Chapter 11: The Curse of the Past
The Garden of Wisdom was still in a way that did not resemble natural silence.
Its silence was not the absence of sound… but the presence of something else, something too ancient to be heard.
Pure water stretched beneath their feet like a mirror that did not reflect the sky, but instead reflected a mysterious sense of infinity.
Violet leaves drifted down at an incredibly slow pace, as though they were not falling because of gravity, but because of a hidden decision issued by the world itself.
Every leaf that passed through the air left behind a faint trace of heaviness… as though it carried a feeling of submission.
In every direction, the spirits crossing the garden moved without haste, as if time here asked nothing of them except obedience.
The three continued walking.
One step… then another.
Nothing in this place accepted haste.
Leora occasionally looked around, her eyes fixed on a magnificent fountain from which golden waters flowed.
People approached it silently, tossed coins into it, and then walked away without saying a single word.
As though they were not asking for luck…
But acknowledging something they did not understand.
Suddenly, Roy pointed ahead without raising his voice.
"Do you see that alley?"
He paused.
As if he were not pointing to a path… but to a decision.
"It's the key."
A brief silence.
"It will lead us to the answer."
Leora looked in the direction he indicated.
The alley was crowded with people constantly entering and leaving, as though they were following an invisible river.
"But I can see crowds inside it..." she said slowly.
Roy did not answer immediately.
Instead, the white creature spoke calmly, as though explaining an ancient truth.
"Of course."
It paused.
"It's the main path to the library."
Roy immediately began moving.
"Come on. There's no time to waste."
Leora looked at him.
"Roy… wait!"
But his voice was already too far away to stop.
"Come on! You two are too slow!"
They passed through the alley.
Leora accidentally bumped into a passerby for a moment.
Time seemed to stop inside that brief instant.
A glance… an apology… then a quick disappearance into the crowd.
"Watch where you're going!" someone said.
"Sorry..." Leora replied.
Then everything returned to its slow flow once again.
After a few moments, the library appeared.
It was not merely a building.
It was a colossal structure stretching upward, as though trying to reach something invisible in the sky.
A golden dome crowned it, and transparent walls made it appear to be constructed from frozen light.
It stood between two gigantic statues bearing Kendra's features—motionless, expressionless, as though they were not statues but silent witnesses to a long era.
Leora stopped before the sight.
"This… doesn't resemble any library I've ever seen."
They approached the entrance.
A massive wooden door decorated with emeralds and agates, engraved with symbols that belonged to no known language.
Leora slowly extended her hand, examining the carvings.
"What language is this…?"
The white creature answered without looking at her:
"Submission."
It paused.
"Wisdom."
Silence.
"Balance."
Then it added in a softer voice:
"Every rebel… is cursed."
A brief silence followed.
Leora did not comment, as though those words had not explained the world…
But had only made it heavier.
Finally, she said:
"I understand… now."
But her voice was unconvinced.
Roy pushed the door.
It offered no resistance.
As though it had never been a door at all…
But a heavy idea that opened the moment it was touched.
"It looks heavy..." Roy said calmly.
He paused.
"But it's lighter than a feather."
Leora stared at him in disbelief.
"How?"
Roy gave a brief smile.
"Even an old man could open it."
They entered.
The library was not a place…
It was a world within a world.
A vast circular space stretched endlessly, surrounded by bookshelves that reached toward the ceiling, as though trying to touch something higher than knowledge itself.
Every shelf seemed to hold a different era…
Or a different reality.
At the center stood a spiral staircase ascending slowly upward, like a road without an end.
Leora whispered:
"I've visited many libraries… but this isn't a library."
She paused.
"It's something else."
Roy said:
"Upstairs."
They began climbing.
The staircase was not entirely stable…
It resembled the flow of a thought.
People passed by them constantly, ascending and descending as though they were ideas moving inside a giant mind.
After many long minutes, they arrived at a simple wooden door compared to everything around it.
Written upon it were the words:
"The Sage's Office."
Roy knocked on the door.
A voice came from inside:
"Come in."
He slowly opened it.
An elderly man sat calmly behind his desk.
A magnifying lens covered his left eye.
He wore a formal suit arranged with meticulous precision.
Behind him stood walls filled with glowing glass tanks containing creatures moving in eerie silence.
He looked at them and immediately said:
"Roy… I haven't seen you in a long time."
There was no surprise in his voice…
Only prior knowledge.
Roy replied:
"I came for one reason."
He paused.
"Where is she?"
Silence followed.
But this time, it was not the silence of waiting…
It was the silence of weight.
The sage finally spoke:
"I know who you're talking about."
He paused.
"But this violence… will not lead you to what you're searching for."
Roy clenched his jaw.
"I know that very well, Gunther."
A brief silence.
Then he added in a heavier voice:
"But those screams… are still engraved in my memory."
Gunther lowered his voice.
"I understand."
He paused.
"She was also a victim of her own choices… and so were you."
Silence filled the room.
As though the sentence was too heavy to continue quickly.
Roy lowered his gaze slightly.
"The tragedy repeated itself… when it reached my people."
He paused.
"Only then… did I feel pain for the first time."
At that moment, Leora's eyes fell upon a mural carefully arranged on the wall, displaying portraits of the twelve Kendras.
She said quietly:
"The strange irony is that all the Kendras appear pure… except for one portrait that seems unclear."
An echo resounded inside Roy's memory:
"There is no difference between you and me… for both of us were complicit."
"Roy… Roy, where did you go?"
"I'm fine… I was just lost in thought."
Gunther stared at Roy and spoke with a voice burdened by wisdom:
"Roy, you must return to your present self… that armor you once wore is too heavy for you."
Leora asked:
"Roy… were you a knight in the past?"
Roy remained silent.
As though he feared reopening a wound that had never healed.
Then he answered with a faint smile:
"Yes… that was long ago."
The sage spoke in a warning tone:
"If you intend to go to the left side of the waterfall, you must be extremely cautious."
Roy replied confidently:
"I know that very well."
Then he continued:
"We'll plan our next move… because Contista is still lurking in the shadows through her pawns."