Chapter 48: Meeting and Gifts

"I told I would see you soon didn't I, Isaiah Sharpe?" the voice said with a hint of mirth

Isaiah let out a smile,

"Yes. Yes, you did Mr. Zelretch."

In front of the young sorcerer stood the user of the Kaleidoscope, Kischur Zelretch Shweinorg. This time the old man was wearing a formal suit suitable for today's party along with his trusty cane.

"When did you arrive, Mr. Zelretch?"

The man smirked,

"I arrived just this morning. I must say, the dimensional barrier protecting this planet is quite the impressive work. It took me some time to bypass it."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

"You bypassed the dimensional barrier around the earth without alerting anyone?"

Zelretch looked at the boy with mock guilt,

"Oh, was I not supposed to?"

The boy shrugged,

"If you didn't, you wouldn't be worthy of your title."

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Quite the tongue you have, boyo." Zelretch laughed at the boy's quip.

"Then I take it you did your research about this multiverse?" Isaiah asked.

Zelretch grinned as he stroked his beard.

"I did. And what a multiverse it is! So many different things. This multiverse is riddled with so many different energies, that it is surprising. The spell you are using is quite the unique one. Using the supernatural veil of mythological pantheons covering the world to create a perception-based spell by using the principle of blind spot and suggestion to fool the mundane, am I right?"

Isaiah raised an eyebrow in surprise,

"You already saw through the spell, huh? As expected of Mr. Zelretch."

"I know. Aren't I just amazing? It's not like it's a complicated spell though." the old man replied without a single hint of humbleness.

"I know. But how did you find me exactly? I didn't exactly leave any clues."

Zelretch swiped a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter and took a sip,

"When you visited me, you left a trace in my world's dimensional barrier. I simply traced it back here."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

"That's it?"

"Yes. But the process of doing that is a lot more complicated though. Some have tried mimicking what I did and fried their brains."

"Huh?"

Zelretch shook his head,

"That's not important anyway."

He then turned in a direction and nodded his head toward Tony who was talking to some old men accompanied by younger women.

"I take it that's your father?"

Isaiah saw him,

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Zelretch looked at him,

"I can see the resemblance. Why are you hiding behind a spell?" he then smirked, "Were you not allowed to come? What a naughty lad,"

Isaiah smiled and shook his head.

"It's not like that. The fact that I'm his son is not known yet. I don't know if you know, but my father is sort of a bigshot in this world and having a child will cause many unnecessary problems. Besides, I like my situation right now."

Zelretch frowned,

"Did your father tell you this?"

"What? I'm actually the one who told him this. He's the one who wanted to announce to the world he had a son." Isaiah retorted.

"Why?"

"I like my life now. I don't want to deal with troublesome things. There is also the fact that I only learnt he was my father a few months ago."

"Is that so?"

Isaiah nodded,

"I lived all my life amongst sorcerers. I only started going out last December. My father, who thought I died seven years ago, found me after I got caught using magic in one of his cameras. He then tried to track me down, but he had no knowledge of magic and simply thought it was mutant powers.

"Ah yes. Mutants. Individuals awakening unnatural abilities through a mysterious gene in their DNA. This world is full of interesting things" the man let out. He then turned back to the boy, " Go on."

"One thing led to another and he found me. We then decided I would live with him."

"What about the sorcerers you lived with?"

"It's not like I'm not going to see them. I'm just one portal away from them."

"Portal? You are able to create portals?"

"I can't. I just use an artifact to do that. Anyways. I asked my father to hold off the announcement of my status as his son as long as possible. It would be too troublesome to deal with the people."

Zelretch nodded,

"Very true. As soon as they hear that you are the son of someone of importance, all kinds of people will be after you."

"Speaking from experience, Mr. Zelrech?"

"Certainly. In this case, I'm the person of importance."

"How did you deal with it?"

Zelretch then gave an ominous grin.

"I simply sent them to dimensions where I'm sure they'll be forced to enjoy, lad. It's how I got my reputation."

Isaiah tilted his head,

"You sent them somewhere they'll be forced to enjoy? What do you mean?"

The old man patted his shoulder,

"You'll understand when you'll get older."

Isaiah deadpanned,

"You know? I'm getting really tired of getting told I'll understand when I'm older when they say something I don't understand.

Zelretch chuckled,

"Well, you're going to have to get used to it lad since you are still a toddler."

Isaiah frowned,

"I'm not a baby."

Zelretch grinned,

"Lad. Everyone's a toddler to me."

Isaiah sighed. The old wizard wasn't wrong.

"By the way, when will you be heading back?"

"I'll be heading back soon."

"Already?"

"Yes, lad. Even a person like me has responsibilities. There is also the fact that this multiverse is vastly different from my own and I haven't done enough research on it, Though I can fairly say that it is on a higher level than all the worlds I have seen so far. There is also the fact that my presence alone could affect the course of this world's timeline due to my connection to the Root. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

Isaiah nodded since he had an idea of what he was talking about. His connection rendered him fateless which means every action he takes has a consequence on the timeline. It wouldn't correct itself and the new timeline would continue on its flow leaving the old timeline on another path. It was then the boy saw his father glance in his direction and the latter tensed.

***

Tony Stark was talking to two old men when he glanced at his son to check up on him. Before the party, he had told him to exclude him, Pepper and Happy from the spell so that they would know where he would be if he needed help or something. The boy may be able to slay demons and monsters as well as perform quasi-reality-bending spells, but he didn't have any social skills and may end up saying the wrong thing if he talked to someone. However, when he looked at his son, he saw the latter talking to an old man. Isaiah explained that the spell didn't exactly make him invisible, it simply made him harder to notice. However, once he was noticed, an illusion of another person would take his place. Due to the height difference, between the illusion and Isaiah, people would look at the space on top of the boy's head instead of his face. However, the old man Isaiah was talking to was looking directly at Isaiah's face as if he was unaffected by the spell. This put Tony on guard. He didn't even recognize the man.

He turned back to the men who were trying to kiss his ass,

"If you have any more ideas, you may submit them to my secretary. Enjoy today's party with your companion,"

And threw Pepper under the bus. He then walked away leaving the two men who were quite dissatisfied. The billionaire then walked up to Isaiah and the old man, Both of them saw him approach, It was his luck that no one was nearby them. Or maybe it was also the spell's effect. He didn't know. He took out his phone before quickly typing something and putting it back.

"Hello there. Enjoying the party, gentlemen?"

Seeing his expression, Isaiah sighed,

"You don't need to pretend Dad. He already knows."

Tony froze and turned to the old man who gave him a smirk,

"Dad, meet Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. Mr. Zelretch, meet Tony Stark."

"Zelretch? As in the one you met in your vision?" Tony asked in surprise.

"Oh. It seems like you talked about me." Zelretch said.

Tony simply narrowed his eyes at him,

"What are you doing here?" the man asked bluntly.

"Now. Now. There is no need to get hostile boyo. I just wanted to meet with the one who reached the Root just like me. Though, this is quite strange."

"How so?" asked Isaiah.

"As you know, the Root is a metaphysical place outside of the Omniverse containing the knowledge of everything from the past, the future and the present at the same time. A place where the concept of time and space does not exist. However, even if it is outside of the Omniverse, there are still ways to reach it and the distance between Multiverses and the Root is a factor."

Before Zelretch could continue, he was interrupted by Tony,

"Hold up. Omniverse?"

Zelretch raised an eyebrow and turned to Isaiah,

"Did you not explain it to your father?"

The boy gave a wry smile,

"I was going to at a later date."

Tony simply looked at Isaiah speechlessly.

Suddenly, a paper plane flew out of nowhere and landed in Isaiah's hand.

"Oh, seems like someone has caught me. Who might that be?" the Wizard Marshall said in amusement.

Isaiah unfolded the paper and read the content.

[Isaiah, would you be so kind to bring our otherworldly guest to Kamar-Taj? It seems like we have much to talk about.

