Chapter Text
Ah, my cherished benefactor.
My wicked bloom holding others in thy noble thrall.
Thou truly art the fairest of them all.
Mirror mirror, close at hand . . .
Come from farthest space,
Show me to their voice and face.
Yuusei Sugiyama really should not be up this late.
That’s the one useful thought they have as they stare down at their desk. A veritable mosaic of papers, lists, books, pencils, and their laptop in the middle of it all. A mess, but one that was, in their eyes. . .
Well, perfectly organized wasn’t even the term they’d use for it, admittedly.
They sighed, taking their glasses off and burying their face in their hands.
Stalling was getting them nowhere, but neither was actually trying to think about their project.
They needed a break. Despite getting next to nothing done.
With a swift motion, they swiveled in their chair and got up. Careful to not make even the slightest sound, they headed downstairs. If work wasn’t getting done, a snack and a walk would do them good.
That convenience store near their house should still be open, after all.
Sure, this was wasting precious alone time, but Yuusei didn’t see any better idea.
Ye, whom the Dark Mirror did beckon forth . . .
If thy heart so desires,
Then take now the hand of the one reflected in the looking glass.
It was the middle of the night, darkness blanketed the city, save for the streetlights and lit-up signage of some businesses. The darkness didn’t bother Yuusei too much, but they pulled their hoodie a bit tighter over themselves regardless. It was just a few blocks. They wouldn’t run into too much trouble.
If they were lucky.
But were they ever?
. . . No, they’d be fine.
Really, what were they worried about happening?
It wasn’t like this was an unfamiliar path. It wasn’t like they hadn’t done this before, many nights in a row.
Although . . . something about this night felt different. That much Yuusei could tell.
Was it the reason? Past late-night snack runs were done while doing schoolwork, or cramming for an exam last minute. This night. . . this night, their reason for being up so late was for themselves. A project that was simply theirs, an idea that was simply theirs, something that was their own.
Granted, they didn’t know what it would be. A novel? A video game? A comic? They hadn’t quite figured out what they would do. . . or what they would be good at. (Did ‘being good’ matter, in this case?)
Well. . . at the very least.
They had more than enough time to think about it.
Then, they’d make something great.
Flame shall reduce the very stars to ash.
Ice shall seal away even time itself.
And great trees shall swallow the vast sky.
But fear not the forces of darkness.
Rather, come and demonstrate thine own power.
Just one more block, one more turn. Then it was back again. A slight smile formed on Yuusei’s face. This would be worth it, after this trip, they’d finally get started, and . . .
. . . What. . . was that sound?
A rapid, repetitive ‘clop’ drew closer and closer, from an echo to a cascade in seconds. A harsh neigh joined in, shrill and loud in the quiet night. Yuusei turned on their heel towards the sound, and nearly instantly regretted it.
A pair of horses, pitch black in such a hue that they blended in with the night, were galloping towards them at full speed. A large, ornate carriage similarly dark in color clattered along behind them, with no discernable driver.
Yuusei didn’t even have a last thought, being faced with a seemingly inevitable doom. Their consciousness simply faded.
Everything cut to black.
To me. To them. To thyself.
Our time is running short, you understand.
So take great pains.
Do not release that grasped hand.
To Yuusei’s surprise, they woke up.
Granted, waking up in. . . actually, they had no idea what's going on. Trying to move around much at all let them know they were in some kind of enclosed space.
‘What in the world. . ?’ they thought, the question barely forming in their mind as they tried to come to the rest of the way. What. . . what happened? How did they . . .
Pushing against one wall of whatever it was they were stuck inside of only raised more questions, as they fell forward and onto the floor in front of them.
Wherever they were. . . no, this couldn’t have been real.
Yuusei had emerged into a grand, spacious room, more ornate and fancy than anywhere they had been in person. It was dark and felt like something from a cathedral, or a palace. Somewhere straight out of a gothic fantasy novel, or something like that.
Arches lined the walls of the circular chamber, lights hung up between each one and patterned grates shielding windows. A magnificent chandelier decorated with chains and strung with beads connected to the surrounding walls hung from overhead. Amongst them, oddly decorated coffins floated.
And directly in front of Yuusei, was a huge, round mirror, suspended in the air by seemingly nothing at all, green flames dancing through the glass inside of the decorated golden frame.
And. . . oh.
Oh there were a lot of people in here.
All clothed in the same hooded robes, muttering amongst themselves. Looking back, there were even more, seated in rows and rows of benches like you would find in a church.
Yuusei got to their feet, almost regretting it, as they could clearly see the sea of faces staring at them. But evidently, the room had gone completely silent.
That is, until a pair of footsteps paired with the sound of metal on stone, drew closer.
“Goodness me,” the accompanying voice said, a man with. . . a frankly somewhat ridiculous outfit, approached Yuusei. The way he spoke so casually set them on edge. “It is unheard of for a student to emerge from the gate unbidden, what a terribly impatient youth you must be! I mean, really-”
“Where the hell am I?!” Yuusei exclaimed, their own nerves getting the better of them.
“Oh, do calm yourself,” The man said, “My, this is a problem, it would appear your mind is somewhat hazy, likely due to the effects of time-space teleportation.”
‘The effects of what now?’ Yuusei thought to themselves. Mind racing ever so slightly. This . . . well, they didn’t really have dreams. So this had to be real. All of this had to be real.
