Welcome to Limbo!

Warm light basks the chamber walls in yellow. Two figures stand in the middle; a girl with wavy white hair, and another with messy, short brown hair. Both of them wear the same dark-coloured uniform and vest. They stand in front of a pillar of light that extends from the rune-scribbled floor to the glass dome above. Gold streaks interwoven with black light set themselves apart amidst the pillar’s glow. They spin and weave, forming a silhouette of a torso and its four limbs. After countless rapid twists and turns, they fade out. They’ve done their job; to guide the new denizen in recalling their form after they arrive in the library’s realm. It’s yet another girl, slightly older than the two before her. She opens her eyes.

“Where… am I…?” she asks.
The brown-haired girl closes the book she’s holding. “Welcome to the library.” her tone formal but soft, like a bearer of news that someone has just died.
“Hi, hi! Welcome!” the white-haired girl waves her arm needlessly high. “Oh, we’re not your enemy, so you can relax.”
“I can tell… Hrmmm…” the newcomer’s brows furrow. She looks down. “I was… just about to fight the bandit chief…”
“Ahh… that’s where your author last wrote you at.” the brown-haired girl peeks a page from her book. “Astral Scion upon a Goddess’ End. The latest chapter ended in a cliff-hanger that the bandit chief was your uncle, Luna.”
“Right! I was so surprised!” a fervent nod from the newcomer. “I… I wonder what’s going to happen next…! Why am I here anyway, all of the sudden?” a gulp.
“A..ahahaha…” the white-haired girl looks away. “About that!” then snaps a glare at her friend beside her and gives a sharp whisper.

“Alright…! Remember…! De-li-ca-cy!”

“U..umm…” she fidgets for a second and clears her throat in response. “I’m sorry to say this, but since… it’s been a while since your author last wrote about you, the mana contained in the story has seeped out. That includes your existence.”

“O..oh…”
“Miladyyy…!”

“So…” she ups her volume to beat the white-haired girl’s muffled wailings. “Until your author continues writing your story, the library will safe-keep the story’s mana and keep it from turning into residue…”
“I… see…” the newcomer’s shoulders drop.

“D-don’t think about it too much!” the white-haired girl stops trying to pull her own hair—jutting her hands all over the place instead. “I mean, look! I heard there’s a suuuper huge war on the overworld right now! I’m sure your author’s just putting your story on hiatus until the war’s over! Going by the way you’re written, your author seems to know a lot about sword-fighting techniques! It’s possible he or she is just off to train the new batch of soldiers! O-or something like that?!”

“O-okay, okay! I get it!” the newcomer says, like taking turns at being confused. The brown-haired girl sighs. “I just have to wait until my author continues, right? And in the meantime, I’ll be staying here, you said?” she looks at the brown-haired girl.
“Correct. You’ll have access to most of the library’s facilities, as well as your own lodging, free of charge.” she says. “Once you've collected yourself, I’ll tour you around the premise.”
“Thank you.” she returns a bit of her smile. “Umm…”
“Oh, forgive me.” as she’s about to turn around. “My name… well…” the brown-haired girl ponders for a moment.

“…You can call me Damocles.”

“That's Lady Damocles! And I’m Lyria!” the white-haired girl follows. “I’m a denizen waiting for my author to continue my story, like you. Let’s get along!”
“Nice to meet you…! I’m Luna, but I think you already have my name on that book of yours.”

“Mhmm. I got here just after I finished compiling the contents of your story for the library’s administration purpose.”
“T..that’s a bit embarrassing to hear…”

…

‘The Library’ describes little of the actual place. After all, no normal libraries have a park bigger than their actual building, nor do they have canteens, nor lodgings, much less for both the overworld humans and the denizens of Limbo to benefit from. The king’s idea was novel; the two realms are not to be bridged, so he founded two libraries—each for humans and denizens.

Speaking of benefits, “This here’s the cafeteria.” Lyria says. “Now’s a good time to sit for a while. I bet you have a lot to take in. You’re welcome to order anything you like. Free of charge, mind you!”
“I..I do…” Luna chuckles. “Then, may I?”
“Of course! We can also play games! Ever heard of Avalon? Here, I brought the board, cards, and all its pieces with me! I’ll explain the rules to you—it’ll be super quick! We can play, right, milady?”

“You took all these pieces out first then asked for lady Damocles’ permission…?”
“You’ll get used to it.” Damocles sighs, with a hint of smile. “This is the last place, anyway. After you’re done with your break, we can talk about your lodging.”
“Wait, wait, wait—you?” Lyria wraps her arms around Damocles’ “No chance! You’re sitting here too!”

“I told you to be more delicate when explaining things to new denizens!” another sharp whisper. “You’re not getting away until we fix her impression of you!”
“T-there’s nothing to be fixed…!” an equally loud whisper from Damocles. “Besides, didn’t you hear me? I already said ‘sorry to say’ before explaining.”
“How does that change things if you still pull no punches on your wording by the end of it?!”
“Umm… girls…?” she can hear you two, indeed.

A shimmering sound from Damocles’ tie clip interrupts the two’s back-and-forth. “H..hellofh…?” Damocles says with her cheek pinched. “…Ah.”
“—Whoa!” Lyria’s fingers bolt away from Damocles’ cheek the moment she notices a golden sheen from the usually-silver clip. “His Majesty?”
Damocles nods. “Summons.” she fixes her collar and tightens her necktie. “Apologies, Luna. It looks like I’ll have to be brief in explaining about your lodging.”

“Oh! Got an idea!” Lyria says. “She can stay with me!”
“You already have Fay as your roommate…” Damocles replies. “Well, no matter. Your room is big enough for three people. If Luna has no qualms with it, you can make arrangements for another bed.”

“C’mon! It’ll be like a sleepover! But, like, forever!”
“It’s not like I know anyone other than you and lady Damocles…” Luna laughs. “I’ll take you up on the offer.”

“You can ask Lyria about things you don’t know.” Damocles says. “She’s been around for a while, and she’s a volunteer logistics staff.” she steals glances at Lyria’s uniform. “…Despite her looks.” a smug look.
“Those accessories are sooo old-fashioned and tight. They’re asking me not to put them on!” she shoots a stare back at Damocles and her complete set of attire, hands on her hips. “And I only roll up my sleeves because it’s hot and the library doesn't have summer uniforms! Can you believe that, Luna?!” as Damocles gives them a slight wave.