Prologue (Part 03)

Past the doors of the elevator was a dimly lit corridor, decorated head to toe by stonework. Statues of mages lined the walls, providing light in the form of magical crystals affixed to their staves. The floor was draped with a long red carpet. It stretched far and seemed endless yet, thanks to her memory, Rukia knew otherwise.

As the trio moved along, the corridor opened up to reveal the main atrium of the underground structure. A massive circular hall which contained bookshelves that wrapped around its circumference, briming with ancient and interesting books and curios contained within them. Lanterns, powered by the same crystals, hung along the walls to illuminate the entirety of the area, leaving the space as bright as day.

What lay at the centre of the library was a round table with five chairs. Vague images of herself and four others form in her mind, sipping tea and discussing matters. Who these people were or what they talked over remains unclear to her. It made Rukia feel a sense of déjà vu as she looked at it.

Past the table, Rukia could spot a set of stairs. It was a spiral staircase that ran up and along the curvature of the wall. Her eyes followed its path, trying to find its end, leading her to look up. What she saw then made her eyes go wide and her mouth to fall open in astonishment.

*No way…* she stared

The staircase led to no end. It continued onward, spiralling around the seemingly infinite shelves of books that went up to dizzying heights. The sheer scale of it would make most people stop, unable to fathom what their eyes could see, and Rukia was no exception to this.

It wasn't until she felt Simon's gentle pat onto her shoulder did the girl reel back to reality. She turned around to see him and Zelda, with the maid having replaced her armour with her work attire by some means.

"Mis Rukia, welcome to the archive of the Azure Witch. The Archive of Bluemoon!"

Rukia turned back and took in the sight again. It was truly awe inspiring. Her head could't wrap around the sheer quantity of things that she saw.

After quite some time, Rukia took a breath and began to circle the hall, running her fingers along the uncountable number of books she walked past. They were all regarding magic and its many branches. There really was no end to the amount of knowledge stored in these walls.

Out of curiosity, the young girl took out a book from one of the shelves. It was a large book with the title "Tome of Florosina" etched in bold into its cover.

She began to flip through the pages as the two others began to approach her.

"Please be careful with those Mis Bluemoon.", Simon had warned as a small bird materialised and flew out of the bird. This, of course, startled Rukia and closed the book instinctively out of reflex, making the bird vanish

"W-what was that?" Rukia asked the butler and the maid.

"Do you not remember having seen or used a Tome before Miss Bluemoon?", Zelda asks as she takes the book off of Rukia's hands to return it to where it belonged.

Rukia shook her head lightly. "I suppose so. This is the first time I'm seeing one. I did not expect them to work like that."

"It seems that her memories are as good as ever Mr. Simon…", Zelda had chirped, acting quite childishly. Rukia looked a tad annoyed by this but did let it slide.

"So, all these books here are Tomes… are they?", Rukia asked, her eyes taking another look at the massive archive.

"Yes, Miss Bluemoon. However, there are also very dangerous Tomes located in this place. It was by chance to open one of the harmless ones.", Mr. Simon replied, gesturing to the whole of the archive.

"Oh...."

*Okay. Don't go around mindlessly opening each book I see Rukia.* She had told to herself.

She then turned to look at Simon and Zelda properly,

"Also, would you guys stop calling me Mis Bluemoon?", Rukia demanded.

"But isn't that your name?", asked Zelda, confusion taking root in her face.

Rukia had sighed. "It WAS my name. But I'm still new to all this and my memory's still pretty much a blank. So, it's kinda uneasy when you address me like that.", she folded her arms in front of her crossly

"I understand. Then, how must we address you now?", Mr. Simon asked.

"Just call me Rukia.", she said. "Rukia will do."

"Miss Rukia it is then. I'll let the other two girls know.", said Zelda.

*…guess I won't be letting go of the Miss part anytime soon…* Rukia thinks to herself.

.

.

.

The trio had travelled up the staircase, with Mr. Simon explaining as they continued. The Archive of Bluemoon was created by the first Azure Witch before the creation of the Kingdom of Tenibris and its lands. Ever since its inception, this archive has been the repository of books, tomes, grimoires, scrolls and all manner of literature from sources all across the kingdom. In other words, this place was a repository of immense knowledge. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the area housed a vast number of cursed items and books. As such, the archive has faced many threats from both inside and out of Tenibris. Their quest for forbidden knowledge has always been thwarted by the Azure Witch, acting as the guardian of the place. Even after her sudden disappearance, her loyal servants had kept the archive with their lives.

Simon also explained that the library was sectioned into floors, each containing a specefic variety of items. However, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack if one wished to search a particular book or object, considering the size of the library. The contents of the archive were ordered from least dangerous to most, starting from the top floor where there exist the many and varied folklore of the kingdom with the lowest floor storing an assortment of highly dangerous and destructive texts.

Then why exactly had they entered from the most dangerous corner of the complex? Rukia had inquired about this to Simon who replied with the most unorthodox statement to evr come out of a butler.

"Why Miss Rukia, it is to make your first experience into the archive the most dramatic!"

Rukia had stared at him for a good minute or two before she spoke again. "…I seriously don't get you."

After concluding their expedition around the underground library, Rukia was led to a study which was used by the Azure Witch in the past. It was connected to the archive via a flight of stairs which they had just used to get to the room.

As night falls upon the mansion, Rukia enjoyed a warm dinner made by Greta. They had officially concluded the tour of the mansion and now she was preparing for bed in her room, with Zelda combing Rukia's long hair.

"Zelda…?", Rukia asked with a sad smile.

"Hmm?", Zelda answered, looking at her mistress with concern.

"I am really sorry that I can't remember you." The blue haired girl sighed.

Zelda paused for a while, then answered her.

"It's nothing to worry about Mis Rukia, we understand your situation, or let's say we are trying our best to." Zelda gently held a lock of Rukia's hair. Rukia turned around to see Zelda deep in thought.

"Zelda, what's the matter…?", Rukia asked while she held Zelda's face in her hands affectionately.

"Ah, no it's nothing." Zelda replied, now out of her daze. "Oh, look at the time. Let's go to bed now shall we Mis Rukia?"

Rukia clambered onto the bed and Zelda gently tucked her in like one would do for a child. To be fair, Rukia did look the part.

There was still much in Rukia's mind about her memories, her past, her current situation and also what lies ahead for her. However, she kept it to herself for the time being and decided to go with the flow.

Although, her first priority right now was to regain her lost memories. Mr. Simon assured that he was currently working on it. She will possibly have to do some independent investigation on the matter as well.

Rukia's eyes began to feel heavy and looks at Zelda sleepily.

"Good night, Zelda", Rukia yawned sleepily.

"Have a good night, Mis Rukia" Zelda smiled warmly as she switched off the light.

Rukia Katsuragi, now Rukia Bluemoon, the self-proclaimed Azure Witch, drifted off to sleep, unsure of what lies in store for her future.

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