Silence...
"It looks... impressive?" Richard finally said when the silence had dragged on too long.
Baxter snorted,
"It is not just impressive, Richard."
He turned around and spread his arms,
"This place is the heartgroove of arcane knowledge and information. The Elysium land of all sorcerers."
Richard scratched his chin,
"Don't get me wrong. I know all that. But..."
He looked up.
The monolith was definitely impressive. But it was not what he was expecting when he thought of a library that housed all arcane knowledge.
"This isn't what I expected at all." He said after some time.
Baxter Rigborne stroked his beards,
"Well, I can't say I don't understand what you are saying."
"By the way, what exactly are those?" Richard asked, pointing at the two strange buildings on both sides of the library.
Baxter paused for a moment.
Then he turned to the black castle. Now that he was closer, Richard noticed a few more details.
The ghostly green flames he had noticed came from the torches on the walls of the building. And staring at the black stone made his face pale.
It felt like it was sucking him in, which was terrifying, considering he was in a soul form.
"That is a prison. Since normal prisons on earth can't hold practitioners of magic, the circle decided to create prisons on several sub-planes. Most can be accessed physically. Those ones usually contain criminals that are usually on the low to mid end of dangerous."
Richard frowned, "Then..."
Baxter nodded with a chuckle,
"Those in there are the worst of the worst. Some of them can't even be considered humans anymore. Their bodies are imprisoned elsewhere, but their souls will remain here forever, or until their bodies die."
Richard shivered, "Terrifying."
Baxter chuckled,
"That is why, whatever you do, try your best not to get on the circles bad side."
Richard sighed, "I will keep that in mind."
Baxter chuckled. Then his expression changed,
"As for that place, it's best you don't know for now."
Richard raised a brow. That was certainly suspicious.
But, he reasonably didn't ask any further.
If Baxter had said he was better off not knowing, then that was indeed the case.
In the world of magic, knowledge was a double edged sword.
Knowing some things was more dangerous than trying to stop a bullet with your forehead.
Seeing Richard nodded solemnly, Baxter chuckled,
"Now then, how about we enter?"
***
They walked towards the doors of the library.
Richard frowned.
'There are no doors.'
He couldn't help but feel the need to curse our loud.
For some reason, sorcerers and practicioners of magic hated doors. Entering their spaces always had some ritual procedures filled with chants, or strange gestures, or even sacrifices.
It had been strange at first, but after seeing it happen so many times, and for so long, Richard had had enough.
His anger quickly dissipated. Even if he was annoyed, all he could do was silently lament.
Muttering the words of a spell, Baxter placed his hands on the strange metallic glass exterior of the building.
It rippled strangely. Then it folded away, revealing a dimly lit passageway.
They both entered.
Richard breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, there was no convoluted process to go through.
He glanced around curiously as they walked through the entrance.
They entered what appeared to be the lobby of a rather extravagant building.
The lights were opulent and the decor was rich.
Golden lamps. Strange, but elegant painting. Even the red carpets under his feet felt luxurious.
"This place was built with the combined resources of sorcerer organizations all over the world over the course of several millennia. You can only expect this much."
"Well, when you put it like that, I guess it doesn't seem too much anymore."
Baxter chuckled,
"Of course. If you are amazed now, I can only imagine what will come of you when you see what is next."
Richard frowned and raised a brow,
"What do you mean—"
They had arrived at what seems to be a reception area, complete with a luxurious looking desk and all the works...
A man wearing a butler's outfit walked out from behind the desk,
"Master Rigborne. I see you have brought your visitor. Please wait to the side while I assess him." The butter said with a respectful bow.
Baxter nodded then turned to Richard,
"Just stand still and try not to react to anything he does."
Richard grimaced.
He suddenly had a bad feeling.
Baxter turned around and walked away.
Soon, Richard found himself facing the butler.
The butler wore a strange, borderline creepy smile on his face.
To his amazement, Richard watched as his eyes began to change.
