The Bookstore Mage

The lonely figure of a young man walking through the dark empty streets could be seen. His steps were hurried as he pulled his coat to cover his neck. The chill of the winter day penetrates deep under his skin.

After a few quick turns, he comes to a stop in front of a small two-story building.

"I still can't believe it," he muttered under his breath before he took a step forward. His hand moved to his pockets as he rummaged for the keys before he made his way forward.

The bells chimed as he stepped inside the old dark bookstore. The nostalgic smell of books engulfed him, bringing him a sense of solace. The young man's hand subconsciously traced the wall to his right where he found the light switch.

A second later, light found its way inside the small bookstore, illuminating the various shelves filled with all sorts of books. Two tall shelves greeted him, one to his right, another to his left, both almost reaching the ceiling.

The ground was littered with all sorts of books, some stacked on top of each other, others simply blocking the way. Trying to be extra careful, the young man walked slowly, his right-hand touching the various books with a sad expression on his face.

At the end of the hallway was the counter, where an old PC rested, next to it was a picture frame facing downwards, along with a stack of papers spread across the desk. His grief-stricken expression deepened as he grabbed the picture.

A young boy with a wide grin on his face greeted him. Shaking his head, a sad smile made its way to his face as he mumbled: "So you did keep it after all."

It has been close to three years since the last time he's been here. Three years since he last saw his grandpa... He knew that his grandad's condition was not the best, but he always managed to convince himself that he would visit soon, that he would take a break and head back to see him.

Work had preoccupied his mind, and he ended up pushing it back every time, finding all sorts of excuses not to come. His grandfather was a stubborn man, he never said anything, not told anyone until it was too late.

Now all he had left was this rundown building. Struggling to keep the tears at bay, the young man's eyes fell on a certain letter resting at the edge of the desk. His grandfather's familiar handwriting prompted him to grab it almost instantly.

'To Lucien, If you are reading this, then I am afraid I'm no longer there. It's a shame since this would mean I was unable to teach you. Forgive this old man, I hesitated for far too long and now I ran out of time. I have left you a present in your favorite section. The choice is yours, love grandpa.'

A frown quickly made its way across Lucien's face. The content of the letter was not what he expected. He stood there motionless for a while, trying to understand what this means.

"Unable to teach? Teach me what?" He muttered to himself before continuing, "My favorite section."

Saying that Lucien turned towards the left shelve, his eyes scanning it with curiosity. His favorite section had always been fantasy. His grandad didn't quite like it but he still kept a small section at the bottom of the left shelf dedicated to him.

Familiar titles greeted him until he came across a strange book, one he had never seen before.

"What's this?"

Almost as if by instinct, Lucien pulled the book. A large complicated magic circle was on its hard brown cover. Its surface was smooth and cold to the touch, giving him a strange feeling. The book was thick, almost twice the size of any he had ever seen.

He struggled to move it towards the desk and put it down with a loud thump. "A new story?" He wondered, yet for some reason, his heart began to throb in excitement.

Almost as if he was possessed, Lucien opened the first page.

"Magic is how the Divine come to our rescue, how the Devils and Monsters reach in and cause harm with their temptations. Be aware, be good, and be very careful what you wish for. There is always a fee."

The bold words stunned Lucien for a second before a chuckle escaped his mouth. "A novel? Still, the writing style is quite weird."

At the bottom of the page was a somewhat familiar name. "Oliver Wood. Is this book written by someone in our family?" Wondered Lucien, "But I don't think I know anyone called Oliver?" Glancing at the ancient book, a wild thought ran through his mind.

"An ancestor?" Shaking his head he turned over the next page.

Countless complicated patterns and symbols, weird runes unlike any he had ever seen before, alongside a few messy notes. Simply looking at everything caused his eyes to spin.

"What the hell is this?" He frowned in confusion.

Turning over another page, symbols more complicated and complex greeted him causing his frown to deepen. Was this joke from his old pops? This didn't seem like any sort of novel he had ever read before. If anything it looked like a creepy old witchcraft book.

Still, Lucien kept turning the pages patiently trying to find something he could understand. After a while, his eyes lit up as he came across what seemed like relatively simple instructions for a spell.

Before he tried, hesitation flashed through his eyes as he glanced at the ancient book. "What am I even doing?" With a self-deprecating laugh, Lucien was about to close the book when he reluctantly paused.

"I mean one try, it can't hurt. Besides no one is here to witness my embarrassment."

With his mind full of determination, Lucien carefully follows the instructions. He quickly dusted the ground, removed his thick coat, and laid it on the ground, he then removed his cap causing his messy medium-length dark hair to cascade down on his face, before he sat down cross-legged.

Closing his eyes, he tried to empty his mind from all stray thoughts, something that surprisingly came easy to him. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. He continued with the set of breathing exercises for a couple of minutes until his mind was as still as a lake. He then recited the incantation:

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

By the time he finished his chant, a strange unfamiliar power engulfed him. Panicking, Lucien hurriedly opened his eyes only to find himself in a foreign plane. He was standing in a large space. In front, he could see countless tall mountains ahead, to his left was a vast sea of flames, and to his right tornadoes danced about in the distance, behind him was a massive sea.

"What-" glancing at his surroundings, Lucien found himself standing on top of a tall white pillar, overlooking everything from above.