The guards on the stairs leading to the lower floors were among the few who took their job seriously, given the creatures and lunatics trying to sneak through these floors.

The guards noticed that Adam was looking at them dazedly, so one of them approached and asked:

—Is something wrong, young man?

—A bookshelf told me she wanted to talk to you guys— Adam replied, still dazed and with his mind elsewhere.

—Could you tell us where that bookshelf is?— asked the guard who had approached him.

Adam proceeded to give them directions on how to find the monk and described what he looked like. When he finished telling them the details, the guard commented:

—It seems like I know that bookshelf. I'll go check it out— said the guard with some concern— But first, give me your information so we can verify your identity as a resident of these floors.

Adam handed over his identification card and placed his finger on the red book that the guards always carried. Once the guards verified Adam's identity and allowed him to continue his descent to the 5th lower floor.

Adam didn't take long to descend the stairs and arrive at hexagon 10, where he had lived with his father during his childhood until he was 10 years old.

Hexagon 10 was still as dirty as when Adam was expelled by his father: it seemed like no one had bothered to clean these floors, and the bookshelf that managed this hexagon didn't seem to care about keeping it in decent conditions for the unfortunate souls who had lost their sanity and inhabited this hexagon.

Most of the lunatics Adam encountered in the hallways of the hexagon were different from those he remembered. However, there were some lunatics whom Adam knew from his youth or from walking the lower floors during his childhood. Nevertheless, it seemed that Adam's black tunic instilled some fear in the lunatics, so they decided to ignore the young hero and keep their distance from him.

Adam, with some hurry, walked down the hallway where the room he used to live in with his father was located. He approached the door and placed his hand on the doorknob, stopping there: Adam realized he didn't have the strength and courage needed to try to open it. It had been a long time since he had seen his father, and the uncertainty about his father's condition was consuming his mind at this point.

To make matters worse, the door seemed to be different from how Adam remembered it from the past: this door was new and not broken like most doors in this hallway. But too much time had passed, so Adam wasn't sure if the door had always been this way or if his father had changed it.

The young man stood looking at the door for a few minutes with his hand on the knob until he gathered courage and turned the knob to open the door.

*Click*...The door didn't open, and Adam realized that it was probably locked. He then knocked on the door, hoping his father would open it from the other side.

*Tock*...*Tock*...

When Adam knocked on the door, a naked mannequin made of gold and silver formed on one of the marble walls of the hallways and asked:

—Who are you?

Adam was quite scared: in all the years of his childhood, he had never seen the bookshelf that owned this hexagon. Perhaps his black tunic caught the attention of the bookshelf, and it came out to greet him. So, with some hurry, Adam responded:

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

—My name is Adam, and I came to visit my father who lives in this hexagon.

—Adam...—murmured the mannequin thoughtfully—To enter that room, you must answer one of my questions.

—What happens if I fail?—Adam asked suspiciously. It was already strange to see the bookshelf, let alone ask him to answer questions to meet his father.

—Nothing—replied the gold and silver mannequin—But you won't be able to enter until you manage to answer the question.

Upon hearing that nothing bad would happen if he answered incorrectly, Adam answered with suspicion and consulted his godfather about the situation for advice.

His godfather replied:

'Nothing bad should happen, but just in case, write the question down before answering.'

Adam read his godfather's response and asked the mannequin:

—What is the question?

—The question is...—replied the gold and silver mannequin—What's the name of the person living in this room?

—Donatello—Adam replied automatically.

But after answering, Adam regretted it desperately: the question was so easy that he had given the answer without thinking. However, Donatello, his father, might have left a long time ago, and if now someone else lived there, then Adam would have answered the question incorrectly, and the mannequin might be lying about the consequences of giving a wrong answer.

—Wrong...—said the mannequin in a monotone voice—Try again: What's the name of the person living in this room?

The nerves in Adam's body eased as he knew nothing bad would happen if he answered incorrectly, but then he realized the problem: according to what he remembered, his father's name was Donatello, and apparently, the person living in this room had another name, indicating that his father might have left.

With some fear in his response, Adam asked:

—Do you know what happened to the person who lived with a boy in this room more than 15 years ago?

—Of course—the gold and silver mannequin commented with a smile on his face—That person is inside this room, waiting for the boy to come back for him someday.

—But I'm sure my father's name is Donatello—said Adam with some joy about knowing his father was inside, but also with anger that he couldn't enter.

—Wrong...—said the mannequin in a monotone voice—Try again: What's the name of the person living in this room?

*Tock*...*Tock*... Adam began to knock hard on the door, but no one responded.

—He can't hear you—the mannequin commented as he saw Adam hitting the door—If you want to see him, you must answer my question.

—I'm a hero: any clue?—Adam asked desperately. If his father had forgotten his name due to madness and told the bookshelf a wrong name as a password, then he might not have a way to get him out before the purge.

—No—the mannequin immediately replied—Think and answer.

—I'm a wizard: any clue?—Adam insisted with even more desperation.

—Hmm...—the mannequin hesitated, looking Adam up and down— I don't think you're a wizard...

Adam understood the problem: it seemed that the bookshelves couldn't see that he was a wizard as easily as karma. But Adam didn't have his new tunic on to show the symbol of his brotherhood of wizards since he had been a bit dazed by learning that the eyeless old man had used the date when he would visit his father as the start date of the purge.

In Adam's mind, this was the reason why the eyeless old man had skipped his farewell to talk to the sheep: to warn the day care centers in advance and win his magical book. This was bothering the young man and caused him to forget to put on his new tunic on the way.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, the young man took off his current black tunic and put on his new black tunic with a hood. The desperation of the moment caused Adam not to care about being naked in the middle of the hallways.

Adam ran his hand over his tunic and showed the symbol of the bestiary brotherhood to the mannequin, saying with desperation:

—See, I'm a wizard. Only a wizard can belong to a brotherhood of wizards.

Seeing the symbol on Adam's tunic, the mannequin broke into pieces and fell to the ground. Immediately, the few lights illuminating the hallway went out, leaving it in complete darkness. Before Adam could light it up with his finger, the lights came back on, but to his surprise, the hallway was completely different.

All the rooms in the hallway had the doors repaired like new, the lamps shaped like angel statues had been repaired, and the dust from the hallways had disappeared, revealing the white marble of the walls and floors.

Adam noticed that a woman dressed in an elegant dress was forming on the marble walls and said somewhat nervously:

—It's been a while since I've seen a wizard on these floors, excuse the mess created by the slaves.

—Since I'm a wizard, can I enter without answering the question?—asked Adam impatiently. Now that he knew his father was still inside, he was becoming increasingly nervous.

The woman looked at Adam and then at the door, then back at Adam and said uncomfortably:

—You must answer the question... but I'll give you a hint: Use the yellow book again.