The Sorcerer's Handbook

Inside the wooden house, a scene was unfolding that defied the laws of reality.

Eight people occupied the room, but only four faces existed among them. It was a house of mirrors come to life. Four ”originals” stood paralyzed by confusion, while four ”phantoms” watched them with knowing eyes. Each phantom was a perfect, physical echo of its counterpart, creating a haunting assembly of doubles.

The originals had lost all their memories, while the phantoms retained everything and even held the authority to test them. This reversal of status, where the shadow now tested the master, was absurd, but for those involved, it was anything but amusing.

Sonya gripped her sword, shaking her head as she raised her voice in protest. ”How could something like this even exist? This is ridiculous! You’re lying to me... all of you! You’re just bad people trying to trick me!”

Rather than arguing, she was trying to convince herself.

Phantom Sonya said calmly, ”That is a perfectly normal reaction. Once the disguise of memory is stripped away, all that remains is your instinctive wariness of the world. You desperately crave control over your fate and cannot tolerate the feeling of drifting without it.”

Phantom Ashe spread his hands. ”Unlike certain other people.”

Phantom Sonya went on, ”You may refuse to believe us, but you don’t dare reject us either. You don’t know what treasures you’ve lost, and nothing unsettles you more than the thought of losing something forever. You aren’t the type to give up easily.

”Resilient yet fragile, complex yet simple, guarded yet yearning for connection... You are far too easy to read.”

Phantom Sonya then turned her attention toward Phantom Dia. ”Compared to you... Your guest looks ready to bolt.”

At that moment, the real Dia was curled into a corner, hugging her knees. She had buried her face, as if praying that if she couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see her. Her entire body trembled as she muttered incoherent words. Her hair was a muddied mess, like spilled paint, and even her clothing seemed to be in a state of flux. She wore a black stocking on one leg and a white one on the other, both tucked into red boots, while her arms were draped in mismatched sleeves.

Stripped of the Witch’s usual grace and composure, Dia looked like a frightened, filthy child dressed in a clown’s costume.

Phantom Dia called out loudly, ”Hey! Don’t be afraid. Try trusting them a little, alright?”

Her voice had the opposite effect. Dia shuddered violently. Tormented by the cacophony of voices in her mind, she was on the verge of a total breakdown. Gasping for breath, she began to crawl along the wall, desperate to find the exit. She didn’t care about treasures or lost memories anymore. She just wanted to escape the noise.

Phantom Dia narrowed her eyes, watching her fragile counterpart. Deep within that gaze, unseen currents began to stir.

Under normal circumstances, a sorcerer entered the house alone. While most fell into hysteria upon losing their memories, the phantoms’ guidance usually calmed them enough to complete the trial. However, without her memories, Dia couldn’t even coexist with the voices in her own head. She didn’t understand who she was or why her mind was so crowded and loud.

If she had been alone, the quiet, comforting atmosphere of the house, designed specifically to soothe panicked sorcerers, might have eventually reached her. But now, the room was full of ”strangers.” To someone as timid as Dia, their presence was a form of torture.

Who are they? Who are you? Run. Run now. There are too many strangers here...

”Look.”

Dia lifted her head. Ashe was crouching in front of her. A shifting glimmer of sword-light danced at his fingertips, morphing into a blooming flower, then a paper crane, and finally a lively little cat. The display instantly caught her eye.

”Between sweet and savory, which do you prefer?” he asked.

”Sweet,” she whispered.

”Same as me. Do you like the feeling of flying?”

”No. Flying so high is scary.”

”I quite like flying myself,” Ashe said softly.

As he continued asking simple, harmless questions, he slowly closed the distance until he was crouching right beside her. He reached out and gently stroked her head, then patted her back. Dia relaxed under his touch, the tension in her face easing. Like a small kitten, she leaned into him, rubbing against him as her muddied hair gradually cleared.

Ashe murmured, ”I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. When people are afraid, they should stay together. That way, even if something happens, at least they won’t have to die alone.”

