Chapter 435 - Librarian of Nexsolium

'Nexsolium…' the words stuck in her thoughts as if a catchy tune, over and over again, 'Nexsolium, Nexsolium, Nexsolium.'

"Where am I?" asked she loudly. The floor seemed to be blue with clouds dotted around. It felt as if walking on the sky itself – the pathway continued forth without end. The walls were bookshelves made of gold as opposed to wood, the book themselves ranged in hue. Some were even semi-transparent and others flat-out invisible. 

"You're in the realm of knowledge," said the voice, "-welcome to my domain," the sound, scattered, gathered onto one point, a spiral downwards into a figure. 

"Welcome to my library," said the entity with a clean-shaven face, no hair, big deep eyes engrave onto darkened circles. They seemed to be farther into the skull than what one would expect. The clothes were all but a wizard robe with stars and the moon's crest dotted into stripes. "I'm Qhildir, God of Philosophy," said he taking a step forth.

"Eira Haggard," she curtsied.

"The outfit suits thee well," said he in good faith.

"Forgive my asking, what exactly is this place, and how am I going to be thy heir?"

"Straight to the point," said he facing the never-ending pathway, "-over yonder is an infinite amount of space. The bookshelves here are what thee are allowed to view as the Librarian. Worry not, the restriction will be removed later on, consider this to be a trial. Eira Haggard, I have an initiation test thee must pass."

"What if I fail?"

"You'll wake and think of the experience as a dream," infants with wings came carrying a ladder.

"What sort of test is it exactly?" asked she walking closer to the figure.

"A reading test," said he nonchalantly hanging off the ladder in search of a specific book.

"Reading test?"

"Yes," *Screech* the sound of flesh against wood screamed as he slid downwards, "-a reading test. There will not be any combat involved, not now anyway. The test is simple," he held out a palm with a hovering book, "-I want you to read the first chapter of this Grimoire."

"Grimoire?"

"A book written by witches, angels, demons; whatever thee think doesn't matter. It's a book of knowledge filled with curses, blessings, spells, and mind-breaking passages of power. Similar to incantation one uses in thy realm to conjure specific spells, the grimoire is a log for all the forgotten spells of various worlds and dimensions."

"There's a catch," she frowned, "-care to tell me more on the particular of this specific Grimoire?"

"Sure, tis the Oath of Valera Volume XI. It specifically deals with mana amplification since that's what thee studies. It will be very enlightening, I think since the Volume goes in detail on how mana interacts and the linking factor between Origin and what we know."

"The way thee voices it," she paused, "-it sounds simple enough. Yet, I suspect the passages are more of incantations than text." 

"Thee catch on quick," handing over the book, "-Grimoires are notorious for having their own personalities. They work like spells, the first word you read and the whole information is transferred to thy subconscious. Tis when the real test begins, in the first chapter, there's an incantation I want you to call forth." 

"Alright, anything else I should know?"

"Not really," *snap,* a hovering orb materialized, "-once you've read the Grimoire, I want thee to use the spell onto this orb here."

"Here goes nothing," holding the Grimoire felt heavy, the book seemed to be alive. The cover, black and dull, gave the impression of having stares hidden throughout. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gain,' glancing the God, he seemed to hold a certain air of mystic. "Oath of Valera Volume XI," the hardcover flipped to show the erased name of the author. The first few pages were the same as an ordinary book, '-this pressure,' she reached the page before the first chapter. The pages seemed to be glued, applying too much force would rip the pages. Confused by the resistance, her head subconsciously looked towards the God. What returned was an emotionless face, '-father.' A blinding light shouted from her outwards; the book illuminated everything as she fell into a trance. The words levitated to channel into her mind, the eye sockets squinted in pain, her face showed the displeasure; her hands clenched into a fist. 

"Lady of Ice, arise," a voice spoke within her dream-like state.

"Where am I?" the eyes opened to complete darkness, nothing, no one, solitude materialized. 

"Awaken, Lady of Ice," same again, the faint trace of misty snow flew as if a shooting star. 

'If this is a trance,' *CRACK,* '-there's only one way to break out.' *Stab,* 

"AHMM," inhaling deep, the darkness cracked into the dirtied Nexsolium. 'The grimoire, I feel the power coursing through my veins,' blood dripped from her legs, '-I can't afford to lose this opportunity. I'll become strong for my sake, not the sake of another, I will become Eira Haggard, not the daughter of Staxius Haggard, not the princess of Arda, not the Empress of Alphia, but Eira Haggard, I'll live for MYSELF!" 

"Wise choice," said the ever-speaking voice, "-I, Guardian of The Oath of Valera, henceforth recognize Eira Haggard as a competent vessel." 

'This feeling,' she watched the orb. "Heed me, mana traversing the multi-verse, I, the host of Valera's Oath, under the third passage of Diminution, command for thee to obey mine will, begone and reform for I deem it so, and in my name, thee shall obey for mana is but the tool granted to those worthy." Her palms closed in a crushing motion that generated a typhoon above the orb. It spiraled into creating a tornado bearing lightning and thunder. The dormant orb rekindled with electricity blasting its surrounding. 

'The Oath of Valera,' thought she pressing her hands together, "-the orb has been granted mana anew," the catastrophic tornado reduced into a gentle wind.

"Impressive," said the god holding the orb, "-Eira Haggard, that was beyond expectation. Thee not only spoke the passage but manifested the spell in its entirety, I applaud the drive."

