Night fell over the city like a heavy curtain.
Lanterns flickered to life along the streets, their warm glow reflecting off wet stone and polished metal. The crowds thinned, replaced by shadows and hushed conversations. This was the time when secrets moved freely.
I moved with them.
The system's earlier warning still echoed in my mind. Memory erosion wasn't something I could ignore. If forgotten spells fed on the Guardian as much as they erased others, then reckless growth would end with me becoming an empty shell.
I needed answers.
And there was only one place that would have them.
A library.
Not the grand academies or public archives—they were too clean, too censored. The foreign memories pointed me toward something else.
The Ruined Library of Eldermere.
It lay in the eastern quarter, abandoned after a magical collapse decades ago. Most citizens avoided it, claiming the place was cursed. Which, of course, made it perfect.
The building stood at the end of a narrow street, half-swallowed by ivy and cracked stone. One of its towers had collapsed entirely, leaving jagged ruins clawing at the sky.
I stopped before the broken entrance.
The pull in my chest stirred faintly.
Not a fragment.
Something else.
[Notice.]
[Residual forgotten magic detected.]
I exhaled slowly. "Of course."
Stepping inside, the air immediately changed. Dust hung thick, unmoving, and the smell of old paper and burnt mana clung to everything. Shelves lay shattered across the floor, books scattered and rotting.
But not all of them.
Some volumes floated, suspended in midair by weak, decaying enchantments. Their covers were warped, their titles half-erased—as if someone had tried, and failed, to remove them from existence.
I approached one carefully.
The moment my fingers hovered near it, the system reacted.
[Archive resonance detected.]
[Partial record available.]
A thin thread of mana linked my mind to the book.
Images flashed.
A mage screaming as his spell backfired.
A seal collapsing.
A single sentence burned into my memory:
"Spells can be forgotten… but consequences cannot."
I staggered back, breaking the connection.
"This place is dangerous," I muttered.
Not because of monsters.
Because of knowledge.
I moved deeper inside, navigating fallen shelves and cracked pillars. The deeper I went, the stronger the pressure became—like a thousand whispers brushing against my thoughts.
Then I heard it.
A sound that didn't belong.
Footsteps.
I froze, ducking behind a fallen bookshelf.
A faint light appeared ahead, followed by a hooded figure holding a crystal lamp. The person moved cautiously, clearly familiar with the ruins.
Not a civilian.
An explorer—or worse.
The figure stopped near a pile of half-burned books and knelt, carefully examining something on the floor.
A seal.
My pulse quickened.
They can see it?
The system answered before I could think further.
[Alert.]
[Non-Guardian interacting with forgotten magic.]
[Risk level: High.]
If they triggered it, the backlash could level half the district.
I weighed my options.
Intervene and reveal myself.
Or walk away and let fate decide.
The memory erosion warning pulsed faintly in my mind.
I clenched my jaw.
I'm not ready to fight.
But I was the Guardian.
Slowly, I stepped out from the shadows.
"Stop," I said firmly.
The hooded figure spun around, light flaring as a short blade appeared in their hand.
"Who are you?" a female voice demanded.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw my robes. "Another scavenger?"
"No," I replied. "You shouldn't touch that seal."
She laughed softly. "Everyone says that. Then they try to take it for themselves."
The seal between us began to glow faintly—reacting to both of us now.
[Warning.]
[Seal destabilizing.]
The pressure in the room spiked.
I raised my hand slowly. "Listen to me. That magic isn't meant to be used. It doesn't grant power—it takes something in return."
She hesitated, uncertainty flickering across her face.
The glow intensified.
The ruins began to tremble.
I felt the Authority Fragment stir, hungry.
"…Damn it," I whispered.
This time, avoidance wasn't an option.
If I let this continue, the seal would break—and the price would be paid by everyone nearby.
I stepped forward, eyes hardening.
"Step back," I said quietly. "This is my responsibility."
The runes beneath my skin ignited faintly.
The forgotten magic answered.
And deep within the ruins, something ancient began to awaken.