-The Ancient One]

"Oh, it seems like I wasn't as stealthy as I thought. Sorcerers in this world are quite capable. Who is this Ancient One?" Zelretch said.

"She's my teacher. She's the one who taught me how to use magic using this universe's magic system. She is also the one who holds the title of Sorcerer Supreme."

"That's right. You told me the sorcerers of this world use power derived from the different dimensions attached to this universe."

Isaiah nodded.

"Well then. Let's me this woman who calls herself the Ancient One."

It was then Tony snapped out of his stupor and stopped Isaiah,

"Isaiah wait!"

The boy turned to his father who looked worried.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Don't worry. Mr. Zelretch won't do anything dangerous, right?" the boy asked.

"You don't have to worry, Lad. Like I said before, I came to visit the one who reached the Root and acquired a magic system of a world different from his own." Zelretch placed a hand on Isaiah's shoulder, which irked Tony, and continued," This boy is essentially a miracle which can only be produced once in history."

Tony hesitated. To be honest, he wanted to get his son away from this old man as far away as possible. Maybe it's just his paranoia, but he had a gut feeling that there would only be problems if his son stayed near him.

"It's okay, Dad. Besides, Teacher has called for him."

However, his son reassured him. Tony hesitated before relenting. He let out a huge sigh,

"Fine."

He then turned to Zelretch,

"If you hurt a single hair, I will create a device to cross worlds just to find you and kill you."

Isaiah groaned as he facepalmed,

"Dad."

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Using technology to cross worlds? How interesting. I'll be waiting for you if you succeed." Zelretch said as he was unfazed by the threat.

Tony glared and turned around. Isaiah looked at Zelretch and apologized,

"Sorry about that. My dad can be a little overprotective even if I can take care of myself."

Zelretch smiled,

"It's okay. I can understand the feeling very well."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow,

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Isaiah didn't press him for answers. They then walked outside and found a place where no one would be watching and there would be no cameras around. The boy took out the sling ring and put it on.

"Is that the artifact allowing you to create portals?"

"Yup."

"How interesting. The fluctuation of space around the ring is quite intense. It is quite the artifact."

"You can sense space fluctuations?"

"It comes with the magic. Although, I must say, whoever created this ring is a genius. Although the folded space attached to the ring is also quite the masterpiece. Attaching a folded space to an object is a feat itself, but to be able to create one of such size as well as remove the concept of time is a whole other matter." Zelretch nodded.

Isaiah was surprised. The man hadn't even touched the ring and he had already figured out its functions.

"I should've known you would sense it," Isaiah said and opened a portal.t

Zelretch saw the portal open as he sensed the space distort in front of him. He then approached the portal and examined it with an intrigued expression.

"Oh. So that's how you do it. This ring is essentially doing all the work while you simply imagine the place. The ring then reads the user's intention before connecting with the Universal energy present in this Universe. Since this energy is found everywhere it can be used to find the location by essentially broadcasting the intentions through the energy like a radar. Once the specific location is found, it would send feedback back to the ring which would then open a gateway by essentially distorting the space and shortening the distance between the two points hence the circular way the circle portal was opened. But how? How does the Universal energy know which location is needed to be found unless the energy also has information-retaining properties?"

"I'm glad you found this interesting, Mr. Schweinorg." A voice was heard.

Both males turned to the voice. They saw a woman standing on the other side of the portal waiting for them.

"Hello, Teacher," Isaiah said.

"Hello, Isaiah. Seems like you landed yourself in quite the situation." She then turned to Zelretch who had his mischievous grin,

"It's nice to officially meet you, Mr. Schweinorg. Isaiah has told me about you.

Zelretch planted his cane to the ground,

"And you must be the teacher. The one who calls herself the Ancient One. You look quite young for one who claims to be ancient."

