Original Characters

The Chronicles of the Magical Programmer: Chapter 13

                                           13

 

Magnus gulped as he saw Shuma-Gorath, the entity that he had seen in Parvati’s mind, begin to slam his tentacles into buildings while people began screaming and running. In only a matter of seconds, Magnus whipped out The Wand of Watoomb and forced the mana in the air to solidify into a barrier to block the tentacles.

 

Shuma-Gorath’s eye turned towards Magnus. “ H̵̳͚͛̔͝ē̴̯l̵̰̄̐̂̚l̸̫̍́͐̈́ö̸̩̱́,̴̜̙̬̳͊̃͘̚ ̸͙̞̟͖̀͋̚͝l̸̞̋̓̈́̚i̶͉̥͐̓͛̕ț̸̄̈́̽t̸̰̘̝̋l̸̐̒̓͜ë̵̛̫̩̙́̿͛ ̴̞͈͓̋͋S̷̳̬̳͘o̴̡̭͙͆̓ŕ̶̨̩̻̯̃̃ĉ̵̢̪e̵͈̅̏r̴̖̎̈́̿è̸̳̻̊́͝r̵̭͓̟̐̚ ̴͖̳͂͝Ś̸̑ͅú̶̟̳̚p̶̪͇̦̂r̶̡̪̝̩̊̄̆̈́e̸̹̭̪͊̈́m̶͕̫̘̮͗̒ệ̷,” He said as he broke the barrier through pure force causing his tentacle to slam into a building.

 

“H-How did you get out?!” Magnus asked, confused as he shot a ball of flames towards him. 

 

The green, eldritch being was hit by the ball of flames but it was absorbed into his body. “ Ẏ̷͚̯̹̭̉o̶̮̭̍́͂ͅư̵̞͍͕͛ ̶͚̦͇̒̔͜č̴̛̞̪͋̆r̷̬̆͆̕ė̶͍̈́͗͝á̵̟t̷͚̄e̸̘̔͊̌d̶͚̩͆̑ ̴̧͚̗̤͒͆á̴͓̌̎̎ ̵̜͈̰̯̾͊͆p̴̗̤͙̼̆ŏ̷̱͚̺r̴̭̃̏̽̕ț̵̰͓͆á̷̧̺͆̍̚l̴͚̱̯̀ ̶͎̙̀͐̕ť̷̫̱͇̄̾͌͜ǒ̸̧̩̞͓́̔ ̴͊͊͛̚͜t̷̠́͒̌́h̵̳̲͚̱͂͛͠i̴͍̻͍͔͆s̵̡̩̩͓̏͛̀̆ ̶͙͖̳̟̅͛̈ū̶̱̤n̴̩̗̐̇͘į̷̛͖̞̃̈́ṿ̸̞̠̐̒̈ȩ̵͕̮̺̒́͗͠ŗ̵̖̍̓s̷̟̼͍͎̃͛͝͝e̶̩̰̼͒́̽͐.̶͍͇̯̂̾̾ ̶̮̫̑̌͂I̵̢̱̠͑̃̒ ̴̰̱͂s̴̨̺̭̐̓ĕ̷̖̓̄n̴̤̥̏͜t̶̺͗̌́ ̵͈̱̾͆̚m̴̛͇̊̈̃y̷̜̞͉̎̈́̿̕ ̴̘̜̣̠̏́̌a̷̖̥̠͗v̵̲̳̱͙̒̈̊͝a̷̳̯̟͓͋̇̌t̸͖̃̈a̴̪̫͛̍̒r̶̥͋͜ ̵̪̲͒ẗ̷̪̣̮́ó̷̭̎͛ ̵̘͋̀̂f̴̹͍̃͜o̸̞̱̟͠ḷ̶̢̥̱́ḽ̸̤̟̐o̸̝̽w̸̯̍͘ ” It shot one of its tentacles towards Magnus at blinding speeds.

 

Magnus recited a spell. “May the Green Shield of Gailinia, protect me!” He says causing a green barrier to pop up before him. In front of the tentacle, a rift forms.

