Magic

**Magic** (魔法, *Mahō*?), also referred to as **True Magic** and **Sorcery** in other translations, is the highest class of Mystery that surpasses Magecraft and all current sciences of that age. It represents the actualization of events that are impossible to reproduce in a certain era, whether by humans or the planet, even if given an infinite amount of time and resources. The acquisition of the capacity to perform magic is considered the ultimate accomplishment of a Magus, and only within the grasp of those who have accessed the Swirl of the Root.

"Magic" can be differentiated from "Magecraft" in that the consequences of its use are ostensibly "impossible" or "miraculous." The end output of a spell that creates fire is within dictates of the world because something as mundane as lighting a match can yield the same effect. Concepts like time manipulation, teleportation, spatial warping and quarantine, and the resurrection of the dead are miracles thought to be possible only through the application of Magic. The Denial of Nothingness, Operation of Parallel Worlds and Time Travel can all perform resurrections, but the resurrection of the dead through conventional methods is something that not even Magic has granted since the days of old.

## Acquisition

Magic is attained by reaching the Root, but not touching it like those who are said to have disappeared from the World upon touching it. Moreover, in order to acquire Magic, the magus must be the very first to travel through a specific path to the Root; even if the same theory and method are used to reach the Root, those who came after the first magus using a certain path cannot acquire Magic. It is possible, however, to inherit Magic from one's predecessors. The First and Fifth are similar in that a path to the Root, a Gate of Akasha, was created and Magic was gained upon their arrival, while the Second, Third, and Fourth were created as a means to reach that place. It is said that the First and the Fifth are thus of higher standing than the rest. In the case of the Fifth, the path was discovered and left unentered by Aoko Aozaki's grandfather, and its mysteries were passed on to her when she "turned tail and ran right at the front of the door." The Aozaki's land was the only land where Magic could be achieved in Japan until that point, but the land itself no longer mattered after she inherited it.

Magecraft can be classified as human wisdom and the world, while Magic is the solitude outside of that, included in neither. Magecraft focuses on the studying of history, the works of man and the circle of life of the planet, but Magic is considered the providence of a god beyond the skies. It is considered an irrefutable crime against both humanity and the planet, so reaching out to the Root is something that brings about the Counter Force. Those who do achieve newly acquired Magic are killed by a "red shadow."

It is said that the beginning First changed everything, the following Second acknowledged many, the resulting Third showed the future, the linking Fourth concealed itself, and the final Fifth had already lost its meaning. Someone once said, "Had it only ended at the Third."

Prior to the conclusion of the Age of Gods two millennia before the present day, Magecraft was close to Magic in effect, making Magecraft synonymous to Magic and all magi considered Magicians, but the gap between them has since widened. With the advancement of science, the number of things that "could be done" increased, causing Magic to diminish. Though Magic users were common at the dawn of humanity, their proliferation receded with the rise of civilization, and only four of the five remaining Magics officially recognized by the Mage's Association are presently still in use. If "what had been possible only by Magic" becomes achievable by developments in Magecraft or scientific technology, said Magic will be lowered to a mere "craft", and many Magics have been lost from the world in the same way. The possibility for Magic itself will never fade out, as the discovery of new Magic or the rediscovery of lost ones would increase the number of Magics.

## Magician

Those who practice Magic are known as **Magicians** (魔法使い, *Mahōtsukai*?). They have control over their own mysteries but also practice Magecraft. Zelretch's Magecraft is at the level where he was given the title Wizard Marshall by the Association, while Aoko is inferior in skill as a magus to the lecturers of the Clock Tower. There are many magi who exceed them in the area of Magecraft, while their Magic is a unique Mystery only available to them. There are also those like Barthomeloi Lorelei, whose Magecraft comes close to the miracles achieved by Magic, and Caubac Alcatraz, who is considered to be "just a step away" from the level of the Magicians.

Of those who had lived in the time where Magic was abundant, there is Caster, having lived in the Age of Gods as a witch, and Merlin, who is also referred to as a user of Magic. The Magecraft that Caster executes is able to approach the realm of Magic, but she is not a Magician. She is not compatible with the "Five Magics of the Modern Era" because Magic was so common in her era, making her unable to learn any of them. She greatly exceeds all modern magi, including the Magicians, so she can be called “a magus that is infinitely close to the Magicians.” In the potential future of *Notes*, each of the Six Sisters are capable of using Magic.

Magicians can be said to have become the adversaries of the planet, something which the human mind could not normally carry as a burden. Carrying such a power is the recklessness of changing the world. The uniqueness of the power and its transcendence can make up for the practitioner's lack of skills in Magecraft. Differences in power become irrelevant because skills with the likeliness of Magecraft can easily be "blown away" by Magic.

The inheritance of Magic is similar to inheriting a path, called Ymir’s Entrance or Gate of Akasha depending on the person describing it. Even if a Magician should die, it does not mean the death of the Magic utilized by them. Magic will be passed on to the inheritor of the next generation rather than disappearing. If Magic is to die, it will only be when it can be realized by normal means.

