Paradise [VII]

Just then, a window of blue light flickered on at the far end of the cafeteria, slowly phasing gold an instant later. For a moment, Gray could've sworn he saw a hand moving deep inside it, but the gold light was just too bright for him to be certain.

 Several silver platters began floating through, carrying mountains of turkey legs, cakes, and other foods.

"Our food's here," Gray announced, staring at the platters as they hovered towards them. Charles clapped, before chasing after it. His attendant watched in disappointment, glancing at Gray, before following her master.

Gray watched on as Charles wrestled against whatever magic kept the platters afloat. It seemed quite strong, as even this behemoth was unable to speed the hovering process along. At first, it was funny, but after seeing him struggle even after he got angry, Gray's interest was piqued.

He stood up as well and began studying them. The platters themselves, despite being thin and fancy-looking, were nothing special. The only thing that hinted at magic being at play was the thin golden glow that surrounded them.

~It's like a protective spell. Kind of overkill to use something like this just to deliver food,~ he thought to himself, placing his fingers on one of the platters.

Something sparked, like a million tiny jolts of electricity flooding his body all at once. His hands buzzed to life, vibrating with energy he wasn't aware even existed until a moment ago.

He let go of the floating platter, and stumbled backward, holding his hands in pain... pain that never actually came. The sensation was surprising, but it did not hurt.

Charles and the attendants stared at him, and he stared at his hands. They were coated in a thin layer of sparkling blue light. Whatever that thing had done to him, made it so he could feel an almost non-existent breeze in the air.

"What, was that?" Gray whispered, moving his hands around a little. It tingled, and he could feel some resistance as if he were pushing against water.

Charles clapped excitedly, and the two attendants bowed as if congratulating him for something. Gray wanted to ask, but he knew they would not be able to answer him.

He slowly got to his feet, still staring at his hands in awe.

~Is this… magic?~ he thought to himself. Sure he wasn't shooting out fireballs, but what else could explain glowing hands? However before he could even test out anything, the glow disappeared.

Charles stopped clapping, a disappointed expression on his face.

~How, do I…~ Gray touched the floating platter once again, and the sensation kicked in. The glow on his hands flickered to life, and a moment later they were thrust down, nearly sending him to the ground. It felt like he was holding his hands up against a waterfall.

He dragged himself away from the platter and was released from the weight.

~I think I get what's going on,~ he thought to himself, bringing his hands close to the platter again. And once more, he was pushed down.

His theory was that his hands might be sensitive to some sort of energy that the platter was emitting. Something like mana, if that was the type of energy that the system was using.

~Though this didn't happen when Charles touched it,~ he realized, looking at Charles —who had lost interest in him and was back at trying to steal food from the platters.

~Then it's probably the Arcana stat. Though it requiring contact with a magic object is a little… rubbish,~ he realized, right as his glow dimmed.

Just then, the platters landed on the table, their magical coating disappearing with that. Charles didn't waste a beat and dug in; holding a turkey leg in each hand.

Gray, on the other hand, had long forgotten his hunger. Right now, his heart tingled in excitement from his discovery. He needed to spend more time studying this.

He turned to his attendant, his hands still vibrating slightly. "Can you order more foo—"

Right then, something shifted within his mind. It took him a moment to realize what it was.

Some of his memories were being edited, a memory of a floor, the 112th… the library.

~The facility guide is being updated,~ he realized.

The library hadn't been there a moment ago, something was... happening.

"You're already leaving? You haven't even touched your food," Charles's attendant announced.

Gray had already started walking towards the exit without even realizing it.

"I think I found something, something that can help us understand what all this is about. You should come too Charles," Gray said.

Charles paused for a moment, before signing something to his attendant.

"The music and food are here. Why do you want to leave?" his attendant said.

Charles looked… angry almost.

"Yeah… I know that. But we only have three days here, we need to collect what information we can before we get back to Earth. Aren't you interested in knowing what the trials are? Why this is happening?" Gray asked.

Charles dropped the turkey leg and looked him in the eyes. Gray felt small, like a bunny in front of a bull.

He signed, slowed, and deliberated.

"The music and food are here. All those other things are not important. You are a friend, so I will warn you now. Don't waste your time on useless things," the attendant said. Charles continued eating right after that,

~What's all this about?~ Gray thought to himself, quickly deciding not to think about it too much. Charles was a weird guy, maybe he just wanted to enjoy his stay here. And weird or not, Gray could understand that desire.

He wanted information. Charles wanted food and music.

"Can you take me to the 112th floor?" Gray asked his attendant. She nodded in response and tapped her necklace. A moment later, a wooden door wobbled into existence.

Gray looked back at Charles for a moment, the man ate in silence now none of his joyous humming, before leaving.

###

The doors opened to a hallway, with two massive marble doors at the far end. Obsidian pedestals lined the path towards it, holding blue flames above them that did little to light the room. 

Gray stepped out, the door closing before disappearing behind him.

It took him a second to realize, but someone was at the end of the hallway, standing in front of the door, staring up at it.

"Hello?" Gray called out, his voice echoing against the shadowy walls.

For a moment the only sound in the room was the crackling flames.

The man sighed, turning around slowly. He looked to be just a head taller than Gray, though that was all Gray could discern as the rest of his features were shrouded by the shadows of the poorly lit room.

One thing in particular stood out. His eyes were coated in a sparkling blue light, the same shade as the flames.

"You."

"What are you?" the man asked, pointing at Gray.