[Third Person's PoV]
The Next Day…
Arthur woke up the next day with a light smile tugging at his lips. The celebration the Flamels had thrown for him still lingered pleasantly in his mind—it had been warm, intimate, and exactly what he needed.
As always, Arthur began his morning routine. After his training and a refreshing bath, he found himself seated across from Merlin at the breakfast table.
Midway through their meal, a rhythmic tapping echoed from the window. Curious, Arthur turned to look and saw a group of owls, each carrying different packages.
"Oh—woah! The items are already here? That was quick!" Arthur exclaimed, surprise lighting up his face. He made to stand, but Merlin raised a hand to stop him.
"Finish your breakfast. Let me get them," she said, standing up and moving to retrieve the parcels while offering food to the owls.
She set the packages down on the table and began opening them one by one.
"A couple of dragon heartstrings—check." She unwrapped the next. "The horn of a unicorn…"
"It wasn't killed, right?" Arthur asked, frowning.
Merlin shook her head and tilted the base of the horn toward him. "See how smooth it is at the bottom? That shows it was naturally shed and found." She set it aside and moved on.
Next, she pulled out balls of nearly transparent white yarn that shimmered in the light. "Silk from a northern magic silkworm… Extracted wand cores… a few milliliters of dragon blood…"
"And I got some phoenix feathers from Fawkes, so that completes everything I need," Arthur said with a wide grin.
"You did?" Merlin asked, giving him a curious look.
"Yeah! He sheds most of the time and handed me a few during our last meeting," Arthur explained, beaming with pride.
"Alright, so can you finally tell me what all this is for? You've been really secretive," Merlin said, setting the packages aside.
"Sure," Arthur said, a bit of pink touching his cheeks. "Remember when I gave you that magic circle and said it was only a part of the gift—the rest wasn't ready yet?"
"Yeah?" Merlin replied, eyeing him warily.
"Well… this is the other part. I've been planning to give you this as a present. I mean, it benefits me too, but I created it with you in mind," Arthur rambled excitedly.
"Hold on, let me grab my alchemy book!" he said, abruptly standing up and rushing off, leaving his breakfast behind.
'It's the magic circle scenario all over again,' Merlin thought with a wry smile.
When Arthur returned, he was carrying a stack of books. "What I've been researching this whole time is how to create Magic Circuits or Magic Veins—whichever you prefer."
He opened a book to a detailed diagram of the human body filled with glowing colored lines running through it.
"You once said that magic inside us is wild and directionless—that it's our job as witches and wizards to give it form. So I wondered, what if it wasn't directionless? What if wands and incantations became unnecessary? What if they were inconsequential?"
Merlin stared at Arthur in silence, watching the spark of madness in his eyes—the kind only a true genius at work could have.
"I was looking at my hands when I was questioning it and noticed the veins under my skin," Arthur continued, "and I thought: veins carry blood through the body—so what if something similar could carry magic? That's how the idea was born."
He flipped to another page and turned it toward her.
"So I thought about how to create these Magic Veins. The answer I came up with is…" He motioned to Merlin expectantly.
She remained silent, expression unreadable.
"Alchemy!" Arthur declared proudly, undeterred. "It took almost a year of painful, meticulous work, but I finally figured out the right equation and crafted the proper alchemical formula to create mana circuits. That was hard—but even harder was figuring out how to integrate them into the body."
He pushed the book aside and pulled out another, filled with complex diagrams of magic circles.
"The answer lies in the magic circles. I took the original one and evolved it into a more complex version—one that can embed the circuits directly into us. And now that we have everything, we can begin."
Merlin smiled. "Arthur, you're crazy. You know that, right?"
Arthur snapped his fingers and winked. "I got it from you~"
Merlin chuckled at that. As she looked back at Arthur's notes and supplies, she noticed he had gathered double the required amount. Shaking her head, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Can you help me make room? I want to get started right away—if you don't mind," Arthur asked shyly, withdrawing the magic chalk he'd grabbed with the books.
"You're so impatient," Merlin sighed, rolling her eyes. "But very well—I know the feeling of wanting to see all your hard work come to life."
With a tap of her staff, all the furniture in the room slid aside, clearing space in the center.
Merely holding out her hand, Arthur's book flew into Merlin's grasp. She gave the magic circles only a brief glance before sending it back.
