Dual Power Destiny, Ch 1

Hey everyone, this is not a serious story yet, it's just something I did while I didn't have power and I couldn't look at my notes for the other stuff I am working on.

It's kind of an experimental story where I try to combine more epic fantasy prose with LitRPG. I guess it's kind of more similar in prose to Mark of the Fool.

Anyway, I'm putting up 4 chapters now. If you read it, please let me know what you think on chapter 4, or even chapter by chapter.

Let me know if this is something worth continuing in the future in my free time.


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Tony woke up to the sound of pounding on his door. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and checked through the slats in the window covering. It was early morning, a bit before he should be waking up.

"Who is it?" he grumbled.

"Tony, it's me, Geeta," came the reply from the other side of the door. "I'm so sorry to wake you up early, but I needed to speak with you about something important."

"Can't it wait an hour?" Tony asked, his voice still heavy with sleep. He strained his ears, trying to make out any hints of urgency in Geeta's voice. The pounding on his door ceased momentarily before resuming with even more fervor.

"No, Tony, I'm afraid it can't," Geeta replied, her tone laced with barely contained anxiety. "Please, open the door. I need to show you something."

"Geeze," Tony murmured to himself. He didn't want to get up, but Geeta was not usually a fool. Tony got dressed, just a simple tunic with breeches, and opened the door.

"Come in, Geeta," he said, resigned. Geeta barged in, her eyes wide with fear and excitement. In her trembling hands, she clutched a small, leather-bound tome that looked as if it had been through countless hands over the years.

"Tony, I found this in my father's old things," Geeta said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's a spellbook. A real one. And I think it's dangerous."

Tony sighed and said, "Why do you think it's real?"

Geeta's grip tightened on the worn leather cover of the tome, her knuckles turning white. "Because it's written in Old Tongue, the language of magic," she said, her voice needlessly soft, like someone might hear her. "I remember reading about it in one of the books you lent me. This is real, Tony. I can feel the power radiating off of it."

"Why did you bring it to me? Whether it's real or not, I can't pay for something like this. And aren't you worried about your mother finding out? I know it's been a couple of years since he died, but isn't she still weird about you going through your father's things?"

Geeta's eyes flitted nervously from the spellbook to Tony, as if she were a startled deer caught in the glare of an approaching hunter. "I-I couldn't take it to Mother," she stammered. "She doesn't know I have it, and I don't want her to find out."

Tony ran a hand over his face. He was really not a morning person, and this was a lot to take in before the sun was even properly up. "So you brought it here because I'm interested in magic, and I read Old Tongue?"

Indeed, that seemed to be the case. Geeta nodded, her eyes pleading with Tony to understand the gravity of the situation. "Yes, exactly," she said. "You're the only one I can trust with this, Tony. I know how much you love magic, and I know that you can help me understand what this book is and what it means."

Tony gave her a skeptical look. "Haven't you already supposedly found like ten other magic books? I seem to recall that one of them turned out to be a book in ancient Sumerian on farming cattle, right?"

Geeta's cheeks flushed, and she looked down at her feet. "Well, yes, but this one is different," she insisted. "I can feel it, Tony. It's not like the others. Please, just take a look at it. You don't have to believe me, but I think it could be important."

Tony sighed, running a hand through his tousled hair. He looked at Geeta out of the corner of his eye. She was nineteen, the same as him. He knew that everyone in the village thought it was bizarre he hadn't started courting her yet or asked for her hand; she was obviously sweet on him. But over six years ago, on his thirteenth birthday, he'd suddenly remembered his past life.

Geeta was a great friend and a nice girl, but he knew they were not right for each other, not long-term, and he didn't find her very attractive. She deserved better than a man who only thought she was so-so looking.

He said, "Fine, I'll take a look at this supposed magic book. But I don't understand why it couldn't wait until later. Hell, I don't understand what you are doing already up in the first place."

Geeta shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot. "I couldn't sleep," she admitted. "I kept thinking about this book and how important it might be. I finally decided to get up and look at it again, and that's when I realized that I needed to show it to you right away. I hope I didn't make a mistake."

Tony's curiosity was piqued despite his initial reluctance. "You're really that sure about it this time, huh? Why?"

Geeta lifted her gaze to meet Tony's, her eyes filled with a determination that he had never seen in her before. "I just know it, Tony," she said, her voice steady and resolute. "I can feel the magic in this book, like a hum that resonates deep in my bones. It's not the same as the other books I've found. This one is different. It's authentic, Tony. I can feel it."

"On the off chance this thing is real, you can't hold me responsible for what happens, if anything." Tony held out his hand for the book.

Geeta hesitated for a moment before carefully placing the spellbook in Tony's outstretched hand. The worn leather was surprisingly warm to the touch, and as soon as his fingers closed around it, a shiver ran down his spine. He could feel the weight of the tome's secrets, and he couldn't deny that there was something extraordinary about it.

