Someone Else's Ritual (Volume 1 End)

Magnus was not the only one who had a ritual for his Blessing.

It was a fact made clear at this very moment.

After lightning there came a barrage of different elements. Magnus experienced drowning, burning, his skin and flesh turning to ash with the wind, and crystals growing inside his blood vessels.

Each time, the pain traversed physical concepts and bore straight into his soul.

He wanted to cry out in pain, but he couldn't.

He wanted to fight back, but he couldn't.

He wanted all this to end, but it wouldn't.

Nothing he could do, inside or outside the Hivemind affected anything.

The power gap was simply too massive, and Charles wasn't giving him the time nor opportunity to attempt any tricks.

Candles were being lit all around him, one by one. Every elemental strike brought about a single candle's flame.

A spiral was being formed with Magnus at its centre.

Spirit Energy followed the form of the spiral, moving like a typhoon. It swirled and thundered, and yet the tongues of candle flames were left untouched.

There was peace despite the chaos.

Boom! Crash! Zap!

Magnus was healed by the elements at intervals fine-tuned to the damage he was taking. It always kept him a step away from dying.

It allowed him to walk on the tightrope of life and death.

Such a phenomenon was baffling to him now that he thought about it. Momentary clarity surfaced in his mind. He looked at what was happening to him with an objective view, dulling his own senses and barring the torturous pains.

Magnus saw the calm face of Charles, the glowing eyes of many chaotic individuals, and the candles that were being lit all around him.

Everything was still and tranquil except for him and the elements that struck down without mercy.

It was during this moment of clarity that Magnus also watched Charles move. He produced a handkerchief from within his suit.

The hankey was a beautiful violet, crafted out of fine silk. It moved like a liquid under Charle's gentle touch.

Names could be seen embroidered in an ominous dark gold.

Galleon.

Harry Von Ellasic Jartossa.

Weaver Martin.

Ponce Istingil.

Qua Karrier.

These were all names that Magnus had to dig through his consciousness for.

He had read about them somewhere.

'The Hindrances.'

Magnus recited the name he recalled.

The Hindrances was a famous painting known throughout the many continents of Thare. There, five characters sat in a lonely cafe. The world was dark. Apocalyptic. Making the cafe look like an oasis heavily juxtaposed against the backdrop of despair.

It was a pinch of normalcy against the end.

Many say that these five characters each had a role they had to fulfil in the apocalypse events of Thare. Each of them, like Magnus, had a title.

[Skypiercer]

[Worldenchanter]

[Lifecrafter]

[Slumbercaller]

[Mysterycharm]

Magnus' eyes shone. Worry filled his lungs.

He connected the dots swiftly, and he thought about what might be his fate.

Flap!

Charles made the handkerchief flutter in the air with a swift toss.

In the blink of an eye, a painting appeared, replacing the purple handkerchief. It was an exquisite painting with a golden frame and purple gemstones embedded in each corner.

The carving of the frame was very gaudy, filled with grooves and swirls like Van Gogh's Starry Night intricately printed into the metal.

And, on the painting, Magnus spotted five familiar faces.

'It's them,' He thought.

However, he regarded this painting before him with scrunched brows.

'There are more than five characters in the painting...'

Yes.

There were at least a dozen unfamiliar faces populating the cafe. They all sat at different tables and drank different beverages. None of their expressions was pleasant.

They looked tortured.

But despite that, their skin and bodies all looked immaculate. As if no scar, no blemish cursed their forms.

Their physiques were perfect. Symmetry blessed their features.

It was weird. Jarring.

Magnus blinked. A stray thought surfaced and he caught it with unnerving haste. He wanted to touch his own face, but he still could not move.

"Oh?" Charles seemed to have sensed his intentions. "You're still sane? Sane enough to realise what might be happening to you soon?"

Charles squinted. He licked his lips.

"Interesting." He said with another chuckle.

It was then,

An invocation flowed out of his bearded lips.

"I am he who grasps all concepts within his hands,

The master of roles,

The reader of essence,

The very thing an Otherworlder should fear.

Lay down your identities.

Lay down what defines your existence."

