The Bookstore Mage

As he made his way across the dream world, Lucien was unable to stop the wide smile from forming across his face. The feeling of flying was thrilling, and unlike anything, he had ever experienced before.

The dark sea below him swayed gently, and the countless stars in the sky above cast a soft glow on the dreamland. Still, Lucien was able to feel everything as if he was not dreaming but instead was really here.

In a sense, he was, or at least some part of him was. The dreamland was as much of a real plane as the real world. The book heavily emphasized that, and so Lucien kept his guard up.

Although he enjoyed the new sensation, he still did not forget what brought him here.

After he got used to his new wings, Lucien paused mid-air and closed his eyes in an attempt to sense the mana in his surroundings.

To his surprise, It was as easy as breathing. The entire dream world was full of mana, from the starry skies above to the dark sea below. Lucien hung around floating in the air for a few seconds with his eyes closed.

The amount of mana he was feeling in his surroundings was absurd, but it made him feel good as if he was soaked in warm pleasant water. At first, he didn't notice, but the longer the attention he put into the mana the stronger the feeling grew.

Lucien's body subconsciously began to float down, the water below became as still as solid land. The second his feet touched the sea surface, a ripple extended outwards all across the dream realm.

A thunderclap resounded in Lucien's ears as he felt hundreds, thousands, millions of tiny streams of light connected to him through the water. He opened his eyes, and a dark red glow was visible inside of them.

Lucien, however, was still very much aware and in control of his body.

"This..." He mumbled to himself.

The sea was suddenly illuminated with countless dots of light. Each dot represented a dream— a life, and each dot was connected to him.

The feeling that washed over him was impossible to describe and for a moment, Lucien almost lost himself in it.

When that was about to happen, the red glow in his eyes intensified and he managed to retain his clarity.

"So these are dreams...?"

Lucien raised his hand and reached out to one of the many many specks of light. His body shivered as he did, but he soon after left the dot.

It was not the dream he was looking for. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. This time Lucien reached out to the mana in his surroundings, it connected both him and the countless dreams.

If there was a way to find what he wanted, it would be with its help.

He placed his right hand on his head covering his eyes and kneeled to touch the water with his left hand before he muttered an incantation:

"Af—ed"

The world turned still for a fracture of a second before the sea roared. The water rose into the air like a pillar, yet Lucien remained unmoving in his place with his right hand covering his eyes.

It appeared as if a barrier of sorts was protecting him from the raging waters that seemed to part when they reached him. Still, he knew better than anyone that he had to make haste, the spell was hard to maintain and his head already felt like it was going to split from the massive headache he had.

For a split second, Lucien felt connected to the countless dreams, connected to the dreamland itself. The feeling was only fleeting but it lasted enough to leave an impression and to find what he was looking for.

A certain bead of light, no different than the millions that illuminated the sea.

"Got you!"

With a grin, Lucien prepared himself mentally and released the barrier protecting him. The sea instantly rushed towards him and dragged him down.

The feeling of the frosty water was a sharp contrast to the warm sensation he had a few seconds ago. Nonetheless, Lucien tried to keep his wits as he used the mana to connect him with the bead of light.

He felt his body get dragged through the water at a speed that should have been impossible before he approached the light and— everything went dark.

****

A groan escaped from Lucien's lips. He groggily opened his eyes, the feeling of hard cold stone beneath him was unpleasant, to say the least.

It took him a couple of seconds to regain his bearings as he waited for his massive headache to subside.

Glancing at his surroundings, Lucien found himself laying on the street. Cars moved about, and people hustled to their destination. No one paid him any heed.

"Is this... a dream?" It was too real.

"No..." A frown quickly made its way to his face. The people at first glance looked normal, but the longer he stared at them the more twisted and deformed their faces would get.

Lucien nervously gulped as he quickly stood up. No one seemed to mind his presence. He was akin to an outsider— no, a visitor.

He slowly began to walk, something was beckoning to him, the sacrifice he was here for in the first place.

Lucien followed the crowd, he kept walking and walking, yet the surroundings never really changed. He was always in the same street, always facing the same direction.

The cars that passed by seemed to be the same as well. His frown deepened. He could feel the presence of the sacrifice in this dream, but where was it? Why couldn't he find it?

Just as he was thinking about that all of the people walking came to an abrupt halt. Lucien froze as all of their gazes turned in a certain direction across the street.

He nervously gulped down and followed their 'gazes'.

A couple was arguing. The mother held the hands of a girl that looked to be ten, or eleven years old. In her hands was a small golden dog.

The child ignored her parents' increasingly loud voices and instead was content in playing with the puppy in her hands.

The father and mother's faces were more defined, at least more so than the dozen of bystanders next to him.

Lucien nervously watched on as the mother let go of her daughter's hand. Her tone accusatory as she pointed at the dad. The daughter through it all did not seem to care, she kneeled and placed the puppy on the ground with a smile.

The small dog happily licked her hand and twirled around her before it jumped unto the street— the child froze, it all happened too fast.

A car passed by and the puppy was no more. The parents continued to argue oblivious to what had happened.

The daughter, however, stared at what happened with a blank gaze. Lucien watched as the car disappeared the street disappeared, and the bystanders disappeared, leaving behind the arguing parents, the daughter, and the collapsed form of a golden puppy.

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