When Fantasy Glitches

As Magnus peered into the teacup and the dream within slowly materialized, his initial reaction was to the darkness. If not for the fact that he couldn't physically move, he would be squinting right now, just in an attempt to get a clearer picture.

It's so dark that I can hardly see anything at all. Wait... that figure—is that me?

Amidst the faint light in the distance, it seemed he was underground or in some secluded place untouched by the sun.

Based on the depth of the shadows and where I'm standing, it looks like a pretty big area. But where the hell am I? And why am I there? I don't think I remember a single place that looks like this in the academy, or Arlcliff City, for that matter.

This was an annoying factor about being able to see the future with the tea cups while also having the knowledge that you would forget what you'd seen. Whether it was through Basker or writing notes to himself in his own mind using the Command Console, everything would begin to vanish shortly after the dream did—not entirely, but just enough that the details became indecipherable.

Well, whatever. This vision isn't clear enough for me to do anything with; I'll have to do another one after-

His thoughts halted abruptly as something caught his eye amidst the abyss-like shadows—a flash of red. It took him a moment to register it properly.

Eyes? Blood-red eyes so piercing that even a place devoid of light can't hide them...

He didn't know why, nor could he explain, but even through the teacup's dream, Magnus could feel a strange intensity coming from those eyes. A feeling that vibrated its way down to the pits of his stomach and caused him to involuntary want to shiver. Yet despite all that, he couldn't say for certain that the gaze felt malicious; instead, it felt instinctual, or perhaps a better word would be rabid.

Dammit, the dream is already starting to fade, and this actually seems important. Is there really nothing I can do? Wait—no! This whole experiment was to test if I could alter the future through the teacup dreams; after all, dreams are easier to change than reality! In that case...

Perhaps he couldn't edit anything he was seeing now because it was too dark, but one key difference between Magnus's control in dreams and his control in reality was that in his dreams he had the ability to create without limitation. And so, just as the dream was fading away, something shifted in the projection.

Where there was only darkness, shadows, and vague figures, a burst of light erupted like a miniature sun, illuminating everything previously hidden from Magnus. And with clarity came a single thought.

Blood.

Then the memory faded, releasing him from paralysis with a sigh. As he stirred, Celia's voice called out.

"Magnus? Are you okay? Did it work?" Magnus had to take a moment to gather himself and his thoughts before nodding.

"Yeah... I think it did, or at the very least I successfully managed to change the dream; I am not sure if it will replicate over to reality, though. What about you two? Did you see anything?" Magnus asked, turning to Celia and then Eveline.

"Well, as I got closer to see inside the teacup, it started swirling and getting hazy, like it was wrapped in something, but I couldn't see any dreams or predictions," Celia explained, handing Magnus her notebook. The page detailed everything she observed the moment Magnus used the Knockout Brick on the teacup.

As Magnus glanced over the notes, he also listened to Eveline as she added, "My observations yielded similar results even when I viewed the phenomenon through magic instead of optically. I had even tried to interfere with the swirling motion telekinetically; however, just like when you use your abilities, my magic was completely ignored, and I couldn't locate the origin of the force causing the rotation."

After saying that, Magnus and Celia heard Eveline chuckle softly to herself, the sound gradually growing louder. It wasn't a laugh of madness, but rather one of genuine amusement.

"It's quite amusing when you think about it. Mages spend their entire lives mastering magic, yet strange cosmic anomalies—even ones as silly as a teacup—can completely bypass the abilities we've worked so hard to hone. It's almost poetic. Ah, the veil over our world is truly vast! Even when one layer is pulled back, another obscures the truth!" Her words had a hint of self-deprecation, yet her excitement was unmistakable. Noticing that, Magnus thought to himself.

She might be the only person who could have her entire worldview dismantled and still smile about it.

The more one believes they understand the world, the harder it is to break free from that illusion, even when evidence proves otherwise. If knowledge of source code were ever to leak to various magic academies across the world, it would likely cause an uproar, akin to physicists being told suddenly that the speed of light isn't constant.

To discard everything one knows, to step off the path believed to lead to truth, and to start anew—few could do that. It simply wasn't the human thing to do. But for Eveline, nothing brought her more joy than such realizations.

As she came down from her brief euphoria, Eveline posed a question.

"Magnus, tell me something. I was curious earlier but didn't want to interrupt the experiment, but how can you be sure you've altered the dream? After all, you mentioned earlier that your memories of the entire process vanish along with the prediction, correct?" Magnus nodded in response to Eveline's query, handing Celia back her notebook after committing all of her notes to his memory.

"That's right, but I discovered one thing remains even after the dream fades." His statement piqued Eveline and Celia's interest, their gazes urging him to continue.

"Even though my memories and the general details of the tea cup vision vanish, my emotions linger. If something upsets me in the vision, I'll still feel upset afterward, though the feeling fades quickly without its source." Eveline tapped her lips thoughtfully, a grin spreading across her face.

"Oh! I see, that's clever—very clever. Through your emotions, you can gauge the success of your prediction. If you manage your emotions well, you could even send a simple message to yourself after the memory fades, confirming your success." Celia jotted down everything she heard from Magnus, but even she couldn't help suppress her amazement.

"Wow, Magnus, that's actually... genius. How did you even figure something like that out? You said you hardly had any time to experiment with the brick after all." Magnus simply shrugged in response.

"I did, but I've also had plenty of time to replay the experience of my first few attempts with the Knockout Brick and the teacup in my head. Eventually, it just clicked." That aside, even without that method, he still had a secondary way to check if he was truly successful, one that was completely infallible.

The Command Console.

