After a brief rest, Rey decided to go on, and it was written clearly in his eyes. Leaving the pleasant, warm nest behind, he continued his path toward the summit. Against the storm, enduring the cuts the sharp ice carved into his skin, he kept climbing until he broke through the blizzard.
The boy was surprised, perhaps because he hadn't expected such calm to exist beyond the storm clouds. Rewarded by the absence of cold, an open, clear landscape stretched out before his eyes. He also noticed that the treetop had leaves, flowers, and fruits he could eat, but only a few seconds passed before disappointment tormented him. Seeing beyond what could be seen, he understood the ironic metaphor before him. Rey told himself:
"The hard work, ummm…"
He realized that the tree he was sitting on wasn't even close to being one of the largest in the area. If he dared compare himself to such a tree, even if he grew as much as he possibly could, on his path there would always be someone much higher than him—maybe because they had lived longer, tried harder, had more power, or simply better luck. Like those trees he saw, there would always be someone taller than the ones that, before his eyes, rose almost to the other side of the Heavens and vanished from sight.
"How could I dare compare myself to this tree? Climbing to this point is insignificant compared to all this sturdy living being has had to endure to reach its size. In relation to the other giants that have had time to grow, it seems insignificant; even so, I don't allow myself to compare. Instead, I intend to learn, just as my teacher told me. I choose to learn that, no matter those around me, I must keep growing and take the path with greater ambition."
Letting out a laugh into the air and stretching his arms like a true madman, the boy turned around and went on reasoning.
"Back to the main objective. The trees are arranged in descending proportion. The largest ones on the outside, and the smaller ones heading toward the center."
All around, some crowns rose above the blizzard while others disappeared below it, each aligned according to its size.
"I know where I have to go now, but how do I keep my course without getting lost? Once I'm back down, I'll lose my way again. To avoid the nature of the ground, I'd have to fly… and to cross this sky, I need wings. Mother has them. Mmmm. She had wings that grew from her back. Yes, bringing out wings is similar to the feeling of turning my hand into a claw, so it shouldn't be a problem… After all, I'm a hybrid."
Eating fruit and resting as much as he could while he tried over and over again, Rey finally extended two extra limbs from his back, spreading out to either side. They were wings, covered in black feathers, which he could move clumsily, but he could move them at will.
"I wonder if drinking the blood of my fallen enemies had anything to do with the new functions my body is developing," Rey said to himself, remembering the wings of the creatures that ruled the heights of that place.
Putting his questions aside, Rey had never flown before, nor had he ever analyzed how to do it. Even if it looked easy, it had to be something complicated—but the void no longer intimidated him at all. First he opened the left wing, stretching it as far as he could, then the right, and then both at once while he balanced himself on the branches with his feet and hands. He turned around and tried flying a little where he was, doing a takeoff-and-landing simulation.
He repeated the process several times, rose a little higher, and flapped with better coordination.
"If I have to throw myself off to learn how to fly, I'm already ready for that," he told himself, and so, without thinking any further, Rey hurled himself into the void with his wings spread wide.
At first, the descent didn't bring many problems—a bit of swaying from side to side, but as long as he didn't move his wings, neither his body nor the direction of his fall changed much. Suddenly, as the speed increased, Rey couldn't avoid one of his feathered limbs slamming into a branch jutting out from the cold mist. It was a small branch, something he could have easily snapped with a punch, but the impact fractured the bone in his right wing, and with that, a chaotic fall became inevitable.
Rey spun and spun in a spiral, claws out, trying to slow his descent, and even when he grabbed at the branches, they couldn't bear his weight and snapped. Crashing into everything in his path, the freezing wind treated him like a leaf torn from a tree. The only thing he could do was protect his head.
"Ahhh! I can't pull my wings in. How inconvenient. Broken wings can't be folded away," he told himself. "I've got no choice. One more hit and I might lose consciousness."
Rey reached his hands back and, with one brutal yank, tore his wings off. As soon as he freed himself from them with his claws, he tried again to slow his fall and managed it halfway. Like a sack, he slammed into the ground and ended up rolling across the flat, white-covered terrain.
Shaken, in pain, painting the snow with the red of his blood, Rey tore out, with his teeth, the pieces of branches that pierced the flesh of his limbs. First he pulled out the smaller ones and spat them off to the side. Then he had to deal with the thickest piece, almost planted in the lower side of his abdomen.
"No, better not," he told himself as soon as he touched the wood. "If I rip this trunk out, I'll lose too much blood. Better to break it enough so it doesn't interfere with my walking."
Crack, crack. Rey had to endure the pain and then, feeling a little lighter, forced himself to look at the situation from a positive angle.
"Ah, I finally left the forest behind. A little further ahead is the house where my parents must be. This cold is nothing compared to what I felt at the top of the tree…"
Once enough time had passed for the broken bones in the boy's feet to heal, he stopped dragging himself with his hands, stood up, and walked. Rey kept moving forward until he reached the base of five steps that led up to the door of a residence that seemed to float in the air. The windowless place where the elders dwelled when they slept had no intention of letting him in unless someone inside received him. The entrance was closed and, no matter how much he knocked on the door, no one answered.
Rey continued moving forward until he reached the base of five steps that bordered the door of the residence that seemed to float in the air. The windowless place where the elders dwelled when they slept had no intention of letting him in unless someone inside received him. The entrance was closed and, no matter how much he knocked on the door, no one answered.
Rey continued moving forward until he reached the base of five steps that bordered the door of the residence that seemed to float in the air. The windowless place where the elders dwelled when they slept had no intention of letting him in unless someone inside received him. The entrance was closed and, no matter how much he knocked on the door, no one answered.
"In fact, everyone is still asleep. Just because I can see doesn't mean it's daytime… If I remember correctly, there must be another way into the house. If I go around, I can get in between the ground and the roots. But if I climb up to the roof, I could also sneak in through the chimney. Thinking about it… it's better to avoid heights for a while. I'll go in from below."
The boy did exactly as he had decided and slipped in through the roots. The place he was using to access the inside of the house was, in truth, more of a secret exit, since it had no windows. If an emergency ever occurred and the gigantic house came under attack, the residents could use the hatch in the floor to escape.
