Chapter 64 Fernando's Underground Library.

Ashlin woke up with a splitting headache, rubbing her head, surrounded by wildflowers growing haphazardly. She had nothing to say about it; she might let the flowers grow wildly at night too.

She stumbled out of the room, nearly bumping into a blue blob.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Lucas gently helped her up. "Has the poison gone?"

"My head hurts a little, but I'm not dizzy anymore," Ashlin said, looking him up and down. "Hey, why are you still in cat-person form? Isn't it daytime?"

They had no idea whether it was daytime or not, since they were in an underground magical labyrinth. But time could be estimated; Lucas had indeed maintained his cat-man form for a significantly longer period this time.

“I don’t know, maybe the curse has started to change again,” Lucas guessed. “I think it’s actually related to… well, something.”

Ashlin raised an eyebrow. "It's like you just said it."

Lucas tucked his bangs behind his ear. Ashlin knew this was his uneasy little gesture, and it piqued her interest.

He looked like he hadn't slept all night; his face was pale, his eyes were dark-rimmed, and his hair looked like it had been abused by a blanket. But she was the one who had been poisoned.

"How much do you remember about what happened yesterday?" Lucas asked cautiously.

Judging from his appearance, he looked as if he had been caught skipping class.

Nova and Zach exchanged a glance.

Ashlin crossed her arms, racking her brains. The toxicity of the Twin Grass was not to be underestimated; even though she was of divine lineage and wouldn't cough herself to death, her brain was pounding like she'd just had a night of drinking at a tavern.

Lucas looked relieved. Strange. Had she done something else yesterday? Ashlin's head throbbed with worry. As long as she didn't throw up on anyone, it would be fine.

“Very good. Listen, Ashlin, I have something for you.” He rummaged through his backpack and handed her a blue-covered notebook with the golden sun emblem of the Deville family printed on it.

Ashlin looked at him in surprise and opened her notebook.

The first page reads: To Ashlyn Bailey

The rest of the page is mostly blank, except for the first few pages which contain some spells and book excerpts.

“Thank you, Lucas!” Ashlin hugged him. “Is this a birthday present three months early?”

Lucas gave a nervous laugh.

“I think so. Besides, the badge on it proves the royal family’s trust in you. If we… well, if we separate, or if something happens to me… you can use it to prove that you won’t be held responsible, because obviously we are good friends who trust each other.”

Ashlin let him go.

"Wait, what are you saying? We won't separate, and nothing will happen to you."

Ashlin wanted to say something more, but he had already left in a hurry.

“I remember Grandma wrote ‘library’ on her map,” Nova said on the way. “I’ve always been curious about the movement patterns of mazes. I want to go to the library to learn about them.”

"Learn the movement characteristics of the maze?" Ashlin asked. "Then what are you going to do with it?"

“Making things that can move without consuming so much energy,” Nova said, walking forward. “Like, a house that moves with magic.”

"Great job! I look forward to the day you succeed!" Ashlin patted her on the shoulder. "Don't forget to invite us in for tea then."

The library Nova spoke of was the most magnificent and oldest library Ashlin had ever seen. It was hard to imagine that such a library could be built deep within the labyrinth of Edolo.

The lacquer paintings on the dome depicting gods and star charts have fallen off, revealing the broken wooden structure.

The towering oak bookshelves stand like a forest, old and lonely, waiting for a true life to read them, but none has come. All the books are covered in a thick layer of dust, telling tales of the weight of time, making them sneeze incessantly.

Ashlin felt inexplicably sad.

So many books, so much knowledge, just... lying here. Day after day, year after year, only dust and ants keep them company. She hears the words in the books calling out and pleading, longing for someone to turn even a single page.

Lucas's eyes shone like lamps, and his tail stood straight. Ashlin guessed that his next move would be to announce his wedding to this place.

“Ashley, kick me,” he said.

Ashlin rolled her eyes and did as she was told. The latter let out a howl.

"So? Are you sure you're not dreaming?"

“This is fantastic,” Lucas said excitedly, picking up an ancient book at random and blowing off the dust. “This is exactly the place I’ve always dreamed of. It’s a pity that it’s been forgotten… a forgotten library hidden within the labyrinth of Edoro. There must be many forbidden books here, which is why my ancestors moved them into the labyrinth.”

Zach squeaked uneasily a few times. "I'm more concerned about why something is crawling."

Ashlinn tiptoed and listened carefully for a while, but heard nothing except the sound of Lucas excitedly turning the pages of his book.

"Sorry." Noticing everyone was looking at him, he put down his book. "I'm a little excited."

“There’s another person’s scent, it’s very familiar.” Zack sniffed. “Who’s behind the bookshelf?”

They all tensed up, tiptoeing deeper into the rows of tall bookshelves. If anyone in the maze was familiar to Zack… it was most likely Knox.

Splash, splash.

Ashlin accidentally bumped into an entire stack of ancient books.

"Squeak! You scared me to death!" Zack was about to faint.

"I'm sorry!" Ashlind adjusted her hat and said apologetically.

However, after searching for a long time, they didn't see any human figure or anything crawling around. Ashlind thought the only suspicious thing was that a few books seemed to want to open themselves, but otherwise everything seemed normal.

Whoever or whatever it was, they've all left.

"Help me," a muffled voice suddenly said.

Ashlin turned around abruptly. "Who?"

