Zero was heading toward the stairs, carrying Sunny's permission slip. That colored scrap of paper allowed Zero entry into the third-floor library. It was a massive library—a paradise of knowledge and secrets that intensely stoked Zero's deep curiosity.
Zero entered the library, her eyes gleaming with pure excitement, when she suddenly heard approaching footsteps. Turning toward the source of the sound, she saw an older girl, clearly a teenager. She had white hair, wore a purple coat over a white dress, and her leather shoes looked neglected. Her skin was dry, and her eyes were a vivid green.
Zero froze in place, holding out her pass, which the girl snatched from her delicate hands.
"One of the girls cleaned the upper section... You will start from the left side, then move to the right..."
Zero grabbed a damp cloth and began wiping the shelves with light, practiced dexterity. On every shelf, she would covertly steal glances at a book whenever the librarian wasn't looking.
"Your job is to clean, not to mess around... Understood?" the librarian shouted as she carried some books to the upper floor.
"Y... Yes, ma'am..." Zero replied, startled.
As the librarian went upstairs, Zero returned to sneaking glances at the books.
*'The books here aren't arranged by category... This is bad... I don't prefer archaeology... or fossils... No... onward to biology... Wait, are there no history books?'* Zero muttered grumblingly as she cleaned. The cleaning took quite some time, but it didn't make Zero tired at all, and she successfully finished cleaning the entire library.
---
"I'm done..." Zero cheered.
The librarian turned to her, utterly astonished by how fast Zero had cleaned. She stood up to inspect the shelves, then turned back to her, saying, "Not bad... Tomorrow at the same time."
"Alright... but... I would like to ask for a favor..." Zero replied confidently.
"What is it?"
"Can I... borrow books from here?" Zero asked.
The librarian turned to her and replied, "I don't mind."
The librarian's response was enough to fill Zero with joy. She thanked her warmly, to which the librarian asked, "What book would you like?"
"Books about history..."
The librarian looked puzzled. "History?"
"I don't mean history in general... I mean mythology, or something like that."
"I can't say for sure... History books are few and rare here," the librarian interrupted, adding, "Perhaps... such books do not even exist in this library."
Zero was surprised and asked, "Are they really not here? But..."
"But what?"
"Is it true they don't exist... Out of all these books and topics... there are no history books?" Zero muttered. As she realized this, she reflected that despite her searching, there truly hadn't been a single book. Zero's mind wandered back to the book she had opened in the mirror world—Greek mythology. Zero had been trying to examine a book in the absence of Pain that day, right after she had seen the word *Ferryman*.
"Hold on..." the librarian interrupted Zero's thoughts, walking over to one of the shelves. "I recall a book that travelers brought today... It seemed unique to them."
"What is its title?" Zero asked.
"The Barbarians of North Africa..." the librarian replied.
Zero wondered in surprise, *'Does such a book really exist here? I've never read something like this before...'* Out loud, she asked, "Can I take another book while you look for it?"
"Of course," the librarian replied as she searched through the collection.
Zero pulled a random book from the shelf and sat on the floor as if it were a couch. As she opened it, she was greeted by the phrase: *'Time is a chain.'* Zero began reading, while the librarian searched through the archives and shelves. Half an hour passed, and Zero finished her book. She stood up, dusting off her skirt, when she caught the sound of the librarian talking to someone.
"I couldn't find it... I searched everywhere... Check the storehouse."
"Understood."
*'Is it really that important?'* Zero wondered to herself as she put her book back in its place.
"I couldn't find it," the librarian said, turning toward Zero and startling her. She added, "Perhaps someone else borrowed it."
"It's alright... I enjoyed this book as well. Thank you," Zero replied with a smile.
The librarian walked away, saying, "I'll be waiting for you at the same time."
Zero turned to one of the books, inspecting it from every angle with scrutinizing looks.
"Is something the matter?" the librarian asked, curious.
"No... no... it's nothing."
