The library was quieter than usual.
Auren's footsteps echoed against the stone floor, sounding like the breath of someone waiting in silence. The Guidebook lay open on the table. Its pages turned on their own, golden ink forming words slowly:
>"Shadows do not always hide beneath the light. Sometimes they stand above it, watching you from where you cannot see."
Auren read the line over and over. She frowned, trying to decipher its meaning.
Was she supposed to look toward the ceiling? Or behind the torchlight?
Hesitantly, she walked between the tall shelves. The glow from the enchanted torches danced weakly across the walls, making every corner seem alive… and watching. Her hand brushed along the spines of old books until her fingers stopped at one — a plain black cover.
No title. Cold. Silent.
When she touched it, the book trembled softly — then opened on its own. On the page was a symbol: a circle split in two, half light, half dark.
Auren stared at it for a long time. Then she raised her hand and traced the symbol in the air, following its shape with her finger.
The air around her changed instantly. Cold, dense… heavy. The shadow beneath her feet shifted, responding to her motion.
For the first time, Auren felt something within that darkness — not menace, but life. The shadows were like black threads, waiting for command.
But the longer she tried, the stranger the feeling grew. The air thickened. And somewhere between the dark shelves, she felt something… watching her.
Auren froze. Her heart pounded. Her eyes scanned the room — no one there.
Only shelves, and the soft rustle of paper. But the feeling was real. Cold crept up her neck; her breath grew shallow.
Each step she took echoed a heartbeat late. Was… something watching me…?
She swallowed hard.
"Who's there…?" she whispered, voice trembling.
No answer.
Suddenly, the Guidebook on the table flipped open again. Its pages turned wildly before stopping at a line that shimmered in gold:
>"Do not flee from the gaze of darkness. It sees to test, not to kill."
Auren stared at the words for a long moment. They felt like a warning — or perhaps a trial. Could it be… that whatever watched her wasn't an enemy?
Yet the fear in her chest only deepened.
Every corner of the room felt filled with unseen eyes, watching her… judging… waiting. She took another step, slow and careful.
Each motion stirred the shadows around her. And this time, the darkness *inside* her trembled as well.
She lifted her hand. The shadow on the floor followed.
"I… I can control it?"
The whisper escaped her lips. The shadow moved again — as if nodding gently.
And amid her fear, Auren felt something new — a quiet calm.
The darkness… understood her.
Then another voice came. Not from the book, not from her mind — but from the air itself.
"You are beginning to see, Auren…"
She froze.
Her eyes darted around, but there was no one there. Only shelves, books, and the darkness that now felt… alive.
She whispered softly, barely audible:
"Why me…? Why am I the one here…?"
No answer.
Only the faint murmur of the Guidebook from afar:
>"For darkness does not choose… it finds."
The words lingered in the air like a spell, sinking deep into her thoughts.
Auren looked down at her hand, the black shadow still quivered at her fingertips. She knew, from that night on… the world inside the castle would never be the same.
And behind the shelves, something or someone was still watching in silence.
From within the quiet aisles, something began to move. A faint breath stirred among the shadows, as if the library itself had drawn a living breath. Auren didn't know that her small step that night had awakened something that should have remained asleep.
And from the darkness, a whisper rose…
"You have seen us, Auren. Now… we will see you."