I sat in the corner of the library for hours maybe even days, pouring over every page of the books, taking in all that lost time. Estellda would come and go, periodically checking if I'm done, sometimes entering a trance as she sat silently beside or opposite me. 

Patiently I read everything, the betrayal and death of Samuel, the granting of the title "Guardian of Velika" to Estellda, whose name never appeared in any of the text, the corruption of Kaidun, the entrapment of Serion by the gods Thulsa and Akasha, the transference of the Core from Serion to Fraya, the awakening of Kelsaik by Thulsa, Killian and Icaruna, the final act of defiance from Thulsa to completely awaken Kelsiak, and finally the fall of Shandra Manaya, the argon queen, marking the end of the argon war. I read about the fight for noctenium amongst the alliance, the appearance of the reapers from the lake of tears and finally the on-going threat of the Archdevan invasion. 

It was confusing and inconsistent at times, especially the earlier events, there were multiple conflicting accounts and what seemed to be rewrites. There's a larger force behind all of it, hidden in the shadows. As the saying goes, history is written by the victors, everything I've read so far appears to be proper, a little too proper. 

There was no mention of the archcannon programme, the only thing the public was told was that archcannons were jointly developed by the High Elves and the Castanics, not surprising considering the use and loss of children. 

When I finally finished, I sat in silence, pondering my next move. Across the table, Estellda sits leaning back in her chair, balancing on the two back legs, her heels propped up on the desk. She glances at me, 'Done?' I nod. She takes her feet off the table, the chair levels out with a soft thud as she leans forward, resting her hands on the desk, 'Finally! Now what?' I'm not sure. The information I just acquired is of little help, without access to Malachai's Lab and actual records of what happened during that last test I remembered, I have nothing to go on with. This trip is fast becoming nothing but a waste of time, a dabble into history, a luxury I can't afford with the impending reset. 

'Let's go see Commander Fraya.' Estellda adds, my silence giving away my lack for a next step. 

'One does not simply see Commander Fraya Esty. You don't just drop by unannounced for a visit to Allemantheia's highest command.' 

'You wouldn't, no, you couldn't. But I can' Estellda replies, that devilish grin on her face again. 'Unless you have something else in mind?' 

Nope. It's worth a shot I guess, let's see how far being with the "Guardian of Velika" can take me. Which reminds me, 'Are you really the hero described in the books? The one granted the title "Guardian of Velika"? I find it really strange that you did all these amazing things, standing shoulder to shoulder with legends, fighting with and against the gods. Yet your name never appeared once in the books. Even that guard didn't seem to give you much respect even though he acknowledges you being a hero... Wait. Was he being sarcastic? That you want to be the hero but isn't. Yes that would make sense. But that means you don't know Commander Fray-' 

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'Stop' Estellda interrupts my mental rant. 'I do indeed hold the title of "Guardian of Velika". Everything you read about the hero is true. I am the hero in the books.' 

'But?' I sensed there's a but coming. 

'But so was Bree. And every other adventurer from my world for that matter. I told you it's all part of our main quest. That everything is preordained. All of us were destined to become heroes, to defeat the argons. In fact, those events are probably unfolding for some player somewhere as we speak.' Estellda explained. 

I listen to her explanation, trying to make sense of it. 'Are you saying that your life is scripted, that none of your actions are that of your own?' 

'Not exactly Red. In this world at least, we are free to do what we want, for the most part. Think of it this way, the journey we make is determined by us but our destination is always the same. The outcome of each quest is and will always be the same. It might seem like we don't have a choice but we do.' Estellda stands up knocking her chair over, increasingly agitated. Nayenne looks over sternly, we both bow our heads, sending her an apology as we quickly left the library. 

"Sorry about that, it's just a difficult concept to explain. I guess to you it would be like multiple parallel universes." Estellda apologies as soon as we step out. "You're not a regular NPC either Red. If I hadn't been the one that awakened you, I'd just think you're some kinda crazy RP freak that refuses to break character and never sleeps or logs out. I can whisper, party and trade you. I can have Bree in party too which leads me to believe you can form a party with everyone, not just me. I can only speculate that when you levelled up, you stopped being an NPC and became a player. But without an actual person controlling you, you should still be considered an NPC. That and respawning at reset. Players don't do that. Argghhhh!! This is mind boggling!!" 

So there are other reasons behind Estellda forming a party with me, introducing me to Bree and also handing me that travel journal. She's trying to figure out what's going on as well and not just goofing around. "I'm sorry Esty, with the way you behave sometimes, I forget you're also trying to help." 

Estellda turns and gives me a hug, "You can feel this can't you. You can feel the heat from my body against yours. But I can't, because this is your world, not mine." She pulls away and moves swiftly in the direction of a teleportal. "Let's stop wasting time wondering about what we don't understand and instead focus on what we should be doing next." She activates the city teleportal, the blue orb in the middle shines and the 2 rings around it starts orbiting, "I'll see you at Sharan Command." 

A blue magic circle appears around her feet, bathing Estellda in a pale blue light, swallowing her before disappearing in a flash, taking Estellda long with it. I activate the teleportal too then turned in the direction of Malachai's Lab, taking one last look at the heavy golden gate of the elevator. The guard stands before it vigilant as ever, he smirks when he saw me watching. The answers lie in there. I know it. I definitely will get to the bottom of it.