Fiona smiled, but she was also intrigued by the man in front of her. She could sense the mana inside of him, but it was so much more than she had ever sensed. Even Isaiah didn't amount much to it. Her instincts warned her that the man in front of her was an incredibly dangerous being which was proven to be correct. She had only noticed him after Stark alerted her of someone of his description. After she received the text, she recognized the physique that Isaiah described and checked the dimensional barrier and found out that it had been tampered with. Even then, the trace was so small, that she would have overlooked it if she hadn't examined the barrier carefully.

'How dangerous.' she thought.

"You flatter me, Mr. Schweinorg. Why don't you both come inside and have some tea?"

"Thank you for having me," Zelretch said and he and Isaiah stepped through the portal.

They arrived in a room where a small table was set up as well as some seats around it. There was a teapot filled with hot tea ready to be served on the table with some tea cups.

"Tea?" Fiona asked.

"Please," Zelretch replied.

"Isaiah?" she then asked her student.

"I'll have some too."

Soon they sat down and the teapot floated before pouring three cups of tea. Once the tea was served, Zelretch took a sip.

"This tea is quite delicious."

Fiona smiled,

"The secret is to add a hint of honey."

Zelretch chuckled,

"I shall remember when I make my own."

Isaiah looked back and forth between the two adults before taking a sip from his own tea.

*Ting*

The Sorcerer Supreme let her cup down and spoke.

"Now, what can I do for you Mr. Schweinorg?"

"Please call me Zelretch."

"Very well."

Zelretch set his cup and answered the question,

"The reason for my visit is this child here."

They both looked at Isaiah,

"And why would you cross worlds just to visit Isaiah?"

Zelretch grinned,

"Because this is the first time I witnessed someone like him. This child has fulfilled so many different achievements it's incredible. For reaching the Root at such a young age." The man turned to the boy,

"When did you reach the Swirl of Root, Isaiah?"

"At five years old, Mr. Zelretch."

The old wizard simply chuckled in disbelief.

"But it was all by luck." the boy added.

"Even then, luck is also an ability, lad. There is also the fact that you originate from a whole different Multiverse. Just reaching the Root is an almost impossible accomplishment for most magi. But you-" Zelretch pointed to the boy,", a mere child from another multiverse, gained power beyond comprehension found in our Multiverse: True Magic. The Root is ever-present, but why did you gain a magic system from our Multiverse?"

Fiona tilted her head,

"What do you mean by that Mr. Zelretch?"

"In our Multiverse, instead of magic, our magi use magecraft."

"Magecraft?"

"That's right. Magecraft is the re-enactment of a Mystery. It is the ability to bring about what is possible through science with supernatural means; although the process is considered a miracle, the result is not."

Fiona nodded,

"I see. Magecraft is influenced by the advancement of Humanity in science. Magecraft is essentially reproducing phenomena that happened previously using magical energy and spells instead of science. I" Fiona said.

Zelretch smiled. It's always nice to have a conversation about magic without any danger or paranoia. Those idiots back in his home would always be secretive about everything. There was also the fact that this woman was quick on the uptake.

"That's right. In my world, Magecraft and Magic are two very different things. Magecraft s what I just explained and Magic is the actualization of events that are impossible by humans even if they were given time and resources. An example can be teleportation."

"Portals are considered impossible?" Fiona asked.

"That's right. Since no one has figured out teleportation, it falls under the category of True Magic."

"Then what exactly is Mystery," Fiona asked.

It's been a long time since she could have a conversation like this where she learned many new things. To be honest, she felt quite intrigued by it.

"Mystery is just like its name says. It is the knowledge that is mysterious. In magecraft, the more something is unknown to Humanity, the easier it is to use magecraft to perform spells. Do you know what a homunculus is?"

Isaiah and Fiona nodded.

"At one point in history, in our world, the human body was not an area which was explored. Therefore the creation of homunculi by using magecraft was much easier. However, with the advancement of Humanity and as they discovered more and more of the human body, the art of creating homunculi was lost due to the decline of Mystery."

Zelretch took a sip,

"It is due to the advancement of Humanity that the Mystery in our world is in decline. In consequence, it also weakens magecraft."