They turned from regular human eyes into something strange.
His brown irises turned into slits and their hue became a vibrant yellow. In their depths were several runic engravings.
If that was all, he wouldn't have felt the urge to turn around in his heels and run as fast as possible.
After all, the changes didn't stop there. More eyes began popping all over the butler's face and body.
They peered right through whatever defenses he could have mustered and scanned him thoroughly.
Richard's face paled. He felt violated, as though all his secrets were being laid bare.
Sweat gathered on his temples as he resisted the urge to recoil in horror.
"Hm? A member of the Bane family then." The Bukter muttered, his many eyes scanning Richard all over.
Baxter's brows furrowed,
"Ethan, isn't that enough?"
The Butler turned to him. Then he chuckled.
Slowly, the many eyes began closing, disappearing like they had never been there, leaving just the original two.
However, they still remained inhuman.
Richard gasped for air violently as he fell to his knees.
'This guy is evil!'
"I apologize for the terrible experience, Master Bane. I should have given you an appropriate warning beforehand." The Evil butler said with a small smile and a bow.
Richard took a moment to catch his breath, then shook his head,
"No. It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Baxter walked back and patted him on the shoulder,
"You did well. I was half expecting you to keel over. That's what most people do the first time."
Richard grimaced,
"What was that anyway?"
Baxter gestured to the butler,
"Ethan here is a special type of Oracle that practices divination magic. He can see through the minds of humans."
Richard's expression turned dark and his heart sped up.
Ethan chuckled,
"It is a precaution the Circle takes. Don't worry. I am under a binding contract to keep your secrets remain safe so long as they don't involve the jeopardy of the library."
Richard huffed,
"That doesn't make it any less invasive, does it?"
Having ones mind unraveled to another person was a terrible feeling that most humans would agree defied their autonomy.
But then again, the Circle was famous for its strange rules that often broke several generally understood boundaries.
Ethan chuckled,
"I guess you are right. But I believe it to be a small price to pay for the right to access all the knowledge you could wish for, right?"
Baxter chuckled,
"We will be on our way, Ethan. Keep up the good work."
Richard watched the Butler bow again then return behind the desk.
He sighed,
"That was very unpleasant."
He paused for a moment,
"By the way, how did you get me the chance to enter this place? I heard you need to have research worthy of being placed in here before you can gain access."
Baxter nodded whilst stroking his beards,
"Your are right. But that is the main reason you have been brought in here."
Richard frowned,
"Hold up. Nothing you are saying is making any sense."
Baxter chuckled,
"Although I am got you this opportunity, you also did some work by yourself. There are many promising young sorcerers that rise to the spotlight everyday, Richard. But none of them are quite as gifted as you are. And so, I just pulled a few strings for you. Call it an investment in your futures."
Richard's brows furrowed even more,
"Your?"
Baxter violently cleared his throat,
"Now, don't sweat the details. Just be greatful."
Richard sighed as he massaged his brows,
"Even then, I don't recall giving you or anyone else my research. So how..."
"Like I said, don't sweat the details for now. All I can tell you is your magic hs received attention from the higher ups."
Richard grimaced. He didn't like the sound of that at all.
They continued walking until they reached the en of the long hallway.
Richard's brows twitched.
Instead of a door, in front of them, was a large mirror that stretched from top to ceiling and both ends.
His murderous intent almost rose to the surface. Luckily, he was able to suppress it quickly.
He watched as Baxter stepped into the mirror casually.
The mirror rippled like a body of water, and the old sorcerer's large frame disappeared through it a moment later.
Richard was motionless for a moment.
Then he sighed,
"Why do you all hate dorrs so much?"
He walked forward, reaching his hand forward.
He hesitated for a moment, then touched the surface of the mirror.
The moment his finger made contact with the surface of the mirror, an incredible suction pulled on him.
He barely had time to scream as his body was sucked right into the mirror, leaving behind only a subtle ripple.