Professor Linus was lecturing in his monologue again. Aylin was scribbling down notes that were written on the chalkboard. She hadn't said much today, just a good morning. I couldn't help but think that it was because of what happened yesterday. It was supposed to be a day for the both of us to wind down, but I just had to make the situation worse by getting too bold.
My head fell against the wooden desk, and I couldn't bear sitting through this sleep inducing monologue. I closed my eyes and hoped that all of this would end soon. The class bell rang, and I immediately rushed out of the classroom. This time, Aylin didn't follow me. I was all alone now for the first time at school after class.
The corridors were filled with students who had also finished their classes. It felt weird standing there without her. But I couldn't stand the feeling I had around her and just stormed off.
The crowds of people started to thin out the further I walked, until there were no more people. I was in the left wing of the school, a place Aylin and I had only visited once before to gather study material. This was the grand library of Landia. At this time of day, only a few people were at the library due to ongoing classes. I didn't feel like attending my last class of the day and walked through the doors of Landia.
Inside was the biggest and most valuable book collection in the world. Books from across the globe were housed in this library. The size of the library was a mere illusion. From the outside, it seemed like a small room, but from the inside, it stretched for kilometers. Shelves were neatly arranged with books. Even books from hundreds of years ago were kept in pristine condition. Translation manuals lay all over the place.
You could walk around for hours in this library. They also called it the Library of Infinity due to how many books existed within it. Some rumors said that all books written in history were stored here. They said that the one responsible for the creation of the library of Landia was the Aeon of Dexterity and the soul of Landia. The walls were adorned with depictions of animals and plants carved into the wood. Stairs lay across the library, allowing one to climb the hundreds of meter tall shelves.
This library was considered a national treasure by the capital due to its importance to scholars. Thus, the royal family paid Nautilus to allow scholars into the library. Therefore, throughout the library were people from across the globe studying.
I walked past rows of shelves and luxurious books and decided to go up to the second floor. There were still people there, so I went up another floor. Then the next. Until I reached the 28th floor. I looked around and didn't see a single soul. I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on one of the red sofas that existed on every floor.
After a few minutes of resting, I got bored and started to walk around the library. I opened a book and began to read.
"Give o'er thy heart and soul to that thy spirit most earnestly doth crave."
I immediately closed the book and gave it a deadpan look. I wasn't reading a book with such an outdated version of language. I continued to saunter down the massive hallways in search of something that interested me. There was a book with a purple lace hanging out of it. It seemed interesting enough, so I decided to take a look.
The First Aeon
The cover was a black swirl with hints of purple within it. In the middle of the swirl was a small black flower that oozed black ink. I took it and sat down to read.
-In the beginning, there was nothing, a void without abstraction. Humans lived without thought, only survival. But there came a day when survival was no longer the only thing humans cared for. Suddenly, humans knew how to love, how to care, and how to feel. Humans had changed from that day forth. Was it simple evolution that changed our ways? Nay. Was it the will of God? Nay. Was it random? Nay. It happened because history had been rewritten.-
Pages were torn from the book.
-The day will come when humans regret their choices and what they have been given. On this day, all will cease. Dreams will turn into blurs of the past, and the future will simply be a line which one can walk upon without changing fate. Because of him, humans will forget, but also because of him, we will remember.-
The words ended here, as what remained of the book were empty pages.
What was this book even about? I was about to put it back onto the shelf when I heard footsteps. I looked up to see a blue haired girl putting back a few books she had borrowed. They were all books on medicine and biology. When she realized I was staring at her, she hurried to place them back. She rushed so much that the books collapsed onto her, and she fell to the ground with books scattering all over her body.
She rose immediately and started putting the books back even faster than before. Then, as fleeting as patterns in the sand, she vanished. I couldn't have looked that scary, right? I glanced at one of the mirrors in the library and saw how horrible I looked. Messy hair, disheveled clothes, eye bags, and an expression that screamed "stay out of my way."
I sighed before putting back the purple book I had taken, and after the book slid into the empty space, I turned around. I nearly leapt out of my skin upon seeing the head professor standing behind me, smirking.
"Skipping classes, are we now?" she asked, circling me while eyeing me.
I tapped the book I had just returned and pulled it back out.
"The First Aeon, hmm?" She looked at it with a confused expression as she flipped through its pages.
"I don't remember these pages being torn from the book." Her blue eyes burned into my soul, as if questioning whether I had damaged library property.
She lowered her gaze before placing the book back. Sparks of yellow were visible on her cheek, but I didn't think much of it.
"Interested in Aeons now, are we, Vivshi Viltrano? Or shall I call you an Aeon instead?"
She tapped her lips with her index finger, looking at me with a plotting grin.
I stayed quiet and said nothing.
"I see it. The Eye of Landia foresees everything." Her eyes glowed as rings and circles formed around her pupils.
"Don't worry though, your secret stays with me. I will protect you against the royal family… and as for your current problem… I believe everything will be fine as long as you talk to her tonight in the garden of lilies."
She then bid me adieu. Was she threatening me or helping me? Her demeanor was hard to decode, and it made her feel eerie. Something about the head professor didn't feel right. How did she know I was troubled without even seeing me and Aylin together? How did she know where Aylin would be tonight? What was the Eye of Landia?
I left the library with more questions than answers.