Magic Ascension - Chapter 001: Suppression

Okawa took out a pair of glasses, clearing her throat as she put them on and got out several pieces of parchment. "Well, there is much to go through, but I'll be brief. Little Magiana seems to have fallen victim to the hands of the cultists that dwell in Shina Ania. Poor Aquario must feel such despair over her..." She trailed off to herself. "Unfortunately, there was little to go off of other than what little we could gather through witness testimony." She gestured toward Olivia. "She and a select few were not able to see the spell itself being performed, but from what she knows, it somehow caused a soul to be bonded with Magiana's. To make matters worse, it's a soul belonging to the family of King Khalid. Practically a direct descendant."

"S-she is terrifyingly hostile. You could feel it permeating the air... like it isn't enough to just be angry... everyone else must feel the full extent of her hatred." Olivia gripped her arms tightly as she shook from the memory. "Contained inside that tiny body is a powerful fiend. Not a Queen... she doesn't seem human..."

"It's impossible to determine what ritual was done to achieve this exactly, but text suggests that for a soul of a decedent who left this plane long ago to have been brought into this one and into a different living body, it has to be a form of Ancient Magic. A capital offense of the highest degree." Okawa said firmly. "Not only does it defy the laws of nature, but with two souls in one body, there's clearly going to be some tug of war going on between them for control. Many a time, Olivia has used a Suppression technique to limit how often this 'Queen' tries to take over Magiana's body in the few times I allow her to be awake, but the more we use it, I fear the less effective it will be. To make matters worse... we're running out of time."

"What do you mean, running out?" Asuza asked, staring at Okawa from the side. The entire time Okawa was explaining the gravity of the situation, her left hand slowly curled into a fist and left dark scorch marks on the table's finish. There was a slight smell of burnt wood near her seat.

"If we don't try and get this soul out soon, King Khalid has warned that the souls can.... merge into one. It will be irreversible by then." The woman replied gravely, sitting back down. "I don't believe it's happened yet, but she can't be asleep forever, and neither can we afford for her to be awake very long if it will cause destruction to follow her. Regardless of whether it's Ancient Magic, there must be a cure or counterspell."
 
Bob rubbed his chin as he listened to Okawa. “Soul-Bonding… That's definitely Ancient Magic. It is very, very dangerous, but quite effective once you are able to pull it off. You can practically become immortal, as long your soul remained intact, by body-jacking using it. Though, it is quite surprising that the soul is an ancestor of the King of Shina of all things. I wonder how Magiana was able to fight it off all these times, even with the suppression ability. Poor girl." 

“Cultists…” Liza twitches a bit, then broke out a creepy smile. “So, this gil [Olivia] is supposedly able to suppress the soul from taking over fully, but it won't prevent it forever. So, with that said, our purpose here is to go on a hunt to find a cure? How do we go about that?”

“We have some information that a researcher in Magician Square might help with the huh....Soul Bonding.” Ballows said. “However, it seems that she will only respond to Okawa.” 

“She seems very critical to speak only to her—since she one of the few people that understands “darkness”. It is probably some fangirl, but it’s something to start off with. Hence why we are sending Okawa along you guys for this adventure.” Tort added on. “Plus, this is a good opportunity for Okawa to exercise her new title.” Tort turns to Okawa. “Heard many stories about her time here, and I personally want to see her in action.” Tort eyed Asuza for a second, still remembering the request to her to meet with him for training purposes.

“We originally wanted to go, but we still have mountain of paperwork to do and process for the Magic Society. Okawa had been keeping a close eye on her for months, so it is natural for her to take the case. You guys will be escorting her and provided her support.” Ballows said. “You are the most capable, as Grand Sorceress Z said.”
 
"Your mission will be to stick with Lady Okawa and help her acquire the information needed from the researcher in Magician Square~ I'm sure most of you are quite familiar with the area, so it should be no issue~" Z said as she gazed at the group.

"Errm, Master Z?" Faunix spoke up softly.

"But why can't you fix the girl, mom?" Nicori spoke out. "Aren't you strong enough?"

"I am afraid my spells are too powerful and I might end up hurting the young girl~ I am also unfamiliar with Ancient Magic and its properties~" Z sighed before shifting through a few papers in front of her. "Time is of the essence~! I will make a portal for you to appear in Magician Square but you will need to make the journey back here~ Find a way to separate the two souls and bring back any spells or texts that will aid the girl~ I will try my best to decipher the works and help calm the child~"

Z paused for a moment as she read a few of the notes Faunix wrote down for her.

