MaeveMcCarthy
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Chapter XLIII
🕑 Added 2023-11-26 20:12:56 +0000 UTCLily sat on her bed, still reeling from what had happened during the night. Marcus had told her that she wasn’t grounded anymore, but she felt her stomach still couldn’t hold down breakfast after witnessing what had happened to Lucien. In fact, even though Lucien was in a much better condition than Elysium’s bloated body, it had still been upsetting to see that, somehow, Marcus had disintegrated the tan [Monk]’s head.
‘He was a threat to all of us,’ Marcus had said without blinking, not feeling the need to justify himself any further.
And Lily had felt... relieved. The death of the man—his murder had not shaken her as much as she had expected it would. Even though her soul had come from Earth, she had shed all the notions of mercy that she had come with.
In this world full of monsters, mercy was not something that was easily afforded.
Indeed, something else was on Lily’s mind now: up to this moment, she felt like she had lived with half a foot back on Earth; even when she wasn’t thinking about Earth, she felt more like a modern woman in a foreign world than someone who was actually born here. Yet, Lily knew that was bound to change.
Many thoughts danced in her head and unsettled her stomach.
What was going to be next?
She sat on the same bed where she had been despairing the night before, the same bed where she had reached for Death Magic. The Ouroboros was still stamped in her mind, the shining symbol atop the mountain—the symbol that had saved her from a grim death or worse... whatever the demonic figure had offered her.
Lily still wasn’t sure about what had happened back in her inner world, but one thing was for sure: she had now dived into Death Magic and was, in a way, an accessory to the murder of Lucien.
...
In the soft hues that danced across the library, the scent of old books and the faint aroma of the tea brewing nearby surrounded the unlikely pair.
“Light Magic?” Hadrian shook his head. “Little kid, do you know how magic even works? Just because you learned Death Magic, it does not justify your loss of Light Magic.”
Lily’s lips dried up – yet another hypothesis for her loss had been proven wrong.
“But then...”
“Then, it means you messed with the wrong power, doesn’t it?” Hadrian scoffed.
“I—I did,” Lily said. Those words didn’t come out easily, though.
Hadrian nodded gingerly.
“Do you know what [Librarians] do?”
Lily shook her head.
“[Librarian] record stories, knowledge, and events,” Brother Hadrian spoke, passing a hot cup of tea that he materialized from seemingly nowhere to Lily. “When one gets their third class, it gives you access to a Collective Skill. Do you know what that is?”
Lily’s eyes went wide.
“They exist?!”
“Yes, child. They do. Every [Librarian] above level 180, no matter what variation of the class, shares one skill. This allows us to form a net... we record knowledge for the people that shall come. We don’t meddle in politics. We do live in countries and participate so that we can gather even more knowledge, but we do not act on our knowledge. We only spread it and trade it. That is our [Vow]. That and many other stipulations.
“You saved my life; this is how you deserved to know this. The life of a person of my level and importance,” Brother Hadrian cringed at the word ‘importance,’ “is not something easy to come by. Not among us. You earned this knowledge and one more thing.”
“Do you know how I can get my Light Magic back?!” Lily’s eyes widened with hope.
“No,” Brother Hadrian replied curtly. “I don’t. However... Trust your blood. Now, what I can offer you is something almost as valuable.”
Hadrian, his gaze sharp and assessing, leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped together. "Before we come to it... You have knowledge from another world, you say?" he mused, his tone laced with a mix of skepticism and curiosity. "Are we talking about Lost Skills, perhaps? Or maybe something even more exotic, like artifacts from the Forgotten Continents?" His eyes, old yet piercing, seemed to look right through Lily, searching for the truth in her words.
Lily, sitting across from him, felt the weight of his gaze but maintained her composure. She shook her head, her expression one of confidence tinged with a just hint of mischief. "No. What I have is neither a Lost Skill nor an artifact. It's knowledge—pure, unadulterated knowledge from a world vastly different from ours."
Brother Hadrian looked at the girl in silence, then at the small library behind her. His skills told him that the girl wasn’t a fluke, that there was, indeed, a trade to be made.
The [Monk] muttered something under his breath, and the room started to shift. Bookshelves moved, creating new pathways, while the ceiling seemed to rise, and a different, more ancient section of the library was revealed. She watched in awe as a gigantic library replaced the small room they had been in before her eyes.
"What is this?" she whispered, amused.
"A section of the library not many have access to," he replied cryptically. “This is a space that’s safe from idiots and eavesdroppers. A space to trade. However, I don’t trade with just anyone..."
His penetrating gaze met hers, "Are you a necromancer, Lily?"
Lily immediately froze before shaking her head vigorously, "What? No!”
