When they finally calmed down, Arsh explained the situation as he understood it.
"So you're saying Bera is here, too?" Mr. Herman asked.
"Most likely, yes... I was able to follow Walter when he first got into the trap, but there was only a single golden thread. Normally, there isn't just one—there are multiple threads showing different paths to my target. But now that we are all inside the trap, I can see several threads leading to everyone here. So, I'm assuming that if Bera weren't here, I would only see one thread."
"I see…" Mr. Herman rubbed his forehead. "So, everyone is here now. Then who's going to report this?"
"..."
"For now, no one will even notice we're missing until that Peter guy comes to take the key to the exhibition hall," Walter said, pointing out the obvious.
A brief silence followed.
Somehow, they had to endure until help arrived. But even if help did come, none of them had any idea how to get out—nor did they have much hope that those coming to rescue them would know the way out either. The worst possibility was that anyone coming to help would fall into the same trap.
"Then let's not split up. Maybe Mes knows more about that creature. Can you find them again, Arsh?" Herman asked.
Arsh had already located the others.
"Bera is closer. Let's find him first. Follow me," he said.
...
After parting from Arsh, Bera wandered aimlessly through the library. He had heard Mes mention Apeirolimos in the exhibition hall. Arsh also talked about the same thing just before he vanished.
This was not something new to him. He had encountered strange creatures that seemed to emerge from the depths of forgotten history and legends several times before. In recent years, they had begun to face such incidents more frequently. Reports showed that similar events were increasing not only in Tirsit or Symran but also in various parts of the world.
Throughout history, countless stories of supernatural events, monsters, ghosts, and genies had been passed down, yet no one had ever truly encountered them. But now, the time had come when these creatures were beginning to walk among humans.
It was clear from the shrieks he heard that they had encountered a creature. But what was strange was the creature's power. Suddenly, the appearance, shape, and size of the library had changed. He wasn't sure if this was an illusion or a powerful mental ability.
As a result, all their connections to the outside world were cut off. It was impossible to call for help. The library had turned into something like a labyrinth. When he looked through the windows, all he could see were more bookshelves.
But for him, the most important thing right now was to find Mes. In a place like this, if Mes ran into the creature he had just heard its shrieks, he wouldn't be able to escape or defend himself.
Although it seemed like a simple mission from the outside, he knew they should not have brought him along. For someone with such a weak body, who struggled to cope even with the challenges of daily life, this was a wrong decision. Now, suddenly finding himself trapped with an ancient creature, it was impossible for him to get out of here alive on his own. As these thoughts raced through his mind, Bera realized that he could not control his anxiety, even though he normally kept his emotions under control.
He still remembered the day he had first found him. A weak, small child hiding in the corner of a ruined building's basement, wearing blood-soaked clothes that had turned into rags. His head was buried between his legs, and he was trembling with fear. When Bera tried to approach, the child trembled even more, yet he still held himself back from crying.
Bera had slowly approached and picked him up from the cold ground. After a while, the child calmed down and looked at him with large, teary eyes. At that moment, Bera felt his heart break more than it ever had since he had lost his own family. From that day on, the child never left Bera's side, nor did Bera ever leave him.
Although Mes did not remember anything about his family, Bera had been old enough to remember everything when he lost his own. He treated Mes who did not know what a family was, as the family he had lost, caring for him like a younger brother.
This was why he lost his composure when he saw Arsh with Mr. Herman and Walter, while Mes was nowhere to be seen.
...
"Where is Mes? Why didn't you find him first? It's impossible for him to survive here alone! Walter could take care of himself!" he shouted as he rushed toward Arsh.
Arsh looked at Bera for a moment without speaking. He already understood how attached Bera was to Mes. But at that moment, he realized that this overprotectiveness was exactly what kept Mes's self-confidence so low and made him feel inadequate.
"Stop that, Bera. Be quiet!" Herman whispered, grabbing Bera by the arm.
"He hasn't realized that the creature follows sound when I found him. And let me tell you, Bera... Mes is more likely to survive here because he uses his brain better than anyone else. I'm sure he was the first one among you to understand what was really going on here," Arsh said in a stern voice.
Bera didn't say anything further. He was trying to control his emotions and suppress his anxiety. At least, he kept repeating to himself the fact that Arsh had seen Mes safe.
"Now, let's find Mes. He is not far away," Arsh said and started to walk ahead of the others.
Walter followed them from behind, scolding himself for his own stupidity. Bera was right—he did have the capability to take care of himself. Arsh was also right, because he had truly relied too much on the comfort that invisibility gave him, living without paying attention to his surroundings. Until today, when he encountered a creature that followed only sound, he had believed that with this power, he would never be caught by his enemies.
…
It did not take long for them to find Mes. He was still hiding under the desk. He hadn't changed his position; he was still hugging his knees with his face buried between them.
When Bera saw him like that, he remembered the first time he had found him again. But this time, the small child was not trembling. When he heard their footsteps, he lifted his head and looked at them with a smile. Then he regained control of his emotions. The familiar blank expression settled back onto his face.
As Arsh slowly pulled the chair back, Bera helped Mes come out.
"Is everyone here? Are you all okay… Walter, are you alright?" Mes examined everyone from head to toe to make sure they were fine.
"Don't worry. We encountered Apeirolimos briefly, but we managed to escape. Just as we predicted, it reacts to sound. I think it is blind," Arsh said.
"Speak for yourself! It had been following me for two hours. I used up all my power. If Arsh hadn't come, it would probably have swallowed me long ago," Walter said. He was trying to prove to Bera that Arsh's decision to help him had been the right one, hoping Bera's anger would subside. Bera rarely got angry, and when he did, things usually didn't end well. After saying this, he checked Bera's condition out of the corner of his eye. When he realized that Bera had returned to his usual self, he let out a deep breath. Then, he remembered another problem.
"But how are we going to get out of here? Even when I try to pass through the outer walls, I find myself in another part of the library." he said.
Everyone turned their gaze to Mes. Among them, he was the only one who knew the legend of Apeirolimos.
"Well, uh… actually, the legends say that no one has ever been able to escape the Apeirolimos trap… I don't know how to get out of here either," Mes said.
This time, even Mes turned to look at Arsh. In that moment, they all felt lucky to have ended up here with him. After all, he could find anything—finding the exit would be easy.
"But we have Arsh, right? Can't you try to find a way out of here?" Mr. Herman said. His voice was calm and hopeful.
They were truly right. Finding an object, a path, or the entrance of a building especially for things he had seen before was easy. If the thing he needed to find in this labyrinth had been the entrance of the library, that would have been easy as well.
Unfortunately, what they did not know was that the moment Arsh had fallen into this place, the first thing he checked was where the exit was. Even though he tried several more times afterward, the result was always the same.
He closed his eyes and tried one last time to find a way out. When he opened them, the only thing he saw were the curious eyes looking at him. He let out a deep breath and cleared his throat before speaking.
"Unfortunately… there is no exit from here."
"..."