Chapter 86: Master!!

Words : 1107 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 86: Master!! The air shifted. For a moment, the world inside the Vault of Knowledge was still, quiet, like a deep breath held just before a leap. But the stillness didn’t last. Elowen stepped through the spiral first, the light brushing past her skin like a slow-moving breeze. Her heels touched down gently on marble that didn’t look carved or placed—just formed, as if the world had built itself around the Vault’s will. Seraphina followed close behind, her steps cautious but steady. Isabella and Liliana came next, a little less graceful but just as alert. The twins hesitated, holding hands for a second before stepping through together. Then... silence. They looked around. The place didn’t look like anything they had expected. It wasn’t some endless palace or a floating city of lights. It was just... massive. Rows and rows of bookshelves stretched in all directions. Some ran like staircases into the distance. Others hung upside down, dangling with slow, gravity-defying swings. The floor was cold underfoot, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The glow that surrounded the space came from nowhere and everywhere at once. No one said a word. Because no one knew what to say. Until Isabella broke the silence. "Where’s Ethan?" Everyone turned quickly. She was right. He wasn’t there. "He came through right after me," Liliana said, her voice tight. "He was right behind us," Evelyn added. "Did something happen?" Everly asked, her voice rising slightly. "Is he okay?" "Maybe he just took a different route?" Isabella offered, though even she didn’t sound convinced. Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "No. This Vault doesn’t do things by accident. If he’s not here... It’s because it made a choice." Elowen didn’t speak. But her eyes scanned the room carefully. Not for danger—just for signs. The ground beneath them pulsed. It wasn’t violent. It didn’t shake. It was like the world sighed. And then... everything tilted. Not physically, but in feeling. A ripple moved through their bodies. Their vision blurred, and the world twisted, like their senses were being bent through water. Light stretched. Shelves moved. Time warped. Then—just as quickly—it stopped. Everyone gasped, blinking rapidly. They weren’t standing where they had been. They were deeper now. Somewhere far past where the Vault had let them enter. And Lilith was there. She looked at them with mild surprise in her eyes. "I didn’t call you here," she said slowly. Seraphina stepped forward. "We didn’t choose to come either." The air was heavier now. Not threatening—but full. It is as if this section of the Vault had something different about it. Something close. Personal. Before anyone could speak again, the space in front of them shimmered. Not far away—just beyond the faint silver glow—Ethan appeared. He wasn’t gasping for breath. He wasn’t panicked. He walked forward calmly, like he’d always known where he needed to be. But there was something new. A book floated next to him. It wasn’t just hovering. It danced. It twisted and spun like it had its own mind, circling Ethan slowly like a loyal pet, glowing with a warm light that pulsed with his footsteps. The cover shimmered, showing no title—until they looked closely. Then the letters showed themselves in the same shifting font Lilith had seen earlier. "The Truth of ???" Everyone froze. No one said anything. Not because they didn’t want to, but because they didn’t know how to ask what they were seeing. The book was... alive. It didn’t speak. It didn’t shake or burst with power. But it moved with intent. And then, from behind Ethan, a ripple appeared in the air. Soft. Silent. But the moment it appeared, everyone felt it. A pressure, an awareness, a presence. And then... she appeared. She didn’t float in. She didn’t blink into existence with magic sparks or grand music. She just... was. One second, she wasn’t there. The next, she was. She was tall and elegant in a way that felt both graceful and unshakable. Her presence filled the space without trying. Every step she took was quiet, smooth, and carried a weight that made the air feel still. Her robes were strange, unlike any normal cloth. They looked like they were stitched from starlight itself—soft silver threads woven with glowing lines of ancient script. Words moved across the fabric like they were alive, shifting with every breath she took. The symbols changed constantly, flickering between unknown languages, some of them sharp like carvings, others flowing like ink in water. It wasn’t just the fabric that moved. The robes shimmered faintly with light, like moonlight passing through mist. No two folds stayed the same for long. It was like she was dressed in history—layers of memory sewn into her very clothes. Her skin was smooth and pale but not cold. It gave off a soft glow, like the surface of a full moon seen through early morning fog. She looked ageless—not young, not old, just... eternal. And then there were her eyes. They weren’t just eyes. They shimmered with motion, full of tiny words that spun and shifted inside them like they were written on glass. With every blink, the letters rearranged themselves. Some formed full sentences, others symbols that pulsed once before fading. Looking into her eyes felt like staring into a living book. And yet, her presence didn’t feel heavy. It felt inevitable. She stepped forward slowly, approaching Ethan with calm, controlled grace. Then she stopped. Looked at him. And dropped to one knee. Her head bowed. And her voice, soft and smooth like silk sliding over marble, filled the Vault. "Master." Everyone froze again. Not just out of shock, but because those words felt too sharp. Too real. Like they cut through the rules they thought they understood. Ethan stood completely still. The book still danced around him, circling his shoulder, flicking back and forth like a fairy guarding its chosen person. And the woman knelt. Unmoving. Lilith stepped forward slowly, her tone quiet. "Who... are you?" The woman didn’t look up. But she answered. "I am the Librarian." The air seemed to pulse again when she said it. Even the walls, the shelves, the very floor under them seemed to respond. Elowen blinked. "The one who watches the Vault?" "Yes." Seraphina’s voice was dry. "I thought you didn’t appear. Ever, and everyone always thought you were a man." "I do not," the Librarian replied, ignoring the comment about her gender as she knew and had heard many wonder about it, but to her, all of this was not really important, so she never corrected anyone. "Then why now?" Isabella asked. "Because the Master has arrived," she said again.

Chapter 86: Master!!

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