"Woah, woah, woah. A hundred thousand?" Sera stared at him with wide eyes. "Is this some kind of miracle juice?"

The goblin manager ignored Sera and looked at Aeryth. "I am willing to discount it, only ten thousand Jades. The rest you can pay with that bracelet of yours. I won't beat around the bush. It's a very sought after item, and ninety thousand jades is a fair price. if you don't trust me, ask around the market."

Aeryth didn't say a word. She turned and kept walking. There was no point in staying. Ten thousand jades were still too much, but that's the price she had initially assumed, baselessly. Foolishly. Of course, there was no way it could've been so easy.

Hundred Thousand, Hundred Thousand jades. She touched her purse. She had seven hundred jades. One victory got her five hundred jades.

*The pit. I just need to win and bet more money on myself. Can I win them all? What if I lose? There's no point in doubting, I have to try. I have no other way to make that kind of money.

I have nothing. There's no point of my life if I have to stay weak for the rest of it. I have to awaken. If I lose a bet, I can start over again.

"Aeryth." Sera grabbed her hand. "Will you slow down a little?"

Aeryth looked down at their hands. Sera let go, "I have been calling you for like five minutes, you keep running like you're possessed or something."

Aeryth blinked, letting out a breath. She was breathless. Lightheaded.This place stank. She looked around, they were out of the market. How did they leave so fast? "S-sorry. I was... just... That's a lot of money, I don't know how I will get that."

"Do you really need it?" Sera's voice was dim, serious.

"I do..." Aeryth whispered. She wanted to scream. Yet, she lacked the strength to even maintain her anger.

Sera's lips strained into a forced smile, "I have some savings, and I am sure Lady Sia will help you out. You can pay back later."

"No," Aeryth shook her head. "I will think of something myself."

"That's a lot of money, you know," Sera's eyes were worried. "But, I will not force help on you... But, but, my eyes are on you. If you try anything reckless, I'll pick you up by the neck and throw you back into the quarters," She smiled, seemingly very satisfied with herself.

"I don't need your guidance. I am more than capable of making my own decision." Aeryth shrugged.

Sera dropped the subject. She seemed to have a lot to say but held back. "Should we check out the library tomorrow?"

"No. I want to know if there's really a treasure or if I am just wasting my time. Then, I will know how much more money I need to make," Aeryth felt the keys in her pocket. "Or we'll have to wait a week before trying again." She doubted she would be here another week.

"Right, let's go." Sera again took the charge.

Aeryth followed behind her. "Are we lost?"

"Nah, this is the right path to the back of the library. We just need a take a plunge down that wall." Sera pointed at the wall that divided the districts.

"That's stupid and reckless."

"Says the girl who jumped into a pit fight against a man twice her size."

"I'm not reckless." Aeryth fought down the indignant burn. "I was just angry at the way he was staring at you."

"Aww, you were worried about me," Sera's eyes shining with happiness.

Aeryth looked at her feet. She was not worried about Sera. But, she was supposed to take the step, even if anger had not taken hold of her. That's what her father taught her. I am the one always responsible.

"Let's jump." Sera approached the wall, beckoning Aeryth to follow. It was about the height of two-story buildings around them.

Aeryth gave in. She held the gap between each step and tried to climb up. A jolt of pain shot up in her arm. "I don't think I can climb up the wall."

Sera nodded. "I guess, I got no other choice," as she looked around the platform.

Sera led her through an alley, and there was a crack in the wall, wide enough for the to fit.

They landed in a maze of alleys and narrow corridors, and people's small foot-wide cemented yards.

Finally, they stopped at the back door of the library. It was barely a minute's walk, comparatively less than the carriage.

"This was a maze."

"Once you look at the city from above, most of it is easy to figure out," Sera said, gesturing for the keys. "And it's a sight from the sky."

"I have seen it. It really is nice... as long as you don't look down at the lowest district."

"Really? I only get to ride eagles when I have to do something official for the house. Other those birds are too expensive. Maybe, one day, I'll own a few for myself, but I need a house with a big garden First. And money. otherwise, the birds will die quickly."

"Seems like a lot of responsibility," Aeryth commented.

"That's life—responsibility and benefits from it."

Aeryth would rather not have either of those, but that was just her.

Aeryth pulled out the key from her bag and tossed it toward Sera.

