The warmth of the afternoon sunlight, balanced by the slight breeze, created this mystical feeling like a golden rain had poured from above over all creatures. The beauty undeniable surrounded the place, but no light reaches a dark heart. Messy steps followed by undistinguished mumbling, and eyes that looked but saw nothing. Abruptly, she stopped, no sound could be heard, thus spoke:
"This life... it's so much to bear. But I don't want it to end..."
Gently, a breeze stroked her face, as tears fell down she wished:
"Shall the universe hear my prayers, I ask of you, please, please, allow me to rest! I don't wish for death, but if time could simply stop..."
The wind stopped. As she looked at the sky, everything went black and, again, no sound could be heard and no light could be seen. The universe had heard her prayers.
In endless hallways filled with books, only the sound of turning pages and magic pens could be heard. From above, overseeing all from his desk, was a tall figure in long robes, with blond hair that reached the floor, and golden scars reflecting the canddle lights. A mountain of pages by his side quickly being fliped and filled with ink while the floating bookshelves moved around in a waltz of beauty painted a whysical image. As he stood, the enormous piles followed in a organized order, as children going back to their classrooms, carefully he looked at each page as he walked slowly through the corridors of the library.
Eventually the bookshelves were replaced by pillars, then by stained glass, until he reached a salon filled with entities who, at the sight of the man, bowed respectfully exchanging greetings and proffering kind words. As he kept walking, a set of tall, golden adorned, doors appeared in front of him. His hands waved slowly and the doors opened, leading to infinitely large room filled with bookshelves, documents, and a desk in front of a huge glass window. There stood a figure in similar robes, with long dark hair made into a traditional Tang hairstyle, her face covered by a veil, as the doors closed she turned slightly to look at the golden haired man.
- Bless the cup that wants to overflow,
- That the waters may flow golden from him and bear reflection of your joy all over the world. - completed in a respectful tone as he bowed - I, Head Counselor Manoel Fortunato Archelaos, greet the Head Librarian Bai Ling.
- What brings you here today Head Counselor? - she sat, looking at him from the desk at the end of the room.
- I bring forth the sector's reports, and a list of preparations for the soul's festival.- as his fingers moved, the piles of paperwork danced their way through the room until they reached Bai Ling's desk.
Her hands reached for the piles, each file floating on air by her side, her eyes followed as her head rested on her long dark tinted fingers. Silence filled the room as she slowly read all reports and glanced at the long lists of rituals and objects. Archelaos stood there, glancing out the tall windows from afar. They offered a great view of the whole Soul's City, as the Soul's Library was the center of the city, from there he could see the midnight blue sky covered by silver stars and filled with clouds.
- Great, I see everything is running smoothly, good work. - as she spoke, a yellow file floated from the desk drawers to Archelaos hands, - I want you to take care of this case personally.
- ...May I ask the reason, your excellency?
- Read the details and you'll understand. - slowly she walked towards him, her left hand rested on his shoulder as she continued - I trust you'll take good care of this case. Fortunato.
Her touch made him flinch, the last words she said reverberated in his head, *"Fortunato"*, making him nauseous. Trying to keep his composure he bowed and left the room with the yellow file. His pacing turned fast, his hands sweting, and his head throbbing, he rushed through the garden. There, in a isolated place where no one could see him, he thrown up.
As time went by, the moon shone above the garden. The night lilies and blue roses reflected the light like a ball of fairies. Eventually, the librarian stood up and went back inside, back to his normal self he exuded elegance and his golden hair reflected the colorful lights of the stained glass as he walked by. Heading towards the Archive, he flipped the pages of the yellow file.
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"Saechan Lee,male, cause of death suffocation..." his steps stoped "7 years old. Died on his sleep."
With eyes unfocused, his mind drifted for a moment as he glared at the boy's file. He felt sick at the mere thought of it. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence, neglecting parents, suicidal relatives, aggressive bullying, all possible correlations. The problem was, the boy didn't know he died, or who killed him. At the slight mention his soul may shatter and his Soul Book would be lost forever.
