At that moment, Lynch felt as though he were standing in the middle of an infinite universe, surrounded by billions of twinkling starlights.
Hidden within the starlight were countless gazes—cold and detached, devoid of sorrow, joy, or anger, carrying not a trace of emotion as they simply observed Lynch.
As he gazed into the infinite radiance, scene after scene of visions flashed before Lynch's eyes.
He seemed to see the world's very first spark of light, the birth and destruction of planets, and the rise and demise of life itself.
That was the truth of the world, the law of all creation—so complex, yet so profound and mysterious.
It was intoxicatingly alluring. Lynch couldn't help wanting to step closer, like a moth drawn to a flame, desperate to catch a glimpse of that momentary truth even if it meant being burnt to ash.
Through the endless visions, Lynch caught a haze of something dimly visible...
【Look down.】
The gentle female voice shattered his trance. Without a moment's hesitation, Lynch lowered his gaze immediately. As a result, he saw nothing directly, though in his peripheral vision, an indescribable radiance continued to flash erratically.
Only then did he realize what he had just done. A cold sweat broke out as the lingering fear set in—he had almost looked directly at an evil god on his own initiative.
‘Thanks, neighbor. That's one absurdly dangerous evil god.’
【It is actually not dangerous to ordinary people. It possesses neither goodwill nor malice, and ordinary people cannot perceive its existence anyway.】
Watching the colorful light pulsing at the edge of his vision, Lynch's lips twitched. He knew his high inspiration had struck again, nearly punching his one-way ticket to the afterlife and forcing Lady Luna to step in and warn him.
【Yes. Your will is not yet capable of bearing its presence, Lynch.】
In the next instant, Lynch realized the flickering light in his peripheral vision had abruptly ceased. The surrounding scenery shifted, and he found himself back in the real world, his feet planted firmly on solid ground once more.
Everything from a moment ago felt like nothing more than a dream.
He was now standing in a long corridor, his back turned to the stone door he had touched upon entering.
The stone corridor was tall and magnificent, carpeted with a thick wool runner. On either side were grand stone halls filled with towering bookshelves that stretched from floor to ceiling, stacked with books of various sizes that gave off a faint, pleasant scent of paper.
It really was a library.
“Welcome, Mr. Lynch Levive.”
An elderly man with white hair and a white beard, wearing a gown somewhat reminiscent of an academic robe from Lynch's past life, walked up the hall to greet him. He wore a sagacious smile and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
“You know me?” Lynch subconsciously lowered his voice as well. “And... what was that just now?”
The old man pointed to the newspaper tucked under Lynch's arm, where Lynch's black-and-white photograph looked slightly foolish. “My apologies. What you experienced just now was the screening that every first-time visitor undergoes. I hope it didn't leave you with a bad impression.”
Of course not, aside from nearly killing me.
Lynch offered an awkwardly polite smile and nodded. “And you people are...?”
“We are a collective of collectors and disseminators of knowledge, worshippers of the Lord of a Billion Radiance.”
“Hmm? Who is that?” Lynch searched his memory of the twelve major gods, but that name wasn't among them.
“A certain Great Old One. As for his true name... do you genuinely wish to know?”
Only if I have a death wish.
Lynch still recalled how, back when he dealt with Elder Bru of the sewer ghouls, Lady Luna had warned him that names from ancient memories were themselves manifestations of mysterious filth. Simply hearing one meant establishing a preliminary connection, vastly increasing the likelihood of future interactions.
He immediately shook his head firmly and changed the subject. “This is my first time meeting an evil... er, someone as candid as you.”
“Heh, not all Great Old Ones bear malice toward this world. Is that not also true of the lady behind you?”
“Huh? Behind me?”
Lynch blinked in surprise. Was he referring to Lady Luna? No, that couldn't be right—she wasn't an evil god.
“What, is the lady who left a blessing upon your soul not one as well?”
“Oh, her.” Lynch breathed a sigh of relief, having thought for a second that just anyone could sense his neighbor. It turned out the old man meant Bastet, the cat god.
