Aziza led Jennifer through the Akashic library. She could tell that Jennifer was becoming overwhelmed by all of the nonhuman patrons, so Aziza held her hand the entire time. Jennifer gripped tightly.
"Don't worry, you're safe here" Aziza said warmly. "Just pretend you're in the Mos Eisley cantina or Diagon Alley."
"I don't know what those are" Jennifer said.
"Uh, they're places from Star Wars and Harry Potter."
"Oh" Jennifer said airily. "I never watched either of those. Sorry."
"It's OK." Aziza said. "Just pretend you're in a foreign country then, and I'm your guide."
"So, uh, why me?" Jennifer asked. "I'm just some random girl from Glendale. Why am I becoming the Sorceress Supreme? I know nothing about any of this."
"My guess?" Aziza said. "I think it's because you stood up to Kylie at the Halloween party, even after she started transforming people. You put yourself in the line of fire when you could have chosen to hide. That took courage, which is a thing a Sorceress Supreme needs."
Jennifer laughed, attracting attention down the aisle from a humanoid lava creature checking out some books.
"Me?!? Are you kidding?! That wasn't courage, I was just being a mouthy bitch. I told Kylie off because I didn't take her threats seriously. I was a stupid entitled teenager who thought that she could boss everyone else around."
Aziza shrugged. "Noah was a drunken idiot, and yet Allah told him to build an ark. Imperfect people get chosen all the time. For what it's worth, I suspect that everything you've done to comfort Kylie's victims since then may have played a role too. Most gods look kindly on philanthropy. It's a sign of compassion."
"A lot of it was my daddy's money though."
"It still counts" Aziza said firmly.
"So like, I'm not going to turn into another Kylie, am I? Power corrupts."
"Nope."
"Are you positive?"
"Yep. If you're a good person now, you'll still be a good person as a sorceress. Magic doesn't suddenly turn people evil. Most of the time."
"It turned Kylie evil."
"Kylie had her issues even before her ascension. She wasn't the best person."
"Well that's the issue. I don't think I'm a good person either."
Aziza suddenly stopped and looked at Jennifer.
"You are *not* a bad person. I'm done with this negative self talk. I want to hear you say I'm A Good Person."
Jennifer took a deep breath.
"What if I don't believe that I am?"
"Jennifer, I've met evil people. Just ask Tom about the demon I exorcised on the way to your house. You've made mistakes, but you're nowhere even remotely close to that. Being mean in high school doesn't make you Satan."
"But I..."
"I don't want to hear it. We're not going anywhere until you say I'm A Good Person."
Jennifer saw that Aziza was being serious.
"OK. I'm a good person."
Aziza smiled. "Better".
They reached the front desk and met the main librarian.
"How's it going, Reggie?"
"Not too shabby, Aziza. Oh look, a Jennifer Smith. I met a variant of her a couple of weeks ago".
"Oh yeah, I think I heard about that."
Jennifer turned to Aziza.
"Wait, there's more than one of me?"
"Yes" said Aziza. "You're actually one of the most common people in the multiverse. There are versions of you *everywhere*."
"Oh God. You should have told me that before. That's so bizarre."
"What, you don't watch Rick and Morty?"
"No, I told you, I'm not into that stuff."
"Well" Aziza said, "you're gonna have to get used to being weirded out a lot. The Multiverse is crazy, and most sorcerers are awkward dorks."
"Oh, so like you?" Jennifer quipped, sticking her tongue out slightly at Aziza. Aziza giggled.
"Most Jennifer Smiths never overcome being tormented by their Kyle, let alone make it up here, so consider yourself lucky" said Reggie with a smile.
"Most versions of me are tormented by Kyles?" asked the black man.
"I'm afraid so, dear."
Jennifer groaned.
"So what does she need, Aziza?" Reggie asked.
Aziza gave Reggie a list of books that Jennifer would need.
"Oh, so she's the Sorceress Supreme of her dimension now? Congratulations, Ms Smith."
"Don't give Jennifer too much of a swelled head, Reggie. I banished basically the only magical thing in her dimension back to Hell over a year ago. She's going to have the easiest job ever."
"So she'll basically be like a small town sheriff. Like the Sorceress Supreme version of Andy Griffith in Mayberry."
"Exactly" giggled Aziza.
"Hey!" Jennifer yelled.
"Hey, that's a *good* thing, Jennifer. That means unlike me, you'll get to have a mostly normal life. You'll get to lounge around in your nice house all day and go out at night dining on puss."
"Gross. I bet you used to be a guy."
"Yeah, I already told you I was a guy before The Great Change."
"Yeah, but like, I can just like feel like you've got a man's soul. Weird."
"Not so much. Your preternatural senses are already heightening. Perfect."