The participants stood by the library's large door.
The door was enormous. As Aragi said, about five meters tall. Five meters, almost like three Yahwehs stacked on top of each other. Almost like the participants' ambitions, if they could be measured in meters. Almost like... alright, just a big door.
"Well done," Kamiki said. "But where did you find the key? We searched all the rooms but couldn't find it."
"Including Gerudo's own room," Aragi confirmed. "We looked through every corner together thoroughly. Didn't miss a single suspicious crack."
"The key wasn't hidden in the mansion at all," Morgana said calmly. "It was outside the dwelling the whole time. Cheryl and I decided it might be hidden in the storehouse, it's located not far from the garden. That's where we usually stored meat and drinks. And, as it turned out, something else too."
"There was a storehouse here this whole time?" Yahweh was surprised. "Why are we learning about such things last?"
Why do we learn about everything last? About corpses, about inscriptions, about spells, about storehouses, damn it. Perhaps there's a rule in this mansion. Panic first, facts later.
"Forgive us," Cheryl said, not particularly apologizing. "Until this moment there was no need to know a storehouse was here. We ourselves didn't think he could keep the key in such a place."
Storehouse. The library key, stored next to meat and wine. Probably Gerudo considered knowledge part of the meal. Or he had quite peculiar gastronomic taste.
"I suggest we don't delay and open this giant faster. You can open it, since you found the key."
Giant. A word more suited for video game bosses than doors. Though, in this case...
Morgana stood nervously by the door and looked at the key. Looked at it as if it was about to bite her, as if this key was cursed. Or too responsible.
"Morgana, what's wrong?" Cheryl asked. "They're waiting for us to open the door."
"I'd gladly, but..."
Pause. And not just a pause, but an important pause, the kind that makes the air in the room compress.
It seemed Cheryl suddenly remembered something. Something important. Something Gerudo once told them. Something that, of course, should have been remembered earlier, but drama requires timing.
"We apologize for your long wait," he began. "But we're unable to open the door."
Pause.
Everyone looked at him as if he'd just confessed the door was alive.
"What's wrong? It's just a regular door."
Regular? Except, as it turned out, with magical filling.
Now I finally understood what feeling flickered then... this door, besides its size, was shrouded in magic.
"The key isn't enough to open the door," Cheryl continued. "The mansion's first master, for the safety of his grimoires, used magic. Thereby sealing the library entrance between the 10th and 11th dimensional layers."
What?
Between what and what?
An ordinary person after such a phrase would go lie down, but us? We just frowned slightly.
"That was unexpected," Hov said. "Who would've thought some old man was capable of such a thing."
If we had access to our powers now, this wouldn't be difficult. Just need to recall one of Yahweh's achievements. In his time he killed quite a few transcendent beings.
Unpleasant memories. Bloody ones.
"Then how did Gerudo open this door?"
"Surprisingly," Morgana answered. "But, being an ordinary person, Gerudo-sama could easily open it."
"If a person without magic can do this, then what's the problem for us to open it?" Yahweh concluded. "Give me that damn key and step aside, I'll try to open it."
Yahweh bet that if Gerudo, being an ordinary person, opened the door, then he could do it too, not having temporary access to magic.
Sometimes everything is simple, so simple it's even a bit frightening. Inserted the key, turned it. The door made a sound, not quite a creak, rather... the inhale of something alive.
With slight effort he opened it.
"You're quite an amazing person after all, Yahweh," Hov whispered mentally.
Entering the room, they saw before them... enormous shelves filled with books. The room was so vast it seemed endless. If someone said it was built by a madman, it wouldn't be hard to believe.
"This place seems gloomier with each minute than before. And how do we find the right book to translate the hieroglyphs?"
"Be vigilant," Cheryl said with the air of an expert. "Some grimoires are so powerful they can grant you boundless power."
"By the way," Yahweh's voice interjected. "I was thinking about this recently. You said they possess mighty power... but isn't that better? We can use them to last through all these days and survive."
"This may already be accounted for by the mistress. Perhaps right now such grimoires are sealed, or possess no properties. Or possess them, but only those that will kill you."
"Should've expected such a move. Then let's search faster for the book we need."
"We'll help you. It will be quite difficult, finding the right book among several thousand," Morgana expressed her desire to help.
This could take us all day... I doubt among so many books we'll somehow miraculously get the right one in a short time.
And yet after, perhaps an hour, or maybe an eternity, the lines were found:
避けられない定めを拒み,争うことは,ただ自らを滅ぼすだけだ.
過去への罪悪感と後悔に囚われれば,その瞬間に苦しみの中で死ぬだろう.
親しい人への愛は,必ずあなたの心を乱し,苦悩の深淵にあなたを落としてしまうでしょう.
敵に対して悔いの念を抱くな.
Four lines.
Four meanings.
Four knives hidden in a silk wallet. But what do they mean? And who wrote them?