A lone crow flying to the top of a floating bookshelf, the light emitted from the crystals attached to the walls of this library shine on the black feather-like material of the creature, showing a scattering pattern of light not unlike that of glass. The vast library which is only accessible through a special key and lock combination is said to hold the knowledge of the world, as well as information about the Great War that once happened, centuries ago, but is now forgotten by everyone.
Well, not everyone.
The crow seems to notice a presence, sensing it is its master, it approaches.
"Do you know the reason why this world was created, Wizard?" Says the crow in a feminine voice to its master.
A man clad in a pure white robe lined by red and gold stripes along the inner seams looks away from a book that he was silently reading, searches for the source of the query and then, raises an eyebrow.
"Are you talking to me?" asks the man, known to be a Wizard of sorts.
The crow, in an impatient tone, says "Of course Nevermore is talking to you, who else would be here?"
"Hmm, that is true. Sorry, but could you repeat the question?"
"Nevermore asked if you know the reason why this world was created"
"Was it not to please the Gods?" answers the man, returning to look at the heavy book in his hands.
"That is correct, however, that is not the only reason. Nevermore has a hypothesis about it, though"
As the giant floating bookshelves begin to shift of position, the library starts to become brighter, signaling that nighttime has arrived, and the faux-skylight on the roof imitates the aspect of a starry sky.
"Then, in your eternal wisdom, tell me the other reason" says the Wizard in a sarcastic tone without lifting his sight.
"Nevermore is ashamed of having such a fool for a master" the crow answers, preparing for flight yet again.
"Fine, I'm sorry. Tell me your hypothesis, please"
Stopping briefly the preparations for flight, the crow answers "To prepare for Change, and to be ready for the End"
The crow then takes off in a graceful manner, leaving the man behind with more questions than answers. The flapping of wings producing a sound like the chime of multiple glass bells.
Mumbling to itself, the crow finally says "A bearer of a Red String of Fate has arrived again to challenge this hypothesis, Wizard"
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"YES! A new edition of Rance's Bestiary has finally been published. I was lucky getting the last copy available, who would've known that the introduction of a section on Dragon Biology in the Bestiary would be so popular. I even saw it being promoted on Twitter. Oh, oops..."
It was a little awkward talking to myself on the street, but people are too busy with their own lives to worry about me and my new book anyways. Still, I'll try to keep my excitement to myself until I get to a café to relax while reading my book and enjoy a nice cup of whatever I'm feeling like ordering today. I don't have that much money right now but today is a special occasion, isn't it?
I wonder if my parents are taking care of Naru... I know that cat is a handful but I still love him, it was a real shame the schools' dorms don't allow pets, if I could I would've brought him with me. I'll send them a message when I can.
After walking for some more time, I arrived at the café. A big and circular sign of a green and white siren was at the front of the store, and the smell of overly-sweet coffee was filling my nose. Talking about smell, I recently read in an article that the sense of smell depends on tiny physical particles in the air, that made me think not so pleasant thoughts about being in the bathroom... Anyways.
As I was waiting in line, dark clouds appeared out of nowhere in the sky, and rain started pouring rather heavily.
Huh, it was just sunny and clear, and it started raining... and I brought no umbrella. I should've checked the weather forecast.
Distracted by the rain, I didn't notice it was already my turn.
"Uhh, I would like a Mocha, please" I said to the barista taking orders - who I must say was rather attractive- after quickly looking through the options I had and choosing the first one I saw.
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Did I really just get flustered because of the barista taking my order? I pondered while heavily reflecting about me needing to interact with more people and not only my friends.
I searched for a free table, near the window preferably since I wanted to enjoy the rain while reading my Bestiary.
After finding one, I got up at the call of my order and went to get it. A hot beverage and heavy rain is a great combination after all.
I arrived at my seat, put down my coffee on the table and proceeded to open up the hard-cover book titled in golden letters "Rance's Bestiary".
✦✦✦
An hour or two had passed and it was still raining, I even got the impression that it had gotten stronger. I had finished my coffee some time ago and had halfway to go to finish reading the Bestiary, the part that I was missing was the new Dragon Biology section which I preferred reading in the comfort of my room.
Waiting for the rain to pass, I used this time to message my parents about Naru. A minute later my mom answered that they were taking care of him but had gotten a little sick after eating who knows what and vomited all over the carpet, my dad apparently got mad but still took Naru to the vet. He is now fine and sitting down in the couch with dad.
I smiled a little after imagining the scene of my dad down on the floor cleaning the mess Naru had made.
Thunder suddenly striked, and the rain seemed to only get stronger and stronger, with no sign of calming down.
I better take a cab or something.
Not having any other option, I waited for a taxi to arrive to where I was. However, after an abnormal amount of time waiting, no taxi came.
I guess I really wasted all my luck of today getting this book, didn't I?
Thinking this to myself and considering the optimal way of walking beneath different roofs to get the least amount of water on my clothes, I settled for getting wet today.
✦✦✦
"Shit... Well, at least I found a shiny coin on the ground on my way here" I said, while standing dripping wet at the entrance of my room.
Since I prioritized the dryness of my book and not the dryness of my clothes, my bones where chilly and my body heat was being stolen by the now soaked jacket, jeans and shirt I had worn today. Still, it was impressive how the book was not wet at all, even though it was being kept safe only in a paper bag.
Time for a hot bath, a meal and the Dragon Biology chapter.
Having made up my mind, I took my clothes off carefully as to not hurl water droplets everywhere and dumped it in the dryer, then I got into the bath and opened up the parallel knobs that indicate cold and hot water. I used my phone to play some calm music while showering to forget my bad luck of today.
Sometime later, I got out of the shower, put my most comfortable pants, a long sleeve shirt and prepared the most expensive instant noodles I had -which were not really that expensive-. Then, I laid on my bed and got to reading the remaining chapter of the Bestiary.
After finishing one of the greatest pieces of cryptozoology in existence and my dinner, I got a little sleepy, so I decided to sleep. The end of a totally normal yet fun day had arrived.
Knock, Knock, Knock
"Wha-... What time is it?" I got woken up by someone knocking on my door.
Grabbing my charging phone from my bedside and getting blinded by a digital flashbang, I noticed it was 3 in the morning. A truly peculiar time for door-knocking I'm sure, so I decided to ignore it.
Knock, Knock, Knock
A second time the knocker was knocking.
Thinking that it must be important I got up, slipped on some sneakers, took a light coat and since I didn't want to turn on all the lights, I turned on the torch on my phone.
Arriving at my door asking Who is it? I got no answer. How strange, why would you knock if you won't answer I thought. And, while taking a big yawn, I opened the door.
What laid beyond me was not the familiar white hall of my dorms nor the night sky, rather it was a clear grass plain. The fresh wind was blowing, and the sun had struck my retinas, making me squint mid yawn.
"What the-...?" were the first words I said to the green and blue of this new world.