When we reached the fourth floor, we headed straight to the west wing. To our surprise, the books about the Collision weren't hard to find at all.
I grabbed the first one that caught my eye. It was old and worn, its title barely legible:
"The Cost."
It looked more like a diary than a book, but something about it felt… important.
While I headed to a quiet corner with some tables, Olsen and Aqua were still browsing being extra picky, comparing titles and arguing softly over which ones looked more "official."
While they searched for the when, I was focused on the why.
I opened the book.
The first sentence sent a chill down my spine.
"Many in the fallen clans believe what we did was good that it would protect humankind. But I believe we just dropped a bomb on the world as we know it."
I blinked. That was… a lot heavier than I expected.
"This will make humanity stronger. But it will also tear us apart. The strong will rise, and the weak will suffer again."
I figured the author was talking about magic.
Then came something I hadn't even considered.
"Earth's lack of magic has acted like a cloak an invisible shield. The only reason we haven't been attacked by otherworldly species is because they can't sense us. But when magic returns… they'll feel it. All of them."
My eyes widened. My hands gripped the pages tighter.
"We'll become a beacon. A target. Some will gain incredible power. Others… will die."
I leaned back, stunned. They never said any of this when they talked about the Collision. They made it sound like salvation.
But this?
This sounded like a warning.
Just as I turned to the next page...
"Yes! We found it!!" Aqua suddenly shouted.
"Aqua," Olsen hissed, "Calm down. We don't even know what it means yet."
I looked up. "What did you find?"
Aqua grinned as she flipped through the pages of a thick black book. "At first, I thought it was just poetry. But now I'm sure it's about the Collision."
Olsen stepped in beside her. "She said it was nonsense. I said it was important."
He pointed to a passage near the back.
"If you wish to know the date, look for the painting where our hearts align."
I tilted my head. "What does that mean? 'Where our hearts align?' I've never heard that before."
"Neither have we," Olsen said. "But it has to be a clue."
We spent the next hour buried in the books.
I kept reading through The Cost, learning more about the Collision how it wasn't just a return of magic.
It was something bigger.
A second world.
"The Collision is when a spirit world, made entirely of magic, crashes into Earth. From that moment forward, Earth itself becomes a spirit world. People won't just learn magic… they'll be fused with it."
"Only when a spirit world collides with a normal one can its magic be transferred. This is how magic was lost… and how it will be born again."
We would all survive.
But we would not be the same.
The library was quiet by the time the clock struck midnight. Olsen and Aqua finally packed up their things and headed home.
Eli stayed behind.
He couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened but not just the mystery, the magic, or the books.
It was the feeling.
For the first time in years, he'd had fun. Real fun with people his own age.
People who didn't care about his last name or his money.
People who didn't treat him like he was fragile or broken just because he was alone.
He hadn't been bullied growing up. No one dared.
But the moment anyone found out he was rich and his parents had disappeared they treated him like a ghost.
A shadow.
Not someone they really saw.
As he flopped onto his bed, something in him stirred.He opened the top drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a small, heart-shaped necklace.
It was his mother's.
One of the maids had given it to him the day his parents disappeared, saying it was from her. He'd kept it ever since.
He held it now, feeling the soft warmth that always came when he touched it.
A distant memory flickered behind his eyes. A soft voice. A smile.
He didn't want to let go.
And eventually, he fell asleep with the necklace in his hand.
---
Meanwhile…
"The only reason I kept her around was for such a simple mission and she still failed!!" Ruby shouted from inside her dark study.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her fingers trembled as she bit at her nails, pacing the room in frustration.
"And those two brats who are they? Please don't let them be from the Abarice Clan…"
Her voice dropped, almost a whisper. "I destroyed everything. There's no way they could trace me. I made sure of it."
Just then, a nervous voice came from the doorway.
"Mom… you called me?"
Ruby turned sharply. Calila stood at the threshold, visibly tense.
"Why did I even bother giving birth to you?" Ruby snapped. "Useless!"
"I-I tried," Calila said, her voice shaky. "I tried to get close to Eli..."
