Vale let out a quiet sigh as Evelyn disappeared beyond the library doors. For a moment, he simply stood there, the vast silence of the library settling around him. He glanced upward at his companions, who had taken their usual places atop the bookshelves, dark silhouettes against the towering rows of knowledge.
A faint frown crossed his face.
Without another word, Vale turned and headed for the exit. His companions followed immediately, gliding through the air as he pushed the doors open and stepped into the corridor beyond. The ravens slipped through first, their dark forms moving with eerie grace, followed closely by Ember.
From a distance, they must have looked like messengers of some forgotten deity, three beings of shadow escorting a single point of radiant white. Vale barely noticed anymore. He had long since grown accustomed to the ravens' dark feathers and silent vigilance. Yet with Ember between them, everything felt different, balanced. The wyvern's ethereal white form brought warmth and contrast, turning the group into something strangely alive rather than ominous.
Vale walked steadily through the halls, neither rushing nor hesitating. As he passed a set of wide windows overlooking Chimera's enclosure, he slowed.
He stopped.
The snow was gone.
In its place stretched a vast meadow of vibrant green, rolling gently beneath an open sky. Wild grass swayed in the breeze, and clusters of flowers dotted the landscape like scattered paint.
Vale narrowed his eyes.
"…Did she do this?"
The thought lingered. Chimera had healed, of that much he was certain, but had the land healed with her? The idea unsettled him in a way he couldn't quite explain. After a few moments, he exhaled and let the thought go.
He continued on.
Hours passed as Vale navigated the massive complex, until he finally reached a heavy door marked with runic symbols, an access point to the enclosure itself. He stopped before it, inhaled deeply, and wrapped his fingers around the handle.
The ravens slipped through first as he opened the door, wings silent. Ember followed, gliding past him with a soft, almost luminous presence. Vale stepped inside last and closed the door behind him.
Before him stretched a living world.
The meadow extended far into the distance before giving way to dense forest, ancient trees rising high into the sky. Vale stood motionless for several minutes, staring ahead, doubt creeping in.
Why was he here?
The answer came easily.
Mirage.
Wherever the strange wolf was, Vale believed he could help him, understand him, perhaps even guide him. That belief alone was enough.
Vale shook his head once, then again, as if clearing lingering uncertainty. His companions watched him curiously.
"Let's go," he muttered.
He stepped forward, entering the forest.
This place was different from before.
Where once there had been silence and emptiness, life now surrounded him. Animals watched from behind trees and bushes, deer, foxes, creatures he didn't recognize. Their gazes followed him as he passed, distant and unreadable.
Vale kept his guard up.
After some time, he heard it, the faint sound of flowing water. His brow furrowed.
A stream.
He remembered meeting Mirage by a stream.
With renewed focus, Vale altered his path, moving toward the sound. The forest thickened, branches snapping softly beneath his boots as he pushed forward. His expression tightened in mild frustration at the terrain, but the sound of cawing above him drew his attention upward.
The ravens soared freely now, no ceilings to limit them. The open sky belonged to them.
Vale smiled.
"They must feel free," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
That thought filled him with a quiet happiness, not for himself, but for them. Creatures he had raised only days ago, now thriving in a place like this. The feeling warmed him.
The sound of water grew louder.
Vale emerged from the trees to find not a stream, but a small waterfall cascading down smooth stone into a clear pool below. His eyes widened slightly as he stepped closer, movements slow and careful.
Then he heard it.
A growl.
Vale froze.
Slowly, very slowly, he turned.
A large white tiger stood behind him.
Its muscles were coiled, eyes burning with raw fury and unmistakable killing intent. Vale felt his heart hammer as their gazes locked.
He didn't move.
Seconds passed.
Then something changed.
The tiger's hostility faded. The growl died in its throat, replaced by silence. It began to observe him instead, head tilting slightly. Curiosity replaced rage.
Vale remained still, though fear lingered.
The tiger stepped closer.
Up close, Vale realized something strange, it was smaller than Mirage. Still massive, still powerful, but not quite the same. And just like Mirage, there was something… aware about it.
"Is it intelligent too?" Vale wondered.
He decided to test it.
Carefully, deliberately, Vale spoke.
"Are you one of Chimera's?"
The tiger stopped.
Its eyes widened.
For a split second, it looked at Vale as if he were something monstrous, something unnatural. Its body trembled before it suddenly turned and fled, vanishing into the forest with speed far surpassing any ordinary beast.
