Cherreads

Chapter 32 - Shadows Among the Stacks

Location: Archives of Iskarra — Level VII, The Veiled SanctumTime: Deep night, when even whispers hold their breath

The scholar moved swiftly but silently between endless rows of ancient tomes, their gloves tracing runes on cracked spines. The faint glow of ley-silk thread wound around their fingers like a living thing.

Above, the city slept — or pretended to. Below, the archives breathed with centuries of secrets, many better left forgotten.

The Pursuit

They were not alone.

Footsteps echoed far behind — soft, measured. Not the patrols, but something else. Something patient.

The scholar's eyes flicked toward a shadow slipping between pillars — impossibly thin, impossibly still.

A silent warning.

They pressed forward, clutching the recovered pages of Thaleon's journal close to their chest.

The Hidden Chamber

At last, they reached a sealed vault door — black glass, etched with faded glyphs of binding.

The scholar produced a slender key of twisted ley-thread — a relic stolen long ago from a forgotten trust.

The door shimmered, resisting.

A whispered incantation.

The glyphs burned blue and then vanished.

Inside: a chamber lined with mirrors — not ordinary glass, but arcane lenses that reflected not just light, but memory and intent.

The Ritual of Unveiling

The scholar set the journals on a pedestal at the chamber's center.

They began the ritual — voice low, precise — weaving ley-silk threads between the books, binding past to present.

The mirrors shimmered, revealing flickers of history:

Thaleon's final days, agony, and whispered secrets.

The traitor's fractured face, half-shadowed, eyes gleaming with cunning.

The map of the leyline, twisting and pulsing as if alive.

A Voice in the Dark

From the shadows, a figure emerged — a keeper of the Accord, cloaked in black and silver.

"You meddle in things beyond your reach," the figure said, voice cold.

The scholar did not startle.

"If we do not know the truth, how can we stop what's coming?"

The keeper's gaze hardened.

"Truth has a price.And knowledge without power is a curse."

The Choice

The scholar looked up, eyes gleaming.

"Then give me power.Or stand aside."

The chamber pulsed with raw magic as the mirrors ignited.

The game was no longer secret.

It was war.

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