A lot had happened in the recent past!
They had broken through iron and shadow to rescue Nicola, meeting Lyn and Blitz along the way. That chaotic rescue had spiraled into a fierce rivalry with Vulkan, which ultimately burned away when they stood back to back to liberate Valeria! Beyond those brutal battles, they crossed paths with Balamore and Izumaru, bringing them back from the edge and setting them free. They fought off the terrifying Hunemerions, contributed to a massive spectacle, and ran at full throttle through the streets to enjoy the Cinderpulse, the Day of the Dead, together as one.
That high-speed celebration had led straight into the bloody nightmare against Wacko Jacko, where they pushed past their absolute limits just to grant Miki and Ren their well-deserved twelfth and thirteenth birthdays!
Then came the intense preparation for the incoming Inquisitors, culminating in a violent showdown with the blood-corrupted monk. The creature blew himself up in a desperate final act, forcing Nyx and the rest to retreat, leaving Silarias, Beat, and Aurelius behind in the smoke, not knowing if they were alive or dead until the grand tournament! A tournament that devolved into sheer madness because of the Kind, where they entered under the pseudonyms Flamo, Photo, and Beto, forged deep alliances with the Shinto Dojo, met Jeshua, and reunited the legendary Pandavas. It was there that Silarias was beaten to pieces, saved only at the absolute brink by his cousin, Faustus.
Silarias was only sixteen years old, and already he had walked through more war, chaos, and blood than most men see in a lifetime!
The question echoed quietly through the air: where do they go from here?
Before any portals opened, a single glance around the bastion revealed the absolute, chaotic energy of the daily grind.
In the open courtyard, Lila, Jane, and Lyn were deep in intense physical training; weapons clashing with sharp, metallic impacts! Inside the nearby kitchen, Nyx stood over a steaming pot, carefully monitoring the food. Silarias and Ren were creeping up from behind like phantom thieves, their hands stretching out to swipe some fresh bites straight from the counter. Nyx did not even turn around; with lethal, motherly intuition, she delivered two sharp slaps right onto their knuckles! Both boys winced, pulling their hands back while nursing their bruised fingers.
Across the hall, Nicola and Apollo were leaning over a workspace, testing complex rune tech together. Within seconds, a massive energy overload crackled through their setup, causing the entire table to violently explode in a cloud of neon sparks and black smoke! Both of them stood there coughing, their hair standing straight up, completely covered in soot.
Up on the roof of the bastion, Beat and Aurelius stood looking at each other, their energy surging with a competitive edge: “Let’s see who is faster!” one of them smirked. Aurelius tossed a fistful of wooden sticks high into the sky! Before the sticks could even reach their peak, two sharp blurs of purple and golden speed flashed past each other at lightning speed, slicing through the air instantly!
And right in the middle of all this rising noise, Miki was lying fast asleep on top of a heavy wooden dining table, completely unbothered, using Blitz as her soft pillow.
SLAP! A dull, booming thud echoed through the fortress!
“HEY! HEY! MMMM… The party isn’t over yet, kids! So STAND UP!!”
King Solomon’s voice thundered out of nowhere, rolling through every corner, hallway, and rooftop!
In a fraction of a second, eleven blurs of motion hit the main floor! The group lined up instantly, one by one, shoulder to shoulder in a flawless, battle-ready row. Everyone was present, but as Ren looked down the line, his eyes widened: “Wait, Miki isn’t here!” Ren muttered. He looked around frantically, until his eyes caught the sleeping girl still stretched out on the table. Ren sprinted over, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her off the table! She wobbled, completely asleep, her legs giving out, so Ren resorted to the ultimate childish solution: he began tickling her relentlessly!
Miki squealed, her eyes snapping open in a sudden panic! She gasped in absolute shock as she realized King Solomon was standing right in front of them.
King Solomon burst into a warm, booming laugh: “Haha, sleepyhead! So, everyone is present. You all understand… you have spent days here. You have trained for days. You have met PEOPLE here…”
The entire row froze. Everyone exchanged nervous, uneasy looks, as a heavy, uncomfortable silence settled over the room. Negative thoughts immediately flooded their minds:
Did we mess up? Did we cause too much damage?
King Solomon looked at their tense faces, his stern expression melting away, as his eyes welled up with genuine emotion: “You left your signature behind… exactly as I expected!” He smiled tightly, tears glistening in his eyes: “Everyone wants to give you something.”
He snapped his fingers!
FLASH!
Reality shifted instantly! The group materialized outside the grand, silent Temple of Malaka.