"Excuse me, Master Z?" Faunix said again.

"Ah yes, I nearly forgot~! Aquario will be traveling with you in search of a cure as well~ I believe he's the girl's teacher when she first started with us~ He's quite skilled so I am quite sure he will come in handy~"

As soon as Z mentioned the name, the doors opened with a mysterious man standing on the other side. He had long dark blue hair, navy blue robes, and a belt with various potions and a spellbook neatly and securely tied to his waist. His wand upgraded to a staff with a light blue gem on the top. His face showed dark circles around his eyes, proving he barely slept in all this time. He pushed his glasses up and entered the room bowing to the group then the Higher Ups.

"Forgive me for being late, Master Z," Aquario said. "I was busy with research."

"Everyone, this is Aquario~ He focuses mainly on water-based magic but he knows a wide variety of elemental moves~ He was the top magic user during the times of the Sisterhood, so believe me, he's quite knowledgable in certain fields~"

"Pleasure to meet you all." Aquario bowed his head again.

"Now then, you all have your mission~ Escort Lady Okawa to the researcher in Magician Square and bring back any spells and tools that will aid in saving the girl~ Use this time to prepare accordingly~"

Z clapped her hands and two large portals appeared before the group.

"There are two portals before you~ The one to the left will supply you any magical supply you may need~ Potions, wands, snacks, you name it~ Simply stick your hand through the portal with the item you wish to get and it will magically appear in your hand when you pull it back out~ The portal on the right takes you to the gates of Magician Square where your journey will begin~"

"Master Z?" Faunix said yet again.

Nicori moved to the portal on the left and stuck his hand in before pulling out an apple. "Hey, what about the girl? Who's going to take care of her when Miss Okawa and Mr. Aquario are gone?"

"Worry not, I will send Z-clones to check on her status as well as allow Faunix, Ballows, Tort, and Lix to do hourly inspections~ Rest assured she will be perfectly safe while you are on your journey~ Now then, are there any questions you have for us before you depart~? Now would be a good time to ask~"
 
Tort raised a brow at Z’s statements to the group—giving out completely different tasks at hand. “Hmm? They are escorting Magiana to the researcher. Don't go shoving them off somewhere without giving them proper information.” His black flames flare quite a bit, being a bit annoyed at Z’s declarative statements. 

“Disregard mostly everything she said.” Tort added on. “Your mission is to escort Grandmaster Okawa and Magiana to the Magician Square and speak with the researcher who has information regarding Soul-bonding.”

Ballows sweated a bit. “Indeed. Olivia is needed to suppress the Queen, which none of us possessed the ability to do so ourselves. So, it'll benefit Magiana's safety for her to go along with them. We cannot risk the Queen appearing and we have no defense against that."

Liza scratched her head. “Ahh… the gist of it is escorting these women and find this researcher.” She stared at Aquario, but not impressed by his stance. "Magiana's teacher... I see..."

“Sounds reasonable enough.” Bob said. “A way to break the soul-bond. I wonder if such possibility exist?”
 
"What~? I was reading off the notes Faunix...gave...me~" Z looked down at the important notes that mentioned Magiana accompanying the group. They had many scribbles and doodles on them. Z cleared her throat. "A-Anywho~ Tort is correct, Magiana will accompany you on your journey as well~ Please keep a watchful eye over her and Lady Okawa~ Errm, pardon my... confusion...~"

Faunix sighed as he covered his face to avoid people seeing him embarrassed. Lix was chuckling softly next to him.

"She wasn't prepared." Faunix groaned. "How can she be so strong but so... dense?"

"It's just her way of living, Faunix." Lix shrugged. "Get used to it, she's nothing like Shine."

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"There's just a few things we have to be concerned about. Olivia can subdue the Queen if she tries to take over the body, but I would really prefer no emotional disturbances come her way. After what happened to her in Shina Ania, being outside of the Sisterhood without me or Aquario present could rouse some anxiety... that and..." Okawa trailed off and stared at Asuza, who had her arms crossed and looked annoyed about the mixed signals being tossed at them back and forth. She also eyed Aquario but didn't give off any impression.

"I don't want to subject her to any excessive emotional distress. But we don't want complications during the escort. Hmm..." she stood up from the table and looked around the room for several moments until she got an idea, and quickly bowed her head. "I'll have to excuse myself for a few minutes to see Magiana once more. Mr. Aquario, Olivia, please come with me. I'll need you both to step out for a few minutes to ensure everything goes smoothly... in private, since I'm going to try something. Everyone else can get ready for the mission." Okawa stated before heading for the meeting room's doors. Asuza tried to get out of her chair, but the woman raised a hand to her face before gesturing for Asuza to stay put.