Zero left and headed toward the stairs, but she suddenly froze. The hallway looked no different from the fourth floor. Sunset was approaching, and the crimson rays of the sun bled into the corridor like blades piercing the hidden shadows. She looked behind her; there was Noone but the passing children. She gripped her necklace tightly. Before continuing on her way, she cast a deep, intense look at the wall opposite the windows. Zero's grip tightened even further, and she hurried along so she wouldn't be late for dinner.
---
Zero entered her room and collapsed onto her bed from sheer exhaustion after helping Shi serve dinner to the children. Lying flat on her back, she realized she hadn't turned on the lamp. She got up to switch on the lights.
"Hmm... They've provided a lot of supplies for living and survival..." Zero muttered, sitting on her bed while staring at the desk drawer. Her mind focused on the map inside.
She turned back toward the window and opened it, staring out into the dark horizon. She felt a strange sensation, as if she had forgotten something. The television. It wasn't there. Zero looked in every direction; it had completely vanished. Hurriedly and in a state of confusion, she shut the window and fell back onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"You enjoy my confusion... *'I've become like a rat sneaking around here'*... You are truly... annoying..."
---
The pages of history turned, pleasing the ears of the imprisoned darkness. Every word carried a heavy weight, as if concealing ancient secrets forgotten by time. The shadows whispered legends and muttered painful truths alongside deep Moan sounds. A tale of a hero who drew his sword to fight injustice and corruption played out, only to be answered by a muffled laugh—a laugh that exposed the hidden intentions around us.
The flame began to weaken in the face of the darkness, and the shackles loosened bit by bit. Will the light truly defeat the darkness? Don't make me laugh; for it is the light that created the darkness in the first place.
I am nothing but the destruction you left behind, placed as a badge of shame upon you... you hypocritical light.
You turned me into a monster, yet you think I would forget what you did to me?
---
The moonlight filtered into the room—an ethereal glow that illuminated the wooden door, suppressing the t'ma that hid in the bleak corners of the room.
Zero stared at that door with drowsy eyes. She couldn't sleep today. Her mind was preoccupied with the television that had vanished. The idea that the Geist had gotten rid of it—thrown it away or placed it somewhere else—seemed like a logical possibility. However, that specific sensation was something Zero had never felt before. It felt as though her mind had been detached from her body. She felt as if she had fainted; she couldn't comprehend what had happened, but she had almost fallen.
"That television... despite its modern appearance... it was completely broken... and yet... I felt life emanating from it... *'It felt familiar...'*..."
Zero lifted the purple eye dangling from the bed, looking at it with confusion, before running her small fingers over her bandaged eye. She then looked toward the desk drawer. The rare map she had found was a blessing in its own right. All of this was thanks to the devil—the name Zero gave to that girl who covered both of her eyes with her bangs, the one who looked just like her and also possessed that same necklace.
If it weren't for her, she wouldn't have found Alice. If it weren't for her, Zero wouldn't have learned how to use the staff. If it weren't for her, Zero wouldn't have found herself here. But she was cunning; she weaponized my emotions against me, making me drive myself crazy in front of them. She made me doubt myself, doubt my own humanity. Now, I no longer know who I am, and I can no longer understand myself. Not when that person found me by the train tracks, nor when I met Alice, nor when that couple adopted me, nor when... I met Doctor Otto... Wait...
Zero bolted up from her place in sheer terror. That devil had guaranteed Alice's return to reality. But now, could it be...? No... impossible... She wouldn't be fooled by Otto's words... No... impossible... She has no logical reason to meet him... Unless...
Zero threw off the covers, leaped from the bed, and opened the drawer with lightning speed. She pulled out the map, trying desperately to figure out her location.
"We passed through dry plains, so I assume it's here. The port must be here... We are in a semi-desert land. I don't know exactly where I am... but... I must understand the terrain around me..."
< Wonderful.... You figured it out before I even had to teach you.. >
Suddenly, Zero felt a bizarre sensation. Goosebumps broke out across her skin upon hearing those words. It was a sinister tone. The voice, composed of multiple overlapping layers, made Zero spin around out of pure terror. There she suddenly found her other self—that devil who had brought her here.
