. Despite his unfamiliarity, Max’s description must’ve matched his experience.

“Apparently, it’s supposed to nullify any type of magic. And if a magician tries continuously to use magic within its proximity, then they’ll die,” Max added. The last part wasn’t included in the original mural. But if Cy understood the symbol that had been partially drawn on the ground, he would have known Max wasn’t lying. That symbol had a lot more potential compared to the crudely made one from carved wood and metal work in the mayor’s office.

“What?”

“And I also heard Noah saw the symbol and began recreating it on some of his goods.” Max watched Cy as he looked like he could faint. “So, if I were you, I would avoid the village as much as you can. Who knows how many people have bought something from him with the symbol on it. If you were to suddenly die... It would be a shame.”