A Ritual That Went Sideways For A Short Field Trip… God Damn It...

(POV: Tristan Devroop Akvash)

Tristan, who was frustratingly glaring at the Hologram who was smirking at him just like the real Kai, said to the Hologram, "So, let me get this straight? This thing about Spirit, if I have to summarise your entire explanation, [Spirit] is pretty much a building block of ephemeral stuff of the three Umbrae: High Umbra, Middle Umbra, and low Umbra...

But screw the Low Umbra, as that place is for decrepit gouls and such, that you said... These three realms are between the pureness of unbridled [Prime] or pool of energy and the Patterned World of flesh...

Spirit, as a whole, is a sort of conceptual energy given a unique form that can mirror or mimic the more mundane Patterns of elements on Earth. And you're telling me that it's so much more than that because It's also the result of emotion, hope, and thought -- the intangible end product of the Mind's musing and shaping... And for further context??!!

Skilled mages in this Sphere can touch this 'Wall' that separates potential from material to see beyond. And not just any beyond but the conceptual reality that mirrors this material world and beyond whatever I've seen in my miserable, pathetic life... And finally, this Sphere [Spirit] created you, a spirit that has emotions, etc. What kind of level of mage shenanigans created you, Hologram Kai?"

Tristan narrated just about the short version. Hologram Kai nod his head yes while saying, "I mean, that sums it up, but that part with what mirrors the material world was only the Penumbra. There are five different Penumbra that lead to other realms, but for your sake, we'll focus on three.

The Astral Planes for the High Umbra, Shadow Lands for the Low Umbra, and The Spirit Wilds for the Middle Umbra work like a connection that can only be walked through by a Gaunlet, which works as a barrier surrounding material reality, separating it from the Umbra. The Low Umbra has a gauntlet called The Shroud, and the other two are just Gaunlets which leads to their respective Penumbra's and beyond.

Honestly, there's a lot more to this, but how about a field trip... And oh, about my creation? Let's just say an Archmage has created me for the usage of protecting younger Mages from Paradox, but Kai decided that I was better off mentoring against my will... How am I doing?" The Hologram said. Tristan stared at him with pity and annoyance, saying.

"..... Ok, then, that was a lot to take in; I would love to listen more about the [Spirit] Sphere and how your Archmage created you, but what's this about a field trip?" The Hologram clapped his hands together and said with joy.

"Well, you are a Mage that has a special connection with multiple spheres, but [Spirit] is a good start... Usually, you'd have to learn [Prime], but Tristan, close your eyes and start feeling around you first and foremost." Tristan, who looked a bit skeptical for a moment, closed his eyes, and he still felt the shadows around the basement, and the spiritual Hologram said.

"Don't just focus on the shadows around the room. I saw that little stunt while I was in that box. Try to reach even further beyond the shadows, Tristan, and you'll see it. And don't try to push yourself and relax; think of it as a sort of meditation." As Tristan's mind blanked from feeling further from himself, all of the Shadows around the room stopped, the table made of shadows dissipated, energy in the form of a white glow fizzled like a web through the walls of the basement, the mass of the thin form of light circled Tristan, Tristan who felt it moving around felt all giddy as this was completely different from his Shadows, but that giddiness was interrupted by Zil as he finally said something for once.

<Tristan, let me absorb the bits of this energy around you... It's my first time absorbing something, but I feel like can do it.> Tristan said to Zil without a care.

'You do you, buddy; I'm not stopping you.' Zil, hearing Tristan's permission, his Avatar pulled in the energy that Tristan was manipulating and absorbed it into his body at a rapid pace until he was done.

The Spirit who witnessed this phenomenon looked at him in disbelief; what Tristan just did wasn't anything normal... He was only just trying to show Tristan that he had a natural ability to manipulate Quintessence, but directly absorbing Quintessence at his level, even with an Avatar, would be dangerous.

When Tristan was done, he saw Hologram Kai's questioning face, and Tristan only told him.

"Ahh... I'm sorry about that. My Avatar wanted to absorb the energy around the room." The Hologram couldn't say anything further and shook his head as he spoke.

"You know what, never mind about how you did something that kind of makes you a bit of a monster... With that, you'd become a living nuke around five years tops, but I only wanted to get you to feel for the very energy that Mages use.

For that, you found the energy source around this place, which should be called a Hallow, which produces mana, which can be accessed by Mages who perform oblations within them. These vary from mage to mage but always include some element of meditation." Tristan stared at him oddly and asked him as sincerely as he could.

