Chapter 65 A Sea of Words She longed to see someone from her hometown…
They were the color of ink, as if the words in a book had been brought to life, twisting and turning on the ground, yet their path led straight toward them.
Then, the bookshelf shook as if breathing, and black insects began to emerge from the other books.
Zack squeaked and immediately jumped onto her shoulder, while Nova retreated behind Lucas.
Ashlin had never seen anything like it; her magical instincts acted before her mind could process them. Several branches sprang from the wooden table, lashing out and entangling the swarm of insects.
But the insects slipped out like liquid and climbed up the vines, getting even closer to them.
Ashlin hurriedly flung her hand away, causing the vines to burst open, and the insects fell like a black rainstorm.
She tried reciting other spells, but none of them worked.
Lucas threw the dagger. The blade cut through the horde, leaving only a few drops of ink on the ground.
"What do we do now?" Ashlin also began to back away.
“I have a suggestion,” Lucas said. “Run!”
The proposal sounded good, but it failed miserably because the library doors had somehow been invaded by a swarm of ink worms.
Ashlin stamped her foot, and a deep crack split open beneath her feet, hurtling towards the door.
In an instant, the gate shattered into pieces, but the insects stubbornly blocked their path. They stood back to back (Zack on Lucas's shoulder rested against Ashlin's back), one holding a staff, one gripping a dagger, and one raising a wrench.
“The Labyrinth of Edor is a labyrinth of illusions,” Lucas said as he backed away. “These insects might not be real. They come from the book, under an illusion spell…”
“They are ink,” Ashlin nodded. “What would happen if we came into contact with them?”
“I don’t want to know,” Zach said.
Lucas looked at the rat with dissatisfaction. "As Dias's future knight, you're lacking a bit of backbone."
“We can use them to make pens,” Nova said enthusiastically.
“She didn’t mean it!” Ashlin quickly said. “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen. No one would turn you into pens.”
However, it was too late.
The insects swarmed together, coalescing into a giant hand, which raised high, pointed at Nova, and then clenched its fist.
Nova closed his eyes, but his fist changed direction at the last second and rushed towards Ashlin.
Ashlinn commanded the table to fly over without thinking, but only one table was damaged.
The sawdust crumbled on the ground, and the insects scattered and dodged it.
Nova pulled a small glass bottle from his pouch and smashed it hard on the ground.
In an instant, a smell like rotten eggs spread, and Ashlin covered her nose.
"Nova! What is this?!"
Fortunately, the insects were also frightened and retreated a bit, their fists becoming disorganized and broken.
“I took the wrong one,” Nova said calmly, taking out another small bottle and smashing it again.
Nothing happened this time.
Nova frowned. "That's not right. This is insect repellent."
“It seems we can’t pin our hopes on your secret chemical substance,” Lucas said.
“At least they’re retreating!” Ashlin tried to remain optimistic. “Lucas, didn’t you say you’d read all the information about the Edoro Labyrinth? What are your thoughts?”
“There are only illusions in the labyrinth. Perhaps the books in the library are cursed with illusion magic, and we need to break it.” Lucas picked up a few worms and threw them aside, shuddering. “However, without knowing why, we cannot break it.”
The black worms surged forward in a pool of black water, a cold sensation creeping up Ashlin's legs. Zach panicked and scrambled onto her hat, trying to get as far away from the worms as possible.
Illusion, books, insects. Ashlin thought quickly.
They were originally words in a book. Hundreds of years ago, they were still in Helian City, being recorded, copied, and read. But now they are imprisoned, confined in a labyrinth filled with dark magic.
What does a prisoner most want to do? What does an insect most want to become? How should a library function?
“Ashley, why did that punch choose you?” Lucas asked. “It was very targeted.”
“Perhaps it’s because Ashlin has magic,” Zach guessed.
“I…have magic too.” Nova used a wrench to swat away a few insects that crawled up to him. “The magic of machines and inventions, I have it.”
“Is it because of the divine bloodline?” Lucas kicked the bug. “No, if it’s because of Ashlin’s divine blood, why didn’t the bug attack the moment she stepped into the library?” He looked at her.
Ashlin's gaze met Lucas's.
Yes. It must be because she did something.
Lucas, Nova, and Zach were all reading page by page, but she skipped pages and read quickly.
The ink worms gradually spread over their waists.
“'Those'? That's a lot!” Zach screamed.
“Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but we’re bound by ink. We don’t have hands to turn the pages,” Lucas reminded him.
Ashlin smiled. "Who said we needed hands?"
Lucas sighed.
Before he could finish speaking, she took a deep breath and plunged into the ink. Lucas tried to grab her hand, but missed.
The ocean of words—this metaphor is finally not entirely a metaphor.
Ashlin opened her eyes in the darkness and was surprised to find that she could still breathe. So she stretched her hand out of the "water," gave the others an OK sign, and continued diving.
Countless pieces of knowledge and stories float or sink in the Black Sea, emitting faint cries.
Ashlin did her best to read every word that passed before her eyes.
Touching stories gently swayed through her long hair like ocean waves: "The Legend of Kamish," "The Arrow of the Rose," "The First Unicorn"...
She seemed to have returned home, secretly reading adventure stories and legends in Sanova's study, completely forgetting about her homework, until Mia came to play with her and found that she hadn't written a single word, only busy fantasizing about her own adventure.
