Gale and Rachel stood in front of the library’s rustic door, different from the other doors in the hallway. Beside the door was a standing torch, lit up, fire swaying against non-existent wind.

Rachel held her hands out to him.

Reaching for his pocket, he gave her the card her grandmother gave to him. Rachel flicked it to the torch. It flashed white, then returned to her hand. The door clicked, allowing her to open the door inwards.

“Here we are,” she said, giving him back the card.

When Gale caught sight of her eyes, he saw the puffiness that couldn’t be covered with make up along with her reddened eyes. The usual warmth that occurred when he was near her wasn’t there, instead replaced by room temperature ambient air.

He didn’t mention it. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

Rachel led him inside. The moment he stepped in, the full display of an ancient family’s library revealed itself. Shelves that went all the way to the top of the ceiling. Tables between sections that tendrils noticed had noise dampening, either magic or physical. Morning light came through the stained glass windows that had images of a woman watching the stars.

“The Ann family collection goes back centuries,” Rachel said, surprisingly her voice didn’t echo in this space of the library. “We have texts that don’t exist anywhere else in the world.”

Gale ran his fingers along a shelf. “I can see that.”

“So,” Rachel smiled softly, “what you looking for… exactly?”

“Information on artifacts,” Gale said. Origin Artifacts and anything about Dainvs. That was his true aim if there was even anything in the library about it. If not, fantasy books or anything that’ll beat the living balls out of the mundane fantasy books like… “And maybe a bit of Aur history. Basics first, then specifics.”

“General Aur history is in this section.” Rachel pointed to several shelves near the entrance. “Artifact cataloguing and theory is over there.”

Moving over the entrance area section, the section was literally called ‘General Aur’. The text covered information he didn’t care too much about. The Jiuling’s creation of some guy named Heavenly Demon uniting all of Asia under the 9 Souls alliance, aka Jiuling 九灵 with the help of the Holy Fire Maiden. The United Knights, on the other hand, were developed by the Aurians of the early British rule, separated from the government. First called as the Knights of the Round Table, they modernized to become the United Knights. Lastly, the Path was actually a department that branched off of the Hudson’s Bay Company after the fur trade declined. Who would’ve thought that a dead company actually still lives in the corrupted face of the Path? For all of this information, none of it really mattered to his current goals.

He moved to another section, picking up a book called “Bloodlines and Powers.” Basic information that had nothing to do with him about ether affinities and family specializations. Only the Baker family had something interesting with their clairvoyance bloodline. Nothing about the Dainvs, though.

After an hour of browsing books, Gale turned to Rachel, who sat at a reading table flipping through her own selection.

“These are all pretty basic,” he said. “Is there anything more… in-depth?”

Rachel checked her watch. “Like what?”

“Artifacts, for starters. Not just catalogues, but how they’re made. What powers them.”

“The artifact section I showed you has our approved texts on the subject.”

“Approved?” Gale asked. “As in, there are unapproved ones?”

Rachel stood up. “Let me show you the artifact catalogues.”

She led him to another section filled with what looked like thick encyclopaedias that he couldn’t wrap his fingers around. Books ranged from the Sword of Chen, the Moving Mirrors of Venice, to the Jiuling’s Immortal Flame.

“This is just a picture book,” Gale said.

“It’s a comprehensive catalogue.”

“Of known artifacts, sure. But I was hoping for something on how they’re made. What makes them different from regular objects?”

“That information is… restricted.” Rachel’s eyes turned downwards.

“Restricted?” Gale closed the book with a thud. “I got your mom’s magic knuckles back, and what do I get? Things that I could probably just ask Ollie. Great.”

“It’s not like that,” Rachel said, glancing at her watch again. “There are sections my grandma didn’t approve for your access.”

Gale walked past her, heading toward a roped-off area with darker shelves. “Let me guess. The interesting stuff is over there?”

“Gale, wait!”

He ducked under the velvet rope and reached for a promising-looking tome with silver lettering in a different language that looked nothing like it was from Earth. His hand hit something invisible. Not solid, but resistance that he couldn’t seem to pass through. He tried forcing it more, until it pushed him back, sending his hand flying.

“What the hell?” He tried again with the same result.

“Barriers,” Rachel sighed. “Grandma has them on all the restricted sections.”

Gale tried another shelf with the same result. A third attempt at a locked glass case made his fingers numb. For goddamn’s sake. This was his reward after risking his life for the knuckle guards. Should’ve known that grandma wasn’t an easy one to trick. And really, it wasn’t even Rachel’s fault.

“The terms suck,” Gale said bluntly, lying down on the floor, looking up at the ceiling.

“I know,” Rachel sighed again.

“All these books and I’m stuck with basics 101 of everything,” Gale grumbled.

“She doesn’t trust easily,” Rachel said, checking her watch again. “We only have another hour before she expects this visit to be over.”

