The convoy had come to a halt, at least for today. While most labourers were busy raising tents and starting fires, Ethan's own had already been erected. He stood within, nose deep into his map, as he carefully reviewed the itinerary he had chosen through careful considerations. He still remembered it by heart, but doubts loomed over him.

  Was this the best path, or was he leading them to hell? The burden of command was much heavier than he expected.

  He carefully put down the map, feeling exhaustion wash over him. However, darkness was only beginning to fall, and he had many things left to do before bed.

  From his luggage, Ethan extracted an old tome. It was leather-bound, with cryptic symbols on its cover. He opened it and gently glided the tip of his finger on the pages. The paper was smooth—much too soft for a text this old. It felt as if it was just manufactured. And yet, the script inked on the page was old—older than anything Ethan had seen, and he had seen some old things.

  This wasn’t the wordless black tome. Ethan would never dare to liberate that book from where it rested. He couldn’t afford to lose it, and the Endless Library was the safest place in the country. He could be sure it would be waiting for his return, safe and sound, unless someone else stumbled upon it.

  Still, the chances of this happening were slim to none. How many eons had the Library existed? Ethan had no idea. No records were left of that time, yet Ethan had a hypothesis. It wasn't anything ground-breaking, for many shared this sentiment. The Endless Library was older than the Academy itself.

  In fact, he believed the Library was built first. There was no reason to think otherwise, as no one but a god could construct something this mysterious. It existed beyond time and space, in a dimension of its own; only portals allowed travel to it.

  Even though they had researched these portals for centuries, they were barely understood. Yet one thing was known: they did not date back to the creation of the Endless Library. While they predated the Academy, they were still much younger than the Library.

  As for the black book, Ethan would like to believe it existed at the beginning of it all, right when the Library was created, the very first time it came into existence. His reasoning for that was twofold. The first was its location. It was found within the oldest archive and even seemed to predate it.

  The second was its content. While the book didn't describe the Graveyard of the End, Ethan had seen it with his own eyes. He had basked in its majesty. He had felt the dread of its existence. Against it, Ethan was small, not even a newborn. Humanity itself was inconsequential. Even spirit-kind seemed to dread its existence, and Ethan had swallowed a piece of it.

  He didn't know what ramifications this would have, but at this point, he didn't care. The deed was done. All he could do was move forward, which he was currently doing.

  In his hands was the tome he had found a month prior—the one dealing with the shift of the earth's crust. He had yet to decipher it, but now that he had a small respite, he believed it was time he put in some effort.

  He remembered the man's words with the earth spirit about how scared it felt. Ethan didn't believe the sudden rise in demonic activity around the Devil's Horns was a coincidence; the timing coincided. To ensure the success of this operation, Ethan needed answers, and he believed this book contained them. Unfortunately, that script still meant nothing to him.

  “Chief! Meals are almost ready.”

  The voice came from outside his tent, and Ethan quickly recognized it. Without waiting for an invitation, the blind man parted the flap of his tent and walked in, standing a short distance away from Ethan. Despite it all, Ethan didn't turn to face him as his attention was riveted on the open book.

  "That's good," he said, flipping page after page. "How are preparations for the night?"

  "Nothing to worry about," the man replied, holding on to his large stone stick. "My fellow students may complain about sleeping in tents, but they'll get used to it. I must say, the Academy's staff granted to us made the journey much more comfortable than expected."

  “They better,” Ethan said as he slammed the book shut. “We aren’t going on a picnic. They need to understand that this is war.”

  “War?” Theo said. His voice seemed laced with confusion, yet he didn’t even hide the smile on his face. “Isn’t it just beasts? Once the main force arrives, it should easily be dealt with.”

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  "Don't say what you don't mean," Ethan replied back, shaking his head softly. "If it was merely beasts, the fortress at the foot of the Devil's Horns wouldn't need reinforcements." He paused briefly, letting the silence linger between them before adding, "Any more discontent among the troops?"

  Theo paused, pondering for a while. Whether he was hesitating to tell or there simply wasn’t anything to report, Ethan didn’t know. However, he didn’t find the silence uncomfortable. Even for someone like him, who preferred to be alone, Ethan didn’t hate the man’s company. Somehow, it felt natural, like kindred spirits, but this thought alone made Ethan curious about him. How did a blind man rise to his current position? Was he just that superior to his peers? Only time would tell.

  “Most are just minor disagreements. Nothing worth your attention,” Theo replied after a while. Yet Ethan could see the man was only waiting to be asked. This was bait, pure and simple, and Ethan chose to take it.

  "Out with it," he said. "Better to nip it in the bud now than to let it fester."

  The man’s smile grew wider, and his head lowered slightly. If his eyes weren’t closed, his gaze would land precisely on Ethan’s face.

