Chapter 27: Information
‘You’ll show me?’
In the next moment, Zan’s vision changed– no it was more like his whole surroundings changed. A bright blue and endless sky was reflected upon the calm waters of a beautiful vibrant pond. Overlooking it from above, he could smell the natural breath of the Earth and he could gaze at the fishes and tadpoles that swim lively within.
The youth’s surroundings changed again and he was brought to a sweeping vista of a large raging river. The flapping of wings could be heard and he found soon enough that it was his own. Literally having a bird’s eye view, he observed the magnificent river more astutely to see that it was flooding.
The furious waters overflowed, smashing through dirt, plant life and eventually animal life. The blue invaded the brown soil like an army, eventually turning itself into a warped version of the same color. Neither the natural shine of the water nor the fresh smell of the soil remained. The brown liquid tore through the forest, engulfing and drowning all in its wake. Zan watched as all signs of life became submerged in the dirty brown murky waters.
Another shift took place once again. Zan’s attention was captured by a warm flame in a cold forest. It danced and flickered with a restless but jovial grace. The crackling of the fire and wood pleasantly filled his ears as he noticed he was not alone. Four figures gathered around the fire. A vague outline of two kids, a smaller child and a woman was enjoying its warm embrace among the gusts of freezing wind. Its kind welcoming warmth offered solace within the cold night.
The surroundings changed again and Zan’s vision was replaced by red, orange and yellow. The night sky turned apocalyptic and hellish from the blazing inferno below that burned through the once lush green forest. The smoke clouded his vision but he could feel the distress and agony that life cried out. Not just the animals, Zan felt the very forest itself wail in suffering.
As he was brought back from his induced visions, a small luminous hand gripped his shoulder. Next, the orb issued a wave of white radiant energy that hit him like a wave from the ocean. As he was swept around and thrown about wondering if he would drown, the luminous white energy started to completely fill his vision.
Moments passed as the color white started to wash away from Zan’s vision. Once it did the youth found his etheric body floating in an enormous grand library. The ceilings of the room were at least one hundred feet high. He looked around the room to see that the gigantic pillars that supported the tall ceilings were made of a gray wood. Observing further, he found that they were basically thick, double ended trees, in the way that once the thick pillar reached the ceiling and the ground, thick roots sprawled all over and penetrated into the surfaces.
Zan took a moment to truly look around. This whole library had a…unique design. Everything here was made of wood but that in itself was not what made it unique. The wood from the shelves, the furniture, the lights– they all seemed to grow out from the floor and the ceiling. The lights in themselves above Zan were twisting and entwining wooden branch chandeliers that held a beautiful bioluminescent green glow.
The chairs and tables could not be moved because they were literally rooted to the ground. It was strange but definitely novel. Everything in this library apart from the books was connected to each other. Though, taking a look at the books, Zan noticed that they may have been made of the same wood as everything else had…
The youth shook his head left and right, snapping himself out of his thoughts. He asked the orb for information and that was exactly what he got. The vague and surreal visions gave him an inkling of the difference between him and the spider but now he was given a whole library. To this surprise, Zan immediately felt giddy. Strength was power, but knowledge was power too.
Excited, he floated towards one of the millions of books that filled the library. The books were not just on the shelves, there were so many that there were piles of them stacked like hills on the floor. The youth simply grabbed at one of the books stacked at the top of a very tall book pile.
WHOOSH
'...what the fuck?'
SWOOSH
The youth swiped his hand over and over but to no avail, his ethereal hand simply passed through the pile of stacked books. The luminosity of his ethereal body started to shift, as if reflecting his justified but childlike frustration.
'Are you fucking serious?!'
Perhaps from built up frustration of experiencing his first official defeat in a one versus one match, the boy simply continued to fume and swipe his hand over and over through the books.
'WAAAAAH'
He let out a mournful scream as he swept his hand faster and faster, getting more and more irritated every time he saw his hand pass through the books.
That, however, was when the whole library started to shake. The wood that made up everything in the room seemed to come alive, and that was because it was. Branches and roots above the ceiling entwined and weaved into beautifully abstract designs, almost as if the library was stretching out its limbs. The shaking of the entire grand library did not stop and the youth got the strange idea…that this living library was laughing at him.
