Eldritch Horror? No, I'm A Doctor
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Levi stood from his chair with the fluid grace of someone who had performed this particular ritual many times before. He gestured for Ren to follow him as he walked toward the first floor, moving past the comfortable seating area toward what appeared to be a working desk area tucked into an alcove near the back of the bookstore.
The desk itself was an impressive piece of craftsmanship, carved from dark wood that seemed older than any tree that had ever grown on Earth. Papers were neatly organized in precise stacks, each pile containing documents written in scripts that shifted and changed when Ren wasn't looking directly at them. An ornate inkwell sat beside what looked like a quill pen that moved slightly on its own, the feather twitching as if eager to begin writing cosmic secrets.
Ren could smell old parchment and something that reminded him of libraries from his childhood, that particular scent of knowledge preserved in paper and binding. But underneath that familiar smell was something else, something that made his enhanced senses prickle with awareness of power barely contained.
"Let the magic begin," Levi said with a theatrical flourish that somehow managed to be both playful and genuinely dramatic.
He snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed through the space with more resonance than should have been possible in a room this size. The noise seemed to bounce off walls that weren't there, creating harmonics that made Ren's teeth ache.
The massive bookshelf behind the desk began to move with a deep rumbling sound that Ren felt in his bones rather than just heard. The vibration traveled up through his feet and settled in his chest, like standing too close to massive machinery. The entire structure shifted sideways like a sliding door the size of a building, revealing a portal that pulsed with golden light.
The energy emanating from the opening was warm and inviting, carrying the promise of answers to questions Ren hadn't even known how to ask. But it also carried an undercurrent of power that made the air itself hum with potential, like standing near a transformer station during a thunderstorm.
"Let's go in, Ren," Levi said, already moving toward the portal with the casual confidence of someone entering his own home after a long day at work.
Levi stepped through the golden gateway without hesitation, his form becoming briefly outlined in aureate radiance before disappearing entirely. For a moment, Ren was alone with the impossible portal, listening to the soft humming sound it made and feeling the warmth on his face.
"What the fuck? Is this normal? Am I the crazy one here?" Ren muttered to himself, staring at the impossible portal that had just opened in what he had assumed was a relatively ordinary bookstore. The words came out louder than he intended, echoing in the suddenly empty space.
Despite his confusion and growing sense that reality was becoming increasingly negotiable around Levi, Ren followed him into the portal. The sensation of crossing the threshold was like stepping through warm honey mixed with electricity, a tingling that started at his skin and worked its way inward until it reached his bones. His vision went white for a moment, and he felt like he was falling upward.
The golden portal hummed as Levi stepped through, and the moment Ren crossed behind him, the world shifted entirely.
Gone was the haunted Victorian bookstore with its cold wooden floors, dim lighting, and dark windows that looked out onto rain-soaked streets. The cozy counseling room, the mechanical golem with its painted smile, the shelves of mildly cursed plants that swayed without wind, all of it had vanished as if it had never existed at all.
Now, they stood on smooth obsidian stone that reflected their images with perfect clarity. The surface was so flawless that Ren felt like he was walking on the surface of a black mirror that extended to every horizon. Each step created tiny ripples of reflection that spread outward in perfect circles before fading.
Above them stretched a ceiling that had no apparent end, disappearing into darkness that seemed to contain its own constellations. Tiny points of light moved slowly through that void, creating patterns that reminded Ren of star charts he had seen in astronomy textbooks, but these moved with purpose rather than following orbital mechanics.
Columns carved from what appeared to be living moonlight lined the endless corridor, their surfaces shifting and flowing like liquid silver while somehow maintaining their structural integrity. The light they cast was soft and otherworldly, creating an atmosphere that felt both ancient and timeless. When Ren reached out to touch one, his hand passed through cool radiance that felt substantial but not solid.
Floating lanterns drifted through the air at various heights, casting shadows that danced with a rhythm of their own, completely independent of the movement of the lanterns themselves. The shadows seemed almost alive, telling stories through their movements that Ren couldn't quite understand but found hypnotically beautiful. Some shadows showed figures in robes discussing around tables, others displayed battles between creatures that defied description.