 

His eyes grew open in shock as he felt a penetration. Blood poured from his mouth as he slowly turned his head back. Behind him was a rift with a tentacle poking out. The tentacle pulled itself out as the streets started spinning around him. He promptly blacked out while hearing Parvati scream out to him.

 

———————————————————————————————————————

 

Magnus’s eyes flutter open as he rubs his hand on the floor -feeling the hard, glossy wood. He stood up smelling the scent of old paper. He heard the flipping of pages and the tearing of notes. He noticed the shelves of books and saw a lone figure reading some books.

 

“Where am I?” Magnus inquired of the person who was reading the books. His eyes lit up with shock as he saw who it was. A replica of his mom. From the blonde, curly hair which was tied into a ponytail to her green vibrant eyes. “M-Mom?!”

 

“I apologize, Master Magnus but I am not your mother. I am an Autonomous Linguistic Intelligence Cooperation  Experimentation. You may call A.L.I.C.E.” The newly identified Alice said. “I am part of your mother’s subconscious that was passed down to you. As for where are you, you are currently in your Mindscape”

 

“I see…Wait. What about Shuma-Gorath. I need to go back.” Magnus worried before Alice came and hugged him tightly. “Before that me and you need to talk. Okay, my little Magnesium”

 

Magnus nodded as he took a seat. He looked outside of a window and noticed something occurring outside. He watched a smaller version of him playing soccer in the middle of a field. “You were so cute when you were playing soccer, weren’t you?”

 

He chuckled as he watched himself attempt to pass to another team member. “Yeah, but I was always terrible at the game,” Magnus said feeling melancholy.

 

“No. You were excellent at the game. You were extremely skilled in using fake-outs and outmaneuvering the opponent. With your fast, little legs you managed to be the first of your team to get to the other side of the field with the ball” Alice said as she watched YoungMagnus get the ball to the other side.

 

“Then why didn’t I ever get a ball in?” Magnus asked, confused.

 

“Because that wasn’t your intention. You had several chances to get the ball in..yet you never did. You only did enough to get the team in a strategic position. You thought of the team before yourself.” Alice said.

 

“What does this have to do with anything? I should be out there..fighting against Shuma-Gorath” He says enraged, causing the room to shake.

 

“There is a point to this. In a 1v1, this method doesn’t work. There are no teammates to pass to. Holding back and not giving your all will cause you to lose. You need to desire more. You need to be greedier. You need to have the desire to win or…you’ll die” Alice says calmly.

 

“But what if I’m no longer myself! Magnus Griswold is supposed to be a magical programmer. Someone who is weak and uses their skill to overcome the strong. Am I still me if I become everything I’m not!” Magnus exclaims.

 

“There is only one way to truly know,” Alice said, smiling. “The exit is through the door”

 

Magnus stood up with newfound confidence. “Thanks,” He says as he flings the door open.

 

—————————————————————————————————-

 

Shuma-Gorath looked at Magnus’ body. ‘He has a strong will to live. Even after penetrating his kidney, his heart still beats’ He thinks as he readies one of his giant tentacles to strike the body’s heart.

 

“I’m…not going to die here!” Magnus says struggling to stand up. He moved his arm to wipe away the blood as he stared down Shuma Gorath.

 

The tentacle shot out at him at hypersonic speeds. Magnus uttered to himself. “Time Alter: Acceleration” He put his own body at a faster frame of time from reality’s perspective causing the tentacle to stab an afterimage while Magnus was behind Shuma-Gorath.

 

“̷T̷i̶m̴e̸ ̴T̴r̵i̶c̵k̴s̵?̵ ̵I̵m̵p̶r̷e̴s̸s̷i̵v̴e̷,”̸ Shuma-Gorath said as he shot out a powerful blast of mystical energy right at Magnus’s current position. “Time Alter: Rewind Self” The young mage mumbled, causing him to rewind to the place he was original.

 

Be devoured, by the Flames of the Faltine” Out of any single extra-dimensional spell that Magnus had learned, this spell was the one he had mastered to an insane level. Perhaps it was due to his connection to Dormammu, a being made up of such energies. Maybe it was the fact that he had experimented with powerful flames beforehand? A combination of both allowed him to control this spell to a high degree.

