The Mixing Market

A void spanned endlessly in every direction: nothing could be seen. The visitor had once described the area as an expanse of pure white light. Others claimed it was a pitch black space, devoid of all sense. There was no defined concept of time or space in this place, or really anything for that matter. Everything simply conformed to the whims of the mana flowing around. And yet, it held a secret – one that only a single person in the entire world could barely reach.

~~~

“Ah, here it is.” A pale hand appeared out of nowhere, floating in some location. There was no indication where it came from besides from a small, imperceptible ripple. A body followed a moment later, as if materializing into existence. The hand belonged to a man who, after glancing around, walked off in some direction. His blue lab coat shifted back and forth as his flip flops clacked with each step, even though there was no ‘floor’ to speak of. It was debatable whether the man was moving at all, and yet, he was sure he was going somewhere.

Suddenly, the man came to a complete stop, surveying the area as though he could see something no one else could. He tilted his head in confusion, muttering, “Am I too early?” before shrugging his shoulders. He found it strange that they could be late, what with the lack of time, but they were rather terrible when it came to understanding and applying the rules of the outside world. The man decided there was only one thing he could do.

“HELLO?” he bellowed – his voice somehow echoing for a few seconds. As expected, the area quickly came to life. The mana in the area swirled to unfathomable quantities — enough to kill a living creature just by being in its vicinity – twisting into some sort of chaotic semblance. Rectangular-shaped stalls manifested in a variety of locations. Some were in line with where the man was standing, as if on some common elevation. However, quite a few were placed in random orientations above and below. A cobbled path popped between the stalls, snaking around in every conceivable manner to connect the stalls together. It was a scene that made the man want to sigh. It seemed as though they still hadn’t quite grasped the concept of gravity or the ground.

Then they appeared: beings made of mana, or manaforms as the man called them. These anthropomorphic blobs began walking, or occasionally gliding, along the path, sampling and buying the various being sold. Although they were only roughly in the shape of a person, it was much better than the last time the man visited. He could still remember the spheres and prisms he had to interact with. The stall owners, on the other hand, were indistinguishable if one ignored a few minor oddities. It should hopefully make shopping a lot easier, though he didn’t get his hopes up.

“Welcome to the Mixing Market–ah! Welcome back, sir! It’s been a lifetime!” the man turned to the side. Another person had materialized, a box hanging from a rope tied around their neck. They looked completely normal…besides the fact that their upper body was that of a lion. By the time they finished speaking, their animal half had morphed into an ostrich.

“I see you’re looking as animalistic as ever, shape-shifter. You know, people don’t change between different races, much less have the top half of a beast,” the man sighed, trying once again to explain how the outside world was.

“Hmm? But I thought you said that people shift their shape too by ‘growing up’. That’s all I’m doing,” the shape-shifter puzzled as they turned into a walrus.

That’s not something that happens every single minute! And that doesn’t even address the race switching! the man internally screamed. It would take much too long to explain why to a manaform, with their comprehension issues, so he resigned, “I see…”, keeping a perpetual smile on his face.

The shape-shifter, oblivious as their face transformed into a turtle, motioned to the box. “Would you like a vehicle to explore the market in?” The man looked into the box. It was full of marbles, making him desperately want to sigh again. Sure, he knew the marbles did provide a form of transportation, but it was more akin to transformation magic rather than a wagon or a cart. However, he knew that the shape-shifter would rebut with something like, ‘but it's moving you somewhere, so therefore it's a vehicle’, so he instead silently grabbed a few marbles from the box. It was not worth fighting an unwinnable battle.

The man stuffed the marbles into his front coat pocket, keeping one in his hand. He tossed it in his mouth, crunching down using his molars. In an instant, his body transformed into a crow. It was so seamless that, if one hadn’t seen the man before, it would be impossible to believe that they were ever a person.

“Take care and enjoy the market,” the shape-shifter yelled, its head changed into a panther, as the man flew outside the beaten path. Even as he looked around, more stalls were popping into existence in all sorts of places. Mana could produce an infinite number of possibilities, allowing for any stall to sell any item, provided one knew where to search.

So the man, with a destination already in mind, flapped his wings, heading towards a stall he had visited once before.