We were to stay in the library for three days. Nigel had planned for us to go north, but that plan had failed. If we did flee, we would be worse off than if we stayed. Kona found her permit to cross the border, so she was free to go north whenever she wanted.
I asked Nigel what he planned to do now as we carried a pile of books over to a table. He explained that there were other paths, but for now, he wanted to genuinely research the sins, to try and learn and understand Wrath a bit more. Where he came from, what records exist of him and other sins. The church knew about marked children and kept their existence secret; if marked children only exist by coming into contact with a sin, then there must be records of others that exist. The only issue would be that something kept that secret might not even be in Balim.
The librarian who let us in offered to aid us in finding material had overheard our conversation. Explaining that everything was recorded in Balim, even things deemed as not credible, far-fetched or obvious stories and lies. Regardless of whether something was real or not, it was still recorded. If knowledge of the marked children exists outside of the church's walls, it will be in a book here.
As our first day in Balim came to an end, we were taken to the upstairs area where we were given food and each our own room for the night. Nigel took a book with him to his room, as did Kona. Both of them seemed to have already found something worth researching. I pondered on the idea of also researching the sins as well, but Nigel was doing that already, and I could just ask him later about it. I feel as if he might find little information, or at least it might only confirm things I already suspect.
I originally wanted to learn more about the Motonyms, their language and culture a bit, maybe to understand my father a bit more, but now I don't really care about that, there's no point. But there was one thing that had me curious: what that old man was saying, something about a prophecy. First, Yuma said something about my name, the way he said it sounded like a prophecy. The quake that awakens the red eyes.
The next morning, after breakfast in the communal hall was concluded and the librarians descended the stairs to the great hall to start their work for the day, we all stayed seated to talk for a short while with Levi hovering over us and pacing around the table. Nigel said he couldn't find much about the origin of the sins, only fairy tales that verified wieldy, but found an old journal written by an old member of the church some six hundred years ago and would dedicate himself to that as translating it to Imperial would be slow, as nobody had bothered to do that yet. Kona said that she couldn't really think of anything she would want to research, and I would look into the whole prophecy thing, though I don't really know where I would begin.
With the help of the librarian, I came across a large book of all recorded prophecies. The tome was dense and contained thousands of them. Flicking through it, it was clear that almost all of them were complete nonsense, a fact that didn't inspire confidence that any of them were real. That is, until I came upon a specific one.
The title page said 'Oroborus' with a drawing under it of a scaled snake devouring its own tail in the form of a circle. I skimmed through the content of the text, focusing only on the keywords of importance. This one used history, theory and prophecy all at once to support its claims were true. I spoke of the cycle of the world, how every few eras a calamity occurred that wiped the slate clean once more. It explained that Balim was discovered already built, and this was the reason why the cause of this calamity is magic that comes and goes from this world like the flow of a tide. Of course, the text remained incredibly vague and had no specific details at all. No mention of the sins, the saint or anything.
I went to the librarian and asked if they had books about the history of magic. Even Kona seems to think the concept of magic is ancient, dating back to the time of the saints three thousand years ago. There are things in this world that don't make much sense, and magic is a convenient explanation, but what was it really?
As we gathered more tomes and books from the shelves, I noticed Nigel engrossed in a pile of books, flipping through frantically, well aware of the limited time we have in this place. Kona had even started to read a book while walking around and swinging her fist out as she read, maybe a book on fighting techniques. Levi, on the other hand, was pacing around restlessly, always keeping an eye on the three of us and occasionally stopping to do pushups on the floor.
As I pored over the tomes, there was mostly talk of magic artifacts and items. Objects that had strange properties. One such was the Godi axe, wielded by the ruler of the clan, said to have power over cold and ice, but its power waned since the northerners rebelled in a civil war against the empire led by Haralda Godi, and since then, its power has waned. There are other things, such as holy relics, contained within the House of the Seven Saints. I asked the librarian, and he said most older texts from the early stages of recorded history have been too damaged by time to be read, and back then, there were not enough librarians to upkeep the texts.
I asked him about how far back the book here went, and he replied, saying three thousand years. That seemed far too short for all of recorded history, and if Balim is older than that, then what came before?
"Three thousand years ago, the saints were alive, when, according to the church, humans as we know them came into being. So what came before that? Are there any texts? Studies? Anything about that or the saints themselves?"
He shook his head. "No, but if you have some original ideas, we would be happy to accept them at the library."
It seemed the knowledge I was after was either too old or too secret. Giving up entirely on my quest, I want to ask Nigel to see if he has learned anything new.
"Yo Nigh, find anything interesting?"