Dia, along with the voices in her head, froze. The logic made a strange sort of sense... and yet, it didn’t.

She looked up at him. ”You’re scared, too? I can’t tell.”

Sonya watched them, hesitating for a moment. Then, she made up her mind.

She stepped toward Ashe and Dia, then raised a finger and cast a Miracle. It was a Mind Class Miracle formed from Sincerity, Wave, and Killing Intent.

Miracle, Treat Others with Sincerity!

A soft red glow blossomed at her fingertip, radiant as a ruby. She gestured for them to touch it. Ashe reached out first. After a brief hesitation, Dia followed, carefully extending her index finger toward the light.

Instantly, a tide of emotions crashed against their minds—fear, worry, unease, anxiety, loneliness, and tension. Through the Miracle, Sonya had laid her soul bare. She proved she was no different from them, just a frightened, vulnerable girl stripped of her past.

Dia slumped as the tension left her body. Realizing she wasn’t alone in her fear brought a profound sense of relief. The voices in her head gradually quieted. In truth, her ”sisters” hadn’t been in a total panic. Only Black Butler kept magnifying fear, while White Queen tried to stop and persuade him. Yet to the confused Dia, even their arguing alone felt overwhelming.

As social creatures, humans found no greater comfort than in the presence of others who shared their burden.

Ashe muttered, ”So that’s how it is...”

Sonya looked at him. ”Hm? What are you talking about?”

Ashe said seriously, ”Look. I know how to calm her, and you know how to make her trust us. That means we must have spent a long time together. Even without our memories, our bodies still carry that understanding.

”We’re all wondering why we are here, but that is actually two different questions. One is why this place exists; the other is why we are here together. We don’t have the answer to the first, but the second is already clear.

”We are here together because we share a bond. I don’t know who I am, but if I were going to enter a place where I knew I’d lose my memory, I would only do it with people I completely trust.”

Dia and Sonya thought it over and found his reasoning convincing.

Sonya added, ”If it were me, I would only come with the person closest to me.”

Dia whispered, ”And I would only come with someone who could protect me.”

Ashe turned to Denzel. ”What about you?”

Denzel blinked, momentarily stunned. ”I came here with you, too?”

”What else? Why else would you be here? You must have believed that following us was your best choice.”

Denzel considered this. The logic held. ”If it’s someone I wouldn’t mind losing my memory with... then it must be someone I would give my life for without hesitation.”

Ashe stood up abruptly with a look of triumph on his face. ”Good! I completely understand our relationship now!”

The others paused, looking up at him. ”Really?”

Ashe patted Dia’s head. ”It’s simple. You said you’d only come with someone who can protect you. That means I’m that person. Therefore, you are my younger sister!”

He turned to Sonya. ”And you said you’d only come with the person closest to you. Therefore, you are also my younger sister!”

Finally, he looked at Denzel. ”And you. You said you’d travel with someone you’d die for without hesitation...”

”Am I your younger sister, too?” Denzel asked.

Ashe replied, ”No. I think I’m your boss.”

Sonya raised a hand. ”Wait. The person ’closest’ to me, aside from family, could also be a lover. So why—”

She cut herself off, her face suddenly flushing as the implication hit her. She looked away quickly.

”I considered that. But wouldn’t it be strange if we were lovers, yet I still brought a younger sister along? That’s an odd combination. Unless...”

”Unless what?”

Ashe glanced at Dia. ”Unless she is also my lover. That would explain why we’re all so close.”

Sonya’s lip twitched. ”And bringing two lovers isn’t strange? You might as well just say she’s your daughter.”

”At my age? There’s no way I’d have a daughter that big.”

Denzel interjected, ”The person I said I’d give my life for... it might not be you.”

Ashe countered, ”But one of them is either my lover or my sister, and the other is also my lover or my sister. No matter which one is your boss, that would make me your boss’s boss... wait! I’ve got it! I know your true identity now!

”Think about it! Whether it’s a sister or a lover, there’s no reason to bring a subordinate along into a place like this! So, your true identity is... you’re my lover!”