To be precise, it was the Command Console's output. Even if the teacup could wipe his memory of the dream, it couldn't erase the Command Console's log showing that he had indeed executed a script. That alone acted as evidence for Magnus.

"Anyway, even though I succeeded this time, I want to try it a few more times before the next round of the Live Examination starts in a couple of hours," Magnus noted, catching Celia's attention.

"Hmm, but why?" She asked.

"Well, another issue with the teacups is that I have no idea how far into the future they look. So even though I succeeded, I could have just changed something that happens five years from now." Hearing this, Celia made an 'oh' sound as she nodded in understanding.

Since Magnus had no control over what he saw in the teacups, at least as far as they knew, he needed to attempt to change as many predictions as possible to increase the chances of altering something that would happen sooner rather than later. Even if it was something mundane like him sleeping, as long as it occurred soon and he changed it, that would serve as confirmation.

Proof that the teacups were not just showing visions of the future, but that the two were linked. And if that was proven, then it means through them, Magnus had the power to influence his very own fate.

And so, that's exactly what he did. For the next couple of hours, Magnus used the Knockout Brick on the same cup of tea repeatedly, witnessing what must have been hundreds of different futures and making alterations to each one. He only stopped when Eveline informed him that it was time for them to leave.

"The second round of the Live Examination will start in the next half hour. I can't say anything that might give you an unfair advantage, but I suggest you get there as quickly as possible," she said, prompting Magnus to nod before glancing at Celia.

"I'm guessing you're sitting this one out?" he asked. She nodded, clearly disappointed, though she directed that feeling solely at herself. Missing the Live Examination was a letdown; she'd been excited about it for so long. But as long as Blair would be there, she simply couldn't bring herself to go. Still, despite that, she managed a genuine smile at Magnus as she replied.

"Yeah, but I'll manage. I mean, you just revealed the secrets of the world to me, so I think I can keep busy without watching you almost lose another limb," she joked.

"Well, I doubt I'll get caught off guard like that again, but fair enough," Magnus replied with a slight shrug.

"Aren't you the one always talking about jinxes? Are you sure all that confidence won't come back to bite you?" Celia raised a brow.

"I'm not one to not repeat my mistakes... Well, that's a lie, but trust me, I'll be fine. And besides, this is all good news for you, right? While I'm off fighting the geniuses of Takerth Academy and getting body parts cut off, you get to keep experimenting with the Knockout Brick. Speaking of which, Eveline," Magnus called out.

"Yes?" Eveline responded with a coy smile.

"Celia can come and go from here on her own, right? I don't need to stay with her," Magnus asked, and Eveline nodded in affirmation.

"Yes, I added her to the list of people who can come here when I fixed the gravity transition on the door. Besides you and me, of course," Eveline replied, while Celia appeared dumbfounded as she glanced up at Magnus.

"You- You're going to let me experiment with the Knockout Brick while you're away?" She asked, clearly stunned. Magnus seemed equally surprised by her reaction, looking at her as if the answer were obvious.

"Huh? Why wouldn't I? I trust you. Just don't use it on yourself or anything else besides the teacups for now. We don't know how other objects might react to being knocked out, so I want to explore that when we're all here." By 'we,' he mostly meant Eveline. Even if magic can't directly stop source code-level effects, her being an Archmage practically ensured their safety when dealing with derivative glitches.

"Oh... I mean, I just thought..." Celia struggled to form both her words and her thoughts as Magnus crossed his arms and grinned at her.

"If you're going to be my assistant, you've got to pull your weight. Don't tell me you planned on just following me around and taking notes forever," Magnus teased, causing Celia to straighten up and vigorously shake her head.

"Of course not! I just... I never imagined I'd get to this point—handling supernatural artifacts and researching in a magical library. It's like a dream come true for me. I never thought saying yes to your offer back then would lead to... this," Celia said, her voice tinged with a mix of emotions.

"Heh, well, good. Because this might just be the beginning," Magnus said, his expression turning slightly more serious.

"I hate thinking about it, but there is a chance more glitches exist out there. And if they do, even if some turn out to be harmless, I'm sure there will be others just as, if not more, dangerous than the Knockout Brick. That means, as much as I would love to, I can't just stay in Arlcliff City until I feel I'm strong enough, not with those kinds of potential risks. But at the same time, that also means I probably won't always have time to handle the research side of things. So, I'll be counting on you a lot in the future." So, I'll be counting on you a lot in the future." Hearing this, Celia was momentarily speechless. Her eyes brightened as she nodded and patted her chest.

"Right! I won't let you down!" With that being said, Magnus turned to look over at Eveline and added.

"Of course, now that we've come to an agreement, I'll be relying on you too, Eveline." Eveline chuckled in response.

"Oh, believe me, Magnus, the feeling is very much mutual. Though I really should be leaving, I can't afford to be late." Hearing that, Magnus opened his mouth to mention something.

"Well, if you're leaving then-" But before he even got to finish, Eveline disappeared from view, teleporting in an instant out of her library. Seeing that, Magnus's words trailed for a moment before he let out an annoyed sigh.

"Yeah... mutual. You could have just teleported me with you, but sure, whatever, I guess I'll walk," Magnus mumbled out of annoyance. Hearing him, Celia couldn't help but laugh softly to herself. Magnus rolled his eyes, speaking as he headed toward the door leading to his dorm room.

"Yup, go ahead, laugh it up now. Just remember, when I learn how to teleport, I won't be taking you anywhere." With that, he passed through the door and disappeared from view. Watching him go, Celia smiled to herself and muttered under her breath.

"I swear, he's so petty sometimes."