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"Ok, so that's it. Fuck it, I'm just gonna do what I can." Ren said, his voice carrying a resignation that sounded almost peaceful.
"You accept it more easily than I thought." Levi put the teacup in his hand down on the small side table, the porcelain clicking softly against the wood.
"Well, there's nothing I can do, right?" Ren shrugged, a wry smile tugging at his lips.
"So just accept it and move on. There's no need to complain to the system, and even if I complain to the system it can't do anything. I won't do anything useless like tha—"
Clang!!!
The teacup in Levi's hand dropped and shattered, porcelain fragments scattering across the carpet. Tea splashed onto the floor, dark liquid seeping into the fibers.
"Oops, sorry. Golem, clean this up." Levi's voice was carefully neutral.
From the shadows of the library, a ceramic faced golem appeared silently, bowing before beginning to collect the broken pieces with mechanical precision.
"Yes, Ren, you are correct." Levi's tone was perhaps a bit too casual. "Who would do something foolish as to argue with the system? It just gonna make the story more annoying."
For the first time since they had met, Levi looked flustered. His usual composed expression cracked slightly, a hint of color rising to his cheeks. His eyes darted away from Ren's face, focusing intently on the golem cleaning the mess.
Ren stared at him for a long moment, processing what had just happened. Then understanding dawned, and he had to suppress a laugh. Even Levi, the all knowing librarian who seemed to exist beyond normal rules, had his moments.
The silence stretched between them, neither quite sure how to address what had just been implied.
"Anyway," Ren said finally, breaking the awkward tension, "I should head out of here now. My guildmates and guild master must be worried sick."
"Sure, let me show you the way." Levi seemed grateful for the change of subject. He reached into his pocket and took out a black card, swiping it through the air with a practiced motion. Golden light traced the path of his movement, and a portal materialized before them, its edges crackling with contained energy.
They stepped through together, the world twisting around them in a disorienting rush before stabilizing. When Ren's vision cleared, they were standing in front of the bookstore. The familiar facade looked exactly as it had when he'd first entered, though it felt like years had passed since then rather than hours.
"Whoa, your power is really something, Mr. Levi." Ren looked back at the fading portal with genuine appreciation.
"After everything that happened, you're surprised about that?" Levi smirked, his usual composure fully restored.
"Fair point." Ren laughed.
CPR bounced around them excitedly, the chainsaw-headed puppy clearly happy to be moving again after so long in the quiet library. His tail wagged so hard his whole body wiggled.
"Will you be staying here for a long time, Mr. Levi?" Ren asked, glancing up at the bookstore's sign.
"Huh? No, actually you are the last patron in this world." Levi's expression grew softer, almost nostalgic. "So I will leave with this bookstore after you're gone."
"Huh. I'm gonna miss you." The words came out before Ren could stop them, honest and unguarded.
Levi's smile became genuine, warm in a way Ren had rarely seen.
"Ren, each patron that leaves the Library of Levi comes out different, and you as well. You've changed more than most."
He placed a hand on Ren's shoulder, the gesture almost paternal.
"So believe in yourself. You can do it."
"Thanks, Mr. Levi. I needed that." Ren felt something tight in his chest loosen slightly.
"And wait a minute." Levi's expression shifted to something more practical.
"You will open a clinic, right?"
"Yes."
"The location of this bookstore is an ideal place, and the lease is still another six months. Do you want this place?"
Ren blinked in surprise. "System, what's your opinion?" he asked mentally.
99% compatible. This is one of the most ideal locations for a horror themed clinic.
"Fuck, it's horror themed again?" Ren groaned.
What do you expect?
"Fair point." Ren sighed, then looked at Levi. "Yeah, I'll take it. How much—"
"Well, wait a minute. Let me call a guy. It will only take a minute." Levi pulled out his phone, speaking briefly in a language Ren didn't recognize.
Five minutes later, a black limousine pulled up to the curb. Ten men in dark sunglasses that looked straight out of a mafia movie stepped out. They bowed deeply to Levi in perfect synchronization, then immediately set about handling paperwork with efficient precision. The whole process took only ten minutes, documents appearing and being signed with mechanical efficiency.
"Take this with you." Levi handed Ren a lease agreement, already processed and official.
"From now on, if anything happens, call the Bellavine Family." The man who looked like the boss, a tall figure with a scar across his jaw, handed Ren his business card. The card was heavy, expensive, with embossed lettering that caught the light.
Levi then chimed in, "You can trust him, Ren. He's one of my patrons."
"Sure, thank you." Ren pocketed the card carefully.
The men bowed again and departed as quickly as they'd arrived, the limousine disappearing around the corner like it had never been there.
"Well then, Mr. Levi." Ren turned to face the librarian, preparing to say goodbye. "See you someday."
He turned and began to walk down the street, CPR trotting along beside him in puppy form.
"Where are you going, Ren?" Levi tilted his head, confusion evident in his voice.
