A small section of the railing flickered—
…and vanished.
Right in front of me.
I blinked.
"…Convenient."
Carefully, I stepped forward.
The moment I crossed the boundary, the golden railing reformed behind me without a sound, sealing the space I had just left.
I paused.
Then turned back.
"…Wait."
I reached out and pressed against the railing again.
Nothing happened.
No flicker.
No opening.
Just a smooth, solid barrier.
"…So it's one-way?"
I frowned slightly and pushed a little harder.
Still nothing.
The center—the place I had woken up in—was now completely sealed off.
—
I exhaled slowly.
"Well… not like I wanted to go back anyway."
Honestly, that place felt unsettling.
Standing in the middle of nothing, with no visible floor… yeah, no thanks.
Even now, I wasn't entirely convinced I wasn't about to suddenly fall into whatever that void actually was.
My heart didn't need that kind of stress.
—
I hesitated for a moment… then glanced down at myself.
"…Let's test something."
I slipped off one of my shoes.
Not like I'd need it immediately.
Probably.
Holding it for a second, I leaned over the railing and tossed it into the void.
It dropped.
Slowly at first—then faster.
Faster… and faster…
I followed it with my eyes, expecting it to disappear into nothing.
But it didn't.
It kept falling.
And falling.
And falling—
—
Thud.
A faint sound echoed back up after a few seconds.
I blinked.
"…Huh."
So it wasn't endless.
And more importantly—
it wasn't solid anymore.
—
I glanced back down at my feet, then at the invisible ground beneath me.
"So it only holds me…?"
Or maybe—
only what it allowed.
—
A quiet thought settled in my mind.
This place had rules.
I just didn't know them yet.
—
And for some reason…
that thought didn't scare me.
It excited me.
—
I straightened slightly, turning toward the shelves.
"…Alright."
If this place had rules—
then I'd just have to learn them.
One by one.
—
Now that I was no longer at the center, the shelves no longer formed a perfect circle around me.
They felt… off.
Shifted.
Like I had stepped into a different layer of the same space.
—
Up close, they were even more imposing.
Ancient wood.
Dark, polished, untouched by time.
The books resting on them varied wildly—some thin, some massive, some bound in worn leather, others in materials I couldn't even recognize.
No dust.
No decay.
Just… preservation.
Perfect preservation.
My gaze lingered on one of the books it was nothing special really among all of these books.
—
I reached out, fingers brushing lightly against its spine.
Nothing happened.
No reaction.
—
I paused.
"…How does this place even work?"
—
the exact voice from before i appeared here answered.
"As the Keeper, you may access what is permitted."
—
I stilled.
So it only responds…
when I ask or directly interact with it not look for it or think about it.
—
"…Permitted by what?"