Omen's POV
"Are you awake now?"
I squinted at the glaring sunlight that was shining right on me. It was fortunate that someone was blocking them out. It took a while for me to get my bearings. The person chuckled lightheartedly, her red and blue eyes staring at me in amusement.
I sat up slowly with a groan. It seemed that no matter where I go, I always seem to be knocked out by something. I glanced at the woman beside me who was still smiling sweetly.
"My name is Ravenna Cross."
I froze.
I compared the woman before me to the statue in the Library. It was her. But why does she look so young? I felt very confused about the situation in front of me. Furthermore, Mike was nowhere to be found. Neither was Earl.
"Are you alright now? You took quite a fall."
"Ah… yes. Thank you for taking care of me. I'm… Kira."
Ravenna smiled sweetly again. It seemed that she was a person who loved smiling, a far cry from her statue which had a stoic expression. Whoever created her statue must have hated her. I felt bad for not revealing my name but the circumstances right now don't seem right. Ravenna was alive and well. And for some reason, we were in a forest.
Have I traveled back in time?
"Where… am I?"
"Ah, you are in the Library."
Was this how the Library in the past look like? It literally looked like a forest to me. Where are numerous rolls of shelves and the countless number of books?
Ravenna chuckled at how confused and skeptical I was.
With a wave of her hand, the trees started to twine themselves above us. The wood creaking loudly as they stretched and curved until they turned into a cave of trees. Slowly, fireflies filled the darkness. The soft amber light blinking on and off at different intervals. I gasped softly. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Then, as though they were like leaves, there were books sprouting from the barks of the trees.
"It's not much but soon there will be rolls and rolls of books filling up this space." Ravenna chimed as her eyes glittered at the place before us. She then started to point at the books one by one. "This world is about… And this world is about...."
She rambled away as I looked around me in wonder. I wasn't just in the past. I was literally seeing Ravenna building up the Library.
"Ravenna!"
We turned to the curtain of vines being swept aside as a boy dragged another boy into the tree cave. I immediately recognized one of them. It was Mike.
"Zacherius!" "Mike!"
"Eh, you know this sourpuss?"
The dark-haired man, identified by Ravenna as Zacherius, was surprised. He carefully placed Mike on the ground. It was bad that Mike still couldn't stand up by himself since he had only just recovered some of his injuries. Mike gritted his teeth as a way to suppress his pain while he shifted himself to sit comfortably.
[Stop worrying about me.] I flinched when I suddenly heard Mike's voice in my mind. I had momentarily forgotten about this mind link we had. [Don't you find the name Zacharius familiar?]
It was true. The moment I heard his name, I had this strange feeling within me. Besides, I have never heard of a "Zacharius" in the history of the Library. Yet, people around us have been telling us to look out for this name.
Somehow, seeing the interaction between Ravenna and Zacharius, it looked like they were close. They were out of earshot, perhaps to give us a moment to reunite. Zacharius scratched the back of his ear, his cheeks lightly blushed while conversing with a cheerful Ravenna.
"Guys, so you were here!"
Another man appeared at the doorway, panting lightly. Seeing Ravenna and Zacharius, his eyes lit up in delight, and ran up to them, ignoring the sight of us.
My eyes widened in shock. Isn't that…
"Astorath." Mike whispered quietly, confirming my suspicion.
It was known that Astorath was once a part of the Library but betrayed us and turned to Dark Shadow's side. Could it be that Zacharius too turned to Dark Shadow's side? It was too early to tell but meeting these three people must be a clue. And knowing it could help us in bringing Dark Shadow down.
"Excuse me," Ravenna turned her head to Mike's voice. "Is this yours?"
Everyone looked at the object in his right hand.
It was Ravenna's pocket watch. Ravenna tilted her head in confusion before her hands reached into the depths of her pockets. She pulled out a similar-looking one.
"Why do you have the same one as me?"
"Basta…" Zacharius snarled, his expression turned ugly.
Ravenna and Astorath immediately held him back while I stood in front of Mike. Mike still wasn't fully recovered so it would turn bad if they decided to turn hostile. I was ready to turn tail, grab Mike, and escaped if things turned south.
"You gave it to me," he answered simply.
I wasn't quite sure what Mike was planning and quietly watched the situation. Ravenna kept quiet before she stepped up.
"Raven! We don't know what they are planning!" Zacharius pulled her back while Astorath looked terrified at their interaction.
"It's okay, they won't hurt me."
She looked back at us for affirmation. I nodded in agreement. Ravenna came forward before she brought her watch next to Mike's. Almost immediately, the pocket watches pulsed as if they came to life. In response, the fireflies hummed and the trees shivered.
Witnessing such a response, Ravenna laughed in delight.
"Sorry Zach and Ash, I need to be alone with them."
Mike and I saw the guys reluctantly leave the place, not without Zacharius giving an annoyed "tch!". It seemed like he really was protective over her.
"Alright, those two idiots are gone. You can tell me what is going on."
Without wasting a single moment, Mike told Ravenna a water-downed version of the past events. I was surprised to see how things easily turned out. I thought in situations like this, we were supposed to be careful not to reveal our identities? Especially when we are in the past? I was so confused at how nonchalant and carefree Mike was in telling Ravenna.
Ravenna's brows furrowed in earnest, her cheerful demeanour vanished as she listened closely.
"From your words," she finally spoke up. "It seems like this is your test."
"What sort of test is this?" I couldn't resist but asked. "If this is a test to see how Mike is as the Leader of the Guardians, why am I inside too?"
"Ah…" Ravenna smiled lightly. "It's not like that. The Library likes messing with people and the pocket watch is an extension of its power. Not only does this watch control time, but it is also the will of the Library. The fact that the both of you are here means that this moment in time must be important for the two of you."
"Eh?" Mike and I were surprised.
"You said Astorath and Zacharius will betray me someday, right?"
"Y...Yeah." Mike nodded his head as he answered her.
"You don't have to worry about that. I trust them. They won't do something like that."
"But! We are from the future. This did happen!" Mike said again, his voice becoming urgent. "They will betray you!"
In response to his words, I saw something in Ravenna's expression. However, I couldn't tell what it was. Without giving him an answer, she walked out of the Library to find her friends.
"Why… Why didn't she believe me?"
I looked back at Mike whose expression seemed to be one of distraught. Somehow in my guts, I felt that Ravenna did believe his words. Yet, I don't know how to explain her actions and words. So, I didn't tell him my thoughts.
Suddenly, the pocket watch in Mike's hand pulsed again. Time around us changed again. It was like the Library didn't want us to convince Ravenna to do something.
What was it trying to tell us by showing us this?