CHAPTER 83 — The Forgotten Library
The Academy's corridors were quieter than usual.
The tournament had drawn most of the students toward the stadium, leaving the rest of the castle almost deserted.
Zayn walked casually, his hands behind his head.
His body still felt a little heavy after his fight.
But he was smiling.
Then a familiar voice came from behind him.
— "Zayn."
He turned around.
Yojuro was walking toward him.
— "Yo."
Yojuro stopped in front of him.
— "How are you feeling?"
— "Fine."
— "You were in the infirmary."
— "I said I'm fine."
Yojuro stared at him for a few seconds.
— "Your voice."
Zayn blinked.
— "What about my voice?"
— "It changed."
Zayn touched his throat.
— "What are you talking about?"
His voice was deeper than usual.
Much deeper.
Almost exactly like the voice he had while transformed into Citrolle.
Yojuro narrowed his eyes.
— "That's not your normal voice."
Zayn cleared his throat.
— "Maybe…"
He stopped.
Then tried again.
— "Is it really that different?"
Yojuro nodded.
— "A lot."
Zayn shrugged.
— "Maybe the transformation did something."
— "Maybe."
Before they could continue, another voice echoed from the end of the hallway.
— "Hey!"
They turned.
Echo was standing there, still wearing her headset.
She waved at them.
— "You two!"
Zayn smiled.
— "Echo."
She walked toward them.
— "That was a good fight."
— "You almost blew me through a wall."
— "Almost?"
She burst out laughing.
— "You looked pretty fine afterward."
Yojuro looked at her.
— "You were strong."
Echo smiled.
— "Thanks."
She looked at Zayn.
— "And you surprised me."
— "That happens."
— "Don't get too confident."
She pointed a finger at him.
— "Next time, I won't make the same mistakes."
Zayn smiled.
— "There won't be a next time."
Echo laughed.
— "We'll see."
She turned around.
— "Anyway, I've got somewhere to be."
She raised her hand.
— "See you later!"
— "Later."
Echo disappeared around the corner.
Zayn watched her leave.
Then he turned toward Yojuro.
— "She's weird."
— "You say that about everyone."
— "Because everyone is weird."
Yojuro sighed.
— "Come on."
The two continued walking.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Then—
THUMP.
They stopped.
Zayn looked around.
— "Did you hear that?"
Yojuro nodded.
Another sound echoed through the corridor.
THUMP…
This time, they knew where it was coming from.
A dark door stood a few meters away.
It was slightly open.
Zayn approached it.
— "It's coming from there."
Yojuro placed one hand on the handle of his sword.
— "Stay behind me."
— "Why?"
— "Because we don't know what's behind it."
Zayn smiled.
— "Exactly."
He slowly pushed the door open.
Creeeeak…
The door opened slowly.
Behind it was an enormous library.
Hundreds of bookshelves filled the room.
Some reached all the way to the ceiling.
Ancient books were piled across tables.
Dust floated through the beams of light coming from the large windows.
But something was wrong.
The place looked like it had been abandoned for years.
Yojuro stepped inside.
— "This room doesn't appear on any of the Academy's recent maps."
Zayn looked around.
— "Then why is it here?"
— "I don't know."
A faint noise echoed between the shelves.
…Hhhhh…
Zayn froze.
His eyes changed slightly.
His Primal senses activated instinctively.
He could hear something.
A breath.
Slow.
Steady.
Very close.
— "Yojuro…"
— "What?"
Zayn slowly raised his head.
— "We're not alone."
A voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
"Zayn. Danger detected."
Aurora had activated.
Zayn looked above him.
A figure was clinging to the ceiling.
A girl.
Her skin was completely blue.
She had eight arms, each one ending in long claws.
Her long, curly black hair hung around her face.
A strange lens covered one of her eyes.
Her lips stretched into a smile.
Zayn stepped backward.
— "Uh…"
The creature spread all eight of her arms.
Then she jumped.
— "ZAYN!"
Yojuro immediately drew his sword.
CLANG!
He stepped between them.
The creature attacked.
Yojuro blocked the strike with his blade and knocked her away with a sharp movement.
The creature landed on a bookshelf.
She looked at them.
Then smiled.
