Prologue

Foreword: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Two best friends watch from their hotel room as the evacuation order is given. Both are able to spot those that move against the grain even as the stars above made themselves known. While Yokohama’s citizens geared up to enjoy the nightlife or return home, mages from all over the city were fleeing it with all due haste. It was a chilling reality-check as both knew that there would be no turning back now. At the end of the day, they—and eight other magicians—would be the only ones residing in Yokohama, lest they be targeted or mistaken for those who willingly participate in a trial with their lives on the line. Magicians of all sorts, under the watchful eye of the Magical Affairs & Governance Institute (MAGI) gather to slay one another over one little bauble. A single stone, small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand yet strong enough to grant powers beyond what even the most skilled magician could muster.

The Philosopher’s Stone.

Names were collected, deals were made, and machinations were set in motion. Some of the greater families, known for cultivating the mystical arts over many generations, have staked their claim. The Japanese Branch of MAGI (J-MAGI) toils over the nigh uncountable names of those who wish to put their necks under the guillotine’s blade in the hopes that they can make their mark on history. Some of the greater families are clearly unhappy when they aren’t chosen, yet it was neither they nor MAGI that selects them.

“You know, I still can’t believe I got chosen,” murmured the young man. He sat on the hotel bed with a sigh that was filled with both disbelief and nervous excitement. “Are we sure that the cauldron didn’t just choose randomly?” He looked at the device on his right arm, pulling up his sleeve to give it a firm look-over before hiding it away. It was his most important tool, but also his Achilles heel. “Thankful though I am, it just doesn’t make sense to me. You’d think it’d want to see more from the greater families, right?”

The great cauldron. More ancient than MAGI itself and believed to hold a connection to the origin of magic. A concept known by many names, many seek the origin of this primordial artefact. Some believe that it is a god—the creator of all. Others believe the origin is another dimension that connects to their own, the laws of its land bleeding into our own. The theories are endless, but regardless of what one may believe, all respect this strange tool. Used only once every twenty years, it was awakened to choose but ten mages of countless aspirants to go to Yokohama to wager their lives.

“Not necessarily,” the young woman answered, her ponytail whipping quietly as she turned from the streets below to face him. Closing the curtains, she knew it would behoove them to keep themselves well and truly hidden now. “The Cauldron… There is much we don’t know, but I wouldn’t say that matters now. We’re here, we were chosen. It’d be a slap in the face of all MAGI if we surrendered before the competition even began.”

Sighing through his nose, the man takes a slow drink of water. His nerves were starting to get to him now that the reality of this competition was upon him. “So, starting tomorrow, we’ll be enemies, huh?” asked Kusunoki Ren, a magician in his early twenties who never expected to be selected for this, but now that he was, he could finally make a name for himself by getting the Philosopher’s Stone for himself. He adjusted the device on his right wrist, a medium for him to channel his magical power through so that he could exert his will upon the world. Without it, his magic was nearly unnoticeable.

“I suppose so. If we end up battling against each other, I promise not to kill you, so you’ll need to surrender nice and fair if I beat you, okay?” Miharu Yuina—his childhood friend, now a mortal rival, tried her best to smile in defiance of the grim times ahead. Her magic is unique, even among the greater families.

“I can already tell, they’re on guard. Just make sure they don’t hit me before the competition actually begins, alright?” Ren joked lightly. While most magicians wouldn’t be able to sense them, because Ren and Yuina have known each other for most of their lives, he was able to tell when Yuina’s spirits were around and active, though they rarely left her side.

This small advantage, however, works both ways. “Don’t worry, even if they did go off, I’ve made sure that they know not to kill you. Besides, all I have to do is disable the ryukan, right? If I do that, I’m sure I could make you surrender,” she teased, sitting beside him on the bed with an exhausted huff. She knew just how hard he worked on that device, and it brought her great joy when he finally completed it. It’d hurt her heart to have to destroy it, but it was better to have him rebuild his beloved mystical glove than to risk killing her best friend.

“For the longest time, we thought I didn’t even have any magic, or that I had some unbelievable thing that we just couldn’t figure out.” Ren gestured to his right hand, recalling the countless hours that they spent trying to learn what he could do. “Man, my parents were not happy to learn about just how weak my output was. Did you know they considered disowning me and ensuring my status would remain that of a civilian?”