Walls didn't quite behave like walls should in any reasonable universe. Some flickered with moving constellations that traced patterns across their surfaces like living star maps, the points of light connecting and disconnecting to form new configurations every few seconds. Others displayed shifting murals that showed scenes of epic battles between cosmic forces, tender kisses shared between beings of pure energy, tragic endings that brought tears to Ren's eyes without him understanding why, and hopeful beginnings that filled him with unexplained optimism.
Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched in directions that defied conventional geometry. Some spiraled upward like towers that disappeared into the darkness above, their books accessible only by floating platforms that moved of their own accord. Ren watched one such platform carry a figure in dark robes upward, the person's feet dangling as they read from an open tome.
Other shelves extended sideways like bridges spanning impossible distances, connecting sections of the library that existed in different dimensional spaces. Still others descended downward into wells of swirling memory, their depths filled with volumes that glowed with their own inner light, like fireflies trapped in glass containers.
"What the fuck, this is insane," Ren breathed, his voice barely more than a whisper as he tried to process the scope of what he was seeing.
"It's like I'm in a fairy tale itself, but one written by some mad wizard."
"What do you think of my place?" Levi asked, his voice carrying a note of genuine pride as he watched Ren's reaction to the impossible library. There was something almost childlike in his eagerness for approval, despite his cosmic power.
"It's breathtaking," Ren replied honestly, still turning his head to take in details that seemed to multiply the more he looked.
"Almost like I'm in a fairy tale, but one that exists in the spaces between dimensions where normal rules don't apply."
"Hahaha, thanks. I'm quite proud of it myself," Levi said with the satisfaction
"After I inherited it, I decorated it myself. It took a few centuries to get the spatial relationships just right, and I'm still tweaking the lighting."
Inherited? A place like this can be inherited? Ren thought
Though he was beginning to suspect that normal concepts of ownership and property didn't apply to cosmic entities like Levi. The idea that someone could pass down a pocket dimension full of forbidden knowledge like a family business was both amusing and terrifying.
Levi began guiding Ren on a tour through a small section of the library, though "small" was clearly a relative term in a space that seemed to extend infinitely in multiple directions. Everything had a dreamlike quality, as if the laws of physics were more like gentle suggestions that could be ignored when convenient.
The only jarring notes in this fantastical landscape were the hundreds of death knights stationed throughout the library. These armored figures stood motionless at regular intervals, their empty eye sockets glowing with cold blue light that cut through the warm ambiance like ice. They were clearly guards, watchers tasked with protecting the knowledge contained within these impossible walls.
Each death knight was unique, their armor bearing the marks of different eras and cultures. Some wore the plate mail of medieval Earth, others sported designs that belonged to civilizations Ren couldn't identify. But all of them radiated the same aura of absolute vigilance, as if they had been standing guard for centuries and would continue to do so for centuries more.
Their presence added a note of danger to the wonder, a reminder that this was a place where cosmic secrets were kept, and such secrets always came with risks. Ren noticed that other patrons gave the death knights a wide berth, and he found himself unconsciously doing the same.
After what felt like hours of walking through corridors that rearranged themselves as they moved, Levi led Ren to what appeared to be an empty space. The area was circular, with a raised platform in the center surrounded by nothing but smooth obsidian floor extending in all directions. The emptiness felt significant, like a stage waiting for a performance.
"Let's go get your book," Levi said, his voice taking on a ceremonial quality that made the words feel significant, weighted with purpose.
"My book?" Ren asked, confused by the implication that he had somehow already claimed ownership of something in this vast collection.
"How can I have a book? I've never been here before."
Levi turned and smiled, his expression carrying the warmth of someone about to bestow a significant gift.
"Well, each patron that comes to my store is destined to be the owner of one specific piece of forbidden knowledge in my library. The books choose their readers as much as readers choose their books. I simply facilitate the connection after I've given them a proper counseling session and determined their needs."
"So I take it that you've decided what my book is?" Ren asked, feeling a mixture of anticipation and apprehension building in his chest.
