Spell Detection

[kyonides]

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Spell Detection


Written by Kyonides


Chapter I : Signals


Those Strange but Addictive Stories

Reading “Looking for a Save Point” series had been entertaining for our hero, if a lazy guy can ever become one in real life. Usually you would imagine he is some sort of muscleman or a scientist. The truth could not be more deceptive than in this laughable case. Being a reader instead of a man of action prevented him from hitting the spotlight any time soon. What was worst there is that he did not show any sign of interest in becoming famous, and still, he could see himself becoming a star capable of doing almost everything you could have read in the comic books and manga. A body in a good shape… We better skip that topic for a while, not even he deserves to be the lone target of all kinds of denigration, do you not agree?

The connection, right, there was one since people started posting some fancy stuff on their blogs, all of them made him think about the books he had bought in the last couple of weeks. The more he surfed the web, the more he dived in the written stories printed on that good old paper. Actually he also joined several discussions that handled the topic in all stupid ways, as if they were part of a large conspiracy of sorts. What a bunch of fools indeed!

One tale was so well woven by its narrator that our noble reader pay that more attention than necessary. Do not even ask me but his beloved popcorn with cheddar cheese and chili toppings. That scene would make us believe he was watching the best thriller or action movie out there.

After washing his sticky hands he posted the following on the board “Would you mind to record this tale and upload it as a podcast next week? It’s enticing but also heartbreaking, spooky and weird in a dramatic sense!”

Should we start discussing the other works that influenced him? Probably that could explain a few unusual events in no time. The Spell some weird term saga had caught his attention for its convoluted way of describing worlds or those realms were confusing by nature… Anyway, we all know they could not exist, not even for a second. Even the title of the present story was among the books he had bought at a store he was no longer able to recall its name nor its address.

“Unbeknownst to its very own author, this story points to the existence of distant kingdoms, and they could be filled up with some powerful magic!” Brad uttered in the middle of a lecture.


For us, normal people with common jobs and lots of habits, such things would mean nothing, this young man thought otherwise. He dared to called them signals, and he offered his “expertise” to find out where they came from because there got to be some mysterious beacon emitting those distress signals. That was his educated guess after thinking about it for a couple of days.


Oh no, that was not the end of his madness. His next step was to ask a favor of his friends, namely a lovely housewife that could rarely see her own husband, a fellow comic book reader who lived in his parents’ garage, some relatively scary librarian apparently in her early fifties that might have fallen in love with our clueless protagonist, and a construction worker who had failed to pass perhaps many of the strict examinations he had gone through to become a police officer. What exactly did they need to do? They just had to express their very own opinions on the matter.


You know, there was a reason why I have never said he was a great material for a hero of the year or century. By the way, it could have been convenient to let you know he was not even capable of dating a given girl for more than a couple of days. Come on! Try guessing why he was single once again. Nope, it was not because he had told her about his crazy theories. Are you ready to give up now? It was due to his unforeseen reaction the day she agreed to meet him a third time. He just called her the latest signal right in her face while she was drinking her milkshake. And no, it was not her favorite.

“Why on earth do you ever think that our own world hasn’t collapsed already?” she inquired of him, not expecting to get a decent answer to that and many other questions she was afraid of asking there.


Brad remained silent till he could gather enough courage as to reply back “I guess it’s because of our basic knowledge of their existence!”


Seemingly, he knew beforehand that it would be hard to make an unbeliever even consider it as a mere possibility. A blind guess like such knowledge would not satisfy anybody’s need for explanations. It did not make it plausible to expect strange creatures like the sasquatch to show up at anytime now, why would we believe in magic then?


“Alright, I’m gonna search for those deceptive signals thoroughly” the loner stated feeling as if he had stupidly volunteered to lift the whole world over his own head even for a brief moment.


Few hours later, he had posted on his favorite board that he had just started that impossible quest and would welcome anybody that were interested in revealing this so called important truth to the blinded mankind.


