Ethan recoiled as if a spring being unleashed, rising to his feet in a single leap, only to be stunned by the sight before him. He had built this bed with his own hands over time by slowly bringing various materials into this isolated space.

  When he first uncovered this black tome, the world within was devoid of almost everything; even the walls separating him from the void beyond were merely defective bookcases he had disassembled one piece at a time, only to put them back together within.

  The process had been long and arduous, yet Ethan felt fulfilled through it. This was the world he had built with his own hands. Although most of it was crude or crooked, Ethan was proud of his work. And yet, the bed he had used on so many occasions was now but a shell of its former self, fused into the floor, almost as if it had fallen through the ground, only to be suddenly fixed in place.

  Ethan couldn't help but feel dread, knowing that the slightest deviation would have left him stuck there. And yet, he also felt elation, knowing none of this would be possible without the interference of magic.

  Did I do this? Did I genuinely use magic... without being contracted to a spirit? How could that be possible?

  The image of that character flashed in his mind, making the realization all too real. Somehow, he knew instinctively how the merger process occurred, yet some details remained a blur, almost as if the human brain was never meant to understand its intricacies.

  Wishing to test his hypothesis, Ethan picked up a piece of wood, only to break it in half. The two halves splintered from the force yet remained somewhat whole. Then, after picturing the character in his mind, Ethan sought to rejoin them together just as the bed and the floor had become, yet nothing happened.

  He remained perplexed, gaze fixed onto the two pieces of wood, wondering what he was lacking. Yet only then did his weariness and fatigue finally manifest themselves. He dropped back to the crooked bed, feeling weak and lightheaded, and spent several minutes trying to stop the world from spinning.

  What’s happening?

  No matter how many breaths he took, it was never enough. He felt himself drown on air, almost like a fish out of water, as if oxygen wasn't sufficient anymore to fuel him. A sense of impending doom arose in his heart, prompting his survival instincts to kick in. If he didn't know the reason for this reaction, he only had to find someone who did.

  The image of his brother-in-law flashed in his mind. While Ethan would hate for nothing more than to be further indebted to him, he didn't have a choice. Survival would always take precedence. He could only do his best to reveal as little as possible.

  With his head still swimming on the verge of unconsciousness, Ethan left the black tome, only to be thrown out to the same isolated part of the Endless Library. Seeing no signs of the green outline above, Ethan began to rush toward the man's office, yet something stopped him.

  He took a deep breath, desperate for whatever he was lacking, yet this time, relief enveloped him as if wrapped in a warm embrace. He felt something rush through to his lungs, seeping through to his bloodstream, only to congregate near his heart.

  Finally, the desperate urge for air receded, leaving him collapsed on the floor, contemplating what had just happened. He finally noticed the miniature pulsating lights suspended into space, filling the void between all matter.

  Was that merely Mana Deprivation? Is that what it feels like?

  Ethan had never known that feeling—the feeling of being so out of breath that no matter how much one sought for air, none would ever be enough. He felt as if he could have died if he hadn’t left the confines of the black tome. Only now did he remember that no mana existed within its confines. The black tome felt like another world, severed from reality.

  I probably shouldn’t try again to use magic when in that place. The consequences would be...

  After a sigh, Ethan rose back up, only to find he was alone within the Endless Library. The world was silent and still; there was not even the slightest trace of wind current, almost as if the world had died, and only he remained.

  How much time has passed?

  Ethan felt a slight anxiety mounting. He couldn't help but remember the year he had spent in the dream, unable to escape. However, as time went on, what he remembered vividly began to fade, almost as if the dream had ended and the world had begun to spin again.

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  The only thing that remained crystal clear was the character for Lux, which contained the entirety of the spirit's concept—its very existence. But despite the meaning being clear, Ethan couldn't articulate it. The concept itself was much too grand for mere words to contain it, yet the character seemed perfectly able to do so, almost as if it was meant to be.

  The one who created this character was a genius... How could anything be so... perfect!

  Slowly, Ethan walked through the endless bookcases. There was no depiction of time within the Endless Library, only the endless flow of history as far as the eye could see. The library was in a constant state of growth, allowing for evermore new information to be born and then compiled into tomes, only for the librarians to archive them away. Yet, most of it was lost to the endless flow, forgotten.

  After all, no man could ever understand the extent of the knowledge contained within the Endless Library. Not even a lifetime of dedication could uncover but a fraction of the whole. By Ethan’s recent experience, he believed this to be a failure of language.

  Words were meant to reflect reality, but how could they compare? They futilely tried to describe something indescribable. The best they could do was to approximate, constantly evolving with the times. Yet, what if they could?

