Raziel Morris rose from where he was seated beside the window, his eyes brightening in the fading light of the setting sun. As the sky slowly changed its color to a soft orange and purple hue, memories of his school days flashed across his mind. He gazed out the window, lost in thoughts until he heard the distant sound of a bell ringing, indicating the end of class.
He stood up on his seat before started to take all his notebooks and textbooks and put it in his bag, after that, he left in their classroom and put his headset on his ears, without saying goodbye to their professor.
His life has always been like this since his parents died. He goes to school at seven in the morning, reads at the library after school, and then goes back to his dormitory to study. His daily lives always revolve around those things.
As long as he is a top student, no professor would dare say anything to him. That's all that matters.
He sighed, wondering what to cook today. He lifted his gaze towards the sky, which was painted in a beautiful shade of orange. The sound of his favorite classical piece, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy, filled his ears. As he closed his eyes and let the music wash over him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of peace and tranquility. The world around him seemed to fade away, leaving him alone with the music and the spectacular sky above.
As he listened to the music, he couldn't help but to wonder what his life would be like had his parents not died. His childhood wasn't as enjoyable as the others out there, he was always inside the house practicing a piano or violin, or painting and sketching rather than playing hopscotch or hula blockers like the other children. In other words, his childhood was like a jail for him.
Ever since his parents died, he never got a chance to act as child nor experience throwing tantrums just like other children. At a very young age, and perhaps due to the world and environment he lives in, he grew up being pessimistic towards the world. At least, that's how people thought about him.
as he grew older, he started to realize that the world was in a terrible state. Humans are selfish and greedy, and they're willing to do anything to get what they want.
And that was the truth.
"What a laugh." He whispered to himself, His face remained inscrutable and indiscernible as he carried on walking, unyielding in his demeanor. However, his attention was quickly captured by something unexpected- a blue glowing butterfly that caused him to halt abruptly. Intrigued, he decided to follow the butterfly, feeling a faint sense of attraction towards it. Despite the butterfly leading him into a dark alley, Raziel still pursued it. There was an inexplicable intuition, a whisper from within that urged him not to stop. So he continued to track the butterfly, eager to follow wherever it may lead him.
Raziel strolled down a dimly lit alley, the world shrouded in darkness except for a few flickering streetlights. As he walked deeper into the alley, he suddenly stumbled upon a peculiar library. It stood before him, a duality of two stories comprising Renaissance-style architecture and colonial windows. The minimalistic decorations only added to its enigmatic air. The focal point of the building was a wooden door which held a wooden plate inscribed with letters that Raziel could read with ease. Raziel felt his curiosity spike and his feet propelling him forward, desperate to enter and discover the secrets that lay beyond the grand wooden door.
He crossed the threshold of the library and found himself amidst a vast collection of books, shelves reaching up high on both sides, with a striking red carpet running down the center aisle. As he sauntered to the end of the corridor, his breath caught in his throat as he took in the sheer number of bookshelves stretching out before him, overwhelming him with their sheer volume of knowledge. The ceiling was adorned with masterpieces of Renaissance art, depicting timeless tales like 'The Birth of Venus,' 'The Rape of Europa,' and 'Bacchus and Ariadne.' Their vivid colors and intricate details seemed to come to life and transport him to a world beyond his imagination.
Upon entering the building, Raziel was greeted with an imposing sight - at least seven floors of shelves brimming with books. He made his way up to the second floor via a split staircase, where he encountered a red sofa that took up the central area of the railing space. To either side of the sofa were two couches, all crafted from Renaissance-style pieces and nestled in the middle of the furniture was a rectangular table.
As Raziel perused the library shelves, replica paintings adorned the walls, drawing his attention and admiration.
The paintings on the wall included vibrant stars and sunflowers, their colors oozing off the walls, lending an air of surrealism to his surroundings. Raziel's face glowed with joy as he pulled out books to read, the smile on his face betraying his pleasure and satisfaction.
"Did our books take your liking?"
When he heard a soft voice coming from behind him, he turned around to see a handsome man sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. He had silver curly hair, sky blue eyes, and cross earrings while wearing a black double-breasted coat and top hat. The man smiled at him before standing up and walking over to him.
"Welcome, my name is Silver, can I help you find something?"
Raziel wandered around the library, examining all the books. He smiled and enjoyed the view, pondering what he might want.
"I wonder.. everything here is too good." he replied softly.
He surveyed the surroundings again, feeling a sense of detachment as though he were standing on a different plane of existence and watching the inhabitants below then squinted his eyes. "It is as if this place is solely made just for me. " He blurted out of nowhere, and it took his breath away.
"I mean...I..." The corner of the man's lips curled into a smirk which made Raziel frown, then he said something, and although it was so soft, there was a hint of malice on those words as though he was waiting for it to happen.
"My, well you can have it then, though it costs quite a lot."
"P-pardon?"
"I'm giving it to you."
"Uh, I'm not sure I follow.."
Another grin formed on the librarian's lips, "Allow me to demonstrate then.."
Raziel gasped in surprise as he watched a swirling tornado of books take flight around him, carried up on waves of whooshing wind. Startled, he glanced around and saw blue butterflies drift slowly towards him, floating above as they engulfed his form.
The handsome young man approached at a leisurely pace, his hand outstretched and his eyes closed as he placed his palm gently against Raziel's forehead. Minutes rolled by with nothing but quiet, and then a metamorphosis was in the works.
The blue butterflies flew upwards once more, morphing into a single, crimson red butterfly whose wings shone brightly as it fluttered around the library. It zeroed in on Raziel before landing on his forehead, emanating a bright red light that bathed his body in its glow.
