novelraw Chapter 257: The Librarian
Chapter 257: The Librarian
Chapter 257: The Librarian Soren tapped his fingers on the luminous marble table, letting himself sink deeply into his own thoughts.
The sudden rhythm merged with the silence, making Figment frown deeply.
“What are you thinking about?”
Soren thought for a while longer before answering:
“About your role. What do you intend to do with your freedom? Do you still want to become me? Or was that also a lie?”
Hearing this, Figment couldn’t help but lean back and sigh. This was a question he was expecting to hear, but for it to come so soon…
“I still want to become you. No, it's more accurate to say I want to do what you can do…” He glanced at Soren and smiled, “Did you know? For me, everything you perform in Yarian and elsewhere is chronicled as an entry. As if I am a reader, imagining reality through the books I read…
“I can never be a character in the story. Only a bystander who watches the play from the stands. I despised that. I wanted… I still want to experience the story myself.”
Soren glanced into Figment’s eyes, noticing a flame within them no different from his own. Though, there were some slight differences…
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “What’s so interesting about this story? It's nothing more than a tale of chains… Their weight dragging me forward from one scene to the next.
“You said it yourself—you are nothing more than a reader. An outsider watching over my life, oblivious to all its hurdles. Even if you can completely replicate every aspect of my persona through the material you read, it will never come with the anguish, the fear and the pressure of living through it yourself.”
“I know that,” Figment replied swiftly, “but are you not also oblivious to my reality?”
Soren leaned back slightly in puzzlement. “What do you mean…”
“What do you know of my emotions? My pain? My suffering?
“Did you believe that just because I can manage my inner chaos, that it never existed at all?”
There was a brief moment of silence before Figment sighed. “You were right about my advanta—my flaw… I can only exist in moments, not as a complete being. While you are The Records—the book itself—I on the other hand are its pages… The culmination of its knowledge and experience.
As he said this, Figment’s body suddenly transformed through [Fictionalization], turning him into an older Soren wearing a brown vest and glasses. These were the clothes he wore during the ritual.
Soren watched his changes with keen eyes as Figment continued:
“While it is true that I can change my perspective,” he once again transformed, this time into a highschool variant of Soren wearing cheap headphones, “I am also stuck to whatever iteration of you I decide to mimic… I can never add my own version—my existence relies on your development and experiences.”
Figment transformed again, this time into an exact replica of Soren in his magi robes and cone hat.
“My existence… It can never fulfill itself. From the very beginning, I was filled with despair after learning this harsh truth. Despair that can never be [Record]ed. It is these splintered emotions that likely caused me to almost end our existence entirely.”
Soren watched the flame dance softly from an invisible breeze, his mind spinning countless new thoughts.
“When you say end our existence… You’re referring to your goal being self-destructive?”
“Indeed,” the apparition nodded. “Although the flame’s enchantment had no effect on you, it did however continue to compel me in countless ways while I was possessing it. And the way it did so was extremely nefarious…
“By compelling me to replace your existence entirely, it could effectively unravel the loophole I was taking advantage of. Me becoming you in flesh, mind, soul, and fate will trigger the flame pillar, bringing about the awakening of that slumbering entity…”
Soren nodded inwardly, Makes sense. Figment’s existence was essentially a loophole, since it only possessed parts of my mind and soul, but not my flesh or fate… By acquiring the rest of my existence, the loophole would naturally close, leaving Figment instantly vulnerable to the flame’s corruption.
From the very beginning, both of us were playing into its hand…
While Figment was fighting against him for control over his life due to that compelling force, it was also internally planning a way to escape its corruption…
“So the solution you came to was…”
“Yes,” Figment confirmed with a nod. “Losing to you in the ritual was what I was hoping for from the start.”
I see… Soren couldn’t help but chuckle. “But what if I lost against you? You held every advantage during the ritual after all—the flame’s corruption compelling you to win against me had truly overpowered your mind. To the point where not even the smallest of hurdles was left unaccounted for.
“The only thing you overlooked was your own advantage becoming your biggest flaw, but that was due to your arrogance. No… My arrogance.
“If I hadn’t discovered it or found a way to utilize it against you…”
Figment nodded in agreement. “If that did happen, we likely wouldn’t be here. My victory would have spelled doom for both of us. However, I did have confidence that you would find a way. After all, from the very beginning of our meeting in this ancient space, both of us had been plotting our own survival in secret.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“You were observing me all this time, trying to figure out every weakness or flaw I could possess. Meanwhile, I knew our inevitable battle would arrive sooner or later, so I needed to make sure I lost the battle, despite the flame’s corruption compelling me to defeat you. I had to do all of this while also ensuring I survived at the very end…”
Soren shook his head with a sigh and smiled. “Sometimes I wonder which of us is more truly the real me. The reader, or the character?”
“.....”
The flame flickered unevenly for a brief moment before returning to its usual calm. Seeing this, Soren chuckled.
“This entire time, despite your corruption, you were betting on me to win the ritual contest. I assume you used your own death to free yourself from the flame’s corruption?”
“Correct,” the flame stirred once again, and with it, a new transformation occurred. Figment had returned to the seven year old version of Soren.
“I had only finished conceiving this plan after succeeding in constructing the 2nd Circle spell, Paper Fold Resurrection. From my observations, Ephemera seems to operate with crafted mediums in mind. It's a truly strange affinity…
“For this spell to resurrect something, a permanent inscription, etching, marking, or symbol of its existence must be used. Symbols that must exist in a physical format, like paper for example…
“And since my existence is symbolically represented through the very pages of The Records, you were able to use the very knowledge stored in this space to summon me back. Of course, since you hold authority over this entire subspace, the success rate was higher—otherwise, I doubt whether I could permanently stay in this form...
