"The phenomenon that we now call magic has been a part of human civilization since its inception but somewhere along the way we lost it and it became nothing more than a myth. As the world turned towards science people thought the time of the baseless legends and myths was gone but never would they have thought that they were simply creating the base for the resurgence of those very myths and legends.
In the year 1951 scientists discovered something they could only describe as a miracle, a circuit that drew power from thin air and materialized phenomenon that science could not explain, it was a discovery that changed the very course of history and allowed us to once again wield the powers we believed to be myths." The professor ended his words with a small sigh, tired and bored.
"Now you know why you need to study about ancient civilizations and mythology in a course for magic engineering."
"Well with that all your initial questions are answered I suppose."
"Sir if we could decipher magic merely through ancient ruins and past legends then wouldn't we have discovered it long before the magic revolution?" A curious student raised a simple question.
The professor tried to remain indifferent but he couldn't quite hide his annoyance.
"Magic is a frontier of scientific discovery, it follows rigid rules and principals and though we aren't quite clear about why it happens we do know from observations that it isn't as simple as singing prayers and stupid sacrificial rituals. What we hope to find by studying the past and origins of the myths are remnants of a well-defined system of magic and not the revelations of some higher being. What people in the past saw was god and what we are looking for is the power he wields, such a difference in perspective matters a lot."
"Well all of you I think this was good enough for your first lecture with me."
In a fleeting moment the professor disappeared before the students could even start preparing to leave.
"Something tells me that this guy doesn't really like his job." Noir commented as soon as the professor left even though he himself wasn't far behind either.
"No shit Sherlock." Ralph was rather brazen with his words.
"C'mon bro let me act smart once in a while." Noir's bright blue eyes shrunk a little from Ralph's remark.
"You know acting smart over dumb things like that just makes you seem dumber."
"Forget that, we are done for the day so let's go have some fun I know a few nice places around here. "
Noir tries to steer Ralph towards a nearby cafe but Ralph pulls him back on the route to the station
"Come on dude let's chill out for a bit."
Noir complaints as Ralph drags him along to the station.
As the two enter the station they are hit by a warm gust brought forth by a train taking to the skies. Ralph gazes ahead towards the source of wind and marvels at the sight of the train taking off, the array of 2nd circle Gust and 3rd circle Wind Burst spells used to generate thrust and the array of 1st circle push spells used to steer the train both vividly clear in his mind but despite knowing exactly how it works but to him this sight seems no less magical for it reminds him of the few good memories he has.
In stark contrast to the magical sight of the trains the station seems far to mundane, the people busy in their own lives not even one bothering to look at trains come and go. Humans as always are still too busy in their own lives to enjoy the joy of these marvels they have made.
"I have to leave now, my trains about to leave and the next ones after 3 hours and I know you aren't going to let me leave this stupid station till then. "
Noir rushed away knowing that Ralph wasn't going to let him fool around.
Ralph looked at Noir rushing through the crowd with empty eyes as if along with Noir a part of him was gone too.
Ralph began his slow walk back home, somehow the same route which he had treaded in mere moments with Noir now seemed to drag on like a trek through a muddy swamp.
During the slow, empty march back home Ralph heard a familiar voice. Ralph's eyes lit up with longing as he stared at the news. A murder, a headless burnt corpse was found in some alley and the police were still trying to identify the victim.
The news was unsettling yet Ralph wasn't fazed, it was too tame to faze him. Ralph kept staring at the screen for a while, his eyes fixated upon the news anchor who looked similar to Noir with the same jet-black hair and bright blue eyes.
"I should leave now." Ralph pulls himself away from the news and turns back on his path.
"That is one concerning incident isn't it." The professor was standing there besides Ralph; he spoke half to himself and half to whoever was beside him.
"Is it really? Murders happen every day but the only ones the public gets to know about are the interesting ones. Why do you think serial killers are more famous than mob bosses when clearly the mafia is much worse than any individual can be." Ralph's words were cynical and distant in utter contrast with how he spoke with Noir.
"That's not the kind of tone someone your age should have."
The professor looks at Ralph with pity as a sense of familiarity begins to form in his eyes.
"I am Kane Trevor and you young man?"
"I am Ralph, one of your students." Ralph's tone slowly reverted back to the nonchalant and slightly authoritative tone he had before, hearing his words Kane was confused for a second by the sudden change in behavior.
"Seems like I have an interesting student, I will remember your name."
"I am glad to know that sir." though Ralph's words were directed at Kane his eyes refused to leave the screen.
Kane followed Ralph's gaze only to find that he was staring at only the anchor and not the news.
"Youth" Kane laughed internally.
After the brief encounter both of them went off on their own ways. Ralph reached his 'home', it was meant to be a safe place, a place where he had nothing to fear, a place that gave him comfort yet it felt so utterly lifeless. It was just a 1 room apartment but the space was more than adequate, the furniture was placed impeccably and not a single speck of dust was present in the room yet somehow it was difficult to imagine that someone lived there, the house felt empty, devoid of that touch of life that is present in a place which is lived in.
Ralph took a short nap for about an hour but even after waking up he wasn't quiet relaxed yet, Ralph got up and moved out of pure habit with mechanical precision as he got ready and left his apartment.
Ralph skillfully made his way through the streets and reached a burger joint where he was working part-time. Ralph clocked into his shift and went through the motions of his job, smiling at the customers, politely replying no matter how rude they are, tolerating their antics. It was boring and doing the same things over and over again everyday had made him go numb.
"Just a few more minutes and we will be done." Ralph's coworker glanced at the clock for the hundredth time in the last five minutes and even though Ralph was acting indifferent he too was relieved to know that he could leave.
Once Ralph left work he moved at breakneck pace though his feet weren't headed towards his house, his destination was somewhere he could go only under the dark veil of the night.