"Who? What? Who?" Lucas asked, puzzled.

This time, Lucas, Zach, and Nova shook their heads to indicate they hadn't heard anything. Ashlin waited quietly for a while, but the sound didn't come again.

Who was that? Was it Knox? But Ashlin thought it looked like someone else. Someone she knew very well.

Lucas wiped the dust off the chair and sat down. "Come on, since we can't figure out the source of the strange noise, let's take a look at this journal."

He opened Fernando's journal and pushed it in front of Ashlin. Sure enough, the words in the journal were now legible. The library possessed a certain magic, capable of reversing the maze's interference with reading.

………

My name is Fernando, but that's not my real name.

Today is the seventh day of the first year of Cynthia. I miss Adele and Nicholas, and wonder if they are well. I escaped Helian City, but where are they?

I decided to write this journal because I have nowhere else to go but to wander the world. As long as Cynthia sits on the throne of Helian, I cannot go home.

I'm currently in a place called Foxtail Bay, a remote and peaceful place where people live simple and happy lives. I think I'll spend a few days here.

………

I didn't live a good life.

Cynthia came, and she changed this place with her magic. People lost their will, working tirelessly for a non-existent dream. I fled, but I believe that one day, I, or my descendants, will reclaim the land of Dias.

………

………

“It’s a bit boring,” Ashlin said, quickly flipping through a few more pages, skipping Fernando’s descriptions of Ilovia, Wheelheart City, Coldclaw Forest, Mermaid Island, and the Eastern Continent, and going straight to the last page. “Where are the tears and stuff?”

“Be patient,” Lucas said. “Is this how you usually read?”

"Uh, yeah."

“I think the crawling sounds are getting louder,” Zach said uneasily.

Nobody paid him any attention. Ashlin did hear something, but it was probably Nova flipping through a book.

…………

Only Nicholas was still alive. I risked my life to save him and hid him on the border of the continent.

But he was too young and didn't understand anything.

I prayed and wept to the gods day after day, but there was no response. Indeed, the Deville family has never had a single drop of divine blood.

…………

“Deville?” Lucas’s ears twitched back. “My God, it can’t be…”

…………

However, just now, the Moon Goddess spoke to me.

“You fallen king,” Celeste, the moon goddess, said in an ethereal voice, “you were once the strongest king on earth, yet now you shed tears. How amusing. I love to see the tears of the strong.”

My tears flowed at the feet of His statue, and they shone with a silvery light.

“I will bestow magic upon your tears,” Celesti said. “Your tears will become the final key to magic.”

I had no idea what He meant; all I knew was that I would take revenge on Cynthia and her illusions.

…………

Lucas read much faster than Ashlin. Ashlin looked up and found him standing there in shock.

“The tasteless dwell in the west, drinking their tears… The west refers to Helian!” Ashlin said. “But King Final is long dead. How could we possibly obtain his tears?”

Lucas began pacing, while Nova and Zach read other books intently. The mouse, however, lay directly on the book, turning the pages with its nose.

“Look here.” Nova held up a red book. “It mentions a term, ‘Tears of the King.’ Is it related to what you’re looking for?”

It said on it:

"Tears of the King, Mythical Magic Water."

Celeste, the moon goddess, is a deity who delights in contrasts. She loves to see the strong vulnerable and to hear the weeping of kings.

Ashlin suddenly realized.

“So, as long as he's the king, that's fine, right?” She quickly looked at Lucas. “We need the king's tears. You…”

She suddenly didn't want to say that word anymore.

"...your father's tears."

Lucas's father. Her mother. Cleaning.

While in the spirit world, she didn't have much time to process this, and after leaving the spirit world, she had to fight the Yeti again. Now, her mother's words were starting to creep into her mind again.

His mother's death had nothing to do with Lucas; he had just been born. But the thought lingered in his heart like a thorn, mostly unnoticed, but causing a dull ache when touched.

She desperately tried to focus on the present. The situation was urgent; Knox was also in the labyrinth, and if she wanted to demand justice from the king, that would be something to do after the dark magic was dealt with.

“Nicholas II’s tears?” Zack asked. “That’s no small feat. Lucas, does your father cry often?”

“Of course he doesn’t cry.” Lucas said, as if offended. “Nothing can make him shed tears.”

Ashlin's eyes widened.

“He…he shed tears,” she said. “When I went to the palace to treat you, I saw tears in his eyes.”

She was overjoyed, knowing she was right.

“Lucas, do you remember what the forest goddess said? ‘The story ends at the beginning…’ She must have meant this. It all started with your illness, and the king shed tears for you!”

They all fell silent. That was an extreme situation; Lucas was near death. What other reason could Nicholas II possibly have to shed tears?

“Let’s think about this more carefully later,” Ashlin said. “Now that we know what the fourth item is, everything will be fine once we get back to the capital and find your father. We can always give him an onion.”

"Genius," Zach praised.

“Not a genius,” Nova retorted, poking the book with his finger. “It says here that ‘Tears of the King’ must come from the heart, because magic comes from the heart, from the soul. Onions are not from the heart.”

Hiss hiss hiss.

This time, all four of them heard it.

“Thank goodness,” Zach breathed a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t hallucinating, thank God.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be thanking God,” Lucas said.

Ashlin raised her staff, magic surging within her. "What is that?"

She didn't need to answer. Nova cried out in surprise, and the book fell to the ground.