A month has passed since Lian and Ogda discovered that they weren’t eligible for the oh-so-coveted Fect pact. Humans and firbolgs intertwine with such rituals for the benefit of both sides… officially. They found out the hard way that they are more necessary for humans than their partners. Lian, especially, felt this acutely, having spent her last two weeks on painkillers since her eyes pierced invisible veils and made her head explode with pain. 

In the other two weeks, she was mostly bedridden. The little free time left she had was spent with Arim to find some way to help out around the city as payment. The two mostly wandered around, sightseeing the one-off oddity, but he also kept her at a strangely noticeable distance. Too polite, too nice and too secretive (or reticent) about personal things. No matter what she said, he firmly believed that part of the incident was his own fault. 

…

After witnessing the ocean during the failed pact, Lian fainted and was rushed to a local clinic;

Medic-” Ahhh, stupid humans, using their power all willy-nilly”, yammered an upset snake doctor while rummaging through a cabinet. He seemed slightly miffed in general, but his pupils dilated wildly from anger when he heard what happened. “ This is why I keep telling your Union and the Board to make a dam pamphlet or something for newcomers. Call it: the human body is a little twig, that cracks under the stress of the powers, don’t use them without doing the Fect pact!”

A passage ignored by time was written once by a human researcher about this world: Ironically, this alien world loves humans. It showers us with gifts and companions, but it is also unintentionally overbearing and unattentive, leaving us to deal with the side effects of the boons. 

Arim, unflinching and straight as a statue, listened quietly to the griefs of the doctor; then dragged a chair next to Lian’s bedside.

Arim -” I’m so sorry…”, he apologized, avoiding looking directly at her, just staring at the floor,“ I never expected your power to activate on its own…”. He then whispered something so softly that the dazed Lian could hardly comprehend him, except for when he self-injured with insults “...moron…idiot”. 

Lian -” Arim!...That’s horrible”, she coughed up after realizing what he was doing. “ I understand accidents, I get them, ok? And that’s all that it was. The pact was supposed to help us, right? Like it did for Maci?”

He lifted his chin and felt his hand hair rise when his eyes met her stern, but gentle gaze. She was in pain, he could see it from how her fingers were twitching. He was impressed by her for a brief moment, but she wasn’t done. “But, I also think that the doctor is kinda right.”

Arim -” Oh..yeah”, he bumbled out, taken back by that. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Lian faced the window to check the sky. It was blue now. “ None of you, Krass, Goidel, you…never mentioned about this. Why?”

The boy got up, turned his back to her, and put his hands on his waists. “We…so humans can’t use their powers just by entering this realm.  First, you make a pact that transfers the extra energy to the firbolg. That extra thing is what's straining our bodies. And, before you can even find out what you’re capable of, there is a last step.”

Lian -” What? Is this some secret Union stuff?”

Dejected, he lets out a “kinda”, before telling her he can only reveal so much. “ So, I think you heard from Krass about a Sacred Beast and God, right? Well, it’s connected to that, and the Union is somewhat intertwined with it. Let’s just say that they demanded secrecy from the Union in exchange for something we want…so I hope you understand we can’t say any more than that.”

…

The story and Arim’s clue about the last step brought the girl today to Caer’s central library, along with Brigid, Maci, and Tommen, the first as a guide, the second out of boredom, and the third as one who shared Lian’s type of worries. The young artist appeared a bit miffed for having to go through the books again but still decided to help the girl out. 

-” Arim told me you went through some of the writings already, so I thought it would go faster if you could help parse through the books. Besides, you seemed a bit down over the past month as well, so…”, mentioned Lian.

-” You thought this could help as a head cleanser?”, he remarked, a bit reserved. “ Ugh, it’s just…Giol has been working so hard on the pact, and it’s…”, he stopped, anxiously massaging the back of his neck, “I just want to give him a win, you know?”

-” I get it…However, today he seemed energic when sparring with Ogda against Arim and Zinc when I checked on them. Or at least they blew off some steam.” Lian then got quiet, thinking about the water monster, and how reluctant he got after the failed ritual. He’d stopped speaking unless asked, and even then it would be mostly rigid. Just straight to the point. “ Maybe I can also help him out with a win? ”

Once inside the library, they started to feel like they entered a labyrinth, built to keep ferocious monsters both inside and out. An open atrium in the middle of the building illuminated it with light from outside and separated the tangled hallways. Once every 2 to 3 meters a new door opened to a room stocked with shelves filled with books, scrolls, and tomes from different layers. 

The group, with Brigid’s help mostly, found who they were looking for. Goidel sat bent over a table, studying a map and giving instructions to a small, coral-like Firbolg, who was carrying reading material back and forth. She carried each book under her stubbled arms, while scrolls were kept tight between the coral branches stemming from her head. 

“ Right”, whispered Brigid to herself, after which she inhaled in and out and pumped herself up. “ I can do this!” She approached Goidel and, as softly as possible, made her presence known. “Hello…”.

The warrior jumped out of his seat. 

