I Devour the Leftovers

Chapter 6: The Library Thief

The Blackwood Tower's Library was a vertical labyrinth of books, scrolls, and floating tomes that zipped between shelves like startled birds. The air was dry and smelled of old paper and leather. It was a stark contrast to the damp, toxic Pits.

Kaelen moved through the stacks, his newfound strength allowing him to move with a silence that belied his size. He ignored the public sections—rows of basic spell theory and herbology. He needed the Restricted Section.

He found it at the very back of the library, behind a heavy iron door guarded by a Stone Golem. The construct was eight feet tall, its body carved from a single block of granite. Its eyes glowed with a faint blue light.

Kaelen didn't have a spell to bypass it. He had his mind.

He observed the golem for ten minutes. It stood perfectly still, its head rotating in a slow, 180-degree sweep every thirty seconds.

Click.

A sound from the hallway. Footsteps. A librarian was approaching.

Kaelen had no time. He needed a distraction.

He looked around. He saw a stack of heavy, leather-bound books on a nearby cart. He grabbed one—a massive volume on Elemental Theory—and hurled it down the opposite aisle.

Thud. Crash.

The golem's head snapped toward the noise. It took a step forward, its heavy feet shaking the floor.

Kaelen moved. He slipped past the golem while its attention was diverted, pressing himself against the door. He reached for the handle.

It was locked. Not with a key, but with a magical ward. He could feel the energy humming against his skin. If he touched it, the alarm would trigger.

He looked at his mutated arm. The Vyre larva pulsed. It was a creature of the Astral Sea, a place of raw, chaotic magic. Maybe it could disrupt the ward.

He placed his palm against the door. He focused, willing the parasite to extend a tiny tendril of its essence.

Zzzzt.

A spark jumped from the door to his hand. The ward flickered. For a split second, the magic was disrupted.

Kaelen pushed the door open and slipped inside.

The Restricted Section was dark, lit only by a few candles that burned with a cold, blue flame. The shelves here were made of black wood, and the books were chained to them.

He scanned the titles. The Anatomy of Demons. Starfire and its Uses. Flesh and Stone: A Treatise on Transmutation.

He found what he was looking for in a dusty corner: The Vyre Larva: A Study in Symbiosis and Parasitism.

He pulled the book from the shelf. The chains clattered.

As he opened the cover, a sharp pain lanced through his head. The Alchemic Codex in his mind activated, scanning the text.

[Data Download Initiated: Vyre Larva Research]

[Warning: Information contains mental hazards.]

The words on the page seemed to rearrange themselves, forming a direct link to his consciousness. He learned that the Vyre was not just a parasite. It was a Key. It could unlock latent genetic potential in its host. But it was also a gateway. If the host's will was weak, the Vyre would consume them and become a Demon Prince in the material world.

He also found a diagram. It showed the Vyre's lifecycle. It started as a larva, then a pupa, then a mature entity. But there was a fourth stage. A Hybrid Stage. Where the host and the parasite merged into a single, godlike being.

Kaelen's eyes widened. This was the path. Not just survival. Ascension.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

A voice shattered the silence.

Kaelen spun around. Standing in the doorway was a woman. She was tall, with silver hair and eyes that seemed to see right through him. She wore a robe of deep purple, and a silver pendant hung around her neck—the symbol of a Master Librarian.

"You're not supposed to be here," she said, her voice calm. "And that book... it's not for the likes of you."

Kaelen closed the book. He didn't apologize. He didn't run. He assessed the threat.

She was a mage. Powerful. But she was unarmed. And Kaelen was not.

"I'm reading," Kaelen said, his voice flat.

The librarian smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Reading is for the living. You, boy, are barely that."

She raised her hand. A sphere of crackling blue energy formed in her palm.

Kaelen tensed. He was outmatched. He knew it.

But he had the advantage of surprise. And he had the parasite.

He didn't wait for her to attack. He lunged forward, not at her, but at the bookcase behind her.

He slammed into it with his full strength.

The heavy bookcase toppled over, crashing down on the librarian. She screamed as the wood and books pinned her to the floor. The energy sphere fizzled out.

Kaelen didn't stop. He grabbed the book and ran, slipping out the door and into the shadows of the library.

He had the knowledge. Now he needed to find a place to use it.