Chapter 89: Mass Tampering

Just moments after Magnus and Eveline vanished through the spatial door she had conjured, Zedem's body began to stir. At first, it was just a subtle twitch of a thumb or a slight shift in his footing. But as a few more seconds passed, he broke free from the frozen time's grip entirely, becoming the only moving figure in the otherwise still hallway.

Rolling his neck slightly, Zedem took in his surroundings and realized that Magnus was gone. As he scoured his memory, he recalled the voice he had heard just before his consciousness—and the rest of his body—was forcibly paused.

"Eveline, huh? She's not usually one to get involved. I guess that boy caught her interest more than we expected." Despite the unexpected interference, Zedem didn't seem bothered; in fact, a faint smile lingered on his lips. Mages and knights were so different, yet in many ways, they reflected each other. When a mage encountered something new, an enigma, they felt an irresistible urge to unravel it.

The same went for knights with unyielding wills. The greater the challenge, the stronger their resolve to conquer it. For Zedem, whose desire to improve had long since cooled due to the lack of worthy opponents, his encounter with Magnus was like a spark igniting dry kindling.

It's only a matter of time before the other academics catch wind of him too. Once that happens, things will finally start getting interesting again. I can't wait…

With anticipation evident in his expression, Zedem began to casually wander off. Meanwhile, within Eveline's library, both Magnus and Eveline arrived at the Research Station—the name Magnus decided to give to the special area he had Eveline prepare for him. They found themselves on one of the lower platforms beneath the main one that connected to Magnus's room.

They would have to climb a few winding flights of stairs to reach it.

"Man, that was somehow even more stressful than the actual matches," Magnus muttered, removing his mask as he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. Although this round of the Live Examination hadn't lasted nearly as long as the previous one, it had drained him far more.

Physically, he was fine, but mentally, he was exhausted. His fighting style in the first half of his match had relied heavily on his ability to heal from nearly any injury Reimun could inflict. And while he might have been able to heal the damage, the pain was something else entirely. There were no words to truly capture the agony of having one's body pierced and slashed repeatedly.

It wasn't something he could ever get used to, even as it happened; he just pushed through it, doing his best to block out the pain. Adding the strain of using the Command Console while enduring that, and then his encounter with Zedem at the very end, meant he was near his limit.

"That's understandable, considering you were up against Zedem. Once knights reach the Master-level, they have to be mindful of how they use their aura around others. Even when not actively manifesting it, their wills are so strong that they can influence the mana around them, causing it to adapt and take the form of something similar to a knight's raw willpower, though only temporarily. Still, it's enough to create that invisible pressure you felt," Eveline explained as they started up the stairs.

"Ah, so that's why I felt like I was going to pass out at any second back there," Magnus said while thinking back. Although Zedem might not have been trying to kill him, the situation had been dangerously close. Who knows what might have happened if Eveline hadn't intervened?

"Actually, now that I think about it, you mentioned you ran into some sort of interference when you were trying to find me, didn't you? What was that about?" What could possibly disrupt an Archmage's ability to locate someone? Eveline didn't answer immediately, her expression thoughtful.

"In truth, I'm not entirely sure. But that fact alone leads me to suspect it was the Headmistress. She's likely the one who gave Zedem the green light to approach you in the first place. She probably wanted to observe your reaction. I have to admit, I was tempted to let your little encounter with Zedem go on a bit longer, but we are soul-bound, after all."

"Eh?" Magnus stared at Eveline in disbelief. The look on her face, as she entertained the thought, made it clear that if he hadn't made that contract with her, she really might have just sat back and watched—along with the Headmistress—until either Zedem relented or Magnus's body broke in some way.

"I swear you two are really similar," Magnus muttered under his breath, though Eveline caught it anyway.

"Well, of course, we are; we're sisters, after all. Though she hates it when I call her anything other than Headmistress. The last time I did, she sealed me away in an Alternate Space for a couple of weeks." Eveline's casual revelation made Magnus stop in his tracks, staring at her with a stunned expression.

"You... Wait. You and the Headmistress are... siblings?" he clarified, his voice tinged with disbelief. Eveline nodded, completely at ease.

"Of course. Didn't you notice how similar we look and dress? Though just to be clear, she's the older one. And when I say older, I mean much... older. She used to be a lot more fun, but these days she hardly ever leaves her office." With that, a lot of things suddenly made sense to Magnus.

He'd always wondered how Eveline got away with so much—like creating spatial doors wherever she pleased or getting students lost in her library for hours on end. But now the reason was clear. It wasn't just because Eveline was an Archmage and more than a little eccentric, though that certainly played a part. It was because no one dared to tell the Headmistress's sister what to do.

