Another World Shop

When I looked up at the sky, where the sun peeked through scattered clouds and a cool breeze brushed my cheeks, something stirred inside me.

A longing. A desire for more.

I want to try magic.

I was almost certain it existed within me. I just didn't know how to summon it. Awaken it. Or maybe... feel something new entirely.

While I was lost in thought, I heard soft footsteps approaching. Someone was nearby.

And to my surprise, it was her.

A familiar witch — the one who once broke her mana detection glasses when she tried to assess my energy. I still remembered her surprised expression. She had a tent nearby where she told fortunes. I hadn't expected to see her, but I asked without thinking:

"Could you read my fortune?"

She smiled, intrigued. "Let's find out."

We walked together to her tent. Inside, it was quiet, cozy, and faintly scented with lavender. We sat across from each other at a small round table. She pulled out sixteen old cards — worn, but strangely alive. As if each held a memory, a breath, a soul.

"Do you know anything about magic?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Not really."

"Then listen carefully," she said, her voice gentle but firm.

"There are two kinds of magic. Internal magic, drawn from within — from this world's energy. And external magic — the true kind, divine and limitless. It flows from the very fabric of space and time."

I leaned in. "And you… can use both?"

She nodded. "Yes. But that's rare."

"What's the difference between them?"

"Internal magic only works within this world. It's limited. External magic isn't. It's stronger. It flows from mana in the air — and from something far beyond us. We call it Divine Magic, born of the Absolute God."

The way she spoke, it was like she'd seen it herself.

"Absolute God?" I echoed.

"A being that created everything — and could destroy it just as easily. Some call it the Absolute Being."

She ran her fingers lightly across the cards.

"There are sixteen basic Paths bestowed by this Being: Destruction, Creation, Death, Life, Immortality, Emptiness, Beauty, Light, Darkness, Madness, Reason, Wanderer, Sun, Moon, Judge, and Omniscience. These are the fundamental ones. There are others created by powerful gods, but they are of lesser power and more widely spread."

"And how do you know all this?" I asked.

She just smiled. "That's a secret."

Then she placed the sixteen cards before me and gestured for me to close my eyes.

"Now," she whispered, "reach out. Focus. Imagine what you desire most."

I obeyed. I let my eyelids fall.

And for some reason… I saw a throne suspended in space. The universe around it was vast and silent, infinitely calm.

Then I felt it. A gentle energy flowing into my palm from the cards. Warm. Clean. Alive.

"Stop!" she called out, alarmed. "That's enough!"

But I couldn't.

The energy kept pouring in. I couldn't stop it.

It felt too natural… too easy.

Then everything stopped.

When I opened my eyes, the cards had turned completely gray. Once colorful, detailed — now blank.

The witch stared at me, shocked, a hand covering her mouth.

"…Who are you?" she whispered.

"I'm... the owner of the store," I replied with a hesitant smile.

"You… can choose any Path. That shouldn't be possible."

"How do I do that?" I asked.

She held her breath before answering.

"They'll come for you after your shift ends. You should take a month off. One more thing."

She paused, then added quietly, "Call me Number 05. Or just… the Seer."

I returned to the store and told everyone I'd be gone for a month. Ha Rin immediately started worrying — and so did everyone else. I reassured them as best I could, appointed her in charge, and told her she could bring in one person if needed.

Then came my final shift before the unknown.

Among the customers was someone familiar — a vampire to whom I had once given a discount.

Keltan Dauren.

Beside him stood a girl with long black hair, crimson eyes, a dark dress, and bright red shoes. She introduced herself as Alice.

"We're not here to buy anything," Keltan said. "We just came… to thank you."

He handed me a pendant — a silver chain with a glowing red gem in the center. A pattern shimmered faintly within it.

"Why are you giving this to me?" I asked.

"For saving my daughter," he replied. "And… it's part of our tradition. If a vampire is ever saved by someone who then becomes unreachable — especially a human — they must pass on this talisman."

I thanked him quietly. They left.

Soon after, Loreanna entered the store.

