Abyssal Archives (part 1)

     I walked down the dimly-lit streets, looking side to side and observing the occupants of the city. The buildings all seemed to be dwellings of some sort, only having doorways but no actual doors to seal them. I questioned the purpose of such structures as it hardly seemed to matter. Demons, the presumed residents, sat or laid anywhere inside or outside.

     No matter their shape or size, each demon seemed equally absorbed in reading whatever book or scroll found itself within their possession. Even those without proper hands would find some way to prop their literature somewhere and turn the pages, which was the only movement I saw of any of them. Even demons positioned close enough to touch didn’t seem to acknowledge anything around themselves, too absorbed in reading. Some were so focused that the seemed shriveled up, mummified, unable to even turn their books anymore. Many such corpses lined sitting areas, positioned as if they were reading, but the books having been taken from them.

“Hey Andre, any idea what’s going on here?”

“Dunno. I asked, but they don’t answer. Oh, but I did try taking their book one time.”

“And? What happened?”

“They attacked me! They went totally crazy trying to get the book back! No matter how much I beat them, they didn’t stop! Once I figured the book wasn’t edible, I gave it back and they calmed right down.”

“Did you try reading at all?”

“Of course not! If I can’t eat it, I don’t need it! Speaking of, these chains don’t taste good. Can you get them off me?”

     I paused and looked back to Andre, whom I’d wrapped in chains and had been dragging through the streets as a form of punishment.

“Have you learned your lesson?”

“Yes, yes, I won’t fly off on my own again.”

“I do not sense even the slightest tinge of guilt from him. I do not believe he has learned.”

“Hey, hey, sure I have! I’m an ant, we don’t feel guilt, but we do learn! You can believe me, buddy!”

“Hmmmm, fine, I’ll release you, if only because dragging you is a pain.”

     The chains loosened and Andre quickly wriggled his way out, jumped some distance away and prepared himself, as if another punishment was on the way.

“Don’t worry, I won’t do anything. For now. Do you know anything about that big tower in the center of the city?”

Andre lowered his guard and approached me, still cautious, “That’s where all the books came from, and where they took me to study me. Dunno much ‘sides that.”

“Well, since I can’t ask anyone around here for details, I guess that’s the only way to go. Come on, let’s pick up the pace.”

     I began running down the street towards the tower. I could sense the layout of the city was a large circle with the tower at the center. All streets led directly to and from the central tower with housing lining the streets and no other alleys or intersections. Even when I could see the tower in the distance, I hadn’t expected how distant or massive it was, growing larger and larger as I approached it until its height and width completely dominated my field of view.

     I’d reached the base of the tower and could only pause to gaze up at it in awe. What looked like doorways from a distance were towering open gateways that one could easily drive a semi-truck through. The gateway seemed open, but I couldn’t see anything beyond the blue glow. I reached my hand out to touch it, but it went right through.

“I’ve already been in there, there’s nothing interesting for me. So I’m gonna wait out here, find some more food.”

I looked back at Andre, causing him to flinch, “That’s fine. If you’re sure it’s safe, then do what you want. I’ll ring some kind of bell to let you know when I’m out.”

“Got it, buddy!”

     With that settled, I walked through the blue glow and was greeted by a well-lit interior. The circular walls were lined shelf upon shelf with books. I’d never seen such an enormous library before. There were stairs and ladders leading up to higher floors which formed rings around an empty central space. Through that space, multiple...creatures floated up and down carrying books. They were shaped like human women, but they were completely wrapped in written pages that hugged their body such that every detail of their form was clear. Eyes, mouths, ears, hair, every bit of it was covered neatly in paper.

     As I stepped forward, a voice surprised me from the side. One of those paper women was sitting at a desk and greeted me, “Welcome to the Library of Curson. Before you go any further, you must submit knowledge to the library.”

“Curson!” Venia spoke in my mind, “The Demon God of Knowledge! I had felt his influence, but have heard nothing of his library. Tread carefully, James. We may find valuable information here, but this is a Demon God’s territory. You could be destroyed in an instant if he so willed it.”

     My body tensed up upon hearing that. Everything I’ve done to survive up to this point could be rendered meaningless if I make a mistake. I froze in place, making sure I don’t take even a single step further.

“W-what kind of knowledge do I need to submit? D-do I have to write it down?”

  The paper woman shook her head, “No, you merely need to speak it. Any knowledge is accepted, so long as it is something we do not already know.”

“Oh, alright. Uhm, then I guess the Hidden Realm is made up of these things called atoms.”

“We already know that.”

“Huh?”

“We are aware of atomic theory, the periodic table, as well as subatomic particles. That knowledge will not work here.”

     I was stunned. The Demon of Metal didn’t even know that other metals existed and Sero didn’t know about magnetism, but these demons already know about atomic theory? What else would they know? No, judging by all of these books, they clearly knew far more than my cursory knowledge. But how? And how much more do they know?

“I-In the Hidden Realm, the first president of the United States of America was a man named George Washington.”

“We already know that,” the paper woman chimed again.

     How?! How do they know history of the Hidden Realm?! I thought there was no way for demons to reach there! I was becoming more nervous and frustrated. Rather than collecting more information, I was getting more questions! Would I just have to leave? But then, how would I find my way back up to the upper strata? Up to Siti?

“D-demons in the upper strata have been abducting creatures from the Great Realms. They’re trying to get into the Hidden Realm!”

“We already knew that.”

“The Demon of Freedom, Libero, is no longer sealed!”

“We already knew that.”

“I-I AM A HUMAN FROM THE HIDDEN REALM!!”

     The paper woman did not respond immediately. Rather, she grabbed a blank piece of paper and moved her finger over its surface, leaving behind writing. She then tossed the piece of paper into the air, where it flew towards the central opening in the library and descended down and out of view. She finally spoke again, “Your knowledge has been recorded; thank you for your contribution. You may now access the Library of Curson.”

     I was trembling now, partially out of frustration, partially out of fear of what I had revealed. They knew now. How long would it take before Demon God Curson heard of this knowledge? Did they already know? Should I leave? And go where?

“Calm yourself James.” Venia spoke to my mind, “These are likely Curson’s familiars. What they learn, he would learn immediately. Yet, the Demon God has not acted. If you were to be captured, you would already be bound. For now, you are safe. For how long, I cannot say.”

     The goddess’s words helped to calm me, but I still felt as if I’d made the worst mistake possible. Still, I can’t just stand here regretting what I’ve done, I needed to gather any and all information that could help me right now!

     I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. I couldn’t allow myself to get swept up in regret now. I pushed myself forward, striding into the library, resolved to find a solution to this crisis.