Horizon: Ballad Of Zero

Chapter 5 - Eve

Breaking into the restricted section was thrilling in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. The stillness in the library amplified the sound of my footsteps as I moved, the faint hum of magic and technology crackling in the air. The main door was secured with layers of complex enchantments and digital locks, but those were nothing I hadn’t already mastered back in Anthem. Being a prodigy in rule-breaking had its perks.

With a few swift motions, I bypassed the security system and slipped inside, cloaked from the prying eyes of any surveillance spells or cameras. The restricted section was a realm unto itself, filled with ancient, dust-covered tomes and odd-looking artifacts that radiated mysterious energy. Once I’d ensured the section’s security system was disabled, I dropped my cloaking field, savoring the sensation of being truly unseen, unfettered.

I wandered through the rows of arcane texts and relics, my eyes sweeping over titles in languages I barely recognized, and each shelf seemed to hold secrets older than entire civilizations. But it was one wall in particular that caught my attention. It looked ordinary, yet there was something different about the way it was designed, almost too flawless. That’s when I noticed it—a barely visible lever camouflaged perfectly with the stone.

A few precise maneuvers, and I managed to break through the wall’s security protocol. The lever clicked, and a low rumble echoed as the wall shifted, revealing a teleporter in the center of the room. The hum of its energy was strange, resonant, as if calling out to some hidden part of me.

I stepped into it, feeling a slight shift in my balance before I was whisked away, landing somewhere that felt... ancient. The place had towering walls carved with inscriptions in a language that glowed faintly. In the center floated a rotating, intricately designed cube, pulsating with an otherworldly light. The feeling that I’d stumbled into something immense, something beyond my comprehension, washed over me.

I cautiously approached the cube, reaching a hand out as if to touch it when, suddenly, a voice echoed in the room.

“Hi.”

I nearly jumped, but I’d mastered my emotions too well to let any reaction show on my face.

The voice continued, mechanical but with an eerie warmth. “Scanning... suitable guardianship identified.”

“Guardianship?” I asked, keeping my tone even.

The cube paused, almost as if contemplating. “Hello. My name is Eve.”

“Eve,” I echoed, intrigued by the name. “Are you... sentient?”

“Yes,” it answered calmly. “I have been alive since the beginning of magic.”

The weight of that answer made me pause. I could feel the magnitude of the knowledge this being possessed, and the answers I sought were closer than ever.

“That’s... impressive,” I replied, though the word felt inadequate. “I’m searching for information on gold magic. Do you know anything about it?”

Eve’s light flickered slightly, as if in acknowledgement. “I know everything about it, including its purpose and origin.”

My heart raced. Finally, after all the dead ends, here was someone—something—that held the answers.

“Can you tell me?” I asked, my voice almost a whisper.

Eve’s glow intensified, its light casting shadows across the ancient walls. “On one condition.”

I tensed slightly. “What is it?”

“You approve the guardianship transfer.”

“Guardianship... of what?”