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The golden portal opened in Levi's office with a soft ripple of displaced air.
Velgrin stepped through, his robes immaculate despite having just leveled a mountain. The portal closed behind him with a whisper.
Levi looked up from his desk, where he'd been reading through some paperwork the System had generated about "patron management protocols." He set down his pen.
"Velgrin. You're early. It's only been a month."
Velgrin immediately dropped to one knee, pressing his fist to his chest in a formal salute. His head bowed low.
"Mr. Levi. I have returned to offer my deepest gratitude."
Levi blinked. "You don't need to kneel. We've been over this."
"I must." Velgrin's voice was thick with emotion.
"What you gave me, what you showed me, has changed everything. I have broken through to the Seventh Circle. I stand now where I have struggled to reach for ten years. This achievement exists only because of your guidance."
He raised his head slightly, eyes shining.
"I am forever in your debt."
Levi sighed and gestured at the chair across from his desk. "Get up. Sit down. Let's talk like normal people."
Velgrin rose gracefully and took the offered seat, though his posture remained formal, respectful.
Levi leaned back in his chair. "Congratulations on the breakthrough. How do you feel?"
"Powerful. Aware. The world has opened to me in ways I never imagined." Velgrin's hands rested on his knees.
"I can perceive ten thousand kilometers in every direction now. Every flame, every spark. It's overwhelming and magnificent."
"That's good. Sounds like the book worked."
"It did more than work, Mr. Levi. It transformed me." Velgrin paused.
"I witnessed the phantom of Surtr himself during my breakthrough. The Fire Giant appeared, hundreds of meters tall, swinging his hammer as if forging reality itself."
Levi's eyebrows rose slightly. Huh. That's new. The book didn't mention anything about giant phantom manifestations. Must be the fucking Library.
Levi picked up his tea and took a sip. "So what brings you back so soon? You've got the whole month to use your time"
Velgrin's expression grew more serious. "I wanted to thank you personally, of course. But I also came to report something I observed during my breakthrough. Something concerning."
"Go on."
"My new perception allows me to sense significant magical events across vast distances." Velgrin leaned forward slightly.
"Three days ago, there was an incident in the market district of Myreth. A battle between paladins of the Church of the Eternal Sun and what appears to be a demonic cultist."
Levi's expression didn't change, but he set down his tea carefully. "Tell me more."
"The battle was catastrophic. The entire market district was leveled. Civilian casualties were significant." Velgrin's voice grew more animated, his academic interest clearly piqued.
"The paladins deployed solar judgment magic, sixth-tier invocations of divine authority. Very impressive work, actually. The lead paladin created a pillar of concentrated solar energy that should have vaporized anything in its path."
"But?"
"But the cultist survived. More than survived. He wielded something I've never encountered before." Velgrin's hands gestured as he spoke, unable to contain his fascination.
"Authority over plague. Divine-level authority. He created yellow gas that ate through the paladins' holy protections like they were paper. He rotted flesh with a touch. He summoned swarms of plague-carrying insects that burrowed through blessed armor."
Levi listened quietly, his face unreadable.
"The most remarkable part," Velgrin continued,
"Was how he regenerated. The solar judgment burned him to charcoal, and he simply grew back. The damage seemed to feed his power somehow, giving him more biomass to work with. By the end of the fight, he was stronger than when he started."
"All ten paladins died?"
"Yes. Complete massacre. The cultist walked away without serious injury." Velgrin shook his head in amazement.
"The Church is in an uproar. They're calling it a demonic avatar, a servant of the plague gods. The Eternal Sun has declared a holy crusade to hunt him down."
"Interesting."
"Isn't it? I've studied countless forms of magic, but this plague authority is something entirely new. The way it integrated divine power with biological manipulation, the sheer versatility of the applications..." Velgrin caught himself.
"Forgive me. I'm rambling. But from a purely academic standpoint, it's fascinating."
Levi was quiet for a moment, his fingers drumming once on the desk.
Then he said, "Oh, that guy. He's the same as you."
Velgrin blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
"He's the same as you."
"Mr. Levi, I don't understand. How am I similar to a paladin of the Church? I'm a fire mage, not a holy warrior, and I certainly don't—"
"No, no. Not the paladins." Levi's voice was calm, matter-of-fact. "The cultist."
Velgrin stared at him.
"The... cultist?"
"Yes."
"The demonic plague wielder who just slaughtered ten holy warriors?"
"That's the one."
