When Xavier stepped inside the tower room his mouth fell open. All he could do was stare around in awe.

The castle’s tower library was like something out of Beauty and the Beast. The room was circular with ceilings three floors high. Bookshelves lined every inch of the walls reaching all the way up to the tower’s ceiling which was topped off with thick glass, letting the sun bathe the spines in light. He couldn’t help but imagine what the place would be like when there was a light rain pattering on that glass, a mug of warm coffee in one hand and a book open in the other, with flames crackling and dancing in the hearth. Maybe some light music as ambiance.

There were staircases and walkways close to the shelves for the books higher up, along with ladders interspersed throughout the place. Tables lined the middle of the room with lamps atop them. The lamps gave out a warm light. He gave the closest one a double-take when he realised that it wasn’t flames that produced their light, but rather crystals. Crystals that gave off a sense of energy.

Is that Spirit Energy powering those lamps? Xavier wondered. His aura-sight certainly seemed to think so.

Justin released an appreciative whistle. “That’s a lot of books.”

Howard and Siobhan stepped in after them.

Kalren, Queen Alastea’s adviser, looked at the books with great admiration. “This is the royal library. A difficult place to gain access to. As you can see, Queen Alastea’s family have collected much knowledge in this place.” He lowered his head, forehead creasing. “I only wish her parents were here now. Perhaps…” He drifted off, drew in a breath. “My apologies. You may peruse them at your leisure. I will fetch you all when the next wave is close to charging.”

“You need only fetch me,” Xavier said. “My party will remain here.”

Kalren nodded, and was about to walk out of the room when Siobhan took a step forward. She cleared her throat. “Why are the books still here? Isn’t this castle to be abandoned? Surely there would be enough Storage Rings to store them within.”

Kalren paused, turning to face her. “The queen has entrusted me with some of the family’s most beloved tomes, but unfortunately the queendom does not have enough Storage Rings to spare to transport every book from this library to safety. Such an endeavour is no longer within her means. The queen donated all of the ones she had, barring her personal ring for usage in—” His face scrunched up. “In the final battle. She wished the people of her realm the ability to bring all of their beloved possessions with them.” He raised his left hand, wiggling his ring finger. “I gave my own to the cause.”

Siobhan bowed her head. “Queen Alastea is very kind to her people.”

“They are everything to her.” He made to leave again, but Siobhan spoke once more.

“Are you able to show us around these books?”

The man paused. A look of frustration flashed across his face, though it was gone in an instant. “My queen has instructed me to leave when the portal opens, which means I have less than five hours remaining to spend by her side before she sacrifices herself. She is the last of the family that I have devoted my entire life to. I wish to spend these few hours by her side, advising her, as is my duty.”

Kalren stepped out of the library, his boots thumping lightly on the winding stone stairs that led to the bottom of the tower.

Siobhan looked conflicted as she stared at the door. Xavier thought he knew what she was thinking. That did not feel like the kind of reaction that the System might simply fabricate. She touched a hand to her chest, and none of her usual excitement was present, despite the library they now had access to. “I didn’t mean to offend him.”

Howard put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “I’m sure the man knows that. We are here to help him and his people, after all.”

“So weird,” Justin muttered, eyes on the doorway. “Why would the System create such an intricate backstory for these people? Isn’t this level just to test how well we protect against a siege? How well we can defend a fortified area?”

Siobhan’s gaze fell to the stone floor. “Video games construct narratives to help a player with immersion. Perhaps that’s simply what the System is doing.” Her words lacked conviction. She released a sigh. “In any event, it looks as though we’re on our own in here.” She gazed up at the many books lining the wall, that spark returning to her eyes. “I didn’t imagine they’d have so many! It’s rare for medieval societies to have access to this many books.”

“This isn’t exactly a medieval society,” Howard said, walking over to one of the shelves. “In fact, I don’t really know what to call it.”

Xavier turned his own attention toward the books. Though he was impressed with how many of them there were, he did wish that Kalren had stayed. The sheer volume of books in this place gave him a sense of overwhelm. There was so much that they needed to learn. So much they didn’t know about to begin with. He stepped over to the nearest bookcase. The tomes that lined the shelf were hardbacks that looked like they should be in a museum. He reached out, just short of touching one, as though worried he might damage them.

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The tower library didn’t have labelled sections or any sort of dewy decimal system. There were no computers pointing toward a book with all the information he needed. If there was some sort of directory, he couldn’t ascertain its location.

The books did have words on their spines. They were in a script he didn’t recognise. For one, fateful moment, he worried they wouldn’t be able to read any of the books. The System might have translated spoken language to them in the tower—there was no way this queen spoke English—but that didn’t mean it would translate written language.

But even though he’d never seen the script before—even though there was no reason he should be able to read it—as he stared at the words their meaning became clear to him. “Strange,” he muttered. The others glanced over. Xavier picked up the book. “It’s in another language, another script, but I can read it.”

