Following clues hidden in the book, Kael, Lyra, and Evelyn traveled north through abandoned villages that no map recorded.
Each village looked lived in.
Meals still rested on tables.
Clothes fluttered on washing lines.
Yet there wasn't a single person.
"They were edited," Evelyn whispered.
"They're not dead."
"They've simply... never existed."
At sunset they reached a mountain unlike any Kael had ever seen.
Its peak disappeared into clouds made of flowing pages.
Hidden inside was a library with no end.
Millions of books stretched farther than sight.
Some glowed.
Others whispered.
Many screamed.
Lyra's voice shook.
"This..."
"This is where forgotten histories are kept."
An elderly librarian emerged from between the shelves.
He wore thick spectacles and carried a feather quill.
When he saw Kael...
He dropped every book in his hands.
"It can't be..."
He slowly approached.
Then fell to one knee.
"Welcome back."
Kael blinked.
"...You've mistaken me for someone else."
The old librarian looked into Kael's eyes.
"No."
"I've been waiting five hundred years."
"For the boy who would return carrying his own ending."
Before Kael could respond...
The black book opened.
Its pages turned wildly.
Not with words.
With pictures.
Kael saw himself.
Standing inside the library.
Older.
Scarred.
Holding Lyra as she cried.
Then...
He watched himself drive a sword through his own heart.
The vision ended.
The pages became blank.