Of course her grandma was timing them. Should’ve also known as she kept checking her watch.

Rachel fiddled with the sleeve of her blouse. “I’m really sorry, Gale. If it were up to me…”

“Your grandma…” was an asshole, he wanted to say.

“An asshole?” Rachel said. “She is… but she has her reasons.”

“She always does. Mysterious, ancient, scary reasons that nobody gets to question for your own good.”

Rachel moved closer to him, peeking at him downwards . “You don’t understand. These books contain family secrets. Techniques and knowledge the Anns have protected for generations.”

“Then why offer library access at all?” Gale said. “Why not just give me twenty bucks and a pat on the back?”

“Because…” Rachel stopped. “You should hurry and find more.”

“There’s no point. Not with this kind of assholery.”

Rachel turned away, moving toward a tall shelf near a window. She reached for a book, then stumbled slightly, bumping into the shelf.

A large, hard cover book fell to the floor with a thud, its pages sprawling open as it bounced.

Taken from NovelBin, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Oh no,” Rachel said. “Definitely didn’t do that on purpose.”

Gale stood back up and crawled to the open book. The pages showed detailed illustrations. Four figures standing beside what appeared to be a molten planet. The heading read The Ancients’ Era in flowing script.

Rachel hesitated, then knelt down beside the book. “We probably shouldn’t look at this.”

“Probably not.” He moved his face in closer to take a read. “Especially since it fell open on its own wanting us to read it.”

“Grandma would be very upset. Very,” Rachel said sarcastically, making no signs of even bothering to close the book.

Gale read the text. When the beings saw the planet, they knew life would bud on this planet. From their Origin Artifacts, it gave them access to knowledge and laws of the world, as well as access to change them at will.

“What are ‘Origin Artifacts’?” he asked nonchalantly, like a cool kid at recess not caring about a cool thing he saw.

Rachel’s fingers traced the text. “According to legend, they’re objects that existed before the universe. Not like regular artifacts used in Aur.”

The beings intervened in the evolution of a species, modifying them to be more like themselves. In return, the species had developed a name for these beings. Aurumn, Vianne, Asain, Cev.

Gale’s heart literally skipped a beat when he saw the name, Cev. The name the dark knight had talked of in the Eclipsed.

“We really shouldn’t be reading this,” Rachel said. “But since it accidentally fell open…”

“We might as well bend the rules a little,” Gale finished, smiling at her. “Just this once.”

Rachel returned the smile. This wasn’t an accident. Somehow, now he felt bad about her puffy eyes. She created this opportunity for him.

“The Ancients’ Era isn’t taught in regular Aur education,” Rachel said softly. “Most of it is considered myth, stories to explain how ether users came to be.”

Gale pointed to the last paragraph, which described how the Ancients didn’t die but went mad, destroying stars and eventually turning on each other until only one remained.

“That’s a hell of an origin story,” he said.

“The Ann family has always believed the Ancients were real,” Rachel said. “That they modified early humans to pass on their abilities.”

Gale read the passage again. None of it specifically said the species referred to in the book were humans. They were just intelligent beings that had budded on a random molten planet that was never named.

“Your grandma believes this?” he asked.

“Not just believes it,” Rachel said. “She bases our entire family philosophy on it. She says we’re direct descendants of Aurumn, the goddess of life and death.”

“The fire powers?”

Rachel nodded.

Looking back at the illustrations, the figure labelled Aurumn had flames surrounding her whole body as 9 sun-like orbs orbited around her. Vianne was depicted with flowing scrolls and stars. Asain held what looked like a chunk of rock with gears all around him. And Cev… he was shown with darkness that swirled around him while his body was translucent.

Phase Touch and Distort.

“This is the first real discovery in this whole library,” Gale said, excited. This is the kind of fantasy book he’d been talking about. The thing that blows mundane fantasy out of the water.

Rachel smiled, a genuine one this time. “I thought you might find it interesting.”

“Won’t you get in trouble?”

Rachel looked down at the book, then back at Gale. “Because sometimes Grandma’s secrets do more harm than good. And because…” She paused. “Just because.”

Gale’s fingers traced the ancient text on the fallen page. His eyes stayed on the illustration of Cev. That dark hunter persona he stupidly thought of in his head wasn’t sounding that stupid now. Cev was even more edgy.

“What does it say about bloodlines?” he asked, keeping his voice casual despite the excitement he felt.

Rachel pointed to a paragraph below the main text. “According to this, each Ancient passed down unique traits to their followers. They created… lineages, I guess you could call them. Each with different affinities.”

“Four bloodlines from four ‘gods’, right?” Gale said.

“Right. And most Aurians are descended from various mixtures now, diluted over millennia.” Rachel turned the page, revealing more illustrations. “Pure bloodlines are exceptionally rare.”