"This is for you," she said, handing me a ring with a blue gem.

"Why?" I asked.

"A prophecy," she replied. "If a dragon child receives a ring from a human, they must pass that ring on to him."

I nodded, accepted the gift, and said nothing more.

My shift ended. I didn't know why, but I felt compelled to wear both the pendant and the ring.

The moment I stepped outside, a thick fog rolled in.

And then — a familiar silhouette.

The Boss.

He was wearing the same suit he had the day he left the store in my hands.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything, he stepped forward, gently touched my forehead — and everything went dark.

Just before losing consciousness, I heard him whisper:

"Finally. Number Eight."

…What?

I woke up in a different place.

A vast hall — like a lecture room mixed with a ritual chamber. Shelves lined with books, strange magical instruments all around. In the center hung a chained flask filled with a multicolored liquid that shimmered like a rainbow set on fire.

The Boss stood beside me.

And seven other figures surrounded us, veiled in mist. I couldn't see their faces — only their presence.

I have to run.

"Don't even think about it," said a woman's voice from within the fog.

She… read my mind?

"Yes," she answered calmly. "I can."

I counted them silently.

Seven.

And then it hit me.

I was the eighth.

"Correct," she confirmed.

The Boss stepped forward.

"It's time for the Ritual of the Path," he said. "You must drink the elixir. Its energy will choose your Path. Once it's done — we'll explain everything."

"And if I refuse?"

"You can't," he replied. "If you want to protect this world — аnd the people you care about."

His words struck deep.

I took a breath — аnd stepped into the unknown.

Something within me clicked. Beneath the fear, doubt, and exhaustion — something awakened.

I stepped forward to the hanging flask. The liquid inside shimmered with stardust and shifting galaxies. I didn't know how to remove the chains, but the moment I touched the glass, they vanished — dissolving like dust on the wind.

I opened it slowly.

Within the shimmering liquid, I glimpsed endless stars and boundless space.

I drank it all.

The world around me seemed to fracture and fall away.

The pain was overwhelming — not just physical, but like I was being torn apart and reshaped all at once.

Through fire, through ice, through something beyond words.

I thought I would die.

Then, the pendant from Keltan Dauren and the ring from Loreanna began to glow.

Symbols formed in the air — floating magical circles — pulsing with red and blue light. They wrapped around me like shields, absorbing the pain.

"Hm. Delay artifacts," the Boss murmured in surprise.

The circles stabilized me, soothing the burning chaos inside. The discomfort lingered, deep and raw, like a scar etched into my soul… but I could breathe again.

"Now," said the Boss, "focus. In your mind, the Paths will appear. Sixteen primary ones — and countless minor ones. Choose the one that calls to you. The one your soul sings with."

I closed my eyes.

In the blink of an eye, the world vanished.

I found myself inside my mind — no sky above, no ground below, just infinite paths branching like beams of light through glass.

Each one called to me. Whispered its secrets.

But something in me knew — I couldn't choose with logic.

Only with heart.

And there… I felt it. Not one, but two Paths.

One — dark, like a shadow.

The other — golden, like the morning sun.

I didn't want to choose between them.

So I did the unthinkable.

I reached for both.

And in that moment, something changed. The two Paths wove together, merging — and became one.

Silver.

Not light. Not shadow. Something in between — something new.

I stepped onto it.

When I opened my eyes, I was back in the ceremonial hall, drenched in sweat. My chest rose and fell in uneven bursts.

The Boss stared at me, astonished. Maybe even… impressed?

"You… you're something else," he muttered. "To combine two Paths? And not even from the core sixteen? That's… genius."

I didn't say anything. I was still processing.

"Fate and Devouring," I whispered. "Those were the ones that answered."

"And you forged your own," he said. "Power doesn't come from what Path you choose — but from how far you walk it. And you… you've already taken your first step."

I stood still.

From that moment on, my story changed forever.

I didn't yet know who I would become — or where this path would lead.

But inside me pulsed a new road — silver, unknown, and mine.

And I was ready to walk it.