"Me? S-sure, okay!" Olivia was eager to be anywhere besides sitting near Liza and her creepy demeanors. "Gotta go--"

Asuza clicked her tongue indignantly before propping her feet up on the table. "Damn. Back to Magician Square huh? I didn't enjoy my trip over there much the last time... well, it'll be better than trekking blindly through a blizzard in the mountains."
 
“So, we have to prepared while they chit-chat…?” Liza looked at the portal to see various items, but she was looking for “dark stuff”.

“Man, Liza sure have changed quite a bit.” Bob said to Vox. “Almost didn’t recognized her.” Bob see Okawa walked away towards her room, encouraging Olivia and Aquario to come with them. “I wonder what’s all that about… Asuza. I heard that is your little sister, right? You haven’t noticed any significant improvements with her personally?”

----

“That makes me wonder. What happened to Black Shadow? She hadn’t appeared here for quite some time.” Tort said.

“She’s still on her own personal mission. She won’t be back for some time.” Ballows answered. “Grand Sorceress, I don’t mean disrespect, but you gots to take these things seriously. You’re the face of the Magic Council and the entirely of Paradice now. You should act more prepared these days.”
 
"Little sister?" Nicori tilted his head. "Oh, that's right! That girl is your little sister, right 'Suza? Yeesh... this must be a huge burden on you. I can only imagine the worries you get." Nicori scratched his head awkwardly, trying to think of something positive to tell her. "Errm, but don't worry so much, 'Suza. I'm sure Mom and Miss Okawa will make her all better again. We just gotta help them a little bit."





Aquario nodded to Okawa and bowed his head to the Elites and the group.

"Please pardon me for a moment."

Aquario followed Okawa with Olivia outside the meeting room.




"I suppose so...~" Z sighed. "I'm just overwhelmed by all the massive piles of paperwork and other things I am tasked to do~ Ever since Shine left, his burden passed on to me~ I barely have time for my naps anymore...~ I usually left the important decisions to Shine as well as all of the paperwork~ I do miss him greatly...~"

Z frowned slightly before staring at the papers before her.

"But I will try to better my performance, even if it means fewer naps and isolation~"

I only hope it will not lead to trouble later on~
 
Vox says "I trust we have the stander away of potions and magical gear." 

Vox says to Bob "that to be expected given what happened in that fight."

Vox says "If Asuza dos not wish to speak about that we shooed not force her."
 
"It's true that we're sisters," Asuza said, staring up at the ceiling idly. "But I haven't been home in a long while, so I can't really tell you what's changed and what's stayed the same. She wasn't old enough to understand why I left, so I've been told not to see her at all. Only our mother is allowed. Okawa thinks that me being there while she's awake after so long could tip her over." She crossed her arms and sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"But I wasn't expecting to come home to this... at least I have you guys to help. If anything, I'd rather be anywhere than dealing with the rest of the family, since we weren't on good terms when I left. I'll be fine, it's my sister we need to worry about more." Asuza tried to smile, but it looked forced. "So if we're going to be sticking around here for a while, I may as well get stronger too. I didn't forget about your offer last time we met--" She turned to Tort with an intense glint in her eyes. "It's still on the table, right?"

========
"What are we gonna do now?" Olivia asked, following Okawa with Aquario to the floor which had the room Magiana was being kept in.

"Considering we have to escort Magiana to our little researcher, it means we'll have to have her be awake. But I can't say for sure how well she'd react to seeing her sister come back after such a long absence from the home," Okawa replied, keeping her voice low. "So for the time being, I don't want them to feel any sort of distress due to tensions in the family."

Olivia blinked in surprise. "Oh... they're sisters? I guess the hair should've clued me into that. But it's not like we can just make them forget about each other or something."

"No, but we can try something like it." She answered. "We only need to alter Magiana's memories a bit so that won't be a problem."

"Alter her memory? Like amnesia? Is that something you guys can really do?" Olivia asked, sweating a bit at the idea.
 
"Alter her memories..." Aquario frowned slightly. "I suppose we can, I only hope this will not harm Magiana in some way. How do you suggest we do that though? We would have to combine our magic or ask Grand Master Z for some sort of item to help contain Magiana's memories."




