The Luminous Library of Lu Feng

“Not bad? They don’t call marriage the ball and chain for nothing June.” Deimos groans, not really knowing how to snap June out of it. Last thing we wanted was the be in the concubine library of another dragon. Luckily, one well chunked rock later and June was back to her usual self.

Back to business, the wedding stuffed away back into the dark recesses of the past never to be dug up again. June opened the can of wriggling meat much like an angry soda. The Dreamer who Waits, That sure sounded sinister.

This was going to be some mind melting shit if even the illithid was acting this way. Part of Deimos didn’t feel like eating a potential hole in his brain from knowing the baddest of the bad, but that would mean only June would do it…. Half dragons didn’t let other half dragons melt their brains alone. The other half of him was way too excited for it.

“I do.” Deimos dips his head.

He supposed if he survived this, he’d be the luckiest half dragon in the universe. “If my brain explodes, please let my parents know what happened.”

“Alright then come with me and Amora. Niao since you are not coming with us to the Gallery, please go prepare two rooms in the infirmary. Just in case.” Lu Feng requested, rather ominously.

“…Very well father.” Niao obeyed without further obvious protests, though her frustration was detectable just under the surface. “May your ancestors guide you both.” She bids the two half-dragons to fare well.

“I am starting to regret my decision. But we’ve come too far to back out now.” June sighed, nothing had happened yet, but now they were going to prepare infirmary rooms for them. She quietly followed the Sage, while June couldn’t help but keep an eye on Amora, who’d been eyeing the sample since she showed it.
The real Luminous Library is further within the Cube, towards the core. They pass through another seemingly similar circular elevator, so similar June mistook the attendant for the previous one.

“Cousin Xu?” June asked, but was met with annoyed rebuke.

“Excuse me? I’m not Xu. I’m Cousin Zhu, and I’m in charge of all the elevators. This is the only one that accesses the Gallery. Do you think us elevator operators look alike?”

“Gee okay, sorry.”

THE LUMINOUS GALLERY

Once they arrived, Lu Feng’s reputation for eccentricity is validated. June steps out of the elevator and beheld an amazing- and terrible- sight. The Luminous Gallery did not house mundane objects like art or sculptures, but instead the air thrummed with time magic to create stasis displays. It was so potent even June could feel it as an otherworldly electricity in the air. From throughout the multiverse Lu Feng has collected not merely interesting objects, but the interesting owners with them, trapped in place forever in a macabre diorama.

One display had two groups of – elves – there was no other word for it, dressed in two distinct groups, one wearing blue, white and silver arms and armor, formed a disciplined spear wall while archers prepared to shoot. Another group wore all black, wielding wicked curved scimitar blades and crossbows. “Elves of light and dark aspect locked in endless conflict.”

Another display was a miniature village community, with a distinctly mushroom aesthetic, and upon closer inspection it had tiny fungus humanoids scattered about. An entire village in stasis.  “These creatures have a lifespan of a single day. How utterly tragic.”

A third display was a large pre-industrial blacksmith, the forge fire frozen in time, complete with the humanoid rabbit blacksmith frozen mid-swing as he worked on a hot blade. His garb suggested a Japanese-equivalent culture. “My dear friend who produces such fine blades. A waste to see him die of old age.”

And many, many more, giving June such a headache thinking of the wider multiverse. “The last council of a dying world, old people talking as their world literally died around them” “A tyrant who came to rule a hundred worlds, laid low by the one he loves.” And one that served as an ominous warning. “Entourage of multi-species raiders come to rob Lu Feng’s Library.” June felt herself thinking she should talk, should protest this imprisonment of living beings. But she wasn’t top dog here. She had no understanding of magic, let alone time magic. For all she knew she could say something out of turn then end up as an exhibit. And the exhibit stretched pretty far out in all directions. At the center of the gallery was an ominous black obelisk of titanic proportion and covered in ominous sigils that were almost painful to look at.

“Welcome to the Luminous Library younglings. Look, but don’t touch. We still need the chief of security to unlock the archive. When you’re ready to meet your destiny… meet us at the Obelisk. We will go and begin unlocking it.” Lu Feng snorted and gave them that wicked grin, as the obsidian floor moved the elderly sages towards the Obelisk.

Deimos gave a light sigh of anticipation and slight fear of what was to come. Learning knowledge even dragons weren’t supposed to know was not exactly what he had in mind for today. Only when he heard mention of an infirmary being prepared for them did he begin to regret his decision as well. “If you’re doing it, I’m doing it.” Deimos repeats his montra, as in not allowing June to do dangerous things by herself when he could get into trouble as well.

He chose to stay silent about the elevator operator, neither agreeing nor denying that she was very similar to the last lift operator in both name and appearance.

Once in the gallery the half dragon was both amazed and distressed by the living museum within the cube’s core. She couldn’t help but stare in disbelief, especially at the elves. For starters, these were the first elves he’s ever seen. Secondly, was Lu Feng just holding them prisoner forever for display?

