The large siren was blaring through the main library. Outside, the small tentacles were detaching themselves from the newly formed earths. Those earths were surrounding themselves in a magical barrier from the enchantment put up by the first wizard. Earth, plural ZZZ Alpha, was lighting up with a white light. The massive tentacle attached to it was beginning to rot. The rot was slowly spreading up the tentacles. The earth was violently vibrating to try and escape the position it was in. The surrounding earth was making the other earth visible vibrate. The tentacles had detected themselves in them, and the magical barrier was now threatening to break. An older woman with gray hair was standing outside her office. The once-beautiful space was now threatening to destroy all life. She was crying, tears streaming down her face. She held her composure and laid her head against a silver metal staff. The crystal was glowing with white light and pulsing. Her robes were bowing, flapping, and thrashing around her. Mana was beginning to build inside herself.
“Flixv=ihlozgvw xszitv, eovxgirxzo urvow.” Sara shouted, using magic to amplify her voice, “Ailfmw gsv nzrm oryizib, mld!”
A massive barrier erupted around the main library. The light illuminated the now-darkened space. A massive swarm of creatures could be seen trying to reach the library. The light kept them at bay; the other earths had activated their hidden barriers, and more creatures could be seen surrounding the earths. The creatures swarmed each planet that hung suspended in the multiverse. The barrier flicked when a creature got close and touched the light. It would kill the creature and make the magic run low.
“Director! What happened? Have you seen what is happening?” Her apprentice said, “What should we do?”
“Help me; I need to rest; my mana is completely gone.” Sara said with a grunted tone, “I have no energy left; I erected a barrier around us and activated the other barriers around the other earths.”
“Oh god, what are those things?” He said, "There is massive, and I am I.” He doubled over and died of madness.
“Dam, the creatures are able to use their death gaze even through the barrier.” Sara said, spitting out blood, “I wish you were here, John; I don’t think I’m long for the next.”
She coughed up more blood and then laid still. Her body lay lifeless and wasn’t noticed until a male stood three feet tall. He had red hair and brown eyes, had a limp, and wore red robes.
“Oh god, this can’t be.” Felix said, “I need to report this.”
He ran out of the room; the massive doors had come off the hinges. An earthquake shook the building, and one of the doors came crashing down on top of the smaller man. Felix cast a spell, and the door flew back to the right side of the wall. The door shattered into splinters and left a crater on the wall. Cracks have spidered around the indentation. He landed on his feet and used his legs to propel him down the hall. He got to the main front desk and saw that young apprentices had gathered. The building itself had large cracks running along the roof and spreading to the books and exhibits. He knew that most of the animals had gotten free, and frankly, he didn’t care. He reached the front and said, Alex.
“Master, master, I need to talk to you; it’s urgent.” Felix shouted, "Alex, it’s me, your apprentice, down here.”
Alex looked around for the shouting and saw Felix. He turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder to greet him and keep him close. The crowd had grown restless and large.
“Felix, come here, my friend. What are you trying to say?” Alex asked, “You sound frantic.”
“It’s the director she's died.” He managed to say, “It appears she triggered the barrier, but the rebound must have killed her. There’s more; there is a massive swarm of nightmare creatures with the effect of death stares.
“How do you know this?” Alex asked.
“I saw her apprentice; he was frightened to death.” Felix said, “His hair had changed, and the expression was one of horrified madness.”
"Well, I guess that leaves me in charge of the library.” Alex said grimly, “Have all the librarians meet me in the front.”
“Yes Director.” Felix said, “That’s really weird to say.”
