Cur expected the hallway outside the Headmistress's office to be empty. After the weight of Rhea's final words and the strange pass now clutched in his hand, he thought he would have to find his way back alone. Instead, Markus was still there, leaning against the wall with his arms folded and one foot tapping lightly against the floor.
Cur stopped in surprise. "You waited for me?"
Markus pushed himself away from the wall and grinned as if the answer should have been obvious. "Of course. You would've gotten lost otherwise."
Cur opened his mouth to protest, then remembered the number of corridors, stairways, and turns they had taken to reach this place. His face warmed. Markus was probably right.
"Anyway," Markus said, stepping closer and lowering his voice a little, "what did you need from the Headmistress?"
Cur looked down at the pass in his hand. The permission written there still felt too important to explain quickly. "Something. Want to come with me?"
Markus blinked. "Where?"
"The library."
Markus tilted his head, the grin fading into curiosity.
"What do you need from there?"
Cur hesitated just long enough for Markus to notice. "I'm looking for something. So? Coming?"
Markus glanced towards the corridor that led back to the main entrance. He clearly wanted to go home. The day had already been long, and Cur could see the tiredness tugging at his shoulders. But after another look at Cur, he sighed as if surrendering to something he had already decided.
"Fine," Markus said. "But let's not take long."
"We'll be quick," Cur promised, though he was not sure he believed it.
----
Some time later, they reached the library. It stood beyond a wide archway carved into the inner halls, its entrance quieter than the classrooms and grander than Cur had expected. A small round desk waited beside the opening, and behind it sat a young woman no older than twenty-five, sorting documents into neat piles while noting figures in a ledger.
She looked up when their footsteps approached and set her quill aside with a polite smile.
"Good afternoon, kids. Can I help you?"
Cur stepped forward and offered her the pass Rhea had made for him. He held it with both hands without meaning to, as if careless fingers might somehow make the permission vanish.
"Could I access the kingdom's history records?" he asked.
The woman accepted the pass, checked the seal, then glanced at Cur with a flicker of interest. Whatever she saw there, she did not question it. She marked the pass with red ink and handed it back.
"Of course. History records and related materials are on the second floor, Section F. Looking for anything specific?"
Markus turned to Cur, curious.
"Materials on the Monarchs," Cur said. "And old maps of the world and the Human Kingdom, if you have them."
The receptionist's brows lifted slightly. "We do, though some of those records may be difficult to read—"
"That won't be a problem!"
The answer came too quickly. The woman paused, looked at him for another second, then seemed to decide that a child with a pass from the Headmistress was not worth discouraging.
"If you're sure. Section F holds the history documents. The maps are kept separately, but I can bring a few over if you'd like."
"Yes, please."
"Then go on in."
Cur nodded his thanks and stepped beneath the archway, glancing back to make sure Markus followed before the quiet of the library swallowed them both.
At the centre of the library, a spiral staircase wound upward like the inside of a shell. They climbed slowly, their footsteps soft against the steps. The higher they went, the more the noise of the entrance faded, until only the faint scratch of quills, the turning of pages, and the low whisper of old paper remained.
The second floor stretched out between dark wooden beams and rows of labelled shelves. Books, scrolls, and bundled documents filled every space with careful order, each shelf marked by letters and numbers in polished brass plates.
Unlike the open, decorative ground floor, the upper level felt built for quiet study. Narrow tables stood between crowded bookcases, lit by small fire torches along the walls and candles placed carefully away from the older scrolls. The air smelled of dust, wax, and ink.
"Section F… section F… F… F…"
Markus let Cur search for a little while before breaking the silence.
"Cur," he asked, keeping his voice low, "what exactly are you looking for?"
Cur paused only long enough for the question to sting, then continued scanning the signs. "Documents that might help someone I know."
"History books?"
"It's complicated…"
Markus stared at him for a moment, then raised both hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Keep your mysterious secrets." He started to look away, then suddenly grabbed Cur's shoulder. "Over there. Look."
Cur followed his gaze.
"Section F!"
They hurried to the section, where numbered bookcases lined the wall in orderly rows. Beside them stood a large index filled with titles, shelf numbers, and careful notes written in different hands.
Markus glanced at the index, then at the nearest table. "I'll sit down. Call if you need me."
Markus walked to a nearby table.
Cur nodded and began turning the index pages slowly. Names of kings, wars, borders, treaties, and forgotten expeditions passed beneath his fingers. He searched for anything that felt important, anything that might pull at the edge of Era's memory.
Then the voice rang through his thoughts, sudden and sharp enough to make him stop breathing for half a second.
That one. Those other two as well.
Cur pressed a finger to the page so he would not lose the place.
"Which one?" he whispered.
Twelfth down. Also on the page to the right. Third and ninth down.
Cur checked the titles, then the shelf numbers beside them. He read each one twice to make sure he had not mistaken the line.
"Markus," he called softly, "can you help me find these three?"
Markus had barely sat down. He stared at Cur for a second, sighed, then pushed himself back to his feet.
"Which ones?"
Cur pointed them out.
"I'll get these two," Markus said after looking over the numbers. "You grab the other one."
Cur nodded and made his way to the proper bookcase, tracing the shelf numbers along the wood until he reached the correct row.
"Two-seventeen…" he murmured. "It should be here."
He searched the spines one by one, careful not to disturb the neighbouring books. Some titles were faded nearly flat against the leather. Others were written in scripts he could barely recognise.
"Found you!"
Standing on tiptoe, Cur eased the book free with both hands and lowered it carefully to his chest.