 

A burst of orange, magical flames erupted from the hands of Magnus towards Shuma-Gorath. To his surprise, Magnus had aimed right towards his eye out of chance. The eldritch summoned a magical shield to block it but noticed how the shield was quickly burnt away by the flames. Thus, he blocked the attack with a tentacle of his. 

 

Magnus kept note of how he went to defend his own eye. ‘By what Master Strange has told me, he should be immensely powerful. But he did say that Shuma-Gorath was more physical than he expected….You know what! Fuck it. I’m gonna have some fun’ He thought as he smiled.

 

Shuma-Gorath sent out his tentacles once more but with a different tactic. He sent all of them around town -each of them growing every second. While they were away from Magnus’s line of sight, he created rifts in the sky from multiple angles. Thus making it nigh-impossible for him to dodge. With it being practically impossible to dodge, Magnus would’ve normally died. However, this was a Magnus who wasn’t holding back. I’m moving this way. He heard it. The mana particles in the air told him where they were going to go. By predicting where they were going, he could predict where the tentacle could be. And predict he did. He weaved in and out of the dangerous tentacle.

 

‘̵T̷h̷e̴r̷e̸ ̸i̷s̴ ̸a̸ ̶t̶h̴i̶c̵k̷ ̷c̷o̵n̵c̸e̷n̸t̵r̷a̷t̷i̷o̴n̶ ̷o̴f̴ ̸m̴a̴n̴a̵ ̷a̴r̷o̶u̶n̸d̵ ̶h̵i̷m̸.̷ ̸I̷s̵ ̶t̶h̸a̷t̴ ̷h̷o̵w̴ ̸h̵e̵ ̶g̴u̶e̶s̶s̵e̴d̴ ̷w̶h̵e̵r̷e̴ ̸m̸y̷ ̷a̸t̴t̸a̶c̵k̷s̶ ̷w̸h̶e̸r̶e̸ ̴g̶o̵i̸n̴g̶?̸’̴  Shuma-Gorath thought he forced his tentacles to pierce the ground. He knew that there was no concentration of mana underneath Magnus meaning that his prediction-based tricks could no longer work.

 

However, Magnus dodged them all the same. In fact, they were much more accurately dodged. Before, he only had a rough idea where they would be coming from. This time it was as if he knew exactly where they were coming from. Magnus decided to go on the offensive as he recited an arcane incantation. “By the Glistening Chains of Galinia, I bind you!” White chains flew towards Shuma-Gorath intending to bind him.

 

Magnus’s eyes widened as he felt the chains tighten around his own arms. ‘He reflected my spell!’ He thought shocked as he struggled to get out of the bind. He felt it dissipate as Galinia’s power was more personal to himself than the other entities that he called upon. ‘I know that the weak spot is that eye of his and that most of my spells can’t get through that hide of his’ Magnus slowly formed an idea in his mind once he saw a cigarette lighter.

 

He picked up the lighter and absorbed the mana around him. “Time Alter: Mystery Development” Mystery is a conceptual weight that supernatural objects and beings may gain over time. Rather than waning, magic culminates power over time. A spoon that has been imbued with an enchantment that makes anything put in it taste good. In the beginning, the spoon can make it only 1% better. As time passes, the magical energies that remain grow in power and strength. Skip 10,000 years and you have a spoon that makes dirt taste far superior to the most excellent chiefs. Thus by creating a bounded field around his spell which acts under different laws of time and space, he increases the development of mystery from a mere 3 seconds to the entire century.

 

Shuma-Gorath’s eye seemingly widened as he saw the young mage flick on the cigarette lighter and cast a magical spell on the flame. It wasn’t the act of casting the spell which made fear creep into his heart. Rather it was the result. A giant firestorm of Primordial Flames, the first flames to ever exist, was sent flying his way. 