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Suddenly a myriad of wooden roots grew out from beneath Zan, they sprung out from the ground almost joyously as they exploded and scattered the tall book piles all over the library. The wooden roots started to take shape and even sprout beautiful green leaves. Once the wood fully took shape, the youth noticed he was surrounded by a dozen lecterns of different size, each of them neatly placed an open book upon their surface.
Towards this bizarre tree magic, the youth stood– no he floated there in surprise.
'My instincts never lie. I knew this library was fucking weird…'
‘But hey…it opened the books for me! It must be kind!’
The youth pushed the palms of his hands together, clasping them as a silent show of respect for the living library. Humans really were the most adaptable species, next to cockroaches that is.
‘Is this library just one big tree? Fuck, whatever…’
‘The world is a big place, the world is a big place, the world is a big place…’
The youth repeated to himself over and over.
Zan floated towards one of the lecterns, intent on fully ingraining all the knowledge that he could attain from the book. After shock and surprise, his earlier excitement came back to him.
‘Knowledge is power, fools!’
The youth smiled as he triumphantly looked down towards the first chapter of the book.
“ᛏᚺᛖ ᛗᛁᚾᛞ ᛁᛊ ᛟᚠ ᚦᛖ ᛊᚨᛗᛖ ᚲᚱᛖᛏᛟᚾ ᚨᛊ ᛟᚠ ᚦᛖ ᚢᚾᛁᚢᛖᚱᛊᛖ. ᚹᛁᚦᛁᚾ ᛖᛚᛖᛗᛖᚾᛏᛊ ᛟᚠ ᚠᛁᚱᛖ, ᚹᚨᛏᛖᚱ, ᚨᛁᚱ ᚨᚾᛞ ᛖᚱᚦ, ᚦᛖ ᛊᚨᛗᛖ ᛖᛚᛖᛗᛖᚾᛏᛊ ᛚᛁᛜᛖᚱ ᚨᚾᛞ ᛖᚲᛊᛁᛊᛏ ᚹᛁᚦᛁᚾ ᚦᛖ ᛗᛁᚾᛞ. ᚱᛖᛊᛟᚾᚨᚾᚲᛖ ᛒᛖᛏᚹᛖᛖᚾ ᚦᛖ ᛗᛁᚾᛞ ᛟᚠ ᚦᛖ ᛁᚾᛞᛁᚢᛁᛞᚢᚨᛚ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚦᛖ ᚲᛟᛊᛗᛁᚲ ᛗᛁᚾᛞ ᚲᚨᚾ ᛒᛖ ᚨᚲᚺᛁᛖᚢᛖᛞ, ᚠᛟᚱ ᛁᚾ ᛖᛊᛊᛖᚾᚲᛖ, ᚦᛖᛁ ᚨᚱᛖ ᚾᛟᛏ ᛊᛖᛈᚨᚱᚨᛏᛖ, ᚨᛚᛚ ᚦᛁᛜᛊ ᚨᚱᛖ ᚲᛟᚾᚾᛖᚲᛏᛖᛞ ᚠᛟᚱ ᚨᛚᛚ ᚦᛁᛜᛊ ᚨᚱᛖ ᛟᚾᛖ. ᚱᛖᛊᛟᚾᚨᚾᚲᛖ ᚦᛖᚾ, ᚲᚨᚾ ᚷᛁᚢᛖ ᛒᛁᚱᚦ ᛏᛟ ᚦᚨᛏ ᚹᚺᛁᚲᚺ ᛁᛊ ᚲᚾᛟᚹᚾ ᚨᛊ ᛏᚱᚢᛖ ᛗᚨᚷᛁᚲ.”
‘...What the fuck!’
‘Ca- Can you turn the page for me, please?’
The library seemed to have heard his thoughts as a small branch grew from out of the wooden lectern, and gently turned the page.
