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Eldritch Horror? No, I'm A Doctor
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Ren looked around the bookstore in silence, trying to adjust to the surreal situation he had found himself in. The interior was even more impressive up close than it had appeared from the doorway.
The bookstore looked antique but was impeccably maintained, with an air of expensive sophistication that spoke of careful curation over many years. The bookshelves were neatly placed around the store, their arrangement creating intimate reading nooks and pathways that seemed to invite exploration. The main color theme appeared to be black and gold, with rich mahogany wood accented by brass fittings that caught the warm light.
But the strange thing was the overwhelming pressure he felt from the books themselves.
As his eyes moved across the shelves, he realized he couldn't see any titles at all. Every spine seemed to be covered by some sort of black fog that shifted and moved when he tried to focus on it. The effect was disorienting, like trying to read through smoke or shadows that had a will of their own.
This place seemed magical in the truest sense of the word. The atmosphere reminded him of fantasy novels about wizards living in mysterious towers, surrounded by ancient knowledge and arcane secrets that mortal minds weren't meant to comprehend.
"Did you find my place pleasing, doctor?"
Ren startled at the question. How did this guy know that he was a doctor? He had never mentioned his medical background, and there was nothing about his current appearance that would suggest his profession.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, forcing his racing heart to slow to a more manageable rhythm. When he felt reasonably composed, he looked directly at the bookstore owner.
"No, Mr. Levi," he said carefully, testing the name on his tongue.
The man stood beside the nearest shelf, looking remarkably ordinary given the supernatural atmosphere of his establishment. He held a small paperback in one hand and a steaming mug in the other, as if he had simply been enjoying a quiet evening of reading when Ren arrived. His clothes were simple and understated: a plain gray cardigan over a white shirt, dark slacks that were pressed but not flashy, all impeccably neat without being ostentatious.
His black hair fell in soft waves that were slightly disheveled, as if he had recently woken from sleep or had been running his fingers through it while concentrating on a difficult passage. His black eyes were calm and observant, studying Ren with the kind of attention that missed nothing. Now he was smiling at Ren with what appeared to be genuine warmth.
He looked like someone who didn't belong in a place like this, more like a college professor or a librarian from a normal, mundane institution.
And yet, somehow, he looked more real than everything around him. While the bookstore seemed to exist in a state of controlled unreality, Levi Warwick was solidly, undeniably present in a way that made everything else seem slightly out of focus by comparison.
"Well, what are you standing there for? Please follow me to the second floor," Levi said, gesturing toward a staircase that Ren hadn't noticed before.
"Huh? Why the second floor?" Ren asked, his suspicion evident in his voice.
Levi turned his head and smiled at Ren warmly, the expression reaching his eyes and making him look even more like a friendly academic than a mysterious supernatural entity.
"Well, the second floor is the place where I hold important conversations with my patrons. Think of it as some sort of counseling session with your personal therapist."
Ren furrowed his brow, feeling distinctly offended by the implication.
"Are you saying that I'm mentally ill?"
Levi's smile became more amused, though not unkindly so. "Can you say that you're completely sane right now, Doctor?"
The question hit harder than Ren wanted to admit. He bit his lip, knowing his own mental state too well. After everything he had experienced, the cosmic horror he had witnessed, the transformation he had undergone, and the knowledge of what lay beyond death, he was definitely not in a good place psychologically. Although he didn't like to admit it, even to himself.
Levi took a sip from his coffee, watching Ren's internal struggle with patient understanding. "If you know your mental state well, please follow me to the second floor. Or you can leave, Doctor. I won't mind either way."
With that, Levi began walking toward the staircase, his movements unhurried and graceful.
Ren stood still, his mind racing as he tried to evaluate the situation. This man was dangerous, that much was certain. He must be at least in the same rank as Lu Changcheng, or possibly even stronger. The vibe that he gave off could be described in one word: absolute. It was like he was confident that nothing in the world could hurt him, that he existed beyond the reach of conventional threats or consequences.
"Meow."
Ren startled and suddenly turned back toward the sound. There was a black cat behind him, sitting cutely beside one of the bookshelves. On its collar was a small silver nameplate with the word "Luna" engraved in elegant script.
"So he has a cat," Ren murmured, feeling some of his tension ease at the sight of the ordinary pet.
He knelt down and reached out to pet it, the gesture reminding him painfully of his dog Hailey from his old world. The memory brought a brief moment of warmth to his chest before it was overwhelmed by loss and nostalgia.
How offensive, a woman's voice echoed directly in his head.
Ren's hand stopped immediately, frozen inches from the cat's fur. The sense of danger that hit him was beyond anything he had ever experienced before. Even the avatar of the skin god, in all her cosmic horror, had not given him this kind of feeling of imminent, absolute threat.
His survival instincts kicked in and he tried to deploy his tentacles, to access the powers he had gained through his consumption of divine essence. But he realized with growing panic that he couldn't move at all. His body was completely paralyzed, locked in place by a force that made his borrowed godly powers seem like children's toys.
If you draw out your weapon, you will die, the voice continued conversationally, as if discussing the weather.
Cold sweat covered Ren's body as the full implications of his situation sank in. He was completely helpless, trapped by something that could end his existence without effort.
Then he noticed something as he looked into the black cat's eyes. They weren't just dark; they were void-like, as dark as the abyss itself. No, this was like staring at the abyss directly, feeling it stare back with ancient, terrible intelligence.
"Let's stop at that, Luna," Levi's voice called from the staircase.
"Meow." The cat's demeanor changed instantly, becoming playful and innocent as it ran past Ren to the second floor and began to rub against Levi's legs with obvious affection.
Ren almost screamed his thoughts aloud:
What the fuck is that cat? It was like a fucking devil just a moment ago, and now you go and act cute like that?
"Luna, you're a bad cat," Levi said, kneeling down to caress the creature's head. His voice sounded stern, but there was underlying fondness in his tone.
"He's my patron. Don't pull ridiculous pranks like that."
Luna looked appropriately guilty for a moment before disappearing into the nearby wall as if it were made of water rather than solid matter.
"Sorry about that. She's kind of a little bit mischievous, you see," Levi said apologetically, straightening up and brushing cat hair from his slacks.
"Haha, it's okay," Ren replied, trying desperately to hide the trembling in his hands and the terror that was still coursing through his system.
The casual way Levi had controlled whatever Luna truly was, the effortless power he had displayed, and the fact that he treated a being that could have killed Ren without thought as a mildly troublesome pet, all combined to drive home just how far out of his depth he truly was.
This wasn't just a mysterious bookstore owner. This was something else entirely, something that existed on a level of power and knowledge that made even cosmic horrors seem manageable by comparison.
And somehow, Ren had been drawn here for a reason that he was beginning to suspect would change everything he thought he knew about his situation.