He frowned,

"It is also the reason why the Moonlit World has become so vicious. The magi use every means to conceal knowledge of magecraft from the world to essentially preserve the Mystery. They would even go as far as to remove innocent witnesses to maintain the secrecy."

Isaiah tilted his head, but Fiona nodded as she understood what the man implied however grim it is. Zelretch then grinned and turned to the boy once more,

"However, when I saw for myself a child, no less, acquire what many would massacre for when he originates from another whole Multiverse, I had to meet him. In our world, there is five known True Magic, are you familiar with them?"

Isaiah and Fiona nodded.

"Well, that makes it easier. I am the creator and the user of the Second True Magic, the Kaleidoscope. Its domain is the Operation of Parallel Worlds. It essentially allows me to perform miraculous feats such as travelling through dimensions and universes. It also gives me control of space and time and much more. What about you, lad?"

Isaiah turned his head to Fiona as if asking a question.

"I told you before, Isaiah. Your knowledge is yours to share with whom you want. What do you want to do?"

Isaiah stared at her for a moment before turning back to the grinning old man. He then held out his hand and took a deep breath. Zelretch observed intensely the boy as the latter was about to do something. Suddenly, a cane identical to his own appeared in the boy's hand. The latter gave it to the man to observe it.

Zelretch looked at the identical cane in wonder. He didn't even sense anything! He couldn't even sense any mana used nor if there is mana in the cane itself. It was as if the cane had appeared out of nothing.

"I see. The ability to create something out of nothing. To deny the nothing. Denial of Nothingness, isn't it?"

The boy grinned and nodded.

"Yup. I'm the user of the First True Magic, Denial of Nothingness."

Zelretch's eyes twinkled at the unexpected news.

"In our world, there are rumours that the last user of Denial of Nothingness lived when BC turned into AD."

"Jesus Christ?" Fiona asked.

It was the only person she could think of.

Zelretch nodded,

"That is one theory. We'll never know."

Zelretch frowned and turned back to Isaiah,

"May I?" he asked as he pointed at the boy's hand.

"Huh, sure?" the latter replied and gave his hand to Zelretch.

The Wizard Marshall held it and closed his eyes. Fiona silently observed what he was doing. Isaiah on the other sensed the movement of the man's mana. He then felt it enter him through his hand although it didn't hurt at all. He felt the mana circulate through him and returned. However, his mana felt different compared to his own.

"I see. So that's how it is. Incredible! Simply incredible!"

"What?" the boy asked.

"Your mana. That's what it's incredible." Zelretch said.

Isaiah saw a weird gleam in the man's eyes.

"Is there something wrong with his mana?" Fiona asked.

"Au contraire. His mana is in fact something not found anymore in our world ever since the end of the Age of Gods. What courses through him is not simply mana, but True Ether."

"Mana from the Age of Gods?" Fiona asked.

Isaiah widened his eyes as if he received an epiphany,

"Is that why your mana felt a little different?"

"Oh? How different did my mana feel compared to yours?"

Isaiah struggled to put his thoughts into words,

"It's... more like a liquid. It's not very dense."

"That's right, lad! True Ether is an incredibly dense mana found during the Age of Gods in our world. It's so dense, that the humans of modern time would die by simply being exposed to it. Perhaps, due to Denial of Nothingness, it has granted you the ability to wield True Ether."

"Wow." Isaiah didn't know what to say.

All this is news to him. There was also the fact that there was no other mana user that he knew so he couldn't compare himself with them.

"Although, this is a theory. I believe that each user of True Magic is granted a passive ability along with their magic."

"Passive ability. Like the ones in games?" asked Isaiah.

"That's right. My Magic grants me an innate sense of space and dimensions making it easy for me to hop universes. I believe yours is the ability to use True Ether."

"I see." Isaiah nodded.

Zelretch then clapped once,

"Now enough about my world. What about yours? How does the magic system work here?"

Fiona grinned,

"Since you've told us about your world, it's only fair to tell you about ours."

The trio then discussed this world's magic system as well as magic in general. It was an eye-opener for all three of them.

