Tatsuya sprawled out on the dirt path in front of the village's old, abandoned library, biting into a slice of a yellow, melon-like fruit. His eyes narrowed as he studied the worn, double wooden doors, his foot tapping restlessly.
"This place better be worth the wait," he muttered before taking another juicy bite, a hum of satisfaction escaping him. The flavor was surprising—a mix of mango lemonade with a subtle, earthy twist, something he hadn't expected since arriving in this strange world.
"Best thing I've tasted here, no doubt," he said, savoring it, "a solid ten out of ten."
Just then, two figures emerged from the top of the hill. They approached at a brisk pace, their black robes catching the light and obscuring their faces in shadow. But even from afar, the black-striped leopard tail and the bushy wolf tail were unmistakable.
Tatsuya stood, brushing off his clothes as he finished the last bite of his fruit. His eyes shifted warily to the key one of the men held, dangling from a leather cord.
"Here's the key of heresy," the leopard demi-human said coldly, handing it to him with a grunt. "Fitting for someone like you."
The pair turned and walked away before Tatsuya could reply. He let out a dry chuckle, shaking the key in his hand with a sly grin. "Yep, definitely them. If only I cared."
Approaching the door, he slid the key into the lock, turned it—and nothing. He frowned, pulling it out to examine it more closely. The key was made of dull silver, with the bow shaped like a delicate snowflake. The blade was etched with tiny carvings, showing a dove flying through a blizzard toward a distant, castle-like silhouette.
"Weird key," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "It probably hasn't been used in years."
He didn't wait. Planting a firm foot against the door, he kicked it open, the old wood splintering as both doors crashed to the floor. Regret briefly crossed his face as the echo reverberated around the silent room.
"Should I...? No, it's called the 'library of heresy' for a reason. Doubt anyone here cares."
The interior was dim and had an eerie stillness about it, as though it hadn't seen light for decades. Bookshelves lined the walls and spanned the middle of the room, stacked high with tattered books, some toppled or lying open across the tables. Dust coated the surfaces, with spiderwebs stretched between cup handles and along broken shelves.
"Ew... spiders," Tatsuya whispered, a shiver running up his spine.
He walked toward the room's center, picking his way over toppled shelves and torn pages, his gaze halting on a large, dark stain on the floor. The bloodstain had faded over time but still had an ominous red tint to it.
"Maybe someone got murdered here," he muttered, tilting his head thoughtfully, "and their spirit still haunts the place, cursing all who dare enter..."
He threw his head back in a villainous cackle, only to break off abruptly. "Right. Books. I'm here to figure out my powers, not solve cold cases."
Starting with the bookshelves on the right wall, he scanned the spines of the books with quick, sweeping glances, searching for anything that might hold some kind of magical secret.
"Soul Tapestries, magic... aha!"
Tatsuya pulled out three books, each decorated with intricate snowflake patterns on the cover. He moved to a dusty table in a dimly lit corner and set them down.
"Snowflakes on every cover? Is this supposed to mean something? Whatever."
The first book was a deep blue with a brown spine and a steel-colored snowflake embossed on the cover: Magical Mechanics. The second was a striking red with a copper snowflake pattern and gold spine: Magical Theory Applied To Reality. The third, green with a gold spine and golden snowflake, read: The Philosophy of Soul Tapestries.
He started with Magical Mechanics, flipping through the pages until he found a passage of interest:
"All living beings emit waves of unknown energy that originate from the center of the body, known in Magical Theory as the Well-Spring and in spiritual terms as the 'Soul'..."
"These waves don't extend outward infinitely," Tatsuya read aloud, "they reach a specific distance from the body before returning to the Well-Spring. They can capture mana from the surroundings, storing it in layers for future use—this is the basis for all magic."
He traced a diagram of a featureless body, surrounded by wavy lines, radiating from a black core. Grabbing an old bookmark from the floor, he marked his place and closed the book, reaching for the next with a keen look in his eyes.
"Soul Tapestries," he murmured, a smirk creeping across his face. He turned the pages, his heart racing as he read the legendary descriptions of what a Soul Tapestry could be.
"They say Soul Tapestries reflect the true nature of any conscious, living being. A person's essence, laid bare. Only by embracing one's own inner nature and abandoning a part of their basic sanity can they access the full power within their soul..."