"Come in," Sera locked the door once they entered.

It was dark. "Should I turn on the lights?" Aeryth said.

Sera created a fireball. "Someone might notice we are inside. Let's use this."

"They will notice that with your flames as well," Aeryth whispered.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. No one's here at midnight to stare through the window."

"Except for your best friend Truman." Aeryth smiled as Sera's expression soured.

Aeryth led Sera to the bookshelf. "I remember which books were glowing, so we don't need to light up through the vents."

She traced the books and pulled out all eight in the order in which they glowed in the darkness.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

They pulled the shelf back, which slid out like it had no weight or friction.

A doorless frame with grey stairs, visible somehow, led down into the darkness.

"Woah, that's straight out of the horror movies..." Sera mumbled.

Aeryth walked in first, a fireball hovering in front of her. She wondered if she would do something like this one day. What did life power even do?

A door red greeted them. It was decorated with gold and silver. It was the second time Aeryth had seen it, and the second time, she stopped mid-step, staring at the elusive door.

"You were right...." Sera uttered in breathless awe. "I gotta say, whoever made this got a taste for artistry."

They approached the door. Sera felt the decoration through her hand, squealing in excitement. "I wish I could show this to Lady Sia."

Aeryth watched her in silence. There was another curious thing about the door. It was on the floor made of marble, but there was no wall around it. It stood alone. Surrounded in the darkness. A lamp hung over them which lit up the room.

"Let's go," Sera pumped her fist and grab the knob. "You ready?"

Aeryth nodded, gulping.

Maybe there's a treasure which is worth a hundred thousand jades.

She knew expecting something like that was stupid, and if it ever came true. Aeryth shook her head. Don't wish or Expect anything. You don't want to pay the price again.

Sera pulled the door, revealing the darkness beyond it—a sea of nothingness.

Sera hesitated.

Aeryth didn't. Darkness was a familiar thing. If she looked behind her, it was already there. It was not something that she feared.

Her steps echoed as she walked in. She looked back. It was dark. Exit had vanished. She couldn't see Sera. There was no sound of her footstep. Did Sera leave? Aeryth vainly believed. Maybe, she did.

She felt stupid to bring her now. Everyone's going to leave me one day. I am cursed.

Darkness continued. She kept walking. She took firmer steps. Confident, and they echoed.

Deeper and deeper, she may have walked only a minute or maybe an hour. She couldn't tell.

The darkness grew thicker. Darker. Her ears were filled as if she was submerged in water.

Am I going to die? After all that, here in the darkness, just like that? Father will be disappointed if that is the case.

Still, she walked calmly. The prospect of death was not scary. She had nothing to live for after all. Just like she had no reason to die. But, maybe, this darkness was giving her the respite that Light took from her.

No. She saved me, I was not going to die then.

Aeryth sighed. Her breathing grew heavier. She was falling. Aeryth tried to swim. Even if she was going to die here, she couldn't drown until she had spent all her energy, exhausted her soul, for that's what her father and mother did. She wouldn't be able to meet their eyes in the afterlife if she died without even trying.

A warm hand grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the darkness.

She stood in front of the red door again.

Sera looked at her breathless state. "Are you alright?" She asked, rubbing her back gently.

"Yeah, how did you pull me?" Aeryth asked. She had walked for so long, and suddenly, she was out. "What even was that?"

"Well, this is an illusion. We need to break the illusion to enter beyond the door." Sera said.

"Illusion?" That was not something Aeryth knew much about.

"Don't look at the darkness. Fortunately, I was taught how to break the illusions. This is an elementary one, after all. If it was any higher, we both would've been lost in the darkness. Phew," Sera sighed, slumping on the ground. "We dodge a stab in the heart there."

"nks," Aeryth fell on her knees. Her heart pounding. Sera tried to hold her, but Aeryth waved away. "I am fine. Just exhausted."

"Yeah, you've been going through a lot tonight. Bad days, then there are bad nights."

Aeryth smiled. "It's better than most nights for me. Can you break Illusions?"

"On a person? Yeah, I just did. It's pretty easy, as long as you can control mana. I guess, you don't know that," Sera pulled the door shut. "This is an illusion spell. Completely different thing. We cannot go inside, not unless we find a way to break the illusion."

"Right." Aeryth's flames dwindled. Even if there was a treasure, perhaps beyond just this door, she couldn't have it.

