CHAPTER 90: A WITCH’S FIRST LESSON

The Dark Cathedral mansion loomed against the afternoon’s sun, and its Gothic spires casting long shadows across the grounds. Within its walls, in Ophix’s dimly lit chambers, the black witch prepared for an unprecedented moment, teaching magic to her captive, Yaela.

There were bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling, with their leather-bound volumes holding knowledge and secrets accumulated over centuries, while magical artifacts and vintage curiosities were scattered throughout the space like silent witnesses to countless rituals. The room itself felt like a Victorian era collector’s sanctuary

Between the two women sat a high table bearing four vases, each containing a different flowering plant, today’s unwitting participants in Yaela’s first lesson.

"Before mana became excessively abundant to everyone on this planet, it could only be predominantly harnessed by us witches," Ophix began, her voice carrying on smoothly. "One of the fundamental differences between us witches and the visors is our ability to channel mana from other sources rather than ourselves. Let me show you this."

And then without warning, flames erupted across her right palm, dancing with this intensity that made both women’s eyes gleam in the flickering light. But Yaela’s attention quickly shifted to something else entirely as she notice that one of the flowering plants had withered completely, its once-vibrant petals now brittle and lifeless.

"What happened to the plant?" Yaela asked, pointing toward the now-dead flower.

Ophix’s grin was both beautiful and terrible. "I channeled the mana out of it and used it to conjure flames."

"Wow," Yaela breathed, then looked up with genuine curiosity. "Plants have magic?"

"There’s magic in everything, love, most especially nature," Ophix replied, making sure her words were clear and measured. "We witches reach out for that magic and turn it to power."

Yaela frowned slightly, not out of concern for the plant’s life but from a growing understanding of what felt troubling. "But doesn’t this just make this sort of magic vile in a way? It looks like give and take."

"It is vile..." Ophix began, her gaze fixed on the flames dancing in her palm. Then, with a gesture, the fire disappeared and the withered plant suddenly bloomed back to life, its petals unfurling as if time itself had reversed. "...but it is also beautiful."

The display left Yaela speechless, her earlier objections dissolving in the face of a type of restoration she had never seen before.

"The amount of mana one channels out of a source will significantly determine the effect of the magic behind it," Ophix continued, then stretched out her palm again. This time, a much larger fireball appeared, floating above her hand like a miniature sun.

When Yaela glanced at the table, all four plants had withered away completely. Understanding dawned in her eyes—the bigger the magic, the greater the cost. Once again, Ophix undid the spell, and life returned to the flowers.

Yaela watched this cycle of death and rebirth with growing unease. "What are the other sources you say witches can channel from? I understand that mana channeled from nature can be returned back to nature, but it’s still off-putting to have nature die first for my cause."

"That part is entirely based off preference and the purpose behind such channeling," Ophix replied, her tone growing more serious. "Some channel through rituals involving dead animals or dead humans for that matter, or even demons themselves."

She paused, letting the weight of those words settle. "Channeling like that only fuels the darkest parts of magic."

"As they would call it in the movies, Dark Magic," Yaela added.

"Yes, dark magic," Ophix concurred.

A new question formed in Yaela’s mind and then she asked, "I didn’t think demons existed—wasn’t it just monsters?"

Ophix smiled at the question, recognizing the innocence behind it. "You see, child, the mythical beasts we know as monsters are naturally occurring creatures that have only just been displaced from their homes due to the decisions of the family heads. But they are not demons."

Then the black witch’s expression grew darker as she said, "Demons, however, are malevolent beings from a different realm entirely, and they reek of the worst kind of magic. There used to be a time when channeling from demons as sources was forbidden, but over time witches have thinned out and the few ones left are scattered across the planet, so no one’s regulating that anymore."

Yaela absorbed this information silently, trying to process the implications of what she was learning.

"However, both mythical creatures and demons have one thing in common," Ophix continued. "They are both very powerful sources of magic."

"And what would you say is the most powerful magic source then?" Yaela asked, her curiosity genuinely piqued now.

"Naturally, it’s easier for one to say the gods, but even they themselves limit the amount of things they let a person in a pact with them channel," Ophix explained carefully. "So I’ll say this, your magic as a witch is only as strong as what the source is willing to let you take on."

Yaela’s eyes widened. "Wait, witches can channel from the family heads? They can let us do that?"

"Yes, witches can, but do not be deceived, nothing from them ever comes for free, and they only let that happen if they think you’re of or will be of some use to them in some grand plan." Ophix’s voice carried a clear warning. "They are very complex existences, and it’s never easy to truly understand what it is they want. It’s never an advisable option to enter a pact with any of them." Something in her tone suggested personal knowledge, as if she had learned this lesson the hard way.

