Performance By The Stars

The star constellation.

In a faraway location, a dazzling ray of light was flying at Mach speed, shooting closer into view. If one looked closely, a child could be seen inside this ray of light. Needless to say, the phenomenon was not of the child's creation. Then how could this be happening? Who had the power to so easily send him to another corner of the universe? Was it the inner workings of nature? Or were there other forces at play?

To the boy caught in their midst, all will be revealed in due time. For now, he had just begun embarking on this long path to tread.

'Zip!'

Austin landed.

The books he read described it as magical. A place so mesmerizing that it could not be expressed in words alone. Over thousands of years, countless of memoirs have been recorded by Mages who have witnessed the sight before. Still, a proper landscape of the star constellation could not be painted.

Austin's eyes were wide open with astonishment. "The books were right..." He murmured, taking in everything that was in front of him. Just a moment ago, he sat in a lifeless dark room. Abruptly being transported here - the contrast in scenery was like ascending from Hell to Heaven.

Stars. An endless number of them. They surrounded him at every angle and filled up the sky until it could no longer be called a sky. They were not the ordinary ones sitting far away in the night sky but were close, very close. Their dazzling sparkles were magnified a thousand times and were bright as day.

A rainbow of colors filled Austin's vision and became reflected in his eyes. True to its word, it was a constellation of stars. They did not start or end in a particular place, seeming to be inhabitants that never moved from this supernatural space.

"Are these real planets? How can there be so many of them gathered in one place? Is this a work of nature...? No, that's simply unimaginable. But how can living beings be responsible for such a thing..."

"This is far too exciting. What kind of secrets are hidden here? I want to know... I really want to know."

"My heart is beating. My hands are shaking. My eyes are trembling. Haha, would you look at that, it's like time has turned me back to when I was a youth. When... when was the last time I felt such a thrill?"

"I can't remember... when was it? No, It doesn't matter if I can't remember. The past is in the past. The present is in the present. And the future... is looking damn exciting!"

Austin felt like new life was entering him, invigorating his long-last passion.

His love for his mother, his affection for Laura, and his exhilaration in magic. Though these emotions were all real, to some extent, they were superficial. Deep down, there was an indifference towards everything and his true feelings had always remained hidden, lost in a heavy slumber.

In his past life, he had traveled everywhere under the sun and lived through everything life had to offer. Friendship. Family. Romance. War. Peace. Happiness. Sadness. Having embraced them all, Austin lived a rich, lasting life and had long been prepared to die with his mark left on the world and the world's mark left on him.

Suddenly being reborn into a new world would not easily bring out his true emotions. Emotions of love, passion, anger, and happiness. He could pretend, but that was all there was to it - an act he put up to convince himself he was truly living. At times Austin felt like he was watching himself going through the motions just for the sake of it.

To cherish his bonds more? To become the strongest with nothing holding him down? To let his will be forever free and chase after every desire?

Everything had already been seen, heard, and felt. He had no regrets, nothing more he wanted to do. His flame had burned as much as it possibly could have and there wasn't anything left to fuel it. It was as good as extinguished.

But now, seeing what was in front of him. Seeing the boundless shining stars. Seeing the whirlwind of colors dancing before him. An irresistible, magnetic weight was drawing out everything deep within him.

Wake up! There's a whole other world out there! It's waiting for you! Go! Explore it! Your journey has not ended, it has only just begun!

Screaming into his soul, the universe was granting him a performance, and It was all too captivating.

...

~The Royal Library. Restricted Area 1~

Two old looking men suddenly appeared in the small room Austin had resided in for the past two days.

"As expected Sir, he is not here either..."

"Obviously you dimwit, see how much effort it took for us just to come in. How would he possibly have entered?

"But we already double-checked all of the recordings. Austin never left the library. This was the last place he could have went..."

"Alright, we've done all we can. Let's leave this matter to the Queen now. There's no way he won't be found with her taking action. Let's go."

"Wait Sir"

"What? I already told you, there's nothing more we can do."

"Look, at the stone table Sir."

"Huh? Didn't we just change those spellbooks out one year ago? Why are they expired?"

"I don't know either Sir..."

"Someone must have made a mistake during the last testing, get someone to replace them when we leave."

"Yes Sir."