- Head Counselor? What brings you to the Archives today - dressed in red robes, with a golden veil over his face, from a the entrance of another salon, he spoke - ah! Apologies, Bless-
- Stop, I've already told you to cut the formalities, Thomas. - his eyes, now looking at the tall shelves filled of papers and files, followed as he slowly approached the young man and handed him the yellow file - I'm looking for this Soul's Book.
- Understood, just a moment sir. - quickly hiding behind a counter, looking for something, he took out a few papers before grabbing a thin book.
Archelaos had taken a liking for the boy, as he had a great personality and never neglected his duties as the Archive's Head Deputy and he was also from Spain. After a few moments, Thomas came back with a mustard book in his hands and a few papers.
- Thank you Thomas.
- Head Counselor... I wanted to ask you, uh, well, if it's not presumptuous of me, I mean-
-Please speak, Thomas.
-Oh, thank you. So, why does the Head Librarian always gives you such... cases? I mean, this isn't the first time... and it isn't even your duty to-
-Thomas, have you ever heard of "Soul Shattering"?
-Only from the safety guides and legends, why?
-We all have moments of weakness, when our mind is not in the right place. If one dies in that state, their mind, already weakened by life, becomes frail to the idea of death. Some hesitate when remembering their lives, others refuse their own dismissal. Differently from the material world, soul's don't have a physical body to adsorb the dense energy in such cases, so they will slowly witter and their mind may be shattered in pieces, in a eternal death. One not even us, librarians, can rescue from.
-...
-Now, I shall take my leave. Again, thank you Thomas. May the stars bless you tonight.
The hallways once filled by entities, now were empty and only his steps could be heard. As he moved, huge bookshelves appeard by, sometimes tall, others distorded in weird shapes, all of them contained the books with the souls of those who passed away. Every soul has thousands of those, one for each life at each possible universe across time.
As Archelaos reached the outer garden, the night breeze gently passed by the trees, making the silver tinted flowers fall slowly. The light of the moon reflected by their dance seemed like that of shining stars falling through the skies. Along the silver covered path, his mind could only thing of the Soul Book in his hands, how should he approaches the boy? What to tell him if he asked of his death? Should he show the child his life before asking of his death? All these questions filled his head. Only after reaching the iron gates of enourmous mansion covered by vines, that his focus shifted back to the present. Inside the well kept garden, a familiar silluete awaited by his doorstep. "Not again...", ready to close the gate and pretend he never entered that garden, a high pitched voice echoed from inside:
- Mr. Archelaos! I've been waiting for you! Guess what I've found this time?! - Regardless of the veil, one could see the excitement of the boy as he rushed over to the entrance.
- Ha... Good evening Vin, what did you find? - defeated, he accepted his destiny and lead the boy inside.
Vin sat at the sofa while Archelaos fetched some tea.
- Here! This is called "The two lovers Legend"! Can I read it to you? - he pulled a thick book from his bag as he spoke.
- Vin... Don't you think that would takes us the whole night? - the tea poured from the floating teapot as they held theirs teacups.
-Oh, but most of the book is just a historical analysis of the events and language. The actual legend is less than ten pages long! - he took a long sip, as thirsty man from the desert.
-Well, - Archelaos glared at the book on by his side, then looked at the boy - you've been researching this for quite a while haven't you?
- Yes! Wait, how did you? - his misplaced glasses, his sleeves covered by ink and his hair messy from the failed buns - Regardless, this tea is awesome, thank you Mr. Archelaos!
- Ahaha... You really want to tell me this story uh? Please, go ahead. - the smell of the tea filled the room, as he poured the boy another cup.
"Two souls whose fate should never have crossed, the path that shall never be walked, that is the wish of the universe and natural order of things. In this world, one may ask for their desires to be fullfiled, for the riches, friends, and all a soul may wish. But shall the universe deem your fate unique, it will lead you down the path of discovery, it's light will guide you and your soul shall become enlighten. Shall your mind deviate, your actions show, your path will be twisted and fate won't be kind. One must fulfill their role, as the natural laws state."