—Are you alright, young hero?— asked the eyeless old man, watching as Adam breathed rapidly.

—Yeah, yeah... you just scared me...— Adam replied, trying to calm down.

As he settled down, Adam looked around the cave for any anomalies, but everything seemed the same as before he read the magic book. So, not much time appeared to have passed in the book. Suspicious of the situation, Adam asked:

— How long was I inside the book?

— Less than a minute— the eyeless old man replied, looking the young man up and down—The book sucked you in and then spit you out instantly.

—According to the ancient wizard, three years passed...— Adam commented, inspecting his body for clues about his new ability, but for now, he felt nothing strange and couldn't figure out how to activate it.

—Probably, three years passed inside the book— the eyeless old man said, moving his stone beard in an exaggerated manner as he spoke —Those who read that book incorrectly get spit out like dust, so I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.

—I don't feel any older, though— Adam said, inspecting his body —Most likely, age is just a deadline, and if you surpass it, the book turns you into dust...

—Now that you've finished reading my books, shouldn't you go see your father?— the eyeless old man asked, seeming a bit impatient to get Adam to leave —I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you turned into a wizard!

—First, I need to find my godfather...— Adam commented, realizing that apparently his godfather had truly been disintegrated when he was inside the book —Then, I'll get myself a nice black hooded robe, and finally, I'll go see my father. As promised, I'll come with my father to say goodbye before I leave these levels.

—No!— the eyeless old man shouted immediately upon hearing Adam's plan —Come say goodbye to me before you visit your father!

—Why?— Adam asked, suspicious.

—I want to bid farewell to you with a smile on your face— the eyeless old man said with a smile hidden by his stone beard —If your father is dead or completely insane, you'll come crying to say goodbye, and I don't want to remember you like that, boy.

—Alright, if it makes you happy, I'll come say goodbye before I visit my father — Adam commented, feeling happy about the eyeless old man's considerations.

Time passed, and Adam prepared everything to leave the cave. All the furniture and various books would remain. The only things Adam would take from the cave were his black robe, the puzzle box, the black book, and his identification card for the middle levels.

The young hero had obtained the black robe, learned six magical abilities, become a wizard, and to top it off, the eyeless old man would say goodbye before he embarked on his long journey to the upper levels. Everything was going perfectly for Adam; he just needed to see his father's smile, and this would be the best year of his life. So, the young man was quite eager to leave the cave and start his new adventure with his father.

But before leaving, Adam had one last thing to do. He submerged himself in the cave's lake with a knife in hand and a cloth in his mouth. Then, Adam raised the knife and cut off one of his ears.

*Mmmmm*... Adam cried out in pain, but he didn't stop. He continued to plunge the knife into the earhole with his hands trembling from the pain. Then, he stopped and waited for his ear to regenerate in the lake's healing water.

This was the problem with using the mole ability: the moles never disappeared, and they had to be torn out, or they would grow on top of each other, eventually leaving him deaf. Therefore, Adam took advantage of the lake's healing water to regain a pair of intact ears.

Some time passed, and currently, Adam relaxed in the lake, waiting to get his ears back. In the meantime, he remarked to the wall:

—It's quite curious that the ability to hear the emotions of others ends up depriving you of their actual words.

—Magical adventures give more clues than you think...— the eyeless old man remarked, forming on the wall —Do you remember when it occurred to you to go deaf while trying to get the magic ability?. That was precisely the true will of the book and It's because empty words are what alienate you the most from people's true emotions. Don't focus so much on the magical ability; rather, focus on the book's moral, as that's usually the most valuable lesson. Even without using the ability, you should be able to understand others' emotions if you simply listen to the other librarians sincerely, ignoring their empty words.

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Luckily, Adam could hear from one of his ears now, so he could hear the old man's advice on the wizard's path. Taking advantage of this last conversation with the eyeless old man before saying goodbye, Adam asked:

—Why were you so happy to receive that wizard's hat? I noticed that ancient wizards used to wear formal clothes and masks to hide their missing parts of the face. They didn't wear pointy hats...

—While it's true that only slaves wore white robes— the eyeless old man commented with happiness —The white robes symbolized the slavery of ignorance in the time of the ancient librarians. On the other hand, black robes symbolized their long and dark journey towards the light of knowledge, so you shouldn't feel bad about wearing black robes.

—And the wizard's hat?— Adam asked, trying to get the old man to stop avoiding his question.

