It had been five years now since Gus had first awoken. After gaining more control of his body, he discovered that he was located within a colorless gray ruined library. The building was both dark and decayed, with little signs of life ever inhabiting the dusty building. Still, it was undoubtedly a library, containing rows of bookshelves with unique works in each of its multi level floors. Designed with a circular architecture that curved its walls, the library contained five levels of floors, each rising through staircases made of wood on the sides of the building. It was only within the middle of the first floor that the building remained open all the way to the ceiling.

This was where Gus had first awoken, facing the oculus that was incorporated in the center ceiling that allowed him to view Syuna from. When he eventually managed to stand, he noticed a strange mosaic on the floor where he was once laying on. Designed in a circle, the mosaic depicted a golem most similar to him raising two hands towards a golden tablet. The tablet itself contained mysterious inscriptions that gave Gus the spooks when he looked upon it.

When Gus asked Syuna about the tablet, all she responded with was just one ominous word.

* Future < . > *

Arising from his sleeping spot on the center mosaic, Gus got up to repeat his daily routine that he has been repeating for the past five years. It was a simple yet strange pattern, one where each night he would wake up to read the books in the library and learn from Syuna, only to go to sleep once again when day came.

But soon it will be over.

As he climbed the stone stairs, Gus reminisced as he passed each level, full of the easier-to-read books he had already finished repeatedly. With each passing floor, the books and lessons increased in difficulty, moving from simple picture books and words on the first floor to long intricate lessons on the fourth floor. Arriving on the 5th floor, Gus instinctively moved to a pile of books left in a corner and grabbed an open book titled War and Peace.

* Goodluck < . > *

Beginning the same routine he had done for 5 years, Gus delved into the world of books surrounding him, imagining a life outside of the library. Whether it be the green grass, blue skies, white fluffy clouds, or the life teeming all over the lands, Gus was able to imagine it all. But imagine only he could do, as for all he can remember, his life was always in the ruined library, reading books and communicating with Syuna.

At least it’s better than how I started.

Reminiscing over his beginning, Gus could still remember how hard it was for him to just walk. With no nerves within his stone body, a response was hard to picture for Gus as he couldn’t tell if his body was moving as intended. It was only through applying the same idea of desire that Gus saw he was able to properly work other functions. Unfortunately, however, some senses had never returned.

Why couldn’t you make me have the ability to taste, Syuna! I keep seeing all these books about food, yet I don’t even have a mouth!

*Complainer < ! > *

ONE’S GOING TO COMPLAIN IF THEY CAN’T EVEN ENJOY FOOD.

*Attitude < … > *

Alright, alright. I’ll admit, It hasn’t been all too terrible being like this . There are some benefits a Golem has that any human would want.

And those benefits were truly numerous. Whether it be a lack of exhaustion, illness, injuries to the flesh, or other needs such as the need to sleep, eat, or drink, Gus never had a moment of being unhealthy. In fact, could he even die?

*False < ! > *

I know, I know. I’m not truly invincible. I can’t regenerate from any wounds, and placing back chipped stones is an incredibly annoying process.

*And < ? > *

And never let the fire go out…

*Good < . > *

Inside Gus burned a blue fire that acted as his core which kept him alive like an engine. Yet that was not all it did. Not only was the flame like Gus’s heart, it also served as his sensory organs, allowing him to hear, feel (in a limited fashion) and see. It could even allow Gus to speak, though doing so proved troubling so the golem rarely used it, preferring to just communicate with his mind to Syuna.

All of it sounds great…but that flaw. It’s just too eerie.

Despite the benefits, Gus couldn’t help but feel like the flaw of the flaming core was too haunting to make it preferable over a heart. When Gus first learned how to interact with the flame in his chest, he was quickly warned by Syuna of a dangerous condition it had. If the flame ever went out, Gus would enter back into that abyssal subconscious world that he had first started in, and be consumed once again if it’s not relit. Gus was obviously freaked out at the prospect of returning to that realm, so he made sure to ask her how to keep the flame alive. Syuna’s only responses, however, were only one word.

*Desire < . > *

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

But what is Gus’s desire? All Gus knew was that he must know the Truth. But what was that truth? Something dangerous? Something grand? Or was it just some simple truth? No matter how much he pondered about it, he could never tell what this truth was, his memory of it lost to the abyss. After some frustrations in thought, Gus closed his book, finishing yet another book.

Soon it will be over, though, this life in this library. Just one more. One more and I can take the final test Syuna has.

Keeping true to her promise, Syuna had acted her duty as a mother. After helping Gus gain control of his body, Syuna made it her new mission to teach Gus about the world. Of course, only being able to speak one word at a time would create a very slow teaching process, so Syuna had opted to instead give Gus goals to achieve. One of these goals is to complete all five levels of the library, having him read every single book on each layer. After each level of reading, Syuna would then check his comprehension of the material by having him take a test.

