Dark, darker, yet darker.
A line blurred between consciousness and unconsciousness. Ryo's vision was black, dark, but he could still feel his body. A light breeze blew up the back of his shirt, lifting a few hairs. His body shivered, a natural reaction. Involuntary motions were all that his body would do, though, due to the strain put on his mind and body.
Ryo tried to close his palm, outstretched as he had fallen. His finger twitched, but his body wouldn't make any other movements for him. Ryo lay still, the line blurring between being conscious and not once more. His vision, still dark, appeared to grow hazy, then sharp, then hazy once more. His body lost all of its tension, the little it had remaining, and went fully limp.
Darkness consumed his vision. A bulge pushed through, rectangular in shape with a blinding white aura. It pierced the black night that was his consciousness, enveloping all that could be seen in a heavenly glow. A book shot through, the same chains that had been broken earlier while he was evolving now wrapping around him.
Ryo's body remained immovable inside his own mind. He had expected to go talk to Clone, maybe question him about what had happened to him with that Evolution Barrier. However, despite his attempts to move his ethereal body, he remained trapped. The book shot closer, piercing his vision with its abnormal light. There was a single word of illegible text on it, cast in shadow by the blinding white rays.
It stopped about a metre away, flipping to a page near the back. Ryo couldn't read what the title said, but he could read one highlighted word. It said "Hollowkind". This confused Ryo. He had no point of reference for what it meant when it said this. Was this the monster he had fought? Was this the name of a new type of Mutation, like the ones that Inquisax had talked about?
The book slammed shut, flying back into the darkness. The chains fell loose, disappearing into the void that lay below Ryo's feet. He had been left in the darkness once more, but something was off. It didn't feel like he was finished here.
A gust of wind brushed past his face, whipping by like someone had applied a strange piece of magic to him. A chromatic light quickly filled his vision, every colour imaginable visible in one moment, overloading his senses. Memories from his life began filling up view, from his training with Mask, to the near-daily berating by Kevin. He had fond memories of Amelee, but they were nothing more than friendly at most.
He saw the Achrons and the Umichron, its sharp sword-like hands glistening. He relived the fight between himself and the green Goblin inside Aragoth's dungeon. His senses recreated the main of being slammed into a wall, with his ribs aching and the sound of bricks snapping. He remembered the pub where he both met Kevin, and got fired by him. The small nick he left in the metal handle, a symbol that he exists.
A voice called out to him, echoing from the depths of his soul. It spoke an unintelligible language at first, anger laced in its tongue and its dialect, but, suddenly, as if a switch had been flicked, it began to speak.
"You seem to have many memories of this 'Kevin' person." It commented. "Do you hate him? Does he annoy you? Or do you just deal with him because that's what you're used to?" It inquired, its tone indicating that it already knew.
"I deal with him because I don't want to be responsible for his death." Ryo replied, somehow unperturbed by the thought of another voice in his head. "Why does anyone deal with anyone? Sure, he pisses me off thinking about how he treated me, especially towards the end of my time with him, but I don't have to deal with him anymore. At least, not much."
"We both know that you really don't like him. I may have only known you for a day or two, but I have a distinct knack for knowing all who enter my domain." It told him, realisation dawning on Ryo about who this voice belonged to. "You've quite enjoyed reading my personal collection of books, haven't you?"
"You're the owner of the library, aren't you?" Ryo asked, a hint of fear in his voice. He had figured it to be long-abandoned, since Inquisax had resided in it before him. "How are you still alive? Wouldn't you have died hundreds of years ago?"
"Silly little Human. You are aware of how long demons can live for, right?" The voice mocked him, a chuckle forming. "While it may be true that I died, I used a Forbidden spell to tie myself to a specific book in my library. It's the one that you can learn after mastering all the Mental Magic spells. It's called 'Mental Link To Soul Bind'. I placed a blank book down near the basement of the library, and then bound myself to it." It told him, acting as if this was casual information.
"Okay, hold on, wait. If your mind, or, I guess, soul, is bound to that book, how are you talking to me now? I'm likely unconscious in a village a little bit away from there." Ryo questioned him.
"You caught my eye the second you opened those doors. You have a decent thirst for knowledge without it being all-consuming. You're ambitious, willing to learn new things, and most of all, dedicated. So, I planted a little bit of my consciousness into yours, and I'm talking to you through that small fragment of myself. I can only talk to you through this state, beyond you and your 'Clone', as you called it." It explained. Ryo could imagine a smile creeping onto its face as it said this.
"I see. Well, what do you want me to do? You must have brought me here for a reason, right?" Ryo asked, trying to get straight to the point. "I still need to ask Clone about that Evolution Barrier-like thing that happened."
