“Why use a symbol of failure in a prison used to imprison Unreads?”

  Lucian’s thought slipped out of his mouth as he was too focused on the symbol.

  “You are quite knowledgeable for a newly awakened Librarian, I must say.”

  At the end of the staircase, a voice emerged. Lucian immediately followed it and saw a man wearing thick glasses and a long coat standing there with a welcoming smile.

  ‘Damn my mouth.’ Lucian cursed silently.

  “You are not wrong. In that story, the craftsman’s masterpiece indeed failed. However, if you follow the craftsman’s story further, you will find that later these eight pillars were used as a blueprint to craft a legendary prison where thousands of demons were held for hundreds of years,” the man explained with utmost poise.

  Lucian frowned. ‘And why does that matter? He failed at the most important time,’ he thought inwardly.

  After all, a hundred small successes were always forgotten, people would always remember your one great failure.

  Kasturi, with his usual tone that clearly conveyed his unwillingness to do his work, introduced the man.

  “He is Tobin. He happens to work here.”

  “Ahem,” Tobin coughed, casting a sidelong glance at Kasturi. “Tobin Reed. A Reader who specializes in sealing abilities.”

  He politely raised his hand toward Lucian for a handshake.

  Lucian, trained in high-class social etiquette, accepted his greeting with a refinement quite uncommon among Librarians.

  “Oh my, he surely has the demeanor of a noble. Are you perhaps from the high society of Rivengate?”

  “No, no. But I did work for a merchant in the Siba Harbour before,” Lucian replied.

  Of course, he was hiding his real identity. The only people who knew of him were Seraphine and Kasturi. As for his fabricated background, he claimed to be from Siba Harbour, a popular port located in the far south of the Southern Region. As for his name, Lucian was common enough that it required no alteration.

  “I see. No wonder you know of such forgotten stories. Although all stories are strictly managed by the Fifth Government, places like Siba Harbour tend to have many things hidden,” Tobin said, wearing an expression that suggested he knew more than he let on. Then he smiled, slightly raised his arms, and declared, “Welcome to the Black Prison.”

  ‘Eh…’

  For some reason, the way it sounded felt suspicious.

  ‘Am I really going to be locked here?’

  Lucian swallowed a mouthful of saliva and pasted on the smile he had practiced for moments like these, mainly to appear interested in front of Lily, who had always scolded him for being taciturn.

  “Hehe… alright, we should keep going. You only have limited-time access, after all,” Tobin said, gesturing for them to follow.

  Walking behind Kasturi and Tobin, Lucian continued observing the illusory doors.

  ‘Hmm, if my intuition is not wrong, Unreads must be kept behind those doors.’

  He tilted his head, looked at the empty space behind one of them, and sighed, unconvinced by his own thoughts.

  ‘Or rather… in the… doors…?’

  Tobin, walking ahead, looked back at him with a smile.

  “Are you curious about those doors?”

  “Yes,” Lucian replied firmly, not bothering to conceal his obvious curiosity. After all, learning secrets when given the opportunity was never a bad thing.

  “Well, I can’t tell you the exact process, but those doors are actually Unreads.”

  “Eh, Wh-What?!”

  “Hehehe… I really love that reaction from newbies,” Tobin smirked, not even attempting to hide his amusement.

  Kasturi, however, showed no change in expression, as if the face he was showing was a just statue he wore like a mask.

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  Lucian, on the other hand, was genuinely surprised. He had always thought that Unreads only appeared in monstrous forms, wreaking havoc and destruction. Truly, he had never imagined an Unread taking such a different form.

  Yet alongside the surprise, various thoughts began to take shape in his mind.

  ‘If an Unread can exist in the form of a door, sealing other Unreads, then it is logical to assume their appearances hardly have any limits.’

  At that moment, Lucian asked himself an important question.

  What is an Unread?

  According to the limited information he possessed, Unreads were manifestations of incomplete stories, the lingering remnants of tragic characters. Tragic humans. Like the Unread he had seen that night three years ago.

  An Unread born after a woman killed herself by jumping into a river, if his sister’s information was correct.

  And then the burning Unread that had chased him before the awakening of his Codex, the radio, or rather whatever mechanism sustained the illusion. It had been born from the incomplete story of a man who died in a mining explosion.

  Then the Unread currently existing inside his Codex. There was a detailed document recording the cause of her death and every abnormal event that followed.

  ‘Then what kind of death did those doors have? And there are so many of them… Eh, don’t tell me. Were these people locked behind doors until they died? Just who in the world would do such a thing… maybe… maybe the guilds. These really are helpful…’

  Lucian’s thoughts grew increasingly absurd the more he pondered.