“We grew up thinking magic did only exist whenever a magician or our own relatives tricked us to believe in it to fool us, and we thought it was amazing. As adults we disregard such ideas unless we wanna lie to other people or entertain them by making a movie full of special effects. Time has come for me to demonstrate that magic itself has already infiltrated our lovely world as a sly ninja, ready to cut our throats while we keep struggling to safeguard our own ignorance.”


Many members of that online community mocked him or also accused him of disguising his ulterior motives behind a mask of integrity when he actually had some specific political agenda. It did not take long before Brad strongly denied it to no avail. What took such a valiant champion of such a truth by surprise was the unexpected visitor that had recently registered and posted his or her reply few minutes before midnight on October 31st.


“Ignore the blind crowd, it was self evident they’re unable to sense that everything keeps changing at a high pace to never come back to normal ever again. From this very same moment on you can count on me to find any portal between our world and those we’d only dream about.”


Statements like the one above made everybody else laugh or pretend they did by posting LOL or some related emoticon. On the other hand, Brad believed in every single of Black Seer’s words. Quickly he sent her a couple of private messages hoping this unknown character would agree to meet in the real world anytime soon.

My Do Not Disturb Sign is Missing

Early morning did not bring good news to Brad since he hated and still blames his mother for making him believe a decent guy has to start the day in a desperate rush to purchase some vegetables or milk bottle or even some chips she might have seen on television lately. It should be forbidden to open a store at 5 or 6 in the morning! Being honest with you, that was a quote of his that I love to make mine. If he ever meets me, he would prefer to say I have infected his poor mind with such ideas.


“Well, you know, that’s exactly what I’d tell you” my unexpected guest commented and after a brief break added “If it weren’t because we do agree on that, mothers can get quite grumpy every other day.”


This is not supposed to surprise you since we have seen this happening on movies every time they just apply a coat of makeup on an old science fiction film, although you got to know it stinks when you become part of your own story against your will!


For I could not be a terrible host and ignore him, I greeted him nervously and made a silly attempt to shake his hand and miserably failed to reach it. Something invisible like electromagnetism was preventing us from doing something as polite as a shake! Patting him on his back was a real exercise that let me realize that could not be happening right there, in my comfortable living room.


Strange events only let us talk about anything we could think off at the time. That is how I learned he wanted to meet a girl with a cap that resembled an octopus. My warning of her having a playful attitude that would drive him insane and then just empty handed did not persuade him of paying her a visit. It is self evident he could not do anything like walking down my street, that man from another reality could not be standing there, right?


“I do think it’s shameful how you’ve been trying to manipulate my life!” he complained out of the blue.


Futile should be any serious attempt to try explaining a contemporary guy that this was supposed to be a crazy story to entertain a small audience for a little while at most. We all know what that means and still, we could not plainly accept it is real just because we cannot change it. Keep in mind that let him make me waste over an hour speaking like a true parrot, only to feel impotent, as if I were an idiot for hoping he would understand I meant no harm. Go find a solid proof that I could not make his city blow up high into the sky if I ever dared to type it on my computer.


Obfuscated I just went back to my lappy and searched for any movie I could watch to forget all that had taken place in my sanctuary of amateur literature. Spoilers let me figure out that the villain was a man in his thirties or so and suddenly started attacking people because some obscure anime inspired him.


“Tsk, now you wanna blame me for what you’ve done to me and my world!” Brad calmly stated, as if he had given up on dealing with my unreal situation.


At this point I hate myself, I was a failure as a host. How could I not notice that was the only thing I ever needed to say to make him vanish?


Forgive me for not explaining this in detail. Something went wrong when I described the film because he began to turn into some sort of grains of sand, made out of tiny portions of skin, bones and flesh, that the wind easily blew away. I was relieved indeed, though I cannot tell for sure whether or not I had taken some pills that might have expired long time ago. Where did that ill wind come from anyway?

