Morgan's footsteps gradually faded into the distance until the library became completely silent. Shawn remained where he stood for several moments, his clenched fists slowly relaxing before he let out a quiet breath.
"A chance?" he muttered under his breath. "More like another cage."
He still couldn't understand Morgan. The man had slaughtered his clan without hesitation, yet ever since bringing him here, he had done things that made little sense. A room, a tutor, servants, and now an entire section of the library prepared specifically for someone who couldn't see. None of it erased what Morgan had done. If anything, it made Shawn more wary. A hunter that fed its prey before the slaughter was still a hunter.
He pushed those thoughts aside. Hatred alone would never help him escape, but knowledge might.
Stretching out his hand, he slowly brushed his fingers along the nearest shelf. The books were arranged neatly, each spine carrying raised letters similar to the ones the tutor had taught him over the past weeks. His lips curled slightly.
"So that's why he made me learn."
Without those lessons, this room would have been nothing more than shelves filled with meaningless objects. He reached for the nearest volume and carefully slid it free.
Basic Geography of the Human Realm.
It wasn't exactly exciting, but it was a starting point.
"If I ever escape this place," he murmured, "I'll need to know where I'm going."
He opened the first page.
Time passed quietly as he read. The tutor had chosen his lessons well, and what once felt impossible now came naturally. His fingers glided over the embossed text, slowly piecing words into sentences.
The book began with a basic overview of the world. According to its records, humanity occupied four great continents. Arden lay in the north, Slorvia stretched across the south, Roaden dominated the eastern lands, and Hornia ruled the west. Apart from the four continents stood the Cleves, the Central continent, a landmass so vast that most scholars considered it equal to two continents despite its name. Unlike the four continental kingdoms, which were each ruled by kings, the Central continent answered to a queen whose authority reached every corner of the territory.
Shawn paused.
So this was where Morgan lived. He had assumed Morgan's estate belonged to some kingdom, but it was located right here on the Central continent.
His fingers continued moving across the page. Beyond the continents and the Central giant were the Great Islands. Once, there had been seven of them, each powerful enough to govern itself without answering to the larger kingdoms.
His movement slowed as one sentence caught his attention immediately.
Following the destruction of Starborn Island, only six Great Islands remain.
His fingers rested on the page.
That was all.
There was no explanation, no mention of the countless people who had lived there, no mention of the massacre, or the clan that had stood there for generations. His home had become a mere footnote inside a geography book.
"...History moves on quickly."
His voice carried neither anger nor sadness, only a quiet acceptance.
Eva, who had remained silent the entire time, spoke softly inside his mind.
"Is... that where you lived?"
Shawn nodded.
Yes.
She became quiet again.
He closed the book and returned it to the shelf before choosing another. This one covered the history of the northern kingdoms.
Halfway through the first chapter, Eva suddenly spoke up.
"It says something different."
Shawn stopped reading.
What?
"In the first book..." She hesitated for a moment before reciting, "'The Central Island maintains diplomatic relations with every continent through the Royal Sea Routes.'"
Her voice never faltered. Every single word matched exactly what Shawn remembered reading earlier.
He frowned.
...Say that again.
She did, repeating it exactly the same way. Not a single word differed.
Shawn quietly returned the history book to its place before retrieving the geography book once more. His fingers searched until they found the specific paragraph. Eva had repeated it perfectly.
"...Interesting," he muttered.
He picked up another book, read several pages, and closed it before moving on to a third. After nearly half an hour of experimenting, he finally spoke.
"Eva."
"Mm?"
"What was the first sentence on page twelve?"
She answered immediately.
Then he changed books.
"What about the fourth paragraph from the book on northern history?"
She answered again without hesitating once.
A slow smile appeared on Shawn's face.
"So you really don't forget..."
Eva sounded confused.
"Am I supposed to?"
He chuckled despite himself.
"No... I suppose not."
He leaned against one of the shelves, deep in thought.
"So everything I read..."
"You remember."
"Everything I hear?"
"I remember."
"What about conversations?"
"I remember those too."
His mind immediately began racing.
Thousands of books filled this room. Even if he forgot a detail years later, Eva wouldn't. She wasn't simply remembering; she was preserving information like a personal library inside his own head. The thought excited him far more than he cared to admit.
"Let's test something else," Shawn said.
Eva nodded enthusiastically inside his mindscape.
"Can you show me my mother?"
The surroundings shifted without warning, and a familiar courtyard appeared within his mind. His mother stood beneath the old flowering tree with a gentle smile, her green hair dancing in the wind. Even the warmth in her eyes remained exactly as he remembered.
Shawn stared quietly.
Nothing about the memory had changed, not even the smallest detail.
Eva looked at him nervously.
"Did... I do something wrong?"
"No."
His voice softened.
"You remembered her perfectly."
Relief spread across Eva's face.
"I'm happy."
Shawn dismissed the memory before asking another question.
"Now... show me Clara."
Eva blinked, and several seconds passed before she slowly shook her head.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"I don't know what she looks like."
"You've seen her through my memories," Shawn pointed out.
"I've only seen what you know."
Shawn froze.
"What do you mean?"
"When you imagine something... I can see it," she explained, searching for the right words. "It's like... I'm looking through your thoughts."
His expression gradually changed as everything suddenly made sense. She hadn't been watching the outside world directly; she had been watching him. When he imagined the manor while walking, she saw that imagination. When he memorized letters, she learned them. When he pictured a room, she saw only the room he pictured, nothing more and nothing less.
"Then..." he continued thinking aloud, "if I never see something..."
"You can't see it, and I can't either."
"And if I don't know something..."
"I don't know it."
He smiled, not because he was disappointed, but because the limitation made sense. Eva wasn't an all-seeing entity. She was a perfect reflection of his own active mind. Nothing could be added, and nothing could be lost. The realization somehow made her ability even more incredible.
He looked around the countless shelves surrounding him, filled with books on history, politics, medicine, geography, philosophy, and legends.
Morgan had intended this place to educate a blind captive, but instead, he had unknowingly handed Shawn one of the greatest tools he could have asked for.
A slow grin appeared across Shawn's face.
Eva tilted her head inside his mind.
"Why are you smiling?"
He rested the book in his hands against the shelf.
"Because I just realized something."
"What?"
Shawn looked toward the endless rows of books stretching before him.
"We're going to read every single book in this library."
Eva's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Every single one?"
"Every single one."
She giggled happily.
"Then... let's start with the next one."
For the first time since arriving at Morgan's estate, Shawn found himself genuinely looking forward to what tomorrow might bring. It wasn't because he had accepted his captivity, but because every page he turned brought him one step closer to understanding the world...
...and perhaps, one step closer to escaping it.