Chapter 976: Archive of Darkness (4)
A path opened, accompanied by an offer to interpret the strange script.
A dark passage formed as colossal bookshelves split apart in all directions.
Upon a massive hill of information, constructed from stacked books and parchments, someone stood with their back turned, silently moving their hand.
“……”
It was a tattered, ragged skeleton.
Compared to the other librarians managing the archive, its appearance was shabby and unremarkable, rattling as if it could collapse at any moment.
The gleam of light seeping through the skull was also exceedingly faint and dim compared to the other librarians.
Its movements were so slow and static one couldn’t even be sure if intelligence resided within. Gestures devoid of will or passion, like a machine.
It stood with its back turned, a quill clutched in its bony hand, writing something on a book.
Creak, creak…
The moment Lennok thought of borrowing a book, the path opened.
Then this author must be the librarian responsible for lending books from this archive.
Lennok carefully stepped forward, standing behind the skeleton, and slowly opened his mouth.
“Excuse me.”
[……]
“I’d like to borrow a book.”
[……]
“……”
Thinking about it, a skeleton had no eardrums.
Just as Lennok was wondering if he should write his request instead of speaking it, the skeleton turned its head.
Glancing at Lennok over its shoulder, the skeleton spoke in a low voice.
[Skull’s Quiz.]
“……What?”
At the abrupt words, entirely unsuited to its deep, resonant voice, Lennok asked back with a bewildered expression.
[Guess what I was just doing.]
But the skeleton continued to scrawl with its quill, not stopping for a moment.
Its faint eye-light seemed to momentarily sweep over the grimoires Lennok held in his hand.
[If you answer correctly, I shall permit you to borrow the other books you have brought as well.]
“……”
The Black God Demonic Art and the Hellfire Illusion Palace that Lennok had brought while wandering the archive.
Was it saying it would permit him to take those two books out of the archive as well?
This conversation was only possible if the speaker had known from the beginning that Lennok intended to borrow the Celestial Spellcraft.
Realizing this, Lennok lifted his head, pondered, and then asked.
“What happens if I don’t answer correctly?”
[You must help me organize the books.]
The skeleton replied in a gentle, low voice.
[It is the task of classifying and organizing the grimoires and books in the archive. The quantity is so vast that I’ve inadvertently been receiving help from others.]
“……Then, all those librarians?”
[They are kind people who enjoy a fun quiz and are personally helping me.]
“……”
So the true identity of the skull librarians was people who couldn’t borrow books from the archive and got trapped?
Lennok had suspected it wasn’t an ordinary sub-space, but this was the first he’d heard of a penalty for borrowing books.
“I’ve never heard that borrowing grimoires required a special price,” Lennok said, tilting his head.
“Does everyone usually go through a similar procedure to borrow books?”
[No. It is because the spellcraft you wish to borrow is excessively weighty, requiring time for the work.]
The skeleton replied with a hint of amusement in its voice.
[As I, too, must interrupt my original work to assist you, wouldn’t a brief amusement be in order?]
“……”
For reasons unknown, borrowing the book seemed to require some kind of effort.
And this skeleton was telling Lennok that if he answered the quiz correctly, it would permit him to borrow the book.
While the skeleton’s abrupt offer of a quiz to Lennok, a first-time visitor to the archive, was absurd,
What was stranger was how the skeleton’s hand moved so naturally between the parchments and books.
An uncanny sight, as if it never lost focus even while conversing with Lennok.
Scratch.
The skeleton, seemingly having just finished its work, set down its pen and finally turned its entire body to face Lennok.
[Now, answer me. What exactly was I doing just now?]
What did this skeleton hope to gain by asking Lennok this question?
While it was certainly no ordinary being, discerning its true intentions was difficult.
But if he had to cooperate with it to borrow the Celestial Spellcraft, he would eventually have to answer correctly.
More importantly, Lennok already knew the answer to the quiz.
Lennok let out a small sigh and set down the Celestial Spellcraft grimoire.
“It must have been the work of translating grimoires written in the Old World’s language into this world’s language.”
[Oh. Why do you think so?]
“I understand this archive has existed for decades, yet you are still classifying and organizing books like this.” Lennok gestured to the busy skull librarians around him.
“If you were merely organizing newly acquired grimoires, you wouldn’t need so many librarians. The only possibility I could think of… was if the information within the archive was being continuously updated.”
[……]
“If the contents of the grimoires within the archive are constantly being updated, I simply thought it was the process of rewriting existing information rather than updating the books themselves.”