Then, Merlin pointed her staff at the ground and began to wave it in slow, deliberate motions. Black ink began to tattoo itself onto the polished wooden floor—an exact replica of the magic circle from the book. It was large, with several smaller circles surrounding the center.
"There," Merlin said, stepping back. "You go first. You can begin." She motioned toward Arthur.
"Thanks, Mel," Arthur replied, gathering the items and placing them precisely inside the smaller magic circles.
"In a way, it's kind of like a ritual now that I think about it…" Arthur smiled to himself as he stepped into the large magic circle and sat cross-legged at the center of the pentagram.
Merlin watched him, both intrigued and cautious, in case she needed to intervene.
Arthur raised two fingers to his face and closed his eyes. "Magic Circle, activate," he muttered. Though unnecessary, speaking aloud helped him visualize the process.
The circle beneath him sparked to life, glowing with a soft violet light that bathed the room in lilac hues.
The smaller magic circles lit up even brighter as Arthur continued, "Comprehension of magical matter, complete."
"Deconstruction of magical matter, underway."
The items within the magic circle began to disintegrate, breaking down into their purest magical and physical forms.
Arthur slowly raised his hand above his head. "Next is reconstruction—realignment of matter into my desired form."
The broken-down elements began to float toward his fingers, flowing from their sections of the circle with perfect synchronicity. The swirl of matter condensed into a milky white liquid that spun and solidified, forming a translucent sphere that hovered above his palm.
Arthur opened his hand and allowed the sphere to settle into his palm. Bringing it to his lips, he muttered, "Step one complete. Activating secondary magic circle process."
The central circle flared brighter, overshadowing the smaller ones as Arthur opened his mouth and placed the sphere inside.
He swallowed. The glowing sphere was visible as it traveled down his throat. When it reached the center of his chest, it dissolved—and Arthur cried out, clutching his chest in pain.
"Art!?" Merlin called, panic creeping into her voice.
The liquid within him moved with a mind of its own, visibly spreading through his body. Arthur held up a shaking finger.
"It's supposed to be painful!" he said through gritted teeth.
Zigzagging patterns of white magic carved through his flesh like a circuit board. His hair began to rise, defying gravity as he collapsed backward with a pained scream.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
He thrashed violently as the magic climbed from his chest to his neck, across his face, and finally up to the top of his head, where it began to harden.
The circuits absorbed Arthur's own magic, shifting from white to a glowing royal blue. Still writhing, his back arched and his eyes rolled back. Everything around him began to darken as consciousness slipped from his body.
---
Arthur's eyes slowly rolled back into place as he panted heavily, his eyes shut tight. His clothes clung to his skin, soaked in sweat—but he felt something else too. A weight pressing down on him.
When he opened his eyes, he was startled to find Merlin straddling him, gripping his chest to pin him to the ground. Her staff was aimed directly at his forehead.
But what truly stunned and frightened Arthur wasn't her position—it was her expression. Merlin looked horrified. She was trembling, her knuckles white as she clutched her staff. Her jaw was clenched, and her eyes darted with fear.
"Uh… Mel?"
"Huh? Art…" Merlin breathed out. "It's really you, right?"
"Why wouldn't it be me?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing! Nothing," she stammered, lowering her staff, though her hands still trembled. "You suddenly went limp and stopped responding. I was worried… Thought I lost you for a moment."
Arthur offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."
Merlin exhaled shakily. "It's fine… as long as you're okay," she said, moving off of him and offering her hand.
As Arthur stood, he glanced at his hands, flexing them open and closed. Suddenly, glowing royal-blue, circuit-like lines sparked to life beneath his skin, spreading across his body. His hair lifted as if carried by an unseen wind.
"Hohoho! It worked!" he said with a shuddering laugh.
A few steps away, Merlin watched with a strained smile. Her grip on her staff tightened until her knuckles turned white.
'Damn it. Damn it. God damn it. What the hell have I done?!'
"Meow~"
Merlin flinched violently and spun toward the sound. Her eyes widened, and she froze. Cosmo sat there, watching her with a wide, unsettling, Cheshire-like grin.
Arthur, meanwhile, was still completely absorbed in the glowing lines running across his body.
'Damn me and my curiosity,' Merlin thought.
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