"Ah, yes, the Human term 'Evolution Barrier'. What that's actually called is a ' Being Advancement Protection System'. Any time a Human, Demon or Monster achieves something that is deemed worthy of absolute recognition, their body responds accordingly. From a Monster evolving, to a Demon upgrading its form, to a Human doing something particularly notable. I have to say something so vague about the Humans, as none have achieved it yet." It told him. "You are the exception."
Ryo was flabbergasted. He had done something important, and that got him recognised? Was it overcoming the control of that Monster? "What did I do to deserve it?" He asked, trying to make sure he was right.
"Two things." The library owner told him. "One, you were recognised by me. I am considered a decently important figure. Two, you overcame the control of a Monster, even if just for a moment. You managed to break through a newly-created control mechanism, which, when combined with the first achievement, earned your recognition." They continued. "Now, I already know the next question you're going to ask, so let me get it out of the way. No, your appearance won't change, but you were gifted healing magic, and another, far greater thing. Go to the library, open up the book that lays at the bottom of the helix staircase, and you'll hear from me again."
The voice cut out, and Ryo's consciousness snapped back into reality. His face was still lying deep in orange-stained mud, the smell of burnt wood, soot and copper laced the air like a bad hangover. He picked himself up, attempting to wipe his pants clean, but all that resulted was a smeared orange stain mixed in with dirty brown muck. His body shivered, the air having grown cold during the time that passed. It was now close to evening, the sun splitting the sky near the treeline, a distinct orange glow shining on his face.
His mind ached, probably due to that conversation he just had with the library owner. That information still shocked him. The person who had likely constructed the library was still alive, albeit just in mental or spiritual form, and had recognised him. That put a kick into his legs, as he teleported back to the library. However, instead of appearing at his throne like usual, he materialised behind the stone wall, which had been pulled back up by Inquisax. He needed to ask how that was done.
In the large, much tidier area, lay a new staircase. The one that led up to the bedroom had moved further to the right, and now, a massive metal helical staircase descended down to the basement. "Well, here we go." Ryo said to himself, beginning to descend to the deep dark void that held the blank book. His footsteps clattered off the steel, echoing off the walls. His vision lessened and lessened the further down he went.
The steps seemed to never end, his vision black for at least five minutes of walking. Ryo's only method of knowing where he was was seeing the light above him grow further and further away. It wouldn't be like that for long, however, as his foot touched something that wasn't metal. Almost like wood, but it felt unnatural. A series of torches lit up the basement, igniting themselves one by one.
Ryo looked at the floor, noticing it had the appearance of wood, but it seemed to be pulsing beneath his feet, as if it were alive. He moved forward, light illuminating a wooden table in front of him, with a skeleton sitting on the chair beside it, a large almanac sitting on the top. It was thicker than his body in width, with a heavy leatherbound cover. A buckle covered the front, and Ryo felt the distinct urge to open it. Behind the table laid a massive, cracked dodecahedron-shaped crystal, with three inactive rings around it.
"Go on, do it." A voice echoed out. It was the same voice as the library owner. "This is the gift that you've been given." It told him, Ryo noticing that the voice was coming from the skeleton.
"Are you inhabiting the skeleton, library owner?" Ryo asked, playing dumb. "Why aren't you controlling the book?"
"I could do so if I wanted, but I figured it'd be a lot better for you if you opened that on your own without any interference." The owner told him. "Plus, I can't be arsed moving myself from this lovely chair, so you've got free reign to check out that book." He continued, a countryside drawl to his voice for a split second.
Ryo placed his hand on the belt buckle, slowly undoing the strap on it. It fell off as if it was waiting for someone to come and free it. The room began shaking, the sounds of emerging roots taking centrestage in Ryo's ears. His balance was thrown entirely out of whack, his vision bouncing with the vibrations. His legs lost their standing, his back hitting the floor with a light tap. The library began laughing like crazy, knowing something Ryo didn't. "I haven't seen this since I did it myself!" He exclaimed, a joy in his voice that Ryo didn't recognise.
The almanac began floating into the air, writing etching itself into the cover, similar to the way it had been while talking to the library owner. However, this time, he could read it. It said the word 'CORE' in thick black letters. The crystal began glowing with a cyan blue light, which quickly transformed into a vibrant emerald green, matching Ryo's eye colour. The rings around it began slowly rotating, like a miniature dyson sphere.
The shaking stopped, yet the owner kept laughing. Ryo stood up, making sure his footing was steady before walking over to the almanac, which had begun slowly descending to the ground. It opened to the first page, which read "Dungeon Mechanics".
"You're now the owner of the Library Dungeon, my boy! You run it!" The skeleton exclaimed, cackling like mad. "You're gonna have fun defending this place!"