He disappeared and went to find the rest of the librarians. Alex thought about what might happen if he failed to save this library. The building had begun to tremble in the onslaught. Books could be heard hitting the tile floor. Rare artifacts had crashed into walls; broken vases had shattered into pieces. Alex’s robes had gone from the white, neat, fresh set he had to brown and stained. He ran to the massive doors and saw that a massive tentacle had erupted from the ground and had been hitting the barrier. The black tendril was five miles up. The tip had a suction cup, almost like an octopus. The barrier erupted into a brilliant flash of white light and exploded. A thousand midnight creatures poured into the atmosphere of the floating island. Alex ran close to the edge of the balcony. The marble perch was held up by a statue of a giant who had long since given his life for the library. The finger tips held the railing, while the palms held the circular platform. Ivy had grown around the railing and spiraled across and down its arms. The ivy had beautiful roses. The roses had a multicolored shade to them. Alex summoned his staff and poured his mana through the crystal. The aquamarine stone burst to life, and a new barrier was erected. The monsters were kept out and had dominated a mile and a half down. The large tentacle was cut in half and purified from the energy the barrier had.
Twenty young students and forty’s adult wizards ranging from thirty to eighty years old had died. As for our older generation, two had been wounded during the surprise attack, and then when the barrier broke loose, the glare from a monster had enough of an effect to kill them where they stood. Unfortunately, the young apprentices who had been in hiding were also killed. The magic had not been developed enough to counteract the instant death spell.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Assistance director, it’s me, Baatar; I heard about the director.” Bastos said in a middle-eastern accent, “Please tell me what you need done.”
"Well, thanks, Baatar, but for right now, I erected a new barrier.” Alex said, "We’ll give us twenty-four hours; I have enough mana to cast another one, but in order to cast it, I need twice as long.”
“Mmm, you seem to have gotten stronger; in fact, I would say you had been training in secret.” Baatar said with suspicion, “And now the director has died; how fortunate for you.”
He crossed his arm and used his left to rub his chin. He looked at the large tentacle that lay just in front of the library. Blood had oozed from the open wounds. The bottom section began to move and twitch.
“Well, if you really want to help finish off that tentacle,” Alex said while he fell to the ground. "Ouch, that hurt, but if not, I’ll let someone else handle it.”
“I’ve got this; there is no need to ask any of your men.” Baatar said, “This will be quick.”
Baatar disappeared and was gone in a dust storm. Alex heaved a sigh in relief; he knew that Baatar would be essential to his becoming the next director. In the distance, he saw Baatar use his scimitar. The blade glowed with a deep gold, and his mana poured into the blade, making it even sharper than it was. With his mana poring through his body, his legs had become as light as a feather. His arms had become quicker than cats. The lower half of the monster had burst into a shower of black rain. Chunks of meat exploded everywhere. The rest of the monster shriveled up and dried out. Alex was impressed at how efficient and effective he was. He reminded himself that he needed him more than ever.
“Well, Baatar, it looks like you are still just as fast.” Alex said, “You may have even gotten better.”
“Of course I have.” Baatar said unimpressedly, “I practice hard on the deadliest earth that we live on.”
"Yes, I remember; you once said that your earth is covered in nothing but sand.” Alex said while remembering, “It’s like this one planet in a movie from my world; the planet name is Khrisu. It was described as a desert planet with large worms.”
“Well, now giant worms. We only have small, normal ones.” Baatar said, “So tell me, did the director? And did you have anything to do with it?”
Looking into Baatar's dark chocolate eyes. He saw the trust that had been built there from the beginning. They saw the defeat of a nightmare god spawn fall and topple over itself. The barrier was flicking, exposing other creatures details. Some of the interdimensional creatures saw what had happened; others pushed, forcing the barrier to hum and sizzle.
“I think we might have thirty minutes until it fails.” Baatar said, “If you need to, I can lend you my magic.”
"Bataan, if it comes to that, then all life might be destroyed.” Alex said, “But I’ll keep that in mind.”
Standing and slinging the perimeter of the library. The two men walked and looked at any breaks in the barrier. Two brown barn owls flew low to the ground and popped up when they were ten feet away. They used their massive wings to stop themselves. Both Alex and Baatar held their arms out; the birds used their talons to grip them and perched on the middle of their forearms. Marching cylinders with parchment with their names addressed to them summoned them to different places.
“I’m being summoned back to my world; it would seem that the seals that once kept the Elder Ones at bay are now breaking.” Baatar said grimly, still holding the message, “It would seem that one of them has been set free.”
