Taylor placed the candle down on the floor and sat facing the door.
Taking a moment to adjust the hairpin to the right shape, he got up and placed the hairpin of the lock.
*This is a five pin lock, if my memory serves me right!*
He said, before letting out a sly grin.
"Then this should be easy."
Taylor's heart raced as memories of the past escapade came flooding back.
*I learned this trick while I was living with my grandparents. My grandmother used to lock my phone away—as punishment for not spending enough time with them. After various tries I had managed to unlock the basement door to retrieve my phone. But now…if I had known….this was going to happen, maybe….just….maybe I would have spent more time with them!*
-Clank!
With a quiet clank the door finally unlocked.
"Yes!"
He whispered faintly, raising his arm in silent triumph, before picking up the candle again.
Taylor, grasped the door handle.
-Creak!
With a soft creak he opened the door.
Clouds of dusts escaped the room.
"Cuff…"
A short cough, escaped his breath as he entered.
"So much dust!"
*Good thing, I don't have sinuse in this world!*
His gaze shifte, back to the room.
"What the hell…."
Those were the only words he could utter.
The sight was outstanding: the room was full with books lining shelves, vintage chests, various weapons and small bottles containing liquids stacked on top of the shelves and desks, each containing liquids whose contents he couldn't quite identify.
-Thud!
He quitely closed the door, behind him.
He's gaze fell on a desk, leaning against the wall, flanked by a stacks of books on either side, with it a wooden chair.
Taylor approached, brushing the dust off the chair before sitting down, with his knees drawn close.
Settling the candle at the centre of the desk, he noticed a particular book laying untouched.
Curious he picked it up.
-Whoosh!
He blew away the dust, that had gathered on it's cover.
He rubbed the desk with his index finger.
Checking his finger, he saw a chunk of dust on his fingertips.
*Yep, this about a week worth of dust, I guess Lalia cleans this place once a week, the key does, stay with her, so I guess that makes sense.*
He quickly wiped the dust away.
He turned the book on his hands his heart racing.
Bringing the book closer to the candlelight, he squinted at the title: [Hero's Ascent] then he looked down the title were it wrote 'Vol.2'.
"Wait a minute, this is the second volume of the book, Liam had given me!"
Taylor's gaze wandered to the left, landing on a stack of books. The one on top cuaght his attention; It had a striking red cover and it was thinner than the other books. His curiosity piqued, he took it, and like before he blew the dust off its surface.
He flipped through the pages, until he landed on the last page.
As he opened it, he began to read:
'It has been months since me and my party found the second volume of [Hero's Ascent] There are exactly five volumes, the journey has been a tall one. My soon-to-be wife, Lalia, and I have settled in this quiet village called midwinter. After learning the second book is somewhere here, we've decided to stay here, because, my beloved and I are expecting.
We had to travel a lot, travel to the most traitorous places, although looking back now, it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times—yet was all in vain, as we couldn't decode the language the hero wrote it in.The hero wrote it in an ancient text that none of our best scholars could read it. We've given up trying to decode this ancient script that's said to hold, the hero's secrets, treasures and the truth about the gods. It is said that only the hero can read it, you could even sell it for a huge fortune.
Now, reflecting on all those times spent trying to find all five books, all those hardships, I realize it was all for nothing, I can't keep endangering my sworn party, my wife and my soon to be born child, But I haven't given up; I will find the hero myself if I have to. I refuse to let that effort go to waste—even if I must venture alone, I am after all, the greediest you'll ever meet in this world. If you're reading this then our child must've been born and I have left, I'm sorry Lalia, for everything. I even asked my childhood best friend and party member Garin Learnmoth to stay and take care of her, more than I ever could, farewell.'
Silence filled the room, as Taylor closed the book.
Putting it back on the top.
-Sigh!
"I wonder, if Lalia has found this book yet?"
He suddenly paused, before remembering something.
"Wait a minute—ancient text?"
Taylor opened the book, flipping through the pages, horrified at the book's secret flipping away. But as he read, he remembered something startling.
*This ancient text, it's written in English!*
Questions swirled in his mind, rising with each turn of the pages.
He stopped to think.
*Everyone here, head been speaking the same language. A language similar to English but not quite the same. It felt familiar yet different at the same time. The reason I could understand it was because of the real Taylor's memories.*
He paused, drawing a deep breath.
"Wait no, I'm the abnormal one here!"
He couldn't believe it.
*How hadn't I noticed it before, all the syllables and slangs, I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me but…Both volumes are written in English, perhaps that was why people struggled with it.*
He paused for a moment.
"So, that means the so-called great, hero who penned these books could have been another reincarnator—just like me."
***
Just as promised.