Back to the Rodieck Library.
I don't realize how long I've been standing there. Time seems to have lost its meaning in this place. There is no sound except the soft ticking of an old clock on the wall and the faint rustle of book pages that occasionally shift from a wind that comes from nowhere.
Outside, the sky is now completely dark. The night has swallowed the world without a trace.
Yet my mind… is not at ease.
What I read was not merely history.
It was a warning.
I walk slowly between the bookshelves. Each step echoes softly across the cold stone floor. The scent of old paper fills the air, mixed with dust and time that has long settled in this place.
Every book here holds fragments of the past. Fallen kingdoms. Forgotten wars. Names that once shook the world, now reduced to fading ink.
And yet, for some reason—
I feel… it is the future that is calling.
The feeling is unsettling.
Like something that hasn't happened yet… but is already waiting.
My hand stops on another book. Hidden among volumes rarely touched. Older. More worn. Its cover is cracked, its color nearly erased by age.
I pull it out.
Dust scatters into the air, dancing briefly before settling again.
The title is almost unreadable.
But I can clearly make out one word.
"Fate."
My heart beats a little faster.
Not out of fear. But because of… something I cannot explain.
I open the first page.
The writing inside is different. Messier. Uneven. The letters look rushed, as if written by someone running out of time.
"The rules of this world are not fixed."
I frown. The sentence is simple, yet it feels… wrong. Or perhaps, too true.
The next line makes me stop breathing for a moment.
"The peace between the four races is only an intermission."
An intermission.
Not an end.
Not a solution.
Only… a delay.
I stare at the words for a long time. Too long. As if trying to deny their meaning.
For all this time, the world believed balance had been achieved. That the conflicts which once destroyed everything had come to an end. That the peace agreement was the final answer.
But if this is true—
Then all of that… is nothing but an illusion.
I turn the page quickly.
"When the balance begins to falter—"
The sentence cuts off.
The ink at the end is dragged, as if the writer's hand stopped suddenly.
As if they never had the chance to finish.
Or… were not allowed to.
I swallow slowly.
But I don't need to read the rest to understand.
I've already felt it.
Out there, something is changing.
The war at the borders is no longer routine. No longer small clashes that can be ignored. There is a pattern. A direction. Something slowly moving behind it all.
Something bigger.
I close the book slowly.
My hand trembles slightly.
Not because I'm afraid.
But because I understand.
All this time, I've only read. Observed. Learned. Gathering knowledge as if that alone was enough to understand the world.
But maybe—
It was never enough.
There are things that cannot be understood by reading alone.
Truths that can only be found by stepping outside.
I look at the book once more before returning it to its place. But it feels different now. As if it is no longer just an object.
As if it… is waiting.
Or perhaps, I was the one meant to find it.
I take a long breath.
The air feels heavier than before.
It's time for more than just understanding.
I walk toward the library door.
Each step feels heavier.
Not because I hesitate.
But because I know—
Once I step through that door, there is no returning to ignorance.
As if the world beyond… is truly waiting for me.
I pause for a moment before opening it. My hand lingers in the air, just inches from the handle.
"In a world filled with conflict…"
I repeat the line from the earlier book. My voice is soft, almost a whisper.
Then I continue quietly.
"Fate has begun to move."
The words feel different when spoken aloud. More real. Heavier.
I open the door.
The night air greets me. Cold. Yet refreshing.
The sky is filled with stars—countless. Their light shines calmly, as if untouched by whatever is happening in the world below.
Calm.
Too calm.
A gentle wind blows, carrying distant sounds. Faint. Unclear. Yet enough to make my unease grow stronger.
I step outside.
For the first time, I truly feel the world around me. Not as a reader. Not as an observer. But as a part of something far greater.
And somehow—
I know.
This calm will not last.
Something is moving.
Something that cannot be stopped by hope or prayer alone.
Something has begun.
And when it reaches its peak—
All of Alteria…
will change forever.