"Dear me! Look at the time. I should return to my world soon."

Fiona smiled,

"I must say it was quite the conversation. It was certainly enlightening for me and Isaiah."

Isaiah nodded.

"And for me as well. Before that, since today's Christmas, I also brought presents for Isaiah here."

Zelretch stuck his hand out and Isaiah saw the space distort in front of it. The man then put his hand inside before retrieving a long metallic stick of about one meter in length.

"Here. This is for you."

"What's this?" Isaiah asked as he examined the stick.

"This is a surprise. After I leave, drop a drop of blood unto the stick and you will know." Zelretch said with a mischievous grin.

This put Isaiah on edge as he recognized the grin.

"No seriously, what is it?"

"That's for you to find out."

Isaiah was about to cast (Structural Grasp) on it when the man stopped him.

"Now now. It's better for it to introduce itself instead of finding out yourself."

Isaiah looked at him with half-lidded eyes before sighing.

"Fine. Thank you for the gift, Mr. Zelretch."

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Since I have given my gift, I shall take my leave. Come visit me when you find a way to my world."

Isaiah smiled,

"Will do, Mr. Zelretch."

The old wizard then turned to Fiona,

"I've had a pleasant talk with you Miss. Ancient One."

"Please, just like how you permitted me to call you Zelretch, you may call me Fiona. My full name is Fiona Barran."

Isaiah raised an eyebrow. His teacher never gave her name so easily to anyone. Even he learned her name indirectly from Zeus. Zelretch smiled,

"Very well, Miss Fiona. Until next time!"

Suddenly, a circle portal filled with a kaleidoscope of colours opened up in front of him. The wizard then stepped through and the portal closed itself.

"What an interesting fellow this Zelretch," Fiona said with a smile.

Isaiah nodded,

"Yup."

He then looked down at the metallic stick. There was no defining trait on it.

"Why don't you let a drop of blood on it just like Mr. Zelretch instructed?"

Isaiah shrugged and projected a small knife which he used to nick his thumb. As soon as the drop hit the stick, it started to glow in a myriad of colours akin to the portal he just witnessed. The light was so intense, that both occupants of the room had to close their eyes.

"Hehehe! So you are my first master, huh?" a female voice suddenly said.

Isaiah slowly opened his eyes and blinked out the blurriness. There, in front of him, was a floating wand. Its stick was green in colour and it had a six-pointed yellow star inside of a ring. Both sides of the ring are adorned with white dove wings.

Isaiah blinked in confusion while Fiona looked intrigued,

"Did you just talk?"

The wand tilted to the side,

"That's right! My name is Emerald and I'm the first Kaleidostick created by the Creator Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg! And I'm here to bring about the era of Magical girls!"

"Magical girls? Like Sailor Moon?" Isaiah asked.

"That's right! So you know the splendour of Magical girls, huh? As expected of my first Master!"

"But I'm a boy?"

"It takes a real man to be the best girl! Now hold me!"

Instinctively, Isaiah grabbed the stick without even thinking about the consequences.

"Transform!" the stick shouted.

"What?" blurted out Isaiah.

His then began to glow as his clothes started to shift.

"W-What's going on?"

The clothes then distorted as fabric appeared out of nowhere and enveloped him. Soon the glow died down, leaving a confused Isaiah. However, something was different.

"So, how is your first transformation as a magical girl or magical boy in this case?"

"What?" Isaiah looked down and saw himself in a green frilly Magical girl outfit. He also had an emerald green skirt as well as white knee-length socks and emerald green shoes. He also wore elbow-length gloves. In his hands, he held the magical stick, Emerald.

Fiona looked at Isaiah's transformation with a dumbfounded look before bringing a hand to her mouth as she struggled to not laugh.

"Pfft!"

But she failed.

Isaiah then felt a strange sensation in him as he felt his face heat up. It was the first time he felt such emotion, but he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"So this is embarrassment," he said with a whisper as Fiona continued to giggle.

"Damn you, Mr. Zelretch."