System Witchery

Time continued flowing, days passing yet the same fatigue continued setting into Priscilla's body. To her delight, she didn't need to worry about food and water in this realm, but to her dismay, the only form of entertainment was a talking scissors talking nonsense and insulting her in every other sentence. She pushed her hand forward 'Aptur!' but her grimoire was nowhere to be seen. 

'Is this what Lucia felt like? Powerless. Witch Status!'

 The parchment paper was held loosely in one arm and the other inspecting the numbers that seemed to have changed.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ 

 ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

─⋅⋆⁺ MP (Magical Power) 175/500

─⋅⋆⁺ BP (Battle Prowess) 230/300

─⋅⋆⁺ GL (Grimoire Limit) 5/5000

─⋅⋆⁺ HP (Health Points) 250/250

─⋅⋆⁺ MF (Mental Fortitude) 11/25

─⋅⋆⁺ SD (Star Divination) N/A

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ 

'Alright, my magical power should reach fifty per cent soon enough. Ghhhh' She stretched, her back popping like popcorn in the microwave. Once more she tried to empty her pockets in case a wand might have appeared since the last check, but they were empty. 

'So do you have a name scissors?' It hovered closely to her, taking a plentiful amount of time to answer the question.

'Well my last master perished in battle, but normally the owner of each artefact gets to name it. While it would be awesome to get a new one, beware that it drains your MP down to zero. The more MP you infuse into the name, the stronger I become. I suggest waiting until you can reach a maximum of 5000 to 10000.' Despite her constant badgering, it seemed to be useful when Priscilla wanted to learn about anything.

'Alright then, I'll call you by a nickname. How about Sors? And you can call me rock.' Priscilla giggled waiting for Sors to pick up on her joke, despite the vast pool of knowledge it possessed gears ground to a halt when humour was introduced. 

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Several minutes passed, boredom steadily increasing with the number of things that she could do sitting at a stagnant zero. Her eyes turned to the pair of scissors flying around, cutting the air like a maniac fueled by violence. 'Say, could you tell me all of the abilities you possess? It would make it more convenient for me than to find out in the heat of the battle.' Sors hovered down toward her, facing her directly.

'I have had many masters throughout, but none of them thought to ask that question! Maybe there is a brain in that head of yours! Hohoho' Priscilla could feel annoyance flowing through her veins but held back knowing that an outburst might lose the opportunity to learn. She sat down in the water and prepared herself to listen, an imaginary classroom forming around them, her mouth gaped open at a sudden idea. A picture of an ice skating rink, in the blink of an eye hundreds of stands surrounded her, Priscilla's clothes changed into a tight body suit that sparkled brightly under the colourful lights that danced alongside her on the ice. 

'Did you know this would happen here Sors?' 

'No...this is new for me too..' Sors glided along the ice letting the cold surface cool the hardened blood further.

She pictured the classroom again, plopping down on the only chair in the room, Sors wearing a small graduate hat standing on a podium at the front. 

'As you figured when we first, my blades at full power can cut through metal, depending on the power of my master and the power infused in my name I can cut blood-oak to a certain degree. I can also change my size at will, but you cannot alter my shape to be a sword, I like to keep my identity distinct.' Sors preached, failing to write on the blackboard with a small piece of chalk.

'But what makes you an artefact? I feel like any old scissors could be enchanted and do the same things.' Priscilla crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised questioning if Sors was truly that special. Sors threw the piece of chalk harrowingly missing her head.

'Artefacts don't have an inherent special ability that varies from master to master. What makes me an artefact is that YOU are able to cut through Vaundr's spell, enabling YOU to kill them, which no random scissors can do. So be grateful you bitch.' The classroom faded into darkness, no longer trapped by the endless cycle of short days and nights Priscilla's eyes shot open. Four familiar faces filled her vision, each mumbling amongst themselves.

'How long was I out for?' Priscilla was looking for a clock in Lucia's clockless house.