"What sources do you yourself channel from then?" Yaela asked.

Ophix chuckled softly, then said, "You have more curiosity to want to know than to want to learn. I can’t say one is more important than the other, though."

"To be fair, you took all my freedom away, so the least you can do is tell me things, right?" Yaela’s sarcasm wasn’t particularly well-hidden, but there was a boldness to it that spoke of her refusal to be completely cowed.

Ophix laughed heartily at the girl’s wit and her comfortable way of slipping into sarcastic comments. "My source is entirely dependent on my situation—the problem I need to solve or who it is I’m faced against, and different sources sometimes come with different magic effects."

"So basically, anything and everything goes?" Yaela asked, trying to wrap her mind around the concept.

"Well, I guess you can say that," Ophix replied with a shrug and a smile, resigned to let Yaela’s simplified definition stand.

"So when or how do we start?" Yaela asked, finally ready to give witch magic a try.

"Good, we’re finally done with the questions," Ophix said before turning her gaze toward the vases and gesturing for Yaela to do the same. "I know I said Visors and Witches are different kinds of people, and yes they are, but the way I’m going to explain this will make it so much easier."

Yaela nodded, waiting for Ophix’s instructions.

"You know the way you channel mana through yourself to release your flames, as a visor?" Yaela nodded in the affirmative, and Ophix continued, "Good, that’s you using yourself as a source for one kind of magic. Now look at these plants—try to channel mana through them instead, and then cause flames or any of the other elements."

Yaela looked at Ophix, startled and confused. "Any other elements?", she asked.

"Yes, any one of them at all. That’s what channeling mana through nature’s sources will offer you—the elements," Ophix explained.

"But the only element I know is fire..." Yaela said naively.

Ophix sighed, and said, "You’re thinking like a visor right now. Most visors are limited to knowing how to do just one thing, but witches are not. For a start, I’ll let you channel flames through the mana in those plants, then after that, you can try out the other elements. Now begin."

Yaela steadied herself, ready to give the whole thing a go. She stretched both hands toward the plants while Ophix watched with anticipation. However, after three to five minutes, nothing happened. She then retracted her hands to adjust them, and Ophix simply said, "Again."

Yaela stretched out her hands once more toward the plants, and after a few seconds, flames appeared on her palms. There was glee on her face as she succeeded on the second try, but Ophix showed only mild amusement as she tried to hold in a chuckle and moved her gaze toward the plants, prompting Yaela to look as well. None of them had withered as an aftereffect.

"Those flames, my dear, were made from your own mana," Ophix said. "Now, again."

Yaela grunted, making the flames on her palms disappear as she stretched her hands again, trying to attempt the conjuring of flames the witch’s way. Seconds stretched into minutes, and time and again, Yaela couldn’t get it right.

At some point, she had unknowingly made one of the plants burn from her own flames, which Ophix had to put out before saying once more, "Again..." It was after an entire hour that Yaela finally got the hang of it, but in a much more magnificent way than either of them had expected.

She had intended to channel just from the plants in front of her, but inadvertently channeled from every single plant within those chambers, and Ophix had quite a lot of them. The resultant effect of such wide-range channeling caused much bigger, roaring flames that formed into a ball so large it seemed to consume the air itself.

Ophix’s eyes glinted under that amazing display, her face showing genuine awe as she immediately noticed that all her plants had died on the spot. Then a proud grin appeared across her face, and Yaela also noticed she had done it right, causing an exhilarating smile to bloom on her own face. "I got it right?" she asked, wanting to hear that confirmation from Ophix.

Ophix nodded in approval. "You have so much raw talent, child. I think you’ll make a pretty fine witch."

"Thank you," Yaela said gleefully, forgetting for a moment that she was actually held captive in this house.

"Now return the mana you channeled back to their source," Ophix instructed. A weird expression appeared on Yaela’s face, one that showed she lacked the know-how. "Um, how do I do that?"

"The exact same way you took it, love," Ophix said.

Yaela looked frustrated and confused about what to do next or how to proceed. Ophix shook her head in amusement, then with a simple gesture of her fingers, the flames Yaela held disappeared and all the plants in her chamber regained their life and glow.

"Good first day," Ophix said, nodding in approval. "Better than most."

Yaela immediately regained the glow from earlier, and Ophix continued, "But now it’s time we made lunch—come help me out, child. We’ll pick this up later today." She started walking toward the exit of the room with a smile on her face.

Yaela looked at her hands as she clenched them into fists. She knew she just had to master witch magic long enough to get herself out of here, and she looked forward to that day as she followed behind Ophix.