21 Chapter 21: Exploring New York Part 1

'How should I start?"' Thought Isaiah as he sat at the desk in his room.

It was now February 2007 and it's been a little over a month since the party at Olympus ended. Usually, Kamar-Taj does not celebrate anything. If one takes out the mystical aspect of the Order, it would simply be a monastery for monks to heal or search for enlightenment.

Right now he was in his room meditating. The reason? He's in dilemma. Ever since he got accepted as a sorcerer in Kamar-Taj, there was one thing that he struggled to do or more specifically wouldn't do.

Making contracts with other dimensions.

Sorcerers are all about borrowing energy from another dimension since they usually don't have their own internal energy like Isaiah. They could use their life force, but it is dangerous since it could be easily depleted and kill them.

However, Isaiah felt different. It may be due to his connection with the Root, but he felt uncomfortable connecting with dimensions and drawing their power. Of course, if he had no choice, he would easily do it. He didn't fear the power, it just felt like there was a sense of wrongness when he did. That's why he would not borrow power unless necessary. Especially from dimensions that have a master since they're the ones who control said power.

So here he was trying to find more ways to use his mana than just the basic spells. But right now, he didn't have any ideas.

According to mages like him, they were supposed to use either the internal energy that they produce for smaller spells or use the mana present in the atmosphere. In his visions, the mages lived in a world where the Age of Gods ended and they operated their magical system by actualizing mysteries. The more a spell is mysterious or unknown by the people, the more it had power while using less mana.

But this world was not the same, the rules of magic are completely different since the practice of magic is the practice of harnessing various forms of energy to manipulate one or more aspects of the infinite realities that are present within the Multiverse. His teacher had asked him about it and he gave her his reasons. The woman nodded and told him to do what he felt was right, but to never forget that there are always options.

Isaiah held up his hand and opened his palm,

"Fireball,"

An orange ball of fire appeared above his palm and stayed there. The boy observed the phenomenon. This time, he didn't use any magic. He simply used Denial Of Nothingness to create the fireball out of nothing. As such, he didn't give anything in exchange and violated the laws of Equivalent Exchange and the laws of thermodynamics.

But that's not what he wanted. Sure, reality-warping is great and all, but bending the laws of the universe for every single thing is just wasteful. It's okay to do it every now and then. It's like using a nuclear reactor to power an RC toy car.

He sighed,

"What spells do I have? I have (Projection), (Alteration), (Reinforcement), (Gandr), and (Flash Air) that I almost mastered. I also have (Thought Acceleration) and (Memory Partition). I also have telepathic spells like (Telekinesis) (Astral Projection), (Telepathy) and (Hypnosis). For spells that use Universal energy, I only have Eldritch Magic which is kind of versatile, but it doesn't have a lot of firepower. Let's not count the energies from different dimensions."

He then looked at Solomon's journal,

"Maybe Solomon can help me. I have yet to read most of the books in the ring.

As he thought about what to do, he suddenly felt lethargic.

'Not again.'

Unfortunately for him, his teacher wasn't beside him so his head slammed against the table.

*Thump!*

Soon the darkness filled his vision as he drifted into unconsciousness. A moment later, he found himself in familiar darkness.

'Haven't I been here before?' he thought.

All of a sudden, he started hearing his own voice once more.

'That's right. The last vision I had was after escaping mount Orthys. Right after, I started hearing my own voice there too.'

However, this time it was different.

The voice was clearer and it wasn't garbled. Isaiah could now make up the words.

"I... am... Nothing."

'Huh?' thought Isaiah.

He didn't why but the words felt only familiar.

'No, "familiar" is not the right word. They felt more... intimate.'

"Yet... I know... Everything."

Once more he felt himself resonate with the words.

"Falling deep... into the... never-ending void."

This time the surrounding started to shift as colors started to return.

"Only to... lose everything."

All of a sudden Isaiah found himself sitting. He looked around and saw that he was sitting on some kind of throne. Even then this throne looked like a typically elevated throne that he sees in castles. He wanted to move, but he found that he couldn't move anything except for his head. He couldn't even speak. The boy observed his surroundings and saw that it was foggy. He could only make out the throne he was sitting on. He could see the stairs covered in red carpet leading to somewhere, however, the fog made it impossible to figure it out.

At that moment, multiple shadows appeared within the fog.

'Hm?'

The shadows grew as if the sources were coming closer when they finally stopped just behind the fog. A few steps and they would have revealed themselves. However, they didn't. The shadows had different sizes and formed however, one thing in common was that they were humanoid.

'Who are they?' thought Isaiah intrigued by the event.

Just like last time, he figured this vision was not a normal one.

That's when he heard a voice.

"H'rry up and comple'e it! W're all wai'ing for yer, Lad!" an excited male voice with a thick accent called out from one of the shadows.

