The scent of parchment and time lingered thick in the air.
At the heart of the Apeiro Vivliothiki, Zyren sat at the central table, hunched over a worn leather-bound tome that looked centuries old. Shafts of pale golden light filtered down from the domed ceiling above, casting long, slanted shadows across the sprawling circular chamber. Towering shelves spiraled upward toward infinity, disappearing into a hazy loft of ever-receding knowledge. Some of the books shifted now and then, as if breathing, and soft murmurs echoed faintly, the whispers of forgotten languages bound in ink.
Zyren sat still, unbothered by the ambient magic or the overwhelming density of the library. His wild, silver hair was slightly tousled, flickering with light as if it had a mind of its own. One scarlet eye narrowed in focus, scanning the page with surgical precision, while the other half-lidded one seemed lost in thought.
Around him lay a chaotic constellation of books, some open, some shut, a few stacked haphazardly, and others floating slightly above the surface of the polished marble table. Despite the mess, Zyren's presence radiated quiet intensity. The usual laid-back smirk was gone, replaced by something rarer: pure, unwavering concentration.
Then the double doors at the far end creaked...once, twice, before flinging open with a gentle gust of wind.
"Well, well, well" came a familiar, teasing voice. "Never thought I'd catch you buried in books. Lately you have become quite the bookworm, oh mighty blade-dancer. Should I be worried?" Zyren didn't flinch. He closed the book with a quiet thump, fingers lingering a moment on the ancient cover before lifting his gaze.
Elyssar sauntered in, golden-amber fur gleaming under the light, the sway of her hips matched by the soft rustle of her long tail trailing behind her. Her feline eyes sparkled with mischief, and the cocky half-smile on her face made it clear she had enjoyed every word of her jab.
"You're late," Zyren said, voice as smooth and dry as ever, but the corner of his mouth twitched, just enough to show he wasn't entirely annoyed. "Time's a construct," Elyssar purred, stopping in front of the table. She held up a small object in one hand. "But you knew that already." She tossed it without warning.
Zyren's hand shot up, catching the item midair with reflexive ease. It was a small, metallic cube, no bigger than a Rubik's cube, its surface matte gray, dull and unassuming. Yet even in its inert state, something about it pulsed faintly, like it didn't quite belong in this reality.
"Finally," Zyren murmured, and this time, the wolfish grin returned in full. It was sharp, primal, and dangerous. "Now I can really get started." He placed the cube gently on the table in front of him and extended one finger, hovering it above the top surface. His other hand brushed a few books aside, clearing a space with absent ease. Then, with practiced control, he channeled a thread of temporal energy through his fingertip. Scarlet veins bloomed.
They crawled across the cube in an intricate network, igniting one by one across all six faces, glowing like molten circuitry. The center of the top surface began to recede inward with a slow click, before sliding open with a hiss of displaced air. Inside, nestled like a sacred artifact, was a crystal.
It pulsed with a serene azure glow, humming softly, its light refracting against the edges of the cube's interior. Zyren plucked it out with two fingers, holding it up to the light. The crystal's glow danced in his eyes, casting ripples of blue across his silver skin. His grin didn't fade, but his gaze sharpened. "Perfect," he muttered, more to himself than to Elyssar.
Elyssar moved with the easy grace of a predator at rest, circling the table before dropping into the seat beside Zyren. The polished marble surface gleamed faintly beneath her, mirroring the curve of her golden-amber fur and the lazy sway of her tail as it curled around the leg of the chair.
Zyren didn't glance at her, his gaze still locked on the glowing crystal between his fingers, but the subtle tightening at the corner of his eye said he was listening. "He's not going to be happy, you know," Elyssar said casually, draping one arm over the back of her chair as her claws lazily tapped against the wood. "I entered his Solarium while he was out. Left something behind. Used something, too." That made Zyren look at her. Slowly, he turned his head, one silver brow arching. "You placed it without him noticing?"
She smiled, fangs glinting ever so slightly in the golden light. "Just like you asked. Quietly. Slipped it under the frame of that massive bed he has. Didn't make a sound. You were right, he didn't notice a thing." Zyren's fingers curled tighter around the crystal.
