I stare into the air suspiciously. There's no way a library can just talk out of nowhere. Someone must be trying to trick me. But on second thought, who is the one that actually controls this library? I begin to question as I carefully
The books on the shelves are never still. New books are endlessly coming and moving. It happens in all directions but it's not messy at all. It's very organised like someone intended it to be that way. I thought it was the person that I met was the one behind this but now I think carefully, 'they' can't possibly be that strong to control a library as big as this.
"Are you really the library itself?"
"Yes. I can stop all this books if you don't believe me."
"Do it then." The moment I say that, the books around me as well as the one I could see from afar stopped moving. Then all of the books begin to gather and piled up on top of each other until it forms into a shape of a castle. By the time it finishes, the mountain of books has literally turned into a massive royal palace.
"Do you believe me now?"
"Not yet. Show me more." I feel like a child that wants to be pampered the moment I say that. I couldn't help it and the fact that this unknown being sounds like your typical grandparents isn't helping.
A moment later, I feel a gentle force push me to enter the palace. I play along since I asked for it. The seconds I enter the palace, I gasp. The words on the pages of the books are shining to light up the whole area. The force that push me lead me to the throne room.
The throne also made out of books. The voice asked me to sit on it and I comply. Then a few books are floating right in front of me and I need to choose one book. I choose the apocalypse genre and the whole room instantly turns dark.
Shortly after, one word lights up and it turns a line to shape a character. I already know where this is going and I am quickly proven to be right. More words begin to light up and it turns into a character to a character and then build a world around it.
The story also begin to unfold. The words turn into a narrator and create a dialogue between the characters. This has become a theatre with no sounds in it. But it's more thrilling than any other theatre I've been to.
The story begin with a young man that just turned twenty years old when the apocalypse strikes. Monsters are pouring out of nowhere and destroyed everything in their path. Humans began to panic and ran for their life. They didn't have any strength to fight the monsters.
Until one day, one human began to have a superhuman ability. It was the man's friend and he gained the ability to blow the monster into pieces. As more and more human began to have an ability, they started to fight back the monsters and reclaim their home. However, the twenty year-old man was still hasn't awaken his abilities.
As I watch the story, I question myself. Is this man really the main character? It was then that the man finally got his first ability. His abilitiy was 'record'. It makes me feel even more sceptical. Is that really something that could help people survive in such a ruined world?
He answered my question. He used his abilities to collect as many data as possible and it was proven to be helpful to the people around him. He became a walking encyclopedia but that wasn't all. By using the data he collected, he could predict when the next wave of monsters will appear and helped people to prepare for it.
I realize that he really is the main character. The way he was always calm and quick-witted has gained many people's flavor. Until one day, his whole team got wiped out by a single monster. The thing is, it wasn't because they were unprepared for the fight that they got wiped out, but rather it was because of a betrayal.
The one who lead the attack was his friend that first got the ability. He died while trying to protect him. The twenty year-old man only has a superhuman brain, not the superman strength like his friends and yet, they all died trying to protect him.
The man begin to run to get a reinforcement as soon as possible. The moment he met them, he took a deep breath and calmly tell them what they need to know. Such as the monster abilities and attack patterns. He explained to them with a very detailed information, even as his bloods keep coming out of his nose.
Unconsciously, I ball my hand into a fist. I could only imagine how traumatized he will be after this incident. But what happened after that completely amazed me. After he held a funeral for his friends, the rest of his life after that was completely normal. He still eats three meals a day and make sure he gets enough sleep.
He didn't give himself any time to mourn and kept getting himself busy. When he was finally given a time to take a break, he decided to visit his friend's funeral. I read what he had to say to his old friend.
[I will live. I will definitely live, no matter what.]
Those words hit me like a mantra. He was definitely affected by what happened even though he didn't show it openly. But even so, he still did his best to continue to live. I feel something warm on my cheeks and it surprises me. I can't believe I will cry over this when I don't shed a slightest tear after losing everything.
"Do you feel touched?"
The library ask. I couldn't help but admit it at this point that this voice is definitely the library itself. "Yes. He was such an inspiring character."
"What if I told you that this character is about to die?"
"Is that a spoiler?"
"No, little one. It's something that will definitely happen if we don't do something about it."
The characters fade away and the whole room is lighting up again. The book is placed on my hand and I turn the pages. To my shock, there are a few pages that have turned black while others showed signs of being turned the same way.
"What happened to this book?"
"This is not a mere book, little one. It's a real world with real people in it. It's more than a world of fiction."
"Does that mean this world is going to meet it's doomed?" I caress the black paper as I ask.
"Correct. This book will turn to ashes when that happens."
"Can you do something?"
"Unfortunately not. I can't meddle in what happened in the book. But you can."
"Me? How?"
"Didn't the little girl tells you anything? It's the reason why I asked her to bring you here."
"Wait. You're the reason as to why I'm here? Why I nev-" Then I remember that I actually collapsed before she could explain anything to me. "Nevermind. Why did I got locked up in that room for a few days?"
"Uh... You can go out whenever you want. You only need to say that you want to go out. It will teleport you to the library. The door was just a decoration."
"Okay. How can I meddle with the contents of the book?"
"Simple. All you need to do is make a deal with the book and it will let you in. Would you like to try?"
"What's in it for me? I have nothing to gain from this."
"In return, I will give you a piece of information that you need. It will be very helpful to you."
This library is very sly. It lead me into this place and showed me the story so I naturally felt like helping it. It also knows me very well since it has a book written about me. No matter how I think about it, I don't think I could trust this old voice anymore.
"Can I add one more?"
"What is it?"
"Give me my book." I say threateningly. It may sounds like a child to it, but I don't care. I at least need to hold my ground.