A tome suddenly appeared in front of Brother Hadrian’s – a massive, translucent book that he opened and started perusing, ignoring the girl. As he did, and while Lily just watched him, he suddenly raised an eyebrow and closed the book, making it disappear with a flicker of his wrist.
He furrowed his brows, "Do not lie to me, child. How did you heal me with Death Magic, of all things? You might fool Marcus, that brick-head. But not me."
Taking a deep breath, Lily met his gaze directly, "I can harness Death Magic, but I'm not a necromancer. It... it just happened when I was meditating. And I thought I could help,” her words trailed for a moment, “I think it has to do with me losing my Light Magic. I—I’ve never intended for this."
Hadrian seemed to ponder her explanation for what felt like an eternity, the silence in the room almost suffocating. "I've spoken with Marcus," he finally said. "For now, your secret is safe. But be wary, child. The Church willput you on a stake if they find out, no matter who your father is. Faith in the God of Light comes before anything for those ignorant peddlers of lies."
Lily felt a shiver down her back.
It was the first time evershe had heard someone badmouth the Church in this world. It wasn’t something one could do lightly and survive.
“Aren’t you afraid about talking like that? Won’t the God of Light... do something to your skills like it did with mine?”
Brother Hadrian, against all odds, started laughing like a maniac, holding his belly.
“The God of Light?!” He wheezed. He laughed so hard he was getting teary. “Child, you don’t need a parasitic vessel to become a Light Mage. You must truly be the one they wanted to make a slave—or what they call [Angels], I suppose, if they are telling you these lies. The Minor Gods are petty and greedy, Liliana, but they can do very little in this world. I’ve come to know people more dangerous than your puny God of Light. You have no idea what’s out there, child.”
It took a moment for Lily to register what the man had just said because she had heard a name no one had spoken in a very long time. She shot up to her feet, eyes wide.
“W-what did you call me?”
Brother Hadrian didn’t reply and simply went to get a golden book in the ancient part of the library that had appeared out of nowhere.
“A [Monk]’s vows are powerful, Liliana,” the man spoke with a smirk, caressing the tome, “but they are nothingcompared to the ones of a [Librarian].
“Now, sit back down, please. We have a lot to talk about.”
...
“What is it that you want?”
“I want my Light Magic back,” Lily replied.
“I want the Papal State, the Necromonarchy, and the filthy Empire and their cronies to go down in flames. Sadly, my will cannot change reality. So, is that it? Is that all you want?” Hadrian raised an eyebrow.
“I want to... fight,” she added. “I want to be free.”
“His Idiocy, the [Pope], will put you back in the fold with his son if you were to get your Light Magic back. And if he knew that you switched to a different kind of magic... he would hang you—or burn you. The latter is usually reserved for my kind, but with some luck, the honor could be extended to you; I have no doubts about it.
“What about your father?” Hadrian added.
“What about my father?”
“He gave you the spell that stripped you of your powers.”
“He did not,” Lily frowned. “He only gave me the book.”
Since they were talking about heretical matters, she wasn’t shy about what she actually did—not with a [Librarian].
But those words seemed to stop Hadrian dead in his tracks.
“What?” He asked, clearing one of his ears with a long finger. “What did you say?”
“My father didn’t do anything! He just gave me the book!”
“Little girl, Icannot read those texts. Are you telling me that you—” Hadrian caught himself, looking back at a pile of scrolls he had hidden from the girl previously. He got up and put one in her hands.
“Read the first sentence.”
Lily reached out and picked up a black scroll with stark white ink. The bold, ornate lettering seemed to glow in the low light. She read out the title, "The Four Forms of Death."
“The first sentence,” the man stated.
Lily unfolded the scroll, “The First of the Four Forms of Death concerns the organs maintaining—”
Hadrian snatched the scroll out of her hand and narrowed his eyes.
“Where did you learn to read this?” He frowned.
Lily shrugged, “is this a trade?”
The [Librarian] frowned but then slowly nodded, “based on how valuable this information is, it might be.”
Lily took a long breath and stared at the man, unsure whether to tell him the full truth or not. She had already anticipated that she came from another world. And at this point, with the Church already against her by the virtue of the path she was going down, what was she to lose by telling a [Librarian] about her past?
“My name is Liliana, as you seem to already know, but I prefer Lily. I don’t come from Iliadia. I come from a place called Earth—I came here by chance, and upon my arrival, a God offered me a skill, [Myriad Tongues], at its highest level.”
Hadrian looked at the girl, opening and closing his mouth multiple times as the irises of his eyes started to shine with golden light.
“You—” he cut himself off, swallowing. “You came from another world... and you met a God? Do you remember his name?”
“Lucas,” Lily cringed. “It’s a pretty silly name for a God.”
Hadrian stopped breathing and looked around the room as if the shelves could suddenly fold and swallow him alive.
“Lucas... the God of the Afterlife?” He asked.
