The hunters gathered in a vast atrium, its ceiling lost in mist. Floating lanterns glowed faintly, their flames shaped like quills. The shelves here were bent, twisted, their spines scarred with claw marks — as if something had tried to tear its way out.
It was the only place so far that felt like neutral ground.
The guild leaders called it the perfect time for a council.
Elias sat at the edge of the gathering, the Codex floating silently beside him. Lyra leaned against a cracked pillar, arms crossed, staff across her knees. Caleb hunched over his notes, muttering as he sketched frantic diagrams.
Across the chamber, guild banners rippled in the stale air.
Crimson Fangs: warriors with axes strapped to their backs, eyes always watching Elias. Hale sat silent among them, his once-booming voice replaced by a growl of caution.
Spirewatch: scribes and shadowed mages, their leader's ink-stained gaze sharp and cold.
Elysian Dawn: radiant, almost theatrical, led by Seraphine Kael whose golden hair glowed faintly even in the dim light. She smiled as though amused by it all.
The fire of the makeshift camp crackled. But no one was warm.
---
The Guild Debate
The Spirewatch Master spoke first. "We've lost twenty already. And that was to Editors, not the true guardians. If we continue without coordination, we'll bleed out before we reach the heart."
Hale snorted. "Coordination? We followed your scribes and nearly got erased. Don't talk to me about tactics."
Seraphine's smile was razor-sharp. "And yet, Hale, when your men faltered, who rewrote the battle for you?" Her gaze slid toward Elias.
Murmurs rippled. Eyes shifted to the librarian.
Elias adjusted his cracked glasses, calm under the weight of their stares. "You don't have to like me. You don't have to trust me. But you all saw what happened. Without the Codex, none of you would be here."
The Spirewatch Master's eyes narrowed. "And what happens when your Codex turns against us? Power like that is never free."
Elias's voice stayed even. "Then you'll already be dead. Because nothing else here can protect you."
The silence that followed was heavier than any threat.
---
Fractures
Lyra broke it. Her voice rang sharp. "Enough. We don't have the luxury of politics in a place like this. You all want control, but the Authors don't care about your ranks or banners. They'll erase us the same."
Her words hit like a whip. Even Seraphine's smile faltered for a moment.
Elias glanced at her, the faintest flicker of approval in his eyes. Lyra felt it — and for once, she wasn't just speaking for him. She was speaking because she was tired of playing puppet to a guild that saw her as a piece on a board.
Still, the distrust lingered. Whispers spread. Minor captains eyed Elias with murder in their eyes.
---
Caleb's Warning
Caleb suddenly rose, holding a parchment covered in runes and frantic sketches. His voice cracked at first, but he pushed through.
"You're all arguing about control when you should be terrified. This library isn't just holding drafts. It's holding prototypes. The things the Authors abandoned. The things too dangerous even for them to finish."
The room stilled.
Caleb's hand shook, but his eyes burned. "If the Editors were proofreaders… then the Prototypes are abandoned manuscripts. And if we keep going, we're walking straight into their shelf."
Hale's jaw clenched. "And how do you know that, scholar?"
Caleb swallowed, then looked at Elias. "Because the Codex confirms it, doesn't it?"
All eyes turned again.
Elias didn't flinch. He simply closed the Codex with a snap. "It does."
---
The Stakes
The fire crackled again. The guild masters leaned back, their faces pale beneath the bravado.
Hale scowled into the flames. "Then we'll need more than tactics. We'll need sacrifices."
Seraphine's smile returned, sharper than before. "Sacrifices make good stories."
Lyra's grip on her staff tightened. Sacrifices… She knew what that meant. Minor hunters. Pawns. People like Caleb. People like she had once been.
Not this time.
Not while Elias was here.
---
Unseen Eyes
As the council dissolved into uneasy silence, Elias sat apart, Codex glowing faintly at his side. Its pages fluttered without wind, words whispering across his vision.
> [Quest Update.]
Enter the Shelf of Prototypes.
Warning: Entities abandoned by the Authors await.
Failure: Narrative Collapse.
Elias adjusted his glasses, his voice barely a whisper. "Then we turn the page."
From the mist above the shelves, unseen eyes lingered. Something shifted, its quill scratching across the void.
The Authors were watching.