Zero took several steps backward, staring at her with trembling eyes. The smirk plastered across the devil's face was enough to let Zero know she was squarely in the devil's crosshairs.
< Why are you so terrified? > The devil tilted her head. Zero stared back warily, gripping her necklace tightly, her movements dripping with caution.
< Did you miss me? I never expected something like this from you... Zero.. >
"Is that so... Damn you... But I actually need to thank you for truly helping me..." Zero replied with a confident tone, though she couldn't hide her tension and wariness.
At that moment, the devil placed both hands on her own cheeks in a seductive manner, saying: < My... I never expected this from you, Zero... It seems I misjudged you.... But... are you truly grateful... Zero? >
The devil clasped her hands behind her back, circling around Zero with a sickening smile. She spoke in a shifting tone: < I came here... to make you wake up to reality.. not to play games and pass the time with you, little girl. >
Zero's arms wrapped tightly around her necklace, glaring at the devil's face with anger and a sharp scowl.
"What reality... What is this reality you are talking about?!"
The devil stopped right in front of Zero. She placed her cold hands on Zero's cheeks, which felt damp from heavy sweat. Zero's pupils dilated as she trembled violently in place. Suddenly, bizarre whispers struck a sensitive nerve inside Zero's body, causing her to drop to her knees, letting go of the necklace to cover her ears.
The devil leaned in close to Zero's left ear, uttering strange words. Her smirked lips maliciously muttered words that made Zero's heart pound violently. Shocked, Zero snapped her head up, looking with absolute bewilderment and crashing despair into the face of the devil, who gently stroked the hair draping over Zero's bandaged eye.
< Do you understand..? >
"Yes..."
< Tomorrow.. at this exact time... be awake... Now... >
"I want to ask you something..."
The devil turned in surprise at Zero's response, then smiled and said: < Is there something wrong with the words I gave you..? >
"No... but... I won't be able... to understand words... without knowing... what you are... and what I am... For I am—"
< You are Lost... and I am your guide.. Zero... You want to ask me... who I am... an ally or an enemy... isn't that right....? ... Zero. > The devil tilted her head, staring at Zero's trembling lips. They twisted in a surreal fashion within the devil's gleaming eyes, as a purple hue cast a reflection over them.
< I am the one who will extend a helping hand to you... to escape from this suffering.... >
"You are the one increasing my suffering..."
< I was just like you... Lost between the Rêve I was living... and the reality that stood against me... >
Zero fell silent, unable to utter another word from sheer astonishment. Her frozen eye began to tremble and contract.
Suddenly, the window blew open with immense force. Shocked, Zero turned toward it quickly; the wind was strong enough to snap the rusty window lock. The devil rose from her knees and walked toward the window. Stepping onto the sill, she perched upon it, smiling and laughing.
This caused Zero to spring up, grabbing her necklace once more. The devil spoke: < You do not remember your name.... I am here... to help you.... Listen to me..... >
"Why...?! To incite me against them?!" Zero screamed in anger and anxiety.
< When did I ever do that..? >
"Liar...!"
< I hope you realize this.... That is, if you don't want... anyone else to die from now on... Zero. >
Zero fell completely silent, staring at the devil with a shocked expression. The devil's smile widened as the howling wind made her hair billow through the air, the purple gleam flashing beneath her bangs.
< I am here to show you.. trust me... before you return to the starting point. >
The devil spoke her final words, then vanished abruptly into the violent wind.
Zero rushed toward the window. Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. Zero quickly hid the map and opened the door to find ness, who had heard a crashing sound coming from the room. Signs of deep worry were etched into ness's face as she spoke: "Zero.... Is something wrong? I heard—"
"The window lock broke..." Zero said in a tone filled with misery and Regret. The profound shock was plain to read across her face.
---
I feel the t'ma once again. It was expected. How could I lower my guard? This isn't just reality.
I forgot for a moment... that I am living a nightmare.
---