The Inanis Crystal: a dull, unremarkable thing when first formed, was anything but ordinary. It was the byproduct of temporal depletion: when all temporal energy is drawn out of a conduit, what's left behind is a hollow husk of emptiness. These crystals, fragile yet hungry, absorb energy from their surroundings to re-stabilize themselves. Left unchecked, they can leech the ambient energy of an entire room. That's why they were always sealed inside reinforced containers, stored away from the outside world....unless, of course, someone wanted to study the energy it collected.
Zyren held the active crystal up again. The azure glow inside it now pulsed with far more intensity than before. "You're sure it absorbed enough?" he asked, voice low and calculating. Elyssar gave a small shrug, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. "That room reeks of his energy. You could've probably lit three crystals if you wanted. One was not enough." She tilted her head and gave him a sly grin. "I even made sure it was the same one we tested in the Null Alcove last cycle. It's stable. Ready."
Zyren leaned back, turning the crystal between his fingers, watching the way its internal light flared and dimmed like a slow, deliberate heartbeat. He'd had his suspicions from the moment Kai had arrived. He was dazed, mysterious, and unusually attuned to the flows of temporal energy. Selara wanted to brush it off as potential. But Zyren knew better. Potential like that didn't just happen.
When Selara had called Elyssar and asked her to escort Kai to his Solarium after their sparring session, Zyren overheard the call had acted quickly. He had immediately intercepted Elyssar before she left for Lorith's workshop, and handed her the crystal, and instructed her to leave it behind undetected. Since only a Time-Keeper who had been invited in could access another's Solarium, and Elyssar, being the one escorting Kai, had the best chance of success. And she had delivered.
Zyren's grin returned, sharper than before, as he placed the crystal back into the cube's open compartment. He tapped the surface again, and the box sealed with a quiet hum, its scarlet veins fading into dormancy. "You've done well," he said, finally glancing at Elyssar. She gave a mock bow, still lounging in her chair. "Try not to sound too grateful."
He chuckled under his breath, then stood, slipping the cube into a small side pouch strapped beneath his coat. The weight of it was light, but the implications were not. "Now," he murmured, mostly to himself, "let's see what secrets our new friend is hiding."
Zyren's fingers hovered over the tabletop for a moment longer, then, with a slow and deliberate motion, he reached for one of the weathered books closest to him. The cover was bound in a solid wood-like material, its edges glowed subtly as Zyren picked it up. Across the cover, multiple golden sigils were etched, nearly worn away by centuries of use. He tucked it beneath his arm with casual familiarity, like one might cradle an old memory.
The gentle hum of the sealed cube still echoed faintly from his coat pocket, a rhythmic throb against his side: steady, pulsing and promising. Elyssar's ears flicked as she tilted her head, watching him rise. Her tail curled more tightly around the leg of her chair, her gaze half-lidded, lips curling into that ever-knowing, feline smirk. "And what exactly are you planning to do now?" she asked, voice as smooth as silk and just as sharp beneath the surface.
Zyren paused, the book resting lightly against his hip. He glanced over his shoulder, the corner of his mouth lifting into a familiar, crooked grin. "Just running a few tests," he replied, tone airy and dismissive, though the gleam in his eyes betrayed a deeper intent. "Think of it as... gathering intel."
The moment held for a heartbeat longer, thick with the quiet hum of arcane knowledge and distant whispers from the infinite shelves. Then Zyren turned toward the great doors of the Apeiro Vivliothiki, his long coat sweeping behind him with every step. But just before he stepped through the archway, he stopped and looked back. "Oh, and Elyssar?" She raised a brow, already anticipating the mischief. "Hmm?"
"Don't tell anyone about our little exchange." His tone was still light, but there was an edge to it, a shadow just beneath the silk. Elyssar's eyes glimmered with amusement, and she made a low, playful sound in her throat. "I won't breathe a word.... unless, of course, Selara corners me and starts asking the right questions. In which case, I might be inclined to snitch a little." Zyren chuckled softly, the sound like a whisper of steel. "I wouldn't expect any less from you," he said, his voice low and amused.
With that, he turned and strode out through the double doors, disappearing into the softly illuminated corridors. His footsteps were swift and silent, the shadows swallowing him as he vanished into the winding halls beyond, carrying with him the book, the crystal, and the promise of revelations yet to come.