Emerging inside the dining room, right in front of the kitchen, the small body was greeted by the warmth of a home a hundred times more comforting than the nest or the cave he'd been in. A place that smelled like family and carried the unmistakable scent of food coming from inside a heated box.
Following his nose, Rey opened the box and found an entire treasure. He couldn't help opening his mouth or stop his drool at the marvelous sight. Packages and packages of meat, bags and bags of blood, bunches and bunches of fruits, vegetables, and water. The most convenient part was that even if he ate everything, he only had to leave a single sample of something for it to double or triple. Just by closing the heated box and opening it again, it would be enough for it to replace whatever was missing. A true source of unlimited food.
"If I took this box with me, I'd never have to worry about going hungry," he told himself as he chewed and swallowed a steak almost as big as he was. "But I can't take it. It's not mine. It belongs to Father, Mother, and the others. I'd get into a lot of trouble if they got mad at me…"
Suddenly, Rey froze in place; his body went rigid and his eyes opened as wide as they could. He had let his guard down, and without realizing it, all his movements were under the gaze of someone who didn't move, yet never stopped watching him with interested eyes and hands clasped behind her back.
"Why didn't you open the door for me if you were awake, Silvia Divan?" he asked, while at the same time he slid his right leg back and lowered his body toward the floor in a defensive stance.
Silvia, with her eyebrows raised and her jaw hanging:
"Hm-hmm-nn… Good question? I wasn't awake when you knocked." Then, as if changing the subject: "I never told you my last name. Nor did I tell you about the secret entrance, young master… huh?"
Rey tilted his head, straightened up, and kept eating without taking his eyes off the woman's maid-uniformed chest. Why her chest, you might ask? Perhaps because, unlike his mother, she had larger breasts. No, in truth, for the boy, if he looked at someone's chest, neck, or forehead, he could also keep the other five limbs in his field of vision at the same time and be ready to defend himself according to whatever the situation demanded. Besides, looking someone in the eyes could mean confrontation, and he wasn't foolish enough to confront one of the elders. He angled his face slightly because something else caught his attention: her unusually open and informal behavior. As far as he remembered, Silvia always moved with elegance, style, softness, and harmony when carrying out whatever task she'd been entrusted with. She knocked on doors before entering, gestured toward objects with an open hand rather than a single finger. She neither questioned nor corrected anyone; she only made suggestions. She kept her hands at her sides or slightly in front of her, but never behind her back, and she absolutely always approached from an angle where she could be seen, like someone who didn't dare provoke distrust.
Silvia stood tall in front of the boy. She had reddish hair that fell a bit past her shoulders, a band of hair that split her fringe in two, and very large eyes that seemed to inspect everything with curiosity. She closed her mouth, even more intrigued now, but when she saw the boy keep eating without looking away from her chest, she crossed her arms and lifted her breasts as she leaned forward, offering an even better view.
"Young master. You believe my words, but at the same time you distrust me—and you know things I've never told you. How is that possible?"
Rey felt that the maid's behavior was familiar somehow, and a vague memory from the past came to mind. Because of that, he didn't answer and took a step back with his other foot. He had no intention of saying anything that would be a nightmare to explain. Ready to escape, he was stopped by words that piqued his curiosity.
Silvia, stepping in before the boy could run, added:
"I'm sure you must have your reasons. I am a combat maid of 'Specialist' grade. As the maid of this house, I have the special ability to awaken from my state of suspended animation to fulfill my duty to protect if an intruder enters while the residents are asleep. But you're not a threat… you are 'young master Rey'. I was the first one to hold you when you were born. How could I ever think of you as dangerous?"
Rey left the past aside and focused on the present.
"Suspended animation?" he asked, sitting down on the floor and paying attention, still chewing and swallowing the food in his hands.
Silvia noticed that Rey hadn't reacted at all to the fact that she had been the first to hold him, but continued anyway:
"Yes. Even though those who sleep still breathe and their hearts still beat, they become empty containers that stop aging or growing. They won't need to eat, drink, or excrete until they wake up."
"Can something in suspended animation die?" Rey asked, thinking of his companion, the small, defenseless guardian of Paradise he had left behind in the cave.
Silvia, happy to have caught the boy's interest, replied:
"Once they fall into that state, they are defended by a protection of 'Transcendental' grade. The answer is no. They cannot die, not even if they're on the brink of death."
Rey furrowed his brow, narrowed his eyes, and took a deep breath so he could swallow the last bite of meat and lick his fingers. Inside, he felt relieved to know his companion was safe, even if he wasn't with her. But he had heard the word 'grade' twice now. It sounded more like a measure of power that he could use as a reference for his own benefit. Once again, he was forced to compensate for his weakness with knowledge, but he didn't know how to ask.
To keep the silence from taking over the room, Silvia added another question:
"Weren't you training with Heroclades…?"
"Yes, but I'm looking for something more than just training."
Silvia asked again, as if she weren't sure she had an answer that could keep the boy interested. Lying was not an option for her, because even if she tried, with how sharp Rey was, he would find out sooner or later.
"And what are you looking for, young master?"
Rey thought for a moment that the Great Wise Mage was who he was not because he was a Great Mage, but because he was wise. If she served under the Great Wise Mage's guidance and care and lived in his residence, that meant the structure itself had to serve his needs, just as it did for the other tenants. She might have the answer.
"I'm looking for knowledge. Could you guide me along the path of understanding?"
Silvia took the boy's words with delight, as if her silent prayers had been heard.
"Young master." She paused, like someone who didn't want her hopes to spill out too fast. "I can give you what you desire, but doing so will make me want to take something important from you afterward." Rey didn't seem to understand, so she continued, "Ahhh, you ask why? Well, I have nothing else to do, and you make me very curious."
At that, Rey made a gesture as if he had understood something. Then he took off all his clothes, got rid of his roughly crafted weapons, gathered all his belongings into a bundle, and placed it in front of her.
"This is everything I have, and it's important to me. You can take it now if you wish. Please," he said, lowering his head politely.
Silvia was stunned; she even covered her open mouth with her right hand. She thought she must be dreaming. No, it had to be a dream. Someone as arrogant as him was offering her all his possessions and asking for help. But she felt awake, she felt alive. It wasn't a dream. It couldn't be. She had to ask the reason for such a change; she couldn't hold back, because her curiosity wouldn't let her.