“Well thank god for that,” Howard said. “So, what exactly is it we’re looking for?” The man looked at Siobhan, then over at Xavier. “I’m sure there’s plenty of interesting stuff to find in here…”

“Anything useful we can get our hands on. Class manuals, information on newly integrated planets, how to defend against invasion, training modalities, other races’ weaknesses, the creation of defences…” Siobhan trailed off. “We need to know everything.”

Justin ran his finger along the spine of a few different books, walking beside the wall. “Whatever information is in these books didn’t seem to help the people out there.”

“We aren’t them,” Xavier said. “I’d also like to find any information on Spirit Cores and Celestial Energy. Anything that can help me gain and strengthen those skills.”

“What about the Endless Horde?” Howard asked.

Xavier nodded. He hadn’t thought of that. “If you find anything about it, though I don’t think it’s a priority.” He bit his lip, a thought occurring. “We have no idea if this place is real… do you think, somehow, it could have information on the Tower of Champions? Or why they call us Champions of the Void?”

“Some of these questions you could just ask the queen,” Justin muttered. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind, especially considering what you’re doing for her.”

Siobhan pursed her lips but nodded. “That’s a good idea. Perhaps you should head back out and speak with her. You’ll need to be out there for the next wave.” As she spoke, she took a book and flicked through its pages. “We’ll come get you if we find anything.”

Xavier looked at the book in his hands. He hadn’t even had a chance to open it yet. He sighed and placed it back on the shelf. He didn’t want to walk out of this place, but perhaps she was right. His time might be better spent out there. Queen Alastea might be more forthright with information than Sam had been. But he worried about her level of power.

How much could she really know, if she couldn’t deal with these five waves?

Perhaps he’d get an answer to why she had to stay behind. Though he knew that didn’t matter when it came to clearing the floor, he’d been curious about it ever since she’d mentioned it.

With some reluctance, he left the others in the library and headed back the way they’d come, down the winding stairs and past the civilians packing the castle tight. He wondered what types of classes they had. What levels they might be. And why they weren’t fighting. He supposed he didn’t really know what it was like for integrated worlds out there. How many people become fighters, and how many became crafters?

I’ve no idea how the Greater Universe even works.

As he walked, he summoned his Sector Travel Key. The item that would take him anywhere he wished within his galaxy. It made him once again wonder where he would go, and what types of places there would be to see.

Queen Alastea was exactly where he had left her. She turned and greeted him with a minute bow. “I did not expect you to return so quickly. The next wave is still close to fifty minutes away.”

“I was hoping you would be able to answer some questions for me.”

The queen raised an eyebrow. “Are you curious about our defences?” She swept her gaze around the battlements, at the soldiers arrayed along the walls. “It does not appear as though you need them, considering how you dealt with that first wave.”

I don’t, he thought. At least not yet. “No, that’s not what I was curious about.” He paused, wondering how honest he should be. Again, he supposed it didn’t matter. This woman wouldn’t remember who he was. “The world that I and my party come from has been newly integrated.”

Queen Alastea blinked. “Newly integrated?” The woman frowned. “I do not understand. What does that mean?”

Adviser Kalren stood behind the queen, his eyes widened at Xavier’s words. “I have heard of this, though I didn’t believe it to be true.”

“Heard of what, Kalren?”

“There are legends of a time when the System did not rule over the Greater Universe. An integration is what happens when the System comes to a world.”

Queen Alastea’s frown grew deeper. “A time before the System… but the System is eternal?”

“The System is eternal,” Kalren said. It didn’t sound like an answer to her question—more like a repeated prayer. “But there was a time before it.”

Xavier was intrigued by the conversation they were having. Mostly because they spoke of the Greater Universe at all. He’d thought of the floors as… contained instances outside the normal universe. Fabricated realities created by the System. All the information he’d found said the Tower of Champions had remained unchanged since the System came. Yet these people spoke as though the System had always been. He bit his lip, and asked a question he wasn’t sure he was supposed to ask. “Do you know about the Tower of Champions?”

The adviser cocked his head to the side. “Of course we know of the Tower of Champions.” He raised his chin, peering down at him. “You really are from a newly integrated world.”

“You… wait, you’ve heard of the tower?”

Queen Alastea looked confused. “We know. That is where Champions of the Void come from, after all.” She stared at him for a moment. “You really did not think we would know? We, who summoned you here?”

Xavier walked over to the parapet and leant against it. “You know that… you know that we came from there?” He put a hand on his head. “That means you know that what’s happening now has happened before?”

Queen Alastea turned from him. “An infinite number of times, no doubt. Not that we remember. Admittedly, it is difficult to wrap my head around. We knew what summoning Champions of the Void would do, however. It was… it was the only choice I could make.” She shut her eyes. “My people would die if you were not here.”

Xavier propped himself up against the parapet, trying to understand what the hell was going on here. These people are real. All of it is real. “You want to explain that again?”