Math Is Magic

The sensation of a strangely familiar energy slid down his back, leaving him breathless for a moment.

'Sintony with Math? What the heck is that?!' he wondered, his heart seemingly racing even though he couldn't feel its beat.

As if the dream was aware of his confusion, the writings began to transform again. The mist reorganized with almost mechanical precision, taking on a new form.

[ Today you learned: to Count ]

[ Counting: The process of listing the natural numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...) in an orderly sequence to determine the quantity of objects in a set or to enumerate elements. This process is the foundation of arithmetic and basic numerical operations ]

[ Math is proud of you! ]

[ Math wants to reward you... ]

And after a few seconds of waiting, the mist thickened once more, forming other mystical writings in front of him:

[ Congratulations! ]

[ You have obtained- ]

But the writing didn't have time to finish.

A sudden, sharp pain overwhelmed Mirac.

But not in the dream. No!

It was real, concrete, tangible, and it seemed to be coming directly from his head.

Something had struck him.

And whatever it was, not only had it caused him head pain, but it had also woken him up.

Like a sudden rip, the night sky abruptly vanished. The stars that had been sparkling around him moments before dissolved in the blink of an eye, taking away the dreamlike writings that danced in the air with their ethereal glow.

Everything vanished suddenly, leaving him in a void of confusion and pain.

Finally, Mirac opened his eyes, finding himself abruptly thrust back into the real world.

The fresh grass beneath his hands felt sharp, and the rough trunk of the tree pressed against his back.

With a muffled groan, Mirac sat up abruptly, instinctively bringing a hand to his head. His fingers found a small, throbbing bump, and a grimace of pain crossed his face as he tried to massage it.

"Ouch!" he grumbled, massaging the sore spot. "What the heck was that?!"

His gaze drifted down to the ground to his left, where he saw the object that had probably struck him: a red apple, perfectly round and shiny, lay on the grass next to him.

"An apple? Where the heck did that come from?" he muttered in confusion, instinctively looking up.

As soon as he did, Mirac got an immediate response.

"An apple tree?!" he exclaimed, surprised, observing the branches laden with red, shiny fruits, hanging like heavy clusters swaying gently to the rhythm of the wind. "Wow, I didn't even notice! Well, I guess I must have been too tired to pay attention."

As the pain in his head gradually subsided, Mirac lowered his gaze back to the apple. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands with a raised eyebrow, as if it might somehow provide him with an answer.

"What on earth did I just dream?!" he wondered aloud, the memory still vivid in his mind.

The black starry sky...

The mysterious writings...

And those messages? What did they mean?

Despite the apparent absurdity of the dream, Mirac couldn't shake the feeling that it was something more than just a simple fantasy.

Those words, laden with a meaning that eluded his understanding, kept echoing in his mind like a persistent reverberation.

Everything he had seen couldn't simply be reduced to a simple dream caused by fatigue or his fertile imagination.

There was definitely something bigger, something that Mirac still couldn't explain, but that he felt clearly inside himself, like an invisible thread that tied him to that mysterious event.

After getting up to head toward the castle and go up to his room, Mirac began to analyze aloud every detail of what had appeared in the dream.

"Math is the language of the Universe… From now on, you are in Sintony with Math…" he repeated quietly, slowly enunciating each word. "Math-"

Suddenly, Mirac stopped, his eyes wide open as if struck by a lightning bolt of realization. His heart started pounding hard in his chest, echoing with an intensity that nearly made him stagger.

"Wait a minute! M-Math?!" he exclaimed, bringing a hand to his forehead. "Damn it, how did I not realize this detail right away!"

Mirac stood still for a moment, feeling his emotions boil in his blood. The more he thought about it, the more his fists clenched, while the tension grew so much that he could feel the weight of the apple in his hand.

"From all the messages that appeared before me in the vision, one thing seems certain: in one way or another, Math is involved in all of this!" he declared firmly, even though that realization burned inside him, deeply irritating him.

But at the same time, it confused him even more, because he couldn't understand how something like this was possible.

Like... had "Math" really tried to communicate with him? It sure seemed that way.

