"Was it a wise decision to touch that book?" asked the man seated in his office chair, which resembled a throne due to its overwhelming luxury. He had jet-black hair, eyes whiter than the moon, and wore a uniform akin to that of a high-ranking military general — entirely black, with a golden medal pinned to his chest, just above his heart.
Azad looked at the book in his left hand and studied it closely. "Well, if I had known all this would happen, I wouldn't have let curiosity get the better of me..." He raised his head. "But who are you? Where is this place? And more importantly, what is this book I'm holding — and why was I attacked by mysterious men?"
"I am a guardian of the Vaticanus Library, and your arrival here can only mean one thing: you have awakened your Belief."
Awakened my Belief! That's exactly what that man said before.
"I don't understand what you're talking about—this is the same thing one of the two men said. What does it mean to embody a Belief? Isn't that what our world is fighting against—these embodied beliefs? How can I be one of them while I'm still alive?"
His words made sense, given the knowledge he had gained through studying the Embodied Beliefs—though he only knew they were beliefs that manifest through certain dead individuals. His limited understanding stemmed from the severe lack of sources discussing the subject, as most people don't even have the courage to mention them aloud. Instead, they live their lives as though the horror of the Embodied Beliefs doesn't exist, since merely speaking of them brings despair and hopelessness to society.
"You can at least sit down..."
After a few glances, he did as the man told him.
"Alright, don't you remember what you did before you came here?"
The question was strange, and confusion appeared on Azad's face as he confidently replied, "I was in a devastated place — I don't know exactly where — surrounded by blood, corpses, and the bodies of the two men who tried to kill me. But why are you asking?"
While Azad was seated directly across from the man at the desk, the man stood up and walked over to him. Azad felt somewhat uneasy about his approach, but he didn't want to show it. The man touched his forehead, and Azad's eyes lifted involuntarily before he passed out.
Azad stood amidst the vast destruction, his face twisted in anger, gripping the last surviving man — the very one who had kicked him in the library.
Under the crushing force of Azad's hand around his neck, the man's face began to pale. His eyes flickered with strange visions, as if his memories were being distorted, until life drained from him and he collapsed beside the comrade who had died before him.
Now alone, Azad stood atop the rubble and corpses. His eyes were deep black, their pupils stark white, yet the fury etched into his face remained unchanged.
Azad jolted awake after witnessing his memories. He shot up, drenched in sweat, gasping for air, clutching his chin as if he were about to suffocate.
"Did you remember now?"
Azad vomited, unable to endure what he had seen.
"A natural reaction for an ordinary human like you," he said with a faint smile.
"What was that? Did I really commit such a heinous act? Me, of all people!" he cried, anxiety written all over his face.
He realized that what he had seen was the undeniable truth—that he was a killer, responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent people. Azad was in a state no one would envy. For an ordinary man living a routine life, having his world turned upside down in mere hours—from an average person to a murderer—was a bitter, mentally devastating reality.
The bitterness in his psyche manifested as a sour taste on his tongue as he clutched his neck, haunted by the thought of what he had done.
The man stepped back calmly, clasping his hands behind his lower back.
"Alright, don't worry. It's not like you did it on purpose. What your raging, uncontrolled belief did is actually a plausible outcome—something that can happen when a belief manifests for the first time without a proper method... like in your case."
Azad raised his head upon hearing the man's words, his eyes carrying a faint glimmer of hope, as if he had seen a flicker of light in the darkness of what he had done. He seemed to want to escape the reality of his actions, even if the massacre he had caused was beyond his control—it was still an unchangeable truth.
But what intrigued Azad most from the man's words was a particular term that sparked his curiosity.
"A raging belief? What is all this? Isn't this a world where beliefs manifest from the dead or something? So how can I be one of them if I'm still alive?"
The man raised his thumb and replied,
"Well, you're right—but what you're referring to is just what the general public believes and what's taught in educational institutions. It's far from the true nature of manifested beliefs."
Azad raised his head as a sudden, slight pain struck him.
"What are you talking about? What truth?"
"It has been more than 500 years since the first Manifested Belief appeared.
That was due to the Vaticanus Curse, which created for this world a primary enemy known across generations—what we now call the Manifested Beliefs."
"Those that manifest from the dead?" Azad asked.
The man behind him approached and whispered in his ear, "Yes…"
Then he stood, poured himself a glass of water, and added,
"But..."
He drank from the glass, then continued,
"Manifested Beliefs aren't limited to the dead as a source for awakening and manifestation... the living, too."
"Like me!"
