Matizu Writes

B2 Chapter 39 - Letter

Vivi became aware of herself again what felt like a long time later.

To say she woke up would have been a stretch. Her eyes opened, and she became aware of the bright lights above her bed, but she certainly didn’t feel awake. She didn’t feel much of anything, other than the hard bed below her, and the aching pains all over her body.

The room was white with reflective walls and lamps on the ceiling. Some sort of tubes had been attached to Vivi’s arms, both her wrists...

Interlude 3 - Tsunami

“Sir, the descent is trembling,” Ornwell said.

“Trembling?” Iszul asked.

The surge forecaster’s pupils were dilated. His feet were frozen in place, arms shaking. Ornwell was an older man who had limped along from zone to zone, refusing the assistance of even a walking stick. Red eyes, rough hair, and a scorchless smooth face with short horns; he was a purebred runt from the gutters of the eight level, but he made up for his poor lineage with exceptional insight ...

StLQ Chapter 21 - Mind Magic

The rest of Luna’s school day was a total mess of nervousness. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach through every class. Breathing felt heavy, as if she was atop a mountain with thick air. The sensations occasionally calmed, only for her heart to squeeze tight minutes later, a new wave of silent panic flowing through her.

She could barely eat a slice of bread for lunch. Nervousness was exhausting. Luna tried everything she could to calm down: deep breaths, thinking about magi...

B2 Chapter 38

The world was pitch black when Vivi exited her smithy.

A violent tempest of wisps spun around her. Power surged in her veins. Hundreds of void wisps clouded her senses. Her home street of litter and disgust was now merely a mental map of ether. She could feel each crack in the cobblestone, each bit of mold growing within the walls of her neighbors, all from the ambient ether.

People no longer had faces—she merely felt weak ethereal auras. They were running into alleys, ...

B2 Chapter 37 - Lost

Disqualified?

Vivi didn’t know how to react. She faced the claim with silence. She had worked so hard for a full week, crafting the best sword of her career—with her honest efforts that placed her in the lead with almost double the points. Only for some nonsense to disqualify her?

“This is not okay!” Lucius shouted in her head. “Dispute it! We didn’t do anything wrong! Let’s fight!”

“I can explain,” Vivi said, though she had ...

StLQ Chapter 20 - Nervous

Luna and Kai reached the world tree. The wind pushed against the doors; Luna had to use her full weight to force the door shut.

Safe, Luna thought through heavy breaths. She still couldn’t feel her fingers, and her body felt frozen to the core, shivering wildly, but the warm air inside the World Tree slowly heated her up.

Beside her, Kai collapsed with his back pressed against the wall. His sweater was covered in snow. His skin was losing its color; not yet purple, than...

B2 Chapter 36 - Surgestone

“Inside-carving does not exist,” Kenrith said. “This is a fact we all know. That said, Vivian’s Blossom is a rather interesting, peculiar piece of work.”

The beauty expert studied Vivi’s sword intently, observing the veins inside. He used a magnifying glass to look at the runes beneath the wrap of white obsidian. To his credit, Kenrith examined the sword seriously, trying his best to make sense of what Vivi had crafted.

“Rumors say that Vivian has forged the...

StLQ Chapter 19 - The Mystery

Chilly winter air was already invading our house’s entry hall. Donovan stood tall in a leather jacket. He was fully covered, though the outfit seemed light for the weather. Donovan wasn’t bothered, of course, being one of the best mages in the country. He looked down at us with stoic eyes. “Get dressed, please. Association officials would like to talk to both of you. In Luna’s house.”

In that shithole? I thought, wondering what exactly was going on. But I nodded. “O...

B2 Chapter 35 - Competition

“Lucca, over here!” Senith waved her arms. Testing was just about to start. Her brother looked lost while he looked around the stands, examining his surroundings.

Knowing her brother, Lucas probably wasn’t lost at all. He tended to wander around on purpose, searching for anything that looked interesting, scanning the area for strong ethereal presences. Strong hunters tended to act weird like that.

With Senith waving her arms, however, Lucas had no choice but to acknowledge...

StLQ Chapter 18 - Lollipop

A void hole. Flickering through our door like a gluttonous monster having devoured my family. I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted to collapse on the ground right then.

I gritted my teeth and immediately ran to the door. I threw my hands on the handle.

Locked.

I reached into my pockets, only to find my keys missing. In my rush to meet the investigators, I’d forgotten my fucking keys.

I wanted to shout. What the hell was happening? Why now?

The void hole was...