"Tell me: what makes you want to seek knowledge at such a high price instead of taking it by force?"
"My weakness."
"In that case," said Silvia as she unbuttoned the top of her blouse. Her left hand slipped inside her clothes and, as soon as she found what she was looking for between flesh and fabric, she went on, "This key can help you. Inside this house, all the doors are closed and cannot be opened; it's an extra security measure. But the key I'm going to give you opens one door in particular… I don't need your offering. And maybe I'll make an exception for you. Take it as a favor. I'm doing this because you don't seem like the type who would disappoint me. I only ask that you don't look at me with such distrustful eyes the next time we see each other… and that whenever we're alone, you call me 'Nana,' yes?"
Rey was naked, covered in wounds and scratches. He had entered the house and stolen food from the refrigerator. She had the perfect excuse to get rid of him, but she didn't. She still called him young master. What harm could there be in accepting what she was offering? The boy was confused; he understood what was happening and could also guess why she kept glancing at his waist, but he didn't understand why she didn't want everything he had, despite what she had said.
After picking up what he had offered, Rey decided to take the gesture as an attempt to forge a connection between them. She knew that he needed an ally he could trust. She had no reason to follow the traditions his parents did; she wasn't part of the family. But why did she want him to call her Nana? It wasn't a bad question. It was easier to call her Nana whenever they were alone than Silvia or maid; it felt more familiar.
"Yes," Rey said, nodding his head at the same time.
With his answer, the maid's hand extended toward him. As soon as Silvia placed the key in Rey's hand, she turned around and left the way she had come. Unlike before, this time her footsteps could be heard as she walked through the house toward her room. The sound of a door opening and then almost closing could also be heard.
Rey looked at his palm.
"What a small instrument," he said to himself. "How am I supposed to use it? She said it opens a door. Doors are the entrances to rooms. Ummm… but which door? I guess I'll have to find it. If she had told me directly, maybe I wouldn't have listened. I would have thought it was a trap."
After thinking for a while, as soon as he dressed himself in liger pelts, Rey set about searching the whole house. He had already noticed that the doors had locks, as well as handles. The locks had a hole, and in that slit beneath the handle, what looked like a key seemed to fit. All the interior doors bordered bedrooms where someone was sleeping. The house itself didn't seem bigger than it appeared, not enough for there to be some secret entrance. Going up and down the stairs, in the attic, at the end of the hallway—there was no corner inside where a door existed that would accept the shape of the key Rey held in his hand.
"Maybe she tricked me. What would be the point?"
Hungry again after all the time that had passed, Rey returned to the kitchen, lost in thought.
"She couldn't have tricked me. Even though I've already checked all the doors in the place… No, not all of them. I overlooked the most important one. Being hungry is no good for thinking."
Once his stomach was full, Rey stood in front of the house's entrance and exit. Quickly, he inserted the key and realized it could turn. Then he pushed the handle down and shoved with all his strength so the gigantic wooden slab would open, revealing an entirely different world. It was such a quiet place that the small observer could hear the sound of the fine breeze filling the emptiness, as well as the beating of his own heart, the blinking of his eyes, and the flow of blood through his veins.
The floor was made up of corridors of tiles with complex symmetrical patterns and railings. The side walls weren't solid, but instead shelves filled with hundreds of holes crammed with objects; the mid-height and smaller walls looked the same, even as they formed a maze. Staircases led up and down, while the ceiling was covered in luminous squares and majestic designs that were hard to look at. The pillars, the same color and size as the trees of the Ever-Changing Forest, were also hollow. From the entrance, nothing was distinguishable, but up close they could be seen more clearly: inside them lived hundreds of well-organized books.
How did the boy know they were books if he had barely lived at all? Well, his training master always carried a book that had caught his attention, and "The Great Wise Mage" had used a book to tell him the story of how his parents came to that place. In his very short life, Rey had seen two books and heard that books housed knowledge. However, he couldn't read. He knew he had knowledge right in front of him, but he had no idea how to interpret it. Deciphering unknown characters wasn't simple. Figuring out how they worked wasn't, either.
Leafing through and leafing through, pulling out books and scrolls, questions came to the distracted boy's mind.
"What does each sign represent? An idea? A syllable, or even a sound?" he wondered as he flipped through the pages of the last book on the first shelf. "Well, food is nothing I need to worry about. Time either… I have an entire eternity," he told himself.
After attacking the heated box for the three-hundredth time, Rey went back into the library. The floor was no longer just floor; it now seemed to be made of open books. In the past, his master, Heroclades, had told him, "Reason and draw your own conclusions." However, Rey had always struggled to reach deductions. No matter how much he thought about it, up until now he couldn't remember having reached any conclusion that wasn't related to the death of another being. In light of that, he told himself over and over:
"Get it. To the very end. Keep moving forward. Don't stop…"
Somewhere between books and deep concentration, Rey collapsed onto the floor.
"What's happening to me?… I'm weak."
He sat up. He began to reflect, to think about why his muscles were failing him despite eating every time he felt hungry. He remembered the figures of his father, Hero, and Miján.
"How is it that they can have such toned, muscular bodies? How did Fang and Hero manage it? Because of how much they moved. All the time they spent exercising and training. Of course, they don't stay in the same place doing nothing for a long period of time, unlike me, who has stayed sitting still. The only muscles I've used are my eyes and my fingers to read."
Taking a deep breath, the boy burst out laughing. He had accomplished something: he had actually reached a conclusion after reflecting.
"But I have to move. Even if I still don't understand the words and have a long way to go, I have to move from time to time."
With twice as much time, Rey was finally able to grasp the patterns the letters followed. He still had a lot left to figure out, but in the meantime he needed to exercise his muscles from the tips of his fingers all the way up to his head.
Rey read, and for each page he turned, he followed up with ten jumps or ten strikes with his claws. At that moment, an idea came to him when he saw his raised fist.
"Fist. That's a word. It has four letters and sounds like the combination of two different syllables."