—Formal clothes have another meaning for a librarian— the eyeless old man said with some nostalgia for those times —When the inhabitants of a level realize that ascent is just a stage in their lives, they stop wearing the robes because they no longer seek the light; they've already found it and now walk towards that light with enjoyment and delight.

—Alright, don't answer about the hat...— Adam muttered irritably —Do you know what it means for the day care centers to reactivate?

—Also, the wizards' masks had another symbolism...— the eyeless old man commented, completely ignoring Adam's question —Both the disciple and the master wore the same mask. When the master ascends, the disciple keeps the master's mask and passes it on to the next disciple, so these two identical masks are continuously passed on. It's quite rare to see a librarian inheriting something, so the succession of masks was a very emotional ceremony in those times.

—Interestingly, the ancient wizard I met kept his mask...— Adam mumbled, imagining a story in his head —Besides, the wizard told me that the day care centers will activate when the library is about to run out of librarians. That's why I tried to bring up the subject: I wanted to warn you that tough times are coming for you, old man! You should listen to what they ask you; otherwise, you'll only hear empty words!

The old man reappeared his eyes and aimed his monocle at the young man. Knowing that Adam already knew something about the topic, he said:

—That's why I want the purge to happen. All the shelves on these levels need new librarians... only useless ones who work for the hexagons remain, not those who truly study our books. I'm not concerned about these levels being empty; the Citadel will always produce new librarians, and the wooden levels will invite wanderers to stay. We just need to wait for better times, and everything will sort itself out, as it has before.

Adam closed his eyes and relaxed in the water. He felt somewhat relieved by the eyeless old man's lack of concern about the matter. He wasn't worried at all, as the ancient wizard's warning didn't change much of his current situation. However, the shelves should be worried about the problem, and after so many years living in this cave, Adam had developed strong feelings towards the eyeless old man, so he wanted to warn him.

Though the eyeless old man had tried to turn him into a Toy Maker and acted somewhat deceitfully, Adam understood that these issues arose from the racial difference between the two, and he had long understood and accepted them.

Relaxed in the water, Adam added:

—It's doubtful there will be any wanderers; according to the ancient wizard, the activated day care centers symbolize that the entire library will be empty, not just these levels. He told me that all the shelves will die, and a new beginning will occur. He also said that instead of ascending, there will be a descent. It seemed important: do you know what he meant by "descend"?

—That's concerning information...— the eyeless old man murmured thoughtfully —Did you notice any strange movements in the reverse world when you went? Did you see any shelves filled or repaired?

—If you answer about the hat, I'll answer...— Adam said with a mischievous smile, even with his eyes closed, as he relaxed in the water. The horrible times for the shelves could be more than a thousand years in the future, and for the young man, it was foolish to worry about it.

—The hat gives me 25 votes when agreements are voted on between shelves— the eyeless old man said with a worried tone —It symbolizes that someone became a wizard by reading one of my books: some librarians know this secret and will look for my books.

—Why would they look for your books?— Adam asked —My ability to become a wizard was only possible because of the shield I was born with; without that shield, they're done for.

—Now that I'm a magical shelf with disciples, my books are more approachable— the eyeless old man responded, sounding a bit reluctant to reveal the information he wanted to hide —Even non-wizards could talk to them; that's the big secret. But you're already a wizard, so this information is useless to you.

—I see...— Adam murmured —I suppose if someone wanted to become a wizard, they'd try to achieve it using a shelf with a wizard's hat, not just any random one.

—Yes, that's why it's challenging to obtain this hat. Wanderers always use the same shelves to achieve it...— the eyeless old man commented —Only librarians born on these levels would be fortunate enough to reach the fifth magic book without going on magical adventures, so becoming a wizard without help is very dangerous. But with the purge, there will be several generations of librarians not born on these levels, who will come looking for me.

—That explains your excitement...— Adam commented —Regarding your question: there are only a few shelves with one or two broken books, but I never came across a full shelf during my only trip in the reverse world.

—Well... That's good to know— the eyeless old man remarked, contemplating his future in his mind, thinking about how to survive the dark times that were approaching.

—Do you know what he meant by "descend"?— Adam asked again.

—The answer is logical, and saying it brings consequences— the eyeless old man commented, raising his voice as he spoke —Talking about it brings consequences, asking about it brings consequences, investigating it brings consequences! If you want to continue living, keep what the ancient wizard told you to yourself!