One Last Ingredient

Dried herbs, flower petals, and organic oil stain the table, leaving a thick pungent aroma some might find pleasant to them but most would find revolting. The wax drippings of candles of all different colors stain the table.

Someone could be seen hunched over this table with a mortar and pestle in hand grinding up various herbs and flowers petals, consulting a old, thick book for instructions and assistance. From a quick glance at the words one could tell that it was a spell book and the caster was a man named Lux

He had long, thick, loosely curly hair that is vibrant. His once caramel skin grew a few shades paler due to him being inside buildings all day. He wasn't tall but he nor was he short and nor did he care for it as it doesn't help him with work. He didn't have muscles that would show through clothes and neither was he skinny enough to see his ribs each time he breathed, most would consider him healthy.

On the shelfs countless religious symbols and ceremonial tools are seen, all cleaned and put in a respectful position. A censer made with plated gold still carries the gently scent of the incensed, no matter how much it was cleaned. A stack of tarot cards peeks out from its box, eager to read someone's future and give a mysterious answer. To the side of the cards were various tools used for divination, the most notable was a bag will with rune stones made from emerald gemstones of the highest quality. Naturally, they were gifted to him because the fellowship he has with the university wouldn't cover a fraction of the price.

Molsgrave University is well known educational Institution. Not for it's outstanding academics or for its amazing sports, but for its past and hopes of returning to such glory, although in the next couple of years there will be a discussion and will be kicked out of their league.

Lux was in his last year of getting his PhD, all of his paperwork and his dissertation was complete and sent to be reviewed. All that awaits was if he was approved by the board. Naturally, he was filled anxiety and wariness.

His area of study is Theology, or much more commonly known as Religious Studies by everyone. Not many find this area fascinating due related subject manner and how multi faceted it is. As for why Lux found the area interesting was how religions are created and they are sustained, or rather how gods, deities, spirits, and so much more were created and how they were sustained. While this was his area of focus it would be more accurate to say that he was obsessed with religions and how they work as a whole.

"This is a good resting point," Lux said to himself. As part of being in the gradate program of the University he had to provide research to it, which resulted in him creating the spell in the book. This wouldn't be the first time that he has created a spell from a book as he had done it multiple times over many years in the past for research purposes for his PhD Dissertation.

As for if these magick, with a K as to not confuse people, spells have work... Not really. Usually the grand ones such as "Start Armageddon" or "Flood the Earth" haven't work or produced little effect, or at least in his immediate weather. The much smaller ones that have such as jinxes or small acts of divinations appeared to work but he has chalked them up to as coincidences.

He got up from his chair at the table and walked around to loosen his legs and stretched out his back. He has been sitting at the table in his temporary lab for long hours well into the night. He stares out of the window to see a dark brick wall outside, given how they squished all of the buildings together it was rare to see anything out of the windows.

As he was taking a break he went on his phone and saw the amount of messages that has accumulated throughout the day. He let out a sigh and began typing responses. Some were about facility updates, others about events, however most were from his students. Part of his fellowship with the university was that he had to teach a few classes.

"Have I not dedicated my time, my energy, efforts, years of my life?!" Lux screams in his mind. He grits his teeth tightly, steel would crack from the pressure. In a burst of rage he grabs the chair he was sitting on and threw it through the window, shattering it in the process.

"I've sacrificed my youth to this place! I'VE GAVE EVERYTHING!" He screams at the top of his lungs. His eyes burn and his vision turns obscured from the tears forming. Is throats swells tightly, his breathe turning lighter.

Rage, a sense of betrayal, and anger overflows in his body. "All of this shit has been a waste!" He cries out loud, his voice carrying out through campus. While his friends left college, got married to the man or woman of their dream. He still stayed in school. While most were partying and going to the club, he restrained himself and studied topics instead. He felt that his life has that once has been well lived, a life dedicated to academia, was now wasted.

Confused on what to do now that he has lost his sense of purpose, he finds another chair in the lab and continued with what he was doing before hand. No thoughts went through his head while he continued making the spell, and for that he was thankful. It granted him so form of peace as he was scared of what he would think

"There I'm fucking done!" He utters through his mucus ridden mouth as he finished the spell. Lux stares blankly at the bowl for a quiet moment. His head pulses in pain, his eyes now dry from crying all of his tears.

"What a fucking surprise!" He laughed to himself, he doesn't care anymore, nothing mattered to him. "Nothing happened." He slouched a bit and let out small whimpering sigh and a final tear left his eye.

He got out of the chair and walked to window, the one that he threw a chair through. The glass shards crunch underneath his feet, the cold winter wind gently blew through the window. He stared blankly at the brick wall at the window. After a moment he bent down and grabbed a sharp shard of glass. All of the edges were jagged in different angles, it warped whatever light passed through it.

Lux grabbed it tightly, the edges cutting into his hand and blood started dripping on the floor. He walked back and sat on his chair. He hovered his head over the bowl. He let out a sigh and then burst out into manic laughter.

"How ironic!" He tells himself as he pulls the shard near his throat. He chuckles to himself loudly and then it dies off slowly, "That I should die at the same place my academic life did." He let out one final sight and plunged the shard of glass into his neck.

It felt that he pierced his neck with an iron rod. He couldn't breathe as blood started to drip and pool in his lungs. He slowly felt his own body lose it's energy and warmth. He then collapsed on the table.

As he laid dying on the table blood sprayed over the bowl and pooled over the ingredients. Suddenly the bowl burst into flames and out came blinding rays of shining light that flooded the room. The earth beneath shook violently, the various statues and artifacts fall from the shelves, shattering as they hit the floor.

The flames from the bowl spread to Lux's body. The flames slowly spread throughout his body and burned all of his body as his life was draining from the knife. Once the flames engulfed his body and his flesh destroyed the flames subsided. Soon all that remained were a pile of ashes.

The flames from the bowl has extinguished and the radiant light dimmed down to a gentle glow. The ingredients in the bowl rose up and surrounded the light as though to smother it. They begun to spin and got faster with each revolution.

Soon the wind started to kick up and the remains of the artifacts started to spiral throughout the room and got close to the light to smother it as well. Eventually the tiles on the floor and ceiling started to rip off.

And the suddenly it stopped and with it the light they tried to smother. The bowel shatter into pieces and the ingredients for the spell burned, smoked, and disappeared. Nothing remained intact, even artifacts made from metal have many scrapes and dents in them, All except for three tarot cards that floated above the remains of the bowel.

The first card was Judgement, the twentieth member of the Major Arcana. Oh, how the angel from the holy heavens from above spread it's white pure wings and blow's Gabriel's Trumpet. How the mortal's cheer at its presents unaware of its true meaning of chaos. Seeing the mortals' ignorance the angel's eyes seem lax and uncaring as he announces the beginning of the end.

The second and middle card was the fool, the most famous of the Major Arcana. How he follows his whims of his heart without care even if they lead him off a cliff's edge. Yet despite the troubles of the past and future he remains constant in his resolve and marches towards his goal, whatever they might be.

The third and final card is The Star, the seventeenth member of the Major Arcana. The Star hangs brightly in the sky and is surround by a crown of seven more stars. Under it's gaze a mortal woman, sky-clad, pours water in both the lake and ground below to show appreciation of their labors for humanity.

Eventually they fluttered to the floor and rested with the remains.

And all remains still and tranquil among the ruins.

Authors note:

This is my first time writing like this, unlike other attempts this time I will stick to it regardless of what happens. As mentioned in the synopsis, I have made this novel out of spite of the stereotypes that are present in many novels.

Please enjoy, thank you!