Baatar looked up at Earth Plural ZZZ Alpha. The barrier around it had been flashing, but then the barrier broke. The earth was suspended in space. The stillness made it seem that it was the only earth floating in an empty space. The nightmarish creatures seemed to back away from the planet. Massive tentacles emerged from the earth, or rather, the inter-dimensional space around the earth. The large tentacle hand grasped the barrier around the school. The sizzling sound of charred flesh was making the beast recoil from its attack. The massive arm grabbed at any barrier and met with the same result.
“This is not good, Alex; we need to cut off all access to the earth.” Baatar said, “We cannot allow Cthulhu to pass the gate. You have to destroy the earth.”
“But the council would never allow it.” Alex said he couldn’t believe what was happening. "If I did that, the earth would eventually collapse and die.”
“But there is no choice.” Baatar tried to reason with him: “This is what it means to hold power; you have to make tough choices.”
“Yes, I know, but not even. The first director did that.” Alex said with regret, “But you are right, the lives of many outweigh the lives of the few.”
He too put his staff on, with his right hand on top and his left hand on the bottom of the staff. He held the wooden weapon forward. The crystal was flickering until it glowed white and intensified. Alex’s eyes turned from their normal color to white. His hair turned white, and the once-young skin was now old and flappy. The mana built up in him and flowed into the crystal. Alex looked up at the sky. The earth that was once suspended in the sky was not there. An empty shell of monsters could be seen around the barrier. The mana and life energy flowed from the crystal back into Alex. His young man's appearance followed him once again.
“That’s impossible; where did the earth go?” Baatar said in disbelief, “We need to see the rest and tell them.”
“Yeah, just let me rest for a moment; I used almost all my mana.” Alex said, “Our mana is what makes us young and almost immortal.”
“Yes, I suppose you are right. Rest, my friend.” Baatar said, “I will summon the rest here then.”
Alex felt like his body was completely drained yet full of energy. The nauseating feeling that he felt when this happened. He felt the symptoms of mana poisoning—the sudden gain of massive amounts of magic. The spent nerve endings that helped carry each molecule of energy were currently overexerted. With more energy going through an already exhausted system, the muscles quickly twitched involuntarily; his nerves felt like they were on fire. His body felt numb; he just wanted to lay in bed for the whole day.
“Felix, I need your help.” Alex shouted.
“I’m right here, master; I got you a wheelchair.” Felix said, “Now don’t you worry.”
"Thanks, Felix; I hate it when magic rebounds into my body like that.” Alex said with a pained expression, “Especially if I lose too much magic; we age rapidly; I don’t think I could last another one.”
“Oh, dear.” Felix said, "Well, just rest. I’ll tell the others that your body needs it.”
Alex fell into unconsciousness; his body lay still. A silver shimmer was present and shining throughout his body. The expression on his face was one of relaxation. Felix stood up and cast a protective barrier around him. He walked out the door and saw the other men and women. They had gathered, and Baatar came walking to Felix.
“Baatar, I’m glad you’re here. Alex went into a comatose state.” Felix explained in a whisper, “He used too much mana and was close to dying.”
“I see, so the situation is more grave than I thought.” Baatar said, “Let him sleep; I’ll take them and let them know how dire the situation is.”
Baatar walked back to the group and led them to a more secure area. They let the events of today hang in the air. Felix walked into a closet, and his appearance began to change and shift. His skin shifted into that of a disfigured person. He’s skin was burned, and half of it was burned away. Muscles and tendons were exposed on his chest, left arm, and right leg. His face was twisted into an unrecognizable face. His mouth was on his right side, and one open eye was close to his right chin. The twisted skin overlapped itself. She held out a small seashell and held it to her disfigured ear.
“Master, I have penetrated their precious library.” She said into the shell, “The director has used quite a significant amount of mana; he is resting.”
“Well, he is still alive.” The voice came from the shell: “Impressive. Leave him be for now. But keep a careful watch on him, Pandora.”
The shell shattered, and the small fragments fell to the floor. She grasped the remaining fragments. Blood flowed from her fist. A small smile creeped across her face.
"Yes, master, I will do as I am told.” She laughed softly and disappeared into the dark.