The crescent moon that could be seen through the skylight window split into two, both glowing bright red, as the books came crashing down. Slowly, Raziel's eyes closed before even knowing what was happening. the man named Silver had departed already, but he left a simple message that etched on Raziel and disappeared like a bubble with no hint of his destination.
"Whatever your desire.. will be yours."
...
'when will the new master wake up, Cale?'
'hush, just let him sleep.'
Raziel's eyes opened when he heard two voices talking in front of him. When he looked at them, he saw a young man with blonde hair and green eyes that shone brightly, like two sapphires dipped in milky pools. He had long black eyelashes and eyelids, with a prominent cheekbones, pointed nose, and narrow eyebrows.
As he stood there, musing, a woman caught his attention. Her hair was like spun silver, reminiscent of freshly fallen snow, framing an angelic face that spoke of timeless beauty. The crowning jewel was her ocean-blue eyes, arresting in their intensity as they regarded Raziel with a serene stillness. She was standing straight in front of him.
At the same time, the young man named Cale was taken aback when he saw Raziel wake up, and all of sudden, he closed his eyes and bowed gracefully to him.
"You're awake, My lord."
'wait, what?'
Raziel fell into confusion when he saw the people bowing to him. He didn't want to bow back, so he looked around to see where he was. He was still inside the library, so he stood up and started to run towards the door. When he opened it, he gasped when he saw different carriages, as well as buildings and houses made in neo-gothic and medieval style. Some of the people were wearing Victorian-era clothing, like a double-breasted coat, vest, and top hat. There were also women wearing corsets and skirts, and some were holding fans.
When he looked up in the night sky, he saw two red moons. The smaller one was slightly bigger than the larger one. Seeing this scene, he calmed himself down before going back inside. There, he saw Cale and the mysterious woman standing.
"Your name?" he asked them casually, they looked at each other, but soon Cale was the one who spoke.
"My name is Cale Garrison, the in-charge of the library, and this is Hera Michaelis, a servant. We are here to serve you, my lord."
'wait, huh?!' he thought before letting out a huge sigh.
".. tell me what is going on."
"The Miracle Library is a place where we can fulfill someone's desires as a substitute for something that is important to them. By following the blue butterfly all the way here, the connection between you and the library was triggered. Only those people who possess strong desires or ideals will see the true appearance of the library, while the common people won't. Because you have such a strong desire to own this place, it was given to you by the former librarian. As for the substitute, that is...
Raziel stared at his palm and said, "...my freedom."
"precisely. you will be chained in this Library forever, but it's still possible for you to escape if you collect one million wishes from the people and their soul. However, I'm afraid it's rare for someone to be worth one million wishes, so you may not find such a person in this world.
Hearing his explanation, Raziel just smiled bitterly and shook his head, "So is it impossible to go back?"
Cale remained silent, not knowing what he could say that would make a difference. When Raziel saw that there was no response from him, he decided to change the topic.
"tell me more about this world."
"This world is known as Iyetria, you are in the kingdom of mylrendell right now where people were allowed to use sorcery and swords. It's similar to 19th century England as this country was ruled by Queen Victoria."
a huge silence enveloped the whole library, as Cale and Hera were waiting for him to speak, yet Raziel simply glanced at his palm for a minute, until, the bell coming from the door rang, as Cale stood up behind Raziel while Hera went somewhere to take some tea.
"a customer came, my lord."
"But.."
Raziel's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard Cale's words, he's just a new librarian here, an inexperienced one, he doesn't know what to say nor how their jobs work, and now, of all times, a customer came?
Plus, there's still a lot of things he wanted to ask. But he can't just leave it to Cale and do nothing, as it would tarnished his reputation as the new librarian of miracle Library, so he simply give him a sign to guide him, Cale immediately followed his command before went towards the door.
meanwhile, Raziel just looked at his clothes, he's still wearing a uniform but he didn't mind it as he just crossed his legs, like a businessman ready to confront its customer.
"Well.. I guess I have no choice." He muttered under his breath.
Soon, an average looking man in his mid 30s come, he's holding a cane and a card of 9 of hearts with red patterns on the back while wearing a top hat, a black double breasted coat as well as trousers. Looking at his skinny body in addition to his dark circles and judging by his facial features, he deduces that this man hasn't been sleeping for a day.
Cale guided the middle aged man to sit on the couch, before he walked behind Raziel, as soon as he saw a young gentleman in front of him, he couldn't help but to frown.
meanwhile, Hera, who just got back from the kitchen to prepare some tea for the customer, appeared. when Raziel noticed this he gave her a sign to stop. "Prepare a jasmine tea, instead."
she was taken aback when she heard his order, but later then, she just bowed and said formally to him, "yes, My lord."
Hera went back to the kitchen, holding a tray, until, the middle aged man suddenly spoke.
"You are not.. silver."
when he heard the name of the former librarian, Raziel glanced at Cale, hoping to get an answer from him, seeing this, Cale then whispered to Raziel.
"Mr. William hunchman was once our customer, the card he was holding, which was the 9th of hearts was proof that he had been here once." He glanced at the cards he was holding, with a red color on its back and various patterns on it.
'maybe I should ask him later..' he thought once again.
"greetings. I'm the new librarian of this place, my name is.." he thinks up a little then after that, he added with a simple smile.
"Azrail. my name is azrail." he decided to hide his real name for safety precautions. not because he doesn't trust him. he is still new to this world after all, and furthermore.. from the looks of it, the identity of the owner of the library must remain mysterious.
"Mr. Hunchman, Is there something you wish for..?" Raziel asked him in a polite manner. At first, he still have a suspicion on him, but it have gone for a few seconds, as his face went gloomy and clench his fist and took out some photograph from his pocket and throw it on the table. it was a picture of a gentleman with a grin on his face, looking respectable. given to his outfit, he must have a higher class than Mr. hunchman.
"I.. I wish this guy would be dead!"
...