Prologue: A Treatise on Magic Disclaimer: As with everyone else on this site, I own nothing of the source materials I use, and the use is merely for fun, not for profit. All trademarks, characters, names, events, etc belong to their own creators and the holders of their licenses. Fire, everything he could see was covered completely in flames while his opponent circled him from above. He knew the shrunken form of Akane in his pocket would not last much longer, but every attempt to reach the life saving water on the other side of the clearing was blocked by another blast from his opponent. Ranma was nearly exhausted, and was nearly completely out of tricks. The Hiryuu Shoten Ha was an option, but he couldn't complete the spiral and all of the wounds he dealt his opponent were healed. He was nearly drained, having flung balls of energy the size of small cars, vacuum blades, and anything else he could think of at his foe, and he didn't know what he could do. Maybe if the power of the Genjakka hadn't given out, he would have had a chance, but it had been exhausted for nearly an hour. Up above, Saffron readied one last blast to finish the landling annoyance below him. Charging up for nearly a minute, he lobbed a tremendous burst of flame towards the insolent boy. But then something happened that neither warrior could have expected, as the doll-like form of Akane threw itself into the path of the fire, and split it. "Hiryuu Hyo Toppa!" There are many forms of energy in the universe, and all have the ability to fundamentally affect the surrounding world. There are purely physical manifestations like gravitational, electrical or mechanical energy, and transitional and intangible forms like heat and light. These basic energies are united in that they are unrefined, and they tend to disperse from areas of high energy. These forces are chaotic, and any attempt to organize them causes more instability elsewhere; however, because of this, they are relatively easy to harness and nearly anyone can do so. But there exist other forms of refined power, split into two categories, spiritual energy or ki and magic which only special people can ever control. Western wizards and witches have a long history of using wands, staves and rituals to cast charms, hexes, transfigurations and curses. Of these curses, three are counted more deadly than the rest, the so-called unforgivable curses. And of these, one is known simply as the killing curse, which kills instantly any who are struck by it. In fact, there has only ever been one survivor. This is not his story. What many do not realize is that there is a second curse that is perhaps even more potent than the killing curse. Granted, it does not kill instantly, but it is far more insidious. The killing curse may be blocked by solid objects or avoided all together. While only one person has survived being struck by it, many have survived combat against it. But the ancient Chinese magi developed a much deadlier curse. It cannot be blocked, avoided or cured. It must run its course, and applications last at least 20 years. It can be targeted to a person, a location, or even a family. The original name has been lost for millennia, and even though it has existed far longer than the western equivalent, no one has yet outlasted this curse. Its name: "May you live in interesting times." Ranma had had more encounters with magic than nearly any non-magical person alive, though he was a mere 17 years old. The most obvious and glaring example of this was his Jusenkyo curse which turned him into a short, busty redhead. But, he would not have been the least bit surprised to know that he had not one, but six separate applications of the single most deadly curse known. It certainly would have explained what he only thought was a lifetime of bad karma. As the windborne scythe of air carved up his opponent, Ranma collapsed to the ground almost completely spent. With the last of his strength, he gathered up the doll form of Akane and made his way to the dragon tap and the water it contained. He split the head off, releasing a cascade, triggering a change in gender and restoring Akane. She didn't even notice Saffron's chewed up corpse as it lit up like a funeral pyre, leaving behind a gleaming egg in a pile of ash. Magi have long studied the use of magic, and have developed multiple ways to use it. But what few have realized is that magic always leaves a permanent mark, unless ritually cleansed. This tends to not be an issue for magically attuned people, as they continuously cycle their own magic, and magically counteract any permanent effects they might be suffering. But for a non-magical person, while the primary effects of any spell or potion may wear off over time, a bit of residual magic accumulates. Ranma had been exposed to more diverse magics than anyone had realized. He had been subjected to a soul-binding ritual in the Neko-ken to bind a cat demon. Though that was mostly cleansed by the old priestess who coaxed him out of it, the Neko-ken training turned his body into a magical black hole; it would absorb literally all the magic it could possibly get. This was added to by all of the cursed and magical training grounds his father dragged him to, the love potions forced on him by an over-amorous Amazon bimbo, drugs containing magical components by a ribbon wielding psycho, the Phoenix pill, side effects from both the locking ladle and unlocking kettle, and countless other small magical artifacts, including the Nanban Mirror, and stunningly enough, Akane's cooking. All of his magical exposure compounded to nearly saturate his body with unstable magic, which was brought to the breaking point during the battle with Saffron, where he absorbed potent ice magic from the Gekkaja, raging fire magic from Saffron's flames and even a small bit of phoenix power. And then, with his body near the breaking point, his spiritual reserves and very life-force totally exhausted, Ranma collapsed into the most potent form of pure magic that he had ever encountered in the nearly frozen water of the dragon tap, a key component in the ascension of a demi-god into a full god. Using the very last of his energy, Ranma gently set Akane's resuscitated body to the side, and passed out face first in the water. AN: This story is going to start out as a R/SM cross, but Ranma will not be resurrected from the Silver Millennium or have any past association with any of the SM characters. Whether or not I decide to con Ranma into a fuku for a scene is up in the air, but Ranma will not become a proper Senshi or a Tuxedo'd Warrior either. In its alpha form, I was aiming at Harry Potter as being the main crossover, and while I'm planning on getting to HP eventually, for the foreseeable future, this fic will be R/SM and during the transition to R/HP I might have to bring in another magical series to make the transition make sense. I'm looking into options where this isn't the case, but if I do, there might be a sidestory-esque foray into Negima.
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Death Reborn Evolution
Chapter 01: Prologue: A Treatise on Magic
By: Shanami