The participants stood next to the large library door.
The door was enormous. As Aragi had said, about five meters high. Five meters, almost like three Yahwehs stacked on top of each other. Almost like the participants' ambitions, if they could be measured in meters. Almost like... okay, just a big door.
"Great work," Kamiki said. "But where did you find the key? We searched all the rooms but couldn't find it."
"Including Gerudo's own room," Aragi confirmed. "We thoroughly checked every corner together. Didn't miss a single suspicious crack."
"The key wasn't hidden in the mansion at all," Morgana said calmly. "It was outside the residence the whole time. Cheryl and I figured it might be hidden in the storeroom, it's not far from the garden. That's where we usually kept meat and drinks. And, as it turns out, something else too."
"There's been a storeroom here all along?" Yahweh was surprised. "Why do we learn about these things last?"
Why do we learn about everything last? About bodies, about inscriptions, about spells, about storerooms, damn it. Maybe there's a rule in this mansion. Panic first, facts later.
"Sorry," Cheryl said, not really apologizing. "Until now, there was no need to know about the storeroom. We didn't think he might keep the key in such a place either."
Storeroom. The library key, kept next to meat and wine. Gerudo probably considered knowledge part of the meal. Or he had a very peculiar gastronomic taste.
"I suggest we don't delay and open this giant quickly. You can open it, since you found the key."
Giant. A word more suited for video game bosses than doors. Though, in this case...
Morgana stood nervously by the door and looked at the key. Looked at it as if it might bite her, as if this key was cursed. Or too responsible.
"Morgana, what's wrong?" Cheryl asked. "They're waiting for us to open the door."
"I'd love to, but..."
A pause. And not just a pause, but an important pause, the kind that makes the air in the room contract.
It seemed Cheryl suddenly remembered something. Something important. Something Gerudo had once told them. Something that, of course, should have been remembered earlier, but drama requires timing.
"We apologize for making you wait so long," he began. "But we can't open the door."
Pause.
Everyone looked at him as if he'd just confessed the door was alive.
"What's the matter? It's just an ordinary door."
Ordinary? As it turned out, with magical filling.
Now I finally understood what that feeling was back then... this door, besides its size, was enveloped in magic.
"The key isn't enough to open the door," Cheryl continued. "The first owner of the mansion used magic for the safety of his grimoires. Thereby sealing the entrance to the library between the 10th and 11th dimensional layers."
What?
Between what and what?
A normal person would go lie down after such a phrase, but us? We just frowned slightly.
"That was unexpected," Hov said. "Who would have thought some old man was capable of that."
If we had access to our powers right now, it wouldn't be a problem. Just remember one of Yahweh's achievements. In his time, he killed plenty of transcendent beings.
Unpleasant memories. Bloody.
"And how did Gerudo open this door then?"
"Surprisingly," Morgana replied. "But as an ordinary human, Gerudo-sama could open it easily."
"If a human without magic could do it, what's the problem for us to open it?" Yahweh concluded. "Give me that damn key and step back. I'll try to open it."
Yahweh bet that since Gerudo, being an ordinary human, opened the door, he could do it too, without temporary access to magic.
Sometimes it's simple, so simple it's a bit scary. Inserted the key, turned it. The door made a sound, not quite a creak, more like... the inhale of something alive.
With a little effort, he opened it.
"You're an amazing person after all, Yahweh," Hov whispered mentally.
Entering the room, they saw before them... huge shelves filled with books. The room was so vast it seemed infinite. If someone said it was built by a madman, it wouldn't be hard to believe.
"This place seems gloomier with every minute. And how are we supposed to find the right book to translate the hieroglyphs?"
"Be vigilant," Cheryl said with the air of an expert. "Some grimoires are so powerful they can grant you boundless strength."
"By the way," Yahweh's voice interjected. "I've been thinking about this recently. You said they possess mighty power... but isn't that better? We could use them to last all these days and survive."
"That might have been anticipated by the mistress. Perhaps such grimoires are sealed now, or have no properties. Or they do, but only ones that will kill you."
"Should have expected that move. Then let's quickly search for the book we need."
"We'll help you. It'll be quite hard to find the right book among several thousand," Morgana offered her help.
This could take us the whole day... I doubt that among so many books we'll miraculously pull out the right one in a short time.
And yet, after perhaps an hour, or maybe an eternity, the lines were found:
「避けられない定めを拒み,争うことは,ただ自らを滅ぼすだけだ.」
「過去への罪悪感と後悔に囚われれば,その瞬間に苦しみの中で死ぬだろう.」
「親しい人への愛は,必ずあなたの心を乱し,苦悩の深淵にあなたを落としてしまうでしょう.」
「敵に対して悔いの念を抱くな.」
Four lines.
Four meanings.
Four knives, hidden in a silk wallet. But what do they mean? And who wrote them?