“Well, fear not, kindhearted Crowley will explain,” the man spoke. “Welcome, to Night Raven College. This is the most prestigious arcane academy in all of Twisted Wonderland! Fledgling mages such as yourself are chosen for their rare and exceptional talents with magic, and-”
“Wait!” Yuusei exclaimed. “I’m sorry, magic? I can’t do magic!”
The silence that followed their words was deafening.
“. . . What did you just say?” The man, Crowley? turned around to face them, surprised.
That was seemingly an invitation for the murmurs to start up once again. These ones, audible enough for Yuusei to hear.
“Fascinating . . .”
“Really, does this kid have no manners . . . ?”
“. . . but if they’re here . . . they have to be a student, right?”
“Well, this is just great . . .”
“Whatever shall we do, then?” Crowley’s voice cut through the noise of the crowd. “A student being unable to use magic, it’s unheard of . . . ! You must be mistaken.”
“I’m. . . I’m pretty sure I’m not.” Yuusei took a step back. “I don’t think I’m supposed to be here.”
“Oh yeah? Then this is where I come in!”
An overly-confident yet childish voice came from seemingly nowhere as a small shape crashed through one of the windows. Amidst the shards of glass, a small. . . cat? Creature? Landed before Yuusei.
“Sorry for eavesdropping, but I’ve got something to say!” The monster cat stood up on its hind legs, striking a. . . kind of silly pose, “People from all over are dying to get into this school, so if you don’t wanna be here, hand over your spot to the great and wonderful me!”
Yuusei blinked. “. . . A nekomata?” Because sure, this evening could not possibly get any weirder.
“Excuse you! I am not a whatever-you-said!” the monster cat exclaimed. “I am a monster destined for extraordinary magehood. I am the illustrious Grim!”
Grim’s declaration was met with laughter and jeering from the crowd. Apparently the idea was so ridiculous, everyone agreed it was just. . . foolish.
Yuusei felt a bit of pity for Grim at that moment. A moment that didn’t last long.
“Oh, that does it!” Grim exclaimed. “If that’s how you wanna be, then check out this super special spell I got!”
With a deep breath, Grim conjured a tiny blue flame in front of himself, which quickly became an azure inferno. And so, absolute chaos followed. Some students robes catching fire as they scrambled to escape.
“See that?” Grim laughed, “Grim the great and powerful! And there's a whole lot more where that came from!”
“I was worried about messing up, I wasn’t expecting something like this-!” one of the students, a brown haired girl, exclaimed.
“Meowch- lets get out of here!” another girl, one who appeared to have cat ears, exclaimed.
A third, taller student near the other two ran alongside them. . . did they have a dragon’s tail?
Crowley looked around helplessly, “Oh dear, oh dear, the school will be engulfed in a sea of flame! Someone capture this rogue monster immediately!”
“How interesting. . .” A blonde haired student looked around, unbothered by the destruction. A small robot at her side beeped worryingly.
Two students went to apprehend Grim, and Yuusei just. . . watched as chaos continued to unfold. Another, a blue-haired student, went to put the fire out when the feline culprit was finally caught.
“. . . Now then.” Crowley approached Yuusei. “The matter of your lack of magic . . . if your claims are true, then we cannot admit you to our academy. But worry not, the Dark Mirror will see you safely home.”
Right. . . that's what Yuusei wanted, to go home, right?
Even so. . . they had a feeling things simply wouldn’t be so easy.
Crowley approached the Dark Mirror, which had been observing everything, “O, Dark Mirror! Return this soul to where it belongs!”
The entire room erupted into green light, the air simply shifted with something Yuusei could only assume was magic, and then. . . nothing.
Absolutely nothing happened.
“No such place exists,” the Mirror spoke, the masked face within it completely emotionless, “Searched far, have I, through fog and mist. This young one’s home does not exist.”
That settled it.
Yuusei had a sneaking suspicion about what had happened to them, but this simply confirmed it.
The carriage from before, magic being all too real, everything about this . . .
. . . They were in another world, there was no doubt about that.
“Well, this is quite the predicament,” Crowley said. “May I ask from which country you hail?”
“. . . Didn’t the mirror say? Somewhere that doesn’t exist.” Yuusei replied, “Not here, anyway.”
“Ah, I see,” Crowley nodded, “What to do about such a conundrum. . . of course, one cannot be permitted to stay at the academy if one cannot use magic. And yet, as an educator, I am loath to expel a young person without a cent to their name, or any ability to contact their guardian. . . Truly, my grace is boundless.”
Yuusei raised an eyebrow, that was the second time that guy had praised himself for his kindness. That was enough to make them nervous, and evidently, enough time for Crowley to find a solution.
“Ah. . . ! Of course,” He said, “There is a vacant building on campus that was once used as a dorm, long ago. Out of the profound kindness of my heart, I will allow you to live there for the time being.”
“. . . is that really okay?” Yuusei asked. “I mean. . .”
“Oh, it would pain me terribly to leave you out in the cold,” Crowley said, “In the meantime, I will investigate other ways to send you home.”
“. . . Alright, thank you.” Yuusei nodded, still hesitant.
“Truly, I am a model educator,” Crowley said, “Well then, I shall take you to your dorm straight away. It is an older building, but it has plenty of. . . character, one may say.”
The last part of Crowley’s words went unheard as he began to walk away, and Yuusei focused in on the mirror- now blank- that apparently brought them there.
Sent to another world. . . for apparently no reason. Their arrival here was a complete accident, and they had no way to get home.
. . . So why couldn’t they bring themselves to even panic?