B2 Chapter 34 - Popular

“From the depths of the Lowmoor district,” the announcer’s voice echoed as Vivi stepped up the stairs, “this year’s extra contestant, whose miraculous rise all the way from low split has earned her the title Slum Smith, please welcome Vivian Runeblessed from the Lost Raindrop smithy!”

Vivi winced internally, hearing her embarrassing name ring so loudly across the square. The introduction managed to draw some claps, a little bit of laughter, and even a few cheers fro...

StLQ Chapter 17 - Suspicion

The next morning, the sun was just starting to show itself when a knock came to our front door.

Mom was out shopping with Nelly. My sister didn’t want to leave, but mom insisted, probably to let Nelly see the outside world every now and then, and possibly to offer Luna and I some alone time. I appreciated that, though with mom gone, I was in charge of protecting us from whatever noises came from outside.

A knock, for example. Luna flinched, hearing it.

“Head to my room f...

StLQ Chapter 16 - Warm

“This is Mister Pewewson!” Nelly gushed.

My sister’s excitement filled the small bedroom. A bright alchemical glow stick lit the room and all its yellow-ness. The sheets, paintings on the walls, and most of Nelly’s toys had been picked exactly as she liked them. Bright yellow and preferably with a unicorn horn.

Luna had her hands on her thighs, sitting on her feet at the edge of the room, watching nervously as Nelly showcased a plushy. Mister Peterson was the second newest...

B2 Chapter 33 - Top Split

“This is the winner? A little girl?”

That was the first thing Vivi heard when stepping up to top split. Fulrad brought her to a small organizers’ booth for arrangements. Vivi felt like she was at the backstage of a show.

The speaker was a cleanly shaven demon with smooth side-parted hair, wearing a white vest and a sweater. A nice outfit, but he was still dressed for a job over appearances.

“This is Vivian Runeblessed from the Lost Raindrop,” Fulrad said. ...

StLQ Chapter 15 - Kidnapper

“Uhm,” Luna said with her eyes pointing awkwardly at my feet. “Mother is a nice person. There’s no reason to… not live with her?”

“Yeah, she’s definitely not,” I said. “I know your mom uses mind control magic. She’s currently being investigated for her crimes. She’ll be taken away. In the meantime, I’ll take you somewhere away from her.”

Luna’s head flinched up, mouth open. “You… know? She’s been caught?”

I nodded. “She’s caught with...

StLQ Chapter 14 - Help

Luna avoided me on the way to school the next morning. She spotted me plowing snow and immediately turned the opposite direction, taking a detour. I didn’t go after her. Forcing a conversation would only make things more difficult.

Going forward, I had two goals. One, to get Luna away from her mother by any means necessary. Two, to get Luna’s mom arrested for the crime of black magic—since mind control was definitely, at the very least, illegal—and to prevent Magdalene from com...

B2 Chapter 32 - Ascent

Vivi gave her sword to the organizers and waited for the next phase of the competition. Testing and judging.

Workstations near the stairs were moved to make space. Each sword was lined up in a large gallery near the judges. One sword for each of the sixty one contestants. Vivi’s sword shone amongst the outside-carved blades.

The audience had around a hundred people. Mostly family members from the looks of it. Vivi spotted Frewell’s wife and daughter waving at him from the fron...

StLQ Chapter 13 - Mother

The void hole wasn’t exactly a light source. It was lit, its purple tendrils clearly fluttering in the darkness of Luna’s yard, but the glow didn’t cast light on its dark surroundings. It was a larger void hole. The type that would stay in place for days, waiting to be activated.

I gritted my teeth, afraid for the worst, but another part of me was hopeful to learn something. As always, the void holes were what helped me make up for my lack of skills as an investigator.

I nee...

StLQ Chapter 12 - Distrust

My words grabbed Luna’s full attention. Her awkwardness was suddenly gone, replaced by an emotion I couldn’t quite identify. She eyed me weirdly and spoke in a whisper. “Liches…?”

“You’re involved with lichcraft, right?” I said, matching her volume. “I’m interested in helping you. I know a thing or two about liches as well.”

I studied her closely for her reaction. Whether she agreed or not, just confronting her about this should reveal information. At the ver...

StLQ Chapter 11 - Fun

The ghoul froze in place. The eyes behind the layers of makeup opened wide, faced with Luna’s deadly magic.

“Luna, no!” I said, lifting my hand over her spell.

Luna was the surprised one this time. The concentration of mana calmed down, dissipating harmlessly to the air around us. A less skilled mage could have panicked, releasing the spell anyway. Luna controlled it perfectly.

“It’s a play, Luna, no magic allowed…” I said. How could I express this without maki...

