Chapter 29: The Choice Beneath the Library
The silver doors of the Library of Forgotten Tomes stood wide open.
Ancient air, thick with the scent of old paper and sleeping magic, brushed past Ren Kamizuki's face. Behind him, the vast halls of Solmere Academy felt distant, muffled. Ahead, only endless darkness — and a voice calling to him.
"Welcome, Seeker of the Null Path," the voice whispered from the gloom.
Ren tightened his grip on the Codex Nullum. His fingers itched with unease. Was it truly the Library speaking… or something inside the Codex itself?
He stepped forward.
Rows of impossible shelves loomed above him, stretching higher than any mortal architecture could allow. Books shimmered and shifted, some whispering in languages he didn't know, some bleeding faint traces of forbidden magic.
At the center of the vast, spiraling chamber stood Selvara, her violet hair gleaming under the library's cold light.
She didn't notice him at first. She was staring at a large stone plinth — atop which sat a sealed scroll marked with chains of light and thorns of shadow.
Ren approached cautiously."What is that?"
Selvara flinched, then forced a thin smile. "A contract. Left by the Founders… or something older."
Her hand hovered inches from the scroll. "It's... an offer. One you can't refuse if you want to survive the coming war."
Ren frowned. "And if I don't take it?"
Selvara's smile vanished."You'll be devoured, piece by piece. Starting with the people you care about."
A cold silence fell between them.
Behind Selvara, the shelves rippled, and a figure stepped forward: the Keeper of the Library.Tall, faceless, robed in living pages — its presence twisted the air around it.
"The bargain must be accepted freely," the Keeper intoned, its voice like a thousand whispers layered together."Or the Library will seal itself away... forever."
Ren's heart pounded.
He was being given a choice:Accept the Library's bargain — and gain access to knowledge that could destroy even gods.Or walk away, and face the Faction War powerless and blind.
The Codex Nullum throbbed in his hand, sensing the gravity of the moment.
Slowly, Ren stepped toward the plinth.
"I'll hear the terms," he said, voice steady.
The Keeper bowed its head."Then let the Pact of Forgotten Blood be written anew."