Chapter 2: Soul

"Aye 'nother rainy night?" A voice called from the entryway of my quarters.

"Seems so" I replied, not lifting a hair on my head away from the tax forms I was perusing.

"Devon still worrying about expenses?"

"Aye, can't have this life crumble around me, Mario." I said pushing my fist into my cheek, looking at the sheets in front of me. Mario ever so unruly took a seat on my desk. I lifted my gaze to him.

"Is there a reason you have taken seat on my sheets?" I asked in a low tired voice.

"Oh, no reason" He spoke eyeing all the brightly colored circus paraphernalia. "And here I thought you hated the circus" Mario spoke tapping my head with his index finger. "Seems a little unbecoming"

"oh, will you shush already?" I said trying to pry my forums from the crevice under Mario's rear. "I have important matters to attend to"

"Yes, taxes are important" Mario spoke sarcastically waving his hands in the air mocking me.

"Oh! you know what Mr. Red Nose, since this whole operation was your idea, you do them" I said finally with one last strong tug freeing the papers from Mario's backside.

"Aye, have it done in a flash I will" He proudly exclaimed taking the sheets with a nod.

"oh will you now, last time I checked you can barely read condiment labels?" I said tipping my spectacles and giving the long-haired man a skeptical glare.

"Course I can read!" he said mumbling to himself incoherently as his eyes scanned the paper. "Ok maybe I don't know how to read"

"Sharp as ever aren't we Mario" I chuckled reaching my hand out to retrieve my papers. in a second Mario pulled his hand back.

"You remember our promise right?" Mario looked me dead in the eye.

"Which Promise Mario we've made countless since childhood, the one about punching each other in the face so we can go to bed at the same time"

"No dumbass, the promise we made on that rainy night ten years ago"

"Oh, That Promise" my eyes darted to the floor. "Speaking of which have we found her?"

"No new leads on our Holy Grail I'm afraid"

"that's a tad disheartening"

"You and me both my friend" Mario shifted his weight crossing one leg over the other and placing his palm on his chin. "But you must know why I'm here?" He lifted an eyebrow as he gazed down at me. I returned the gaze.

"Was it what happened during the performance?" I questioned leaning in my chair, the poor old wicker chair made a small creaking sound. I sighed as another problem was added to my plate.

"of course, you know I can sense different magical wavelengths right?"

"Course, how long have we been friends again?" I questioned the odd quandary that was placed in my lap like a cat showing its recent hunt to its owner.

"I felt, that thing, you know that spine-tingling feeling I got when we visited Japan?"

"Darkness?" I murmured to myself as a bead of sweat ran down my forehead. "Is it the same feeling as that girl?"

"NO" Mario snapped. "This was heavier and I felt as though my whole body was being starved of magic, I couldn't move and I could hardly breathe" Mario revealed.

"And this was all while I was blanked?"

"Aye, strangest voice I ever heard then says" He lifted his fingers and used very dramatic air quotes. "You aren't the one I'm looking for" Mario recited with a snarky joking tone. "as if I want you too asshole"

"Mario! You know what this means right?"

"What that some guy wasn't interested in me?"

"No forgot about that! It means that we can begin phase two"

"is that the murder phase or the phase where I have to wear a skirt?"

"You absolute moron we're not talking about the circus!! We need sacrifices to make a Philosopher's stone"

"Oh already getting down to the nitty-gritty of it, how do you suppose we'll accomplish this phase?"

"I have connections"

"and?"

"I'm not going to spell it out"

pulling away from the doorway and walking away a figured sauntered down the hallway. "A philosopher's stone?" the man scratched his chin.

Soon I was left alone, in the darkness I sat pondering my destiny and the fate of the world, nay the whole universe. My heart began to beat a million miles a minute, a wicked smile grew on my face. I suddenly without warning began laughing in an uproarious cackle. I couldn't help nor stop it, it poured out of me like water down a fall, I was helpless to even interrupt it, and death strike me should I try, I was so elated and filled with ecstatic joy and arousal as the high of solving life's biggest question flooded my mind. when my fit of laughter subsided, I took a look around my small quarters. the posters of myself in various poses in many different flashy and opulent wares. I didn't recognize myself, it was as if I happened to stare into a mirror and see a man who looked like me, but didn't have my soul inside them, in a sense the man in that poster was hollow.

A familiar raspy yet childlike voice sounded calling to me like a siren.

"So you've found your answer?" Joahz appeared like an apparition, he walked in from the doorway and took a seat in a chair beside me.

"oh yes! my kind shadowy acquaintance I have!" I said with an elated smirk.

"Good, Good, I knew it was a good idea choosing you" Joahz laid his heavy staff on his lap and his liquid darkness spread throughout the room. "But I didn't come here to talk pleasantries, I came to talk business"

"oh ok not what I expected but ok" I said opening a drawer on my desk, I thumbed through some files. "83', 85' ah 89" I withdrew my tax forms placing them on the desk before me.

"No moron not human business, Magi Business"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Look just shut your mouth and listen to me"

"A-Alright" I crossed my legs sitting giving the dark figure my full undivided, uninterrupted attention.

"You need power, a power that will rock this world to the core, a power so deadly hell itself would shudder to think of it" He opened his palm and a dark flame flickered in his palm. "I can give you that power, but for a price, nothing is ever free" moving his head to my ear he gave me the price.

"All I need is your soul, a soul for all the power you could ever imagine and even more"

"But I already have a mythos"

"oh this transcends the limits of Mother Sheba's bastard"

"to go beyond Gilgamesh"

"well, what will it be?"

"I accept"

"You're a smart man" He tapped my shoulder and in a puff of smoke he was gone. the lights that had been turned off, came to life in a gorgeous yellow hue. illuminating my room, shadows filled the corners of my room and several red and deranged eyeballs stared at me.

"Where there is light there is darkness" The eyes spoke before disappearing.

I clutched my chest and breathed several times to try to ground myself in reality, I struggled to process what the hell even happened.