“ᛖᛗᛟᛏᛟᚾᛊ ᚨᚱᛖ ᚨ ᛈᛟᚹᛖᚱᚠᚢᛚ ᚠᛟᚱᚲᛖ, ᛊᛟ ᛈᛟᚹᛖᚱᚠᚢᛚ ᚦᚨᛏ ᚦᛖᛁ ᚲᚨᚾ ᚲᛟᚾᚲᚢᛖᚱ ᛏᛁᛗᛖ ᚨᚾᛞ ᛊᛈᚨᚲᛖ. ᛏᚺᛖ ᛞᛁᚢᛁᚾᛖ ᛁᚾᛏᚢᛁᛏᛟᚾ ᚲᚨᚾ ᛊᛖᚾᛊᛖ ᛗᚨᚾᛁ ᚹᛟᚾᛞᛖᚱᚠᚢᛚ ᚦᛁᛜᛊ, ᚨᚾᛞ ᛁᛏ ᚲᚨᚾ ᛊᛖᚾᛊᛖ ᚦᛖᛊᛖ ᚨᛒᛊᛏᚱᚨᚲᛏ ᛗᛖᛏᚨᛈᚺᛁᛊᛁᚲᚨᛚ ᚠᛟᚱᚲᛖᛊ ᚨᚲᚱᛟᛊᛊ ᛏᛁᛗᛖᛚᛁᚾᛖᛊ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚱᛖᛚᛁᛏᛁᛖᛊ ᚹᛁᚦᛁᚾ ᚦᛖ ᛁᚾᚠᛁᚾᛁᛏᛖ ᛈᚱᛖᛊᛖᚾᛏ. ᚨᚲᚢᛏᛖ ᛈᛖᚱᚲᛖᛈᛏᛟᚾ ᛏᛟ ᚠᚢᛏᚢᚱᛖ ᛞᚨᛜᛖᚱ, ᚦᛖ ᛟᛈᛖᚾᛁᛜ ᛟᚠ ᚦᛖ ᛖᛁᛖᛊ ᛏᛟ ᚨᚾ ᛟᛈᛈᛟᚱᛏᚢᚾᛖ ᛗᛟᛗᛖᚾᛏ, ᚦᛖ ᛈᚨᛊᛏ ᛏᚱᚨᚷᛖᛞᛁᛖᛊ ᚠᛖᛚᛏ ᚹᛁᚦᛁᚾ ᚨ ᛚᛟᛜ ᛞᛖᛊᛏᚱᛟᛁᛖᛞ ᛊᛁᛏᛖ ᚨᚾᛞ ᚦᛖ ᛗᛟᛊᛏ ᚹᛁᛞᛖᛚᛁ ᚠᛖᛚᛏ, ᚦᛖ ᛈᛖᚱᚲᛖᛁᚢᛖᛞ ᛚᛟᛜᛁᛜ ᛟᚠ ᚨ ᛚᛟᚢᛖᚱ.”
“No…”
Zan sped through the air to check on all the books, his bright etheric body started to waver and dim from his anxious state.
“ᚨᚱᚱᚨᛁ ᛟᚠ ᚦᛖ ᛊᛟᚢᛚ, ᚨᚱᚲᚺᛁᛏᛖᚲᛏᚢᚱᛖ ᛟᚠ ᚦᛖ ᛗᛁᚾᛞ, ᚦᛖ ᛊᚲᚢᛚᛈᛏᛁᛜ ᛟᚠ ᚦᛖ ᛗᚨᚱᛒᛚᛖ ᚦᚨᛏ ᛁᛊ ᚠᛚᛖᛊᚺ.”
“⸍ᚽᛁ ╵⸍⸝◟╵, ި⸌⸝⸜ᛁ⸍╵ ⸝⸜⸍ וᛁᛁ◟ ⠃ᛁ⸍⸝ިᚽᛁ╵ᛁᛍ⸝⸌ ᛁ⸜ᛙ⸌╮ᛁ⸜ᛍᛁ╵.”
“ᚺᛟᚹ ᛏᛟ ᛈᛚᛖᛊᚢᚱᛖ ᛁᛟᚢᚱ ᛚᛟᚢᛖᚱ ᛁᚾ ᛒᛖᛞ”
“ᛊᛗᚨᛚᛚ ᛗᛖᛗᛒᛖᚱ? ᚢᛊᛖ ᚦᛁᛊ ᛟᚾᛖ ᛏᚱᛁᚲᚲ ᛏᛟ ᚷᚱᛟᚹ ᛁᛟᚢᚱ ᛊᛁᛉᛖ!”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
The youth wailed in defeat, and the library started to shake even more intensely.