Velgrin's mouth opened, then closed. His mind raced, trying to process what he was hearing.
"Mr. Levi, I'm afraid I still don't understand. How am I similar to—"
"He's a patron of the Library."
Silence.
Velgrin's eyes went wide.
"What?!" The word burst out of him, his usual composure shattering completely.
"WHAT?!"
Levi took another sip of tea.
"Yeah. He came in about 4 day ago actually. Nice guy. Very polite. Called me 'Mr. Levi' just like you do. Had some serious trauma he was working through."
"A patron. A patron of the Library of Noctis." Velgrin's voice had gone slightly high-pitched. "That monster who leveled a market district and killed ten holy warriors is a patron?"
"Technically, the paladins attacked him first. He was just shopping for supplies."
"Shopping for—" Velgrin pressed his hands to his face.
"Mr. Levi, that man wielded divine authority over plague. He created an apocalyptic disaster in the middle of a civilian area. The Church is mobilizing armies to hunt him down!"
"Yeah, he mentioned he was going to rebuild a religion or something. Seemed pretty determined about it."
Velgrin stared at Levi in complete shock.
"You... you gave him a book."
"Yes."
"A book that granted him divine authority over plague."
"Well, technically the book just showed him the truth about what he already was. But yes."
"And now he's out there, hunted by the Church, wielding apocalyptic power."
"Seems like it."
Velgrin's hands dropped to his lap. He looked like a man who'd just discovered the ground beneath his feet was actually the edge of a cliff.
"Mr. Levi," he said slowly, carefully. "How many patrons does the Library have?"
"Currently? I can't tell…it's a secret."
"And we're both... we both received books that granted us power to grasp fundamental Laws of reality?"
"That's the general idea, yes."
Velgrin was quiet for a long moment, processing.
Then he asked the question that had been building in his mind since the conversation started.
"Mr. Levi, what exactly is the purpose of this Library? Why are you giving people like us this kind of power?"
Levi set down his tea and met Velgrin's eyes.
"Because you needed it. Both of you came here desperate, broken, searching for something you couldn't find anywhere else. The Library provides what people need. Knowledge. Truth. Power. It doesn't judge whether you'll use it for good or evil. It just offers the chance to grow."
He leaned forward slightly.
"What you do with that growth is up to you."
Velgrin absorbed this, his mind spinning.
He had just learned that he shared patron status with someone the world was calling a demonic cultist. Someone who wielded plague like Velgrin wielded fire. Someone who had been given power by the same source that had elevated him to the Seventh Circle.
"Does he know about me?" Velgrin asked quietly.
"No. You're the first person I've told about other patrons."
"And you're telling me this because...?"
Levi shrugged. "Because you asked about the explosion. And because you're going to hear about him eventually. The Church isn't going to let this go quietly. Better you know the truth now."
Velgrin nodded slowly. His hands clenched and unclenched on his knees.
"Mr. Levi," he said finally. "If this other patron and I were to... encounter each other. What would you want us to do?"
Levi looked at him for a long moment.
Then he said,
"That's up to you. The Library doesn't control your actions outside these walls. But I will say this: he's not a monster. He's a man who was hurt, used, and betrayed by the systems that were supposed to protect him. Just like you were trapped at the Sixth Circle for a decade, unable to advance because you lacked the right knowledge."
He picked up his tea again.
"You're both patrons. You both sought truth. What you do with that truth is your choice. But don't assume you know who he is based on what the Church says about him."
Velgrin sat back in his chair, his mind racing with implications.
Another patron. Someone with divine authority. Someone hunted by the most powerful religious institution in the kingdom.
And Levi had given him power just like he'd given Velgrin power.
"Thank you for telling me, Mr. Levi," Velgrin said quietly.
"This is... a lot to process."
"I know." Levi gestured at the door behind his desk.
"You're welcome to use your remaining time in the Library if you want. Or you can head back and think things over."
Velgrin stood, bowing deeply.
"I think I need time to think. But I will return, Mr. Levi. And I will always be grateful for what you've given me."
"You're welcome, Velgrin."
Velgrin turned toward the door, then paused.
"Mr. Levi, one more question."
"Yes?"
"This other patron. What's his name?"
Levi was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "Reven. His name is Reven Reposo. Avatar of Morvexis The Embodiment of Plague"
Velgrin committed the name to memory.
Then he left, his mind spinning with thoughts of plague and fire, of patrons and power, and of what it meant to share a connection with someone the world called a monster.