A Month Has Become Part of Modern History

In October nothing really important had happened if you take a close look at it. What was about to happened next was what would actually matter or at least make it look cool up to some point.


Originally, my first idea was to discuss Brad’s obsession with the mysterious Black Seer. Sadly, the coronavirus hit us first. Yes, us, including Brad and his whole world. That is what happens when you take a long break since the last time you added a single paragraph to the present story, I suppose. Meeting that character was forbidden for the authorities suspected a new virus with an unknown mortality rate was already circulating in some parts of the world. You got to know there was no official announcement but either Brad or Black Seer could be working for some important company or public institution that would take any risks.


Do not ask me how the hell they got infected, that remains an unsolved mystery as of yet. And yes, I am fully aware I am the author, still, I have no slight idea why it took place on my back.


When the Covid-19 starting spreading across China during November and December, some of its citizens had traveled to other countries and continents without any restrictions. Our hero’s mysterious contact admitted he or she had taken an international flight. Even so that person did not provide any further information. Could it be possible that guy or gal was some sort of secret agent?


Such series of events made me suspect it was actually me posing as an evil magician or Brad had been contacted by another person living in my own world. Of course, there is a slight, highly unlikely possibility we were dealing with somebody that lived in a third world we knew nothing about. The next time we both met, I let him know about these suspicions. He laughed at first but later he shut his mouth and starting meditating on it for a while.


“I guess we can only keep exploring the map” Brad suddenly commented out of the blue while being submerged in his own thoughts.


“That was the phrase Kyonides found printed on a piece of cardboard if I remember clearly” I added just in case he could recall the actual source of it.


“Yeah, you’re right! You know, I don’t think that was the only time he or his twin ever read it!” my vanishing guest yelled out before disappearing once again.


So could a virus and a strange phrase ever be remotely related? Nah, that sounded like a crazy conspiracy theory only Brad would buy for a good price, he, he. Or am I wrong about labeling it as insane? Do not take me seriously, please. That is something we still need to think about it thoroughly.

This is just a short story...

Yeah right!

[kyonides]

Chapter II

Black Seer

Keep it Alive for Good?

How strange! The mystery of Black Seer and its origin keeps getting murkier and murkier. There have been times when we have suspected it could be a guy. Later that same day, that character makes a comment that sounds as if it were a female for only a girl would care about such silly stuff. I am only implying here that darn person is hiding its true identity like a real professional.

After some meditation I might admit that we would need to suppose we have been dealing with a whole secret organization. I would smack Brad’s head really hard if it ends up being an advanced group of Russian or North Korean hackers. They are surely sniffing around the world looking for new victims like that blockhead. Now I even think he is just waiting for it to reveal she is a hot girl. My head is aching already, you know. I hate when I get involved in my very own stories like this.

“Hey, I’ve got an email and it’s from Black Seer!” that moron cried out once he had finished materializing in the middle of my living room.

Before I ever dared to listen to him, I walked all the way to the kitchen. Hoping a hot linden tea would refrain me from hitting his empty head hard, I started heating the water I needed for three or four cups. From my viewpoint, I could no longer tell if I was writing this story or he was. What a terrible omen, do you not think?

“You won’t guess what it says!” Brad exclaimed joyfully, only to be automatically ignored by your dear servitor who was drinking some nice tea.

“How did I forget I needed some crackers, potato or cassava chips to accompany this delicious tea of mine?” I asked myself as a indirect way to disregard his stupid news.

Well, I really had to find some bag of chips at least. So far I knew then, I had purchased a few of them last time I was at the local supermarket. That was about two months ago.

“Don’t be an ass now! It’s about her…” the otherworldly guy was blabbing while I was distracted by the local news anchor.

She was a good looking and single girl after all, I have always loved her brown and curvy hair since day one. My nice experience was harshly interrupted by somebody who rang the darn bell exactly when she was about to walk around that section of their set. I just had to miss her nicely shaped legs for nothing at all!? Feeling such a strong hatred against that good for nothing that did not stop bothering me then seemed to be justified even for a little while.

