The second floor dwarfed even the grandeur of the first. Crowds of people wandered between the vast, towering columns of bookshelves that stretched endlessly into the shadows.
The Head Firekeeper spoke as he guided Kage through the narrow passages between the shelves.
"The second floor houses three primary sections," he explained. "The Iron Chronicles Wing preserves clan histories spanning eight thousand years—military campaign records, battle strategies, territorial expansion documents, inter-clan treaties, and trade agreements."
Though accessible, only proven and trusted individuals gained entry.
Beyond that lay the Cultivation Arts Pavilion. Here, common martial techniques and sword forms filled the shelves. These mundane combat arts had been developed by ordinary humans who'd copied fragments of Severance principles.
Such techniques granted commoners a sliver of survival hope. Yet against Severance arts, they were nothing more than a crawler flailing helplessly.
