The Magia Archive

Kai wasn’t sure where everyone was. Sure it was late, but he usually saw at least one other person as he walked through the building. Kai took a deep breath and tried to center himself. He told himself that he had left the library late and it was winter. It made sense that no one was around right now.

His footsteps echoed off the walls as he upped his pace a little bit. He was keen to get out of the building. He wasn’t sure why, but something about walking through this building alone made him uneasy.

As he turned the corner, Kai heard a soft tapping. A shiver ran up his spine as he looked around. “What is that?” He mumbled as he started to walk as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder every other step, his brain telling him that someone was trying to sneak up on him.

However, as he turned his head, Kai realized what the noise was. A door at the far side of the corridor was half ajar, and the breeze was causing it to swing slightly. The tapping was merely the lock knocking against the frame.

“Really?” Sighed Kai, feeling slightly silly about getting scared by a door. “Might as well close it,” he mumbled as he walked towards the tapping door. However, as he moved closer, Kai realized that he hadn’t spotted this door before.

He brushed it off, presuming that he had merely been distracted before. It wasn’t like he walked through the building for fun. He was either going somewhere or coming from somewhere. So he could have easily missed a random nondescript door.

Kai gripped the handle, hoping that he could close the door with one firm pull. However, as his hands wrapped around the handle, the door started to shake. Kai screamed and tried to pull away, but his hand wouldn’t let go of the handle.

The door started to shake and vibrate, almost like it was trying to pull Kai into the room. Kai did his best to pull back, but it was hopeless. Whatever was controlling the door was much more powerful than he was.

Suddenly, the door swung inwards, sending Kai flying into the darkness of the room. However, it felt strange. It felt like he was falling. But before Kai could fully understand what was going on, he hit the floor with a thud.

Kai’s head spun as his body throbbed. He could feel a soft carpet under his face. But he wasn’t sure where he was. It felt like he had spent the last twenty minutes riding a rollercoaster. He pushed himself up off the floor and looked around the room. He expected to be in some random office, but this room certainly wasn’t that.

The whole place was blue, with blue walls, blue carpet, and blue light fixtures. It looked like something out of a strange design magazine. Kai continued to look around. However, he was quickly shaken from his thoughts by someone shouting at him. “Hey! You’ve arrived!” Said the voice.

Kai turned and spotted a woman on the far side of the room. She was sat behind a large blue desk. She was clad in a tight blue jacket and had a little blue hat perched on her head. While the outfit was odd, the woman herself looked pretty normal.

“Where am I?” Asked Kai as he continued to look around the odd room.

“Business-minded. I like it!” Smiled the woman as she rose from her seat. “You’re in the lobby of the Magia Archive.”

“The Magia Archive? What is this, a cafe?” Kai asked, his voice full of confusion.

“No, it is not.” Replied the woman as she put her hands on her hips. “The Magia Archive is.” She added before trailing off.

“The Magia Archive is what?” Kai pushed. Keen to get an answer.

“Look, kid.” Sighed the woman as she sat back down at the desk. “I’m gonna level with you. I haven’t got a clue.”

“Okay. Well, I’m going to go,” replied Kai as he turned around, only to realize this room had no door. “Hey! How do I get out?!”

“You take a trinket.” Answered the woman.

“What? I’m going to call the police if you don’t let me go right now!” Shouted Kai, pulling his phone out of his pocket, his heart pounding in his chest as he stared daggers into the woman.

“Go for it.” Sighed the woman as she leaned back in her chair. Kai looked at his phone, only to realize that it wouldn’t even turn on. Kai furiously shook the phone as he started to panic.

“What are you doing!” He yelled as he pressed himself up against the wall.

“I wish I knew.” Mumbled the woman. “Look, I tried it as well. Technology from outside doesn’t work here.”

“What is here?! What is this place?” Shouted Kai, his voice faltering as he did.

“I told you. The Magia Archive.” Groaned the woman as she rested her head on the desk.

“What is that? What does it mean!”

“I don’t know!” Shouted the woman as she jumped out of her chair. “I have no idea! I’m just the intern!”

“What?” Blinked Kai. Kai’s anger faded as confusion washed over him. “The intern? What?”