The accent reminded him a bit of his teacher.

"Umu! I'm so excited! I can't wait for the time you finally complete it!" a young and cheerful female voice said.

'What?"

"That's right. I wish to see the magic of this world." an amused female voice said.

'They know about me and my world?'

"You should not let this King wait any longer, boy. Once you complete it, I shall teach you what a true king should act!" a prideful and arrogant said next.

'King? What are they talking about?'

It seems like one of the shadows heard his silent question and a female with a noble voice answered him.

"Fret not. We shall be waiting for you, O King and ...

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Suddenly, the surroundings shifted once more as the darkness returned and Isaiah could feel his body again. He opened his eyes and felt the hard wood of the desk in his room. He wiped the drool that was leaking from his mouth and shook his head to shake off the disorientation.

"What was that? I couldn't hear the last thing that voice said."

The boy sighed,

"Well, it's not like I can figure it out right now."

He got off his desk and stretched himself.

'Let's take a breather for now. I can think about it later.'

Isaiah got out of his chair and went out of his room. As he walked in the corridors of Kamar-Taj, he wondered what he wanted to do. That's when he had an idea.

"Why don't I explore New York? I haven't even visited yet and it's supposed to be my place of birth."

He closed his eyes and extended his senses to find his teacher. Over the month, he had honed to use his natural talent to sense energies around him. Now, he can sense different energies all around him in a twenty-five-meter radius. Suddenly, he felt the mix of different energies of his teacher. It seems she was in the training ground observing the disciples working. He walked to the training grounds and saw disciples practicing stances with Mordo helping the students and the Ancient One observing them.

When sorcerers first start learning magic after opening their third eye, they would learn to make hand signs to facilitate the manipulation of Universal energy. Martial arts also helped. Isaiah looked as the students learned to create constructs using Eldritch Magic.

"Remember students, you do not control the Universal energy. In fact, it is not meant to be controlled. You have to let it flow in you and guide it to do what you want. Being forceful will result in nothing. In magic, to control is to surrender to it." the Sorcerer Supreme said.

"Yes, Master!" the students replied.

Isaiah continued to watch the students practice. At that moment, the Sorcerer Supreme looked in his direction and smiled before motioning to get closer.

The boy did as asked and walked up to the two masters. The boy greeted the students and walked up to the teachers.

"Hi, Mr. Mordo. Hello, Teacher."

The dark-skinned man sighed with a tired smile, but he didn't bother correcting the child anymore.

"Hello, Isaiah."

"Hello, Isaiah. What brings you here?" the woman asked.

"I wanted to ask you something about mana."

It was their secret phrase for when they needed to discuss Isaiah's secrets. Since Isaiah possessing mana was not really a secret and the fact that only the Ancient One and he had extensive knowledge, it was easier to hide the message in plain sight.

The woman looked at the boy before turning to Mordo.

"Can I leave them to you?"

Mordo bowed,

"Yes, Master. Leave them to me."

The woman nodded and motioned the boy to follow her. They soon arrived in their usual classroom.

"Tea?"

Isaiah shook his head,

"Not this time."

"Alright."

They both sat down in front of each other. The boy noticed a book on the table.

"What's that?"

Fiona, who saw where he was looking, widened her eyes and made the book disappear.

"It's nothing." she quickly replied and changed the subject, "So what did you want to tell me?"

Isaiah gave a confused look at his teacher who simply smiled before shrugging. He then recounted his vision. Fiona had a neutral expression when the boy finished explaining.

"I understand. And this vision is unlike all the other ones you've had until now?"

"Yeah. Usually, they would be visions of the past, the future, or even other worlds. But I've never heard one talk to me."

"Maybe it's not a vision at all."

Isaiah now looked confused,

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it is as you said. This is not like any visions you've had. Maybe it's not a vision at all. More like a message."

"From whom?"

Fiona grinned,

"Well, that's the million-dollar question isn't it?"

Isaiah had a pensive expression.

"But they were talking about me being a king or something. And they would ask me to hurry and complete something. Last time I checked I had no monarchy."

The Ancient One pondered over his words,

"Hmm. You told me that you heard words said by your own voice before hearing the messages, do you remember them?"

"Uh-huh."

"Here. Right it down." the woman said as she conjured a pencil and a sheet of paper.

Once Isaiah was done, he gave it to his teacher and the latter started reading it.

"I am Nothing. Yet I know Everything. Falling into the never-ever-ending void. Only to lose everything. Hmm. What do you think of these words?"

"They sort of... resonate with me I guess. I feel like they are meant to be more than just words."

The teacher nodded.

"Do you think these words correlate with the thing those people want me to complete?" Isaiah asked.

"Perhaps or perhaps not. Only time will tell since we don't have any clue right now." the teacher said as she handed the paper back to her student.

She then asked him,

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh, yeah. Can I go to New York?"