"It's mostly ghost stories, unconfirmed sightings by hick farmers in the countryside, and old fairy tales."
"Did you find any evidence about the one inside the Black Hollow?"
His head snapped towards me. "What?"
"Yeah, at least I think there's one there. We were about to step close to it, and Wrath physically stopped me, then after that, I had a weird dream, I think that was him trying to explain to me what it was."
"There's a sin… inside… the black hollow?"
I shrugged, "Probably, I can't think of any other explanation."
Nigel started to flip through the book in his hand frantically, looking for a certain page as he started to mumble to himself under his own breath. As he did, I noticed on the other side of the large room seven librarians entered from the great hall and went to a door tucked away in the corner, opening it with a key and disappearing inside.
As our librarian helper was walking past, I pointed towards the door and asked what was down there. He said it was the basement, where wines and spirits were stored long-term. Not only did this place have a vast array of knowledge, but apparently a vast array of alcohol. Nigel muttered how they sometimes sold their older bottles from one or two thousand years ago to nobles or emperors to pay for food and supplies to keep Balim alive.
I asked about going down there to have a look, just out of curiosity, but was told it's forbidden to outsiders due to the value of the items kept within. As I was looking at the door, as it swung closed slowly, I noticed Levi also staring at it as he wrote something down on a piece of paper and stuffed it into his pocket.
As the second day came to an end, Levi reminded us we would be leaving tomorrow and wouldn't have much time, so after the communal dinner, we stayed behind to talk about what we should do next, and Levi hovered nearby.
"So Kona can go north freely, but Shinya and I can't. I think Kona should go, and we'll find another way."
"No way, I'm not leaving on my own."
Nigel looked to Kona and then back to me, understanding right away what was going on.
"Look, I know of another way north, but I figured you might want to avoid it."
"It's through the desert."
Kona broke off her intense stare-down with Nigel. We both knew she didn't do well in the heat. The whole time we've known her, she was dressed half-naked and said it was too hot for a normal chestplate that covered her body fully, so the desert would probably be a death sentence for her. Nigel continued, whispering and leaning forward more.
"There's a smuggling route through the desert to Quima; we just need to find someone who knows the way. Kona can meet us over on the other side."
I looked over at Kona, whose fist was curled on the table. I felt like she wanted to say something about needing to stay to protect me, but she knows that's not true. She glanced my way, and I gave her a pained smile and a nod to tell her that it's okay.
She agreed that she would go north and head to Quima and wait for us there. Nigel explained that smuggling people north might cost a lot of money, so it might take some time to earn enough, but he admitted he didn't know how much it would cost, and we have no idea how long the desert crossing could take.
That night, I was unable to sleep. I lay in my bed thinking about the idea of separating from Kona. We had spent over a year together, and this would be the first time we're really apart from each other. After all this time of her being with me, she's accepted me for who I am now, and I'm grateful for that and really don't want to let go of that. I wish there were a way I could go with her.
Just then, a knock came from my door. I got up and walked over, opening it to reveal Kona. She came into my room and pushed back onto the bed. I plopped down, and she sat next to me, turning to me, she took my hand and looked me in the eye.
"I'm going to miss you."
I pulled my hands away from hers and lunged forward, wrapping my arms around her tightly.
"I… I'm going to miss you too. And… thank you."
"For what?"
"For not leaving me, back in Hemwick, I mean. I feel like you wanted to after what you saw in that house."
"It did freak me out a little, but I've seen you fight on the night ship. I was the first to find you in Saltfort, surrounded by mutilated bodies. I was the first person to know what you were capable of. But, even under all that strength, all that power. You're still a soft, kind soul… no matter how much the world tries to break you down."
As she spoke, I felt tears slowly roll down my face. She placed her hands on my shoulder and pushed me away so she could look me in the eye.
"I wasn't concerned about what you did in that house; I was scared that your eyes changed, that maybe, it wasn't just you in there anymore. But it is you. You're still the same as back then."
She wiped the tears from my face as she smiled. I didn't quite understand why I was crying. It wasn't sorrow or pain, but some other feeling, something I didn't quite understand. Once my tears were gone, she leaned in and gently placed her lips against mine as she held my head in place by the chin. She pressed her forehead against mine as her lips moved back, our eyes locked, and she whispered. "I love you, and I'll be waiting."
The next morning, we left the grand library of Balim. As we walked through the grand hall, I noticed the other librarians were looking and whispering amongst themselves. I had a feeling that something else had happened here during our stay that we were completely oblivious to.
We left the great door, and both Nigel and I bid farewell to Kona as she went north, and Levi escorted the two of us back south once more.