But that wasn't all—there were books with illustrations of beings using their fists. After discovering what the word "fist" looked like, he then found the word "finger," "arm," and so on, until he understood all the parts of the body he knew how to name. Rey had an extensive vocabulary. Having listened to the elders speak for so long without forgetting a single word was a great advantage.
The first book he was able to understand was about different arts of hand-to-hand combat, and there was one word in particular that caught the boy's attention, fascinated as he was to be able to read after so much effort: "Specialist Rank." The same word Silvia had used.
"It seems there are twelve classifications for measuring the power of something or someone," he told himself. "Servus Rank: meaning someone is in service, with an interest in learning, like my old self. Beginner Rank: someone with basic skills and knowledge—me, right now. Intermediate Rank: advanced skills and knowledge. Advanced Rank: complex skills and knowledge. Master Rank: Heroclades is my only point of reference; he is my master, which means someone who has the ability to teach what they know. Specialist Rank: Silvia, who can create her own style or techniques based on what she's learned. Royal/Crowned Rank: specialist in several arts + boosted effectiveness, colossus mode. Emperor Rank: complex manipulation of one's specialty on a large scale, 'they usually affect the surroundings [zone],' king of a species. Saint Rank: absolute perfection, effects on a continental scale, 'teleportation and more.' God Rank: further raising the scale of absolute perfection, effects on a planetary level, 'total destruction or salvation.' Transcendental Rank: effects on an absolute scale, 'time—present, past, and future—reincarnation with knowledge.' Divine Rank: 'chosen,' or 'set apart,' 'distinguished,' not bound by the logic of existence or energy."
Rey stood up. After turning a page in the book he was holding, he had to do his set of movements, which no longer consisted of just a few squats or jumping jacks. Now it was an entire combination of advanced actions, until drops of sweat fell onto the pages, and then he went back to reading.
He reached a conclusion:
"Most of the instructions in these books are for those who want to reach Advanced Rank in different methods of combat. Short weapons, large weapons, short-range, mid-range, long-range, hand-to-hand, defense, attack, counter-defense, counter-attack. I've learned everything these books say. Although, to tell the truth, no matter how many martial movements I learn, the size of my body doesn't help at all if I had to face one of the elders. Mmm, the thousands of physical techniques I've learned don't compensate for my weakness in the slightest. I can make use of 'Fighting Spirit,' different elemental controls, sorcery, aura control, or some other fighting art, but the theoretical learning of these non-physical abilities will never compare to practice. Only real battles can turn me into an Advanced-Rank warrior. If I fight someone stronger than me and watch their movements, I'll be able to raise my rank over time. With Specialist Rank, I'd be on the same level as Silvia, but Father and Mother are stronger than Silvia. Mother was able to use teleportation to bring the whole group here. And Father can beat Mother easily—or so I think. Mother must be Saint Grade. Father must be God Grade. Although Mother used a scroll to accomplish the teleportation. Ummm… It's not worth thinking about that any further for now; there are still many more books, much more knowledge. Leaving the physical aside, I could focus on becoming a sorcerer."
Rey stood in front of the pillar whose name read "Sorcery," stretched out his hands, and pulled out volume one from among the hundreds of books. He had realized that every time he was going to start on a new subject, he had to begin with the first version, since that one was easy to understand and introduced more complicated topics.
"Now that I look more closely, these kinds of books all start with something similar. 'The sorcerers willing to use the methods in this book must go through the "initiation." A process that consists of awakening twenty-four energy vortices that will become the pillars supporting the full weight of an internal microworld, the perfect environment for turning imagination into energy and then making it reality.' Of course, the microworld is the pinnacle of sorcery, but, 'with the awakening of each vortex, one gains the qualification to summon clamados that already exist… Water clamados are the most harmless for the sorcerer and are recommended as the first to practice (…). To train your mental capacities, you must suppress sleep… To rest your body without sleeping, you must meditate. Meditating is…'
All of these books have instructions, but they're incomplete; they don't even have seals or spells to use for clamar. No sorcery technique has been successfully recreated, much less has a single one of the twenty-four energy vortices been awakened or a core created.
Hmm, something new. Warnings: 'A mistake in the conjuration or in manipulating the energy can end up destroying the user. For combat, it is better to use silent or shortened clamados… With great power come great consequences. Clamar in extreme situations is dangerous and very risky; one must have absolute control over the heart, the mind, and the energy passing through the vortices. One must not clamar, under stressful circumstances, a spell with the force or power to end the user's life. One must fight using only the most just and necessary clamados. Lack of concentration during the act can lead to ending up cursed and transforming into the creature one tried to summon, or losing one's reason forever. Having a blocked vortex can result in loss of consciousness and direct, even permanent damage to the chakra in question. Combining strong emotions with poor pronunciation or writing at the moment of clamar can result in the sorcerer exploding, or the spell's effect being the opposite… The art of clamar does not obey the laws of proportion, logic, or matter. Clamados can result in recreations of the present, past, and even the future, which supports the speculation that it was the tool used in the creation of everything.'"
Disgusted by not having the qualities required to summon, Rey set sorcery aside and approached the pillar labeled "Aura Control Arts." After opening the first book and skimming through it, he added:
"This looks more approachable and less risky. Of the eight existing paths, shadow control could help with my training. I understand that many non-physical skill arts require one to be born with them or have an affinity, but it doesn't hurt to try and learn them."
With a determined expression, Rey continued:
"The first step for shadow control is meditation—controlling my breathing and visualizing my essence."
The boy's essence became visible in his imagination. The body was black, and seven other layers enveloped it. Each layer had its own meaning and attributes. For example, control over white favored invisibility in daylight, discipline, or even resurrection. Control over gold enhanced intuition, discernment, and wisdom. And green supported regeneration. Still, Rey understood he had to prioritize one: black.
"The second step is to visualize the different colors that make up my energy and choose black, which represents shadow. Once selected, I must separate it, become aware of its movements, its size, intensity, and darkness. Then, I have to fight it, make it real, tangible—let it hit me so hard I bleed, and I strike back hard enough to break its bones. Fourth step: separate it from myself so it becomes independent. Fifth: give it an appearance. Sixth: it must have a mind of its own, and seventh: it should duplicate itself by repeating the previous steps. Now, to reach the advanced stage in this control, I must turn my body into a shadow and make my presence vanish..."
...
"Mnnn, everything's much easier with several versions of myself around, but I have to keep reading while they search and report back with what they've learned... Next book, titled Notes from a Needy Maid... Loneliness. Sadness... my lonely body living through long, cold nights... First book I've come across that isn't related to combat. Next book, another odd title: Philosophy in Greece. Ummm, Greek... From Greece. I remember my teacher saying: 'Many friends in my life, nowadays, have their names etched in history books.' The books on this floor have nothing to improve my physical condition, nor my chances of escaping this place. Another book: City of Athens. Gods of Greece... Zeus, ummm. I can't waste my time on this. Historical notes, past events, descriptions of another present, of other situations—they can't be important to me right now. On the other hand, if the reading doesn't interest me much, I might fall asleep without realizing it."
Descending the stairs, he looked around. Around twenty shadows roamed back and forth, organizing what they found on the ground.
"Using aura control for so long nonstop is problematic, but at least I figured out my limits. Speaking of sleep, I really need to rest. One of the previous books talks about the consequences of insomnia. All species have a limit, and it seems I've long since surpassed mine. Not even consuming blood and meat can restore my body's fatigue now. My learning has slowed down. I've also noticed that my mind goes blank more often. But there's still one more book I want to read—it looks like the biggest of them all, and probably the most important. Otherwise, it wouldn't have an entire floor to itself… would it?"
The boy took the book that was right in the center of the lowest floor of the massive library. He opened it just slightly and took a quick glance—only to suffer the greatest disappointment he'd had so far.
"Ah! I can't understand it! All the symbols are different… What am I supposed to do?"
….
Within a room that was small in comparison to the others that made up the house, containing a bed, a dresser, and a wardrobe, Silvia lay staring at the ceiling.
"Ugh, here, in this bed, I twist and turn from side to side."
The maid's skin touched the sheets, and she was deep in thought.
"I can't sleep, not while he's here," she continued to tell herself. "I gave him the key, and though it took him a while, he finally found the Library of Knowledge. Is he reading my diary? The book I write when I'm alone could awaken any man's curiosity. The pages I used to capture my feelings are descriptive enough to draw my body. I am a servant and I must rely on the rules so as not to suffer the consequences. It's not fair that I'm forbidden to interfere in the lives of the residents. But the little King didn't stay the night, and therefore, the house interprets him as an intruder. His brothers, Heroclades and Miján, didn't stay either, so if they were to enter, they wouldn't be recognized as tenants either."
Silvia showed disappointment on her face, simultaneously uncovering herself and moving again.
"The young master is still too small. I would have preferred one of the previous two."
Silvia turned over again and, hugging her pillow, ended up lifting it into the air. She looked at the white rectangular cushion and found a resemblance between the size of the feather-filled object and the young master's body.
"Oh, Rey! As I could see, your body is not as developed as your father's or any of the other males I've seen. You are very small, I don't know if you'll be enough to fill the void inside me."
Returning the pillow to its original position, she covered her body from head to toe.
"On the other hand, even if it had been Miján who sneaked in, he wouldn't be able to interpret the signals from this needy body. That Light Elf has a very dense personality, and he also became a slave to Katherine. Whereas Heroclades, the one with the tanned skin, isn't anyone's slave, though he has two women and shares pleasures with everyone."
Uncovering her head, Silvia continued.
"Hmm, I could try Ehimus, but she is an Elven woman and even though she has the appearance of a small boy, she's already Maryam's toy."
Biting her lower lip and rubbing her legs back and forth...
"Mmm, what if it had been the best case of all? What if it had been Wulfgang?"
Uncovering herself completely again and sitting up on the bed...
"What if I had accepted her invitation? What if I had been the one violently penetrated by the three men of the house at the same time while the other two sucked my breasts instead of hers?"
Bringing her right hand down to her lower lips, Silvia touched herself.
"Doing what that vampire did in front of me. Oh!..."
Lying down again, this time abruptly, Silvia continued her monologue.
"I have to be realistic; as a vicious sex creature, I can't hold a candle to Katherine, who walks in Maryam's shadow. In the best-case scenario, I would end up being just another toy of that immortal, brazen, and perverted vampire."
Lifting the pillow towards the ceiling with her hands again, Silvia saw her young master in it.
"No matter how much I deny it, to satisfy my curiosity, this is my only chance. It's not like I'm going to throw myself on top of the little intruder. It's not like I want to violate him. I just left my bedroom door open so he can come in if he wants to ask something..."
With a flushed face, she looked towards the door, continuing as she slowly hugged the pillow she was holding.
"Even if he happens to see me naked on the bed when he comes to ask. Why am I willing to risk everything? Well, to be frank, despite having lost my memory several times, this flame has become more fierce and uncontrollable since the new tenants arrived at the house. I remember how Maryam was being carried like the princesses in the books I've read in my free time. I felt jealous. Why her and not me? What was it that she had that was different? I asked myself. But when she opened her eyes, I could deduce the answer. Not only her blue eyes, but her skin looks much whiter and more delicate than mine. Not to mention her ability to charm a man by making herself look weak, fragile, and vulnerable. Returning to the present, as the light seeps through the half-open door, I must clarify that I didn't plan this at all. But I don't intend to hold back either."
The maid placed the pillow on the bed and, on her knees, stood up on it until she sat down.
"My conscience is clean. It's not my fault. After not only having to hear and see all the members of the house bumping their bodies in the art of mating or reunification, as she calls it, but I also have to clean the floor littered with saliva, sweat, semen, vaginal fluids, urine, and even the other thing. Yes, she is the culprit for my sexual desires accumulating to exponential levels as they are now."
Moving her hips back and forth on the pillow...
"On the first and second day, I was able to resolve these needs by myself. But remembering seeing the men licking like dogs wherever they were told to lick, seeing them doing what they were ordered to do while I watched"—Silvia bit her lower lip—"that hurt me. It burned me. It made me a different person. It broke me inside. Since then, I can't even control what I think. It's no wonder I'm walking around the house and my vaginal fluids fall to the floor just from fleeting memories. The insatiable fire in my body is already unstoppable. I only intend to do what you, Maryam, taught me... Oh, Rey, you will have to be braver than ever if you decide to face the hunger that lives within me."