Fiona raised an eyebrow at the sudden request.

"May I ask why?"

"Because I want to explore!"

She now had an amused grin on her face.

"I see. And may I ask where you will be going?"

The boy shrugged, "Just here and there. like Central Park, Statue of Liberty, New York Public Library, Queens, etc."

The woman wanted to ask what he meant by Queens, but she didn't push it since she knew it was his birthplace.

She nodded.

"Are you going to be okay going alone?"

The boy tilted his head and asked innocently,

"Is there something that can hurt me?"

It was such an arrogant question asked in such an innocent way that the woman didn't know what to answer. But she nodded her head,

"There are a lot of things out there, Isaiah. They can definitely hurt you if you are not careful enough."

Isaiah nodded,

"I understand. But I think I'll be okay."

"Good. As long as you understand that. Always be vigilant. Also, you must not show off your powers."

"Yes, Teacher."

"Do you have your ring?"

"Always."

"Do you have money?"

"I didn't use the one you gave me last time."

"How much was it again?"

"About a thousand dollars."

"Good. Don't lose it. And don't spend it all."

"Yes, Teacher," He then backtracked at her question.

"Wait, I can use it?" the eleven-year-old ask surprised.

The woman quirked her eyebrows,

"Why do you think I gave you the money?"

"To use it as emergencies."

"I would never give a thousand dollars as an emergency. I said it before. It's for you to use since it's your allowance," she replied with an amused smirk.

"Oh."

"Here."

She then conjured a schoolbag and handed it to him.

"What's this for?" the boy asked as he examined the bag.

"It's a school bag. You didn't expect to just go up to a store and store whatever you buy in your ring right?"

The expression on the boy's face told her otherwise.

She sighed,

"You can use this bag as a disguise. When you take any object, place it in your bag and then in your ring. You have to remember, sorcery is a secret in this world."

"Ah! Ok! That's cool!"

"Have you gotten any warm clothes?"

"What do you mean?"

The woman had to remind herself that the boy was practically raised amongst superhumans so normal human logic didn't apply to him.

"An eleven-year-old growing boy can't be going outside in simple garbs. You have to wear a coat and pants. Normal people wear those to keep themselves from getting cold. And it's also winter, it would be unnatural for a boy to wear light clothes in winter."

"Oh! I can just alter my current clothes into something warm."

"... Sure, let's go with that."

Fiona then looked thoughtful before smiling.

"Then I think you are all set then."

They then got up and walked to the room where the Orb of Agomotto was.

"Alright, Teacher. I'll be off then!" the boy said with excitement slipping through his voice.

"Goodbye, Isaiah. Have fun and be safe." the woman replied as she waved her hand.

The portal to the New York Sanctum rippled as the boy stepped through. Fiona then saw the boy disappear as he made his way to the exit before slowly letting her hand down. She let out a smile before conjuring the same book Isaiah had spotted and walking back to her room. However, if one were to look closely at the book, one would see its title.

[Parenting for Dummies]

Isaiah walked down the stairs of the New York Sanctum when he saw Master Drumm sitting on a chair reading a book.

"Hello, Mr. Drumm!"

The dark-skinned man looked up from his book and saw the boy,

"Oh, hello Isaiah! What brings you here?"

"I'm just going outside to explore New York."

"I see. Does Master know about it?"

"Uh-huh! She gave me permission."

"Alright then. Have fun and stay safe."

"Alright. Goodbye Mr. Drumm."

"Goodbye to you too, Isaiah."

The boy then altered his clothes into warm clothes and walked out of the doors. Fortunately for him, today was one of the warmer days of winter with no snow falling nor wind blowing. It was the perfect day. It was also around 11:45 in the morning.

The young sorcerer could see white snow everywhere as if it had fallen recently and breathed in the cool air of New York. Although his nose twitched when the smell of the air hit his nose. Kamar-Taj's air was much purer than New York's due to the lack of pollution.

He saw many people walking in different clothes as the streets were bustling with activity.

"Alright. Where should I go first?"

The boy took out his map of New York and started searching for his destination. And so for the rest of the day, Isaiah visited many places and ate different foods. Popping in and out of the Mirror Dimension helped him tremendously since he could open portals in there and travel far distances. He even bought some food for his teacher that he stored in his ring.

As he was walking on the streets of Manhattan and admiring the view, he suddenly realized something,

'Wait. Doesn't Percy live around here? Why don't we visit him? We can go to Queens later," he then checked his ring,

"I remember him giving me the address. Ah, there it is!"

He took out a piece of paper from his ring and saw his address.

"Let's see. East 104th and 1st, Upper East Side. Let's check the map."

The boy took out the map and searched for the location of the address.

"There it is. It's a ten-minute walk from here!"

Putting everything back into his ring, he started walking to Percy's apartment.

"Let's go say hi, eh?"