It was like any other day for Klaus. Going to his afternoon class at the university. He had just finished his finals, and this was his last class. But something was off. The whole day, he could feel a looming sense of dread that just would not fade.
"Something is wrong, Mitch," Klaus said as he walked to class with his friend.
"What do you mean...worried about the final grades. You will be fine, man, you're one of the smartest kids here," Mitch replied
"No, not that...all day I feel like something is going to happen. I don't know what, but I got a bad feeling," Klaus replied, an expression of worry visible on his face.
"Look, man, just take a breather and..."
Then suddenly, as they entered the classroom, Klaus's surroundings changed in an instant. The large lecture hall turned into the entrance of a manor, and his dozens of classmates were gone.
"W-where am I?... What happened?" Klaus asked, a feeling of dread growing
Slowly, before him, Klaus watched as small orbs of floating blue light began to appear, joining together to form a person. An older gentleman dressed in a suit and a top hat with a cane that had a crow as the handle.
"Hello, my successor. You are probably confused and scared, but please let me ease your worries. My name is Bishop Edmond Alduien, master of the library of knowledge. You see, like you, I was chosen one day to take over my predecessor as the guardian of this place. This place, you may ask, is a realm that does not fully exist in the mortal realm." Edmond explained that, as thier surroundings changed, it became like a library that spread forever.
"It's an anomaly, a place where every book, every writing, never written and to be written, exists. Every story idea is in a person's mind. The directions for inventions, the secrets of the universe. Everything that you could ever want to know and much more is stored here. I think you can guess why such a place needs a guardian. Not everyone can have access to such information."
"Oh, I should mention that this is only a premade message. If you have questions, I cannot answer them, but I will answer most starter questions. No, you were not explicitly chosen. Most of us are selected at random. In reality, anyone or anything can be chosen as the guardian. Second, you have complete access to the library, but the moment you begin to go down a path that goes against the pure desire for knowledge, you shall lose access. Third, I am no longer the guardian because of age. Those of us who are guardians age much slower, I mean much slower than normal people, but we are not immortal. Believe it or not, I am 13,476 years old. Fourth, you are no longer in your old world. You are into most of the library's extensions that need protection. In truth, you can be in any number of worlds of fiction, so I cannot help you figure that out. Next, your job is only to protect the library, keeping those who wish to use its knowledge from harming reality from getting to it, such as demons, angels, spirits, gods, and/or monsters. Trust me, you will encounter a plethora of different types while you are the guardian."
"Well, it seems I am running out of time, so now for the most essential message. There is a group out there. A collection of gods, demons, elder beings, and more that all wish to achieve the truest omnipotence and gain the knowledge in the library. You must never let them get to it. I know you are just a mortal, but this place holds the knowledge to allow you to surpass those limitations. I must go now, it seems I have a guest. Good luck, my successor, and please adapt quickly; these beings won't ever stop, steadfast," Edmond finished his blue figure, fading away into particles of light.
"What in the world is happening?" Klaus sighed, sitting down on a nearby stool
"Okay...okay, Klaus, take a deep breath...ha," Klaus said to himself, taking a moment to accept the fact that he just appeared in a completely different location as he entered his lecture, and a man made from blue light told him that he is the new 'guardian'
"Okay, let's find this library. I saw it for a bit while Edmond explained things, but I need to lay my own eyes on it," Klaus said, standing up and walking down the manor halls.
Spending the next twenty minutes walking around the manor, Klaus could not find the library that was supposed to stretch on forever.
"He couldn't have told me how to find this library he spoke about," Klaus sighed after his second lap around the third floor.
As he was about to head back downstairs, a faint blue light like the ones from before appeared before him and moved downstairs.
Following the blue lights, Klaus continued through the manor until he reached the underground. But this time, instead of an empty open space, he found an even larger space filled with different workstations, shelves of jars, and a wide assortment of items, a blast furnace, a giant chemistry set, a table filled with herbs, and much more.
"T-This is amazing...that things that could be done here...plants and animal parts that I have never seen," Klaus spoke with excitement evident on his face and in his voice like a child getting a birthday present.
As he was looking around, he saw that the blue light kept going back to the room. Following it, he saw two large gilded doors at least ten meters tall on the end wall.
"This definitely wasn't here before...maybe because I told the manor I wanted to find the library," Klaus pondered.
Walking up to the door, Klaus watched as it creaked open, exposing the infinite library hall that seemed to have endless floors and ever more shelves.
Going inside, he could not help but be surprised at how beautiful it was, how each shelf seemed to be made from gold, pillars made from quartz, chandeliers made from diamonds and rubies.
"T...This place is beautiful," Klaus said as he took in his surroundings.
"Thank you, I take great care as the librarian of this sector," a voice spoke, causing Klaus to turn around.
Turning to meet the voice, Klaus saw a young woman with long white hair, dressed in an elegantly made black-and-silver dress, matching black leather gloves, and black-rimmed glasses, standing before him, holding a book.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I did not see you there. My name is Klaus," Klaus said, holding out his hand.
"Yes, I know who you are, the new Guardian. I am Pandora the librarian," the young woman replied, shaking Klaus's hand.
"Pandora... like in the mythos?" Klaus asked
"Well, for me, it was real life, but yes. The one with the box of horrors," Pandora replied with a sigh.
"Sorry, I did not mean to be rude... It's just surreal," Klaus quickly apologized.
"Don't worry, I took no offence. Please come join me, I just made tea," Pandora said as she began walking away.
"Very well...I could use something smoothing," Klaus said, following behind her.