The Bookstore Mage

Attempting his meditation exercises in the living room was a bad decision. The random noises from the kitchen, the sound of the fridge in the middle of the night, and the noises of the occasional car passing by downstairs had never been so loud.

It was like the more Lucien attempted to concentrate the harder it became. Still, he persisted until his legs turned numb, but that familiar feeling of mana inside his body never came. Frustrated, Lucien grabbed his phone and checked the time, it was already close to midnight. He released a sigh and made his way to shower.

Bringing a towel with him, Lucien decided to draw a bath. After he made sure the water temperature was perfect, Lucien hopped inside with a smile and released a sigh of satisfaction.

"Just what I needed."

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. The warm water made him relax. After a few minutes, Lucien subconsciously began to follow the breathing exercises of the first spell. To his surprise, the familiar flow of mana gathered inside his body, close to his heart. Still, almost as if in a trance, Lucien didn't react and continued with the breathing exercises.

The mana gathered around him faster than the first time, he did not need to recite the incantation but was already able to feel the mana follow a strange pattern close to his heart. Lucien tried to trace it but found it to be too complicated.

After a couple more minutes, Lucien began to recite the chant:

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

"Akal, Timest, Adu, Aman."

By the time he finished, Lucien opened his eyes and was met with a familiar sight. He was once again standing on top of that huge white platform. The mountain range in front, the ocean behind, the sea of flames to his left, and the wind tornadoes to his right.

Lucien's lips slowly curved upwards. He came back! His eyes quickly darted around, trying to study all the details he had missed the first time he came here. Raising his head, the sky that greeted him was one filled with stars. The sight captivated him, and Lucien found himself unable to tear his eyes away from it.

After a few seconds, he forcefully shook his head and glanced at the platform. It was circular, with some strange magical runes carved into it. Lucien kneeled and tried to study the weird language etched into the platform. A single phrase caught his gaze.

"Illighd nochkad, dilit ranaghoul."

Lucien frowned, the phrase didn't seem to be an incantation, but more of a statement. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should know what it meant.

He repeated the phrase a few times, trying to commit it to memory. The language used was the same one he utilized to cast spells with incantations. "I'll have to check and see if I can find any translations when I'm back," Lucien mumbled under his breath before he stood up.

The world around him was more corporeal this time. It felt more real. Lucien carefully moved to the edge of the platform and peeked downwards. A gasp suddenly escaped his lips. The drop was huge, and the ground was nowhere to be seen, instead, a huge dark abyss greeted him.

Lucien did not know why, but the moment he glanced at that darkness below, his heart began to thump loudly in his chest. Shivers ran down his spine and he found himself unable to move. Lucien felt as if a terrifying gaze locked on him, and was studying him.

He was unable to move, his heart was beating wildly in his chest. Lucien did not know what he was looking at, but one thing was for sure, it was not something he was meant to see. He didn't want to stay here anymore, the longer he stared at the abyss, the more Lucien felt like he was losing a part of himself.

As if sensing his intention, the entire world began to collapse, it was then that Lucien caught a glimpse of an incomprehensible humongous figure, lurking in the depths of the abyss. Lucien felt as if lightning struck his brain before the world disappeared completely.

Back in the real world, Lucien awakened with a gasp. He shot out of the water, gasping for air. The cold feeling that filled his heart remained. It took him a few minutes to calm down. Lucien did not even want to think back to what he saw, the mere thought of it made him tremble.

"What the f*ck was that?!" He cursed and forced himself out of the shower.

Lucien then used the towel to dry himself before he made his way to the sink to brush his teeth. His mind was still a mess as he grabbed his toothbrush. His eyes subconsciously glanced back at his reflection in the mirror when he froze.

His reflection was grinning...

Lucien's hand moved to his mouth, his figure mimicking his actions, only to find out that he was indeed grinning. His dark brown eyes seemed to be glowing with a faint red gleam.

"I-Is this... Me?" Lucien mumbled.

The person in the mirror looked like a crazy madman. Hell, it was not a stretch to call him a devil. Lucien never thought he was capable of looking so...so, evil?

The toothbrush slipped from his hand and fell to the sink, pulling him out of his trance. By the time he grabbed it and glanced back at the mirror, his grin was gone and his face now looked normal again.

Shaking his head, Lucien brushed his teeth while trying not to look in the mirror. His heart was filled with anxiety, yet he forced himself to calm down, constantly repeating that there was nothing to be afraid of and that nothing was going to hurt him.

His self-hypnosis seemed to work somewhat, as Lucien quickly left the bathroom and made his way to his room. Moon was sitting on top of the desk by the window, her green eyes looked concerned as she stared at him.

Lucien gave her a forced smile and spoke:

"Good night, Moon. I don't feel very good tonight so no study session today." Saying that Lucien jumped under the blankets and turned off the lights.

He was afraid that his anxiety would prevent him from sleeping, yet surprisingly, the moment he laid his head on the pillow, Lucien quickly found himself sinking into the dreamland.

Moon who was seated on the desk hopped down and made her way to the bed. She jumped on top of Lucien's chest and continued to stare at him.