But if that was really the case, who or what was this "Math"?

In his old world, Math was nothing more than an abstract discipline, a logical concept, a series of equations and theorems to study and apply.

But here? Could it really represent a tangible Being?

A supernatural entity?

A GOD?

Certainly, Mirac hypothesized, it must have been something or someone powerful enough to pull him into that transcendental vision.

And this being, paradoxically, seemed to be called "Math."

Therefore, the question immediately sprang to Mirac's mind, sharp and insidious: 

'Could this be the same MATH that had ruined my previous life?!'

Given all the strange events he had experienced, such a wild and absurd possibility couldn't be ruled out. But the very thought seemed unthinkable to him, a reality so far from what he had hoped to build for himself.

At this thought, every fiber of his being seemed to rebel strongly against this reality, so unexpected and unbearable.

"Tsz! Damn it! It's true that I cried today, but it was only because of the emotion! Not because I FORGAVE Math!" he thought, remembering the tears he had shed after finally learning to count.

However, the more he tried to justify those emotions, the more the irritation inside him grew, untamable, like a fire raging mercilessly.

"But then, how dare it even tried to talk to me?! It has absolutely no right to do so!" he burst out, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.

A moment later, another thought crossed his mind, and his anger exploded again.

"No, wait a second... Could it be that... Math wants to ruin my life again?!" he snarled, furious, furrowing his brow in anger. "Damn it, screw you, Math!"

Frankly, though, Mirac didn't even know who or what he was referring to at that moment.

But his anger, now uncontrollable and powerful like a wave crashing over him, had to be released somehow.

Soon after, breathing deeply and relaxing his fists, as if trying to calm himself, Mirac thought:

"From my past life, I've definitely learned that nothing good ever happens when Math is involved! Therefore, the best idea is definitely to not get further involved in all of this!"

He stopped for a moment, thinking in silence, as if he were ready to make a definitive decision.

"Yeah, I've decided! I'll ignore what just happened and move on with my life, like nothing ever happened!"

The sound of his own voice, so firm and certain, gave him a small sense of relief. But, despite his conviction, the feeling that something much larger was at play seemed unwilling to leave him completely.

Still, he did his best to ignore that thought.

"I will not allow Math to ruin this life as well!" he exclaimed with determination, like a challenge against the fate that seemed intent on breaking him.

But behind those words, there was another goal that Mirac wanted to protect at all costs: to finally live a peaceful, calm, and worry-free life.

A life in which he could live well...

To eat without worrying about starving… 

To sleep peacefully under a safe roof, with soft blankets to warm him in winter… 

To love and be loved by his family… 

A simple, comfortable life, without any kind of problems.

And Mirac—along with Vector—was willing to do anything to protect that fragile future he dreamed of: even to smother his immense curiosity, the one that had always pushed him to seek answers, to explore the unknown.

Now more than ever, that curiosity tormented him, driving him to investigate the vision that kept lingering in his mind.

But despite the persistence of his thoughts, Mirac seemed to resist.

Because he was ready to give up even his own nature, just to live in peace.

"Better safe than sorry, right?" he murmured, with a smile that carried both resignation and bitter realism.

Then, like a sudden wave, another thought hit him, almost as if it were meant to wake him up and distract him from his long reflection. 

A thought as trivial as it was urgent, pulling him back to his daily life, full of more concrete problems.

"Ahhh..." he sighed, scratching his head in frustration. "Damn it! As if that wasn't enough, I just remembered I still have to do my homework!"

He sighed again, trying to push the irritation away.

"I'd better hurry up, then. If I finish before dinner, I can finally lie down on my bed and rest. After a day like this, my body and mind definitely need it!"

A practical thought, simple, far from complications.

Shaking his head, he tried to shake off the lingering images of that supernatural vision that continued to torment him, attempting to bring himself back to the reality he knew.

Then, he resumed walking, his steps steady, but his heart still heavy.

His hand, without even thinking too much, brought the apple to his mouth, and the fruit split under his bite with a satisfying sound. The fresh, sweet juice wrapped around his tongue, and a wave of warmth flooded his mouth, giving him a moment of pure pleasure.