“Weeee” a soul cried as it dove into a book reveling in the feeling of knowledge soaking into itself. The waking world was so much better then it thought it could be. Who knew there was such wonder and tasty information so close to it?
It had slept for so long and every time that man had come into the room it barely woke. Each person he brought looked the same, boring. Not a single one sparked its curiosity. Oh at first it was excited and eager to see what this was. Then the second came, then the third, and each time the little soul didn't quite see what he wanted. So he drifted back into sleep.
Then the ones with horns came with skin like a pleasant blue fire, seeming to dance as they moved. It was such a departure from the other people brought that the wisp found itself drifting behind them all the way out of the way to this wondrous buffet of knowledge. It was the best idea it ever had, though it didn’t know if it ever actually had ideas before.
There were so many tasty things here, unlike in the void with the other souls. It tasted the atomic weight of iron, finding it had a tang to it. Nuclear fusion, spun in flavor being both sour and sweet. The quantum signature of fire, made him tingle through their entire self. Heavenly cultivation had a delicate sweetness. A nice treatise on herbs made it vibrate in pleasure.
So much knowledge so much flavor! He indulged himself, and as a point of order decided it was a he. Soon he found himself just soaking in a book on martial arts techniques, just bathing in the forms and pictures. This was just wonderful.
He was having an exquisite time just basking in the pages of a book when he was ever so rudely interrupted by some creature picking the book up and walking away leaving a quite miffed wisp floating in space.
How dare this pink thing interrupt its lovely time. He began floating after it, wanting to finish absorbing the knowledge. It still hadn't even tasted the diagram on meridians, he had been saving that part for last. He had even skipped the page in order to save it for later. It wanted to savor the drawing. Now it was just being pulled away. It floated after the two-legged pink man thing, determined to finish the book, trilling the whole while for him to return his meal.
#
In an impossible library filled with near-infinite knowledge a man and a rather annoyed-looking floating orb. Stared at each other. The man held a book in his hand as he looked contemplatively at the little wisp. The wisp seeing his chance lunged for the book. Nicki easily caught the wisp chuckling at its little jump.
“Now what do I do with you?” Nicki could feel the millions of tomes the wisp had eaten over the years. It was probably the most informed wisp in the entire office. “You’re a gluttonous little thing aren’t you?” The wisp looked confused or as much as a floating ball of fire could look confused as it dangled between Nicki’s fingers. “Who woke you up?
The wisp stopped swinging as it focused on the man. “Trill” Its voice chimed and trilled high pitched and some of its meaning drifted through the ethereal.
Nicki shook his head at the little bugger’s audacity, of accusing him of stealing a book. “You can finish the book as soon as you tell me who you’re supposed to help.”
The light shrugged, “Trill.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” They were only able to wake up when there was a job for them. Surely they had to have seen the Djinn who woke it.
“Trill.”
“Seriously?”
“Trill.” The wisp confirmed.
Nicki sighed at the answer. I suppose one would reject their calling eventually. “Look. There’s a reason your people are in that state. You only wake up when you find someone interesting. Or a world is in need of a system. I can either put you back or you can go with the one who woke you.”
It suggested an alternative. “Trill trill.”
Nicki just rolled his eyes. “No, you can’t just wander the library forever.”
The ball of blue fire twisted fast surprising Nicki enough to drop it. As soon as it was free if flew into the book, absorbing the last of the information before trying to zoom away.
“There’s only six Djinn left.” Nick started yelling at the retreating light. “I know one of them woke you. You can either meet them now or be shoved by their side when they leave.”
The wisped paused seeming to think it over, before it sadly bounced its way back. Letting out a resigned trill.
Nicki felt bad about yelling at it. Like yelling at a child. “I’m sorry. It’s how this works. Besides haven’t you been through millions of books already? Now you’ll get to see that in the world.”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Trill.” It said hopefully.
“Yes exactly new knowledge you can’t experience here.”
The wisp looked skeptical.
Nicki laughed, “There is always new knowledge. And you'll probably make the most of it.
The wisp seemed if not excited interested.
“Ok let’s get your partner.”
#
In a little cubical filled wall to wall with papers and books. With notebooks filled with research notes, and a diagram of the Djinn body, with annotations about magic and chi. There is a lovely little houseplant sitting there cowering terrified of the desecration of its kin. It was terrified of the blue creature jumping from carcass to carcass reading something. It was an absolute nightmare for the little plant. Its entire body locked in place.
“Rixar!” An excited feminine voice shouted just outside the cubicle.
The blue Djinn Rixar stopped his frantic compiling and pushed a book to the side covering it with a few loose pieces of paper. He was burying his gruesome work under the dead. The plant thought aghast.
“Come in Illia.” He said calmly.