"Well, I'll be damned," he breathed. "There really does seem to be something to this. Are you sure you want me to read it? Or I guess, try to read it?"

Geeta nodded, her eyes wide with anticipation. "Yes, please, Tony. I trust you. I think you're the only one who can help me figure out what this book is and what it means."

Tony carefully opened the cover of the spellbook, revealing pages upon pages of ancient script. The ink was faded in some places, but overall, the text was remarkably well-preserved. His eyes skimmed the Old Tongue. He could read it, but barely. This book had to be truly ancient, to the degree he was actually shocked that it could be in such good shape. As his eyes roved over the pages, the letters and words seemed to swim. Almost as if from a great distance, he thought he could hear Geeta's voice, but he ignored it. The words called to him. Finally, as if his mind finally began to work for the first time, he reached an epiphany, like a vision without sight or sound.

"Ah," he muttered. "Magic Missile."

Tony woke up on the floor, a worried Geeta hovering over him. She had one hand over her mouth and was making concerned noises as moisture gathered in her eyes. Tony felt a throbbing ache in his head as he tried to sit up. He had no idea how long he had been lying there, lost in the ancient script of the spellbook.

"I-I'm sorry, Tony," Geeta stammered, helping him to his feet. "I didn't know it would do that to you. I should have never asked you to read it."

Suddenly, Tony saw a blue screen hanging in the air. He could barely see Geeta through it, and words started rapidly scrolling down, like his memory of computers on Earth.

The screen read:

Synchronization of Wild Magic with subject unsuccessful.

Reason: No magical aptitude.

Attempting to discover solution.

Difficulty identified: Reincarnated person.

Reincarnated person, stronger soul.

Reincarnated soul boon: Mercury Aura.

Wild Magic incompatibility with additional rare or mythic systems.

Attempted reconciliation.

Mana added.

Basic magic aptitude, added.

Basic Spell, added. Searching...

Considering aura usage potential...

[Magic Missile] chosen.

Calibrating...

Ability to learn future spells: Removed.

Incompatibility with magic flexible system.

Flexible system added for Aura usage.

Solution found.

Situation resolved.

Tony slowly said, "Do you see that, Geeta?"

"See what?"

Experimentally, Tony focused on the screen and willed it to go away. It immediately vanished.

Almost as quickly, a new screen popped up. It read:

Synchronization time, one standard day.

Tony blinked, focusing on that screen, and willing it away, too.

He looked up to stare at Geeta. "Did something happen? Something happened, didn't it?" Geeta's expression was a curious mixture of dread and excitement. Tony took a deep breath, deciding what, if anything, to say. For now, he decided to keep the full extent of what had happened a secret.

"Something definitely happened. I'm not sure what, yet. What about the book? Where is it?"

Geeta carefully picked up the spellbook from where it had fallen and handed it back to Tony. He took it from her, feeling the weight of its secrets once more. The strange feeling he'd felt earlier, the buzz, the power, was gone now.

"Well, Geeta, I think you were right. It wasn't a normal book." Tony kept his tone cheerful. He had a lot on his mind now.

"You're not hurt, are you? Oh, this was a bad idea. I'm sorry!"

"Don't be sorry. But...how about you let me get ready for the day, and we'll talk about it again after work, okay?" Tony reassured Geeta with a gentle smile, easing her worries for the moment. As she quietly left his dwelling, Tony couldn't help but feel an odd mix of excitement, confusion, and even a tinge of fear.

He spent the day trying to focus on his blacksmithing apprenticeship duties, but his mind kept wandering back to the mysterious spellbook. Tony went through some of his blacksmithing duties without even thinking about them. His mind was elsewhere. As the day wore on, Tony found himself distracted, his thoughts drawn back to the spellbook and the strange blue screens that had appeared before his eyes. The implications were staggering. At the very least, the experience had confirmed his past life--now he knew for sure he was not crazy. And since his past life was real, everything he could remember from then was, too.

He also spent a good deal of time pondering his friendship with Geeta, and what, if anything, he should tell her. Ultimately, he made a decision.

When the day started to wind down, he worked to shut down the forge. His master hadn't been in that day, off buying iron, and the added quiet had been helpful to think. As Tony closed the doors of the forge, he saw Geeta waiting for him outside. She looked relieved and anxious at the same time. Tony took a deep breath and approached her.

"Geeta, I need to talk to you," he said.

She looked at him expectantly, and he could see the questions in her eyes.

"I want to thank you for showing me that book," Tony said. "It was..." He paused and said, "Actually, go back to my room."

Tony led the way, and neither of them remarked on how unremarkable most of the village would find a young man and young woman going off alone together. It would be scandalous for anyone else, but despite Tony's constant denials, most of the village really did think he and Geeta were a couple.