Man, I wish I can help 'Suza some more... wait, hang on! There's something we need to answer.

"Hey, mom!" Nicori called out. "Why did I grow so big? I mean... I'm huge! I thought I'd grow as normal people do."

Z was slowly nodding off from how tired she was until Nicori caught her attention.

"Oh, yes~ You grew substantially thanks to the adventures 'Suza and your friends gave you~ Your horns will have ridges to show how much you've learned~ I believe you are in your second stage of life, something known as a 'teenager'~ The more you learn, the wiser you will become and thus activate a sudden growth in your body~ It is rather odd...~" Z smiled. "But you grew very tall thanks to the love from 'Suza and her friends~ It appears that they took care of you very well despite being such a troublemaker~"

"Hey, I'm not that bad."

"I beg to differ, Nicori~ If you plan to go on this adventure with 'Suza and her group, I expect you to be on your best behavior~ Please do not burden 'Suza with your silly pranks in such an important mission~"
 
“So Nicor isn’t a human… well, that is to expect.” Ballows thought to herself when Z was explaining his rapid growth. “He doesn’t seem to come from the same place as Black Shadow—so perhaps Z pick him up somewhere?” 

“Ah, family issues.” Bob responded after listening to Asuza's thoughts of her own family. “Well, I won’t touch anything that since the last time I seen my family was centuries ago. I should pay a visit though. Offer?”

“Ah... unsupportive Family… just like me, huehuehue…” Liza cackle oddly. “Don’t you remember…? Tort formally asked us to speak with him, well, Asuza, for some magical training. Of course, that was the day Negative came, and lay ruin around here.” 

“Oh. Uh, yeah.” Bob sweated a bit, while maintaining his plain face, turning to Vox. “Yeah, I guess that fight really traumatized her.” 

Tort nodded. “Yes. I still curious about your magical ability—nothing like I seen with the rest of the mages that are affiliated with our school of magic. I am rather curious to see the growth you become once your hardness that strength.”
 
Vox says after hearing Asuza's thoughts on family "I don't think I will be much help." Vox thinks "Mine family saturation is a bit odd. Being the fact that my mind and body dos have a slight disconnect on that topic."
 
"It won't be a permanent one since I'll simply be programming the amnesia. But that section of memory I remove can't be lost to the void, so we will need some kind of container for safe storage." Okawa said to Aquario. "Which needn't be any inconvenience for the Grand Master to conjure up. Though she is quite flighty... it would be ideal for you to keep it in your own space seeing as you are her mentor."

"It'd be a good idea to keep her asleep too... if she wakes up, it would be a bit of a startle," Olivia thought aloud. "I'll be on standby to use Suppression just in case, since my use of magic is a bit limited."

"You leave the rest to me and Aquario. I'll do the memory program, and you keep her dreaming so she feels no need to awaken." Okawa suggested.
==========

"I don't expect to patch anything up with my family besides my sis, anyway. But we've been through plenty together in a short span of time, so I can count on our teamwork to see this thing through. Wouldn't want it any other way." Asuza felt kinship with them, but knew that they were still rather mysterious acquaintances with each other. There was also a burning sense of vengeance she had within her-- after One Eye and Iceik's 'deaths', now Magiana's soul under hostage, there was nothing left in her but to become stronger. Revenge was the only fuel that supplied her will to fight. "But self-taught magic can only take me so far. If I want to be really useful... I have to get stronger." She tapped her fingernails impatiently on the table, restless in her trance of self-hatred for being powerless. "I don't want to lose anyone before my eyes anymore."
 
"Very well, I'll keep a special tab on her memories," Aquario nodded. "I recently made a special vial to hold in any sort of valuables. It will turn her memories to water which I am more fluent in controlling anyway." 

The mage frowned as his gaze lowered to the floor. 

"Let's just keep her safe. I don't want anything else to happen to her," She shook his head, trying to keep his usual composure. "I'm sure we'll get through this. But hang on, if Magiana remains asleep thanks to Olivia's Suppression spell, who will carry her? ...Unless we can provoke sleepwalking from her."




"You won't lose me, that's for sure! I learned my lesson, 'Suza. Stick close and don't talk to strangers." Nicori said proudly. "And if you wanna get stronger, you can't keep doubting yourself 'Suza. C'mon, chin up."

"Nicori has a point 'Suza, self-pity will give you no strength for the journey ahead~ I may not understand the emotions you have, but I understand this journey weighs heavily on your shoulders~"

"Can you give us cool weapons for this journey mom? How about giving 'Suza a super cool wand or staff? Maybe it'll make her stronger?"