Well it wasn’t just reading all the time, some of those books required me to have some actual physical practice;

Starting on the first level, Gus had to learn about the most basic of the basic concepts any child should know. You know, things like the alphabet, which were accompanied by picture books and other study materials to help speed up the process of him learning the 14 basic languages. Starting with English, Gus then had to study how to read and communicate in Mandarin, Spanish, Latin, Draconic, Hindi, French, Russian, Arabic, Old High German, Japanese, Stageneer, Greek, and Sign language. Gus wondered, however, why he even needed to learn all of these languages, as some of them were rather strange, such as Stageneer which was mostly made of clicking and screeches, sounding radically different from the rest. But learning about each language was fun for Gus, so he didn’t kick up too much fuss about the useless

On the second level of the library, Gus had to learn about basic human interactions and etiquette of different cultures. Starting with moral teaching, Gus was taught about the basic dos and don’ts of society, such as not stealing, murdering, or disregarding those who need help. A phrase Gus heard that could describe this is “Treat others how you want to be treated”. Oh and there was also combat training too on this floor. Though Syuna oddly didn’t seem enthusiastic to teach this subject. When Gus asked why, she would only say the word “sigh” and then “nothing”. Funnily enough, it was actually these combat courses Gus enjoyed most, but he had a feeling things would be different if he were to go against something other than air with the moves he was learning.

After finishing all the books and lessons, Gus took another test, this time using a standard multiple-choice sheet to grade him. Gus managed to pass with flying colors, only missing three problems that had to deal with mental illness. Gus still hadn’t truly understood how that worked within humans, and as if knowing that, Syuna left the subject untouched.

On the third level, Gus learned about the history of humanity and its development in culture and politics until the 21st century. Confused about why history stopped in 2024, Gus couldn’t help but feel disappointed after being told it was the present and that some things were not fixed yet by his time.

So many things were left unfinished. And yet, so many things to see too. I wonder if I could help once I leave this place. Or would I not be accepted, Syuna? It seems humans are wary of those not like them. Would they accept a Golem like me?

*Eventually < … > *

Syuna paused for a moment, a sign of when she is unsure of how to proceed.

*Will < . > *

And that was all Syuna said about the subject.

After completing the third level test, Gus then progressed onto the fourth level of the library. Containing the teachings of astronomy, arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, and other simple subjects. Yet despite finding the subjects easy, Gus rated this floor the most challenging overall. Only after two years of studying was Gus finally able to learn all these subjects, which discouraged him greatly. How could humans learn and master all of these subjects so fast? At a certain point, Gus was afraid it would take him three years to learn all the subjects, which would be just utterly shameful. Imagine how stupid he would look if he introduced himself to a human and when they eventually asked for his education level, he could only say he finished learning quantum mechanics in ten months. Ten! As a proud representative of golems and a prior human, Gus’s pride could allow no such thing. He must learn it quickly. And so he spent many sleepless nights in the library, studying until math came almost instantly to him.

After a desperate struggle and an astounding success on the fourth test, Gus finally moved to the fifth level of the library, his current and last location. Full of long novels, philosophy, poems, and other literature, Gus found this level significantly easier than the horrid fourth level of quantum mechanics. Yet, even though it was easy, Gus found these books to have the most profound impact on his way of thinking. The words of authors such as William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, Leo Tolstoy, and Homer gave him a look into humanity no textbook ever could, enlightening him on emotions he never thought he could have. In fact, by the time Gus got closer to the end, he was greatly saddened that he would no longer be able to read more of these books.

But with that, I am finished.

Finishing Don Quixote, Gus had completed the 5th level of the library. Or so he thought.

*halt < > *

In a voice that Gus could hardly recognize, Syuna commanded him to a stop in a quiet tone of aggression and unclarity he had never seen before. If Gus could sweat, he would surely be feeling beads of water pouring down his neck at this very moment. Something was wrong, Gus knew instinctively, something was terribly wrong.

What-t is it?

*One < _ > *

The intimidating voice continued.

*Remains < . > *

And as if to prove Syuna right, Gus noticed a book he hadn’t seen in the library before on one of the shelves he had emptied, manifesting as if from thin air.

Oh, uh, I’ll go read that one then.

*Proceed < . > *

What could be up with this strange book to get Syuna to act like this? Though wary of her shift in attitude, Gus could not help but feel a wave of excitement that something might change in his life finally, which up to this point had only been about learning, not doing. Picking up the book, Gus was initially unimpressed by the sheer ordinariness of the cover, his excitement immediately taking a dip. Containing only a title called Havory, the book was otherwise very simple in its design, having a brown but smooth leather cover and back. But Gus was not one to judge a book by its cover, so he opened the old and crinkly pages and began reading.

Here goes nothing…