Chapter 6: The Child Who Remembered Tomorrow
901 Words
Chapter Six
The Child Who Remembered Tomorrow
The laughter echoed through the Library Beneath Memory.
It was not loud.
It did not need to be.
It slipped between the shelves like a cold breeze, soft enough to be mistaken for imagination, yet sharp enough to make every soul in the chamber tremble.
The Bell Keeper's face drained of colour.
"No..."
His voice cracked.
"It cannot be."
Mara slowly turned towards the endless darkness beyond the towering shelves.
"I know that laugh."
Elias looked from one to the other.
"Who is it?"
Neither answered.
The silence itself became their reply.
---
The books began falling from the shelves.
Not because the ground shook.
Because something unseen was walking between them.
One by one, ancient volumes lifted into the air before gently moving aside, as though making way for a royal visitor.
A narrow passage opened through the endless library.
At the far end stood a child.
He could not have been older than eight.
Barefoot.
Dressed in a simple grey robe.
His silver hair rested upon his shoulders like strands of moonlight.
But it was his eyes that stole Elias's breath.
One eye reflected the night sky.
The other reflected a brilliant sunrise.
He smiled.
It was the smile of a child.
And the sadness of someone older than eternity.
---
"You came," the child said.
His voice was gentle.
Almost joyful.
"I knew you would."
Elias frowned.
"Do... do I know you?"
The child giggled.
"Not yet."
"You won't remember me until tomorrow."
He tilted his head.
"Although..."
His smile faded.
"There may not be a tomorrow anymore."
---
The Bell Keeper bowed so deeply that his forehead touched the stone floor.
"My Prince..."
The child sighed.
"I haven't been a prince for a very long time."
Mara lowered her head in respect.
Only Elias remained standing.
Confused.
"Who is he?"
The Bell Keeper rose slowly.
"There are many names history has forgotten."
"But before the Thirty-First Midnight was sealed..."
"There was one name even the heavens feared to erase."
He looked towards the child.
"This is Auren..."
"The Child Who Remembered Tomorrow."
---
Elias stared.
"What does that mean?"
Auren walked slowly towards him.
With every step he took, faded colours returned to the library.
Books regained their glow.
Broken shelves repaired themselves.
Even the cracks in the floor began closing.
"I remember things before they happen," Auren said quietly.
"I remember conversations that have not yet been spoken."
"I remember tears before they are shed."
"I remember funerals before anyone dies."
He looked directly into Elias's eyes.
"I remember your last words."
A chill swept through Elias.
"What... what are they?"
The child closed his eyes.
"They're too painful to speak."
---
A sudden roar thundered through the library.
The towering doorway exploded outward.
The Collector entered.
Its black stone mask remained expressionless.
The blue lantern burned brighter than ever.
Every tiny light within it swirled violently.
The Collector stopped when it saw Auren.
For the first time...
It hesitated.
The child smiled sadly.
"You still don't remember me."
The Collector remained motionless.
A single crack appeared across its smooth black mask.
Then another.
Then another.
Tiny fragments fell to the floor.
Beneath the mask...
A human eye slowly opened.
It was filled with tears.
---
"No..." whispered Mara.
"It remembers."
The Collector staggered backwards.
Its lantern shook violently.
Thousands of blue lights escaped into the air, filling the library like a river of stars.
Each light carried a forgotten memory.
Laughter.
Birthdays.
Wedding vows.
The voices of mothers singing their children to sleep.
Promises.
Dreams.
Names.
The library came alive with echoes of countless lives.
The Collector fell to one knee.
Its hands trembled.
For the first time in ages beyond memory...
It wept.
---
Then the joy vanished.
A shadow darker than midnight spread across the ceiling.
The temperature dropped.
Every liberated memory froze where it floated.
The Hollow King's voice filled the chamber.
"So..."
"You found the child."
His immense silver eyes appeared within the darkness above.
"Auren."
The child looked up.
"I remember when you smiled."
For a brief moment, sorrow crossed the unseen King's face.
Then it was gone.
"You should have forgotten me."
"I tried."
Auren whispered.
"But love is the one memory even eternity cannot bury."
The library fell completely silent.
Even the Hollow King did not speak.
---
The Bell Keeper slowly approached Elias.
"There is something you must understand."
"The Hollow King was never alone."
"He had a son."
Elias looked towards Auren.
Realisation struck him.
"The child..."
The Bell Keeper nodded.
"Auren is the Prince of the Forgotten Kingdom."
"He is also..."
"The only being who can either restore his father..."
"Or imprison him forever."
---
Without warning, the Book of the Forgotten Hour burst open.
Its pages turned faster than a storm.
Golden ink blazed across the final page.
Every person in the library stared at the prophecy.
WHEN THE SECOND BELL RINGS...
THE SON SHALL CHOOSE BETWEEN HIS FATHER...
AND THE WORLD.
The words dissolved into ash.
At that exact moment...
A deep bell echoed across creation.
Once.
Twice.
The Second Bell had begun to ring.
Far beyond the broken sky, the cracks widened.
Something vast stirred behind them.
And for the first time since the beginning of time...
The stars themselves began to fall.
End of Chapter Six
Next Chapter: When the Stars Began to Fall
- Writer
