Monster

4.6 | Let The Seach Begin

"Where is it not? What's that supposed to even mean?" Jeno stared at Yuri and Afia. The two girls were sitting on the floor of the hotel room they were currently sharing. Maps were spread across the floor, propped open by their two staffs. 

Yuri glanced up at him. "Time is everywhere. Constantly moving, beating at the world, tearing it down little by little, and its inhabitants along with it. Every tear that Time leaves in the world is an entrance to the Library. We just have to find the right one."

Jeno flopped on one of the beds. "Why can't we just go through a random one?"

"The Library is too dangerous for you. Anyone who doesn't take care of the workings of the world doesn't belong there. We need to make sure that you go through one that's safe."

"Well who can enter the Library safely?" 

"Light, Darkness, Love, Selfishness, Peace, War, Famine, Harvest, Hope, Sorrow, Time, Fate, Life, and Death. The balance of the world belongs to them."

"Fate is the opposite of Time?"

"Nope," Afia cut in. "Time and Fate are neutral parts. They work together."

"Huh. It's so much more complicated than I expected." 

"If course it is! You think the world just works on it's own?"

"So, you're kinda like-"

"Let me stop you right there." Afia moved a map over and grabbed a pencil. "We aren't deities, and we all answer to whoever is on the other side of the doors. We all end our course and pass over. We don't know everything, only what is revealed to us. Time and Fate and I don't create a person. We only know who they are, what they are destined to be, and how they will live. Yuri knows when they will die, as do I. We cannot pretend we are gods, because we were once human. We will never be god, so don't even mention it."

"Wow."

"Fia's right. We're just forces of nature, following the will of a much higher power that we will meet on the other side. Pass me that paper, will you?" 

"Yeah, here, so, if only those who help keep the world working can enter, how can I go in at all?"

"We're allowed to bring in people, so long as it's through one of the few human safe entrances. Otherwise, you'd die instantly. That's the thing about us. You have to be dead in the mortal sense to enter Realms that any one of us control, except for certain entrances."

"Wow. That's actually pretty cool!"

"Yeah."

"Hey." Afia whacked Yuri's arm. "What about this one?"

"Huh. That's actually pretty close by, and it's not where anyone would be concerned if we disappeared suddenly."

Jeno sat up. "What? What is it?"

"There's an entrance in a train station a little ways away from us. Well, kinda like a city away. But we can still do it." 

"Ok, let's do it then!"

"Jeno," Yuri glanced at him hesitantly. "It might be hard for you, since we'll, you'll need to go through a near death experience to enter."

"Well, it's only near death, right?"

"Yup, you won't get hurt, I'll make sure of it."

"Ok then, let's do it. Where are we going?" 

"Jinju."

"Really?"

Afia threw a map at Jeno's head exasperatedly. "Yes! Now help us clean these up!"

It didn't take long to clean and check out of the hotel before they were on their way to Jinju. They took a train, since it would be easier to blend in. Yuri sighed. She was sure that Jeno would be ok, but she wasn't sure if the younger boy really knew what he was getting into. It would have been easier to knock him out.

They stepped off the train onto a crowded platform, and Afia disappeared, causing Jeno to freak out.

"Where's Afia?"

"Calm down Jeno, she's still here. Just invisible to you." Yuri nodded at Afia who was standing by the ledge. "I'm going to disappear too. Just stand by the edge of the tracks and wait for me, ok?" 

"Yeah, uh, bye?"

Yuri smiled and exited, feeling a rush of wind as she entered the in-between. She could see the names and life-spans of people around her a lot easier than in the mortal world. There, she had to try, she had to look for them. Here, they just showed themselves to her. Yuri nodded at Afia, the one person who's life-span she couldn't see. 

Instead, her best friend's name and a white infinity symbol were floating over her head. Yuri walked behind Jeno and he moved nearer to the platform edge. Yuri stepped up next to him. Afia smiled.

"You ready?"

Yuri glanced at Jeno. He couldn't hear her. "Yeah. I'm not sure if he is though."

"He'll be fine. No one is going to see you do it, though it will take a lot of concentration to throw yourself and him in while in this realm."

"I know." Yuri turned to the tunnel. "Just a few more minutes."

The clock ticked ever closer to the train's arrival time. Yuri felt the wind pick up. As the train neared, the entrance would open for humans. Dead, or near dead. This was it. 

Afia took a breath. "Me first?"

"Yeah." 

Afia stepped onto the tracks and disappeared into the shimmering blue rift that only they could see. After all, they could pass through at any time, but not humans. Not Jeno. 

It was almost time. Jeno shuffled his feet on the platform. He was waiting for her, but she wasn't going to appear to him. Yuri moved behind him. It was better if he didn't know what she was about to do. 

Yuri saw the light at the end of the tunnel as the train moved into the station. A few more seconds. It barreled down the tracks, and as the brakes engaged to bring the train to a stop, Yuri threw Jeno onto the tracks and into the opening, right behind him.

They landed heavily on wooden floors, dark, smooth, cold. Yuri jumped to her feet, staff in hand, her Death regalia replacing her civilian clothes. Afia winked at her. Yuri reached down and pulled Jeno to his feet. He looked around frazzled.

"Welcome to the Library of Time." 

Yeet

Until next time!