Eight Intertwined II

206 - Ruin

The travelers wandered down to the library in the ruins after picking up From the Far Reaches of Hell, and Cyrus cradled the tome tightly in his grasp. He was glad to finally have the book back, but he couldn't help fearing what it could mean for their future now that he had retrieved it. He believed firmly that no knowledge was inherently good or evil. Instead, the power and decision came down to the person who used that power. That didn't feel quite as accurate with the necromantic magic found within the book. It had done unspoken harm to countless people, and Cyrus was unsure as to if there was anything good to be pulled from it. He would read through it just to make sure, of course, but he knew this book was one best kept hidden and safe to ensure no one like Lucia, Yvon, or Gideon ever got their hands on it again. 

Cyrus only looked up from the cover of the book when he arrived in the library. Now that Lucia was gone, he had all the time and space he could have ever wanted to look through the books she had left behind. His fingers slid across the spines of the books lining one of the shelves until he found what he was searching for. "There we are," Cyrus whispered. The book was sticking out slightly from the rest of the shelves, no doubt on account of having seen recent use. It was clearly one of Lucia's most important tools for deciphering From the Far Reaches of Hell. The High Hornburgian Dictionary was thick and heavy, but Cyrus pressed it into his grasp anyway. He wanted to gather a few other books before he sat down to try and translate anything, but he would keep this tome within his reach until then. 

"Perhaps we should split up," Ophilia suggested. "There are so many books here... If we try to look through them all together, I doubt we'll get through them with any sense of speed." 

Cyrus nodded. "I agree. We can divide into pairs and see what we can find from there," he agreed. Therion and Alfyn pulled off quickly, and Primrose and H'aanit followed their lead. That left Cyrus, Ophilia, Olberic, and Tressa to all stand together. Tressa looked like she was on the verge of reaching out for Ophilia, but Cyrus approached her first. "Shall we?"

Ophilia seemed shocked to be approached by him, and her eyes flicked behind Cyrus where Olberic was trying to reach out for the scholar. Even so, she agreed with a hesitant nod. "Of course." Ophilia started down the steps to one of the lower shelves with that, leaving Tressa and Olberic as the last pair of the group. 

Cyrus approached one of the shelves, and Ophilia settled down beside him. Cyrus couldn't say he was looking forward to the question he was about to ask her, but he knew it was something that needed to be said. "How are you holding up?" he asked softly. "Are you alright after hearing about your father?"

Ophilia hesitated for a long moment, freezing before reminding herself to move with a shake of her head. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I thought I had made peace with his death before. I know every person has to die eventually, but... The process of grief is very different when you believe it to have been deliberate." She wrapped one arm around her stomach like she was holding herself back from being sick. "I wish Mattias was still alive so I could ask him why he did it... And what else he could have been planning."

Cyrus nodded in understanding. "I believe we will find the answers to that question sooner rather than later... This library seems as if it could tell us a lot about Galdera," he remarked. Ophilia hummed thoughtfully, and they both pulled out books from a thirteen volume collection about magic known as Arcane Explorations Beyond. Cyrus opted for volume ten while Ophilia concentrated on the sixth book in the row. 

After a few seconds more of awkward silence, Ophilia spoke once more. "How about you?" she asked. "I know you were stressed about having to face Lucia." She slid the book back onto the shelf and pulled out volume seven instead. "For what it's worth, I think you handled yourself well when facing her."