“Fine, darn brat! I’ll be there in a minute or so…” I let that person know, not feeling as if it would matter at the end. Who loves to be interrupted like he or she did anyway?

Yeah, Go Hide the Fact You Are Confused

I slowly opened the door for I did not expect to be hurt by any lunatic in a place like my comfortable and secure building. Against all of my predictions, there she was. I am talking about an average woman that looked more like the girl I nicknamed “superflat” for a good reason. The only exception would be she had a raven hair that did not match the young actress’s. Gladly, I did not bet she was hot.

“So how may I NOT help you, missy?” I spit out in now time for I preferred to go back to my couch and keep watching my lovely anchor instead.

“Wow! What a real gentleman!” she shouted being unable to believe it.

“Yeah, well, I better take this as if you knocked on the wrong door so good night!” I wished her after I lost all interest in our little chat.

I closed the door really fast and went back to my couch where my tea and my potato chips were waiting for me.

“Hey, tell me now! How does Black Seer look like then?” Brad asked out of his growing curiosity.

“Who the hell is she supposed to be!?” I overreacted after hearing her name for the first time.

Yes, I got to admit it now that I was not paying attention to his boring discourse earlier that night.

“So she’s a girl after all! Nice! Tell me all the details immediately!” he grunted like an uncivilized orc.

It should be obvious for you, my dear readers, that none of us really care much about her waiting in front of my apartment’s door. A writer like me would rarely get a visitor so why should I believe even for a fraction of a second that someone would fall in love with me? Or why would a journalist I never met before know about my place?

“Gotcha! You didn’t know anything about my visit…” she cleverly stated, hitting the blank from the very beginning.

My new roommate was already rubbing his hands as if he was expecting me to do something to appease that feral girl. He happily suggested “Treat her to have some drink or some dessert!”

“You idiot! The least you’d do would be to let me in!” she fiercely commanded me.

I want to confess that my laziness prevented me from giving a darn thing about her bad attitude.

The next thing I noticed was that the female news anchor had announced she had prepared us a nice surprise. Would she get nude on air!? Nah, none of us were that lucky as far as I knew. Besides was it not supposed to be some sort of moderate or conservative news media?

Distractions could be deadly, did you not know, my dear friends? Before I could get an answer to my one million adult magazines question, I realized there was a noise, footsteps to be more specific. They sounded like they were quite feminine and thus could not belong to Brad or yours not so truly.

“Wow… I was getting tired of standing up like a lifeless doll out there!” the unknown girl commented as if she were my latest guest.

“Huh? What the heck!? How did you…” I was screaming when I recalled I better checked out the lock, just in the highly likely case that she had broken it. She did not. Was she a professional thief!?

“Don’t worry ‘bout that! There was no need to break any door” the woman revealed in a calm tone.

“Thank you… Miss… Err, may I have your name, dear housebreaker?” I soon showed all of my infinite appreciation to such a respectful burglar.

“Yes, I know, but keep flattering me for I don’t mind” she responded with her characteristic humility.

Readers, I personally doubt you would care if she just fall flat on my sofa as if she were finally home. The truth is that I did, that made me feel quite insulted.

“Was there any real need to drop it on top of my dear corona table?” I queried her jokingly.

She stared at me for a brief moment before ignoring my comment.

By the way, she was wearing a black leather jacket, at least till she dropped it on a small table. Not even my last few girlfriends were that comfortable when they paid me a visit. Anyway that did not stop me from sitting on my couch for the third time and take a peak at her body. Nope, I can honestly tell you that I had no ill intention then, I just wanted to give Brad my very personal score.

“Right, I didn’t tell you both my name. Hi, I’m Jaelynn!” the newcomer introduced herself at last. Not like she showed us her wide smile or the like.