Lennok’s gaze, fixed on the skeleton, sharpened.
“More importantly, you asked me if I needed the grimoire interpreted. Wasn’t that because you were responsible for translating the strange script written in the grimoires?”
[Precisely so.]
Suddenly, the skeleton’s reply felt imbued with an overwhelming force.
[The transmission and dissemination of knowledge can never occur without the connection of language and script. Therefore, translation is an incredibly important task in conveying severed time.]
“……”
[Understanding the languages of two worlds, examining the cultures and customs of both, and translating and transcribing them with appropriate nuance. A complex and profound task where the original is paramount, yet the subjective perspective and values of the translator can never be ignored.]
The skeleton smiled with satisfaction, extending a hand towards the Celestial Spellcraft grimoire.
[Bring me the grimoire. I shall personally translate this magnificent Celestial Spellcraft for you.]
“Here it is.”
As Lennok handed over the grimoire, the skeleton gently stroked the cover with an almost soft touch.
[It’s been quite a while since I’ve touched this… Was this what it felt like?]
“Even with only bones left, do you still have a sense of touch?”
[No…]
The skeleton spoke with a wistful voice.
[I am feeling the memories of the soul that remains.]
“Memories of the soul?”
The skeleton did not answer Lennok’s question further.
It simply picked up its quill again, opened the Celestial Spellcraft grimoire, and began writing new characters.
Scratch, scratch.
Each time the quill smoothly scraped the grimoire’s paper, a soft noise, as if paring fruit, reverberated low.
The grimoire’s content, previously written in unintelligible script, gradually transformed into understandable text.
The process involved overlaying new characters on top of the existing strange script, translating them into the common language of the continent.
[Celestial Spellcraft: Miniature Garden was originally a degraded version, interpreted from Chicheon’s Heavenly Displacement Spellcraft.]
The skeleton spoke with a nostalgic tone.
[He was the most noble and arrogant Ascendant in the 2nd World… and a genius worthy of it.]
“……”
[He sought to read the flow of the heavens and stars and hold them in his hand, yet even that arrogance often provided great inspiration to those who lived in the same era.]
The skeleton slowly turned the page.
[Especially the profound secret of the Heavenly Displacement Spellcraft he created, Miniature Garden, can be considered the origin of the Domain used by spellcasters today.]
“……Miniature Garden was close to the original form of the Domain?”
Just as Lennok’s expression hardened slightly at the unexpected information,
The skeleton, having swiftly finished the translation to the very last page, set down its pen.
Thud.
The skeleton closed the grimoire, then handed it back to Lennok with a smile.
[He was an excellent man. And a respectable rival.]
“……”
[As per the ancient promise, I lend you Chicheon’s grimoire. Please use it for a beneficial purpose, and return it properly to its place.]
The original master of the Celestial Spellcraft. The Ascendant Chicheon (治天) from the Old World.
Was he a monster who possessed both power and character befitting his formidable renown, that of ruling the heavens?
Why was the skeleton explaining secrets about him now?
Why did this unremarkable skeleton know so much about such profound matters?
As Lennok felt the doubt blooming in a corner of his mind transform into certainty, he opened the Celestial Spellcraft grimoire.
====
In the name of Chicheon, who embraces and watches over the heavens.
May all stars revolve and shine within our hands.
We shall create a Miniature Garden to preserve its beauty eternally.
====
The content of the grimoire, which had been unintelligible moments ago, was now translated into the common language.
With this, there would be no problem reading the book and mastering the principles and theories of the spellcraft.
[Since you answered the quiz correctly, I can translate the other grimoires you brought, if you wish.]
The skeleton, having handed the grimoire to Lennok, indicated the other grimoires with a surprisingly gentle gesture.
[The Black God Demonic Art and the Hellfire Illusion Palace. The translation is almost complete, so there should be no problem understanding them, but if you need help…]
“……No.”
Lennok said, and pulled out another grimoire from his embrace.
“Not the other grimoires, but I ask you to translate this book.”
[Fate Sealing: Causality Reversal]
The skeleton’s reply abruptly stopped as it looked at the grimoire’s title.
Lennok looked directly at the skeleton and asked.
“I want to know the contents of this book.”
The ominous keyword “Fate Sealing.” The “fourth ‘other side’” written within the book.
The possibility that the contents of this book were somehow related to him was too high.
That was why Lennok had kept it hidden, intending to steal the grimoire itself, out of the skull librarian’s sight.