— "Interesting."
The creature slowly climbed down.
— "My name is Vera."
Zayn frowned.
— "Could you maybe avoid trying to kill me before introducing yourself?"
Vera smiled.
— "I simply wanted to test your reflexes."
— "Well, you saw them."
Zayn raised his wrist.
Borealis began glowing.
CLACK.
The holographic interface appeared.
— "Aurora."
— "Yes."
— "Give me a suitable form."
Aurora analyzed Vera.
— "A fire or poison form could be effective against this opponent."
Zayn looked at the different symbols.
His finger stopped.
— "Fire."
He pressed it.
BEEEEEEP—
He slammed Borealis against his palm.
CLACK!
A burst of green light exploded around him.
His entire body was swallowed by energy.
His arms transformed.
His legs changed.
Roots appeared around his body.
His silhouette grew slightly.
Then a pumpkin-shaped head appeared above his shoulders.
Two fiery eyes lit up.
A glowing core appeared in the center of his chest.
Blue flames danced around his body.
Citrolle was here.
Zayn planted his feet firmly on the ground.
— "Alright…"
His deep voice echoed throughout the library.
— "Let's get this over with."
Vera smiled.
— "Show me what you can do."
She jumped.
Citrolle raised his arms.
Roots burst from the floor.
Vera dodged them with a fluid movement.
Then all eight of her arms struck at once.
BOOM!
Citrolle was thrown into a bookshelf.
Books fell around him.
— "Not bad…"
He stood back up.
His core began glowing.
Blue flames shot from his arms.
Vera dodged.
Then a root emerged behind her.
CRACK!
She was thrown against the wall.
But she immediately got back up.
— "You're stronger than I expected."
— "Thanks."
Citrolle launched several roots in succession.
Vera weaved between them.
She jumped onto a bookshelf, pushed off the wall, and charged directly toward him.
Citrolle crossed his arms.
Roots wrapped around his body.
CLANG!
Her claws struck his wooden armor.
Citrolle pushed Vera away with an explosion of blue flames.
She crashed through two bookshelves before hitting the floor.
But she stood up again.
Zayn was beginning to breathe heavily.
— "She's tough…"
Yojuro watched carefully.
Then—
BOOM.
The ceiling shook.
Both fighters looked up.
A crack appeared above them.
A calm voice echoed through the darkness.
— "You're making a lot of noise."
A figure slowly descended.
A tall, thin boy appeared between the bookshelves.
A strange spatial aura revolved around his hands.
He raised one finger.
The space in front of him warped.
Then a gigantic rock appeared.
A meteorite.
It fell violently toward them.
— "Watch out!"
Yojuro grabbed Zayn and pulled him aside.
BOOOOOOM!
The meteorite crashed into the center of the library.
A shockwave swept across the entire room.
Books flew through the air.
The bookshelves shook violently.
Zayn struggled back to his feet.
Citrolle was breathing heavily.
Vera looked at the newcomer.
— "Herco."
The boy approached.
— "Vera."
— "They're tougher than expected."
Herco looked at Zayn.
— "That one is almost exhausted."
Zayn clenched his fists.
— "Could you talk a little quieter?"
Herco smiled.
— "And you could give up."
Yojuro raised his sword.
His Kairos Eye glowed with violet light.
But his vision trembled.
Everything was beginning to blur.
He had already used his power too much.
Still, he tightened his grip on his weapon.
The blade changed.
A dark energy spread across its metal.
The False Sword.
A special weapon capable of reaching an opponent's soul.
Yojuro stared at the two Djinns.
— "Zayn…"
Citrolle slightly turned his head.
— "Yeah?"
Yojuro took a deep breath.
— "We have a problem."
Herco slowly raised his hand.
Space warped again.
Several meteorites appeared above the library.
Vera spread all eight of her arms.
Zayn could feel his strength fading.
His blue core flickered.
Yojuro could see less and less clearly.
Two fighters.
Two Djinns.
A library on the verge of collapsing.
And no obvious way out.
Zayn looked at Yojuro.
Yojuro looked back at Zayn.
A silence passed between them.
Then Zayn smiled.
— "Alright…"
He clenched his fists.
— "What do we do now?"