'Only a couple of hours.' Noir brought a tray with an assortment of fruits and snacks that he had seen her consume before. Her hand hovered, hesitant about what to pick up, every choice was correct, making it harder by wanting to experience all of the sweetness at once. 

Priscilla's eyes turned to Lucia who had wandered into the living room, on the phone with someone who clearly was not understanding what she was saying. Her loud screaming proved that she had really returned to the real world. By her side she felt the brushing of the willow wand, fragments were missing from the handle but otherwise, it still seemed to work. 

'Say, Witch Inspect!' A voice whispered in the back of her mind, Sors was instructing her on a new feature that was part of the system. She gazed down at her wand, chanting it under her breath, followed by a piece of parchment with the wand's stats. Priscilla waved the piece of paper around trying to slap Bianca across the face with it, but it appeared only she could see it, while the others could see Priscilla acting like a fool.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ 

 ⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

─⋅⋆⁺ ME (Magical Efficiency) 20/100

─⋅⋆⁺ DB (Durability) 13/20

─⋅⋆⁺ MA (Magic Amplification) 0/0

─⋅⋆⁺ Modifier: N/A

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ 

Priscilla chose to believe that his wand was one for beginners, there was no other explanation as to why the wand reeked of weakness. 'Has Lucia regained her power?' Noir nodded his head while throwing a pillow at her head. Lucia shot back several more with the flick of the wand, burying him in a mountain of softness. 

'That's good, I can relax now. Were there any casualties from the attack?'

'Thanks to you we were able to keep the damages to a minimum. A handful of light injuries put some of the chefs out of work for the next two weeks, but they don't seem too bothered by it.' Tasha held Priscilla's hand close to her chest, an honest thank you, unlike anything she had heard before left her lips. She couldn't help but blush, Bianca scoffed at her but held back on making any rude comments, Priscilla noticed silently, not letting her own mouth start an argument. 

Her feet touched the cold orange tiles, and each step sent shivers throughout her body, Priscilla's mind craved to see the people walking outside. A sense of normality to brain the recent cycle of the supernatural, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as passersby waved at the dishevelled girl. Their figures reflected across the surface of her eyes, darkness cloaking the light as the drapes were closed by Noir.

'How about we go get some actual food in town? You slept long enough, and I am sure you want to stretch your legs a little.' He had hit the nail, she had been thinking about visiting the town again, at least to say hello to her mother. There were many restaurants that she had been waiting to try out, however trying them alone felt embarrassing, but now with friends, it felt like a conquerable challenge.

'Lucia, will you come with us?' 

'No!'

'Not even if Priscilla went along?'

'The car is ready, let's head off already.' Lucia walked through the front door toward the car park, a certain joy filling her chest, but a certain curiosity taking her mind. Why was Priscilla flailing her arm around wildly earlier? Right after waking up? An oh-so-familiar feeling spread through her nerves, a call to action, to seize the source of Priscilla's power. Hearts formed in her pupils, staring at her beloved secret ace in the hole.

Tasha took up the front beside Lucia who was humming along to an old war song, Bianca sat directly behind Lucia and while Noir was shoved between the two girls. He turned over to Priscilla wanting to give her the phone they received from her mother, but he felt bad disturbing her graceful daydreaming. A small shove from Bianca knocked the phone, hitting Priscilla against the back of her head, she turned to pick it up, his apologetic face summing up the whole situation in her head.

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'Ah! Breathe in the industrialized air of the city!' Lucia chuckled to herself before turning toward a flashy store sitting just across from the mall parking lot. ''Clothes R Us'' 

'Why would we go in there?' Priscilla asked, half hoping that she could get some new clothes.

'Well, I noticed your wardrobe is quite drab and I took it upon myself to offer my stylish assistance in dressing you up-'

'Hell no...not to be mean but your sense for fashion, no...for everything remotely related to colour is horrendous.

Her shoulders slumped down, her back turned away from them fighting to hold back incoming tears. 'Noir however can style me, his fashion sense is impeccable!' She spread her arms and presented Noir who posed against a lamp post to further her point to Lucia.'

' *sniff* Fine, let's just get you those stupid clothes.'