"Wait, if she's your sister, does that mean you could maybe convince her to leave me alone? Or at least stall her until I'm strong enough to protect myself?" Magnus's hopeful suggestion made Eveline burst into a chuckle that quickly evolved into a full-blown laugh. Her voice echoed off the surrounding bookshelves, the sound reverberating in a way that made her laughter feel almost... sinister.

Even though Magnus knew Eveline wouldn't harm him, a shiver ran down his spine. When she finally stopped laughing, she turned to him, her expression serious.

"Magnus, let me assure you. My sister doesn't listen to anyone. And though we may be siblings, she wouldn't hesitate to kill me if I ever stood in the way of what she wanted. Because, at the end of the day, the two of us are very similar," Eveline leaned in closer, her icy blue gaze locking onto Magnus's amber eyes.

Her face was devoid of any warmth as she continued, "We both have an unquenchable thirst to know everything there is. The only difference is that my desires are out in the open for all to see. But my sister... she suppresses hers to maintain her image. But every kettle boils over eventually... and the last thing you want is to be the focus of her attention when she does. Because trust me when I say this Magnus, whatever I've imagined doing to you is nothing compared to what she's thought of."

Magnus didn't blink, didn't move, as Eveline spoke. Their gazes remained locked, the air between them thick with an uncomfortable silence. It was only when Eveline straightened up and smiled that the tension broke.

"In any case, even if I wanted to talk to her, I'd have to get past that annoying little boy-toy of hers, Vlaslor. He pretty much oversees everything in the academy for her." Magnus barely registered what Eveline was saying; his mind kept replaying the look in her eyes and the chilling words she had spoken. After a moment, he let out an internal groan.

Well, Basker, it looks like your mistress is going to be even more trouble than we initially thought. I swear... why does everyone in power have to be absolutely insane in these kinds of worlds? Is it too much to ask for them to just be normal?

[If the world is abnormal, then so shall the people be, Master.]

Yeah, I suppose.

As he was silently conversing with Basker, Magnus suddenly heard a voice echoing from above them.

"Is that you, Magnus?" Looking up, he saw Celia's face peering over the edge of the platform he and Eveline were climbing up to.

"Yeah, we're back," Magnus called up to her.

"That was quick. I was making tea with the door open to this place and heard some creepy laughter. I thought maybe it was a ghost," Celia explained, causing Eveline to respond.

"Oh no, there haven't been nearly enough concentrated deaths in this library to leave behind any lingering spirits." Her words made both Magnus and Celia exchange a look of concern. Was she saying people had died in her library before?

They briefly glanced at each other before silently agreeing to pretend they hadn't heard anything. When Magnus and Eveline finally reached the top of the stairs and stepped onto the main platform, Magnus noticed Celia had already made herself at home. The Knockout Brick was sitting on one of the tables with her notebook open beside it, and just to the right was a cup of tea and a half-eaten sandwich.

"Looks like you've been busy," Magnus observed, eyeing the setup.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I figured out that the tea doesn't taste any different after being put into its knockout state, so why not use it to wash down my sandwich while I experiment?" Magnus nodded, a small grin forming.

"Truly, that is peak efficiency." Celia laughed, while Eveline walked over to the table and glanced at her notebook.

"Oh? Are you working on an averaging chart?" Eveline inquired, glancing at Celia, who looked a bit startled that Eveline was addressing her directly. They hadn't really gotten to know each other yet, apart from Magnus sharing stories about their meetings.

"Uh, yeah. I wanted to see if I could at least get a basic idea of which futures are most common," Celia explained. Intrigued, Magnus walked over to see what Celia had noted in her notebook.

[Year 348 of the Great Sundering Era, 2nd Month, 29th Day of the Astral Reflux Cycle.]

[Experiment]: Establishing Long-Term Averages of Tea Cup Predictions.

[Prediction Results #1]

Date of Occurrence:

Emotions: No Notable Change

Length of Prediction: Approximately Two Minutes and Twenty-Four Seconds.

Assumption: Most likely something mundane or not of much interest.

Correction:

[Prediction Results #2]

Date of Occurrence:

Emotions: Joy

Length of Prediction: Approximately One Minute and Ten Seconds.

Assumption: I felt extremely lighthearted and had a blissful expression after the prediction ended, though the feeling quickly faded since I didn't know what caused it. I generally feel this way when I'm enjoying some kind of treat or snack.

Correction:

[Prediction Results #3]

Date of Occurrence:

Emotions: Loss

Length of Prediction: Approximately Five Minutes and Eight Seconds.

Assumption: My chest hurt when the prediction ended, and I found myself crying profusely. I believe this kind of reaction goes beyond simple sadness and is instead the result of seeing my future self lose something or someone important. I'm not sure what it could be, though, or what might have happened. It's also possible that whatever I lose is something I will come to care for in the future but don't know about yet.