...
As soon as he organized the library to the best of his abilities, Rey left with the book under his left hand and locked the door with the key. At that moment, he asked himself again,
"What should I do? Where should I leave the key she gave me? Can I take this book with me, which I still haven't been able to understand after so long?"
It was the only book written in a completely different language than the one he knew, and also, in case he fell asleep, he wanted to sleep next to his furry companion whom he missed so much. Something told him that he couldn't allow the one he had protected with so much effort to wake up alone and have no one.
After walking through the house, the little boy stopped right in front of the door of the room that belonged to Silvia. He had decided to leave the key on the floor, right in front of the entrance so she could find it when she came out, but he noticed something very unusual. The door was open, and a sweet smell emanated from inside, inviting him to enter.
Using his right hand, Rey pushed the door and opened it. The hinges were in good condition and didn't even make a sound, but the silhouette of the light from one of the hallway lamps grew larger and invaded the interior of the room.
On the bed, a naked body was twisting, breathing slowly and clutching the sheets with her hands as if she were holding on not to fall. Rey cocked his head, stopped for a moment, blinked three times until he decided to step inside and turn around to continue viewing Silvia's exposed body from a better angle. Little by little, he was able to see strong thighs, white and pink skin, hands wrapped around a pillow, every fold, and finally the long reddish hair that rested on the face of the closed-eyed maid. Besides having larger breasts than his mother's, she also had a good backside. Those four mountains made anyone want to start touching them with all their strength. In Rey's case, to suck them, out of curiosity. Sucking with his mouth was what he remembered doing when he was little. Furthermore, he had also seen the adults do it. Especially Ehimus and his father. For some reason, more than sucking them, he felt like biting them, even though he wasn't hungry.
Rey hesitated. He didn't want to hurt a "non-enemy," and much less someone who had helped him so much. With wide-open eyes and a racing heart, he unconsciously began to stretch his hand towards the inner part of the maid's thighs. The place that gave off the sweetest smell brought back many memories.
"I want to bite," he said to himself. "To satisfy this uncontrollable hunger that has come over me. Is this how adults feel when they are alone? Before, I couldn't smell or touch. Maybe that's why I was never interested in experimenting. But now..."
Tempted by curiosity, Rey touched the inside of Silvia's thigh with his right hand. With his fingertips, he felt warmth, softness, and comfort.
Silvia let out a very singular moan: Hnnn!—one he had heard before.
"It's not like her belly is so swollen that it's about to explode," Rey thought. "She's sleeping with her eyes closed, but she's in pain. She has a large opening and no clothes. There's no one else in the room, nor is she inside a big bathtub. Maybe she was a mother and her children grew up and are no longer here."
Rey's eyes were full of memories. He was thinking about what he had almost forgotten, but, at the moment he was about to continue wandering, the maid slightly opened her legs. As if offering herself to him, and asking for help with her problem.
Rey noticed his tongue was out and he was unknowingly drooling. Opening his eyes even wider, he fixated on the maid's vagina and felt guilty for almost losing control with every sniff of the essence that meant "young woman of childbearing age." In the past, the little one remembered sitting on the stairs, judging with his eyes the adults who squirmed in their seats, feigning indifference to the suffering of a woman giving birth. He didn't feel any different from them; she might not have been giving birth at that moment, but she was suffering, and those expressions of suffering made him feel aroused.
Rey slowly moved his hand upwards to spread her feet a little wider and see how the liquid coming out from between the maid's legs flowed like sap from a wounded tree. The same liquid he had taken to quench his thirst on his journey to the house.
"Why not?" Rey asked himself on the bed, with his head between her legs. "Why not help her calm the pain of her open wound if she has done so many favors for me?"
With two licks from the little boy, Silvia closed her legs. Letting out a dying, powerless scream, the maid was forced to tense every muscle in her body.
Rey freed his head from the grip of the two muscular legs that closed like an animal trap. He understood that he had hurt someone's open wound and that such an event could arouse anger. Rey decided to jump back. With his eyes wide open, he continued to retreat, and although he was about to go through the door he had entered, he realized that the entrance had closed. Trapped, with his body pressed against the floor, he had no choice but to observe her movements and, if necessary, use all the knowledge he had acquired to defend himself.
Using her hands, Silvia raised her torso up on the bed. A bit agitated, as if she had been taken by surprise, she pushed her hair away from her face and gave a smile to the little one who had come to visit her. "Oh, young master... Haven't you been told that startling people when they sleep is impolite?" Rey remained silent, continuing to watch her. She had other intentions; she could not allow this situation to harm her relationship with the little boy or the rest of the tenants in the future.
"It's not that I didn't like it, but it's always good to create an agreement before you do these kinds of things with me."
"Agreement?" Rey asked, relaxing his facial expressions.
"If you promise me you won't tell anyone else, I won't get angry and... you can also come and wake me up the same way whenever you sleep outside."
"I don't think so, to be honest... I apologize. You were suffering and I didn't have the best intentions," he said, lowering his head and looking at the floor.
Silvia, at the same time, made space on the side of her bed:
"What's wrong? Talk to me, come, sit next to me. Don't be afraid..."
Rey paused for a moment, like someone who wanted to evaluate the situation. "The tone of her voice doesn't sound angry, her movements leave all her defenses exposed," the little boy thought as he walked slowly. "So, why not have an agreement if that might provide me with the best possible situation? On the other hand, should I tell her what I know, if my knowledge might not be correct?"
As soon as the little boy sat on the bed, she stretched out one of her hands and, after opening a cabinet, took out a type of basin with a cloth inside. Immediately, she put water in it and, after wetting the cloth, she wrung it out. In the face of Rey's curious gaze, Silvia added:
"Don't let this distract you. It's to clean your body, you need a bath. Talk to me... tell me what you're thinking."
"A bath? I've already bathed."
"You have? How?"
"I do it with my tongue. It's enough..."
After biting her lips, she wondered if he was flexible enough to reach all corners of his body with his tongue, but she couldn't miss the opportunity that the creature's naivety had given her.
"Well, we can do it my way first. Then, you can bathe the way you wish. I am a maid, and serving is my purpose."
