Chapter 92: He Could Still Be Alive!!??

Words : 1039 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 92: He Could Still Be Alive!!?? The silence inside the Vault lingered like fog. Ethan stood still, hands loose at his sides, head slightly tilted as he stared up toward the endless swirl of floating shelves above. It wasn’t a ceiling, just a void filled with glowing books and distant light, but somehow, it felt like something was watching him. Not just the Librarian. Not just the others. The Vault itself. He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Until soft footsteps echoed behind him. Lilith stepped forward first. Calm on her face, as usual, but it was thinner now. Not broken, just... strained. Her arms were folded, but her eyes were moving, watching Ethan, the floating book, and the silent woman beside him, who still hadn’t moved since calling him "Master." Elowen followed, then Seraphina, Isabella, Liliana, and the twins. All of them gathered now. Silent, but awake. Finally, Lilith spoke. "That woman said you’re her master," she said quietly. "That you inherited this Vault. That you’re tied to something older than this world..." Her voice faded, not in disbelief, but because saying it made it too real. Elowen added softly, "And if what we just heard is true... then this bloodline, the one you carry, was held by the Restarter." At that word, the floating book paused mid-spin. Ethan turned his head. "The what?" Elowen met his gaze. "The Restarter. That’s what the oldest records call him. No one dares say his real name. Because if you do..." Her voice dipped. "He might hear you." Ethan blinked. "What?" Liliana shivered. "That’s insane." "It’s not just superstition," Elowen said. "Some beings—when they reach certain levels of power—can leave fragments of themselves in time. If you say their name, they can look. Just once. But sometimes... that’s all it takes." Seraphina frowned. "So you’re saying the guy who had Ethan’s bloodline before him could see us if we said his name?" Elowen nodded. "Which is why every record of it was erased. Completely. All that remains... is the aftermath." "He reset the world," Isabella muttered. "All of it. Burned it down and started from scratch." "Or from pride," Seraphina added. "Depends on who you ask." But Ethan’s focus wasn’t on the erased name anymore. A darker thought was forming. He looked at the system. ’Hey... was he killed?’ There was a long pause. Then the system replied. [You’re asking the right question.] Ethan’s voice grew more serious. ’You said the bloodline can’t transfer unless the holder dies. So... was he killed? Or did he die naturally?’ [That’s what makes him so dangerous.] [He wasn’t killed.] Ethan’s chest tightened. ’Then... he’s still out there?’ [His body couldn’t contain the bloodline anymore. It collapsed. But his consciousness... is another matter.] ’So he didn’t die.’ [Not completely.] [You’re not the second.] [You’re just the next.] [And he might still be watching.] Ethan’s pulse thudded in his ears. He looked around the Vault, at all the knowledge, the silence, the way the shelves shimmered like time itself was pressed into their spines. ’So he could’ve sealed himself. Hidden somewhere.’ [Yes. He might have escaped into a dimension, left traps behind... or simply gone dormant.] ’Waiting for what?’ [For you.] That answer didn’t feel like comfort. It felt like pressure. Lilith’s voice cut through the tension. "If the Librarian’s telling the truth... and if everything here really belongs to you now... then there’s a chance—" She stopped herself. But everyone knew what she was about to say. That maybe all of this wasn’t just a gift. Maybe it was bait. A time bomb. Ethan exhaled. "So this guy... the Restarter... he didn’t just break rules." "He rewrote them," Elowen finished for him. "He erased civilizations to rebuild the world how he wanted it," Liliana said. "This whole Vault? It’s just what he left behind." "Which means every artifact, every record in here... might’ve been created by a god who thought everything belonged to him," Seraphina added. Ethan turned back to the Librarian. She hadn’t moved. She hadn’t spoken. But her silence was loud. "You still follow your old coding, don’t you?" he asked. Her head tilted toward him slightly. "I follow my design," she said calmly. "But I recognize my Master by the blood." He narrowed his eyes. "And if the previous holder came back?" She paused. Then answered, "I would still follow the current holder." That gave Ethan a pause. He looked at her again, still as flawless and unreadable as ever. He asked the system in a whisper: ’If he comes back... can he take it from me?’ [No.] ’Can he overwrite my control?’ [Not unless he has a new body.] [And not unless you fail.] Ethan nodded slowly. Then dropped his gaze to his hands. ’So this is my inheritance?’ [Yes.] [A legacy wrapped in chains.] [A gift built on the ashes of a god.] [And now... It’s yours.] Ethan clenched his fists for a moment. Then, they released them. Behind him, Lilith spoke again. "This place... the Vault... the bloodline... You may own it now. But you’re walking down a path that was paved by someone who wanted to be something he could not." He didn’t argue. Didn’t deny it. He just looked around the Vault one more time. And whispered, "Then I better not trip." The book twirled in response, circling him happily, watching. Because this time, the story wasn’t being written by a tyrant. It was being written by him. But even then, there was more to ask. More to understand. Ethan turned back to the Librarian. "You said you’re not the only one," he asked. "That there are others?" She nodded gently. "Yes. I have sisters. Other tools. Other watchers. Some are people. Some are places. Some... are not easily explained." Ethan took a breath. "And they’ll all answer to me?" "When the time comes," she said simply. He looked around the Vault again. The endless books. The shifting light. The air that carried knowledge like it breathed it in and out. It should’ve been overwhelming. But it wasn’t. He felt... ready. Lilith’s voice broke the moment. "So what happens now?" The Librarian looked at her, then at Ethan.

Chapter 92: He Could Still Be Alive!!??

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