Chapter 20: The History of Lies (Part 1)
Location: The Bridge of Sighs (Connecting Umbra House to the Main Academy).
Time: 5:15 PM.
Status: War Zone.
The Academy was burning.
Green fire—the signature of Envy—licked at the white marble towers. The sky above the courtyard was torn open, a purple bruise bleeding monsters into the world.
Ren sprinted across the stone bridge. Bastion ran ahead, acting as a living plow, smashing through the smaller Envy Imps that cluttered the path. Kaelith covered the rear, her bow singing a rhythm of death.
"They're targeting the Mana Nodes!" Kaelith shouted, firing an explosive arrow into a gargoyle-like creature. "If they drain the Academy's wards, the whole city is defenseless!"
Ren didn't stop. "The Library is a Node. If it falls, the protective barrier around the Archives fails. We lose the history."
A group of Solaris Students was trapped at the end of the bridge. They were surrounded by Envy Stalkers—invisible predators that shimmered like heat haze.
"Help us!" a girl screamed, firing wild lightning bolts that missed the invisible targets.
"Ignore them," Bastion grunted. "They mocked us yesterday."
"We need meat shields," Ren corrected.
Ren activated [Void Presence].
He projected his aura outward, not at the monsters, but at the Stalkers. The Void aura acted like ink in water, clinging to the invisible creatures and outlining them in dark purple smoke.
"Shoot the purple ones!" Ren commanded the Solaris students.
The students didn't argue. They unleashed a volley of fire and ice. The revealed Stalkers shrieked and died.
Ren ran past the stunned nobles.
"Go to Umbra House!" Ren shouted over his shoulder. "The Crypts are secure!"
He didn't wait for a thank you. He headed straight for the Ivory Tower's base.
Location: The Great Library Entrance.
Time: 5:30 PM.
The massive oak doors of the Library were splintered.
Inside, the lobby was a battlefield. Books lay scattered on the floor, burning.
Standing in the center of the room was Archivist Grey.
She wasn't just a librarian. She was a Word-Mage.
She stood atop her desk, her grey robes billowing. She held a quill in the air like a conductor's baton.
"BURN," Grey commanded.
A wave of golden text materialized in the air—ancient runes for fire—and slammed into a pack of Envy Hounds. The hounds incinerated instantly.
"FREEZE," she spoke to the left.
Three Imps turned into ice statues mid-leap.
But she was tired. Her mana was bleeding out. And facing her was a monster Ren hadn't seen before.
It was a humanoid figure made of green glass shards. It floated, reflecting the library's destruction in its faceted body.
[ Monster: Mirror Golem (Elite) ]
[ Level: 28 ]
[ Ability: Spell Reflection. ]
Grey pointed her quill. "SHATTER."
The shockwave hit the Golem. But the Golem's chest acted like a perfect mirror. The word bounced back.
Grey's eyes widened. The shockwave hit her.
CRASH.
Grey was thrown backward into the bookshelves. She slumped to the floor, coughing blood.
The Mirror Golem raised a glass arm, forming a blade. It drifted toward her to finish the job.
"Hey! Shiny!"
The Golem turned.
Ren stood at the entrance. He wasn't casting a spell. He held a large, leather-bound book in his hand.
"You like reflections?" Ren asked.
He threw the book.
The Golem raised its arm to slice the projectile.
But Ren activated [The Index]. [ Skill: Rewrite ].
He targeted the Book mid-air.
"Property: Mass. Rewrite to: Anvil."
For five seconds, the 2-pound book weighed 500 pounds.
CLANG.
The Golem tried to swat it, but the sudden mass acted like a wrecking ball. The book smashed through the glass arm, shattering it, and slammed into the Golem's chest, cracking the mirror surface.
The Golem staggered.
Ren moved. [Flash Step].
He appeared in front of the Golem. He didn't use magic (it would reflect). He used the Shiv of Gluttony.
He drove the black iron spike into the crack in the chest.
CRUNCH.
"Physics," Ren grunted. "Reflect this."
He twisted the blade. The Golem shattered into a pile of non-magical glass.
[ XP Gained: 1,200. ]
Ren ran to Archivist Grey. She was conscious but pale.
"Arken?" she wheezed. "You... you stole my key."
"Borrowed," Ren corrected. "And I'm putting it to good use. Are you okay?"
"My ribs are broken," Grey grimaced. "Go. The Chronology Section... the door is behind the Founder's Portrait. Use the key. Save the books."
Ren nodded. "Bastion, guard her. Kaelith, cover the door. I'm going in alone."
Location: The Chronology Section (Forbidden Archive).
Time: 5:45 PM.
Ren moved the portrait of the Founder. Behind it was a keyhole that glowed with golden light.
He inserted the Key of Chronos.
Click.
The wall dissolved.
Ren stepped through.
He wasn't in a room. He was in a void of stars.
Floating stone pathways led to islands of bookshelves. But the air here was still. Dust motes hung suspended, not moving.
[ Area: The Space Between Seconds. ]
[ Time Status: Stopped. ]
"Incredible," Ren whispered. "This entire room exists outside of time."
He walked along the path. At the center of the void sat a simple wooden desk. And sitting at the desk was a figure.
It was an old man, translucent and glowing blue. He was writing in a book that never ended.
[ NPC: Echo of the Chronicler (First Sage) ]
[ Status: Construct / Memory. ]
Ren approached the desk.
