The Witch and the Zodiac | Kyo

Chapter 9- Bastion

"There are four types of magic that would let me show you Bastion." Aki held up four fingers and looked at Tohru. "Thought-Sharing, Creation, Hallucinatory, and Illusionary." She paused. "I won't use Thought-Sharing, because that requires an ultimate level of trust between the Witch and all others involved, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you wouldn't want your minds to be linked, even for a few seconds."

She pointed at Kyo and Yuki. "Especially you two."

"That'd be best." Shigure nodded.

Aki put down a finger. "Creation magic is the most taxing and difficult of all. I could make a model of individual buildings or of the country appear out of thin air, but it requires too much magic for one, and for two, it's extremely complicated." She put down another finger. "Hallucinatory magic usually requires a stimulant— like incense or hypnosis. I don't like using Hallucinatory magic, so I won't."

She held up her index. "Which leaves Illusionary magic. It's the simplest one, it requires the least magic, and it's easy to maintain for long durations if needed."

Aki closed her eyes and let out a slow breath, holding her palms up in front of her.

"Power of the mind and sky, open and dazzle my eyes."

A burst of light erupted from her palms, illuminating the room in a rainbow that swirled around them room. After a moment it stopped, the colors settling into place to form the image of a cloudless blue sky with the island continent below.

"Eep!" Tohru's eyes widened and she held onto the table and the other's held their breaths momentarily before they remembered the Illusion.

"Calm down." Aki laughed quietly, watching Kyo's hair standing on edge as he gripped the table and twitched. "It's an Illusion. This is the view from Bastion from a helicopter."

Tohru let out a breath of relief and stared in wonder at the island below as if the floor were missing. "This magic is amazing!"

Aki's smile grew. "Where do you want to see first, Tohru? The beaches? The Witch's Monument? The mall? Maybe the underwater Mausoleum?"

"Underwater Mausoleum?" Kyo crossed his arms and looked at her. "You Witches are weird."

"Weird?" Aki laughed and crossed her own arms. "The sea is full of life and an untold number of creatures and beautiful things. The sea is timeless and serene... it makes the perfect resting place."

She waved a hand and the aerial view vanished and the colored swirled once more to become an underwater scene. Bubblies drifted up around them as vibrant tropical fish swam through the air. Above them, light streamed through the surface of the water, illuminating the clear water. Beneath them, crabs skittered across the sandy bottom to snap their claws hopefully as they swam by.

Kyo's eyes widened as a shark seemed to lunge at him and he flinched as the Illusion passed through him and the creature swam off.

"The Mausoleum is situated in Concord Bay, and the Alliance Capital building looks out over it. Originally it was built as a resting place for the Witches only, but it was expanded after the alliance was formed."

The scene shifted as if they were moving along the bottom of the sea until they reached an area of underwater caves. Outside of the caves, five marble statues were erected of women, holding hands as if guarding the caves. Each statue was unique, though each woman was dressed in formal robes. The woman on the far left held a tome in her free hand, while the statue on the far right held a large crystal in her own arm.

"The five Founding Witches symbolically guard the Mausoleum posthumously— Kestral, Shyla, Bluebell, Dawn, and Myrna. Kestral is known to Witches as the Mother of Spells, for being the first Witch to write the incantations that were later passed down. Shyla is called the Healing Saint for discovering that magic could be used medically. Bluebell is called the Bridge, for being the first Witch to marry and give birth to a half-Witch child, and later was a mediator for the first conferences of the Alliance before she passed. Dawn was the Angel of Swords, and she specialized in attack magic and swordsmanship to fight those who targeted Witches. And Myrna is called the Keeper of Souls, because she was the guardian of the Vessel that contained the essences of the Witches that came before. But both Myrna and the Vessel were lost when Ghouls attacked."