Levi guided Reven back through the impossible corridors of the Library, past shelves that whispered and spaces that bent in ways that made geometry weep. The skeletal avatar followed quietly, his clawed feet making soft clicking sounds on the floor.

  They emerged through the golden portal behind Levi's office desk, stepping back into the small room with filing cabinets and paperwork.

  Reven looked around, tilting his head.

  He walked to his desk and opened a drawer. Inside was a black velvet box that materialized as he reached for it.

  Monthly Library Access Permit ready for distribution.

  Levi picked up the box and held it out to Reven.

  "This is for you."

  Reven took it carefully, his clawed hands surprisingly gentle. He opened it.

  Inside was a simple black card with gold lettering that read: PATRON: REVEN REPOSO

  "A library card," Reven said softly.

  "Monthly access permit," Levi corrected. "One visit per month. Use it wisely. If you need more knowledge, more books, more guidance, you can return."

  Reven stared at the card like it was made of starlight.

  "I can come back?"

  "The Library only accepts those ready to listen," Levi said. "You've proven you're ready."

  Reven's skeletal form trembled slightly. Then he dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor in a deep, reverent bow.

  "Thank you, Mr. Levi. Thank you. This gift is beyond measure."

  Oh god, he's doing the full prostration thing again.

  "You're welcome," Levi said, trying to sound calm and dignified instead of deeply uncomfortable.

  "Now get up. We need to deal with your... appearance."

  Reven rose to his feet. "My appearance?"

  "You look like a nightmare someone had after eating bad seafood," Levi said bluntly.

  "If you walk into the city looking like that, people will scream. Or try to kill you. Probably both."

  He reached into his inventory and pulled out a large hooded cloak made of thick, dark fabric. It was enchanted to resize itself to fit the wearer.

  "Here. This should help."

  Reven took the cloak and wrapped it around himself. It expanded to cover his skeletal frame, the hood large enough to shadow his face completely.

  Levi pulled out a simple white mask next. Smooth, featureless, with just small holes for breathing and vision.

  "And this. Keep your face covered."

  Reven accepted the mask with both hands, bowing his head again. "You think of everything, Mr. Levi. Thank you."

  He put on the mask, adjusting it until it sat properly. The cloak and mask combination transformed him from 'skeletal horror' to 'mysterious robed figure who might be hiding leprosy but at least isn't actively terrifying.'

  "Better," Levi said. "Now you just look ominous instead of apocalyptic."

  "I am grateful, Mr. Levi. Truly." Reven bowed one final time.

  "I will return next month. And I will make you proud."

  "Just... try not to start any wars before then, okay?"

  "I make no promises," Reven said, and Levi couldn't tell if he was joking.

  Then Reven turned and walked toward the office door, which led to the bookstore's front entrance.

  Levi watched him go, waiting until the door closed before slumping against his desk.

  "Luna," he said to the empty air. "I think I just made a terrible mistake."

  No response. Luna was probably napping somewhere.

  "Or a great one. I genuinely can't tell anymore."

  .

  .

  .

  Reven stepped out into the streets of the city, the afternoon sun warm on his cloaked shoulders.

  He walked slowly, processing everything that had happened, everything he'd learned, everything he'd become.

  People passed him on the street, giving him curious glances but nothing more. The cloak and mask did their job. He was strange, but not threatening enough to warrant immediate alarm.

  His mind turned over the events in the Library.

  Mr. Levi. The Librarian.

  A being who possessed a Library containing actual gods. Who could open portals to cosmic horror sections. Who sat calmly reading while Reven's body exploded into hundreds of plague monsters.

  Reven's steps slowed as a realization struck him.

  If the Library contained gods like Morvexis, like Nug and Yeb, if it held their knowledge, their power, their very essence within books...

  Then what did that make the Librarian?

  What kind of being could contain gods?

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  What kind of power stood above divine authority?

  Reven stopped walking entirely, standing still in the middle of the street as people flowed around him.

  He's not just a librarian. He can't be. He has gods contained within books. He has authority over knowledge itself. He stands above divine power.

  The being known as the Librarian.

  Father of Morvexis. Keeper of cosmic truth. The entity that sits above gods.

  Reven's hands clenched beneath his cloak.

  This must be recorded. This must be known. The new gospel will speak of him.

  The Librarian. The being of cosmic authority. The father of the Plague God.

  There was something almost feverish in Reven's thoughts, a fanaticism building behind those empty black eyes.

  I will spread his name. I will make sure the world knows of the being who gave me this power. Who showed me truth when everyone else gave me lies.

  He resumed walking, his purpose crystallizing with each step.

  First, he needed supplies. Basic necessities for travel and establishing a base of operations. He would flee to the countryside, far from the reach of the Eternal Sun Church, and begin rebuilding there. Gather followers. Spread the word. Offer healing to those who needed it most.

  And when his power grew strong enough, he would return to the cities.

  The market district was busy with afternoon shoppers. Merchants called out their wares. Children ran between stalls. The smell of fresh bread mixed with leather goods and spices.

  Reven moved through the crowd, mentally cataloging what he would need. Food. Water. Basic camping supplies. Medical supplies, though he supposed he wouldn't need those anymore.

  He was examining a merchant's selection of dried meat when he felt them approaching.

  Ten men in white armor emblazoned with the golden sun symbol of the Eternal Sun Church.