StLQ Chapter 10 - “Study” Date

“Kaiiii, why won’t you play with meeee!” Nelly complained, pulling at my trousers. She had another one of my textbooks in her hand. I’d already read two chapters about arcane safety and precautions—one of the most boring topics in the whole academy. Somehow, Nelly still wanted more.

I ignored her and looked out of the window. Luna’s house sat perfectly still—as buildings usually did—with a hefty snow-buildup on the slanted roof. Nobody had exited the house for the last f...

StLQ Chapter 9 - Alchemy

“Isaac?” I asked. My friends and I were gathered on our usual spot at the dinner table. I didn’t see Luna anywhere. Honestly, I was kind of nervous about the upcoming study date. I’d spent my school day wondering how exactly I’d approach things for the best chance to get involved in the crime.

Still, the conversation with her had been strangely… nice. Almost nice enough to forget that Lich Queen Luna had killed me just two days ago.

“What is it?” Isaac said with a ...

StLQ Chapter 8 - Friends

I woke up early the next day with a new plan in mind. I ate breakfast and thanked my mom for a delicious start to the day. Then I headed outside and huddled up in my winter jacket. I sat on the porch and waited.

Snowfall covered the dark morning. I’d be far too early if I left for school now. Some of my neighbors still had their lights off. The lone street lamp did its best to light the street. A layer of snow was forming on our front porch, which I’d plowed after coming ho...

StLQ Chapter 7 - Cute Deadly Killer

Lich sight activated normally, without any time travel nonsense.

The purple mist covered my vision entirely. I lost my limbs, turning into a ghost-like observer. I could float around in the mist freely as I wished. My field of view was greatly improved, as I no longer had a nose or eyelids blocking my vision.

Slowly, the mist began clearing, and the scene of the lich sight formed in front of me. The branch of the World Tree materialized, as if a hologram was slowly being built. Th...

StLQ Chapter 6 - Talented

I had two things to do before classes. To confirm the date, and to meet with the headmaster.

For the former, I headed to the place where stupid questions would appear the least suspicious. The library. People in the library were always lost in one way or another, and the librarian, Onivia Goodwind, was one of the kindest old ladies I knew of.

I asked her what the day was, and she responded with only mild confusion for my well being. She spoke with a frail but tender voice and said...

StLQ Chapter 5 - Examining The Mystery

The good news was that four-year-old Nelly woke me up by jumping on my squeaky bed, as if intending to crush me alive.

The bad news was that I’d barely slept for two hours, and I was apparently late for school.

Which was hardly bad news. I gave Nelly the largest hug I dared. I grinned through the grogginess and the headache, waking up with the most energy I’d had in a while.

I grabbed school supplies, filling my backpack with random books. I had no idea what classes I ha...

StLQ Chapter 4 - New Reality

My sister was tiny. Her child-like pout made my heart rise to my throat. Back in reality, Nelly had been almost as tall as me. Four year old Nelly was barely taller than my waist.

“Mooom, Kai is acting weiwd!” Nelly said.

“What is it?” another voice asked from deeper in the house. “Kai, you’re home? Already?”

My mom peeked into the entrance hall from her writing work office, and my heart seriously gave up.

She looked much like my sister thirteen ...

StLQ Chapter 3 - Winter

I smiled and spoke in a light, hopefully polite tone. Despite having been killed by this girl just an hour ago, I spoke to Luna like she was a friend.

She raised her eyebrows, surprised for a moment. She observed me suspiciously, as if I was trying to trap her in some sort of spell. Then her gaze lowered back to her meal, and she continued eating.

“Nobody is there,” she said, while nibbling at a tiny spoonful of soup.

Is that a yes? I wondered. The Lich Queen ma...

StLQ Chapter 2 - Lokora’s Magic Academy

The bell rang a few minutes later. Mrs. Camila paused her lecture mid-sentence, surprised about the passing time. Students began rising from their seats.

I was thinking of my next course of action for surviving this odd situation, when two hands slammed on my desk, making me flinch. It was Joshua, my friend. His shoulder-length dark hair leaned down alongside him. He stared at me with a look that said, “what the hell did you just do?”

Two more friends showed up around...

StLQ Chapter 1 - Lich Queen

Luna’s skeletal finger pressed against my forehead.

Blood pooled underneath my feet, onto my kitchen floor. I could not move. A coating of mana formed on my skin, as if the air around me was solid steel. The Lich Queen’s arcane dagger pierced my chest.

The purple mist enshrouded her skeletal figure. Her eyes were a vibrant red, beautiful in their own strange way, pointed sharply at me, though the look was devoid of emotions. Lush black hair grew from her scalp of smooth skin, ...