Chapter 24: A World Without Magic
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The blinding light faded, leaving the group standing in a narrow alley. The first thing they noticed was the unfamiliar sound of the city around them the hum of engines, the honking of horns, and the chatter of voices all blending into an alien symphony. Azaymos blinked, squinting at the tall buildings towering above them, their glass and steel exteriors gleaming in the afternoon sun.
"This isn't the prison," Rex muttered, glancing around, clearly disoriented. "Where… where are we?"
Nox stepped forward, her eyes narrowing as she took in the bustling street beyond the alley. "I don't know, but there's no magic here. I can't feel a thing."
Mara closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "We're in a world without magic. It's strange, but there's something familiar about this place." She opened her eyes and looked at the others. "We need to figure out where we are."
Azaymos stepped out of the alley, and the others followed. The street was crowded with people walking in every direction, some talking on strange devices pressed to their ears, others looking down at glowing screens in their hands.
"I'm starting to think we're not supposed to be here," Rex said, eyeing a group of teenagers walking past, laughing and completely unaware of the group's presence.
Azaymos scanned the street, his eyes landing on a newsstand. He gestured to the others. "Let's ask someone. Maybe they can tell us what this place is."
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They approached the newsstand cautiously. An older man stood behind the counter, flipping through a magazine. His eyebrows raised slightly as he noticed the group, especially Rex and Nox, whose appearances were far more striking than the average passerby.
Azaymos stepped forward, trying to keep his voice calm. "Excuse me. Can you tell us where we are?"
The man looked up, his eyes narrowing. "You serious? You're in the city, man. What are you talking about?"
Nox crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Which city?"
The man chuckled, shaking his head. "You guys tourists or something? You're in Rome." He pointed to a map of the city hanging on a board nearby. "You lost?"
Azaymos glanced at the map, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar names. "Rome…" He repeated, trying to piece things together. "We need to get out of here. What do we need to travel?"
The man blinked, looking confused. "Uh… you need a passport, tickets, money. You know, the usual stuff."
Rex frowned. "What's a passport?"
The man laughed, assuming they were joking. "You're serious, huh? It's your ID, man. You need it to fly, to get into other countries. No ID, no go."
The group exchanged puzzled glances, and Mara leaned in closer to Azaymos. "It seems this world has different rules. We need to learn more."
Before they could ask another question, a group of tourists walked by, snapping pictures of the ancient buildings surrounding the square. One of them pointed at Rex, whispering to his friend. "Is this some kind of film shoot? That guy looks like he walked out of a movie."
Rex shot Azaymos a glance. "I'm not sure what's going on, but we're definitely out of place."
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After thanking the man at the newsstand, the group wandered toward a nearby café, still trying to piece together their situation. As they walked, they stopped several people to ask questions about the city, modern life, and the strange devices everyone seemed to be holding.
A young woman wearing headphones passed by, and Rex reached out to stop her. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
She pulled out her earbuds, blinking in surprise as she looked him up and down. "Uh, sure. What's up?"
Rex gestured to the glowing screen in her hand. "What is that?"
She looked confused for a moment before realizing what he was asking. "This? It's my phone. You know, a smartphone? For calling, texting, the internet…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed the group's blank stares. "Wait… you guys don't have phones?"
Mara stepped forward, her curiosity piqued. "What's the internet?"
The woman laughed, clearly thinking they were joking. "You're messing with me, right? The internet? It's… everything. You can find information, talk to people, buy things… pretty much anything."
Nox frowned. "Show us."
The woman, still chuckling, unlocked her phone and pulled up a search engine. "You can look up anything. Watch." She typed in "famous vampires" as a joke, and the search results immediately pulled up images of movie vampires and legends.
Nox raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "This world relies on these… devices for everything?"
The woman shrugged. "Pretty much. You can't live without a phone these days."
Then she looked at rex and said "if you want to know more why dont you came to my home tonight there is so many thing i can teach, and im sure you will be happy and knowledgeable after it"
Rex look at her and smile and says "im busy tonight, mabye later" and he try to run from her side,
Azaymos exchanged a glance with Mara. "We need to learn how to use this. It could help us blend in."
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As the group walked through the crowded square, their strange appearances continued to attract attention. A couple sitting at a nearby café table watched them pass, their eyes widening in surprise.
"Is that… part of a movie or something?" the woman asked her companion, nudging him.
The man glanced up from his phone, raising an eyebrow. "No idea. Maybe it's one of those street performers. They look too realistic, though."
Another group of teenagers nearby whispered excitedly as they snapped pictures of Rex and Nox. "Do you think they're famous? They look like they could be in a vampire movie or something!"
The teenagers laughed, but one of them looked more closely at the group, her expression turning serious. "I don't know… they look too real. I bet they're models or something."
As the group continued through the city, they overheard more and more people speculating about who they were actors, models, maybe even some new viral trend. But the more attention they drew, the more they realized they couldn't stay in one place for too long.
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Later that evening, the group huddled in a small corner of a café, sitting quietly as Darius tapped away on a borrowed smartphone he had "acquired" earlier. His fingers moved quickly over the screen as he pulled up information on travel, fake IDs, and how to navigate this strange new world.
"We're going to need money and IDs," Darius muttered, his eyes scanning the screen. "This world runs on something called 'credit cards,' and without those, we're stuck. Luckily, I can get us what we need."
Azaymos nodded, still watching the people around them. "How long will it take?"
Darius grinned. "Not long. I've already got us fake passports and IDs in the works. We just need to keep a low profile until then."
Rex looked uneasy. "Not sure how low we can stay. People keep staring at us."
Mara leaned back, her eyes thoughtful. "We're drawing too much attention. If we're not careful, we'll end up on this 'internet' for the whole world to see."
Azaymos frowned. "We need to figure out how to travel unnoticed. Rome might be safe for now, but we'll have to move soon. Where's the nearest place we can tap into magic?"
Mara pulled out a small tourist map she had picked up earlier. "Rome is rich with history. The Colosseum holds power that could help recharge the dagger, but we need to move carefully."
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As night fell, the group made their way to a quiet corner of the city, where Darius had arranged for their fake passports and money to be delivered. They were starting to understand how this world worked—no magic, only technology and systems they had never encountered before.
Azaymos glanced at the dagger in his hand, its glow still faint. "Once we reach the Colosseum, we'll begin recharging the dagger. But we need to stay out of sight."
Nox smirked. "Good luck with that, considering Rex here is already half-famous."
Rex groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, well… maybe we should start pretending we're part of a movie. People might leave us alone."
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End of Chapter 24