  Paladins.

  They moved through the crowd with purpose, people scattering before them. Their leader, a tall man with a scarred face, pointed directly at Reven.

  "You. In the cloak. Remove your mask."

  Reven turned slowly to face them.

  "I would rather not," he said calmly.

  "That wasn't a request." The paladin's hand moved to his sword hilt.

  "The Eternal Sun Church has authority to inspect any suspicious individuals. Remove your mask. Now."

  Reven tilted his head, studying them.

  Ten paladins. All armed. All radiating that distinctive golden aura of sun magic.

  "I wonder," Reven said quietly, "do you truly believe your sun god holds any authority here?"

  The lead paladin's eyes narrowed. "Heretic speech. Last warning. Remove the mask or we will remove it for you."

  Reven laughed.

  The sound came out distorted through the mask, layered and strange.

  "Your god is a frog in a well. An ant compared to the being who just granted me power. The being known as the Librarian. The entity that stands above gods."

  The paladin drew his sword. "Blasphemy! Seize him!"

  The other nine paladins moved as one, surrounding Reven in a practiced formation. Golden light began to glow from their armor as they channeled sun magic.

  Reven removed his mask slowly.

  The paladins froze, staring at his skeletal face, those black pit eyes, that too-wide grin full of needle teeth.

  "Let me show you," Reven said softly, "the difference between your little sun and true divine authority."

  He raised one clawed hand.

  The Authority of Plague activated.

  Green and yellow light exploded outward from Reven's palm, washing over the paladins like a wave. Where it touched their golden auras, the divine protections shattered like glass.

  The lead paladin screamed and lunged forward, his sword wreathed in solar fire.

  Reven caught the blade with his bare hand.

  The flesh sizzled where the holy fire touched it, but Reven didn't flinch. He squeezed.

  The sword shattered into fragments.

  Then Reven's other hand shot forward, pressing against the paladin's chest plate.

  "Rot."

  The command was simple. Absolute.

  The paladin's armor began to corrode, rust spreading across the metal in seconds. The flesh beneath started to decay, skin going gray and soft.

  The paladin stumbled backward, screaming.

  The other nine attacked simultaneously.

  Swords. Hammers. Holy magic. All of it came at Reven at once.

  He met them with plague.

  The battle was chaotic and bloody.

  Reven moved with inhuman speed, his clawed hands ripping through armor like paper. Where he touched, flesh rotted. Where his plague magic spread, the golden sun auras flickered and died.

  But the paladins were trained warriors. They fought back with everything they had.

  Solar fire scorched Reven's cloak to ash. Holy water burned his skin. Blessed weapons cut deep into his skeletal frame.

  He regenerated almost instantly, flesh growing back in twisted, wrong ways.

  A paladin brought his hammer down on Reven's skull. The bone cracked. Reven grabbed the man's face and released concentrated plague directly into his mouth and nose.

  The paladin collapsed, choking, as his insides liquefied.

  Another paladin tried to retreat, tried to run.

  Reven extended his hand and released a cloud of yellow gas. It spread through the market like smoke, and everyone it touched began to cough, to bleed from their eyes and nose.

  Civilians screamed and ran.

  Buildings caught fire as stray solar magic went wild.

  The market district descended into chaos.

  Two more paladins fell, their bodies consumed by flesh-eating bacteria that worked faster than anything natural. Three more died when Reven created a swarm of plague-carrying insects that burrowed into their armor.

  The lead paladin, still rotting but refusing to fall, raised his hand for one final attack.

  "SOLAR JUDGMENT!"

  A pillar of golden light erupted from above, slamming down onto Reven with the force of concentrated divine power.

  The market exploded.

  Buildings collapsed. Stalls were reduced to splinters. Civilians who hadn't evacuated fast enough were caught in the blast.

  When the light faded, Reven stood in the center of a crater, his body charred and smoking.

  Then he started laughing.

  His flesh regenerated, growing back even faster than before. The damage had actually fed his power, giving him biomass to work with.

  "Is that all?" Reven asked. "Is that the best your frog-god can do?"

  He raised both hands.

  And released the full Authority of Plague.

  The remaining paladins died screaming as their bodies turned against them. Their own cells became the enemy, multiplying out of control, creating tumors and cancers and mutations that tore them apart from the inside.

  When it was over, Reven stood alone among ten corpses and the ruins of the market district.

  Fires burned. Buildings had collapsed. Bodies of civilians lay scattered among the debris.

  Reven looked at the destruction and felt... nothing.

  They had attacked him. He had defended himself.

  This was the world he was going to change.

  He pulled his cloak tighter, grabbed his supplies from the remains of a merchant stall, and walked away.

  .

  .

  .

  Miles away, in his office above the bookstore, Levi sat on his balcony with a cup of coffee.

  His hand playing with a 5 gold coins Reven left for him.

  He was enjoying the afternoon sun when he saw it.

  An explosion in the distance. A pillar of golden light shooting into the sky from the market district. Followed by a bloom of green and yellow that looked disturbingly familiar.

  Levi stared at it for a long moment.

  Then he sighed deeply and took a sip of his coffee.

  "Who the fuck has no common sense and fights in a city?"

  He already knew the answer.

  "Reven, you absolute moron."

  Another explosion. This one larger.

  Levi sighed again and went back inside to make more coffee.

  He was going to need it.