Gale read the text, then said, “Aurumn’s line carried fire and life. Vianne’s carried knowledge and matter manipulation. Asain’s carried earth and transmutation. And Cev’s…”

“The in between and space,” Rachel said. “At least that’s what the legends claim.”

The in between? Like Breath of the Void. It wasn’t part of this world. No one else could see his reality except himself. He could somehow imagine what the tendrils would look like… an abomination of octopus like appendages. He mentally shivered. Now that was a thing of nightmares. He didn’t want his hands to look like octopus tentacles.

“What’s this about ‘the great separation’?” Gale asked, pointing to a reference at the bottom of the page.

Rachel furrowed her brows. She checked her watch again.

“It was some kind of catastrophe,” she said. “The book says there was a war which scattered that race to different worlds, and along it also scattering the bloodlines away. They all became separated and lost contact with each other.”

“Is that why there are different factions now?”

“No. Just that this book is not talking about…” Rachel closed the book suddenly. “We should move on. There are other sections.”

“Why are you nervous?” Gale asked.

“I’m-I’m not nervous. I just…” Rachel stuttered. She checked her watch again. “We have limited time.”

Gale held her gaze until she looked away.

“Fine,” she said finally. “There’s more… but we’d be breaking more rules.”

“I think we’re past that point.”

Rachel smiled slightly. “Follow me. And try to look like we’re supposed to be there.”

She led him across the library to another section. A wooden sign hung from brass hooks: “Restricted – Ann Family Only.”

Rachel stopped at the barrier, looking over her shoulder. The way she became more shifty made whatever beyond seemed important, like a cat burglar.

Smiling at the thought, Gale followed closely behind her, glancing over his shoulders as well. A slight resistance met him as if the section didn’t want him there. When Rachel reached out to his hand, the pressure disappeared as she pulled him in.

The temperature took a sudden drop as he entered the restricted section. The calming scent of slowly burning sandalwood wafted at him. As he rounded the corner, glass cases lined the walls, each containing a single book.

Rachel stopped at a case near the centre. Inside lay a book bound in simple red leather.

“Aurumn’s Legacy,” Rachel read aloud. “It’s a special book, mostly because of its age, but I remember my mom reading this to me.”

She took a key from her pocket. “I shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Then why?” Gale asked.

Rachel didn’t reply immediately. She put the key into the case’s lock and turned it. A soft click, and the case opened.

“Just because,” Rachel lifted the book carefully and carried it to a nearby reading table. She opened it.

“It’s not written in English,” she said, “but I can translate.”

Gale leaned over her, shoulder to shoulder, close enough that he could smell the hints of wood, amber, and a large hint of spices from her perfume. Looking at the alien language of the book, the pages filled with script and sketches of beings wrapped in flames.

“One love. One chance. Forever,” Rachel read outloud. “What mortals call love is but a shadow of the bond shared by the first ones.”

Her finger traced the text horizontally.

“The book tells the story of a god who fell in love with a mortal in the world she inhabited. She had a happy life with him, but only for a while. As time passed by, arguments rose up and his age became apparent. Then in his last moments, he asked her why she had not aged, forever concealing her true identity.” Rachel turned the page. “It continues, and the author warns the other gods of the sweet perils she faced during his lifetime. No longer can she give again as she wanders that world alone, not accepting the countless offers she received from other suitors. Other gods bond with fellow gods, becoming forever entwined. Their fates inseparable. Yet her, she is alone to mourn, forever connected to his grave.”

“Sounds romantic? I guess,” he said. Loving only once, but what if that loved one dies? It was a curse.

Rachel didn’t look up from the page. “Although it’s called Aurumn’s Curse, my mom always referred to it as a blessing.”

“A curse disguised as a blessing?” Gale asked.

“Or a blessing disguised as a curse.” Rachel continued reading: “When Aurumn perished, the remaining three vowed to instill a part of her fire into them. They bestowed upon their children the gift of singular devotion.”

She flipped through more pages. “Later accounts describe how this ‘blessing’ manifested as an unbreakable bond. Once formed, it could never be undone or transferred.”

“So the race modified by these gods could only love one person ever? That’s more like a prison sentence than a blessing.” Gale said.

Rachel looked up suddenly, their eyes meeting. She looked down immediately and continued. “Our family believes we’re direct descendants of Aurumn. That’s why grandma is so protective of these texts. They’re not just history. They’re our heritage.”

“And do you believe it?” Gale asked.

“I don’t know. Sometimes I think it’s just stories to explain why our family has such strong… fire,” Rachel said, looking down. She snapped the book closed. “We should continue. Time is limited.”

Rachel quickly returned the book to its case, locked it, and went toward another section.

It took him a second to stand back up and follow her. What was he supposed to say in that case? He hadn’t read many romance books. Was it really that special? But she showed him that for a reason.

“Rachel,” he called after her as he caught up. “Why did you show me that?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep