Cross Worlds

Chapter 22: "The Library of Memories"

As the days passed, Riku refused to interact with anyone. While he made sure to exercise both magically and physically often, he always made sure there was no one around when he did so. On this day, Riku finds himself wandering Artemis' halls at night. With how quiet the facility is, you would think of it more as a haunted building rather than a building with thousands of residents.

"This is the kind of environment I prefer... Quiet, and filled with the beautiful view of the sky." Riku looks out through the large panes of glass that line the hallways. The starry night sky and full moon provide enough light in the hall, so even though the lights are turned off throughout the building, Riku can see just fine. This night-time activity has become a regular occurrence for Riku these past few days. Being able to gaze at nature's beauty from afar in the silent halls of Artemis helps Riku clear his head and calm his emotions.

"What Yoshitabi told me...I still can't get it out of my head. Perhaps Emica really isn't that bad of a person after all." He narrows his eyes as many memories of his past fly through his mind. "Even so..."

His thoughts are disrupted as he notices some light out of the corner of his eye. He's made his way to Artemis' bottom floor, so the fact that there's light here where there's only classrooms and utilities is a bit odd to him. "I thought all the utilities shut down after 3am?"

He walks a bit closer to investigate, and notices the light is coming from the library. While most of the lights are off, some of the head lights are still on. "The library of all places..? Is it a staff member, or..?"

Before he can finish his thought, the voice of a young girl startles him a bit. "I guess you could consider me staff, but remember, we have special privileges because of the group we're categorized in..." He looks over in the direction of the girl's voice, his gaze falling onto a set of bright, golden eyes. "Hello Riku...we meet again."

Riku sees this is the same shy girl from the big meeting he had with Emica. "Oh...hello. Are you not tired? What has you up so late?"

"I could ask you the same question..." The girl shys behind the book she holds in her hand, her pale cheeks somewhat flushed and her long, silvery, light blue hair falling in front of her shoulder. Riku can't see exactly how long her hair is since it's tucked inside of the robe she wears over her clothing.

"Fair enough..." Riku mutters in response. The two just stand there in awkward silence for a few moments before Riku starts turning away. "Well, I'll leave you be I suppose."

"W-Wait a moment please..! Can I...ask you something..?"

"What is it?" Riku glances back at the girl.

"Um...well...why does it...why are you..." Riku tilts his head in confusion, not understanding what the girl is trying to ask of him. The girl takes a deep breath, not looking him in the eye. "You're not...from here...are you..?"

Riku slowly narrows his eyes. "What did you just say..?"

"The one with the memory magic...that's me. My name is Eli... When I look into someone's eyes, a random memory is shown to me involuntarily... You were...riding a big bird or something..?"

Riku doesn't say anything, remaining calm. "Everyone's magic in this world really does seem to have a condition or drawback to it... I wonder what Reality's drawback is then..." He clears his throat before responding properly. "Are you sure you weren't looking at a dream I had?"

"M-My magic doesn't show me dreams, or else it wouldn't be called memory magic..!" The young woman pouts.

Riku averts his eyes. "And you believe that memory means that I'm not 'from here'? Whatever that means... How do you know it's not a memory of me using my magic?"