  Someone had found a solution—a solution that had always been close to him. The character shining in his mind was that solution—or a part of it, at least. It perfectly described the concept of merging. It was the concept itself, just as Lux was. They were one and the same, just a reflection of reality.

  To manipulate the meaning found within was to manipulate the reality conveyed by that concept. Spirits could do so as they were a conduit between the concept and reality. However, through the use of that character, one could also become the conduit, bypassing the use of spirit as an intermediary.

  This discovery was ground-breaking but also frightening. Spirits were more than tools for mages to use magic; they were also a safety measure so that mages couldn't irreparably damage the very fabric of reality. After all, they were directly tied to it themselves. To do so would be akin to committing suicide.

  But now, Ethan had found a way—a way to bypass the very system that had kept him out. Still, he was apprehensive. There were too many unknowns—too many things that could go wrong, yet he also couldn't bring himself to give up. A brand new world was before his eyes, taunting him. Still, there was one crucial question in his mind.

  What happened to the author of the black tome? How could one that pioneered such a ground-breaking discovery possibly remain unknown all this time—the tome itself buried within the Endless Library. Did someone silence him, if only for the news to stay buried, but then what of the tome? Why not get rid of it, if only to prevent the theories within to forever remain hidden?

  Ethan walked along the endless bookcases, pondering what to do next. He had two paths ahead of him. The first was to remain still and fade into obscurity alongside this discovery. This way, the world would go on uninterrupted. War may still occur, and suffering may be aplenty, yet the fabric of reality would remain undisturbed, the way it was meant to be.

  Or.

  He could plunge ahead in this new endeavour, damned be the consequences. There was no one to tell him how the world should be, only how it was, and Ethan despised his current reality. Something inside him told him that it could all go to hell.

  He had no one to hold him back, no friends or family. Most people he knew only tolerated him, believing him to be inconsequential. He was no sociopath—wishing to get revenge on those who had slighted him—yet reality had worn him down so much that he became bitter, and everything stopped mattering.

  Yet, whenever he was on the verge of breaking, something brought him back. For others, it might have been the smallest of things, yet to him, it meant the world. The most significant of those was his sister.

  They didn't really get along, yet Ethan had nothing but respect for her. She never made excuses, never expecting something from others that she wasn't willing to do herself. Ethan had tried repeatedly to live up to her expectations and had mostly succeeded.

  Yet, in a world where results were all that mattered, his efforts were often ignored. After what seemed like a lifetime of effort, Ethan had reached his breaking point, and then everything changed. Fortunately, the Endless Library was a place that most people ignored, where he could find solace from expectations placed on him.

  Now, he was mostly free, yet this freedom also came with complications. One may never know the implications of freedom until one finally achieved it. It was liberating but also... frightening. Losing the cage called rules and expectations could leave one without a goal to strive for, aimlessly wandering like a boat on an endlessly.

  And now, the same was before him.

  He could remain within the cage, doing as he was meant to be, being just another citizen working for the betterment of the nation he was born in. Or, he could shatter the cage and become something greater, yet the responsibility would be his alone. The world may even resent him for it.

  Suddenly, the conversation he had a few days prior with the young student who came to the library alongside his earth spirit replayed in his mind. While the signs were circumstantial, just a mere feeling, something had already occurred—something that had already changed. Ethan's instinct told him so. He had yet to translate the tome he had acquired then but felt a need to do so.

  Ethan left the library only to find that the world had gone dark. The night air was still warm, and heat radiated from the stone pavement, a sign of summer.

  It seems not much time has elapsed... unless a year has truly come and passed.

  Ethan walked into the forest, ignoring all the lights in the distance. He wished to go to this familiar spot, the clearing amid the forest, overlooking the Academy and the city beyond. His mind swam, confused about what to do.

  He had dreamed of magic all his life—of the wonders it could achieve. And now, it was within reach, yet he hesitated, unsure if this was the right thing to do—for himself, his family, and the world.

  As he emerged from the woods, Ethan suddenly stopped. He saw someone standing in the middle of the clearing, sporting a long white dress. The figure hovered over the ground and looked at him with eyes devoid of any emotions—a doll floating in the night.

  Ethan felt a cold wind strike against him, almost as if the very essence of winter was before him. Yet his feet took on a life of their own, resuming their march toward the heart of winter, for the warmth of familiarity lay beyond.

  "I hadn't expected to see you here, Beth," Ethan said, a slight smile flashing as if the memory of their last parting had escaped his mind.