"I'm worried about your wound."
Silvia looked in the direction the little one's eyes were looking. When she saw herself between the legs, she could easily deduce what the small being present was referring to as a "wound." With the intention of giving a different meaning to the same word, she continued.
"It really is a bit troublesome. I can't deal with it very well by myself," she said, lifting the little boy's right hand and passing the damp cloth from his fingers up to his shoulder, carefully observing every small detail.
Rey, lifting his gaze:
"Can I help you?" He felt like he had to hide the strange interest that was awakening; after a pause, he added, "I can help you, and also not tell anyone. If you promise to help me interpret the words in this book... Nana."
Calling her "Nana" felt strange. He didn't know what it meant, nor had he ever said it to anyone, but he had to start somewhere. Silvia couldn't help but smile:
"Are you sure?... You don't have to."
"How hard can it be?"
Silvia thought for a while. Her heart was practically escaping from her chest and coming out through her mouth, it was beating so fast. The words wouldn't come out. She knew she had to say something and that with every passing second, the probability of the little one present regretting it grew greater. After inflating her chest and slowly letting the air out of her mouth, she spoke.
"You would have to do the same thing you did to wake me up, but until no more fluids come out. Only that way will you be able to temporarily cure me."
Rey nodded his head, he had no problem with the maid's proposal.
Silvia put what she had on top to one side. Biting her lips sensually, she leaned back against the headboard of the bed while opening her legs towards the young master. The position in the situation was embarrassing, especially when she knew she had a face tainted by lustful desires. Unable to look the little boy in the eyes, she hugged the pillow with the intention of hiding her face. Taking care not to rush and dive headfirst into her desires, the maid decided to be patient and enjoy the moment, expose herself to what might happen, and not influence the actions of someone who, apparently, was not ready to experience a moment like this with suggestions.
Rey swallowed hard. The maid hiding her face behind the pillow meant he had permission to look at her without being watched back. "She is allowing it, without saying yes," Rey thought, ready to look directly at the object of his efforts, but he stopped when he saw the size, color, and shape of her areolas. Rey was met with two eyes that also almost seemed to be looking back at him. The hardened dark pink nipples were not eyes, he knew that, but he also came to believe they were calling him like a defiant gaze.
Due to the position Silvia was in, Rey was forced to get down on all fours and lower his head to get closer and have better access to the area he was supposed to clean with his tongue. Slowly, the little boy looked and memorized details of the skin he was inspecting with his eyes, how soft and smooth it looked. The variation of colors, the textures, and every fold.
Due to the little boy's closeness and not knowing exactly what he would do when she wasn't looking, Silvia's breathing became heavy and more frequent. The tingling in her stomach intensified. The heat in her body increased so much that it seemed as if she were about to ignite and burn the place.
Getting closer to her, Rey could notice many new things. The lip-shaped wound was swollen. It had a short layer of trimmed hair on the top. A slight, wet sheen was visible at the bottom of the cleft. A ring of dark pink flesh was at the very end, clenched between the two buttocks. The heat emanating from the spot, along with a sweet and intoxicating scent, was palpable.
With utmost delicacy, Rey continued to approach, until the tip of his nose touched directly on the upper cleft, causing Silvia to stifle a moan with the pillow. Without lifting his nose from where it was resting, Rey ignored the groans of the maid who was moving as if she were itchy between her legs. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and slowly extended his tongue.
Silvia was about to explode; although she couldn't see, she could imagine what was happening. It was what she had desired for so long—to know what it felt like when someone used their mouth to please her.
Finally, Rey touched her with the tip of his tongue. Silvia's next moan could no longer be silenced by the pillow and was heard loudly with an "Ahhhh!"
Since the taste was not unpleasant at all, Rey wanted to completely lick the wound to finish as quickly as possible. But taking the maid's suffering into consideration, he restrained himself and first planted his tongue not too deep in the spot, slowly beginning to move it. Whenever he perceived that Silvia could control herself, Rey went further in his cleaning work. First along the outer folds, then between the thin and delicate skin that protruded from the middle, all the way to a little further inside. After a while, and daring to go deeper, Rey held onto her legs with his hands, and then he ran his tongue along the cleft and ended by sucking.
For the maid, it was marvelous to feel how the small head paused on what was her clitoris to suckle. At that moment, Silvia tensed her body, felt her skin prickle, and couldn't contain a dry, almost suffocated moan from escaping her throat. Behind the pillow, she opened her mouth, arched her eyebrows, and kept her eyes closed, enjoying the moment so much. The new sensation—a mix of pleasure and the forbidden—was so intense that she felt as if something in her chest were about to explode. When Rey began to suck a little lower, she cast the pillow aside and clung to the little boy with her arms so that he wouldn't move down and would stay in the spot that gave her the most pleasure.
Rey didn't feel uncomfortable at all with her hands on his head; on the contrary, he even realized that Silvia seemed to be guiding him in some way. He lowered his tongue again in circles to slowly insert it and continue doing his job.
Occupied only with feeling pleasure, Silvia managed to double the sensation by changing her position and getting onto all fours on the bed. She used her hands to open her vagina as wide as she could. That way, Rey could penetrate her even deeper with his tongue.
He licked her up and down, with better mastery, to penetrate her again with his tongue and then move down the cleft to the clitoris, where he would pause to caress, suckle, and gently squeeze with his lips.
Rey realized that Silvia was no longer shrieking as before and had almost stopped breathing, but she was inching closer to him and was frantically rubbing the tip of her cleft with one of her hands. When Silvia arched her back and tilted her tail higher, Rey pulled her closer to him, making the redhead press her face against the headboard of the bed.
The maid's body tensed. Accompanied by orgasmic spasms, she let out a prolonged bellow that resonated throughout the room. With no strength left to continue holding herself up on all fours, Silvia collapsed onto the bed, slumped. Out of breath, sweaty, and exhausted, she turned onto her back with an unusual happiness etched on her face.
Rey withdrew his wet face and remained silent. He didn't know whether to continue, but as soon as he tried to approach, she stopped him and said:
"It's alright. That's enough for now... show me the book whose language you wish to learn..."
…
As soon as Silvia collapsed on the bed, Rey finally prepared to leave the residence with his new knowledge, but not without taking as much food as he could carry for the road.
