Crossing the tunnel that opened beneath the Living Library was like passing through the throat of a sleeping beast. The walls were damp, made of a mixture of stone and some organic substance that vibrated at irregular intervals. Liriel's faint light illuminated only a few steps ahead. The rest was plunged into thick darkness that seemed to swallow sound.
Vespera walked with her hand trembling near her quiver, mentally preparing to miss more arrows than she hit. Elara, already tired, controlled her breathing to use the little mana she had left only for what was necessary. Rai'kanna moved steadily ahead, wings close to her body, as if she could shield them from the darkness.
Lyannis stayed by my side, gripping the spear shaft tightly. Even without speaking, I could feel her fear—the same fear I tried to hide within the flame burning deep in my chest.
At the end of the tunnel, a door opened on its own, revealing a large, circular hall, lit by blue crystals floating near the ceiling. In the center stood a stone table with ancient symbols, and behind it, someone awaited us.
The collector.
He stood there as if he knew exactly when we would arrive. He wore a dark cloak with golden details, but now, so close, I noticed something strange: the aura around him shimmered like distorted heat—but it wasn't heat. It was an energy I didn't recognize, and the flame within me immediately rejected it.
Rai'kanna narrowed her eyes and whispered, "He shouldn't be here."
The collector opened a calm, almost rehearsed smile.
"Finally, you've arrived. I've been looking forward to this meeting."
Vespera crossed her arms. "You always show up in the right place at the right time. That's… strange. Very strange."
He just laughed. "Everything I do is the result of knowledge. The city is not as unpredictable as it seems to those who study it deeply."
Liriel stepped forward, examining the table. "This… is an activation altar. These symbols… are ancient. They shouldn't exist anymore."
Elara sighed, exhausted. "Just what we needed. A magical altar. My mana can't take much more."
The collector approached the table, hands clasped behind his back.
"I suppose you've brought the artifacts."
Rai'kanna stepped forward, positioning herself between him and us. "Not before we explain what's happening. The city is reacting in dangerous ways. And every artifact we've found has revealed more secrets than you've admitted."
He maintained the smile, but his eyes didn't.
"The Labyrinth City is a lost masterpiece. A living mechanism. Naturally, its gears grow impatient when someone tampers where they shouldn't."
Liriel touched one of the symbols on the altar.
"This is not a mechanism. It's ancient magic. From before the kingdoms. From before the dragon lineages. And you know it."
The collector's expression hardened for a moment—quick, but noticeable.
Lyannis gripped my arm and whispered, "Takumi… the flame is strange."
It was. It pulsed slowly, as if evaluating the man in front of us. As if recognizing something in him. Something ancient. Something wrong.
I stepped a little closer.
"You knew from the beginning that these artifacts were not simple. You knew they were part of the city's core. Why didn't you tell us?"
He tilted his head, studying me with excessive attention.
"I never said I didn't know."
Rai'kanna immediately changed her stance.
"So you lied."
"I withheld." He took a step toward us. "Because you weren't ready for the truth."
The flame within me grew more intense. The shadows behind the collector rippled, responding to the movement of the light. For a moment, his eyes seemed white—pupil-less—like the eyes of the giant we saw in the library visions.
My blood ran cold.
Liriel stepped back half a pace.
"What are you?"
The collector smiled, and this time the smile was not human.
"I am someone who has always been here. The city recognizes me. I understand it more than any other living being."
Elara raised her hand with difficulty, trying to prepare a spell. "If you try to awaken the city, it will destroy everything."
"Destroy?" He laughed. "It was created for something far greater."
Vespera drew an arrow—which fell from her hand before it even reached the bow.
"You talk as if you own the city!"
He turned fully toward me, ignoring the rest of the group.
"And in a way, Takumi, I do. Because I was there at the beginning."
The flame inside my chest almost exploded.
"You… saw the core being created."
"I didn't see." He stepped closer. "I participated."
The silence was immediate. Even the walls seemed to freeze.
Rai'kanna raised one of her wings, positioning herself as a barrier.
"Explain. Now."
The collector extended his hand toward the altar. The symbols lit up like blue flames.
"The Labyrinth City is not a weapon. It is a vessel. A gigantic body created to sustain an ancient form. A form that you saw in the visions."
Liriel covered her mouth with her hand. "The giant…"
"The living core." He confirmed. "And you've brought all five missing keys."
My heart raced.
"You want to awaken it."
"No." He smiled. "I want to return it to what it once was."
Lyannis stepped back in shock. "But that will destroy the city!"
"And the world!" Elara shouted.
The collector sighed as if dealing with children.
"The current world is too small for its true form."
Rai'kanna stepped forward. "We won't give you anything."
He raised his hand. The blue energy filled the room.
"You don't need to give it."
The altar absorbed the color of the light, and the floor began to shake. The library above responded, as if being pulled by deep roots. The entire city seemed to awaken.
He looked at me.
"The flame within you is the final piece. Come. I'll show you what you truly are."
I took a step back.
"Never."
His smile disappeared. And the crystals on the ceiling went out all at once.
The room plunged into darkness.
And the entire city shuddered like an animal lifting its head after a sleep that lasted too long.