The Forest Guardians

45. The Library Chapter 4

Omen's POV

It took a long time for me to process what we saw. I was sure that Mike was questioning himself even more since he was the closest to the Creator.

Ever since we returned to the Library, I had not seen him around. So, I busied myself with tidying up the Library. Still, there were some moments when I questioned myself during my pockets of free time.

Why do I still stay even after learning what had happened? Was Ravenna really the villain of Dark Shadow's story? Or was there something more to the hidden past of the Library?

I stared up at the statue of the Creator as though I was searching for an answer from it.

Her expression was now cold and unwelcoming. The cracks running rampant all over the statue were more apparent than ever. It was empty in her left hand, where the pocket watch was. On her right, she held the miniature Library in her hands. The Library that she loved so much. The Library which had Imagination at its heart. The Library... now became a small ironic object that held more secrets than I could ever know.

I wonder if I had some secrets about myself too.

The Library stored everything. The stories of every single hero, every villain, every ordinary people...

I wonder...

If there is a story about me.

The past self that I did not remember. Hidden away by Ravenna's magic under the Guardian's contract, like Zacharius Smith. Forced to witness my past become a tragedy again and again while not knowing that my family was living there.

Suddenly, I'm not sure about knowing so much about these things.

When I blinked again, I wasn't looking at the Creator's statue. I was staring at the white space. A familiar titter rang out behind me. In apprehension, I turned around to face the unknown girl. The girl who asked me to find the beaded goldfish. Now, the young, naive girl had a sinister look on her face.

"You have no choice." She exclaimed. "What is destined to come will come."

"I thought you said you would find me after I find the last Alice letter? Why so soon?"

The girl approached me slowly. I stared at her with wariness, feeling very unsettled by her ominous aura. There was something beneath her exterior, something that linked the two of us together. There was a trace of amusement on her face when she noticed how guarded I was against her.

"Why so afraid of me?"

She stood in front of me. Her height was a little shorter than mine. Yet, I felt like she was towering over me.

How was this happening?

"Or could it be that you had a little guess about who I am?"

She reached out her arm, about to touch my shoulder, when the vision before me changed to Mike's face. It took a few moments before I could register him calling my name several times. I didn't know that I was trembling hard. My entire body was already encased in ice, a sign that my magic backfired on me.

A tear trickled down my face as I acknowledged his words of concern. Mike couldn't touch me because of the ice, so he fretted about how to help me. It was a rare moment to see him revealing so much of his emotions.

I was still in shock from my earlier encounter with the girl. So, I could stare up at his eyes, pleading with him not to ask what had transpired.

I won't. I heard his voice through the mind link. I have no right to ask about it. After all, we all had our secrets to bear.