Although Rogier's talk about finally getting back home seemed motivating at first, when he actually got to explaining it, we found out that the reality wasn't as optimistic as it sounded. Even after the two shuffles, we still had very little idea which way we'd have to go towards the central room, and so for now, our time would consist mainly of expeditions outside our little hideout, checking out what we'd find, and then quickly coming back before the layout would change once again. Therefore, Rogier's plan of getting home wasn't too different from what we had been doing thus far.

"Umm... Corwyn?" I tried to initiate a conversation. Rogier and Amy went ahead to discuss whether or not we'd be able to cook something from the food she bought, and so Corwyn and I had a moment for ourselves.

"Oh? Yeah?"

"Hey, I heard you actually managed to kill that serpent Guardian."

"Rogier told you? Umm... well, I didn't really kill. I just kinda... well... I got lucky."

"Lucky? I heard you tore him open with the boxes."

"Well, that's kinda true. But it was mostly an accident. I didn't really, like, do it myself."

"Wait, then what exactly happened with you and that creature? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Corwyn and I sat down at the edge of the lake. According to his watch, the next shuffling would happen in about fifteen minutes, which, at least by Rogier's standards, wasn't enough to make it safe to go exploring. Therefore, it was a perfect moment for a bit of rest. Sitting at a lake, dipping my legs in the pleasantly cold water and listening to the sounds of the waves almost made the library feel like it was not such a bad place after all. That was, at least if one wouldn't take Corwyn's story into consideration.

He had absolutely no idea what happened to me after the serpent pulled him away. The moment two of them fell down onto the wooden box below, the effects of the descent came crashing down on him almost immediately. Fortunately, in his case, all the artefacts in his body significantly watered the afflictions down, so he didn't end up crushed and mangled like my arm, but it still took a toll on him. His ears began ringing, breathing was getting harder as if the air suddenly got much denser, and most of his strength disappeared like mist above a pot of boiling water.

The serpent squeezed him in its grasp, making the entire situation even worse. According to him, it felt as if somebody had sucked all the air out of his lungs, with more simply not coming in, no matter how hard he tried to breathe. Not a single word would leave his mouth as a call for help. He felt himself slowly getting crushed by the enormous beast.

The creature, however, didn't seem to be a constrictor snake or anything of the kind. It moved in closer with its face and opened it wide. Corwyn described the sight as someone opening a massive umbrella and then closing it around him. When I heard him use such a description, I couldn't help but shiver a little. The creature looked terrifying on its own, and the comparison certainly didn't help it.

The next thing he recalled was finally getting released from the crushing grip and sliding down through the creature's neck, all the way down to its stomach. His body was so tired and weak that he couldn't bring himself to move in any way that would even slow down his descent. Once in the belly of the beast, however, his story almost stopped making sense. The entire place didn't seem anything like an internal organ. In fact, it didn't seem like a place at all. He found himself just swimming in an endless sea of golden mist, which seemed to be so thick he couldn't even see his own legs when he looked down. Even though the word "down" was also not correct in such a situation. It felt as if gravity no longer had any hold of him. He was just swimming through that endless gold. Everything looked beautiful and stunning, so much so that he soon found himself almost at peace in there. This peaceful feeling soon manifested itself physically. His breathing got slower and his muscles completely relaxed. His previous attempts at even trying to move in there have ceased completely. That, fortunately, also meant that his fingers let go of the last two book-boxes he was carrying with him.

He heard them pop open and their contents flooded his brain. At the very moment it happened, Corwyn knew that he had absorbed more than was healthy. It felt as if someone was pushing at every part of his head at once, putting it under immense pressure.

The images he saw did not make much sense to him, but he did seem to recall at least something. There were people bringing objects to a large building with a round roof. They laid down those items onto pedestals and chanted something that Corwyn did not understand. This happened again and again and again. It was like watching a theatre play over and over while a massive headache was driving him mad. For a moment, he thought that he would get stuck there forever, just doomed to watch religious rituals take place until his brain would give out. However, the box's vision soon stopped and was quickly replaced by the contents of the other one.

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Here, everything felt much more peaceful. There were no giant, looming buildings, nor crowds of citizens with their endless chanting. Instead, there were just two such creatures, a male and a female, as Corwyn had guessed, although their looks were so varied, he suspected they may have even been different species altogether. They seemed to live in a small building at the edge of a forest of red-leaved trees. Corwyn suspected that it was a love story because there was a lot of sensual touching involved between the two. Fortunately, it never seemed to show anything more than that.