“If you’re supposed to be his contact, why didn’t you pick his place instead?” I was feeling the urge to find out. You would surely do the same, I do not even need to ask you that.

“What a great skirt! And certainly those are some nice boots!” Brad had to make just another shallow remarks of his.

“Yeah, sorry for asking, dear Jaelynn!” I had to tell her in no time.

I wished I had not such a lousy partner in this story. Saddening it is to realize I created him with all of his well known flaws or that is what I think… for the time being. Hopefully things will change one day.

“Now skipping all of the formalities, what exactly are you doing here?” I had to let her understand I badly needed an explanation on her immediate goals.

To Be Continued...  

I personally doubt what's coming up next gotta be good for your servitor.

[kyonides]

Chapter III

Cheesie James

Nevermind, my dear readers. I was not awake when I thought that I had a female guest at home. Crap happens you know. Now do not blame me for it. Really, I did not plan it at all. Seriously!

“So you had a weird dream, didn’t ya, Kyonides?” some weak voice said all of sudden.

“Who is it? I don’t remember I had any kids so tell me how did you get in?” I had to inquire of him.

“How did I sneak in? He, he. Just look at me! I’m a mouse, that’s what we do the best!” a slightly fat rodent told me then.

Right, I got to be kidding you! How is a mouse supposed to be talking to me like he did a while ago? It is impossible! Probably I am insane already after only sleeping for about a couple of hours in the last week. Yeah, I hate myself. Don’t say it! I am not like Brad, I am a great guy. At least that is what I think…

“Yes, I can talk, Kyo!” he remarked unexpectedly.

There he was, a four legged wretch standing on his rear feet as if he owned the table. Man, I am now suspecting it is a terrible idea to fall asleep on my comfy couch. What a strange day this is!

“So how do you explain this? In this world mice can’t utter a single word but you speak as if you’d be living down here for several years” I commented out of curiosity.

Instead of replying immediately, he scratched his right ear as if he did not know the answer I was looking for. His tail waived like a pencil trying to write something on paper. Nah, he got to be nervous and nothing else, right guys? I really hope he is not scratching my wooden table!

From a Far Away Land

“This would be the very first time I’m able to hold a conversation with a human being so I find it quite disturbing as well” the mouse continued. “Err, that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn your language. You know, I’ve been living in Maryland my whole life.”

What a surprise! He is a Marylander, as if I ever needed to deal with another furry being living near Washington DC. Hurrah…

“Hey! Don’t be so disappointed! I’m a nice partner anyway” the critter yelled.

“Oh really? Who said I was in need of a partner? I’m a writer so I don’t see why I’d ever ask anybody to pass by for no good reason. And this is especially true for mice!” I fiercely pointed out.

“Don’t be a moron! I’ve come here for a good reason indeed!” he insisted.

“What reason is it then? To be a pest? No thanks, I’ve got a darn cat jumping on my roof every other night. Yeah like the very same one that made that loud noise just recently” your servitor exclaimed while in a bad mood.

“Did you say a cat!?” he shouted showing me how nervous he was already.

“Oh yeah! It’s a gray striped cat, you might like to meet her” I continued. “I nicknamed her Mommy for she’s always pregnant or looking for a new lover. Perhaps she’d better date a white or grayish mouse I know…”

“Stop right there, Kyo! I don’t wanna hear it!” my guest complained about my suggestion.

“Why? You’d become best friends in no time” I had to convince him of giving her a chance.

“Let’s just forget all about her, please!” a shaking mouse once said.

“Fine, mouse! Tell me why are you here and when you’re gonna leave for good” I informed him.

Even if he once said he could speak English fluently, he was taking his good time to come up with a decent explanation for all this rodent madness. Was I having a dream inside another dream?

“As far as I know” he started explaining “I was told to get ready to travel to a distant place. At first I thought they were talking about some fun trip to New York or Miami. Then I was told by the weird voice that I’d become a plane traveler and one of the first things I had to do once I had arrived to my destination was telling you my name.”

