The Archivist's Game

Into the Pages

The lethal intruder did not hesitate to close the distance between life and death.

He lunged straight across the narrow fiction aisle with an unnatural, blurring speed that defied human physics. As he moved, his long fingers curved inward, instantly clawing into sharp hooks of pure, crackling crimson energy that hissed through the air. The distance between them vanished in the blink of an eye.

Liam acted entirely on raw, unadulterated panic. The invisible strings that had been holding him frozen vanished the exact moment the monster sprang forward. Liam knew he did not possess a single weapon. He did not have any high level stats, he had no combat experience, and he certainly could not fight a supernatural monster who could execute a fully geared survivor with a single gesture. As the silver haired killer descended upon him, Liam looked down in desperation. He grabbed the thick, heavy Victorian hardcover book he had dropped earlier on the linoleum floor and thrust it straight forward like a makeshift shield.

"Stay back!" Liam shrieked, closing his eyes tightly as he braced for the impact of those glowing energy claws. "Get away from me!"

The silver haired killer laughed, his voice ringing out through the empty building with malicious delight. "Do you really think a piece of cardboard is going to save your life, little rabbit? You are completely helpless!"

The moment the killer’s hand made direct contact with the front cover, the book violently flared to life.

A massive torrent of blinding white light erupted from the printed paper, completely obscuring the dark rows of bookshelves and the brick walls. The light rapidly twisted and spun, transforming into a massive, howling vortex right between them. The suction from the open pages was absolute, pulling at the air, the dust, and the very fabric of their clothes. It was like a miniature black hole had opened up inside the room.

"What is this?" The killer roared, his wicked smile instantly turning into a deep scowl of genuine shock as the white light wrapped tightly around his torso like heavy chains. "What are you doing to me, archivist? Undo this right now!"

"I don't know!" Liam screamed back, his hands completely glued to the vibrating book. "I can't let go! It is pulling me too!"

"Let go of the book!" the killer snarled, struggling against the light. "You have no idea what you are messing with!"

"I am trying to survive!" Liam yelled, his voice cracking under the pressure of the wind. "You tried to kill me first!"

Liam felt his boots leave the linoleum floor entirely as the powerful vortex dragged both of them forward, pulling them headfirst directly into the glowing, open pages of the novel. The world spun into a dizzying blur of ink, text, and burning white paper. They were falling into a bottomless pit of sentences and paragraphs.

The central library fell completely silent once more, the howling wind vanishing in a fraction of a second. The heavy Victorian book slammed shut with a sharp click, suspended perfectly in midair above the aisle floor. Its pages began flickering rapidly, turning over and over as if being read by an incredibly fast, invisible hand. The dead body in the next aisle remained still, but the book held the only two living souls left in the building.

Suddenly, the cold, robotic voice of the system chimed loudly in the empty room, broadcasting to nobody.

"Emergency protocol engaged. Quick transmigration activated. Target: The Mystery of Blackwood Manor. Objective: Tame the Red Lord, Julian. Current Progress: five percent."

The book continued to hover in the dark, silent aisle, its pages turning silently in the dark, waiting for its characters to finish the story.