"Strength is not valued by how much damage one can induce but rather how one overcomes difficulties~" Z said. "I am sure 'Suza will be just fine with you and the others to support her~ After all, it was mighty brave of your group to enter Los Demonois the way you did~ Many people would think twice before entering that city~ Yes, yes~ The way 'Suza lead the group through dangerous territory in disguise to find my little Nicori~"

"Wait... how do you know that---"

"Anywho, I'm sure the others will return soon~ I suggest you use this time to use my portal to get any sort of potions and vials you need~ Weapons are also included~ Tort and Ballows are going to storm me with papers soon, so I best prepare for a long day...~"
 
As the others are discussing among themselves freely on Asuza’s comments on getting stronger, Tort, himself, seen something much deeper than that. “That’s it.” He spoke to the young woman. “That’s the fire I understand. As the others doubts, I know that feeling of helplessness, and the anger you feel when you cannot save the ones you care about.” 

Tort dig into his right pocket and toss Asuza an particular item. “The fact that you were able to teach yourself magic is an extraordinary feat itself—not a lot of people can boast the amount of skills you displayed on your own. However, I must make a warning. You are harboring a hatred that dwells in your heart. Which is why I personally ask my colleagues to add you to this mission. I want you to analyze and observed Okawa and other advanced magic and see their ability firsthand. Think of it as prerequisites before we start the actual training.”

“You seems to be quite interested in Asuza, Tort. You often don’t care about training other people.” Ballows said.

“She’s a fire-based mage such as I, and the way she carries herself reminds me of myself when I was younger. Asuza has potential.” Tort responded. He turns to Asuza once more. “That item I toss you is a powerful tool of magic that gives you access to more spells—this is depended on your emotions. When you remain calm, you have near unlimited access—but when you succumb to rage, skills become limited, but in exchange, far more powerful skills are available. However, whether you can handle that high level of skill, depends on you handling your rage.” 

Bob rubbed his chin curiously. “An interesting item…” He whispered. “Wonder how much that’s worth.”

Liza, as the others were discussing, look inside the portal to see any interesting items she can take. “Hehehehe, nothing in  valuable to take for right now. We probably don’t need to do much since we’re just escorting… unless we get ambush or get kill along the way, hehehehe… Am I right, Vox?"
 
Vox says "In terms of what offered I do agree but they do expect us to face some form of combat. This is a chance for those to in our group to get basic potions."
 
"Sleepwalking might encourage the Queen to take over, but there shouldn't be any issue upon waking her up after I finish the memory alteration spell. Theoretically, anyway," Okawa said, taking her wand out from the sleeve of her robe and placing her hand on the doorknob. "We can test out how well it worked since it's about time for her meal."

Slowly opening the door, she ushered Aquario and Olivia inside the room. Off to the corner was a lone bed occupied by Magiana, asleep without even stirring at the sound of footsteps. Despite her sleeping for extensive periods of time, there were dark circles under her eyes. She seemed deep in sleep, looking deeply troubled about something. Occasionally she'd mutter something unintelligible.

"Alright, just hold her hand and stay close to her." Okawa whispered to Olivia, who knelt by the bed and gently took hold of Magiana's dainty hand in her glove. Ensuring it didn't startle the girl, Olivia turned to the adults and nodded for them to proceed. 

"Sounds like she might be having a nightmare..."

"Perfect chance to make our move. A nice dream ought to calm her down, Aquario." Okawa looked at him with a smile for assurance that they'd be able to pull the procedure off safely as possible. Focusing, she began to conjure something in her free hand using the wand, forming a translucent pair of scissors in her hand that had the same strange ghostly glint as her familiar. "Sayer, keep watch over us the entire time, alright?"

Her raven perched himself over Magiana's headboard, spreading his wings before standing still as a statue.
==============

Asuza examined Tort's item with a curious eye. "So it's one big test of me keeping my temper or not and seeing how I fare either way. Aright, that sounds straightforward enough. But it's not for sale!" She pocketed the item and began reaching into the portal for a few vials to help with stamina and health. "Magician Square's fairly safe enough, but we just can't wander too far away. It seems to have a pattern for attracting suspicious characters on its outskirts," she mentioned to the group. "Well, we'll be plenty strong in numbers too so as long as we stick to Point A and Point B, it should be a walk in the park. It isn't like we'll be going to an abandoned forest or something creepy like that. Hopefully."
 
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