“Indeed. People like us simply hold beliefs that clash with mainstream society. Though our long exposure to Great Old Ones has made our minds somewhat paranoid and abnormal, we are not completely insane, unlike those utterly unhinged cultists. The ancient deity we serve has little interest in destroying the world, slaughtering humanity, or accepting soul sacrifices. As a result, we get along fairly well with most Soul Severers—excluding the Churches of the Major Gods, of course.”
“I see. So this Lord of a Billion Radiance governs knowledge? Do you acquire knowledge by worshipping him?”
“You could say he governs endless knowledge, and he is indeed generous enough to bestow knowledge upon those who please him. However, we never seek knowledge by trying to please him.”
“Huh? Why is that?”
“Because the knowledge he bestows is random. The truth of the world is comprised of countless pieces of knowledge, yet the human mind can only comprehend a tiny fraction of them. Those twisted, bizarre pieces of knowledge—things that can drive a person mad with a single thought—will completely devour the listener's sanity and burn them to ash beneath the radiance of truth. No one is willing to gamble on such slim odds.”
The old man sighed and continued:
“Therefore, we serve him solely because he holds the authority over knowledge, not because he grants it to us directly. We typically gather books and documents containing knowledge from all over the world and store them here for people to read, while also allowing outsiders to consign certain mystery documents.”
“Can anyone read them?” Lynch remembered seeing several people entering and leaving earlier, most of whom appeared to be ordinary people from various walks of life.
“Of course not. Acquiring knowledge is no easy task, and not just anyone is qualified. Only those who earn our approval are permitted to enter and read, and purchasing items requires qualification as well.”
Indeed, knowledge was priceless. Lynch's expression grew solemn.
He was tempted.
Living in this world with so much left unknown, having a place to look up information was more vital than anything else. Though he could pull a few strings with the Church of the Black Night or Duke Vane to borrow a few books, accessing mystery documents that way was extremely difficult, and nowhere near as comprehensive as a dedicated library.
“How can I obtain your approval?”
“That depends on how pious your reverence for knowledge is.” The old man dropped his smile, his expression turning solemn. “To gain something, one must pay an equivalent price, and knowledge demands no less. To earn qualification, you must be prepared to pay a heavy cost. Are you... prepared?”
Lynch swallowed nervously, asking with a pounding heart, “What kind of cost are we talking about? Please be direct—I can handle it.”
The old man maintained a stern face as he looked Lynch up and down, then nodded. “The cost for materials varies by item. Ordinary literature costs two shillings per viewing. For mystery documents: fear grade is one pound per view, destruction grade is two pounds, disaster grade is twenty pounds, and higher grades are not open to the public. No materials may be taken out of the library, under penalty of severe consequences. After borrowing, mystery documents may only be read inside a rented reading room, also under penalty of severe consequences. The reading room rental fee is one pound per ten minutes.”
???
What on earth?
It's literally just a fee?!
Lynch's brain briefly short-circuited. It took him several seconds to process what he'd just heard, after which sheer outrage flared up within him.
Paying to read was one thing—he could treat them like some paywalled novel site—but charging such astronomical prices? Are you bloody robbing people?! This is outright extortion! Why don't you go exchange bank-robbing tips with that fraudster from earlier?!
“Knowledge is precious. How could acquiring knowledge come without paying a heavy price? Is that not so, Mr. Levive?” The old man stroked his beard and smiled. All traces of his earlier wisdom were gone, leaving Lynch with the impression that the old man was practically baring fangs. “How else do you think we managed to buy such a large plot of land in the heart of the bustling city center? It's all thanks to the generous support of patrons like you.”
Holy crap, not a single cultist is a decent human being.
Just you wait. I'm going straight to the Watchers right now to have them wipe out you evil, lunatic cultists.
The muscles in Lynch's face twitched. He felt as if the Lande pounds he had just stuffed into his pockets were holding hands in a circle, bowing to him in silent mourning.
Rate on N.U.
