Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 386: A Grateful Goddess(Can Be Skipped)

What if I were to tell you there was a library, one with infinite shelves holding infinite knowledge and adding infinity upon infinity? A liar and a ruse; is what most would hear in return, but that was the reality of a certain section of my prison. Bound with leather and soaked in silver ink, these shelves were decorated by the knowledge of the true visionary.

Murdok, my father–his soul may have extinguished but as he'd promised he was still here with me.

Through the dark clutches of unbeing, he scribed the reality of an infinite world. No longer the god of death as that torch has been passed to me, he'd taken the role as the seer of worlds rather seriously in recent years.

"Woahhhhh~" Sang the fairy, her wings fluttering to the infinite library.

"Hush or you can leave," with a reprimand of a light head-tap with my finger, I brushed her to the side. "And don't touch anything, lest you wish to be incinerated into pixie dust."

"EPP!" She squealed at the thought before quickly taking a stiff seat on my shoulder.

"This place, it has an order…" Placing my fingers on the spine of leather-bound books, I continued walking down the infinite library. "No records must open, no pages snooped through, they are a mere ledger of everything that has happened and will happen in the future."

"Tempting, isn't it?" Said the clone of mine who'd been following me and Cassiopeia from behind. Picking up the pace, she stood beside me–visibly upset at the fact that I was showing a stranger around. With one hand on her hips, she mirrored me perfectly. I knew what she had to say, it was I staring down at my own self, and yet I let her voice it.

"You can know everything you will need to make this journey of yours a grand success, don't you wanna take a peak? Even if only for a little?"

Her question, however, was rhetorical. However, as her gaze turned to Cassipea, I knew her words would hold more weight.

"Wouldn't you, fairy? Wouldn't you wanna know what the future holds for you and your master?" Glancing up with a glare, the clone shot me with a look as sharp as daggers. "Maybe even find a way to help Elenaria become the sole god to rule over Nerva's body?"

Looking to my side, the blank look of surprise in the fairy's eyes was enough of an answer in itself. She had no clue about half the things we talked about, she was by her own admission, a messenger of her goddess and nothing more.

"You can go back now Cassiopea, I'll be taking the rest of the walk myself," even so, sending the fairy away, I continued my walk.

The clone was still far from pleased, however, with enough time her expression finally dropped.

"You shouldn't be bringing just anyone in here," she complained, following beside me.

Ignoring my own words for the time being, I instead focused on the task that I'd walked all day for. The search for the dark knight's record had gone far too long. Time didn't flow the same in the library as it did outside its infinite stretch, and thus if I were to leave, what had been a single day for me would turn out to be a whole week for everyone outside.

'Still…' Glancing around at the shelves that reached into the dark skies of my prison, I could feel my father's presence in every single book on them. 'I don't wanna leave, even though I know I should.'

"Why do you need to look through these records anyways, I thought you wanted to read about the last holy war instead." Pulled out of my musing by the clone's words, I stopped next to a dozen books that felt about right.

"I want to know more about the war and the goddess of war and how she managed to kill death itself, but…" Staring at the one book that rested in the middle of the bunch, I reached for its spine and slowly began pulling it out. "These books, they're not meant to be read, they're records of the worlds that are best left alone."

Tugging on the book, I could feel the pressure from the others squeezing it tight. Locked in place so tight that even a god can pull them out? There had to be some magic involved.

With a defeated sigh, I let go of the damned thing. It wouldn't budge, not even skid out a little.

"See what I mean?" Looking at the clone while panting a little, I couldn't help but heave another sigh as a rush of my magic that had been momentarily stolen came flooding back. "A library situated in a prison no gods can exit, every book locked in place with force and magic. Truly nobody can read these until the books themselves allow it or the world of Altaris comes to an end."

Folding her hands, the clone looked to the mist that stretched into the dark horizon.

"What use are books that can't be read?"

"A record for those who come after us. To tell them that we existed."

"I suppose so," throwing her hands to the side, the clone turned and looked at me again. "I was looking forward to reading about this goddess of war, but I suppose I can wait until I find some other way to read these books."

"We only read the past, remember. Father never told me the future and I don't want to look into it either. It'd be far more pleasant writing it myself." One thing, both of us, my conscious and the subconscious mind easily agreed.

"Some other day then, let's get back before a month passes on Atlaris." With a nod, I absorbed the clone back into myself.

As I looked back and realized just how much I had to walk, I decided it was best to take yet another sauna break tonight.