Sunny's breathing finally steadied, though his head still felt like someone had taken the concept of direction and smashed it over his skull.
March hovered for a moment longer, then stood, brushing off her skirt.
"Alright. If you're all good now, come on."
Sunny blinked.
"…Where?"
March gestured vaguely toward the shelves.
"Through the library. Herta told me that when you showed up, I should bring you straight to the Gateway."
Sunny stared at her for a few seconds, then slowly pushed himself to his feet. His legs felt real again. Solid. The ground didn't wobble or stretch or breathe. Progress.
March glanced back to make sure he was following.
"Herta already brought me there earlier, so I already know the way."
Sunny hesitated, but followed her down one of the many aisles cutting through the library's endless shelves. Every book spine looked old in a different way: some cracked, some polished, some practically fossilized. The air carried a faint smell of dust and ink and nothing else.
As they walked, Sunny couldn't help glancing upward. The ceiling vanished into a fog of shelves, ladders, and floating platforms. The place seemed infinite, or close enough that the difference didn't matter.
March pointed ahead.
"This whole area is part of Herta's Glamorous Castle of Science and Sorcery. That's what she calls it anyway."
Sunny stopped walking for a moment.
"She named it… that?"
March shrugged.
"Yep."
Sunny stared at the towering shelves.
"Her space station is named after her. And now this place too."
"Well, yeah. She said names should inspire respect."
Sunny snorted quietly.
They kept walking. The aisle stretched for what felt like miles, the shelves interrupted only by occasional desks piled high with scrolls or strange luminescent globes. Breezes moved between the stacks despite the lack of doors or windows. Pages rustled on their own, though March claimed that was normal.
Sunny wasn't convinced.
He scanned the surroundings with growing awareness, his shadows sliding across the floor ahead of him. Strange whispers echoed from far-off sections of the library, like two people quietly debating over an unsolvable equation. He couldn't see anyone. He wasn't sure he wanted to.
March glanced back at him again.
"You okay?"
"Not really."
"That portal thing tossed you halfway into the unknown. Herta said it'd probably happen."
"Probably?"
"Well… she said the margin of error was small."
Sunny let out a quiet breath.
"Fantastic."
March kept moving, her boots making soft thuds on the ancient floor.
He forced himself to focus. The shelves, the books, the strange artifacts — all real. They grounded him. He counted his steps. He counted the rows. He listened to the subtle ambiance of turning pages.
Then, a vast and unfathomably deep shadow entered his senses.
Sunny's hand instinctively reached for his sword.
"March, something's coming."
She paused and looked over her shoulder.
"What?"
Sunny gestured toward the far end of the aisle.
"I can feel its shadow. It's enormous. Too enormous. We can't fight whatever that is."
March blinked at him, confused.
"I don't think we need to fight it. It's fine, you'll see."
Sunny didn't lower his guard.
Sunny opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. He could attempt to Shadow Step away if needed. Retreat wasn't dishonorable if survival was the alternative.
March motioned for him to follow.
"Come on. This way."
Sunny hesitated, then reluctantly trailed after her. His shadows crawled outward, probing the aisle for any hint of danger. The dark silhouette grew larger as they approached a wide reading chamber — a circular clearing between the shelves filled with desks, tables, and floating lanterns.
Sunny stepped into the chamber and stopped cold.
Sitting beside one of the stone desks, a massive, fur-covered form rested comfortably on its haunches. Its body was familiar — too familiar. Brown fur. Human-like hands with bony fingers. Stout legs. Flat feet.
And on its back, the enormous violet crystals it once carried like mountains had shrunk down to a cluster the size of small tree trunks. Manageable, but still unmistakable.
The Supreme Devil.
It was holding a book.
Actually holding it — carefully turning pages with those skeletal fingertips.
Sunny stared.
The creature didn't even glance at him. Its dark, star-speckled eyes were locked on the text. Every so often, it snorted softly, as if displeased by whatever it read. The air rippled faintly when it breathed.
March leaned toward him.
"See? It's fine."
Sunny continued gawking.
"You already knew this thing was here?"
She shrugged.
"Herta said she gets regular visitors sometimes. Like this guy."
Sunny opened his mouth, closed it again, then let his breath out slowly.
"A Supreme Devil. A regular visitor."
March nodded.
Sunny stared at the creature again.
It flipped a page. Its body rumbled faintly, like it was thinking very loudly.
Sunny's mind spun.
If a Supreme Devil could enter and wander through Herta's endless library whenever it wanted, then what made her so confident? What made her so certain nothing could go wrong? Even the highest publicly known Rank among humans was Transcendence. Beyond that were his suspicions — Sovereigns, Supremes, entities so powerful their names weren't spoken openly.
What was Herta?
Her puppets — the ones Sunny met — felt like Transcendents at most. But puppets were just puppets. They could be fragments of something far worse. Or far greater.
Sunny stared at the shelves towering above them, contemplating the scale of the place. Endless books. Endless rooms. Endless secrets.
If Herta built all this… or controlled it…
He swallowed.
March tugged his sleeve.
"Come on. We have to go around him. The Gateway is just past that archway up ahead."
Sunny didn't move immediately.
He kept his eyes on the Supreme Devil, watching the faint starlight swirl inside its pupils. No hostility. No interest. No acknowledgment whatsoever.
Just… reading.
Sunny stepped closer, testing its reaction. His shadow slid toward the creature, brushing against its own.
Its shadow was vast — deeper than oceans, layered countless times over itself. A dimensional abyss stuffed into the outline of a living being.
Sunny's instincts screamed warnings.
He took a step back.
March looked at him expectantly.
"Well?"
Sunny exhaled.
"March."
"Yeah?"
"If this thing wanted to kill us…"
"It won't."
Sunny gave her a look.
"You cannot possibly know that."
March shrugged.
"I trust Herta."
Sunny didn't.
Not even a little.
But she was already making her way around the chamber toward the distant archway. He forced his feet to move, staying several steps behind her, his shadows swirling nervously along the floor.
As they passed the Supreme Devil, Sunny kept his gaze on it. Each page turned with a soft, dry scrape. The creature's breathing was calm. Almost peaceful.
Sunny couldn't help whispering under his breath.
"What are you doing here…?"
The Devil didn't react.
It simply kept reading.
They reached the far side of the chamber. March paused beneath the arch, checking that Sunny was still following.
"You alright?"
Sunny shook his head slowly.
"March… if a Supreme Devil can come and go as it pleases here, then what exactly is Herta?"
March thought for a moment.
"No idea."
Sunny stared at her.
She smiled innocently.
"I just know she said everything's under control."
Sunny glanced back at the massive creature turning another page.
Under control.
Sure.
He stepped under the archway after March, shadows coiling anxiously beneath his feet.