with dimensions and multiverse theory?
You could say that the magicians or mages or whatever you call them are temporarily teleporting to another universe in the multiverse, the one that's ideal for their magic goals, and bringing back what that world is like.
Or you could even say that they've discovered a way to find the universe that suits their way-things-are goal and enter that universe. But first the magicians kill the onlookers so the onlookers' consciousness shifts (via quantum immortality) to the same universe the magicians chose.
You could say that the magicians or mages or whatever you call them are temporarily teleporting to another universe in the multiverse, the one that's ideal for their magic goals, and bringing back what that world is like.
Or you could even say that they've discovered a way to find the universe that suits their way-things-are goal and enter that universe. But first the magicians kill the onlookers so the onlookers' consciousness shifts (via quantum immortality) to the same universe the magicians chose.