"Thank you," said she falling to one knee, "-did I pass?" 

"Eira Haggard," came the god holding out a hand, "-thee are worthy of being my heir. By the name of Qhildir, I grant thee access to Nexsolium and its knowledge." *Snap,* the mark of the god burnt onto her left-arm. "Librarian of Nexsolium, stand."

"No need to tell me twice," she stood with a smile.

"Before thee run off and read, there are a few things I must say. Firstly, the library is a collection of everything I know and have found. The Grimoires are cursed and very powerful, similar to Valera's Oath, you can read and grow powerful, that is thy job as the guardian. You might have noticed; the place feels closer than home. The details and summary of the millions of books in here are stored in your memory. There's a hallway down the corridor with a familiar inside. He'll guide you if ever thee needs help. Secondly, time here goes at a much slower pace than the 'mortal realm'. Powers acquired here will transfer instantly. Lastly, there are three books locked from thee to see, they are the Dien, Tein, and Slein, the three ethereal chronicles of past, present, and future. Even if you read them, I doubt the language to be understandable. If curiosity forces thee into checking them out, I wouldn't be angered. Do make sure to be careful around them, tis for thy own safety, the guardians of Past, Present, Future…"

"I understand," she interjected, "-I'm not interested."

"I knew you were perfect for being my heir. There's something I've omitted."

"Which is?"

"Nexsolium, as in the entirety of the books here, have been read by you in the last five minutes. It's safe to say you know every single word present here – but as I explained, tis locked in the subconscious. The Lady of Ice, thy alter ego, will preside over such information for its required to protect what is precious to you." 

"Does that mean I don't have to teleport to the physical library?"

"You can, tis just the knowledge is stored in the subconscious. If you need a specific piece of information, the trip into the physical library will be required." 

"Basically, I'll have to return if I want to go in-depth about theoretical subjects. The vices, spells, curses, are already in my subconscious?"

"Precisely. It's a protection and prerequisite for becoming the Librarian, she must know and read all to understand least." 

"What do you expect from me?" 

"To guard the Library against everyone. The knowledge here is valuable - strange entities might try to reach for a deal or things of that sort. Priority will to always guard the books, I don't care how it's done. Librarian Eira Haggard, thy body has evolved into a demi-goddess."

"Really?" she looked about feeling nothing. 

"The change will be apparent when thee return."

"God of Philosophy," she knelt, "-I swear to protect Nexsolium."

"Just what I wanted to hear. See you around, Librarian, it's time to wake up."

"TSSH," she regained consciousness with water flowing out the showers. 'My body,' knelt, '-why do I feel so heavy?' her arms, legs, b.r.e.a.s.t, waist, grew in size. 'What happened?' she crept towards the nearest mirror. 'My figure is more feminine than before…' the mark of Qhildir was still on the left arm. 

"It wasn't a dream?" she wondered staring at the ceiling with a less than dignified smirk. "The Librarian of Nexsolium." 

*Knock, knock,* 

"Come in," voiced Eira wrapped in a towel.

"Pardon the intrusion," said Rosetta, "-I came to check since thee took longer than usual."

"Sorry for the wait."

"Lady Eira, have you grown?" she watched curiously.

"Yeah, I think I've outgrown a few of my clothes.'

"No, not that," quick to rectify, "-thy face, thy expression, it seems joyful and pleasant."

"Does it now?" she paused in the middle of wearing her dress.

"Yes, very much so, it's a pleasing sight. A smile really does suit thy visage, highness."

"Thank you." The head-maid soon left the joyful princess alone. 

Meanwhile, the throne room had a little change of décor. Queen Shanna made sure to have the proceedings be in secret. Many knew of the plan, including the young princess. Soon, Youst was sent to collect Eira from her bedchambers. Unsuspicious of what was happening, Eira did as was told. Expecting a strict dinner, a surprise came in form of a big party. Fireworks went off outside, people applauded her entrance. 

'What is this?' wondered she approaching the throne. People around whistled and cheered; the situation overwhelmed her mind.

"Princess Eira."

"Queen-mother," said she, "-what's the meaning of this?"

"Shush," she placed her index over her mouth, "-look over there." A spotlight focused onto a dark-piano with a well-dress Lizzie. Beside her stood Julius with a microphone.

"Mother…"

"Just watch, Eira, watch my lovely daughter, watch." The piano played beautifully – a few bars later, Julius joined into the song with an equally amazing voice. Both complimented one another, the song, the lyrics, it wasn't something common, no, far from it, tis was an original composition by them for their big sister. The words were of how much she meant to them, how much they idolized her, how much they adored her. 

*Big sister Eira, we love you!*

"M-mother…" on the verge of tears, "-w-what is all this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" came an emotionless voice, "-everyone was worried about you."

"Father…"

"That's why Lizzie and Julius decided to have this surprise party," said Xula, "-they were worried about how you felt. The courtship ending and how thee acted during our calls made them nervous, they wanted to do something to cheer thee up."

"B-BUT WHY?"

"Because we love you," said the siblings, "-please don't be so hard on yourself, big sister," said the adorable Lizzie.

"If something's on your mind, reach out to me," smiled Julius, "-I might be young, but I'm reliable and strong."

"And we'll always be on your side," smiled Xula.

"Mother…Father…Julius… Lizzie… t-thank y-you."