"Are you some sort of encyclopedia? And what should I call you? I don't want just to call you a hologram or Kai. Those two words together don't really fit at all." Hologram Kai smiled softly as he chuckled.

"Hmhmhm!! Well, I am a spirit that resonates with the term of knowledge, as I was born from that concept and used to teach young mages, but that kind of contradicts my usage of protecting mages.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I can conventionally protect mages from paradox through transference, but a mage not knowing something or using an incorrect formula, or imagining something nutty, or other things can cause some significant fuck ups down the line, and I help with that by teaching... But this is actually the first time making this into a somewhat permanent one-on-one teaching. And how about Kaio? Because as of right now, I'm in the form of Kai..." Tristan, who was growing irritated, asked Kaio.

"So, Kaio, what's this field trip you're on about?" The Spirit, now nicknamed Kaio, snapped his fingers, and a ritualistic pattern on the floor appeared in a greenish light.

"Well, because of your natural inclinations to [Prime], that means your field trip through one of the strange realms of the Umbra is going to be easier, and it's your job to return to the world of flesh on their own or find a guide to help you..." Tristan's jaw dropped from this and said.

"You're just going to send me away to some foreign realm to fend for myself?!?! And find my way back to the material world?" Tristan was trying to juggle all of his thoughts and keep his swear words to himself, and Zil wasn't of any help.

<..... Tristan... I think have an addiction now.... I'm blaming you for it now.> Zil said, making Tristan's eyes twitch.

'FUCK YOUR ADDICTION ZIL!!! WE'RE GOING ON A MAGICAL SCHOOL TRIP!!! AND I DON'T KNOW IF I SHOULD BE EXCITED OR ANGRY TO THE POINT OF BERATING THIS UNCARING FUCK OF A MENTOR LIKE A GOD DAMN SAILOR!!!' Zil, who was unbothered by Tristan's mental outburst, said with a drunken glee.

<Ahhh... A school trip, huh? Is there more of that... Good stuff there? Then I'm all in!!!> Tristan, who was about to crash out, immediately stopped himself, made a weird face for a second, hearing Zil, and asked the Avatar.

'Are.... Are you drunk, Zil?' Zil immediately started giggling and spoke in a Scottish accent

<Ahahahahah, oh, silly tristan, o course, A'm no ower drunk!! This energy is juist me hyper!! But dinnae worry; A'll be back tae normal, like yer life. Oh, niver mind aboot life; it's been normal syne Alaska, but ye get whit saying???> Tristan's mind died a bit trying to decipher Zil's words, but he'll be back to normal, he said to Zil.

'Oh, bloody hell!! You are drunk!!! This is the last time I'm letting you have that energy!! And what's with the accent?!??!?' Zil, somewhat frightened by Tristan's declaration, spoke in desperation.

'<Wait, wait, wait!!! ye, canae dae this!!! thare are benefits tae lettin me absorb quintessence!!! A can be usit as a container yer avatar!!! An also whan fuelin spells!! ye know, like harry potter an shit!!!!! A'll back normal, will get absorbin this energy!! promise!!! also... This accent yours someday, also, waitin for downfall.> Tristan, now regretting having Zil absorb that energy as a bonafide noobie of a mage... And now Tristan is having ideas about therapy for Zil about addiction.

"Is it normal for a Mages Avatar to become drunk?" Kaio squinted his eyes, tilted his head, and said with a bit of confusion.

"I beg your pardon??? I mean, sure, it can!! But I don't think I've ever heard of that happening, except... Tristan, are you able to talk with your Avatar?" Tristan shook his head as he said.

"Yep... Like buddy's... He's a voice in my head, and sometimes, he is a more logical part of my thoughts... But that energy he absorbed made him drunk..." Kaio, with all of his sanity, gave himself a deep breath and sighed as he spoke.

"Well, usually that's only a problem for higher level mages who are closer to their Avatar and can talk to them, and not even the drunk part, as sometimes an Avatar will only act as guides to their Mages in what they want to achieve and, yes, they are considered as a separate personality connected to the mage's soul, and which drives the mage toward Ascension...

But, never have I heard about a mage exactly being buddies with their Avatar until becoming an Archmage?? So because of your Avatar's inexperience, I guess he could become drunk or is trolling you... But I'm not lying about your Avatar's inexperience. Absorbing too much can cause problems, especially for those around you, when casting spells." Tristan's mind was boiling from rage as he was about to ask Zil, but he spoke up quickly.