"Need a plan to make this work. I'll think of something.

Aeryth nodded. There was no point in staying here.

----------------------------------------

They returned home without any commotion, three in the morning

Sera's room was on the top floor, so she went up after leaving Aeryth at her doorstep.

She flipped through the magic books light had left.

She flipped her notebook.

Runes were the law that created spells. A magic circle had layer upon layer of runes constructed and drawn to fuel a spell. To converge mana and elements into something mystical and grand, beyond mortal capabilities and power.

And they had the power to break that mysticism. Or they should.

There were families of runes, Light's book suggested. It never delved into the subject, as it was not a foundational book, but an advanced one.

The families ranged from the creation of material to the stabilization of energy, change, amplification, destruction, and such.

Yet, they all were part of the same family—Creation of Mysticism.

Light had written it. She had many such observations, comments, musings. They were a wonder to read. Reading those, Aeryth felt, her mind believed, she knew Light.

Aeryth stopped in the middle of her notebook.

Destruction of Mysticysm.

Of everything Aeryth took pride in, she was ashamed of her handwriting. She could carve in the woods with her sword, and they would look better than what she wrote with ink and pen.

One of the sleepless nights, she had come to this conclusion. If they were from the family of Creation of Mysticysm, then there must be a family to destroy the said mystique.

But the book had no such information. To confirm her theory, she needed to talk to Light. Alas, that might never happen.

If this was real, if it was a possibility, then, she could break the illusion. The destruction runes opened the prospect of destroying any spell before it was cast. She might be over thinking it, but it seemed too powerful to exit.

"Can I do it without having the perception of mana?"

With a sigh, she closed the notebook. She had two. One was this, which she used to write down her own observations since scribbling on Light's book felt wrong. It was too precious.

There was another, cheaper notebook. Sometimes, her pen bleeds through the paper due to the cheap quality. She used it to practice the awakening ritual circle. The real one would need to be much bigger, but for practice, she tried to draw the entire thing on the page.

At this point, her notebook of four hundred pages was two-thirds filled. Sometimes, she just practices the particularly complex symbol, and other times a part of the circle. Drawing the entire thing took a lot of time, about three hours no matter how much she hurried.

Every night she told herself that tomorrow, she would find something. Tonight, she finally had a lead. And yet, it was like she stood before an insurmountable mountain.

Today, she didn't feel like scribbling. Neither sleeping. She didn't feel like sleeping any day. It just came late into the night, and she would plop over her desk.

Tonight, she didn't fall asleep.

The blue sky turned lighter shades as the stars vanished. The sun's brilliance outshone them. They were just far, not less bright than their sun. She reminded herself that many times, but the sun seemed far too bright to imagine there being something else capable of matching it. Like a phoenix, it rose from behind the Everfrost mountains every day to light up an entire world, the vast continent, the seas, and the realms of nether.

She went about her routine in the morning.

She made braids today after the shower. It took her a few minutes but the effort was worth it. It made her appear more normal, and her hair stayed out of her way for the rest of the day.

She went down for breakfast.

Now, people had come to know her better, they tried to talk to her, but she had refused to entertain anyone. After a minute or two, they would leave awkwardly, breathless by the suffocating silence.

She felt bad for doing that, especially when they just wanted to make her feel welcome here. But she didn't care for them, neither was she fond of them after that incident.

After the breakfast, which was a bread omelet, she returned to her room.

She sat in her room, staring at her bracelet. Ninety Thousand Jades...

She considered going to the pit, but that meant leaving behind the mystery of the white door and this place. She wouldn't have shelter over her head. That was a bigger deal than it seemed. This place had a safety, and where Light left her, and might one day return to see. For that reason alone, she didn't want to leave. As much as she told herself, she didn't care about Light, her mind refused to let go of her.

What should I do?

She scribbled in her notebook without thinking much. She looked at the door.

I need to break that illusion.

Right! She stood up from her desk and picked up the purse.

If I pay back Mr. Tor his seven hundred forty jades, I will have nothing left. Do I need money for something else? I don't know. Probably, yes, but if I use this as an excuse to ask him for the spell breaker codex. Just let me read it in his store for a few hours. It should give me time to memorize a way to break the spell.

She remembered the defective time-stopping clock.

It's not my thing to worry about.