As he floated there, burying his head into his hands, a small child-like hand touched his shoulder. Zan turned his head and what he found behind him was the familiar luminous boy, floating there with a gentle smile on his face.
RUMBLE
The library did not once stop rumbling and shaking. The youth thought it was laughing at him at first…and it was in the beginning but now it was different. A slight shaking and rumbling kicked knocked over some books off the shelves but what Zan felt now was comparable to a continent splitting earthquake. Books flew like stars, the shelves and furniture were attached to the ground but they creaked, almost bending forwards and backwards from the force. The gray wood started to turn a more beautiful brown and the green lights above Zan started to burn with fervor.
A pulling force started to bring their ethereal bodies towards the ground before a large explosion rang out in their ears. A series of books flew towards Zan and this time they did not pass through him. They assaulted the poor youth until he was buried under a pile of books.
Quin seemed to fare better under the circumstances. As soon as he heard the large explosion, he hid behind one of the shelves and roots grew out from the ground to protect him from the rest of the books.
The surroundings started to calm as the storm passed. The last book that was still in the air fell down upon a certain book pile. Quin looked at the book pile patiently, before a grasping hand burst out from the burial site. The zombie beneath it pushed the books out of his way before standing solidly on the ground
“The fuck just happened?”
The living library simply shifted its entire humongous form into the same ethereal layer of the universe as Zan and Quin existed, but no one would be telling him that.
The youth looked around for some semblance of structure and order within the chaos and he found the familiar boy staring at him from behind the bookshelf.
“He- Hello!”
‘What do I say to this kid…’
“So uhhhhhhhhhhh”
Before Zan could reply the small child ran up to the youth and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards another section of the library.
‘???’
As they passed through the gigantic mess of books, Zan looked at Quin’s missing left hand. The cut…it was too clean. Like a sharp object passed through it without resistance. Even the bone that was left held no signs that it ever impeded the sharp thing. A child’s bones were softer than adult bones, but no ordinary soldier could cut through solid bone so easily. That brought the question, why would an expert swordsman cut the left hand of a boy so young?
Zan pondered and after moments of being pulled towards an unknown destination, the two came upon a small desk and chair. Obviously it was Quin’s. Together the two stopped right before the desk and before them were messied books, papers and crayons. Among them were many drawings that the boy had created. It was amazing, for the drawings seemed to come from a true artist and not a six year old boy. The drawings had depth, perspective, contrast and proper anatomy of the human body.
They were a far cry from Zan’s drawings, who drew boxed heads that were as big as the figure’s chest and often enough, he would simply take up all the space of the paper by drawing two circles together with a long rectangle at the base of them.
He looked at all the drawings. They were not realistic to the point of being an exact image of a person, but they held a distinct style that could be considered quite pleasant to look at. One drawing had a picture of a red haired boy with a chiseled figure.
“Ahh that’s me.”
“Hehe, you know I’m pretty muscular huh? Hahaha! Hell yeah, baby! You know Quin, you can have muscles like me some day HAHAHA!”
The boy looked at him for a moment, before ignoring him to search the messy pile of books and papers.
“...okay then...a man— a boy of few words.”
Zan continued to look at the drawings while Quin continued his search for something, rummaging and throwing out books and papers that he found of no importance. One drawing held a boy that looked like Quin, holding hands with a familiar brunette in a white lab coat and…a large gray skinned man with rippling muscles and an absent look on his face.
‘Must be his father…’
‘What the fuck happened…?’
Another drawing caught his attention, which made his eyes go wide.
It showed the same familiar brunette crying on the floor with her face down. The skill of the artist accentuated the absolute heartache and grief that she was going through. And above her…a black demonic spider held its maws open for her, its drool dripping down on the woman’s back as dark runes spilled out of its mouth.
Zan’s brain started to feel a sharp pain and suddenly he comprehended what the runes meant.
‘I can help you?’