The city had not stopped whispering his name.
Elias Crowe.
The librarian who survived an S-class dungeon.
The guildless man who slew the Lava Serpent.
To the public, he was a miracle. To the guilds, a problem. To Elias himself… nothing had changed.
He still sat in his cramped apartment, stacks of books towering around him. The only difference was the tome that hovered silently at his side, pages fluttering with invisible wind—the Librarian's Codex.
He ran a hand through his dark hair, frowning. "Why me?"
It wasn't pride that gnawed at him. It was curiosity. Hunters awakened with Classes. Warriors, Mages, Healers. But he had received none. His Codex wasn't a class, wasn't part of any known system. It was something else.
He had spent nights combing the Archive's old records, searching dusty tomes for mention of systems, Codices, or Authors. Nothing. Every book ended the same way—unfinished.
The Codex itself offered little.
When he asked, "Why did you choose me?" it only answered:
> [Footnote Withheld.]
The refusal unsettled him more than an answer would have.
---
Guild Pressure
The guilds had not stopped circling. Crimson Fangs wanted to control him. Spirewatch wanted to erase him. Elysian Dawn… he wasn't sure yet.
Offers flooded his inbox—contracts, summons, demands thinly veiled as invitations. He ignored them all. He had no interest in becoming another pawn on their game board.
But the more he resisted, the more dangerous their eyes became.
And that was when she approached him.
---
Lyra Duskveil
It was late when Elias left the Archive, his satchel heavy with notes. The streets were quiet, the neon of holo-signs buzzing faintly. He felt her presence before he heard her voice.
"You're not what I expected."
Elias stopped. A woman leaned against a lamppost, violet eyes gleaming beneath the hood of a black cloak. Her staff was strapped to her back, faint arcs of energy dancing along the wood.
Lyra Duskveil. A B-rank mage of Elysian Dawn. He'd seen her on broadcasts, her name whispered with both admiration and caution.
"You've been watching me," Elias said flatly.
Lyra smiled faintly. "Everyone has. But unlike the others, I'm not here to chain you. I'm here because I want to know." She tilted her head. "What are you, Elias Crowe?"
He adjusted his glasses. "A librarian."
Her laugh was soft, amused. "A librarian who slays S-class bosses and walks out without a scratch."
The Codex pulsed faintly at his side. Pages stirred, reacting to her presence. Elias caught her glance flicker toward them.
"Those pages," she said quietly. "That's not a Class. I've studied awakenings, and nothing like that exists."
"Then what do you think it is?" Elias asked.
Lyra's eyes narrowed. "Something older. Something the guilds don't want people to know about. And it chose you."
Elias's jaw tightened. "That's what I want to know. Why me? Why now?"
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "Then you'll need information the guilds keep hidden. Old records. Forbidden manuscripts. Things only a few have access to."
"And you?"
Lyra's smile widened. "I can get them. If you work with me."
Silence stretched. Elias studied her face. She wasn't lying—not completely. But she wasn't offering this for free, either.
"You want something in return," he said.
Her violet eyes gleamed. "I want to see how far you'll go. I want to know if your story is worth following."
The Codex fluttered open. For a moment, Elias considered it. He had no interest in allies, no patience for guild politics. But information—that was different. If she truly could help him uncover why the Codex existed, she might be worth tolerating.
"I'll think about it," Elias said finally.
Lyra inclined her head. "That's all I ask." She stepped back into the shadows, her cloak swirling around her. "But be careful, Elias. The guilds see you as a weapon. The world sees you as a story. And stories that grow too quickly…" Her smile was sharp. "…the Editors cut them short."
She vanished into the night.
Elias stood in the empty street, the Codex's pages circling him like restless thoughts.
"Editors…" he murmured.
The word echoed like a footnote in his mind.
And Elias Crowe knew one thing for certain.
He needed answers.