A warm current soothed her heart, like hot chocolate on a winter's day.
She had been away from Dias for too long, and hadn't read a story with her whole heart in a long time. She had never thought that one day, when she herself was in a story, the appeal of other people's stories in the book would diminish.
In the ink room, Carl and Barry's story caught her attention.
That was the story Lucas told her; he had mentioned that it was very similar to their story.
Kaltai, a descendant of the sun god, wanted to kill Barry. Uncontrollably, magic surged from his body, taking not only Barry's life but also that of his beloved.
Ashley read the story again. What was Lucas trying to tell her? She couldn't quite grasp it.
However, the black insect, having been read, was relieved and melted into her magic.
"Help me." It was that voice again, ringing in her ears, even clearer than before.
Ashlin trembled all over. She recognized the voice everywhere, even in an ocean of black text worms.
This is the labyrinth of illusions; she hasn't forgotten that. Perhaps that voice wasn't real.
“Did you hear that?” Ashlin asked the others.
“I heard that. Ashlyn, who’s talking?” Lucas said from behind her. “I feel like I know him.”
Everyone was engrossed in reading about the insects when they heard this sound, so they stopped.
It's not an illusion, it's real.
Ashlin immediately swam over and frantically tried to grab on, but she caught nothing.
"Save me, Ashlin," the voice pleaded. "I made a mistake, and I'm trapped here..."
“You guys keep dealing with the bookworm! I’m going to save him!” Ashlin shouted.
However, brute force is clearly ineffective against illusions.
What is illusion? Illusion is the most hollow form of magic, the only kind of magic that doesn't originate from the heart. Only genuine emotions can combat illusion.
Ashlin caught a word worm, and magic flickered at her fingertips.
Of course, reason told her that she had her reasons for skipping around. Time was tight, and much of the content was meaningless to her.
But just like in the Dragon Crystal Cave, reason alone won't work against dark magic.
The words were astonished. They surged rapidly, the insect forms gradually disappearing. Magic spread from her heart, enveloping the black sea of books. A flash of green light appeared, and each black insect began to transform into a pupa.
All the black insects vanished. In the golden-green halo, colorful butterflies emerged from their cocoons, fluttering their wings in the air above the library like shattered rainbows, dancing in the sky.
The ancient books themselves began to turn their pages, applauding the magnificent scene; a few books almost knocked themselves off.
Nova pulled out a magnifying glass in surprise to observe, while Zach first shrank back, then stuck his head out to smell it.
Lucas seemed to be desperately resisting the urge to catch the butterfly, his hand reaching out but then stopping.
Ashlin laughed, letting the butterflies kiss her body, but quickly suppressed her smile.
Before the four of them, a dark figure rose from the ink.
His true form was only revealed when the last few bookworms transformed into silver-gray butterflies and flew away.
Sanova Bailey, dressed in the same silver robe as before, looked somewhat haggard. He blinked his brown eyes in surprise, grinned at Ashlin, and opened his arms.
"Ashley? Your hair has grown."
Ashlin didn't care about anything else. She weaved through the still-fluttering butterflies and, just like when she was a child, threw herself into her adoptive father's arms. The butterflies circled around them like an audience, spinning endlessly.
“Mr. Bailey?” Lucas asked, “What are you doing here?”
Ashlin released Sanova, her vision blurred by tears. She wiped it with her cloak before she could make out her adoptive father's face. Under the influence of her magic, his face also shimmered slightly.
“I didn’t take the letter. I thought I’d be back soon,” Sanova said regretfully. “Ashley, I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?”
“No,” Ashlin said, wiping away her tears again. “Unless you promise me you’ll get a pet bird when we go back to Foxtail Bay.”
“Of course,” Sanova said immediately.
Lucas looked unhappy. "Are you going to get other pets?"
Sanova then steadied herself and looked at Lucas's cat ears.
“Ah, long time no see. Your curse has progressed again, Luca… Your Highness.” He chuckled softly. “And this dwarf lady, and the rat…”
"Squeak." Zack squirmed uneasily.
Nova remained silent, intently studying the butterfly.
“These are Nova and Zach,” Ashlin introduced. “They are our friends. Nova’s grandmother was the inventor who designed the Edoro Labyrinth, and Zach, like Lucas, is a person cursed to become an animal.”
Sanova's gaze lingered on the rat for a moment.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He extended his hand and shook hands with each of them. “Like you, I’m here to search for clues to the ‘Tears of the West’ and to stop Knox. All the books on the ground lack information, so I thought of the forbidden library in the Labyrinth of Edoro.”
"You knew there was a library here all along?" Lucas asked.
Sanova nodded.
“There are few records about the Labyrinth Library. This library originally belonged to the royal city, but it was imprisoned in the labyrinth by monsters and illusionists because it recorded too much dark magic,” he explained. “However, I have neither the map of the labyrinth nor your abilities. The bookworms devoured me, and I almost lost my soul.”
After saying that, he ruffled Ashlin's hair. Ashlin smiled.
She longed to see someone from her hometown. With Sanova, victory was in sight.
“Don’t worry, we not only got the three items, but we also solved the final riddle!” she said excitedly. “The last item is a king’s heartfelt tears.”
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