However, if the opponent before him was this skeleton, there was no point in hiding or concealing it.
[Oh dear……]
The skeleton let out a wry smile, an expression of distress.
For a moment, its faint eye-light seemed to bore into Lennok.
[To not only read this grimoire and not forget it, but even bring it before me. It seems you are utterly unaffected by the Curse of Perception Degradation.]
“……”
[I’m sorry, but I cannot translate this book for you. This is because it is not a book recorded in the era I lived in.]
“What do you mean by ‘the era you lived in’?”
[You should already understand.]
The skeleton shook its head.
[This is a book recorded in the future. It is an echo of memory that should not exist anywhere in the current timeline.]
“……”
[It is a letter flown from a non-existent ‘other side,’ where cause and effect are connected, great causality circulates, and stretches towards an infinite future.]
The skeleton whispered.
[Therefore, we can neither possess nor understand this book. That is because this archive, too, still belongs to this world.]
‘The other side of the future,’ it said.
Did the skeleton truly understand what it had just said to Lennok?
The meaning that a book from the future was placed within Nox Biblio, an archive containing ancient arts from the Old World.
As Lennok pondered this fact, the skeleton, having set down the Fate Sealing grimoire, spoke.
[I will return the book to where it was originally. It’s not something you can take out of the archive anyway.]
“……”
[If you wish, you may return to look at this grimoire anytime, as long as you can enter the archive.]
The skeleton picked up its pen again and pointed to the back of the archive.
[The exit is that way. I hope to see you again before the return deadline.]
With that low advice, the skeleton turned its back, as if their business was concluded, and resumed scribbling with its pen.
Despite having faced and conversed with Lennok, it showed no discernible impression of him.
As if it deliberately chose not to pay much attention to Lennok’s presence here.
But precisely because of that, Lennok was certain that it knew him.
“……”
Holding the grimoire in one hand, Lennok stared at the skeleton’s back.
Should he speak now? Or would it be better for them to part, pretending not to know each other?
Clearly, continuing the conversation here was not what the skeleton desired.
But even knowing that, Lennok felt that such an opportunity might not come again.
Curiosity, rather than lingering attachment, and interest, rather than yearning, held his feet captive.
He knew that once he spoke, there would be no turning back, yet if there was something he had to do—
“You said translation is the process of connecting two different cultures and languages, didn’t you?”
Having made his decision, Lennok opened his mouth.
“That means, in other words, it’s the process of connecting traces that existed in different timelines.”
[……]
“A task of joining the memories of two different worlds. Is that the new answer you’ve arrived at in this world?”
[……I don’t know what you are talking about.]
The skeleton replied in a slow, low voice.
[However, you should be careful. Time in this archive flows differently than outside.]
“……”
[Someone must be waiting for you outside. Is it alright to waste your time with me like this?]
“I never said a word about how I was able to enter this archive,” Lennok retorted coldly.
“Nor did I say why I sought this archive.”
[……]
“Stop feigning ignorance and let’s talk for a moment. You know that you and I remember each other.”
The busy skull librarians around them had, at some point, stopped dead in their tracks.
The rustling of paper and the scratching of the quill had vanished, leaving only silence.
Looking at the skeleton’s back, shrouded in darkness, Lennok called out its name.
“Naoise Penn.”
Whoosh……!!
A chilling wind, which should not have been present, swept through the archive.
Feeling the darkness brush his cheek, Lennok slowly drew forth his mana.
After a long silence, the skeleton slowly set down its pen and turned around.
[You clearly know nothing of the virtues of humility and modesty.]
Thud!
The eye-light of the skeleton, now facing Lennok, was filled with a hollow darkness, like the boundless abyss of hell.
[Must I personally instruct you on the fact that some things, even when seen, must be feigned as unseen?]
“……”
Ever since he heard Olivera’s explanation of Nox Biblio.
Even after facing countless skull librarians in the darkness.
And now, meeting the skeleton before him to borrow the Celestial Spellcraft, Lennok had already known.
That the skull before him was the great Transcendent who had once challenged ascension, from a forgotten corner of memory.
The memory of ascension where Lennok, the Pontiff, and the Director had chosen to meet.
The last of the great Transcendent who challenged ascension in the 2nd World.
The Level 9 Spirit Summoner, Naoise Penn.
Lennok was directly asking him if he was indeed the master of Nox Biblio.
“Why is an Ascendant from the Second World acting as a librarian in this sub-space?”