'The Nebulas.'
The creeping plants from the roof trailed down the top of the building and wrapped into round the edges of the letters.
'The Nebulas, where have I heard that before?'
He slid his hands into his pockets and retrieved his phone, stepping into the shade to avoid the harsh glare from the sun.
He logged into the Aethera app and searched for 'The Nebulas'
The Aethera app was carefully made for any and all questions a newly awakened might have, so much so that it even contained past awakened of the school.
The search results came up.
• · ─ ·✶· ─ · •
The Nebulas— A former awakened under the Aether Studies Faculty with the affinity Ascendancy Theory, which gave him the ability to study and fully understand the others' affinities.
He reached the rank Arbiter and was one of the only three awakened under the Faculty of Aether Studies to reach that point.
He was responsible for the creation of several awakened cultivation techniques including Nightwalker's legendary 'Sunforge'—
Which entails a technique where Nightwalker draws Aether directly from the sun to cultivate.
He was once a student at Aetherion Academy and became a mentor after a few years but then...
Mysteriously disappeared till date.
The library was built in honour of him to highlight his great feat and show that anyone, Aether Studies awakened included, can achieve great things.
• · ─ ·✶· ─ · •
"Wow."
He muttered.
His eyes drifted back to the building, seeing the entrance as countless awakened students, both in uniform and out of uniform, entered and left.
He followed them and ascended the front steps. Taking a deep breath before pushing the glass doors open.
The lobby had a faint scent of books and weirdly enough, coffee.
He moved to the front desk where what seemed like a senior awakened— in a white school hoodie that had the school emblem on it— front and centre.
Soft pink hair in a long ponytail, same pink coloured eyes framed with decorative glasses— it couldn't be recommended as awakening trial cured most defects and enhanced physical features.
He leaned against her desk.
"Uhmm... I'd like a book?"
He wasn't trying to be annoying, he genuinely had no idea what he was looking for.
According to the fandom and the author, the vault was supposed to be underground but... It was also supposed to have some sort of mechanism for the entrance.
So, at the last shelf on the top floor of the library was all he had to go on.
The girl raised her eyes from her phone's screen , arched a brow, brought down her glasses slightly and said, "What?"
Aegon scratched the back of his head, "Yupp... I'd like a book, particularly at the top floor... And at the back."
She rolled her eyes like someone who'd heard that same line in too many different variations.
For some reason, it was all the hype to hook-up behind the last shelf on the top floor.
She rubbed her temple, then intertwined her fingers on the table, trying her best not to scream at him.
"Look, I really don't care what you people do at the with yourselves at the back of that shelf—"
"But wait—"
Aegon tried to rebuttal but she raised a finger that said she wasn't done yet.
"I, however, am getting backlash from the actual librarian who thinks I'm not taking this job seriously, or worse that I'm somehow involved in whatever goes on there,
Like I'm some kind of low-grade pimp and this is my secret whore house."
She hands swirled around the room to emphasize her point.
Aegon remained quiet as he continued to watch her speak, she seemed to have a lot on chest.
"I don't even like this job, but I do need it if I want the recommendation for a good awakened cooperation when I'm done with this school...
So, yes, you can go up, but next time just say you need to see the poems of Etrigan, no one's gonna question you."
"..."
An awkward silence stretched between them as nothing but a quiet state remained.
"So... Can I go up?"
Aegon stuttered but finally made out the words.
She sighed again, picking up the pen in front of her and scribbling someone onto the paper before sliding it across the table.
"That's in case some catches you, so I have the defence that I gave you the reference you were looking for.
Step into the elevator, top floor— which is the button labelled 7."
'What type of library has seven floors.'
He nodded in understanding, grabbed the note, eyes drifting towards the elevator behind her.
And with that her attention shifted back to her phone.
He moved past her table and towards the elevator.
Stopped before it and pushed the button, the buttons lighted up indicated that someone was currently in it.
He turned back and called out for the girl.
"Hey, what's your name?!"
She didn't turn back, raising a hand to flip him off.
"Olivia."
He smirked just as the elevator arrived.
He sidestepped the group going out and entered.
~Ding.~
The elevator's fluorescent light bathed him from above and the door slid closed with a satisfactory ding.
A moment for himself as he could finally begin planning how exactly he would find the secret entrance.
'Poems of Etrigan.'
He thought to himself, staring up into the light, trying to remember something.
Etrigan was a fictional demon in the real world but the author made him one of the most powerful summons in the novel.
One of the very few demon summons who could possess the user— it did. But instead of going on a rampage decided to make poems instead.
Because just like the fictional demon, Etrigan could only speak in rhymes so poetry was sort of like a second calling.
~Ding~
The elevator doors slid open with a rhythmic humming sound.
The top floor was practically a desert, scanty yet spread out students.
Naturally light from the sun bled into the room from the windows illuminating everything.
Shelves and shelves of sturdy books both new and old, the decomposed paper smell was unavoidable.
He pushed forward regardless, eyes set for the shelf at the end of the row.
However, the closer he getting the more distinct of a strange sound he could make out.
He shook off the feeling and marched on, turned the corner between two racks.
"Mmfh... Mmmh... Nngh."
Muffled moans rang in his ears as Aegon's body froze instantly.
The girl was on top of the guy in a cowgirl position— legs spread over his hips, knees and lower legs locked backwards.
The soft rhythm of her body sliding back and forth, she placed her hands on his bare sweaty heaving chest— the rhythm made her full perky breasts sway in all directions.
Her head was tilted backwards, sleek hair sticking onto her shoulders as she bit her lips not to scream out yet it was hopeless.
The sunlight bounced off her skin and made her neck glitter from the intense heat— Aegon watched her so intensely that he unconsciously swallowed when she did.
His eyes eventually trailed down to the guy, rough disheveled her, arms digging into her thighs like a lifeline.
Except—
It was Eli.
Aegon's face contorted in disgust.
'Why's this guy everywhere I go?'