“Look, I took a job offer. It said it was a receptionist gig. So I turned up, and this guy told me I would be working for this archive.”

“Doing what?” Asked Kai.

“Just helping people who turned up.” Replied the woman as she put her head in her hands. “Like, okay. You’re not going to believe this. But according to the guy, this place gives out items to chosen ones.”

“And you believed him?” Snapped Kai, not sure if he should believe this woman. Her emotions seemed genuine, but this whole situation was so weird.

“Hey, the money was good. I’m not turning down money.” Shrugged the woman. “He only hired me as I liked my name.”

“Huh?”

“Trix, short for Trixie. But he kept calling me Tricks. Wanted to hire another girl called Riddles. So we would be Tricks and Riddles. I didn’t like it. But again, money.”

“Then I want to talk to that guy!” Shouted Kai as he stamped his foot on the floor. His confusion, fear, and anger twisted together to form a strange and heady cocktail of emotions. He had no idea where he was or what was going on, and this woman was being far too flippant for his tastes.

“Good luck!” Replied Trixie as she laughed. “Dude walked out a few months back.”

“What?”

“Walked out. The guy said that he had something to do. Walked out, didn’t come back.” Replied Trixie, her laughter becoming more awkward as it continued, almost like she was laughing in an attempt to stop herself from bursting into tears.

“Then why are you still here?” Kai asked as he backed up a little bit, unsure of how Trixie was going to react.

“Because the door vanished!” Shouted Trixie as she slammed her hands on the desk. “Doors only seem to appear when he is around or when someone falls in. That’s it. No more doors.”

“But,” mumbled Kai. “You said that others have fallen in. Where are they?”

“They left.” Lamented Trixie as she slumped back into her chair, tipping her head back and looking up at the ceiling. “That is the other way out. You can take one of the things.”

“You’ve lost me?” Mumbled Kai as he took a few steps towards the desk.

“Yeah, I was trying to get this over as soon as possible, but you were being moody, and it threw me off.” Grumbled Trixie as she refocused her gaze on Kai. “The guy told me that this place offers treasures for the chosen ones. Magical items that will help them on their quest.”

“That sounds. So wrong. This feels like a trick.” Muttered Kai as he rubbed his nose.

“Yeah. Dude. If I could make doors disappear. I would be in Vegas. Not trapped here.” Interjected Trixie. “But yeah. I give you a magical item. The door appears, and you go back to wherever you came from.”

“But I’m not a chosen one!” Insisted Kai.

“And I don’t care.” Snapped Trixie. “It doesn’t matter to me. I just want you out of here.”

“So what, you’re just giving out magical items? Forgive me if I don’t believe you.” Grumbled Kai.

“Yep. Come in, get an item. Leave. Look. If the man wanted me to judge who was worthy, then he should have left a guide. But I don’t have one, all he told me was the items choose their users, and I’m not arguing with something that lacks a mouth.” Explained Trixie as she smashed her fist onto the desk again. “So take a trinket.”

“And if I say no?” Asked Kai.

“Then you’re stuck here. And while the fridge seems to refill itself, I’m unsure it produces enough food for two of us.” Smirked Trixie. “Also, it is clear we wouldn’t get on.”

“Right,” sighed Kai. This seemed impossible, but at the same time, he couldn’t see a way out of this situation. He kept looking around, hoping that he could spot a door, but the walls were all perfectly flat. After several minutes of consideration, Kai shook his head again and resigned himself. “Sure. I’ll do it.”

“Fantastic!” Grinned Trixie as she jumped up out of the chair. Suddenly, the room shifted. A sea of blue metallic shelves appeared out of the far wall. Every section was loaded with unsorted stuff. It looked like a thrift store had exploded.

“Okay, I’ll go grab something.” Replied Kai as he walked towards the shelves. However, before he could take more than a few steps, Trixie shouted.

“Stop!” She screamed, causing Kai to freeze mid-movement.

“What?” Asked Kai, his heart starting to pound.

“I need to get the crate.” Smiled Trixie as she quickly ran to the back of the room. Kai hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a slightly wonky couch there. But he quickly realized why it was wonky. It was sat atop a large metal crate.

Trixie quickly wheeled the box over to the shelves. However, as it rolled, Kai realized that the crate was damaged. And it was covered in various padlocks and held shut with rope and bungee chords. “What is that for?” Asked Kai, unsure if he actually wanted the answer.

