Chapter 383: The Search for a Word

Early Afternoon - Late Fall : The Library of Eternity, Atlas | Bahamut

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"Two consciousnesses?" *Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump* The rhythmic thump of books being placed on bookshelves filled the air as Hera and I walked down a long path between towering bookshelves. "It at least sounds pretty interesting."

"Haha," I let out a chuckle hearing the hint of doubt in her voice. "It's just an idea I had." -Although of everything I can think of, it's the most probable...-

It had been about a week since we went to investigate Krystallo's rather unusual friend Myaló for having connections with the cult at that point, but our investigation hadn't really progressed since.

"My other guess is that his subconscious mind has just learned to multitask, but.. I have even more doubts with that theory..."

As things were, we had moved investigating him down in priority to try and give more focus to the cult itself because of some recent findings.

But that just led us to my family's archive in the heart of Atlas, The Library of Eternity, where we killed time speaking about the abnormal child while scanning thousands of documents looking for a certain name.

But while it was a name I expected to show up quickly, we ended up having more time on our hands than expected. "Really?" So we theorized. "Considering his soul looked normal and he didn't have a tether or even a trace of divinity, wouldn't that be more likely?"

"Well," I gently shrugged the furred wings of my fenririan form, "I may be wrong, but I don't think so. The timing of thoughts in his subconscious just.. didn't line up right..." Glancing over at Hera, I saw her confused look before hastily continuing. "Think of it this way: the pace of a train of thought will constantly fluctuate based on the reactions of the consciousness, think of emotions, pain, etcetera. However, because these reactions originate from the consciousness, they will cause the same reaction on any line of thought under it, like speeding up thought if you're in danger, or slowing it down if you're relaxing."

"So, because the two separate lines of thought in his mind weren't correlated, you think it's two entirely separate consciousnesses." Seeing me nod, she quickly fell into thought. "That's actually.. quite a fascinating theory... Even if it's a bit creepy..."

"Hah..." I let out an awkward, sympathetic chuckle knowing exactly where she was coming from. -It really is quite unsettling to think about...- It was like the boy was possessed. "My biggest issue with it though is that I just don't know where that second consciousness would come from. You said you were keeping an eye on him, right?"

"Of course, but over the last week there's been nothing. It's almost like he knows he's being watched. He hasn't come in contact with anyone we've deemed suspicious, hasn't gone anywhere odd, and while he acts weird, he doesn't actually talk about anything related to the cult..." She seemed to cringe as a stray thought whizzed through her mind. "Do you think it could be a birth defect?"

But I bluntly shook my head. "If it's something like that, it'd have to do with the soul rather than genetics... Maybe he absorbed his twin at birth, but their souls somehow managed to maintain their own consciousnesses." -Although I have more than a few doubts about that even being possible...-

"It's certainly food for thought... But for now, let's just focus on looking for the records of the god the cultist mentioned... 'Lýkos fídi', was it?"

Over the last week, we had done a deep sweep through the entirety of Eikasía, looking for cultist gatherings, ritual sites, or anything else that was suspicious, even using our auras to scan the system of structures being built underground, but while we turned up empty-handed, one of Hera's associates eventually reached out with some findings.

Just a few days prior, they had caught a cultist amidst a sacrificial offering.

But oddly enough, it was a name that I was already somewhat familiar with. "Yeah, I think so." -The name rings a bell from my time on Earth...- But that kind of connection wasn't anymore more than coincidence, right? "What was the other name they called it? The World Serpent?"

As Hera nodded, she finally turned back to the bookshelves. "It doesn't ring a bell for me, so I have doubts about there being any records, but..." Inside the Ragnarok library, there were records of almost everything of note.

-An old god would certainly be in here somewhere.. but it may be in a deeper layer...- "It's worth looking into, regardless..." I winced slightly as I spoke, feeling a bit pessimistic.

And the longer we walked around the library, one row of books at a time, the worse it seemed.

After a while, we eventually called in one of the caretakers to have her prepare entry to the second layer of the library since the first layer didn't have anything, but the second didn't either.

"Should we try the third and forth?" I tilted my head as I looked over at Hera.

But she just gave me a weird look. "The third layer, maybe, but the fourth was where Bahamut lived for a while. You think he'd give me the keys to his room?"

"Haha, I thought maybe." Seeing her disgusted look as she realized what I was implying, we finally walked out into the main hall, having circled around nearly every row of bookshelves in the second layer before calling a caretaker to open the third.

But, unfortunately.. that was not such an easy request.