“Damn it”, mumbled a disappointed Brigid. 

He looked at her, then at the group, and then, as if he asked her something, at his assistant.

Assistant -” They’re the group you wanted me to remind you about, sir Goidel…Do you remember now? Well, they’re here.” 

Goidel -” Ugh, right. I did say something like that. Right, thanks Mincha.” He inadvertently turned towards Lian and his face got pale in the second. “ I FOrgot!”, he screamed out, slowly diminishing his voice. “You were hurt! Are you better now?”

Lian -” Yeah, much better; the headache and nausea are all gone, see?” she tried to do a pirouette, and immediately lost balance, but luckily for her Maci reacted swiftly and stopped her fall with a firm palm on her back. 

Maci -” Easy there you crazy lady, don’t force your body like that after just recovering from an injury”, added the teen as a piece of friendly advice. 

-” Right, understood.” Lian remembered for a second how her legs gave up the first time she woke up in the sand layer, and a shiver came down her spine. For now, though, there were other pressing matters at hand. “ Goidell, I would like to read all you have on the pact, the deities you told me about, and anything about dark, black, or lightless bodies of water.”

Never since Mincha started working under him has she seen him so stupefied and caught off-guard. The warrior turned towards Brigid, but she appeared just as shocked at Lian’s request. Which the girl noticed. 

Lian -” Is there something wrong? Did I say something or…”

Before anyone could respond, a weird voice responded from the selling. It was wispy but soothing, coming from robes and scarves that seemed to float inside a smoky field. As it got lower, it gained a shape, but whatever it was, it was hidden under the layers of purple and white wraps it carried. They swathed around forming a wide torso, thin limbs, and a human head; a portion of the face was left unveiled though, from which two, emerald-colored dots shined on the visitors. 

-'' Hello Goidel’s guests. I am the Head Librarian of this collection, but you can address it as my colleagues in the Union do: Feth. You inquired about…dark masses of water?”

Maci and Lian were taken a bit aback by the stranger’s sudden appearance, but the teen was the first to regain sense. “ Is that a problem or something? Hey, Brigid, you too, what’s this all about?”

Feth -” Oh, you must be Brigantia’s young pact partner…Hmm, just as everyone said, you are rude but also a veritable bundle of energy.” The head librarian's misty hands stretched towards the teen and gave her an application form; “ Tell me, would you like to work in the library while you stay in Caer?” Feth seemed entirely sincere in his question, to Maci’s confusion. “Oh, this is not a jest by the way. We have tons of parchments that need to be carried between the rooms, and you seem like the type who likes to run around all day.”

Maci -” What? No, that’s not true! I’ll let you know that I’m a goalkeeper back home! And besides, I already help out around the town. Sooo…no thanks.``, she replied, folding her hands to her chest in contempt.

Feth shrugged and puffed vapors from where his emerald eyes gleamed. “Eh, it is what it is. Now, returning to Miss Amnesiac, I guess you were told that only through the permission of a higher power can the Fect Pact work as first described…”

To which Maci mumbled angrily as she wasn’t too thrilled that she couldn’t use her power yet.

“So, you’re thinking that it has something to do with the God and Sacred Beast” continued Feth.” I understand that curiosity. But what about the last interest?”

Lian, unsure of what was happening, told them about the “illusion” she saw a month ago. The Head Librarian turned to Goidel, and as if he smirked, asked him:

-” What do you think, will the other Platinum’s will admonish me for this?”

-” No…I mean, I trust your judgment…” Goidel hunched a bit, then cowered back to his table. “ If you think this is the right move, then sure”, he sheepishly added. Minch also shrank behind a shelf and pretended to work on her tasks. Brigid offered to help her out.

Feth -” Good…Now back to you young lady. A dark ocean, a black lake…hmmm. Well, we have records of natural phenomena that can blacken a lake, or weird fluctuations in the skies that could be seen as a floating mass of water…and then there are the floods.” Feth stopped, anticipating their follow-up question.

Lian -” Floo-”

-” A flood, yes”, he quickly continued. “ A weird phenomenon that affects layers, randomly, it seems. Dark liquid starts pouring out of nowhere, covering parts of the layer and defenestrating away its…ugh…energy, let’s say.  And just like it appears, it disappears. Into the ether it came from.”

Lian listened to his explanation with suspicion but added it as a possible clue to her tapestry of leads.

- “Thank you, sir Librarian”, nodded Lian with a fake smile.

-” Please, call me Feth, I insist.”

Lian -” Right…Uhm, we’ll check that lead as well, it could be connected to what I saw. Or maybe, as you said,  it’s a natural illusion and I was a bit cuckoo from the pain”, she remarked, forcing a laugh. “Anyhow, Goidel was already up for helping us out, so we should let him check out those books for us.”

Feth -” Of course, of course. My bad. Goidel, please do your best not to embarrass our library in front of our guests, ok?”

The warrior only nodded back.

-” Good. Then I wish you all good luck and enjoy your stay”, after which he whisked away in his smoke form, down the halls, leaving a trail of chilly air behind him.