"Huh? I'm gonna go back to the guild." Ren looked back over his shoulder.
Levi scratched his head, an expression of amused disbelief crossing his face. "Ren, where do you think you are right now?"
"In some part of Qintara, right? I walked for like six hours, so it can't have been very far."
"No, Ren. You're quite far from Dao Guild." Levi's tone was gentle, like someone breaking bad news carefully.
"How far am I?" A sinking feeling began in Ren's stomach.
"You are now in the Arazeth Empire. It's the neighboring country."
"What?" Ren's voice went up an octave. "Am I that far away?"
"Yes, you got pulled in by a Library, so the space is kinda twisted. Distance doesn't work normally here." Levi pulled something else from his pocket.
"Let me give you this."
He handed Ren a black card identical to the one he'd used to create the portal. The surface was smooth and cold, with symbols etched into it that seemed to shift when viewed directly.
Item: Dimension Key
Description: Use it to swipe the air and the portal will open to where you want.
Uses: 2 times
"So I can use this to return to the guild?" Ren examined the card carefully.
"Yes, and you can use it another time to return here. Two uses total." Levi confirmed.
"Okay, thank you." Ren tucked the card safely into his inner coat pocket.
They stood there for a moment, the silence stretching between them. Not awkward this time, but weighted with the knowledge that this was goodbye, at least for now.
"You know," Levi said finally, his voice quieter than usual,
"I've guided a lot of people through my library over the years. Shown them truths they weren't ready to see, given them power they didn't know how to use. Most of them broke under the weight of it."
He met Ren's eyes directly.
"But you didn't break. You bent, you questioned, you even got angry. But you didn't break. That's rare."
"I almost did," Ren admitted. "A few times."
"Almost doesn't count." Levi smiled, and for once it reached his eyes completely.
"You're going to do good things, Ren. Terrifying things, probably. But good."
"I'll try." Ren found himself smiling back.
"Don't try. Do." Levi's expression became serious again.
"The world you're returning to is dangerous. There are people who will fear what you've become, and fear makes people do stupid things. Be careful."
"I will."
"And Ren?" Levi's voice softened. "When it gets hard, when you start questioning whether you made the right choice, remember this: you chose to be a healer. Everything else is just the method. Don't lose sight of that."
Ren felt his throat tighten. "Thanks, big bro."
The words slipped out before he could stop them, addressing Levi with a familiarity that surprised them both. But it felt right. Over their time together, Levi had been mentor, guide, and something like family.
Levi's eyes widened slightly, then his expression softened into something almost vulnerable. "Big bro, huh?" He laughed, but there was emotion behind it. "I like that."
He pulled Ren into a brief hug, the kind of quick, slightly awkward embrace that men gave when they cared but didn't quite know how to show it.
"Take care of yourself. "
"I will." Ren returned the hug, surprised by how much the gesture meant to him.
When they separated, Levi reached out and ruffled Ren's hair like he was a kid, completely destroying whatever dignity the Doctor of the Ruin Gospel was supposed to have.
"Now get out of here before I get sentimental."
"Too late," Ren said with a grin, fixing his hair.
"Shut up and go save some lives." Levi's voice was gruff, but his smile remained.
Ren pulled out the Dimension Key, holding it up. "Any advice for using this?"
"Just swipe it through the air and think clearly about where you want to go. The portal does the rest. Try not to think about multiple places at once, or you might end up somewhere interesting."
"Noted." Ren took a deep breath, then looked at Levi one more time. "Thank you. For everything."
"You earned it." Levi stepped back, giving him space.
"Now go. Your guild is probably forming search parties by now."
"See you around, big bro," Ren called out.
"Count on it, little brother." Levi's smile was wide and genuine.
Ren nodded, committing the image to memory. Then he thought about Lu Changcheng. His sworn brother. The guild master who'd pulled him into this world of hunters and cosmic horrors. Yeah, he should check in with him first.
He swiped the Dimension Key through the air, focusing on Lu Changcheng's location, wherever he was right now.
Golden light traced the path of the card, expanding into a portal. CPR bounced through first, eager as always.
Ren stepped through.
The world twisted around him, reality bending and folding. For a brief moment he was nowhere, suspended between locations. Then his feet hit the tile and the portal snapped shut behind him.
Somewhere in another country, a bookstore was closing its doors for the last time, taking with it the Library of Levi and its enigmatic keeper. But the lessons learned there, the truths discovered, those would stay with Ren forever.
.
.
.
The first thing Ren noticed was the smell. Unmistakably a bathroom.
The second thing he noticed was Lu Changcheng sitting on the toilet, pants around his ankles, frozen in the middle of very private business. His brother's eyes were wide with shock, his mouth hanging open.
They stared at each other.
The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity.
CPR tilted his chainsaw head curiously, the vrzzzing sound incredibly loud in the bathroom's acoustics.
"Ehh... Hello, Brother," Ren said awkwardly, his hand still holding the Dimension Key.