The Performance

Murmurs of the crowd filled the auditorium. The lights were dim and three judges were before the stage.

The stage was lit up and a man walked on it. Arriving in front of the crowd he placed his right hand on his chest and bowed.

"Welcome to the biggest Magic Talent Show of California, Where people from all around the world are participating and showing off their magnificence for the grand prize of 100,000$!" His voice was energetic which riled up the crowd as they cheered on.

Soon the magicians started their performance one by one. Some guessed the mind of judges and the public volunteers using various tricks while some just used creepy themes to highlight their magic.

Nonetheless, it was enough for the crowd as they enjoyed every performance with enthusiasm.

As the next magician walked up her figure was lit up by the stage lights, It was Lavinia Reni.

She gently smiled and waved her hands at the crowd. Her beautiful appearance was already enough to make most of the crowd excited.

"Do you guys believe in magic~?" She sweetly asked as a large container of water was presented before her.

The judges and the crowd had mixed reactions regarding that question but no one interrupted her.

The glass container was transparent. so everyone could see that nothing was inside besides water.

She took 3 pieces of paper and gave them to the judges, "Please write a word of your preference."

The three of them did so and looked at Lavinia, "Now please keep the paper to yourself and don't show it to anyone."

She walked back to the stage and stood in front of the container of water and trailed her finger on the surface.

As soon as she did that the crowd erupted in cheers as the areas where she trailed her fingers, the water started freezing and turned into ice.

Soon a word was formed inside from the Ice.

It was Honesty.

It silently stayed there, as if it was not in water but levitating in the air.

Just like that, she wrote another set of words. The one below 'Honesty' was 'Graceful' and below 'Graceful' was 'Diamonds'.

After that, she looked at the judges and said after smiling gently, "Please read out your words."

The judges looked at each other and they could see the shock in their eyes.

One by one they slowly said their words,

"Honesty"

"Graceful"

.

.

.

"Diamonds!"

The crowd stood up and started clapping. Their cheers reverberated in the auditorium, Soon they calmed down and started discussing it eagerly.

Even the judges had pleased smiles on their faces as they called for the next performer.

Most of the people weren't as enthusiastic as they were before. The cheering had taken quite a bit of their energy.

The next magician arrived on the stage. He had bright emerald green hair and a black mask that covered the lower half of his face.

His shirt stuck to his body, outlining his lean but muscled figure.

He didn't say anything but walked towards the crowd of people behind the judges.

Many other magicians were also eagerly watching Ryujin's performance. He had been so arrogant, they wanted to see what fueled his pride. Lavinia was also watching with curiosity.

Ryujin walked around a bit before arriving at the seat of a couple. He glanced at both of them and ignored the male. He extended his hand towards the female.

She had long blond pink hair and violet eyes.

The girl didn't know why but she couldn't resist taking Ryujin's hand. The guy frowned but didn't say anything.

Ryujin took her to stage and stood behind her.

"Do you all believe in magic?" He copied Lavinia's tone which made the judges frown wondering what he wanted to do.

He asked the girl to raise both of her hands and he placed his hands below her. Their bodies were sticking to each other which made the female a little bit uncomfortable.

Ryujin raised her hands a bit and whispered in her ears, "Don't be afraid by what's about to happen."

The girl hesitantly nodded.

As soon as she nodded the mana particles in the air stirred and rushed towards her hands.

The crowd and the judges gasped in shock.

Lavinia's eyes narrowed in thought.

Above the palm of the girl, a ball of fire was hovering silently. This caused the girl to scream in horror but Ryujin didn't let her go and held her tighter.

The girl noticed that her hand wasn't burning at all she looked around nervously and saw the gazes of amazement on her.

"W-Why isn't it hot? Is this real fire?" She asked curiously.

"Of course, it's real fire but as a magician how can I allow my volunteer to get hurt? Just stay still and enjoy the show."

The girl nodded and on her other hand lightning crackled.

Various elements danced around in her palms much to the amazement of the crowd.

He motioned for the host to bring him to a paper.

He tore it in half and let the crowd look at it. The girl was still in her place, afraid that if she moved then she might get harmed.

He slowly brought the paper above the hand that had the fire and the paper slowly started burning.

After that, he took her towards the judges and the glasses of water they had.

He held her finger and placed it just above the water in the glass.

Due to the cameras, everything he did was visible to the crowd.

The water in the glass started turning into ice under the stupified gazes of the crowd but it didn't stop and even the glass turned into ice.

...

'Is he the stray magician I'm looking for?'

I thought wondering if everything I and Ryujin had talked about were false, his stories of japan, his family, and many more things.

I felt a little sad.

But his appearance doesn't match that of the stray magician I'm looking for. That stray magician is supposed to be someone in his thirties and a bit fat.

The magic he was showing was impressive for normal people but in the end, he was just manipulating the particles around him, which every magician can do.

He was even suitable to perform Ice magic which was quite rare. Who is he?

I need to find out...