Deimos keeps looking through the many displays, not exactly sure what he was looking for. Perhaps a human mage with a suspicious likeness to himself? He couldn’t dwell on how sick hoping such a man would be here was, but he had to know. Once Lu Feng was gone Deimos shakes his head before turning back to June. “You think we should take an advil now or something? You know.. Since we’re essentially about to take a psychological shotgun blast to the brain.”

The Forbidden Archive stretched from floor to ceiling, a solid block of pure darkness with scarcely readable glyphs. There at the base, Lu Feng and Amora waited.

"Good, you two are here. Now there's no turning back. Once we close the doors behind you, touch no tome but the one you need." They inserted their amulets into special slots in the Archive.

"Amora, if you would be so kind as to handle the lady's protection?"

"Of course." The Uliarthid noded with the woman's voice made hand gestures, invoking magical words. A field of energy surrounds June, and Lu Feng invokes the same protection on Deimos. "Greater magical resistance."

"Alright I guess we're ready to go in." June said, but spoke too soon, as the two mages began stacking protections upon their wards. Layers and layers of arcane energies infused their bodies, giving Dragon Girl a surge of personal power she'd never felt before.

"Freedom of Movement. Ward of Order. Holy Ward. Death Ward. Mind Black. Maximum Physical Potential. Maximum Mental Potential. Heightened Fortitude. Heightened Reflexes. Heightened Will. Aura Detection. Adamant Skin. Protection from Energy. Energy Shield. Holy Armor. Regeneration. True Sight. Absorption. Aura of the Dragons. Mana Essence."

With true sight, Lu Feng's form flickered between that of an old man, and a massive, ancient iron scaled dragon. He gestured them towards the doorway, the inside of the archive still pitch black, but the images of objects very briefly flickered into view.

Deimos didn’t have time to regret offering himself up as tribute as the felt the magic push itself through him. He knew he had a baseline of magic already that was ridiculously high, this felt different. Deimos felt like he could cast all the spells he knew at once and perhaps even some he didn’t at the moment. All of this, solely off of the spells the other mages were using to protect themselves from whatever the hell he’d agreed to.

“I think that’s the equivalent of a magical hazmat suit.” Deimos gives a nervous laugh, just trying to not think about the fact they were about to put their brains through a blender.

Deimos follows along, choosing to not to think about the possible consequences of this, just going along with it as usual. However seeing Lu Feng in his true glory did put him at ease some-what. He trusted an ancient dragon a whole lot more than a decrepit old man, even if they were the same person. He didn’t know why the presence of other dragons made he feel better, but it was a thought he’d have to explore later. He was stepping into the room, holding his breath just in case something awful happened.

The last thing she does is hand the god flesh to Amora, who looked at the canister worriedly.

"Here goes... nothing." June takes the nervous first steps, and crosses the threshold into the archive, seemingly crossing over from the gallery into another place entirely. It had only felt like a handful, but June turned around and saw the doorway back had shrunk  from sheer distance, and closed behind them.

Walking? Her feet didn't register a floor. Air? June couldn't tell anymore she was breathing. Above and below was what appeared to be an infinite ever expanding dark sky, streaked with shimmering multicolored hues, of colors from the outer beyond. Colors the english nor even draconic language had no words for.

June turned to Deimos, who she was sure was within arms reach. But somehow he was far away, to far away to talk to- not that it mattered, as no words escaped her mouth. She motioned to control her suit, but found the suit's controls simply melting away.

It didn't feel so much as they were walking towards the book, but the book- if it could be even called that- was growing towards them. June found herself trying to backpedal, to backstroke away, like she was caught in a vortex, and the tome transformed into a black hole of swirling energy. It was an inescapable pull, so much so Dragon Girl could feel the front part of her body slowly peeling away, like to stand up and dive ahead of her. Was she feeling this or witnessing it?

The eye of the vortex became an eye, a literal eye! But it wasn't real! it wasn't of this universe anymore! THEY SOUGHT IT OUT BUT NOW IT SAW JUNE AND DEIMOS! THE COLORS! THE ROAR OF THE VORTEX! THE COLORS CONVERGED AND EVERYTHING WENT WHITE AND THEN.....

= = = =

LU FENG'S CUBE - THE INFIRMARY, ONE MONTH LATER

The white. the white. All there was was the white.

Except, it was no longer the archives, or that god forsaken... place.  Feng's mundane daughters and grand daughters, dressed as orderlies, were shuffling about a crowded infirmary ward. June lay in a barely awake state, her mind and soul solidifying itself again after being made elastic.

"She's waking up! she's coming to!" They chirped again and again. Deimos should also be coming around at this time, just over at the next bed.

Niao rushed in worriedly, to check on Deimos and June, pushing her bigger sisters and nieces aside.    

"Oh ancestors. June? June! are you there?!" She turned to Deimos. "Deimos?!"

"...I... I..." June blinked, afraid she'd fall apart like a pastry if she moved. She looked over instead at Niao, and confident that things were not going to spontaneously explode, look around some more.

One of the little goblins who were cleaning up the infirmary walked away, but just as he was going out of sight June saw- and Deimos had the ability too - that he bore the corruption of the Dreamer. his face briefly flashed to reveal his twisted flesh, only for him to get out of sight.

June broke out in a cold sweat. It was here.

On the Cube.

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