"Welcome, Warden," the Chronicler didn't look up, but his voice echoed in Ren's mind. "Or should I say, the new candidate?"
"You know what I am?" Ren asked.
"I know the Bibliotheca," the Sage said, finally looking up. His eyes were clocks. "I built the foundation. Mad Old Hame added the walls. You... you are adding the doors."
The Sage closed his book.
"Why are you here? The Sins are knocking."
"Envy has breached the Academy," Ren said. "The Pillar of Scales is open. I need to know how to close it."
"The Pillar," the Sage sighed. "A mistake of my successors. They built the Academy on top of the Third Seal to harness the leaking mana. They thought they could siphon the Sin's power to fuel their spells. Arrogance."
The Sage waved his hand.
An illusion appeared in the air.
"The Eye of Envy (Leviathan) is blind," the Sage explained. "It cannot see the physical world. It sees only Comparison. It sees who is higher, who is lower. The Ranking System of the Academy... the House Points... it creates a hierarchy. The Eye feeds on the difference between the Top and the Bottom."
"So Malthus rigged the game," Ren realized. "He created a caste system—Solaris and Umbra—to maximize the disparity. To generate maximum Envy."
"The Church calls it 'Balance'," the Sage scoffed. "They believe that by feeding the Sins a steady diet of mana, they can keep them asleep. A controlled burn. But Leviathan is hungry now."
"How do I kill it?"
"You cannot kill a Sin with a sword," the Sage said. "You must starve it."
The Sage pointed to the illusion of the Pillar.
"The Pillar has a Command Core. It was designed by me, centuries ago, as a fail-safe. If the Envy levels reached critical mass, the Core could be inverted."
"Inverted?"
"Instead of broadcasting the Hierarchy... it broadcasts Equality."
The Sage looked at Ren.
"If everyone is equal, Envy has nothing to see. The Eye goes blind. The portal closes."
"Equality," Ren muttered. "How do I broadcast equality to a school built on elitism?"
"You need the Lens of Clarity," the Sage said. "It is an artifact I hid in this room. Place it in the Pillar. It will strip away all illusions, all ranks, all mana signatures. For ten minutes, every student in the Academy will appear identical to the Eye."
The Sage opened his desk drawer.
He pulled out a simple, clear glass lens. It looked like a monocle.
[ Item: The Lens of Clarity (Divine Artifact) ]
[ Effect: Nullifies all Status, Rank, and Aura identification within a 1-mile radius. ]
[ Note: To the Eye of Envy, all souls will look the same. ]
Ren took the Lens.
"One more thing," Ren said. "Malthus. He's working with the Sin. How do I deal with a Level 60 Cardinal?"
The Sage smiled. It was a wicked smile.
"Malthus draws his power from the Church's Faith System. But Faith... is just another form of Hierarchy. If you activate the Lens... Malthus becomes just a man."
Ren's eyes widened.
"It debuffs him too."
"It debuffs everyone," the Sage warned. "Including you. Your Gauntlets. Your Shiv. Your Ring. All magical advantages will vanish. It will be a battle of flesh and will."
Ren gripped the Lens.
"I'm a Null, Sage. Being powerless is my home turf."
The Sage nodded. "Then go. Time resumes when you leave."
Location: The Great Library Entrance.
Time: 5:46 PM (One minute after he entered).
Ren burst out of the portrait. To Kaelith and Bastion, he had been gone for seconds.
"Did you find it?" Kaelith asked, reloading her bow.
Ren held up the Lens.
"I found the mute button."
He looked out the shattered doors toward the courtyard. The green beam from the Pillar was widening. A massive hand—fingers fifty feet long—was trying to push through the tear in the sky.
Leviathan was trying to enter.
"We have to get to the Pillar," Ren said. "We plug this into the console."
"The courtyard is swarming," Bastion rumbled. "And Malthus is guarding the Pillar."
Ren tightened his grip on his Shiv.
"Then we carve a path."
Ren tapped his ear, activating the Guild Comms (an artifact Vargo had supplied).
"Caelum? Are you there?"
Static. Then, a voice.
"Ren? I'm in the Solaris Dorm. It's a slaughterhouse here. The students are panicking."
"Caelum," Ren said. "I need you to do something for me. I need you to lead the Solaris students."
"Lead them? They hate me!"
"Not for long. Get them to the courtyard. Tell them... tell them the Null is going to save their sorry asses. If they want to live, they clear a path for me."
"Ren, that's suicide."
"Do it, Lord Arken."
Ren looked at Kaelith and Bastion.
"Ready to fight a God?"
Kaelith smirked. "Tuesday."
Bastion cracked his knuckles. "I am rock."
Ren kicked debris out of the way.
"Let's go blind an Eye."
End of Chapter 20 - Part 1
Summary:
The Siege: Ren fights his way to the Library, using Void Presence to reveal invisible enemies and save Solaris students.
The Library: Ren saves Archivist Grey from a Mirror Golem using Rewrite to turn a book into an anvil.
The Chronology: Ren enters the time-stopped Archive. He meets the Echo of the Chronicler (First Sage).
The Truth: Ren learns that the Academy's Ranking System was designed by the Church to "feed" the Sin of Envy to keep it asleep (Balance), but Malthus broke the balance.
The Solution: Ren obtains the Lens of Clarity. It broadcasts "Equality," blinding the Eye of Envy.
The Consequence: The Lens will strip everyone of magical power/rank, turning the final battle into a brawl without magic.