"You couldn't even handle that?!" Ruby's voice boomed. "One boy! One soft, sheltered boy! And you failed. You're lucky I don't get rid of you right now. I'm still just as powerful as I was ten years ago!"
"I'm 23 now," Calila said, trying to hold her ground. "I'm too old for these games."
"23?" Ruby sneered. "Funny, I wouldn't know. I've spent every year cleaning up your messes. All I asked was for you to manipulate a teenage boy, and you couldn't do even that right!"
Then, without warning, her voice went cold.
Quiet.
"Maybe I should do what I did to you… ten years ago."
Calila froze.
Her body tensed. Her breathing quickened. Her eyes flicked toward the exit.
"You remember what that was, don't you?" Ruby whispered.
"…Yes," Calila replied, trembling.
"Then do what I said, before the Collision happens," Ruby hissed.
"Now."
Calila turned and left quickly, her shoulders shaking.
Inside, Ruby slumped into a chair and gulped down a glass of water, muttering to herself.
"My plan was flawless. I was so close. I would've had the scrolls… if it wasn't for her."
Outside the room, Calila collapsed against the wall, tears spilling quietly down her face.
"She didn't even say happy birthday… again."
She hadn't expected much. Not from her.
But deep down, she'd hoped that maybe, just once…
She would care.
Meanwhile, far from the city, Aqua and Olsen stood at the towering gates of the Abarice Clan's main branch house.
"We come with urgent news!" they said in unison, their voices sharp with urgency.
The guards both familiar faces from the clan glanced at each other.
"The leader isn't expecting you until tomorrow," one of them replied, polite but firm.
"This is about Ruby," Olsen said quickly.
At that name, the guards stiffened, their expressions changing to shock.
"But… Ruby died ten years ago," one of them muttered.
"I don't think that's the case," Aqua said, her voice cold.
The guards exchanged a tense glance, then stepped aside.
"Alright. Straight to the leader and back—no detours."
As the great wooden doors groaned open, one guard mumbled under his breath, "If Ruby really is back… I don't know how we'll stop her this time. We barely survived the first time."
Inside, they navigated the stone hallways until they stood before a heavy oak door, marked with the clan's symbol.
Aqua pushed it open without knocking. "We've got a big problem, old man!"
The chief, an aging man with an eye patch and a calm demeanor looked up from his desk. Despite his grizzled appearance, his aura wasn't fearsome. He was known for his kindness, especially to the two orphans he'd raised as his own.
"I thought you two were staying in the city until we had a confirmed Collision date," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"Change of plans," Aqua said, grinning as she ran up and hugged him.
Olsen stepped forward. "We might have something that points to the Collision's exact date but that's not why we're here."
The chief leaned forward, now serious.
"We think Ruby's still alive," Olsen continued, his tone grave. "She's been living under a false identity… as a maid. In Eli Whitlock's mansion."
The room went silent.
Then the chief stood his hands trembling, not with fear, but with fury.
"That traitor..." he growled. "First she murdered my best friend. And now she's spying on the Whitlock family?"
The air seemed to crackle with energy.
"I should've ended her myself."
He slammed a fist down on the desk, then took a deep breath, forcing himself calm.
"You two did well. But I don't want you getting tangled in this mess any further. Focus on the Collision. We still need confirmation."
Aqua looked like she wanted to argue, but Olsen touched her shoulder. She nodded reluctantly.
"Fine… but if she lays a hand on Eli..."
"She won't," the chief assured them. "I have a plan."
After they said their goodbyes and left, the chief sat in silence, staring at a large map pinned on the wall one depicting the world after the Collision, marked with glowing ley lines and circles.
He picked up a phone and dialed a number burned into memory.
"It's time," he said to the person on the other end. "I've got a job for you."
A long pause.
"We need to eliminate Ruby before the Collision. If she moves now, she could unravel everything we've built."
He reached out and touched a framed photograph an old image of the world with a bestial silhouette superimposed across it.
"If the prophecy is true… then that special beast will come. And when it does, you and I will rise as one of the Seven Great Nation leaders."
A beat of silence passed.
Then the chief spoke the name of the man, his voice low and pleased.
"Ain't that right… Jewel."
He smiled.
The game had begun.