The air blew with a stunning visual spectacle, as gentle air currents swept colorful flower petals swirling across the stone steps and through the courtyards. All around them, rows of monks were down on their knees, bowed low in absolute respect, waiting for the young warriors.
Malaka slammed his heavy wooden staff onto the stone floor with a sharp crack! The ground beneath shifted, revealing a hidden pathway as Malaka stepped out into the open, his eyes fixed on the young leader: “You remain one of my absolute best students,” he said with a subtle nod, gesturing for the group to follow: “Come. I have something for all of you.”
They stepped onto a glowing, ethereal path that led straight out the back of the temple, directly into the deep waters of the mountain lake. Everyone raised their hands defensively, bracing for the cold water, only to realize with awe that they were walking comfortably beneath the surface inside a clear, dry barrier of air! Glowing jellyfish and vibrant sea life drifted lazily past them. A massive school of tiny fish swam by in slow motion, causing Miki to point enthusiastically: “Look, Ren! That one looks like us! That one is a little one too!” Ren leaned in with pure, childish amazement, mirroring her joy as they walked through the underwater world.
They eventually reached a massive, ancient scroll resting at the floor of the underwater cavern.
“The Scrolls of the Dead Sailor,” Malaka murmured respectfully.
He began chanting a low, rhythmic shanti. The scroll unrolled itself, and a gigantic stone hand materialized out of the ocean floor, firmly gripping a massive pair of ancient, submerged doors. With a deep rumble, the hand turned the mechanism, unlocking the passage.
The wooden doors of the library swung open with a mournful, echoing groan! The smell of parchment and scorched dust rushed out to meet the group. Malaka led the way, his red robes rustling over the threshold. He stopped, turned around, and fixed his gaze directly on Silarias.
With a calm gesture, he pulled a weathered scroll from his sleeve. The parchment crackled in the cold temple air.
“Listen closely,” Malaka began, his voice stripped of all nonchalance: “What is written here transcends the physical strength you use on the battlefield. This is the Mantra of Primordial Focus! The art of encapsulating your life energy and multiplying it within your core.”
Malaka took a step forward, standing directly in front of Silarias: “Look at me. This is the choreography of the soul.”
His center of gravity dropped, his knees bent at a geometric angle, and his right hand cupped inches above the floor. He closed his eyes.
Huuuu… haaaa… huuuu… haaaa.
His breathing became a rhythmic machine. With every drawn breath, the atmospheric pressure in the corridor shifted! An engulfing force pulled from his palm; the dust on the floor began to swirl in precise circles around him. Cell by cell, Malaka’s skin began to glow from the inside out with a rich amber light, as if his veins were carrying liquid gold!
Malaka exhaled, releasing the built-up tension, and straightened his back. He looked down the line of young warriors: “This,” he spoke, rolling the scroll shut, “is the life’s work of a master! It takes decades of isolation to achieve this level of focus. Some monks train their entire lives and only achieve it a single time on their deathbeds! It requires a synchronization of mind and—”
He couldn't even finish his sentence!
Off to the side, the Nobodies were already dropping into the exact stance! They looked at Malaka, adjusted their breathing in perfect harmony, and let their energy surge!
Ren went first. The twelve-year-old boy sank into the stance without a shred of hesitation, and inhaled! A sharp, teal flash erupted from his pores!
Right next to him, eleven-year-old Miki snapped into position! Her entire silhouette ignited in a fierce, deep crimson aura!
Nicola closed his eyes, filtering out all ambient noise, and within a millisecond, neon-blue ether crackled with violent sparks around his fingers! Beat followed, his purple Oni power pulsing in perfect sync with his heartbeat! Apollo, Lyn, Jane, Aurelius; one after another, they dropped into the choreography seamlessly!
Eleven young warriors stood in a flawless row, glowing with surging power! The heat radiating from their combined energy was so intense that the heavy wooden floor of the temple beneath their feet began to scorch black! The timber charred and smoldered, sending thick trails of smoke curling around their ankles.
Malaka’s jaw dropped! The entire logic of his lifelong cultivation was reduced to ashes in less than the time of a single breath! He stared at the smoking floor, then looked back at the glowing group, a nervous, bewildered laugh escaping his throat: “Hahaha… No. This is a joke!” he stammered, running a hand through his hair in utter disbelief. He turned to the only one still standing normally in the row, his voice cracking: “Silarias… DO IT.”
Silarias broke into a confident laugh: “If you insist, master!”
He didn't even shift his stance dramatically. He simply lowered his shoulders, brought his hand down, and dialed into the vivid memory of the front lines.
