Dawn barely touched the sky when they set out from the smoldering ruins of the cartographer's home. The map fragment burned faintly in Lysara's hand, etched with runes that shifted each time they blinked. The trail it revealed wasn't marked by land, but by memory—an impossible direction leading them not forward, but inward.
Sera walked quietly beside Carter. "Do you think Alren survived?"
Carter's jaw clenched. "I think... parts of him will always live on in what we remember."
They entered a dense, unfamiliar forest. Trees grew in tight spirals, their bark etched with words in forgotten languages. The deeper they walked, the more Carter felt like they were sinking into a place outside of time.
Suddenly, Ezra stopped. "We're being followed."
Lysara turned, hand on her blade. "Where?"
"No," Ezra whispered, narrowing his eyes. "When."
Behind them, shadows shimmered between trees—not creatures, but versions of themselves. Echoes. Ezra saw a younger Sera stepping on the same path, followed by a version of Carter holding a broken sword. They flickered and vanished like ghosts.
"It's the path," Lysara said. "It's pulling from us. Testing if our memories are strong enough to reach the Library."
"Then let's make sure we remember who we are," Carter said.
After hours of walking, they arrived at a clearing where no trees grew. A single stone arch stood there, crumbling but somehow alive with energy. Beneath it, a stairway spiraled downward into darkness.
The words above the arch glowed briefly as the wind shifted.
"Enter only with truth. Leave only with loss."
Lysara frowned. "That's new."
With a glance at each other, they descended.
The steps led into a vast underground chamber lit by soft blue flames. Shelves rose as high as towers, packed with books that seemed to breathe. The very air tasted of ink and ash.
Sera reached for a book with a plain leather cover—but as her fingers touched it, the book screamed and vanished into smoke.
Carter looked around. "It's protecting itself."
A figure emerged from the shadows—tall, draped in robes of unraveling threads. Its face was hidden beneath a silver mask with no eyes or mouth. But when it spoke, it was inside their heads.
"Who remembers the name of this place?"
None of them could answer.
The figure turned away. "Then you are not welcome."
"Wait," Carter stepped forward. "We're here for the truth. We have the Codex."
At that, the masked figure paused. Then it slowly turned its head. "The Codex awakens... Then perhaps some truths may yet be spoken."
Books floated from the shelves, circling Carter. One flew open, its pages glowing. Inside were names—crossed out, rewritten, then crossed again.
Ezra scanned the list. "These are people who were... removed."
"They're the forgotten," Lysara whispered. "People erased by the Wyrm's Rewriting."
"Their stories live here. But every memory comes at a price," the masked guardian said. "You may each ask one question. In return, you must give up something you cherish."
They hesitated.
Sera stepped forward first. "What is the Wyrm's true name?"
The flames dimmed. A page tore itself from a floating book and drifted into her hand.
"In exchange," the guardian intoned, "your most cherished memory is gone."
Sera blinked—and gasped. "I... I don't remember my mother's face."
Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn't back down.
Carter stepped forward next. "Where will the Wyrm strike next?"
A second page flew to him. As he caught it, he staggered.
"Your memory of your first love is now erased."
Carter's mind flashed with emptiness. He felt a sudden ache in his chest but didn't understand why.
Ezra went next. "How do we kill it?"
The silence that followed was long and heavy.
Then the page appeared. As it touched his hand, Ezra flinched.
"You will forget your name."
Ezra smiled bitterly. "Didn't like it much anyway."
Lysara hesitated last. Then she asked quietly, "Can the Codex be destroyed?"
The answer came quickly.
"Yes. And if it is, the world will forget itself entirely."
Her price?
"You will forget why you fight."
They stood, hollowed, but holding knowledge.
The masked figure slowly stepped back into the darkness. "You carry the weight of those who can no longer speak. Remember this: the Codex is not a weapon. It is a wound."
And with that, the Library that Hides Its Own Name began to dissolve.
Carter shouted, "We're being pushed out!"
Pages flew, wind howled, and then—
They awoke, coughing on the forest floor, the fragment of the map gone—but the pages they'd received remained, glowing faintly.
They had answers.
But at what cost?