Another Djinn came in one who looked over the entire mess with a bit of horror before shaking herself. “I met the human.”
The monster asked in shock, “What?! How?!”
“Sasha helped me.” She said gesturing to the silver thing that floated in behind her. “They cut a hole into his office right as blah was taken.”
The plant didn’t know what the thing was but it knew deep down in its very being that it was dangerous. It was taking everything it had to not be seen, stopping all the chemical processes it could.
Rixar looked her up and down confused. “And your still here? Did he do anything?”
She shook her head, “No, I just saw what happened to Lex He became a villain or anti-hero? It wasn’t very clear to me. He was wearing some strange form-fitting armor.
The desecrator’s eyes seemed to shine, “Fascinating. Why was he a villain? No wait what was the human like?
“Honestly, just some guy.” She shrugged, “He was nice enough but if I didn't have my file he would have already sent me away. At least that’s what he told me.”
“File?”
“You know the thing that appears on his desk when you got there with absolutely everything about you in it.” She said looking at the man confused.
“No?”
“Oh.”
The air grew heavy between them. “So it will be my turn soon then?”
The woman took in a sharp breath, “Probably. There are so few of us left.”
“Did blah seem happy?” His voice was soft. How dare such a monster feel remorse. Why couldn’t he when he was destroying his kin? The plant was angry.
“He was on another world as an antagonist.” She thought aloud, “But he seemed like he was working towards it.”
“Ah.”
Even the plant could feel the awkward tension in the air. Will you all please leave? I don’t like how the floating thing is looking at me.
“So.” Illa broke the silence, “He showed me a video of how people normally end up here.”
Raising an eyebrow the friend asked, “How?”
“Apparently the most common is a large vehicle hitting them. But he also showed me someone who danced, open a rift, and Sasha’s own where they cut open a portal here. One was apparently struck by lightning.”
“Do people have to die to get here?”
There was a long pause before she answered, “I don’t think so. He also showed me one of a man crossing a bridge.”
“Ten years and this place still amazes me.”
The plant tuned them out, not wanting to listen to them. It felt at its roots just feeling the earth around it. Trying to forget about the world around it.
#
A scholar a scribe a researcher. Rixar was all of these things. Except he hadn’t actually scribed anything in the last decade. If you don’t count his notes or the leather-bound tome in his hands. Rixar didn’t originally plan on writing a book on his findings. Research had just kind of become a hobby. A way to pass the time, except he had almost forgotten how much he loved doing it. It was only when he remembered no one would read his work, no discourse. No one to test, or experiments to prove his theories that he became depressed. It might just languish in the infinite library. Or he could stumble on another book that made all his conclusions moot or find out he was completely wrong. That was one of the thoughts that haunted him when he looked at the seemingly infinite books.
For the last decade, he had felt completely and utterly adrift just going through the motions.
He still felt the thrill of new knowledge every time he stumbled upon it. Though short-lived the thrill was still there it was one of the only joys he had. The first years or so were wonder beyond wonder. Then he focused on getting out of this place. Three years of research and practical experiments were wonderful giving him focus and purpose.
Then they opened portals with Sasha’s help. Those who went through never came back. No one had any idea what happened to them. So they stopped researching into portals back home.
Then there was no new project. No ideas. He had lost his own drive for going back. There was nothing left for him there. So He began to dabble in everything.
Unfocused. Constantly shifting.
The knowledge of the universe is at the tip of his hand. And he couldn't actually focus on one thing for long. He had even started a relationship with Illia. It was a bit rocky and neither saw it more than killing time.
Then the announcement. It was the kick he needed. He was strangely excited as he disappeared into the stacks learning everything possible. Sometimes a little wisp would float through his pile of books and keep him company. But all to soon it would be gone.
The last year he had made collated all his research. Boiled it all down to simplicity itself. A complete guide to magic and cultivation.
He held it in hand the ink barely dry. He was ready. He had the item he was told to find. and he had made it himself.
All too soon he stood in front of a door. One all too familiar, as his heart beat faster.
He was ready and wanted to go out on his own terms.
He lifted his hand and knocked.
“Come in.” A man’s voice called through the door.
That must be the human. Rixar opened the door, a Human sat behind a desk reading a book, with a little doll sitting on the front edge of the desk, and the little bobbing wisp that sometimes kept him company.
Rixar thought he was prepared for the human after doing so much research. He was still taken aback seeing him in real life. His skin was oddly pink, and he had no horns like a child. His eyes were unsettling with white sclera.
To his credit, the human seemed amused by the reaction.
“Well, come on in. I was about to get you anyway.”
Rixar noticed the book, and his eyes widened as it was a copy of the book he held in his hands. "This. Now this is a beauty, and will help so many people." Rixar stared, "You should be proud. I'm going to use this for a lot of Heroes."
* * *