Faiser stopped for a moment in front of the entrance to that secret passage. He didn't move immediately; instead, his eyes slowly scanned the library. His gaze wasn't random—it was precise… sharp… as if it were sweeping the place layer by layer, checking every corner, every shadow, every possibility of someone watching him.
It wasn't fear of being stopped…
But a refusal to be observed.
"Entering the unknown… should not be done in front of others."
He took a light step back, then moved to the side between the shelves. He listened… no sound, no breathing, no movement. Even the air itself seemed unwilling to interfere in this moment.
"Alright… this is good."
His gaze returned to the opening—that opening which hadn't existed just moments ago.
"Doors like this… don't appear without reason."
He moved forward slowly, but without hesitation.
And the moment he crossed the threshold—
The door closed behind him.
It disappeared.
Everything returned to how it was, as if the passage… had never existed at all.
He stopped. He didn't turn around immediately, but he felt it…
Isolation.
"Now… I'm alone."
He let out a light breath, then began walking.
The darkness was dense—not just the absence of light, but the heavy presence of something unseen, as if the darkness itself had weight… and intention.
One step, then another.
The sound of his footsteps seemed louder than it should, as if the place echoed his existence in an unnatural way.
"This is not just a passage… I'm sure of that…!!!"
And in that moment—
Flames ignited.
One… then another… then dozens of torches along the walls.
Without warning.
Without the sound of ignition.
They simply—
Appeared.
Faiser stepped back half a step instinctively, his eyes narrowing slightly, but his expression remained steady.
The light revealed the place.
Shelves.
Rows of shelves stretching along both sides.
But—
All empty.
Not a single book.
Not even a trace…
He moved forward slowly, his gaze passing over the shelves step after step, as if his eyes were trying to find a flaw… anything that could break this strange pattern.
"Rows of shelves… without books?"
He reached out toward one of the shelves, touching the wood.
It was real.
Solid.
But empty.
"So this isn't an illusion…"
He stopped.
He looked ahead. The passage didn't end, and the shelves continued with the same pattern and the same emptiness.
"How big is this place…?"
He started walking again, but this time more slowly. His thoughts began to move.
"Hooof… emptiness…"
He paused at that word.
"Is it a lack…?"
He shook his head slightly.
"Or… a choice?"
He continued walking.
"Shelves without books… are not lacking, they have been stripped."
He stopped.
Then—
He smiled faintly, a strange hint of realization in it.
"And that is more dangerous than absence."
He ran his hand along one of the shelves as he walked.
"When something is removed from its place… it means someone decided that this thing… should not be discovered."
He stopped, then lifted his gaze forward.
"Or… should not be understood… but was the one behind this emptiness truly a person!!"
Silence.
But it wasn't external silence—it was internal, deeper.
"Why am I here?"
The question wasn't simple. It wasn't just curiosity—it was confrontation.
"Did I enter to discover…?"
He stopped.
"Or because something… wanted me to enter?"
He breathed slowly.
"If this is a test…"
He smiled.
"I don't mind."
Then—
His gaze changed.
"And if it's not a test…"
He stopped.
"I will make it one."
His steps became steadier.
He was no longer just someone walking through a strange passage.
But someone… accepting it.
"Fear… is just a reaction. But curiosity… is a decision."
He raised his head slightly.
"And I don't move because of fear, nor do I stop because of it."
He stopped suddenly.
"I… am the one who decides."
Silence.
Then—
"Even if this place… doesn't want me."
He smiled faintly… but it was cold.
"It will have to endure me."
He kept walking.
Until—
He stopped.
The end.
There was no extension, no more shelves, no more darkness.
Just—
Emptiness.
He took a step.
Then—
He stepped out.
And froze.
The same place.
The same shelves.
The same arrangement.
The same library.
It was… the sect's library.
But—
One thing was different.
There were no books.
Not even a single one.
His eyes widened slightly—not out of fear… but from an understanding that had not yet fully formed.
"This…"
He stepped forward, looking around.
"Impossible."
He turned slowly.
"I didn't return…"
He stopped.
"Or… did I?"
He stepped back, then another. His breathing became slower… but deeper.
"Am I inside an illusion…? Or is this… the real reality?"
He raised his hand slowly and touched one of the shelves.
Same texture.
Same coldness.
"Then… what changed?"
Silence.
Then—
"Me…?"
He took a step back.
Then—
A sound of laughter.
Faiser froze in place.
It wasn't from inside him.
It wasn't an echo.
It was external.
Clear.
Close.
Faiser turned quickly, his eyes locking onto one of the shelves.
Emptiness.
But—
The sound came from that shelf…
"Hahahahaha…"
A brief silence.
Then—
That voice, despite its calmness, carried something… amused.
It was a cold voice.
Time seemed to stop for a moment.
Faiser's breathing froze.
His eyes did not blink.
"Welcome…"
"To my inverted world!"