“Sometimes, the items get aggressive.” Smiled Trixie. “If an item gets too aggressive, it goes into the box until it calms down.”

“Aggressive?” Whimpered Kai.

“Don’t worry about it. Some are just bitey. If it lunges at you, just get it in the box.” Smirked Trixie.

“You seem very calm about this,” grumbled Kai.

“Well yeah,” sighed Trixie. “Didn’t have many choices. Did I? My options were to adapt or go mad. And I didn’t fancy going mad.”

“Fair,” nodded Kai. “So what do I do?”

“Just look around, see if anything interests you. If it doesn’t eat you. It’s yours!”

“Really?” Blinked Kai. “That is all there is to it?”

“Look. Kid.” Replied Trixie. “You’re asking the wrong person. This whole thing isn’t something I was ever shown how to do. I only saw one chosen one get their stuff before the guy left me. He did a spiel about them changing reality, ran his hand along the shelf, and grabbed a dagger. Then gave it to the kid.”

“Right,” nodded Kai. He was slightly worried about how normal this was starting to feel. He realized that he should logically be terrified. This situation was strange and dangerous. But at the same time, Trixie seemed to be honest, and while she was abrasive, it seemed like she was mad at the world rather than being angry at Kai.

As Trixie took the bindings off the box, Kai’s eyes roamed the shelves. There were all sorts of things on the shelves. There were normal household objects as well as things that Kai had never seen before. Some were obviously weapons because of their triggers or sharp edges that glimmered in the light. But some were just random shapes or clusters of light.

“Any of them calling out to you?” Asked Trixie, shaking Kai from his thoughts.

“Should they?” Asked Kai.

Trixie shrugged. “Dude said that people can feel a connection with them. I don’t know. Just if you have a revelation about them or here, let me know. The info might help me in the long run.”

“Right.” Nodded Kai as he started to walk up and down the aisles. “How long have you been here for anyway?”

“Why do you ask?” Growled Trixie, suddenly sounding defensive.

“Small talk,” added Kai. “Just trying to make this less awkward.”

“Right,” sighed Trixie as she leaned up against the shelf. “No idea. This place has no windows. Based on what you’re wearing, a maximum of five years.”

“What I’m wearing?”

“Yeah. I recognize the sense of fashion. I presume in the future everyone will wear silver jumpsuits or something. And you mentioned calling the police and reached into your pocket. So cellphones are a thing, so you’re not from the past.”

“Oh, right.” Nodded Kai. “Has there been anyone from the past or future?”

“Maybe,” replied Trixie. “It is hard to ask. They might just have had a weird fashion sense.”

“All of this, and you think it is weird to ask about clothes?” Asked Kai as he continued to run his finger along the shelves.

“Most people are like you. They turn up and freak out. I don’t really get a chance to ask questions.” Nodded Trixie. “Anything?”

“Not really.” Replied Kai as he continued to look over the shelf. After a few minutes of pondering, Kai reached forward and grabbed a small deck of cards from the shelf. “These.” He said firmly.

“Any reason?” Asked Trixie.

“Easy to store. I can’t keep a sword knocking around,” nodded Kai as he played with the deck of cards in his hands. They felt like regular playing cards, but they had strange designs on them. They looked like something out of a horror movie.

“Not fighting you?” Asked Trixie gently.

“No, don’t seem to be doing anything.” Smiled Kai as he waved the deck around to prove it.

“If you’re sure.” Nodded Trixie. “No refunds after all. If this eats your face or turns your house into a battleship, it isn’t anything to do with me.”

“Has that. Has that ever happened?” Blinked Kai.

“I don’t know. Once it leaves here, not my problem.” Smirked Trixie. “Oh hey,” she added as she looked across the room. “Door!”

Kai turned and saw a brown wooden door on the wall. “Want to come?” Asked Kai.

“Nah,” chuckled Trixie as she waved her hand. “I’ve tried. One in, one out.”

“Okay,” sighed Kai as he opened the door. “Good luck.”

“Good luck, enjoy your deck!” Smiled Trixie as she watched the boy leave through the door as the racks disappeared into the walls once more.