KREK.
The entire floor of the library gave a violent, structural jerk! Gravity mutated on the spot! Silarias’ body became a blinding beacon of white-gold light that forcefully drove away the deep shadows in the furthest corners of the hall! The pressure in the room spiked so violently that the drumheads of the monks outside began to ring!
“STOP!!!” Malaka yelled, shielding his face and fighting against the rising gale: “YOU ARE GOING TO BLOW UP THE MOUNTAIN!!”
Silarias barely heard the shouting. In his ears rang a different sound: the crystal-clear singing of tiny particles of light. They flowed in a tight, fluid spiral directly toward the center of the room. His arm moved on pure instinct.
With a raw shout, Silarias slammed his open hand, packed with the compressed charge, straight into the wooden floor!
PING.
For a fraction of a second, total silence fell. The vibrations ceased completely.
And then, the ancient foundation activated!
The energy drove deep into the earth! A towering column of liquid light erupted from the center point, blasting straight up through the ceiling! The light transcended the temple, activating a long-dormant network of ancient runes!
The surrounding walls began to shift! Massive stone panels tore open and slid into place with heavy, metallic thuds! Giant bookshelves rotated on hidden underground gears, expanding the room to three times its original size! Hidden balconies deployed from the high walls, and neon-blue circuits ignited across every single floorplate!
Malaka fell to his knees, his arms hanging limply at his sides: “This… this is not my library,” he whispered in awe. “The Lost Library of Ogugaki…”
As the moving walls locked firmly into their new positions, two ancient, massive paintings unrolled from the high ceiling. The canvases stretched meters tall.
On the left painting, a golden entity was depicted, surrounded by majestic flying lions and intricate geometric patterns. On the right painting, two shrouded silhouettes stood side by side, faded and obscured by centuries of worn paint, overlooking a landscape that belonged to another realm entirely. No names. No explanations. Only the overwhelming presence of an ancient history far greater than the temple itself.
The Nobodies stared up at the walls in breathless silence, completely captivated by the mystery of the ancient images. The stillness was filled only by the low, steady hum of the active floor circuits.
Until a loud, mechanical creak echoed from high above their heads!
“Oho! Well, well, well! Which vandal has been messing with the main fuse?! My feathers were standing straight up from the static electricity! Unbelievable!”
From a glowing pipe high in the wall, a figure shot out! The heavy coat draped over his narrow, asymmetrical shoulders was inches too large, dragging along the floor as he made a clumsy landing right on top of a tall, rolling wooden ladder! He caught his balance with a stiff, dramatic bow.
Emerging from the oversized collar of the worn coat was the head of a large owl! Two massive, bright yellow eyes blinked behind thick, round spectacles perched on his beak. At a frantic pace, he pulled out a small silk cloth to wipe his beak clean, his gaze darting skittishly around the newly transformed hall. The moment his eyes locked onto Silarias, his movements froze. A broad, goofy beak-smile spread across his face, and his voice shot into hyperdrive: “Ah! The King is back! And he brought company! Welcome to the Lost Library, ladies and gentlemen! I hope you are hungry for knowledge, because the administration is running a few thousand years behind!”
The mood in the hall flipped instantly! The low hum of the active circuits filled the room, while the Nobodies froze in unison. All the hype surrounding the shifting walls and the awakened energy died a swift death.
Complete silence fell over the room. Eleven pairs of eyes shot from the owl back to the young leader standing in the center.
“King?” Ren muttered, his arm still glowing softly from the teal energy.
“What does that bird thing mean by King?” Miki whispered, the red light around her fingers fading down.
Silarias looked the figure on the ladder dead in the eyes, his face stoic and his expression dry. He didn't flinch, but the muscle in his jaw clenched tight for a brief second: “You have the wrong guy, I think,” Silarias said, his voice cool and firm.
The librarian spread his wings wide, hopped off the wooden ladder with a surprisingly smooth motion, and shuffled toward Silarias with long, stiff strides. His oversized coat scraped along the floorplates as he tilted his head, walking a slow circle around the boy. The large yellow eyes behind the thick glasses narrowed sharply: “Nope, haha!” the owl laughed with a raspy, cheerful tone. “You just look a bit young right now! But the wavelength of that energy doesn’t lie! That signature in the foundation belongs to—”
He stopped dead in his tracks! His eyes darted over Silarias’ shoulder, locking onto Faustus, who was standing quietly in the deep shadows at the back of the room.
Faustus barely moved. His face remained completely expressionless, but his eyes were ice cold. Very slowly, almost imperceptibly, he shook his head:
Too early.
