Out of the Darkness

[Negi Springfield]

Darkness. It was the only thing Negi could see when he came to. What happened? The last thing he remembered was fighting the Mage of the Beginning. Ras tel Ma Scir Magister Ardescat. A small flame appeared, illuminating the surrounding area. There wasn't much to see. Just darkness and more darkness. The darkness was aggressive, pressing inwards, trying to blot out the speck of light.

Negi tried to remember what had happened. From what he could remember, the fight didn't seem to be going well. Wasn't I injured? He looked at himself. There were no injuries as far he could see. Am I dead? Where am I? A voice interrupted his thoughts.

My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse.

Looking around, he saw the speaker. A silhouette of a man, sitting just at the edge of the light. Why didn't I sense him? His most defining feature was his lack thereof, but that might have been a trick of light.

Omni pulled out a shimmering orb.

This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

Anything at all?

You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn. That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.

Watching? Who are you?

Before Negi could ask a question, Omni vanished. The darkness surged and overwhelmed the little flame. Negi was pushed downwards by the darkness relentlessly. He struggled in vain against the darkness for a while, but soon gave up. After an indeterminable length of time, Negi was suddenly pushed out of the darkness and into the Nexus.

Argh... Where am I now? Negi looked around. The darkness had been replaced by a flat, white light. Nearby, there was a tall elevator, piercing the sky. Is that the space elevator? But... it isn't going to be built for at least another 20 years. Why is it here? Negi picked himself up. The surroundings were rather empty. There were a few other people around the elevator, a few people further out, and things in the distance. Eight of them, and as far as he could tell, they were spaced evenly apart. Negi walked towards the elevator. As he approached, he saw that it wasn't actually an elevator, as there was no entrance. Who would build something like this? Negi considered asking one of the people nearby about this structure, but he thought better of it. They all look rather dangerous. Now is not a good time to get into a fight. Having nothing better to do, Negi left the structure behind and started walking towards the object in the distance.

[Negi Springfield]

Negi had been walking for a while and something was bothering him. Why was I fighting? He remembered parts of the fight, but he didn't know why he was fighting. Actually, he didn't remember much of anything from before the fight. All he could remember were snatches of memories. A burning village. An empty classroom. An arena. Various faces. What do these mean? He shook his head. There was no use thinking about that right now.

There was something else bothering him. Something about the fight. Where's my staff? The first attack had knocked away his staff and he never had the opportunity to retrieve it. Now is a good time as any to retrieve it. Does the magic even work in this place? He shrugged. It couldn't hurt to try. Mea Virga. He stopped and waited for something to happen. As expected, nothing did. Now what?

Negi remembered that the white silhouette said something about being able to find anything he desired. What did he mean? He certainly wanted to find his staff. It felt important for some reason. As he stood there, he found himself thinking about the staff. The crooked top. The fraying bindings. The old, scarred wood. He had had it for as long as he could remember.

Lost in thought, he didn't know when an iridescent sphere had formed before him. Something was inside the shimmering bubble. The sphere faded away, leaving just a staff behind. Is this my staff? It certainly looked just like what he remembered. He picked up the staff. It had the right heft and feel. Ras tel Ma Scir Magister septendecim spiritus lucis Sagitta Magica Series Lucis. Seventeen bolts of light appear around the staff and shot into the horizon, harmlessly striking the ground. It certainly was his staff. With his staff in hand, he resumed the trek.

A long while later, Negi finally arrived at the object in the distance. Up close, he saw it was a gate of some sort. The gate was bordered in bark and vines. The other objects in the distance must be gates as well. Without further ado, he stepped through the gate and into the unknown world that awaited.