"Exactly. See? It's not that hard to understand, is it?"
He rose to his feet. The headache still throbbed in his skull, but he made his way to one of the open windows on his right. Outside, he saw gardens stretching beyond the frame—serene, yet unfamiliar. He couldn't quite tell where he was, or even what world this might be. The way he had entered this place was so chaotic, so disorienting, that it had erased any memory of an exit—if such a thing even existed.
Azad turned to him and asked,
"Who are you? Or rather... what are you? Where am I? And what do you want from me?"
Questions flooded his mind, each one sharper than the last, all clawing for a single truth that might explain this surreal reality—
a reality he never, not in his wildest thoughts, imagined he'd ever be caught in.
The man adjusted his suit and tie with elegance, then spoke with composed poise and a straightforward expression, devoid of any emotion:
"As I said before, I am one of the five guardians of the Vaticanus Libraries — Amanos Vaticanus. Our existence serves several secondary purposes, but our primary mission is, of course, to eradicate the Vaticanus Curse and protect all of humanity."
After processing his words, Azad gazed at the endless gardens and the great lakes before him, and asked,
"Is this the Vaticanus Library?"
"A small part of it."
Azad glanced to his right, then to his left, before turning his eyes forward—toward the seemingly endless stretch of towering shelves that soared beyond the ceiling of the room he stood in. His gaze dropped to the floor, his face carrying a faint trace of despair—just the surface of a vast ocean of hopelessness buried deep within—as he murmured,
"I no longer know what I am anymore..."
He slowly raised his head and looked directly at the library guardian, who stood there with a calm smile, as if entirely unmoved by Azad's torment.
"Are you going to try to kill me too?" he asked, voice low and bitter.
It's not that he seeks pity; rather, his question arises from a deep awareness of the danger in the world he has entered. Now, he finds himself among individuals unlike any he has ever known—like drifting in a dark sea full of sharks, without a boat, never knowing from where the next threat may emerge.
"No, no, of course not. We are the Vaticanus Library, guided by the highest principle: freedom based on moral belief. Our goal is not to kill you... as long as you are not our enemy, of course. But don't worry—if you are our ally, then we are your allies. The question simply comes down to whether you want to join us or not. Because you know that your return to the upper world will bring more of those who attacked you to come after you and kill you, and even worse. And remember, we are not like them; we aim to eradicate the Vaticanus curse and those with destructive goals related to it. They, however, aim to destroy all of us—beliefs embodied by the dead or the living, like yourself. Therefore, whether you join us or not truly will not affect us, but it may affect you, since you are alone. So think carefully about it, bearing in mind that you are no longer a normal human."
Azad felt strange because he sensed straightforward and direct words in the man's tone, and he knew in his heart that he was not lying. The words touched his heart immediately due to their honesty. Then, with a look full of bewilderment, he asked:
"Why do you say this with such confidence? Aren't you afraid that I might reveal information about you?"
His question came from curiosity, as he noticed Amanos speaking with a cheerful face and complete confidence.
"Well, it's not like we're unknown; our battle spans generations..."
"Generations!"
"That's why anyone like you, who embodies their beliefs, we don't want to lose. On the contrary, we gain more who embody them. However, we don't restrict anyone's freedom as long as they are our allies. Because, the world you've entered, Azad, is a gateway to a world that will only close with your death or theirs, because this isn't a battle between black and white."
"And who are they?"
"Everyone who doesn't belong to the Vaticanus Library."
The statement was blunt and severe, and it made Azad realize something chilling: if he ever left this place and turned the Vaticanus Library—a place he knew almost nothing about—into an enemy, he would be doomed. But returning to the upper world wouldn't save him either; there, enemies would still be waiting, ready to hunt him down until he was dead.
Both choices were worse than the other, and what made it all the more dangerous was his ignorance. He didn't know the true nature of the enemies above or below—especially those of the Vaticanus Library.
He took a few steps and walked toward Amanos.
"Well, it's not like I chose to enter this world of my own free will. But curiosity is deadly more often than not—and it's what led me to this point. So I can't make a decision I'll come to regret. I just want my peaceful life, far away from your world."
"Is that truly your decision?" Amanos asked with a faint smile, his head tilted slightly to the left.
"Yes. Now, can you please return me to the outside world? I'm tired."
His exhaustion ran deeper than the physical—it was emotional too.
"Of course, we can't force you to do something against your will. But unfortunately, it's such a waste... Anyway, before you leave, I have a question for you."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, nothing... But was your family really killed by an embodied belief?"
"What!"