It was bound in plain grey leather, unmarked except for the title stamped across the cover in worn silver letters.
Compendium: Diary of the Mirror Queen Vol. 1
Cur was about to open it when Markus appeared beside him.
"Got the rest."
Markus handed over the books he had found, and together they returned to the nearest table.
As they sat, Markus studied the titles spread before them, his confusion growing with every cover he read.
"Compendium: Diary of the Mirror Queen… The World as We Know It… Myths and Legends of Our Past… Seriously, what are you looking for?"
Before Cur could answer, the receptionist appeared beside their table with three ribbon-tied scrolls balanced carefully in her arms.
"Here you are." She placed the scrolls down gently, as though the age of the parchment made even the table feel too hard.
"Thank you," Cur said.
She smiled at the boys.
"If you need anything else, just ask."
Once she left, Cur untied the ribbons one at a time and spread the maps across the table with careful hands.
The scrolls were worn and faded, their writing barely legible in places, but they were clearly maps of the old world. Borders ran where none existed now. Cities appeared under names Cur had never heard. Mountain ranges, rivers, and coastlines bent in shapes that made the present world feel suddenly much younger than he had imagined. He studied them for a moment, then picked up one of the books and handed it to Markus.
"Start with this one," Cur said.
Markus accepted it, though his expression made it clear he was still waiting for a real explanation. "Would help if you told me what I'm looking for."
Markus opened the book and flipped through the pages at random.
Cur paused, listening inwardly for the words Era wanted him to say.
"The Gate of Nydius," he said at last. "Look for anything that mentions it."
Markus lowered his eyes to the book, then looked back up. "Okay… and what's that supposed to be?"
Cur went silent. The answer sat somewhere behind his teeth, tangled in promises he had not made and secrets that were not entirely his.
Markus noticed at once. "So you want me to help find something, but you can't tell me what it is?"
"I-I'm sorry, Markus." Cur gripped the edge of the map. "I just need to find it, okay?"
For a moment, Markus looked disappointed enough that Cur had to look away. Then Markus let out a reluctant hum, lowered his head, and began turning pages. He did not understand why this gate mattered so much, but Cur's urgency was real, and that was enough to keep him there.
A long while later, the table had become a small battlefield of open books, flattened maps, loosened ribbons, and candlelight. Markus had searched through two heavy volumes, each packed with more than a thousand pages of history, royal records, and half-forgotten legends. Cur had studied all three maps until the lines began to blur, checking faded borders, old city names, mountain passes, and even the corners where a desperate cartographer might have hidden something important.
In the end, all their effort gave them the same answer.
Nothing.
Markus lowered his gaze from the ceiling to Cur's disappointed face. He looked tired too, but Cur's silence made him soften.
"Come on, dude," Markus said gently. "Let's go home…"
Too disheartened to argue, Cur only nodded. He gathered the last unread book and carried it back towards the front desk as if it were the final piece of hope he had left.
The boys returned to the same young receptionist. She looked from the book to their dull eyes and seemed to understand before either of them spoke.
"Fruitless effort?" she asked.
She did not mean it cruelly, but the words still landed hard.
"No…" Cur answered, though fatigue made the denial weak.
He placed the last unread book on the desk.
"Can I check this out?" he asked. "I'd like to read it at home."
The receptionist checked the title, wrote it and its number into a large ledger, then slid the book back across the desk.
"Of course. You're all set. I hope it has what you're looking for."
Both boys nodded their thanks. Neither quite met her eyes as they left the library and slowly made their way out of the Academy.
By the time they reached the end of the bridge beneath the Academy archway, evening had settled over the grounds. The last warmth of the day clung faintly to the stone, but the sky above the rooftops had begun to darken. Cur held the borrowed book against his chest and could not bring himself to meet Markus's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Markus…" Cur said. "I kept you so long."
Markus gave him a light smack on the back, gentle enough to comfort and sharp enough to break the mood.
"Don't give up yet. You'll find it. Besides, I had nothing better to do." He gave Cur a crooked smile. "Might as well waste time helping a friend."
Cur tried to answer, but nothing came. The kindness only made the failure sit heavier in his chest.
"Come on," Markus said. "Tomorrow's another day, right? It's not like you'll die if you don't find it today."
Still, Cur said nothing. After a moment, he managed a few quiet words.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Markus…" Cur said at last. "Thanks for everything."
Cur started down the path alone. Markus watched him go, one hand half-raised as if he might call him back. In the end, he let the hand fall. Whatever Cur was carrying, Markus understood that he could not reach it with jokes tonight. He murmured a goodbye and turned down another path.
As Cur walked home, the frustration he had been holding back tightened in his chest until it hurt. He kept his head lowered and his grip firm around the borrowed book. The more he replayed the search, the more useless each hour felt. By the time tears blurred his vision, he wiped them away quickly with his blazer sleeve before they could fall properly.
Cur. I know you are trying to help me, but this will not help. You failed once, and you may fail again. That is part of life. We continue tomorrow. Stop crying.
Era's low, commanding voice struck harder than the receptionist's careless words ever could.
Cur's throat tightened. He tried to swallow the feeling down, but it only made the ache sharper.
"Of everyone," he whispered, "I wanted your support most right now…"
His voice came out smaller than he meant it to.
I have told you. I am neither your friend nor your enemy. Our situation simply binds us together. I have no obligation to comfort you.
"And yet you want my help…"
Silence settled between them and lasted until Cur reached his front door.
Before he touched the handle, Era spoke again.
Leave the book by your bed. Rest. I will read it for you.
Cur only nodded, wiped away the last of his tears, and went inside.