  Kasturi frowned, as if he had read Lucian’s mind.

  “You fool, do you think Unreads are only born from human death?”

  ‘Ah, of course. Now that I think about it, that document also had something like: Origin: Human-Born.’

  Lucian nodded to himself.

  “Then just how many kinds of Unreads are there?” he asked.

  “Hehehe… as many as there are stories,” Tobin said, grinning.

  “Eh, is that why stories are forbidden?” Lucian exclaimed.

  “Yes. The more the stories, the more Unreads. The more the Unreads, the more horrifying the stories. That is one of the reasons Librarians fear Unreads born from urban legends,” Kasturi explained calmly.

  Lucian sighed.

  ‘I never thought of it that way. To me, stories were merely a taboo without understanding the reason behind it. Truly, for a frog inside a well, the entire world feels like a lie.’

  At that moment, he recognized his own lack of reflection. Living in a world filled with falsehoods, it felt as though he had lost the mind’s eye that sought reason in everything.

  “Now, we will be going to the third floor,” Tobin said as they reached a door completely different from all the others.

  The door before them was wooden with golden hinges. It lacked the illusory quality of the others, there were no intricate carvings upon it, and it was connected to a wall, no, to a room.

  In this strange dimension filled with impossibilities and illogical constructs, the door was utterly ordinary. And that very mundanity was what made it so strangely captivating.

  Tobin opened it, revealing another illusory staircase leading upward into something mingled with silvery-gray light.

  “This staircase leads to the third floor. Even I am rarely allowed to go there.”

  “What’s on the third floor?” Lucian asked.

  Tobin looked at Kasturi as if seeking permission.

  Kasturi nodded nonchalantly.

  “The Black Prison has five separate floors. Each is completely isolated from the others. The only way to travel between them is this staircase, which is created upon request for a limited time. Each floor serves a different purpose. The first floor, where we were, is known as the Errata Ward. It is used to study newly captured mystical items or Unreads before assigning them appropriate seals.”

  Lucian waited patiently for the details of the next floor.

  “The second floor is known as the Redacted Ward. There, only the items and Unreads deemed safe for use are sealed,” Tobin continued.

  He paused briefly before speaking about the third floor.

  “The third floor is known as the Annotated Ward. The items and Unreads of the dangerous kind are sealed there.”

  “How dangerous?” Lucian asked.

  “Dangerous enough to keep you alive while feeding upon your flesh, then taking control of your body, half of it gone, making your body struggle on the ground as it searches for another victim.”

  Kasturi, who had been silent all this time, spoke those words, leaving Lucian utterly flabbergasted.

  *****

  The trio stood before a dark corridor where a single illusory door remained. It was adorned with designs seemingly themed around three different characters. Above it was written: ‘003’.

  Unlike the first floor, the third floor, the Annotated Ward was designed like an abandoned hospital. The doors no longer floated like isolated islands but remained fixed in place, unnervingly still.

  “So, the human turned Unread is inside?” Lucian asked, swallowing hard.

  “Yes,” Kasturi replied simply.

  “Well then, I will be waiting outside,” Tobin said.

  “Huh? Why? Do I have to go alone?”

  “Don’t worry, Kasturi will be going with you.”

  ‘Ah, Mr. Tigerman. I feel even less confident now,’ Lucian complained inwardly.

  “Here is the key.”

  Tobin handed him a rusted iron key.

  Holding it tightly, Lucian approached the door. From within, a strange combination of green, gold, and orange light emanated.

  He inserted the key into the two-piece door and pushed it open. It opened with a heavy thud, the sound echoing like that of ancient doors in a forgotten corridor screaming like a crying baby.

  The room was dark, but as Lucian took his first step inside, a small candle flickered to life.

  Though the light was faint, he saw someone small seated on a chair in the center of the room.

  The figure appeared to be the size of a seven year old child. However, deep, tight wrinkles were visible upon that century old face. Her hair was completely gray and thin, clear proof of her age, pulled back and secured in a loose knot.

  Kasturi approached her first. Lucian followed. As they stepped fully inside, the door shut on its own, making Lucian jump in fright.

  Now the old lady was clearly visible. Her eyes were covered with a blindfold inscribed with various symbols unknown to Lucian.

  Kasturi leaned against the wall, as if leaving the conversation entirely to Lucian.

  “She is known as the Three Faced Lady. Within her, three Unreads exist simultaneously, each a master of a different school of knowledge. Our task is to gather information regarding your Codex. We cannot simply accept anyone into our guild, after all. Especially since we have no idea why you possess a Grimoire Eternum. And one of such a mysterious kind.”