The Witch Boy

"You came," she said, sounding happy, almost hoping I would visit.

"Can't say no to a free show," I gave her a bright smile, "Which I should probably treat you to dinner for."

This cheered her up a little. "As you could see, we didn't sell many tickets, but at least someone showed up."

She tried her best to sound cheerful, despite it being awfully obvious that she was sad and possibly depressed about the situation.

"So…" she pursed her lips, "Did you like the show?"

On an average day, I would have been brutally honest. But today, I didn't want to make her sad.

"It was nice," I told a semi-lie, "I liked your magic."

This made her smile a little. "I tried to do what the famous magicians do in their circuses," she swirled her hair a little, "But maybe that wasn't the way."

I could see what she meant. People often looked at others succeeding and tried to copy their methods, only to realize that it never works for them.

Zatanna felt like she was in the middle of that discovery – realizing that it wasn't working for her, yet just not being ready to give up on it.

"I am thinking of adding a few more tricks to the roster. Hopefully, it will help increase the popularity and bring in a few more people," she was hopeful, "But I must say, thank you for coming."

"Now that I have come so far, from the Bronx to Gotham… Why don't you show me around the circus?"

I lied about it being far; I was already in Gotham after all.

However, she didn't know this, and that made her widen her eyes. "Of course!" she said, "I would love to."

I haven't seen her this excited before. She is a totally different person when it comes to her circus, something I can respect.

"Well… To start off, you must have already seen the performers?" she asked, and seeing me nod, she continued, "They have been with the circus ever since I was a little kid. They worked for my father, but now that I run the show, they follow me."

I didn't tell her that I already knew this thanks to the guard.

"They are nice people," she said, "As for the circus, it used to be much bigger with a lot more people and a lot more props. But because of financial difficulties, we had to let go of a few of them."

She showed me around, going through each prop that held sentimental value to her.

"This water tank was my father's breakthrough performance when he managed to get out of it while it was lit on fire using oil," she explained the story behind the prop, "It is what taught me that adding risky performances draws more attention."

This made me ask, "Did you try anything new? Like something different from your father's tricks?"

She shook her head, "No, this is my father's legacy. That's why I want to keep it alive with his tricks."

As she said that, I could see the look of determination on her face. But it told me all I needed to know about the show's lack of success.

Shows had to evolve with time, trends, and audience to survive.

But Zatanna wasn't interested in that, and clinging to her father's legacy was making it difficult for her to keep the circus running.

I wanted to help her, I don't know why, but I did.

However, what could I do?

As I kept thinking about that, something else was happening in the background.

As we walked, I could smell something burning.

"Why does it feel like something is burning–"

As I was about to ask, I saw Zatanna's eyes widening before she grabbed me and pushed me down.

"WATCH OUT!"

That's also when I saw the first actual dangerous magic user.

"Oh, your senses are still strong," it was the voice of a kid, "Zatanna~"

It was my first meeting with the devil's child.

Klarion the Witch Boy.

The boy who taught me the limits of my abilities.

...

...

Magic is a fundamental concept responsible for the creation of the universe.

Magic is one of the special abilities that can be hereditary or even learned.

But for the person floating over the burning circus, it was a mixture of both.

"I hope your magic is just as sharp as your senses, Zatanna."

He was someone born into a city plagued by necromancy and the usage of black magic. Where people were hereditarily blessed with the ability to use magic. And the place where children learned to cast spells even before they learned to walk.

And the one standing over a frowning Zatanna was someone special even by the previously mentioned standards.

He was someone who was a master of necromancy, a genius of using telepathic magic, and a magician whose magic reserves were greater than many of the prominent magicians found in the world.

"Klarion…"

Klarion Bleak, the Witch Boy from the Witch World.

A perfect specimen of the Lord of Chaos, a species known for their problematic nature and ability to use magic to cause grand-scale chaos.

"Why are you here!" Zatanna yelled, aware that Jasper was right beside her.

She told herself that she would erase his memories of this event, but for now, she had to get him to safety.

"You recently fought with another Lord of Chaos, something that led to me ending up here," Klarion revealed, confusing Jasper.

Jasper had no idea who Klarion was.

Klarion, much like Zsasz, was one of the characters that he had no knowledge of.

"Now, I do not give a rat's ass what you do to a lord of chaos, but this one is personal." He seemed pissed, "That old man was delivering a parcel that I happened to need. But guess what? You had to put your nose in my business, and because of that, that parcel never reached me."

"That old man was responsible for plaguing over a dozen kids with nightmares that left them in a coma," Zatanna was furious, "For that, the punishment he went through was much less than what he should have received."

This surprisingly made Klarion nod, "Oh, that's what it was about."

As this was taking place, Jasper was watching everything in confusion, unaware of what was happening.

"But you seem to be mistaking something," Klarion said, fixing his horns that he made by gelling his hair, "I am not here to avenge the old man. I do not even know his name."

Zatanna immediately readied herself for a fight, "What are you here for then?"

"I am not here to avenge the weak old fool," he announced, "I am here to avenge my parcel."

"You…" Finally, it was Jasper who decided to speak, "Burnt this circus for a parcel?"

"That's right," Klarion answered, before looking at Jasper in confusion, "But who might you be?"

"Jasper, don't," Zatanna warned, thinking Jasper was trying to blindly act like a hero, "He is a real magician, one that you read about in books."

Zatanna didn't want Jasper to mistake real magic with illusions and party tricks, as Klarion's magic was fatal.

However, Jasper already knew this.

"I know," saying this he raised his arm and pointed it at Klarion, "I am something of a magician myself!"

And the moment he said that, the fire that had spread onto the circus frame swirled and shot itself at Klarion, surprising both Klarion and Zatanna.

But what even Jasper hadn't expected was that Klarion was unlike any other hero or villain that he had faced until now.

"Interesting," Klarion said as he swallowed the entire flame in one go, "I did not expect to find another magician today. And you aren't too shabby either."

But this left Jasper quite surprised as he didn't expect the boy to take his attack like nothing.

'He is going to be a bit troublesome, isn't he?'

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