The library was silent, but not lifeless.
Niu floated at the center of the grand atrium, bathed in golden light cast from the inscribed god-tongue spiraling across the circular ceiling above. His eyes glowed with radiant energy, unmoving, trance-bound, as sacred words poured into his mind.
The truth of the dragon, the corruption of the soul refinement process—it all unfolded in visions: a history too ancient, too forbidden to exist in this world.
He hovered, arms slack, surrounded by shades of golden light, suspended between time and reality.
Two colossal sentries, five meters tall, armored in ceremonial gold and obsidian stood guard at the threshold of the Council Library. The ancient constructs, known as the Sentinels, were remnants from the era of the Winged Deity.
Their humanoid forms bore heavy spears and circular shields. Wing-like extensions folded neatly against their backs, a fusion of function and reverence.
They had not moved in centuries.
Until now.
A metallic hum filled the chamber, sharp and vibrating, a sound that cut through the silence like a blade.
At the library's entrance, the two Sentinel golems that had stood motionless for centuries began to stir. Their wings unfolded with a resonant clang, revealing intricate patterns etched into their armored plates. Their eyes, previously dark, now glowed with a fiery blue intensity.
"Forbidden Knowledge Access Detected. Protocol engaged: Elimination," came a booming, monotone voice from both sentries.
The first spear flew like a comet, molten edges leaving a fiery trail in its wake.
Niu, still in his trance, didn't react. He was hurled across the library like a ragdoll. The glowing script of god-tongue above him blurred as his body collided with a shelf and crashed through it, books and ancient tomes bursting into the air like startled birds.
The pendant on his neck shimmered, forming a barrier of crackling green energy that absorbed much of the spear's force, but the sheer momentum still sent waves of pain through his small body.
Pain lanced through his chest.
His energy shield, powered by the pendant Orimudi had gifted him, flickered with emerald light, just strong enough to absorb the hit. Without it, he'd be ash.
Orimudi's gift has began paying divident to the child's life although earlier than anticipated.
Niu jolted awake, gasping for breath.
"What..." His voice caught in his throat.
His golden eyes, still burning from the trance, flickered erratically as he tried to comprehend what had hit him. Then he saw it. Towering. Silent. Advancing.
His vision was blurred, but through the haze, he saw the second spear hurtling toward him.
He barely registered the pendant's glow intensifying before the shield absorbed the strike, deflecting the spear with a loud crack. The energy rebounded, and the second spear exploded, shaking the chamber.
Cracks spread through the hexagonal plates that formed his energy shield. Two more strikes or on a more grimmer note, a single direct hit was all the shield could take.
Pain throbbed through his limbs as he pushed himself upright, leaning against the shattered remains of a shelf. His frail body was mangled, he had been thrown into a spinning washing machine.
His mind raced. "What's happening? Why are they attacking me?"
A sudden flash appeared beside him, and the familiar green hologram of his mother materialized, her expression one of urgency.
"Move, Niu! Don't stop moving!" she cried.
He levitated off the ground and raced forward faster than he had ever pushed himself before. His speed was great but after every few meters, his elevation dropped by an inch.
Niu reached out his telekenetic sense and pulled towards him as much metal as he could bear. Light sheets of metal, scraps torn from the shattered shelves raced towards him.
A quick glance at the paper thin sheets that answered his magnetic call filled his heart with despair. Before he could give up hope on life, a vibrating sensetion caught his attention.
He released a magnetic repulsive force that changed his flight tragectory. At that very instant, a molten tipped spear struck again, flinging him through the central column of the atrium.
He landed with a painful crack, rolled, and groaned. The pendant shimmered again, forming another protective layer, but it was growing weaker.
'I can sense movement through my magnetic field', Niu quickly registered. If that had been a direct hit, he guessed correctly that he would have been meat paste.
"I don't even know what I did!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet.
The Glomes were already upon him.
AnotheAnother hit launched him through a support pillar and into the upper level of the library, shattering part of the second-floor balcony.
This time, he didn't just lie still. Pain pulsed through his ribs, something definitely cracked—but survival overrode agony.
Metal screeched as the shelves bent and books collapsed all around him. Instinct took over. He reached out, calling the scattered iron and steel. Bits of torn railing, nails, hinges, and book clasps rose at his command, swirling into a rotating shield.
The floor vibrated again.
Another Glome approached, methodical, merciless.
"Why? Why are they attacking?" Niu coughed, wiping blood from his lips. The green shimmer of his pendant returned, casting a healing glow over his battered form.
A soft presence materialized beside him.
His mother.
Or rather, her holographic echo, the spirit memory embedded in the pendant. Her image flickered into existence, panic written across her translucent features.
"Niu, run!" she yelled. "The Sentinels are operating on kill protocols. They've detected unauthorised access to forbidden knowledge. You're a threat!"
"I wasn't trying to"
"No time! MOVE!"
Niu leapt backward, narrowly dodging another strike that scorched the tiles where he stood. A molten spear embedded itself into the stone like a branding rod. He darted behind a crumbling pillar, the buzzing of the Glomes closing in.
"Do they have a manual?" he asked between heavy breaths.
"Possibly—there may be overrides in the librarian's chamber. You have to get to the index console!"
Niu didn't wait. He dove low, flying just above the ground, cloaked in whirling sheets of metal for cover. His tiny frame, normally a disadvantage, now helped him slip through narrow aisles.
The thin metal sheets were useless for defense. They acted as early detection radars and concealment.
The librarian's chamber came into view: an obsidian podium with a mirrored console flashing hundreds of script categories.
The pendant pulsed.
"I'll interface with the catalogue," his mother said, her voice shaky. "But Niu, doing so will rewrite my core. I won't be… 'me' anymore."
The hologram spirit artifact was formed from the memories and love of Niu's mother, Naria. Consuming the library's entire database in search of override codes, would affect its core memory build.
But in the image of his mother, the hologram choose to sacrifice its sense of being.
Niu had changed his flight path, heading to the library desk. Suddenly, a golden figure intercepted his path. With a drop kick, the figure sent Niu into a crater in the library floor.
The Sentinel lifted its hand. Instead of striking the already weakened energy shield, its fingers began to hum, vibrating at high frequencies.
A low vibration filled the air, like a tuning fork pressed to bone.
The energy shield around Niu sparked in alarm but it didn't shatter. Instead, the Glome's fingers phased through it, bypassing the protection entirely.
"No!" Niu screamed, twisting away.
Too late.
Cold metal gripped his neck.
Lifted him.
His small body dangled midair as the red eyes of the Glome flared brighter. Its internal systems engaged.
Analyzing...
Niu choked, his fingers clawing at the giant's arm.
The Glome lifted him until his eyes met its visor, two burning circles of red light, devoid of emotion.
Niu's lips parted. "I… am not ready to die."
Its molten spear began to charge. The intent was clear.