VWHOOOWHOOOWHOOOOWHOOOWHOOOOM

Unimaginable Spirit Energy surged from Charles' wrists. It dwarfed the aura he exuded and drained it at a visible rate.

The eyes that stared at Magnus all quivered in fright as they felt themselves suddenly grow lighter.

A powerful Blessing was just invoked, calling upon Thare's origin.

The world of Blessings and Curses responded in kind to the offering of Spirit Energy. It devoured it all and allowed what came next:

Magnus felt a part of himself escape. A certain identity. A certain title. A certain definition of himself.

It floated out of his belly as he regurgitated a blue wisp of tangible energy.

He gagged and threw up what was forcing itself out of him. Surprised that he could move again.

With a flick of his wrist, Charles beckoned this blue wisp towards him. And it floated over, willingly and without a care in the world.

The spiral of candles had been put out and the elemental barrage had gone silent.

Charles grinned.

"I am now the [Gatemaker]. Just as scheduled." He announced as he gulped the blue wisp down, swallowing it whole. "But my Curse is still a little bothersome..."

Cold eyes scanned the weakened Magnus.

"What did you do to me?" Magnus coughed out as his body spasmed on the floor. The pain had returned to him the moment Charles had invoked his Blessing. His moment of clarity had ended.

He was now as weak as a baby lamb. None of the commands he sent to his body was fulfilled. He could not ghostify, nor could he float in the air.

His Curse would soon send him to death.

'Finally,' Magnus thought to himself. Charles had finally let a gap show in his setup.

As for Magnus' query, Charles did not answer him. The man looked at Magnus as if he had no business answering whatever questions were posed to him.

He simply moved.

The painting left suspended in the air came flying towards Magnus.

Bewildered, Magnus simply watched. Well, he could do nothing else anyway. He was just happy that his Curse could finally free him from the torture.

Until the painting swallowed him up, and Charles spoke,

"Unfortunately for you, death is not an option. Not here, at least. I cannot allow it."

And then, Magnus was gone.

.

.

.

The centre of Midseer. Home of its Protector.

Laurel blinked.

"The previous [Gatemaker] has vanished." She claimed, her eyes moving over to the heavily injured Ariel.

Ariel was lying on a bed, her body wrapped in bandages blessed with water attributes. Sluggishly, she spoke.

"Then... the Rolestealer, Charles, got a hold of him. Do the higher-ups know about this already?"

"I'm just about to contact them. I've been telling them about this day for months already, and yet they're still so confident that it's not a problem. I really hope it isn't." Laurel sighed in exasperation.

She literally had the word "prophecy" in her Blessing and people still questioned her at times. Some people believed they had the ability to alter the future that was prophesized to come.

It was frustrating.

.

.

.

Moments before Magnus was swallowed before the painting.

Blaze was fighting her way out of an encirclement of insect-like monsters. They were all as tall as her with sturdy exoskeletons and swift movements.

She was having a slightly hard time in the battle despite her attribute advantage. It was actually more of an annoyance than a straight-up difficulty.

The damage Magnus was sustaining to his soul bothered her, given that they were one being.

'Unlucky.' Blaze sighed.

She did not expect such powerful individuals to pop in out of nowhere.

All she could do now was survive to keep the Hivemind alive.

It was easy enough.

Vwhooom!

A finger-point fireball flew out from Blaze's hand and incinerated its way through the vitals of many insects.

The revolving planets of flame around her brought flames to the forest at will.

Blaze was leaving a trail of ashes behind her as she went.

Up until she disappeared.

And when she did, a worldwide Trial was sent to all.

[[ Event Trial: The Chaotic Rolestealer ]]

[[ A powerful being has gotten hold of the role of [Gatemaker]. Expect the Apocalypse of Monsters to advance by leaps and bounds. ]]

[[ Survive the next three days. The Apocalypse has officially begun. ]]

That was the gist of what had been written for the billions of citizens of Thare.

As for what that meant for everyone? That will be a topic for the future. The Trials of Thare will be just as Apocalyptic as all its citizens expect.

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Trial By Isekai: Trials of the Earthlings, ends here.

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