"We cannot open the third layer today, regardless of your clearance. I apologize." Bowing all the way to the floor, the caretaker spoke sincerely. "It will take us a week to prepare for entry to the third layer, but that is something we can begin if you wish."

I immediately nodded. "If you could, that would be great." -It's a shame, but I can't say I didn't expect it...- After seeing just how horrifically fragile everything in the second layer was, I couldn't imagine how old the things in the third layer would be.

"For now, could we speak with the caretakers sifting through the texts set to enter the first layer?" Hera quickly interjected as the caretaker stopped speaking.

"O-Of course! Their facility is by the northern entrance to the library, if you wish to follow me."

Quickly nodding, Hera started following after her.

But I wasn't sure why. "What has you wanting to speak to the people sifting through the first layer?" Considering the name we were looking for was a god that likely predated the war, I was expecting to have to wait until we got entry to the third layer at the absolute earliest to find a mention of the name.

However, Hera thought differently. "The cult was formed recently, and if the god isn't real, or didn't exist prior to the cult's creation, instead of looking deeper, we need to look shallower."

"Oh..." -I.. didn't think about that...- Essentially, instead of looking for older texts, she would see if the people sifting through thousands of books daily would know anything. -Considering the cult's sudden uprising, there might've been one or two religious texts they submitted for archiving...-

Because there was a gold reward for those who submitted texts that were successfully archived, it was actually encouraged to submit things, even if they would inevitably be blocked. "But because it's a religious text, they might've been confident it would get accepted."

"Are religious texts usually accepted?"

The caretaker immediately nodded. "If and only if their backing and origin are reliable... We've regularly have 'religious texts' come in that were fabricated by people looking for a quick coin." She glanced back at us with a wide, somewhat greey smile while we walked. "However, if the origin of the text is reliable, we would happily pay quite a pretty penny for it."

She seemed to be eyeing Hera, but she could only laugh. "Hahaha, I don't have anything I can submit, unfortunately."

But the young caretaker, around Mother's age, didn't give up. "Seeing as you're friends with a god, you could always write something yourself." She even probed me. "Knowledge coming from the source fetches the highest rewards."

But I just playfully shook my head. "If you want religious texts about me, you can ask Leif."

And even though I expected her to take that as asking for the impossible, a gleam instantly appeared in her eyes. "With your permission, I certainly will!" Quickly turning around with a childish enthusiasm, her smile widened, and we continued through the library, winding through countless rows of bookshelves before eventually finding our way to a large double door that was quite normal-looking compared to everything else.

It partially blended with the wall, without any carvings or decorations, and led straight into a row of bookshelves between the North and West entrances.

It was the entrance to a room labeled: 'The Filter'

-A little objectifying, isn't it?- Feeling all the auras on the other side, there had to be at least twenty or thirty dragons inside.

However, when the doors opened, we couldn't see a single one.

Opening without allowing for even a spec of wind or moisture into the library, Hera and I were presented with what could only be described as a wall of books. -W..What the hell?-

There were at least eighty, maybe ninety thousand books that we could see, with many being novels, some being biographies, and others even being children's stories.

But that was just the first layer.

"Ana?" The moment the caretaker spoke, the massive wall of books parted down the middle to reveal another mound of books behind it, with a single, sky blue-feathered dragon peeking her head over it.

"Huh? Anthiza? What are you doing here? With guests no less..." She spoke extremely informally, somehow not recognizing my fenririan form. "Are they the new colleagues you mentioned?"

Almost immediately, the towering wall of books behind her parted, and so did the one after to reveal about a dozen dragons peeking over at us, actively sifting through at least a million books. -Holy shit...-

One thing was for certain, if you were to work there, you had to be passionate about it...

But Hera didn't seem to be as awestruck as me, and spoke bluntly. "Unfortunately not. We actually came with some questions."

A couple more dragons immediately popped their heads around their walls of books to see what was going on as she spoke.

"We are looking for information on a god called the World Serpent, or something named similarly. If anyone knows anything or can provide us with any texts, we will pay you up to twenty platinum."

I instantly jolted before using magic to speak in her ear. "I didn't know you brought any money..."

But she just turned smug and looked at me. "Why would I bring money when I have you with me."

"Just because I can make it doesn't mean it's free money-" Cutting me off she pressed the edge of her wing into my face.

"Twenty platinum may as well be twenty coppers for you." Her smile slowly widened as she averted her gaze. "You didn't even notice me spending a couple of royal gold on your dime the other day."

"WHAT?!" I instantly tensed up. "The hell did you spend it on?!"

Her smile warmed as her gaze found its way to my eyes. "You'll see soon enough."

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