After crossing the kitchen, Rey slipped through the secret exit and arrived inside the passageway he had used as an entrance. Still beneath the large residence, just before leaving the narrow tunnel, he stopped and observed the unusual event with wide-open eyes.
It was no longer snowing as before. The temperature was not low, nor did the ground feel damp, but thousands of brilliant points floated suspended throughout the area. The atmosphere was hot. Perhaps a product of the floating, glowing ashes that extinguished before reaching the ground. The ground was covered in gray, black, red, and yellow.
Rey stretched out his hand, caught one of the floating sparks, and thus felt, for the first time, the pain caused by a burn. The problem was not his body. His body could withstand such pain, but the book he carried under his arm might not. Among the general knowledge he possessed, he remembered reading that paper and fire did not get along very well, and water did not help either.
"The environment is very problematic. It is divided into six states. Three and three. Under life are light, fire, and water. Under death are drought, cold, and darkness. Life on one side, death on the other. But I can't keep waiting..."
Suddenly, amidst the rain of embers, a creature floated through the sky as if swimming across the seabed. Flaming blankets spread throughout the area. In none of the books he had read was there any information on how to face those carpets of smoke and flames.
Rey, patient, continued to study the events around him until, suddenly, parts of the ground ignited, and from those flames another creature silently rose into the sky.
*"I can wait for one of those burning beasts to rise and jump onto its back!"* Rey thought. *"Riding on its back, I will overcome this rain of flashes and be able to protect the book."*
And so, the little boy waited for the perfect moment when one of those flaming monsters would rise from within the ground. Running with all his might and protecting the book he carried, Rey jumped at the exact moment the explosion of smoke and fire lifted from the ground. The little boy was stunned. When he realized that the monster was intangible like a storm, he had to close his eyes because they hurt uncomfortably, and also cover his mouth and nose. Rey could not soar into the sky on the back of the flaming monster. At least not as he intended. The silent explosion sent him flying in the opposite direction until he crashed against the earth and rolled across the ground.
The little one's exposed skin ended up burned. Some areas were extremely painful to the touch, others were blistered and appeared peeling, the rest was reddish, dry, and sensitive. But the book seemed not to have suffered much. Its corners were blackened like charcoal with some areas already whitened, but it still looked like a book.
Skin was skin, and it could heal over time. But a book was a book, and no letters remain in the ashes.
Rey knew he was very far from the refuge where his furry friend slept, but he could not turn back, even if the ground was exploding or his source of knowledge ran the risk of being lost forever. Ignoring the pain and the consequences, Rey rushed towards the distant forest while dodging the rain of glowing coal created by the large beasts when they awoke from the bowels of the earth. The red-hot rocks were dangerous, but the Ligre pelts, which formed a kind of cloak, protected him. Thanks to his garments, Rey didn't have to worry about what might fall from the sky. But he was very alert to what might come from below.
Leaving behind an entire minefield of smoke birds and fire birds, Rey finally managed to enter the forest. The immense line of robust trees acted as a curtain that blocked the passage of the beasts that pursued him with every step.
Inside the forest, for a brief moment, Rey stopped and looked around. The immense trunks that, at first, had slept peacefully were now awake. They were alive and engulfed in flames. Alongside the winged creatures, under the rain of glowing stones. The trees swayed from side to side, like whips. They seemed happy in the little boy's eyes. Happy and energetic, they danced amidst the storm of wind, earth, fire, and leaves. As if they wanted to fan the flames of the beings that landed on them and ended up enveloping them with their dance of cracked bark.
With his tongue out and drenched in sweat, Rey still protected the book he held in his hands, while, using vigorous leaps, he evaded the burning trunks that fell from the air to the ground.
With distance, the yellowish-red began to lose its brilliance. The heat ceased to be so intense. The trees moved less. And, little by little, everything began to look again in the colors the little one was accustomed to—colors that represented the absence of light for others. Rey turned his face, hoping that all that chaos would not pursue him, and continued advancing without even stopping to catch his breath. He was worried and had to do something. If he remembered correctly, the cave where his precious companion slept was part of a tree and could become the perfect nest for one of those flaming birds. If his refuge ended up being invaded by a being he couldn't touch, how could he defend himself? He would have to pull the sleeping body out of the cave and keep moving away. Or maybe he could open a hole in the earth. Even cut the trunk of the tree with his hands if necessary. Solutions swirled in his head as he continued moving forward without stopping. Suddenly the answer to what he should do came by itself and gave him a little tap on the shoulder.
Then, another drop of water fell to the ground in front of him. Another on his hair and many others around. The smell of the environment changed, becoming humid and more familiar.
"Water. It is water falling from above," He paused, extending his hand. "Water and fire are not good with books, but they also don't get along with each other. The fire beings will die in the rain. But it could also awaken the sleeping ground, which, surely from so much heat, must be thirsty." Rey was convinced of it.
After running for so long, as if competing with the rain, Rey arrived right in front of the cave and the place was the same as he remembered it. Letting out a puff of air, he turned to look back, seeing how the fire approached along with the water and a cloud of white steam.
"Here again. Back in the forest, unable to escape. For some time now, a question has been circling in my head. How can I keep going? Despite how little I have lived, how fragile and vulnerable I am, moving forward becomes more and more difficult, especially in solitude. It's useless, my body has reached its limit and stopped getting stronger. My knowledge is also stagnant, this is the last book I have left to read... after this, there is nothing. Just returning... and yet, if I return, if I die, if I continue living, if I endure for all eternity... how can I keep going?"
Rey looked up at the sky and the trees, those masters made up of almost infinite layers of experience and knowledge.
"Haaa... 'Knowing,' or rather, knowledge, makes you overcomplicate things. Did I not find the answer in that cave? Are these trees not screaming the answer to me? From a seed, the largest tree in this place was born. And I am a seed of a Lycanthrope and a Vampire. It's all about leaving behind what I know, what I feel, and remembering the reason why I started so that I can keep going... It makes no sense to allow what makes me strong to become a reason to hesitate, and even less so in this fight that is life. Why am I doubting in a fight when what I should do is move forward when I am not alone and I have this bond."