“Huh!? Why’d I ever need to get your pet name?” I questioned him.

“I told you I’m not your pet but your partner, Cheesie James. At your service!” the critter unveiled.

“So now that you know my name and you revealed yours, what’s next, Cheesie?” I wanted to know.

Once again, he was thinking about it for a couple of minutes. It seems he is not the cleverest mouse of the pack, don’t you think my friends?

“It’s hard to remember for my head’s still dazzling so could I have some birch beer? I’ve not had any drink since I left last night” James requested.

Now it was clear, he was just looking for a way to snatch some refreshing birch beer! What a rodent thief! Gladly, I had none for I never drink that crap. It would have been easy to hand over some lager beer or cola instead but I seriously doubt a mouse should ever taste any of those beverages. Would he become diabetic in no time if he ever sips some cola?

“What about some linden tea? I think I’ve got enough bags as to share one with you, my little friend” I suggested knowing he would reject my offer at once.

“Err, water will be fine then, I guess” CJ quickly answered.

Recollections

I stood up unwillingly and went to straight to the kitchen. After serving him some cup of water and a cracker, he had some and felt relieved enough as to recall what was his true mission. That or he was simply a excessively glutton mouse as his appearance had suggested from the very beginning. Since when am I expected to be that nosy rodent’s butler?

“I think I now remember it!” the cheese eater claimed. “The voice said I was supposed to be your familiar or the like. I don’t know what that means so don’t ask me how does it work.”

“Well, a familiar is supposed to be some sort of spirit that follows its master everywhere and that’s not something I’d ever allow here!” I had to protest then, showing him my deep concern there.

“Don’t get mad at me, bro! I’m just helping you stay connected to that dream you had a few minutes ago, or that’s what I think” Cheesie James elaborated on his task at hand.

“I guess this means that the connection between worlds might be dropped unexpectedly just like internet connection does every other week thanks to those darn sun flares” I suddenly reacted.

Who might have sent him to our world? Why was that stupid dream that important? Or should I ask why Brad has not show up in my living room as he usually does? This is quite intriguing indeed. OK, he could have been just another integral part of that weird dream anyway…

The Phone is Ringing?

There was the phone, ringing thrice in a row before turning off the screen. Wait a second guys! That means that fifty year old librarian is desperate to talk to me! No, wait another moment. Nah, I am not Brad so that is impossible, right my dear readers?

An alert, that means she has sent me a text message. Now I am sure about it, that was the ringtone Brad had assigned to his beloved librarian! Am I getting nuts out of the blue?

Obviously, I had to pick up the phone and read the message at once. My suspicions were correct the whole time! She had contacted me I do not know how! She even dared to confess that I was handsome unlike our common friend Brad. That crazy cougar is not jealous of Jaelynn, is she?

“Cheesie James, you know, I no longer think you’re any otherworldly link of sorts but a voracious spy for sure! You definitely work for that lunatic librarian!” I asserted in no time.

“What do you mean, Kyo? Why do you think so?” he demanded an explanation.

“First of all, how the hell did you know my name? I never introduced myself so how did you figure it out on your own?” I soon inquired of him.

“You almost scared the hell out of me, Kyo! Well, that’s easy to explain, the voice told me a bit about you, the amateur writer I’m supposed to assist here. I also learned a bit about that guy named Brad, you know.”

Up to this moment he seemed to have a few answers for some of my questions. Still, I badly needed to find out who the hell is the so called voice that sent him to my place. I doubt that he might ever have a clue on what his mission is all about for he is easy to manipulate if provided with enough water and food to consume like crazy.

“Now I’m afraid of getting asleep ever again! How great! There’s dementia already waiting for me out there!” I spitted out of rage.

“Wow! Wait a sec! You do need to sleep, my friend! We both depend on it!” James retorted.

To be continued...

...next year probably!