 

“ “̵͔̭̟̜͔̩̠̂̿̂͌̌̈́͝*̷̩̣̟̝̘̇̊͒̇̍̌̕ͅ_̴̡̰͕̙̞͕͂̔̉̔͝-̵̺͎̐̕^̵͗͆̿͜ͅ(̶̨͎͓̝́̇̿̆̉͜͝͠ͅͅ)̸͚͉̝͔̥̻̑   “ Shuma-Gorath let out a series of noises which weren’t meant for the mind of a normal human. His body crashed down to the ground in a mess of flames. His tentacles attempted to reach out to Magnus but fell short. Magnus had won. Or so it seemed. The young mage’s eyes went wide as he turned around and saw Shuma-Gorath holding Parvati with one of his tentacles.

 

‘An illusion?! But how come I didn’t sense his true movements within my cloud of mana particles’ Magnus then noticed that there were no particles around him. ‘He destroyed them?’ He thought as he yelled out. “Let her go! She has nothing to do with this!” 

 

 “I̶̬̍ś̶̭ ̴̻͆i̴̤͛t̸͎͂ ̶̻̃n̶͕̾o̵̙̎t̴̼̾ ̸͎͊b̵͈̊ȇ̵̺s̴̤̏t̶̪̑ ̵̻̀t̵̯͝o̵̞͑ ̸̧͠k̵͕̅i̷̬͊ĺ̸̲ļ̶̀ ̶̲̚a̷͖̅ ̶̨͝w̶̨̔e̴̟̎e̶̺̒d̸̫͐ ̶̨̐b̸̮͂e̸͎̎f̴̫̂o̶̗̽r̷̰͗ȅ̴̬ ̷͖̓ị̷̀t̴̠͑ ̷͕̾t̸̫̕r̶̹̀u̵̝͊l̶̥͝y̴̠̚ ̶̱̂b̶̨͝l̷̀͜o̸͔͠s̶̗͗s̸̩͛o̶̟͊ḿ̶̪s̸̭̈ ” Shuma-Gorath says as he flings Parvati into a building. With the superb strength of this eldritch being, Parvati went straight through an entire row of buildings. 

 

Magnus saw red. ‘Why? Why must I always be weak? Why can’t I just be strong like Master Strange? Why? Why? Why!’ He thought. However, Magnus knew the answer to that question. For even now, he was holding back. ‘I can’t hold back anymore. Not if everyone that I need to help keeps on getting hurt’

 

Mana swirled around Magnus as his mind began to be filled with rage and hatred. The wind around him twists and turns as he slowly levitates in the air. “I’m fucking done with this shit,” He said as golden energy manifests around his head. Golden shackles form around his hands.  His skin begins to pulse with pitch, black veins as his head is lit with the Flames of the Faltine. Space and Time distort around him with a single step taking him directly in front of Shuma-Gorath.

 

“ ‘̷̠͗T̴̻͝h̵̥̀à̷̺t̴̢̔ ̴̛̟ẻ̷̡n̸͍͒e̴͔̒ř̵͇g̷̰̀y̶̮͌?̸̜͗ ̴̫̄H̵̯͘o̵̝͆w̷͚̾ ̶̧̇ǐ̶͈s̴̲͛ ̷̩͛h̸͕̾e̶̫͂ ̶̻̽c̶̖̾a̷͎̓l̶̛̪l̸̦̇i̸̹̾n̴̮͝g̴̙͝ ̷͓́ŭ̶̻p̴̪̈ǒ̷̦n̴̙̐ ̴̥̒t̷̹͐h̷̻̊e̶̲͆ ̸̙̇p̷̥̄ǫ̸̇w̴̰͐e̸̥̎r̸̰̀ ̶̋ͅó̴̺f̵̧̑ ̷̮͐Z̷͍̾ò̵͇m̶̯̃ ” Shuma-Gorath says in shock as he manifests a magical barrier. The barrier fell in a single blow for the strength of the young mage had been multiplied a hundredfold.

 

Shuma-Gorath sent a powerful burst to telekinetic force but such a thing merely blew Magnus’ hair. On one hand, the Flames of Faltine shone brightly combined with the might of Zom. The hand descended upon the eldritch being’s eye before it stopped. “Leave…and don’t you ever return

 

The avatar quickly formed a rift and slipped through.

 

Author Note: As to why Magnus seemed to be overpowering Shuma-Gorath, Shuma-Gorath entered through a portal that Magnesium made which wouldn’t let the normal level that his avatar carries.

 

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