The Magician that handled the First Magic already died a long, long time ago. Of the remaining four, two have disappeared, and two are bothersome people that pop up all over the place, leaving trouble in their wake. The reason why some still say that there are five Magicians comes down to a matter of perspective. It's the difference between counting a dead person as somebody that no longer exists or counting them as still being "alive" in a way, so long as some trace of them still lives on.

## Magics

### First Magic

* **Name**: Unknown
* **Domain**: It is one of the oldest Magics, but details about it are unknown. Some magi of privileged rank know what it involves as common knowledge. Though the exact domain of the First Magic is uncertain, it is related to the generation of Ether clumps, which have been called "materialized nothing."
* **User**: Unnamed - Deceased. The user of the First Magic is long dead, but because Magic, by nature, still has a possibility of being inherited by those of future generations even if its user is dead, the First Magic is still considered to be in existence. The deceased user is the only existence recognized as worthy of respect by the Barthomeloi clan of the Mage's Association. It is said that the person that would be the user's heir is still alive, but barely. The user of the First Magic was “born the night before B.C. became A.D.”

### Second Magic

*Main Article: Second Magic*
* **Name**: Referred to as either "Zelretch" or "Kaleidoscope".
* **Domain**: Operation of Parallel Worlds (平行世界の運営, *Heikō Sekai no Un'ei*?)
* **User**: Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg

### Third Magic

*Main Article: Third Magic*
* **Name**: Heaven's Feel, Cup of Heaven (天の杯, *Ten no Hai*?).
* **Domain**: Materialization of the soul.
* **User**: Unnamed - Disappeared before 1AD
Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern (Not cost-efficient)

### Fourth Magic

*Main Article: Fourth Magic*
* **Name**: Referred to as "Laplace's Demon".
* **Domain**: Omniscience and Omnipotence of Atomic Structures (全知全能原子, *Zenchizennō Genshi Kibo*?)
* **User**: Unnamed - The currently existing magi will say that "it definitely exists" when talking about it and agree that it continues to exist. The name of the user is unknown even to them.
Eskarne of Basque (inherited from the original Magician but memories of encounter erased)
Ayaka Sajyou (taught by her mother)

### Fifth Magic

*Main Article: Fifth Magic*
* **Name**: **Magic Blue** (魔法・青, Mahō Ao?)
* **Domain**: Its exact domain is unknown, but it has abilities related to **Time Travel** (時間旅行, *Jikan Ryokō*?) and making the laws of conservation of mass shoulder the debts of a past without future. Touko Aozaki claims there should be more to it because time travel is also governed by the Second Magic, but she declines to speculate further on the subject. Its concepts seem to revolve around consumption and extinction.
* **User**: Aoko Aozaki. The path to the Root was discovered some years ago by Aoko's grandfather, the former head of the Aozaki clan, who used it to create the Fifth Magic.

### Sixth Magic and Beyond

The hypothetical **Sixth Magic** (第六魔法, *Dai-Roku Mahō*?) is something that does not currently exist in the world. There are those who say no more new Magics will emerge. Despite that, it is possible for new Magic to be created and the number to increase, but that possibility is "far more difficult than a camel passing through the eye of a needle and finding one speck of a jewel in a desert." As it is not impossible, proven by the existence of Magicians, magi will strive for their heights, "believing they will one day reach the stars in the skies with their own hands, they continue dedicating themselves to their studies daily."

The currently existing five Magics are the final "tasks" of humanity and the last impossibilities that they face. Archetype Earth hints that despite leading up to the future detailed by "that man" that there is a "slight margin to the ending", so in the future that someone might "add the final sentence." Mikiya Kokutou "insightfully points out" that the "unrealized Magic" must be "one that brings happiness to everyone."

In *Melty Blood*, Night of Wallachia is said to be opposing the Sixth. In *Melty Blood Back Alley Alliance Nightmare*, he is said to be opposing the Third Magic. It is unknown if the change is a complete rewrite of the setting or a difference in worlds. It is unknown if the Sixth mentioned has anything to do with Magic. The Six Sisters are each said to use Magic, but it is unknown if they use the same Magics of the current Magicians or if they each use a unique Magic.

#### Similar effects

While it can definitely be said that “there are five Magics”, the number does not reflect “effects that rival Magics.” There are Mystic Codes, like the Jeweled Sword of Zelretch and Zelretch’s Treasure Chest, and creatures that are “shaped through Magic.” There are also those without definite shape that only exist "in motion", like Assassin's Tsubame Gaeshi, a limited application of the Second Magic.

It is possible for Magecraft to replicate the effects of Magic to a degree. Innate Time Control, Spatial Transportation through Command Spells, Caster's Magecraft, and Spatial Quarantine performed by Souren Araya are examples of such. Reality Marbles are considered to be a skill that approaches the miracle of Magic. While temporary, there are not many magi able to execute the World-altering grand sorcery.

Objects like Avalon and certain members of the Phantasmal Species, Phantasmal Beasts of the Millennium-Rank and Divine Beasts can be called equal in Mystery to Magic. Avalon is an absolute defense capable of blocking all five Magics, and it can be called a Magic in itself. The Phantasmal Species embody mysteries simply by existing, so they transcend normal Magecraft. Those that have lived long are similar to Magic in that even observing one can be said to be a miracle.