“Yes.”
“What did you have to give him in return? Can you even say?”
Lily frowned, “in return? He just gave me the skill. He didn’t ask for anything in return. It was a very brief conversation.”
“You met an Ancient God known for his deals and secrets, Liliana—”
“Lily,” she corrected him.
“Lily,” Hadrian barked, “and he didn’t ask for anything in exchange?”
“Not that I know of.”
“He wouldn’t have erased your memories,” Hadrian muttered under his breath. “That is not how it works... but then, how? How is it possible? Were you about to die in this past life of yours? Did you pray to be sent away?”
Lily shook her head. “Neither. I was just... doing nothing. I was in my house, doing normal things.”
Hadrian fell silent, his brow furrowed.
“Why did you fall sick?” She suddenly asked. “Was it because of me?”
“Not because of you,” he slowly replied, looking at her, “but because you have been touched by an Ancient God. Fate’s threads are hard to interfere with. It appears that whatever I taught you wasn’t supposed to happen. This is our first trade, Liliana Claudia, or whatever your last name is."
Lily hesitated before nodding, “Liliana Claudia is fine. I prefer it to my old name and to Aurora.”
“Very well, then. This is in exchange for you telling me about another world: [Librarians] are infamous because our class’s most important quality is the ability to interfere with fate. Mind you, we do pay the price, as you saw, and sometimes, the Gods and other wretched entities plan for these outcomes. Have you been offered anything by Him recently?”
“No—wait. When I was meditating...”
Lily started to recount to Hadrian what had happened in her inner world, and he grew more and more agitated. But once she was done, the [Librarian] did not question her any further on the matter. Instead, he seemingly changed the topic altogether.
“We need to train you, child. Whatever you’ve been roped into, it’s nothing good. If there’s one thing you’ll need, it’s power. I’ll also have a word with your father on the matter. Does he know about your past life?”
Lily shook her head.
“That is your secret. It’s up to you what you want to do with it. However, I recommend you have a word with him.”
“I—I’ll see,” Lily said, feeling a knot in her stomach.
“Another thing, Lily. You can’t go back to the Citadel ever again.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t think you do. Practicing Death Magic would already be enough to take your head off. Were the [Pope] or any of those other idiots to know you interacted with an Ancient God... I’ll spare you the details for now.”
She trembled but still nodded back.
“What then?”
“Let’s trade. I have a Lost Skill for you, something ancient. If your soul is much older than your body, you should be able to learn this without much trouble. However, its value is on par, if not higher, with the [Seven Worlds of the Soul]. What can you offer me?”
“Do you know what a microorganism is?” Lily asked.
“A what?” Brother Hadrian raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know how there are extremely tiny organisms out there, like, everywhere, that do everything? For example, sickness is the result of those microorganisms.”
“Oh, those. Yes. I know.”
Lily looked downcast for a second, “do you also know what they are made of?”
“Child, many [Librarians] have confirmed the existence of these ‘microorganisms.’”
“But do you know what they are and how they work?” Lily stressed the words.
“No one does,” Brother Hadrian scoffed.
“I do.”
“No, you don’t,” the [Librarian] frowned, his previously benevolent attitude already forgotten.
“Yes, I do.”
“Prove it.”
“Do you have a skill to confirm my knowledge or...?” Lily asked.
“My skills can detect whether the [Librarians] already have access to your knowledge, even if I don’t know it personally.”
“Ok. The main types of microorganisms are called ‘bacteria.’ They are single-cell organisms, often spherical, rod-like, or spiral in shape. They can be both beneficial and harmful. Some are used to make food, while others can cause diseases. Another group is 'viruses.' Unlike bacteria, they aren't living organisms but genetic material surrounded by a protein coat. They can only reproduce inside host cells, often causing illness. Then, there are 'fungi,' which include yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. Some fungi are beneficial and are used in things like bread and beer making, while others can cause infections.”
Brother Hadrian, with his fingers interlaced, watched her intently. "Then, there are 'protozoa,' which are single-celled eukaryotes and can also cause diseases. And 'algae,' which are plant-like microorganisms that produce oxygen through photosynthesis."
Lily took a deep breath, her heart rate increasing. "Last but not least, 'archaea,' which are similar to bacteria in shape and size, but are genetically different..."
Silence enveloped the room as Brother Hadrian processed all the information. After what felt like an eternity, he spoke, " The [Librarians] have recorded the existence of such entities but not their detailed classification and functioning. You have provided unique knowledge."
Lily beamed, "So, we can trade then?"
Brother Hadrian nodded slowly. "Yes, we can."
Comments
ReadingObsessed
I actually love that Librarians are so sagely.
Beeees!
Oh shit, librarians are not to be fucked with. Makes sense why a petty and greedy God of light would not want them mucking about in thier kingdome