Correction:

...

Even though Celia had only had the Knockout Brick for a short time, she had already seen over twenty different futures and meticulously recorded the results in her notebook. As Magnus read through what she had written, he began to understand exactly what Eveline had meant.

"Oh, I see. Wow, Celia, that's actually really smart." Celia planned to spend her time observing various predictions and documenting their details. Once she had enough data, she would be able to create averages—like the average length of each prediction and how often they revealed something good or bad.

The predictions might seem random, but if there was any pattern or percentage, Celia's method could uncover it.

"Though I'm curious about the blank dates and correction sections," Magnus remarked, noticing the empty Date of Occurrence and Correction spots in Celia's notes. But, before Celia could respond, Eveline answered instead.

"If I had to guess, the Corrections are for when the predictions actually come true. She'll document what really happened compared to what she initially assumed, allowing her to make more accurate predictions in the future, using those Corrections as a baseline. As for the Date of Occurrence, once the predictions occur, the memory loss of the prediction is undone, right? So, as the events unfold, she'll be able to fill in the dates and create an average from that as well." Celia was momentarily speechless, it was as if Eveline had read her mind, but she quickly snapped out of it and nodded.

"Ye- Yeah, that's exactly what they're for." If she could compile enough dates, she could determine the average time the teacups looked into the future. If there really was an average, anyone could have a rough idea of how long they had before something good or bad happened.

"It's a clever idea. Though it might take a while with you doing it alone. I wonder if I could find a way to automate the process. Maybe with puppets? No, they need to feel emotions. In that case, some form of artificial intelligence?" Eveline mused. Celia's eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Oh, that would be amazing! If you could create artificial beings capable of using the Knockout Brick—or better, multiple beings—with the Knockout Brick automatically being used on teacups, and then give them the ability to document the results like I have, it would really speed things up. Plus, we'd get to see how the teacups react to non-human minds," Celia suggested, causing a wild look to flash in Eveline's eyes as she grinned widely.

"Oh? I hadn't thought of that, but you're right! I could implant a spell directly into the artificial beings' minds, allowing us to observe exactly how the memories disappear and maybe even find a way to circumvent it entirely!" Watching the two of them bounce ideas off each other so effortlessly, despite barely knowing each other, Magnus wasn't sure if he should be impressed or worried.

Well, I did say those two are a bit alike.

But as much as he didn't want to interrupt their brainstorming, Magnus knew there was something else he needed to address.

"Okay, before you both dive into a big project, I need to ask something first. Eveline, during the Live Examination, did you notice anything... odd?" Magnus's tone grew more serious, causing both Celia and Eveline to put their ideas aside. Eveline shook her head, thoughtful.

"Hmm, no, not really," Eveline replied. She had always watched the Live Examination closely, out of pure interest, and she'd been particularly focused on Magnus's match, especially now that she knew about the concept of source code and wanted to learn more. Celia, meanwhile, stayed silent, listening intently.

"I see. Well, while I was fighting, about halfway through, another glitch appeared." Both Celia and Eveline's eyes widened at the revelation.

"What!?" Celia blurted out, startled. She had only recently learned about glitches, and now there was another one?

"Are you sure it was a glitch? How could you tell? What kind was it? What does it do? And how did it show up?" Eveline quickly fired off a barrage of questions, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Well, I can't explain exactly how I detected it. But let's just say my abilities give me a kind of warning when glitches are nearby. As for the type, I'm not entirely sure. At first, I thought it might be music itself, but now I think the music is just a side effect." Magnus could see both Celia and Eveline were eager for more details. Celia even rushed to grab her notebook.

So he spent a few minutes describing exactly what had happened and what the glitch seemed to be capable of. By the end, both Eveline and Celia were visibly intrigued.

"Music that predicts the rhythm of a fight? That's not what I expected when you mentioned a glitch. I mean, you called them mistakes, so I thought they'd be more random, less... deliberate. But this feels too precise to be just an error," Celia remarked, and Magnus had to agree. Even though he called them glitches because the Command Console did, they felt more intricate than that, almost like when two developers try to code something together without clear communication, leading to conflicting pieces of code that are mistaken for errors.

"It also explains why your fighting style changed so much near the end of your match. You started moving in sync with that music, didn't you?" Eveline observed, to which Magnus nodded.

"That's right. I began attacking, blocking, everything, in time with the music, and the whole fight turned into a kind of dance. That's how I won in the end." Eveline tapped her fingers together, deep in thought.

"I see... In that case, Magnus, attack me." The sudden request caught both Magnus and Celia off guard.

"Huh? What?" Magnus responded, bewildered.