Vale stood there, stunned.
Slowly, he exhaled.
"…So that answers that."
The forest fell quiet once more.
Vale let out a deep, steady sigh as he turned back toward the waterfall. The tiger had not answered his question, not directly, but its reaction had spoken volumes. Fear, recognition, intelligence. Those were not the instincts of a simple beast.
'One of Chimera's servants,' he concluded.
Whatever the truth was, the creature had recognized him, and more importantly, it had feared the consequences of acknowledging him. Vale frowned faintly, unsettled by that realization, but pushed the thought aside as he approached the falling water.
Then he heard it.
'Clap.'
A slow, deliberate sound.
Then another.
Vale froze.
The applause echoed softly through the clearing, distorted by the rushing water. He turned his head, scanning the area. At first, there was nothing, only trees, stone, and shadow.
Then he saw it.
A pocket of absolute darkness stood near the treeline, darker than any shadow should be. It did not move with the light, nor did it belong to the forest. It simply was.
Vale's unease deepened. He opened his mouth to speak,
"Bravo," a familiar voice said calmly, cutting him off.
"That was indeed one of Chimera's servants."
Vale's eyes widened.
The darkness began to contract, folding inward upon itself like fabric being drawn through a ring. It shrank, condensed, and finally vanished, revealing a single figure standing where it had been.
A tall man. Inhumanly tall.
He wore simple, dark clothing, unadorned and casual, yet somehow commanding. His skin was onyx black, smooth and lightless, and his eyes, pure white, gleamed faintly as they settled on Vale.
The man smiled.
Recognition struck Vale like a hammer.
"…Sir Barbatos?" Vale blurted out, disbelief lacing his voice. "Why are you here?!"
He took an instinctive step back, tension creeping into his posture. Standing before him was one of the strongest beings on Earth, a living legend. Someone who had no reason to even notice a flicker like him.
Barbatos raised both hands slowly, palms outward in a placating gesture.
"Now, now," he said lightly. "There's no need for concern. I was merely following you."
Vale blinked. "…Following me?"
Barbatos chuckled softly, dark brows lifting. "To observe," he corrected. "And to help."
Vale studied him carefully, searching for deception, but found none. After a moment, he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"…Why?" he asked.
Barbatos's smile widened just slightly.
"Well," he said, lifting one hand, "for this."
A book appeared in his grasp, materializing as though it had always been there. The cover was plain, worn by time, yet faintly warm, as if it carried a presence of its own.
Vale's eyes widened.
"Go on," Barbatos said, extending the book toward him. "Take it."
Hesitantly, Vale stepped closer. A strange knot of tension formed in his stomach as he reached up and accepted the book. It felt heavier than it looked, not in weight, but in meaning.
He lowered his gaze to the cover.
"Nirvana," he read aloud.
Barbatos nodded. "Indeed."
Vale looked up, confusion flickering across his face.
"The way you sense Atum," Barbatos continued, his tone shifting to something more serious, "it is not an ability."
Vale stiffened.
"It is a technique," Barbatos said. "One that borders on myth. Throughout history, only two individuals have ever managed to attain it."
Vale's grip tightened on the book.
"This," Barbatos said, tapping the cover lightly, "is the guide written by one of them."
Silence fell.
Vale stared at the book, then back at Barbatos, struggling to process the weight of what he'd just been handed.
"…Why give this to me?" he asked quietly. "Isn't this… priceless?"
Barbatos's eyes widened slightly, then he laughed.
"Oh, it certainly is," he admitted. "A one-of-a-kind artifact, to be precise."
Vale felt a shock run through him.
"Then why?" he pressed.
Barbatos's laughter faded as he looked down at Vale, his expression softening into something sincere.
"You have potential," he said simply. "And you've aided us more than you realize. Consider this… appropriate compensation."
With that, Barbatos turned away, already walking toward the forest's edge.
"Wait!" Vale called out. "Who unlocked Nirvana first?"
Barbatos paused, then glanced back over his shoulder, a faint grin on his face.
"The first," he said, "and the author of that book, was named Siegfried."
Vale looked down at the book again, his mind racing.
"And the second-"
He looked up.
Barbatos was gone.
The forest was silent once more, as if he had never been there at all.
Vale stood alone, disappointment flickering briefly across his face. Then he exhaled and lowered his gaze to the book in his hands.
Slowly, deliberately, he opened it, ready to uncover the secrets it held.