The librarian instantly panicked! His feathers puffed up with a loud rustle, he ducked his neck deep into his oversized collar, taking a frantic step backward to change the subject immediately: “Well then! Details, details! Time is a fluid concept, and my internal clock is clearly a few centuries off!” he squawked, waving his wings wildly toward the surrounding walls. He looked at the entire group with a forced, broad smile: “I have been given many names across the eons, but you may call me Noctua! The Forsaken Librarian.”
“Hold on a second, Noctua,” Nicola interrupted, narrowing his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest: “You can’t just drop the word ‘King’ and then pretend your battery died. What do you know about him?”
“Who, me? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! My memory cells are just as dusty as these books!” Noctua clapped his wings together hard, the sound echoing through the massive hall: “Now, to business! The library breathes once more, which means knowledge is hungry! Look around you. Do not simply choose what you like! Choose what calls to you!”
The moment the words left his beak, a visual escalation erupted throughout the hall!
The thousands of alcoves and high balconies around them began to pulse with power! It was no mechanical hum, but a layered, deep chorus of ancient voices rising from the stone walls! All around them, dusty parchment scrolls, heavy stone tablets, and iron-bound codices began to vibrate violently! They radiated brilliant, colored lights that mirrored the exact energy signatures of the young warriors below.
The eleven Nobodies were drawn in different directions like magnets! The lost knowledge flew toward them, but the ancient library would not yield its secrets so easily.
Miki walked purely on instinct toward a deep alcove. Though she was only eleven years old, her gaze carried fierce determination. A heavy stone tablet inscribed with glowing, crimson runes floated directly toward her. As soon as her fingers touched the cold stone, the runes flared brightly, yet remained blurry and unreadable! The tablet pulsed rhythmically against her palm, as if measuring her internal temperature. She felt the latent power humming within—a promise of absolute thermal control—but the seals refused to unlock! It was as if the knowledge would only reveal itself when her own inner fire was fully forged.
Beside her, twelve-year-old Ren was drawn toward a glass shrine that shattered open with a sharp crack! A paper-thin, emerald-green scroll shot out and wrapped itself tightly around his forearm like a living serpent! Ren tried to pull it loose or unroll it with his other hand, but the parchment was locked firm, feeling like an extension of his own body. It responded to his breathing, constricting slightly with every drawn breath of wind energy he summoned, waiting for the right moment to grant its wisdom.
Nicola reached toward a corner where heavy iron plates broke free from the wall! The plates unrolled in midair, projecting three-dimensional, neon-blue holograms! But as soon as Nicola reached out to touch the lines of light, the blueprints dissolved into a chaotic static of abstract code and floating geometric shapes! The astral smithing techniques were tantalizingly close, but the hovering circuits demanded a specific energy resonance he could not force just yet.
Beat took a step forward, as a thick, black-leather manuscript bound in purple chains began thrashing against the shelves! The chains snapped with a loud rattle, but as the book hovered right before his chest, the cover remained locked shut! A deep, purple aura bled from the edges of the pages, vibrating in direct harmony with his Oni heartbeat! The manuscript was testing him; its binding refused to yield until Beat pushed his rajin volt earring and his awakened form to the next level.
Apollo was drawn to a high platform where a brilliant golden light flashed rhythmically. A heavy, golden cylinder opened before him, revealing a massive scroll, but the casing was sealed with a complex geometric lock of pure light that gently repelled his fingers when he tried to touch it!
Lyn watched a silver scroll descend from a hidden niche. The moment she caught it, the parchment remained ice-cold and tightly bound, though she could feel the overwhelming presence of an ancient soul-stream coursing through its fibers!
Jane was met by a floating crystal orb that spun wildly, casting a turquoise light all around her! Yet the sphere refused to shatter or reveal its inner formulas, keeping the transformative energy just out of reach for now.
Aurelius stepped onto a glowing platform on the floor, as a heavy bronze tome appeared before his chest. The pages flipped wildly on their own, but the characters moved far too fast to read, like chaotic waves on a stormy sea waiting for the right seismic vibration to settle into clarity!
The remaining three Nobodies stood in the center of their own swirling storms of glowing artifacts and ancient texts. Each of them held a unique object or was encircled by light, but the library kept the core knowledge firmly locked behind its seals. The ancient power had chosen them, bonded with them, but it demanded growth first!
All across the transformed library, the eleven young warriors stood holding their sealed treasures, while Noctua watched from high on his ladder, his massive yellow eyes reflecting the chaotic, beautiful light of a brand-new beginning!