"I said, attack me. I would attack you, but our contract prevents that. So you attack me, and let's see if that music starts playing again," Eveline clarified as she cast an incantationless spell to create a barrier around herself.

"Oh, I get it. Hmm, alright then. Celia, stand back," Magnus instructed, glancing at Celia, who quickly nodded and positioned herself behind a nearby table. Once she was out of the way, Magnus snapped his fingers, and five white mana spheres formed and condensed around Eveline. As soon as Magnus made the mental decision that he was going to attack, he began to hear it. A melody slowly grew louder as he sent a mana sphere flying at Eveline to keep the music playing.

"It's playing now," Magnus remarked, while Celia and Eveline tried to listen for it. But even after a minute, neither of them could hear anything.

"Strange. Why can only you hear it?" Eveline wondered aloud.

"Uh... maybe Magnus could try and hum it?" Celia suggested. It was a random idea, but Magnus didn't see any harm in trying. He did his best to hum the melody he was hearing, and as he did, Celia and Eveline's expressions gradually turned thoughtful.

"Wait... I think... I hear it! I can hear it!" Celia exclaimed, with Eveline nodding in agreement.

"Yes, I can hear it now too," Eveline confirmed. Magnus stopped humming, but the two of them could still hear the melody as if it were coming from everywhere at once.

"Wait, you two can actually hear it now?" Magnus questioned, sending another mana sphere at Eveline's barrier to keep the music going.

"Yes. It's exactly like you described. It sounds like music, but there's no actual sound. And yet, it feels..." Eveline's voice trailed off as she searched for the right word.

"Familiar?" Celia suggested.

"That's it," Eveline agreed. That was the feeling. Everything about the situation seemed oddly familiar to both of them.

"Are you saying you've heard this before?" Magnus asked, but Celia shook her head.

"No, not exactly. It's not that kind of familiarity. It's more like... I'm used to hearing music like this as if it's been happening for a long time," Celia explained.

"She's right. Even though I can hear it now, it doesn't feel surprising. It's more like something I was already accustomed to but needed someone to point it out. Like how a child gets used to having arms and legs and stops thinking about them as much."

It was an unsettling feeling, so much so that even though Eveline and Celia were aware of it, it still felt deeply strange.

"Either way, I can think of at least one reason behind such a feeling based on what we know now," Eveline stated, drawing Magnus and Celia's full attention.

"One possibility is that this glitch when it appeared, altered the collective memories of every single being that exists. If it did, then it's not that no one can hear the music; rather, everyone can hear it, but they've been mentally conditioned to ignore it, tuning it out completely as if it were just background noise." As wild as it sounded, Magnus couldn't dismiss the idea outright. Glitches were unpredictable and defied logic, meaning they could manipulate mass memory without anyone realizing—even people as powerful as Archmages and Champions.

"In that case," Celia said, "Magnus mentioning the music and then vocalizing the melody acted like a magnifying glass, forcing us to focus on something we would normally overlook? But if that's the case, it brings up a question: Why wasn't Magnus affected?"

"Actually, I might have an explanation for that," Magnus replied.

"Even though I don't always use my ability in the real world, it's constantly active in my mind, almost twenty-four-seven. And since it's a source code-level ability, it's manipulation of my mind prevents anything external from influencing my head. That probably includes the creation of false memories." As he spoke, another realization hit him.

Now that I think about it, that could also be why the Command Console detected the glitch but didn't analyze it. The glitch might have tried to alter my memories the moment it appeared, but the Command Console blocked it.

Magnus never would have imagined a glitch would operate on such a large scale after appearing so suddenly. If he hadn't developed the Command Console and honed his abilities with it, he might never have realized his mind had been tampered with.

"You know," Celia began, her tone hesitant, "I just had a pretty terrifying thought. This is just one glitch Magnus happened to be in the right place to detect. But what about before Magnus got his abilities? Or even before he was born? How many glitches might have affected the world, on a massive scale that we're still oblivious to?"

It was a chilling possibility, one that couldn't be dismissed.

"Hmm, it is unsettling to think about," Eveline admitted.

"The one thing I trust more than anything is my own mind, so the idea that it's been tampered with countless times is... deeply unsatisfying." This sentiment resonated strongly with her. Eveline valued her knowledge of the world above all else, and the notion that any of it could be false felt like an attack on her very identity.

"Well... whatever the case may be, all of this has made one thing clear," Magnus stated, his tone firm.

"And that is?" Celia prompted.

"There's a lot more variety to glitches than I originally thought," Magnus concluded.

"From something as simple as a brick to my abilities, and now this music. There may be things we can't do anything about, but we'll need to stay extra cautious and attentive to the world around us in the future. After all, who knows when something might suddenly change?"