  "The staff is fine. They are used to it. However, my fellow students wish to know why you have restricted the use of spirits while in the camp. They felt using earth spirit to erect temporary shelter would be more efficient. It would have increased our transport capacity as we wouldn't have had to allocate an entire cart. The same could apply to fire and water spirits. It would liberate the staff, enabling them to focus on more important things."

  “Do you share their opinion?” Ethan asked back, slightly interested.

  "I am more interested in your reasoning," Theo replied, dodging the question. It was clear he had no intentions of answering it, yet Ethan didn't care for this insubordination. He merely chose to humour him.

  "Unlike what they expect, we aren't facing mere mindless beasts. Those are demons pouring out of that valley. They are creatures transformed by fallen spirits. They are befell by an unending hunger for spirit energy, seeking them out at all costs. This is why they spill into the Imperium, ravaging everything in their path, for even the most common of citizen possess a contract of their own. Their spirits may not reach the norm to become acolytes, but these demons do not care about that. All they see is their next meal."

  “So, you are worried that extensive use of spirit magic may leave traces within the surrounding mana, attracting these creatures to our location?” Theo said with a pensive look, but Ethan could see the appreciation hidden beneath.

  “We're still days away from our location," Ethan added. "There haven't been any reports of demons reaching that far inland, but that doesn't mean we should be careless. They should get used to it now, when they have the chance before they are forced to confront the harsh reality."

  “Quite impressive,” Theo replied. His admiration was genuine, yet Ethan couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

  “Is it, really?” he asked. “Isn’t that supposed to be common knowledge, mere logical reasoning? What did they even learn in class? Isn’t it a waste of the fortune they had to pay to be enrolled in the Academy in the first place?”

  Faced with Ethan’s harsh criticism, the blind man couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Ethan was stunned into silence as this wasn’t what he had expected.

  “Oh, they know," the man said. "But to them, this is all information they committed to memory. They have yet to experience it fully. This trip should be well worth it for them."

  Theo paused. He crossed his arms as he faced Ethan. Ethan somehow felt the man's gaze riveted onto him. The experience was peculiar, to say the least. Then the man added, "To be honest, I half expected you to be the same as them. It's not every day you find a librarian able to lead a company."

  “Isn’t it too soon to tell?” Ethan replied back. “If anything, I may be leading you all to certain doom. Would you be able to say the same then?”

  "As long as you take responsibility, why not? Nobody expects you to be perfect. Isn't that also why I'm here?"

  Theo smiled, somehow comforting Ethan. The burden on his shoulders was lifted, if only slightly. He didn't have to bear it on his own. Still, he didn't know how to react, for this was one of the few times he felt supported. To be honest, the feeling wasn't bad.

  Ethan felt a pang of nervousness assault him. He couldn’t help but hold tight to the tome in his hand, even nervously tracing the slightly elevated contours of the letters engraved upon the cover. As slight as it was, it created a dull sound that permeated his small tent, rising over the silence. It couldn’t help but grab the man’s attention.

  “How interesting”, he said. “I didn’t expect you to have an interest in runes.”

  Ethan frowned. Something was wrong. He couldn’t help but look back and forth between the man and the book in his hand.

  “You mean this?” Ethan said as he pointed toward the book cover. “You talk as if you can see them. Are you truly blind?”

  “Everyone is blind in their own little ways,” the man said cryptically. “My blindness just happens to be more of the physical kind. But worry not, for the earth itself is my eyes. It allows me to see things for what they truly are.”

  The sense of kinship Ethan had previously felt had faded entirely, replaced with uneasiness. He looked at the man as if he were a stranger, doubts filling his mind. For but a moment, Ethan had felt his suspicions dissipate like a mist in the wind. It was unsettling, for he knew the man hid many things, just as he was.

  "Runes... Is that what they are?" Ethan questioned. "Aren't the Runesmiths all but extinct. As far as I know, that field of research yielded nothing but expenses with nothing to show for it. The empire defunded them long ago, replacing them with Spiritual Engineers."

  “Quite, but these are undoubtedly runes," Theo said. "I can't help but wonder where you found such a tome."

  “How would you even know this?” Ethan asked, eyes slightly narrowed. “How can you be sure?”

  "I just do. You'll have to trust me on this," the man chuckled as he walked out of the tent, adding, "The meals should be ready. Let's continue this another time. Nice talking with you, chief."

  The blind man exited Ethan's tent, leaving him in complete suspense. Ethan couldn't help but look at his disappearing back while many thoughts flooded his mind. Somehow, he believed him when he said those were runes, just as he believed those runes to be related to the characters that appeared in his mind when he fused with those two spirits. The only difference was their complexity. These couldn't hold a candle to those in the wordless black tome.

  Just as he ruminated the implications, Ethan smelled a savoury scent waft in the air, reaching deep into the recesses of his tent. He felt famished and heard his stomach growl while he had felt completely fine just a moment ago.

  Many things were waiting for him—many things needing his attention. But, for now, a hot meal awaited him.