"Yes, I've already decided," Levi replied with the confidence of someone who had made similar decisions countless times before.
"Or rather, the library has decided. I'm just the messenger."
Then Levi shouted, his voice carrying across the impossible distances of the library with supernatural clarity: "Library, to the Almighty section!"
What happened next was the most magical thing Ren had witnessed in a life that had already included cosmic transformation and battles with divine entities.
Countless books began to fly through the air from every direction, moving with purpose and intelligence that suggested they were more than mere objects. They came from the spiral towers, from the bridge-like shelves, from the wells of memory, creating streams of literature that converged on their position. Each book moved with its own character, some gliding gracefully, others tumbling end over end with apparent joy at being summoned.
The books arranged themselves in perfect formation, creating a staircase that rose into the darkness above. Each volume positioned itself with mathematical precision, forming steps that were exactly the right height and depth for comfortable climbing. The sound they made was like a symphony of rustling pages, each book adding its voice to a harmony that spoke of ancient knowledge and cosmic secrets.
"Let's go, Ren," Levi said, already moving toward the impossible staircase with the confidence of someone who had climbed it many times before.
The books continued building the stair just slightly ahead of Levi's footsteps, as if they already knew exactly where he wanted to go and were anticipating his needs. The synchronization was perfect, creating a pathway that extended upward into the cosmic darkness above. Each step felt solid underfoot despite being made of bound paper and leather.
They climbed for what felt like hours, ascending through layers of reality that each had their own character and atmosphere. Some levels were filled with the soft whispers of ancient languages, words in scripts that predated human civilization flowing through the air like musical notes. Others resonated with the music of spheres, harmonies that spoke to fundamental forces of creation and destruction.
Still other levels carried the weight of cosmic silence that pressed against their minds like a physical presence, the kind of quiet that existed in the spaces between stars. Ren found himself holding his breath during these passages, afraid that even the sound of breathing might disturb whatever profound meditation was taking place in the darkness around them.
Even Ren, who possessed physical enhancement from being a hunter, found himself growing tired as they ascended. His legs began to burn with the effort, and his breathing became labored despite his supernatural constitution.
"How long does this stair go, Levi?" Ren asked, breathing heavily from the exertion.
"Long enough," Levi replied with characteristic vagueness, not even slightly winded despite the endless climb.
"Thanks," Ren said sarcastically, though his irritation was tempered by growing amazement at their surroundings.
"That's incredibly helpful. Really narrows it down."
"Haha, no problem," Levi responded cheerfully, apparently immune to both fatigue and sarcasm.
"I've always been known for my precise explanations."
They walked for another three hours, climbing through layers of existence that seemed to stack upon each other like floors in an infinitely tall building. Ren's enhanced physique kept him going, but he found himself grateful for every brief landing where they could pause and catch their breath.
Finally, they arrived at what could only be described as the cosmic level itself.
The floor beneath their feet was forged from the cosmos itself, looking exactly like the night sky viewed from the perfect vantage point. Stars wheeled beneath their steps, galaxies spiraled in slow motion, and nebulae painted swirls of color that shifted and changed as they watched. It was like walking on the surface of space itself, with all the beauty and terror that implied.
The sensation was disorienting, as if gravity existed only as a suggestion and they might fall upward into the infinite void at any moment. Ren found himself taking careful steps, irrationally afraid that he might somehow disturb the cosmic order by walking too heavily on the universe itself.
There were five rows of bookshelves on this level, each one containing volumes that seemed to pulse with their own inner light. The books here were different from those on the lower levels, more substantial, more alive. These were the texts that contained knowledge dangerous enough to reshape reality itself, and their presence made the air thick with potential.
Levi walked to the third bookshelf with confidence. He reached up and pulled out an iridescent book that seemed to contain its own aurora, colors shifting and flowing across its cover like liquid light captured between leather binding.
"Here is your destiny," Levi said, presenting the book to Ren with the solemnity of someone performing a sacred ritual.
"Whether to accept it or not is up to you."
Ren looked down at the book in Levi's hands and saw the title written in letters that seemed to exist in more dimensions than normal text should occupy:
Origin