“Did they? Well, if they did, my parents would have scooped you right up. They still ask after you, wanting to know when you’ll visit again. My mother keeps saying that you’d make a good husband.” Her laugh is like a gentle chime against the horrible gloom that threatened to fill the room. Her parents were very traditional, though she herself was once a recluse. Yuina’s first love was always for the spirits she’d meet and make friends with, despite her parents’ insistence on her womanly duties. “They’re worried about you, too. My dad says you should hide out at their place so you can surrender and hide out over the rest of the competition. They won’t judge you for it.”

“Don’t worry too much about me. It’s you I’m worried about. I really don’t like the thought of anyone coming to try and kill you, so please be careful. I want us both to come out of this in one piece. After all, when I win I’d hate for you not to be there when I can finally show you what I’m really capable of.” Ren approached Yuina, gently hugging her. She reciprocated, as this may very well be the last time they get the opportunity to show each other any form of kindness. Once the clock hits midnight tomorrow, the competition would be on, and they’d have to fight each other seriously.

This contest need not necessitate death, but it was the surest way to eliminate competition. A small ritual was required to relinquish one’s participation, ensuring that nobody could pretend to surrender and come back to attack the otherwise victorious opponent. However, surrender requires such a ritual, one’s opponent isn’t restricted from slaying the opposition unless said ritual is complete. Every single magician is informed of these risks before signing up.

Their embrace continued for longer than either of them expected. Yuina broke first, crying into his shoulder. She hated the idea of having to kill anyone to achieve her dream, but what hurt her most was the thought that Ren may face his end before she sees him again. Yuina was careful, but she knew Ren would likely seek out his opponents more actively than she would. Ren tried to remain stoic, but he too shed some tears quietly, hugging Yuina closer. They both fought this war for selfish reasons, but wanted to share their dream with the other. Ren wished for the stone so he could complete the ryukan, making it far better than he ever could on his own and becoming one of the most renowned magicians of the modern era. Yuina, meanwhile, sought to use the stone to create a sanctuary for natural and conceptual spirits, where they could be at peace undisturbed by the world of man.

There would be no hard feelings regardless of which of the two won, but they each had to see their own dream through, even if it meant going through the other. They also swore to let the other surrender should things go poorly, and just in case, each party had a burner phone to contact each other in the event of an emergency. Despite having decided to fight one another, neither would be satisfied if they were eliminated by a third party.

Though these two were not the only ones making their final preparations.

Elsewhere in Yokohama, the other contestants begin to gather. Another magician has already begun his preparations. Chanting and scrawling with invisible chalk, laying the groundwork for what will be his perfect, clean victory. Once the ritual was done, he brushed his hands together and moved on. He only had two more hours to finish preparing before he had to have his dinner—he must ensure that everything continued smoothly and according to his schedule.

An author coughs on her deathbed. She does not know how much time she has left, she can only pray it’ll be long enough to complete this competition. Medicine would not work, and even the rare magicians that were medically-inclined could find no way to save her life. Her brush dances across the pages as the pages dance in kind, heeding the words of their princess turned general.

Another woman sighs, looking down on the city from atop her tower. She had wished to bring her sniper rifle, but she determined it would be too risky. Even as someone in her profession, she found the Japanese police far too difficult to shake with how swiftly they respond to any reports of gun violence. If she failed to put down her target in a single shot, she could risk exposing their society, a sin referred to as “revealing the mystics,” and would thus be eliminated herself. For now, she’d have to lean more heavily on her lethal magic rather than conventional firearms to get her work done.

Beneath them all, another game was being played. Out of breath, a middle-aged man fled as hard as he could beneath the streets of Yokohama. He just came down on a dare from a friend overseas who had shown him the sewers in his town, so he wanted to return the favour, but while his friend told him there were animals in his sewers, what he found beneath the streets of Yokohama was far more terrifying than any monster he could have found.

Suddenly, his blood chilled. A flash of red covered his eyes before he felt an impossible force pulling him back. He fell forward, his blood having erupted from his back. Before it could pool into the brine below the body, the blood floated, entering a beaker being held by his monster. “Shinzo, huh?” He chuckled, swirling the crimson fluid with scientific curiosity. “All that booze has really gotten to you. What a shame, but I’ll put you to good use. Good thing I found you before liver failure did.” Satisfied, he left the body there for whoever could find it. For him, the game has already begun.