<Oops... Guilty!! But I wasn't lying about the accent, though; I'll be waiting till you fall to Scottish depravity as Scotland is forever... And no, we are <strong>NOT having an Indian accent... Ever... And yeah, try not to use destructive magic; we're also not going to burn any corpses or bodies... Yet.> Tristan was slowly regretting his past words about therapy, but it had already been said, and backing out now was the last thing he'd want.

'Zil... Are you ok?' Zil randomly snapped.

<Screw you, Tristan, as you said to me before, fuck our mental health!! AND DON'T YOU DARE BACK OUT NOW!!! IT'S ME THAT SHADOW LADY IN THE CORNER THAT'S BEEN RUBBING HERSELF FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG!!!! LET'S JUST GO ON THIS ADVENTURE, TRISTAN!!!!> Tristan felt numb hearing this new side of Zil as his face became empty.

He looked to the corner and saw Ana doing what Zil said, and he felt an emotion that was hard to describe. Tristan is now hoping that Zil will go back to normal at some point, as he was a voice of reason, and he didn't even try to understand why Ana was at the corner of the basement.

Kaio, who watched Tristan's change, became worried and asked, "Tristan... You seem a bit pale. Are you alright?" Tristan, who was quick in changing his emotions said to him.

"So, what about this field trip of going to the Umbra??" Kaio breathed a sigh of relief as Tristan seemed fine and told him excitedly.

"Well, now, here's a special ritual through this symbol, and it will put you into an out-of-body experience and send you to one of the penumbra planes!! Hopefully, your Spirit will go to the [Spirit Wilds] Tristan." 

Tristan, who had listened to Caliel in her speech about how this basement was being used as some sort of research place vampires used before, questioned Kaio.

"You know, I don't think using this basement would be a good idea at all... This place was used for occult research of something horrible and for placing your symbol here... I don't like this one bit..." With Tristan's apprehension, Kaio waved him off.

"Honestly, Tristan... The type of symbol I'm using will base your soul to where it's most inclined to... because I said hopefully you will go to the [Spirit Wilds]." Tristan almost had an aneurysm as he clutched his head and told him point blank.

"You're a dick... You're an absolute cunt.... No, no, no, you're entire race are absolute cunts... If everyone in the world were a cunt then you'd get a Nobel prize for being worse than them all..." Kaio, who was holding in his laughter, had busted out cackling.

"Hehehehehehehehehehe!!!! Well, you're kind of right about the race thing; now, enough of that, and get ready for the out-of-body experience... And don't worry about time in the Penumbra, the years are longer in there than out here by a lot... Now, lay down on the symbol and close your eyes." Tristan glared at him, but he layed down on the symbol as he listened to Kaio's instructions

"Now, remember that time when you used that primal energy and feel the symbol and its presence on the ground, and imagine it giving a spark."

Tristan did so, and a wave of black light glowed to the symbol and it sparked with such intensity as it violently moved. Kaio, undisturbed by the intensity, called out to Tristan. "Tristan, this energy is quite a bit more violent than the one from the Hallow. As you're trying to go to one of the penumbras known for their spirits and other creatures, try to relax. You control this energy, not the other way around." 

Hearing Kaio's words, Tristan began to focus harder as his body felt hotter. Minutes in, the violent energy that was leaking all over the place was now all within the symbol, and Tristan finally was able to take a breather; with that step done, Kaio said with a smile.

"Now, here's the final step, Tristan... I apologize for this..." Tristan opened his eyes and asked him with mild confusion.

"The fuck you mean you apologiz-!!!" Tristan didn't have time, as Kaio cringingly yelled out.

[AVADA KEDAVRA!!!] The symbol that was of blackish light blasted from below, and Tristan's soul flew like Team Rocket blasting off while Zil was yelling.

<ADVENTURE TIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!> And Tristan, as he felt like he was just about done, but he thought.

'this might be quite a bit of fun.'

And with that both Zil and Tristan were sent packing to one of the Penumbras.

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(3rd POV: Anafabula)

 Ana, who watched Tristan blast off, said to herself while in the corners of the basement, {Don't worry, Tristy... I'll follow behind yo-!!} Her words were interrupted by a black chain connecting to Tristan's yanking her harshly.

{AHHGFDH!!! Har-harder!!!} She said as her body began being pulled to Tristan's soul at a rapid speed.

Kaio, who watched that scene, was now utterly speechless and trying to comprehend who was at the corner and why that person was so disgustingly perverted...

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(A/n: ....)