When the visions finally stopped, Corwyn found himself lying on the floor with the Guardian motionless behind him and with a massive hole in its stomach, the golden mist spilling into the surrounding air and dissolving. Rogier was shouting at him from above, asking whether he was alright, but he couldn't muster enough strength to answer. Soon after, Amy tossed him a rope, which he just barely managed to hold onto as they quickly pulled him up onto the wooden box above.

Only then did he see what happened to me. According to his words, I looked like I was already dead, with my arm bleeding and crooked in so many different places that he didn't even know where my elbow was. After that, they helped him lie down for a moment while Amy treated my wounds before quickly hopping over to Corwyn's side. The painkillers she gave him did help with the headache, but the rest of the terrible feelings had to subside on their own. With no idea what would await them ahead, they decided to return to where they knew they'd be able to safely survive a shuffling - the lake Glassroom.

"So, yeah, that was kinda it. None of it was really me. I was just lucky, I guess."

"Oh. Well, not like it matters in the end, right? You're alive, and that's what's important," I tried to sound encouraging, even though my mind wasn't exactly in the best place to encourage others.

"I suppose so. Still feels like you got the shortest end of the straw." He glanced over my arm. "I-I don't think that's like... painful, right?"

"No, not really. It just feels kinda alien at the moment. Rogier tried to make me forget about it and I guess it worked for a moment. Just have to get used to it."

"Yeah. At some point, you just won't find it weird anymore. At least, I-I hope so. It was like that with me and the artefacts I got. T-Then again, those are a bit different so–"

"I know. But still, thanks. It's encouraging to hear how others handle it, you know? Plus, anything is more uplifting than whatever Rogier says."

"Y-Yeah, maybe you shouldn't always listen to him. His wisdom doesn't really pull any punches."

"Heh, yeah, we can agree on that."

Silence settled around us for a moment until Corwyn decided to change the topic.

"Umm, can I ask you something as well?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Back then, with the Guardian, you, umm, said something. Like... what was it? I didn't know the word."

"Oh, you mean Valmiria?"

"Y-Yeah, that one. What is that?"

"It's something Cristina told me back then after we defeated that clockwork Guardian. It's a word that apparently slows down certain types of Guardians. Although it rarely works."

"I see. Wonder why that is."

"Why it works? Beats me. Heck, I don't even know if it actually works or if she was just telling me nonsense."

"W-Well, there has to be a meaning to it, no? Maybe like a command word. You know how you can command certain golems back home by calling out their names?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, what if this is the same? Whoever made the library probably made the Guardians to protect it. And to command them, they had words like these. Perhaps it's like, umm, different command phrase for different production lines of Guardians."

"Heh, now you sound a lot like a scholar."

"I-I'm just thinking out loud, of course. This is all pure speculation."

"Yeah, I know. Still, not a bad idea. Not like it can help us much though. We have no idea to tell which Guardians this might work against, so it's worth just using it on everyone and seeing if it will ever work."

"If we manage to survive such an encounter again," he muttered.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't be such a pessimist, okay? Hope should always die the last."

"I-I'd rather die after my hope."

"Come on, man!" I gently nudged him with my elbow. "You're not gonna die! You're the most durable of us all." I smiled, but something gnawed at me deep inside. Didn't I also give a pep talk to Amy before? My words were positive, but they lacked absolutely any true meaning. Corwyn was right, we might all die here and few will remember us up in Ritena. We would just be another statistic to add to the lives lost in the library's depths. It scared me. Although I tried to boost his morale, not even I believed my words, so how could he?

"Alright, Shuffling is coming up. Get ready!" Rogier yelled at us and called us over to them. We got up, I picked up my boots, and we rejoined the other half of our team.

"So, listen up, Eliot," Rogier started, "When it happens, don't look at the market, okay? There are bookshelves there, so they will be shuffling. The colours that accompany it can make you dizzy and effectively knock you out, so just avoid that, okay? The rest of the place should be safe. We'll just sit here, look at the wall, and endure the shift. For the rest of you, it's the same as before. Any questions?"

The three of us exchanged a few expressions and shrugs but otherwise, we stayed quiet.

"Good! Then let's get ready."

We sat down just as he instructed us, with eyes gazing at the painted wall ahead of us. I couldn't help but feel like the break we got was just far too short. After this Shuffling, it would once again be more travelling, exploring, and adventures. My metal-infused arm shivered at the idea. Before the sounds of the Shuffling drowned out even the noisiest of my thoughts, I made a promise to myself - I would make myself useful for this team. Somehow.