Silence reigned in the aftermath.
The Prototype Sovereign lay in ruin, its parchment wings dissolved, its body reduced to drifting ash of broken script. The shelves themselves groaned, shifting uneasily as though the library mourned what had been lost.
Hunters staggered to their feet, bloodied, burned, broken. Weapons clattered to the floor as they collapsed in exhaustion. For many, survival felt like a miracle.
But all eyes went to one man.
Elias Crowe.
The librarian stood bloodied but unbowed, pages still orbiting faintly around him like dying embers. His cracked glasses reflected the glow, calm despite the devastation.
---
Seraphine Kael leaned against a pillar, her golden hair stained with blood. Her left arm hung useless at her side, skin torn to the bone. Even her radiant smile had faltered.
Hale sat slumped against rubble, ribs shattered, coughing blood with every breath. The Spirewatch Master lay unconscious, scribes tending to him with shaking hands.
The great guild leaders — reduced to wounded survivors.
Lyra staggered upright, her staff supporting her weight, violet eyes locked on Elias. She had seen him rewrite death itself into survival. She had seen him hold the line when no one else could.
But now, she saw something else.
---
Seraphine hissed as she tried to move her ruined arm. Her golden eyes flicked to Elias, her voice soft but sharp.
"That trick of yours…" She tilted her head, blood trailing down her cheek. "Can you only rewrite enemies? Or…" She raised her mangled arm faintly, lips curving in a half-smile. "…can you edit allies as well?"
The hunters froze, whispers rippling. Could the Codex… heal?
Elias stepped forward, Codex opening beside him. Pages fluttered, glowing faintly as though considering her words.
> [Annotation: Torn Flesh + Null Draft → Restored Passage.]
He placed a page against her arm. Light surged, script flowing across her wounds. Flesh knitted. Bone mended. Her arm straightened, unscarred as though it had never broken.
Gasps erupted.
Seraphine flexed her fingers slowly, awe flashing across her golden eyes. She looked up at Elias, her smile genuine now — radiant.
"You… you can rewrite even pain," she whispered. Her hand brushed his, lingering. "You're beyond anything the guilds could dream."
Hunters stared, breathless. Even the injured forgot their wounds in the face of what they had just witnessed.
---
Lyra's chest tightened as she watched Seraphine lean closer, admiration bright in her eyes. She knew that smile — the one Seraphine used to charm entire cities.
But this wasn't guild politics. This wasn't a game.
This was hers.
Before Seraphine could say more, Lyra stepped between them, planting her staff firmly in the ground. Her violet eyes blazed as she looked up at Elias.
"You didn't have to waste strength on her," she said, voice sharp. "You're bleeding out, and she'll only twist what you gave her into power plays later."
Her words cracked louder than she intended, drawing startled looks.
Seraphine's brows lifted, her smile returning — sharper now, amused. "Oh? Protective, are we?"
Lyra's grip tightened on her staff. "I'm practical. Unlike you, I know when someone's already given enough."
Elias adjusted his glasses, eyes steady between them. He gave no judgment, no reaction, only calm silence.
But Lyra saw the faintest curve at his lips. And Seraphine saw it too.
---
Caleb stumbled forward, breaking the tension, his satchel spilling parchment. His voice trembled but carried.
"This… this wasn't the climax. It was just the prologue."
Hunters turned, faces pale.
Caleb's ink-stained fingers pointed to the drifting ash of the Sovereign. "That thing… it was only one draft. The Authors abandoned thousands. And deeper in this library, they're catalogued. The Editors… the Prototypes… all of them lead to the same place."
His voice broke, but he forced the words out. "The Atrium of Manuscripts. Where the Original drafts are stored. That's where the Authors will come. And that's where Elias's Codex was meant to be used."
The hunters shuddered. The guild leaders exchanged pale looks. Even Seraphine's smile dimmed.
Lyra glanced at Elias, her chest tight. "So this was just the first page."
Elias closed the Codex softly. His voice was calm, steady, unflinching.
"Then let's keep reading."