“Perhaps you should try it yourself when you return to Yarian to see how effective it could be. Its limitations are still fairly unknown…”
Soren wasn’t surprised by its explanation. After all, this was information that was instinctively given to him during his Soul Search. Likely, Figment used his connection to Cantor’s Crown to issue it a final order—one that could allow the newly created Shade to transmit the necessary information upon discovery.
After discovering Ephemera, Soren had already pieced some of the puzzle together, allowing him to infer what Figment had been intending to do. Though, he never would have thought the cloned apparition’s plans would be this meticulous…
“To be completely honest, everything about this plan was a gamble,” Figment said with a sigh. “All of it rested on several inferences. The first was your victory in the ritual, the second was your discovery of Ephemera before the flame’s corruption, and the third was… your trust.
“If you decided it was too risky to utilize Paper Fold Resurrection in the end, fearing that it might be a trap set by me or the entity slumbering within this space, everything I had planned would have been for naught. It all rested on these key decisions lining up perfectly for my chance at survival to exist.
“Of course, there was also the risk that this version of me resurrected through the spell might still succumb to the flame’s corruption regardless, making our efforts utterly useless. And in a way, this assumption isn’t entirely wrong.
“This spell… Even with [Fictionalization]’s help, it won't last forever. And the corruption slumbering within this space might awaken regardless of our cautious actions. You should feel it as well—that the eerie silence plaguing [The Faerie Court] isn’t truly quiet at all…”
Soren sighed. “Ever since the ritual’s conclusion, I can’t help but feel we're being watched. No matter how deeply I peer into this sensation through my control over the subspace, I could never find anything unusual, which only adds to my anxiousness.”
The seven year old Soren glanced up at the crayon-painted skies, far past the array of mountainous bookshelves and into the distant void…
“I no longer know if a solution to this truly exists… Perhaps we are fated to be slowly corrupted, helpless to do anything against it. Or perhaps reaching the next Tier will help us delay the inevitable.
“One thing is for sure though, after reading through the information you [Record]ed from your brief visit to that strange world called Yeongwon, I can confidently state that our goal should be to try and visit more worlds. With [Worldsong Murmurs], we might be able to discover the answers we need in some other faraway realm… Your knowledge on mysticism might be far more limited than we’re aware of.”
Soren didn’t say anything, but he definitely agreed with Figment’s conclusion. Even if an answer didn’t exist in Yarian, he might be able to find it elsewhere instead.
However, there was still the issue of fate. Since it was compelling him to reach Mount Tolarion’s summit, trying to do anything else at the moment would likely only result in failure. Soren didn’t doubt that the Orbits of Fate likely influenced more than just Yarian…
Lifting himself off the chair, Soren glanced at the flame and smiled. “It’s decided then. I'll focus on climbing the mountain for now and researching Paper Fold Resurrection. Also, you spoke of wanting to experience what I experience, correct? After thinking about it for a while, I see no reason not to agree.”
“What?” The flame flickered wildly, dimming and brightening in rapid flashes. This wasn’t something it was expecting to hear.
Soren chuckled. “I did promise you freedom, did I not? Consider yourself no different from Tazzith—you are now a contracted anchor like the rest. Of course, you probably assumed that freedom was limited just to [The Faerie Court] itself… but fear not! For my benevolence knows no bounds!~”
The flame flickered for a while longer, though, from the paper doll’s eyes, Soren could tell Figment was suspicious. It finally said in a low voice:
“What are your demands?”
Soren’s lips widened into a smile. “Demands? What demands?”
“Don’t play tricks with me. You wouldn’t make this suggestion unless it benefits you in some way…”
Hearing this, Soren simply shrugged. “This time, I really don’t have many demands. It’s just that there might be times where it might be better for us to swap places… At least temporarily!~”
The more Figment heard, the more afraid it became. It knew enough about Soren to realize nothing he suggested was ever normal or sane…
Ignoring its feelings, Soren turned away and left the canopy. However, he continued conversing with the flame:
“Since you are technically an independent being now, maybe we should assign you a name as well… One that’s unique to you.”
“.....” Figment didn’t know how to reply. Eventually, he heard Soren snap his fingers.
“Maybe Muninn? Named after one of Odin’s crows.
“Or we could go with Skrifari… but that feels a bit old school.
“Ah… Biblion. I believe it means ‘Book’ in Latin. No, was it Greek?” He scratched his hair, “I really should have paid attention in my language classes. Maybe when I visit Earth again, I’ll chronicle more of its languages.”
After another moment of silence, he smiled and asked again:
“So then… Which one would you like? I personally like them all.”
“I like them all too,” the flame said succinctly.
Soren chuckled, “Very well! You can have them all. As I would expect from the librarian of this grand space—very fitting of your identity...”
Walking further away, Soren finally reached the familiar portal gateway. But just as he was about to step through it, another question entered his mind, making him pause…
“The message you left behind for me through the ‘Figment’s Defeat’ entry… Did you intend for it to be so cryptic? Was it due to interference from that entity?”
There was a brief pause before Biblion answered.
“I’m not sure what you mean. I only wrote exactly what occurred during the ritual as well as the method you used to defeat me. In the end, I included a brief hint about searching yourself, but I questioned whether you would even read it.”
Soren’s eyes widened. What?.. That doesn’t sound similar to the entry I read…
A sudden chill ran down his spine. Something felt wrong. Very wrong…
Figment also felt the same. It decided to read the entry again for itself. After a few seconds, Soren noticed its flames beginning to flicker wildly, as if a storm had passed through the marble canopy.
“What is this?! This isn’t what I wrote at all!”