"Okay, Yuki's explanations at the temple were confusing enough, but this is on a whole other level," Tatsuya muttered, shutting the book.
He glanced at the final book with a smile, Magical Theory Applied to Reality, and leaned forward with renewed curiosity.
"Equations, sequences... and theories! This book better deliver," he whispered, hungrily flipping through the pages.
For the next few hours, Tatsuya buried himself in the books, making hasty notes on scraps of paper he found strewn around the library. Diagrams, calculations, and rough equations filled the pages as he worked through Magical Mechanics and Magical Theory Applied To Reality, scribbling down ideas until he finally ran out of paper.
With a quick glance around, he spotted a cup of water sitting on a nearby desk, alongside a piece of parchment with one of his copied equations. He closed his eyes, stretching out his hand and summoning his mana to pool into his hand and the paper.
"Let's test out this equation," he said to himself. "According to this, I can solidify liquid by halting its particle motion using mana. If I did this right, it should work."
Drawing moisture from the air, Tatsuya created a small sphere of water, swirling droplets forming into a cohesive mass. With intense concentration, he shaped the water into a dagger and channeled his mana into the parchment. The symbols glowed faintly as he pressed forward, watching in awe as the water solidified into a blade.
"It actually worked!" he gasped, stabbing the water dagger into the desk with a satisfied grin.
But when he tried to alter the blade's shape, his forehead broke into a sweat, veins standing out as he struggled to adjust its solidified form. He felt his mana drain faster than he'd anticipated.
"Damn… this is… hard!" he grunted, a trickle of blood seeping from his nose. He wiped it away quickly, glancing around.
"At least I didn't lose any cool points," he muttered, dropping the dagger. "Still, that's something to keep in mind—liquid can't be manipulated as easily once it's solidified."
Tatsuya gathered the three books and left the library, blinking as he stepped into the bright afternoon sun.
"How long was I in there...?" he squinted, shielding his eyes. The village bustled around him, and he headed toward his cabin, noting the variety of demi-humans wandering past.
"Wolf, raccoon, bunny, fox, cat..."
Pausing near the lake, he spotted a small figure being swept into the strong current. His eyes went wide, realizing it was a young cat-girl, her tiny hands reaching out in desperation as the water pulled her under.
"Someone's drowning in the lake! I need help!" he shouted, drawing the attention of two robed demi-humans nearby, who dropped their loads and rushed over.
"Where is she?" the black-haired wolf demi-human demanded, his voice tinged with urgency.
Tatsuya pointed toward the center of the lake, where the cat-girl's head bobbed above the water briefly before vanishing again.
"Help!" she cried, her voice faint and panicked.
The black-haired wolf demi-human manifested a shimmering Nyren aura, coating his spear with greenish-blue energy. He swung it toward the lake, releasing an air slash that briefly parted the water, disrupting the current and giving the cat-girl a chance to breathe.
The leopard demi-human leaped into the water, cutting through the waves as he swam toward her. But as he neared, the current suddenly surged, dragging him back.
"This… can't be natural. It's too… targeted," the leopard muttered, struggling against the pull.
The black-haired wolf demi took a step forward, ready to dive in himself, but Tatsuya held out a hand. "Let me try something first. Just stay here."
The wolf demi-human scoffed but held back, watching as Tatsuya knelt by the shore, tracing symbols into the sand with his fingers. The wolf demi's brows furrowed in annoyance.
"Playing in the sand isn't going to help! What are you trying to—"
But before he could finish, the symbols began to glow as Tatsuya poured his mana into them. Slowly, the water nearest to them stilled, forming a stable pathway.
"I've stopped the current," Tatsuya said, nodding toward the path. "You can reach her now."
The wolf demi's expression shifted from anger to grudging respect. With a quick nod, he ran across the solidified water, his footsteps echoing on the surface as he reached the cat-girl and pulled her into his arms.
"Hold on," he murmured, bending his knees and leaping back toward the shore just as the spell began to fade.
He landed heavily, the sand spraying up around him as he set the girl down. The leopard demi stumbled out of the water, soaked and dripping.
"You might not be as useless as I thought, Soul-Borne," he grumbled.
Tatsuya chuckled, sitting down heavily on the sand, exhaustion catching up to him. "Not too bad, huh…?"
And with that, he closed his eyes, drifting off as the two demi-humans exchanged wary, if slightly less hostile, glances.