Chapter 14: The Library

URGH 

Li threw himself onto the bed, exhausted after a long day, his tense muscles still aching. Steam still wafted from the hot shower he had just taken. Lacking the willpower to move, he simply stared at the dark ceiling. Stretching his arm as if to reach for something, he noticed a small scar on the back of his hand, a memento from the past. 

"It feels like it was so long ago..." 

Rolling over in bed, Jihan recalled everything that had happened up to this point. When his memories reached the current day, he visualized what had happened in the morning, the way Akemi had treated him. 

"She's not wrong to blame me... maybe she really does hate me..." he thought. "I'd hate me too..." 

After lying down for a few minutes, immersed in his thoughts, Li shook his head vigorously. 

"It won't do me any good to keep thinking about this," he concluded. "It's still early, maybe I should take a walk." 

Leaving the room, wearing spare clothes he had bought for a bargain of 20 points each, he headed to the food court which, despite its name, hadn't been used for that purpose until now. 

"I'm starving." Taking a bite of a sandwich he had just bought, Li noticed Akemi in the distance going to the bulletin board and then climbing onto one of the platforms. 

"Where is she going at this hour?" he wondered, standing up and heading to the orbs. 

"If I remember correctly, she pulled something from here...?" 

Seeing that the inscription above the crystal ball said "Library," he felt a certain aversion to the orb. Despite having a tremendous ease in remembering things, Jihan had never actually used this for studying. After all, after his mother died when he was still a child, he never had another school experience or anything like that, so he developed an aversion to studying. 

"Well, what harm could it do? It's just reading something for an hour." He pulled one of the spheres and, heading to the nearest platform, he shattered it. 

When his vision finally cleared, he was in a monumental, oval-shaped structure. Bookshelves filled with books formed corridors throughout the library. The wooden floor reminded Li of an old school he had attended as a child. 

"This place… is incredible!" The boy declared. 

"Indeed, my young friend. Not just incredible, it is magnificent!" 

Li was startled by the voice that emerged next to him. "Where did this old man come from?" The man had white hair and a beard, wore round glasses, and appeared to be blind in one eye. 

"Good evening?" 

"Good evening, boy. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence in this splendid place?" 

"Sir? Have we met before?" Li asked, uneasy. 

"Not yet, but it's an honor. My name is Hakim. How should I address you?" His voice was pleasant, a bit deep and hoarse. 

"My name is Li." "Lately, I've been introducing myself quite a lot," he thought to himself. 

"Perfect, now that we know each other, let's return to the previous question. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence in this splendid place?" 

"This guy is a bit eccentric. Is everyone in this place always so… different?" 

"I just came to take a look; I'm not looking for anything in particular." 

"That's strange... Taking a look at books is the same as reading them. This is a library. In fact, not just 'a' library, but the greatest one, with thousands of years of knowledge stored here. Usually, you come here to find answers to your questions, or questions for your answers," the man played with words, leaving Li increasingly confused. "So, tell me, what is your question? Or what is your answer?" 

Jihan was left speechless, feeling that saying he was following someone would disappoint the old man. So, he opted to say something that would make sense to him. 

"Sir, I'm looking for a way to become stronger." 

"Ah... yes, they always come for that." Despite his attempt to answer, Hakim's reaction was one of disappointment. "Section 37B, just follow this corridor… although… I think a library is better for making your enemy weaker." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh, don't worry about me, it's just the ramblings of an old man past his prime, haha… If you need me, just call, you know my name!" 

Jihan waved to the old man and continued in the direction indicated. All the shelves had a number and a letter; it didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for. When he arrived, he grabbed the first book he saw. 

"Kung-Fu? In books? What a joke." 

Returning the book to its place, Li moved from shelf to shelf, looking at the titles until one caught his attention. 

"The Foundations of Mana, Baltazar Von Amuria. What a strange name… but it sounds interesting." 

Remembering hearing Michael mention the word, Li pulled the book, sat down at a table, and began to leaf through it. "I can't read this!". Realizing it was in an unknown language, he exclaimed. "No, there must be a way." 

"Hakim?!" he shouted, calling the man; his voice echoed throughout the place. 

"Yes?" A voice came from beside the boy's face. 

Startled, he looked in the direction of the apparition. "Where did he come from?!" 

"Uh… I can't understand what this book says, is there a translated version?" 

"Oh, my young friend, this is the only version we have." Hakim pulled an extra pair of glasses from his pocket. "I could teach you the method of mana reading, but since you haven't awakened yet, I can only help you with this." 

"Glasses?" 

"Not just glasses, it's an artifact that allows even ordinary people to read in any language. Try it," said the man, handing over the item. 

Li reached out and took the object, but when he put it on, he didn't feel any difference. However, when he looked at the book, the words seemed to make complete sense in his mind. 

"This is amazing! Thank… " When he looked again, the librarian had already disappeared. 

"Long before 'everything' existed, two beings inhabited the void of existence." Jihan was excited to notice the presence of a story. Despite never having studied, he had read a few narratives. 

The first was a solitary being named Kun. He longed to have someone to be with and felt an emptiness in his chest that could never be filled. The second was an altruistic being named Yan. He felt bad for existing only alongside his brother and wanted to spread out, inhabit everything that existed, and help all he could. The two brothers didn't like each other but couldn't exist alone. 

For a moment, the words seemed to leave the paper and circulate around the boy, showing a true story. 

At one point, Yan, tired of existence, asked the only being who could kill him, his brother, to end his martyrdom. When killed, his immortal soul bathed the universe, creating everything we know: the sky, the earth, and even the stars. It also gave rise to mana and the various types of its exercise we know. 

Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and the most mysterious of them all, Álmos. And for a long time, the universe progressed in complete harmony, everything seemed to fit and move in unison. Everything; except for one being. 

After his brother's death, Kun was lonelier than ever. 

When the first lives emerged, everything that breathed went to the only divine being, making him feel more alive and happier than ever, but as if fate played a trick on him, as everyone needed to go to him, everyone started to flee from him. 

At the height of his loneliness, and in all his power, Kun, with a blade, split himself in two, so he would never feel alone again. Now accompanied, the being tore apart all who denied him, and his "other self" embraced and left in peace all who accepted him. It is still said that if a living being hears the whisper of the night, it is better to graciously accept eternal sleep. 

The two sides of the same being repelled each other, and at the same level, could never destroy each other. This new balance created a new type of mana: light and shadows. As living beings advanced in time, various ways to use them were discovered... 

"Hm… what do we have here?" A feminine voice came from beside Jihan, interrupting the reading. 

The boy put the book in front of his face, pretending not to see the woman next to him. 

"Li Jihan, isn't it?" Liming adjusted her glasses on her face. "What happened to the disdain for reading you showed earlier?" she mocked. "You changed your mind so quickly, it's a shame, I don't like indecisive men." 

"What do you want?" giving in to the cheap provocation, he asked. "Can't you see I'm busy?" 

"Rude. I just wanted to give you this." Extending her hand, she placed a book on the table. 

"Mana Cultivation Manual? Why would I need this now?" he asked, a bit annoyed at being interrupted. 

"You're not very smart, are you?" 

Jihan clenched the book in his hands. "This midget!" 

"YES! I'm not, sorry about that!" Standing up, he grabbed both books and went to read somewhere else. 

Not expecting such a brusque reaction, Liming just stood there watching him walk away. "I guess I went a bit too far." 

In another place, Jihan, muttering, opened the book she had given him.