Back in his room, Tony pulled out a chair for Geeta to sit on. He sat on his bed and steepled his fingers, resting his chin on them in thought. He was sweaty and dirty from the forge and wanted badly to bathe, but it could wait.

He was going to have to get really creative with the truth here in a moment.

Geeta looked like she recognized his inner turmoil. "Okay, Geeta. The book was real, but it was also...even more special."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember how we read about rare magical talents, and rare aura talents before?"

"Yes."

"Well, the book could confer a rare magical talent. Wild Magic. But it wouldn't work on me because I have a talent for aura."

"That's..." She paused. "Absolutely amazing! But wait, why didn't it work? Could you just be dual powered?  Or dual talented?  Whichever the term is.”

"No, I saw a vision where it rejected me." He was deliberately lying here, and he didn't like misleading Geeta. However, he needed to do some more research first before completely spilling his guts, if ever. "But now I know for sure that I have an aura talent. I think that we should use some of the money we have saved up to buy books, and I can teach you the Old Tongue. Maybe with my help, you can learn some magic. I can't believe you don't have any talent. Then, when the country's Talent Finders come by the village during the Festival, we can get discovered."

"Don't you still have a year left on your blacksmith contract?"

"Yes, but the old man won't let me go until the very, very end of the contract. I make him too much money. Luckily, the country will buy out my contract. We are the perfect ages for them to send to the Officer Academy."

"That is true. I am not good at learning languages, though. Do you really think you can help me?"

"Of course," said Tony with partially feigned confidence. "I kind of don't have a choice. Now I owe you big time for ruining your book."

"No, no way! Now you know for sure you have aura! You weren't even trying to use it before!"

Tony smiled, but inside he grimaced. The fact was, he had tried to awaken Aura before. But he'd followed the simple steps in the public leaflets that were handed out every year. Rare talents were slightly different to activate and discover. That was one reason they were rare. Most rare talents in the entire Empire were monopolized by the powerful Families.

"Geeta, tomorrow is the weekend, and I think I can get some time off. You can come if you want, but I am going to go to Larien and check out the bookstore. It's the only one within walking distance." Geeta's eyes sparkled with a mix of excitement and trepidation. Tony knew the prospect of learning magic, of becoming something more than a village storekeeper's daughter, was a dream she had harbored in secret, watering it with quiet hope in the solitude of her heart. Tony's words were like rain after a drought, nourishing the fragile sprout of her ambition.

"I would love to come with you, Tony."

"Are you sure? I already messed up your book, or at least took the magic out of it. It could have given you Wild Magic. I don't know what that is, but I am sure it's precious. Seems like if buying more books will be a waste of time, I'm rather I'm the one who wastes money on it." Tony's voice was tinged with a guilt that sat uneasily upon his broad shoulders.

Geeta's eyes flickered with a determination that belied her usual gentleness. "Tony, you didn't know. How could you have? Besides," she added with a wry smile, "it's not like I could have used it anyway. You're the one with the aura talent, remember?" Her words were meant to be reassuring, but there was an undercurrent of wistfulness that couldn't be completely disguised.

"We don't know that! I mean, just because I have talent doesn't mean you don't! And it might have worked on you!" Tony's protest hung in the air, a fervent plea wrapped in the guise of logic. His eyes, usually so calm and reserved, blazed with an intensity that surprised even himself. Geeta was a good person. He felt truly lucky to have met such a great friend in this life, someone who'd even been willing to be his friend after he started acting weird at thirteen. Eventually, all the other young people in the village had avoided him or gone off to get married. Only Geeta had remained.

Her eyes softened at Tony's outburst, her lips parting in a small 'o' of surprise. "Tony," she said softly, reaching out to gently touch his arm, "I appreciate your faith in me, truly."

He nodded. "Alright, if you want to go, you can. But just promise me you won't spend any money unless I run out."

"Fair enough. And seriously, don't worry about the book. If I hadn't found it in my dad's old things, it would have been thrown away. See you tomorrow!" Geeta turned and left. As usual, since they spent so much time together, her parting was not a big deal.

As he stared at his hands, Tony ruefully admitted that there was probably good reason for the other villagers to assume he was courting Geeta. Not for the first time, he wondered if he had the right to spend so much time with her, to keep her friendship when he knew she wanted more. It was ironic that in his first life on Earth, it always felt like he was being put into the friend zone, but in this world, the roles had reversed.

As he bathed, getting ready for bed, he didn't feel good about the situation with the book, and he didn't feel good about himself. But as usual, he reminded himself that Geeta was her own person. The only thing he could do that was more wrong than not viewing Geeta as a potential partner would be making her decisions for her and ending their friendship.

He'd never do that. But he wondered what Geeta and the other villagers would think if they knew he could remember being an office manager on Earth. The thought haunted him. It had for over six years.