Sylvoir cleared her throat and matched my gesture, resting her cute chin on her delicate hands as she looked into my eyes. "The proposal is this: you tell us everything you know about the power you hold within your body, and in return…"
My ears perked up.
"… All sixteen of us will grant you one favor each," she concluded. "No matter what you ask us to do, as long as it doesn't concern the Library, we will do our best to grant it."
I scanned my eyes over the other Founders. They were all calm and collected despite the shocking words that just came out of Sylvoir's mouth. They must've already discussed this carefully beforehand, and judged my information to be worth the trouble.
Still… why were they so desperate for information regarding my power…? I get that it was certainly powerful, but… was it really worth all of this?
"How about it? This is a one-time offer," Sylvoir said dangerously. "Think about it carefully, Xuan Kai. Sixteen powerful beings such as us, sixteen favors. Whether it is money, power, fame, or women, we can provide you with anything."
I sighed. "Like I said fifty times already… I don't know what you-"
"Denying it won't change our mind, kid," Hephestus snorted. "We know full well ya be hidin' somethin'. We've already offered ya such good terms… it would be a waste if ya didn't accept them."
"…" I purposely showed some hesitation to keep my act up, being careful not to think anything related to my demeanor so Lienne wouldn't be able to expose me.
"… Fine." I said at last.
"So? Does that mean you admit you know something?" Luisfer, the Demon Founder, chuckled.
I shrugged. "Perhaps. But before that, I need a guarantee on your words. How am I supposed to know you won't just go back on our agreement after I tell you the info, or even kill me to silence me? Doing that would be as easy as breathing for you. You can't possibly be expecting me to trust you blindly, right?"
Sylvoir shook her head. "Of course not. Therefore… the sixteen of us have came together to an agreement. You, Xuan Kai, shall become the Seventeenth Founder of the Library of Infinite Beginnings."
"… Come again?"
"… What? You wanted a guarantee, did you not?"
"Uh… yeah, but how is this supposed to guarantee anything?"
"… Sylvoir, he doesn't understand what becoming a Founder means," Aluna said gently. "We should explain that to him first."
"Ah… right," Sylvoir cleared her throat, before continuing. "You see, the Founders of the Library are like the pillars supporting it. If even one Founder dies, the entire Library will collapse. When that happens… this will not be the only world affected."
"Only world…?" I frowned in confusion.
"… That is a story for another day. For now, you just need to know that the role of Founder is an incredibly important one. While we can designate as many Founders as we want, once the role is given, it cannot be taken back. Said Founder also cannot be killed, or else the Library will collapse. Do you understand now? The amount of trust that we place onto you shoulders."
"… How can you be so sure I won't betray the Library?" I asked.
"We can't," Sino, the Dark Elf founder, was the one to respond this time around. "But hey, I like you. You're pretty cold and ruthless to outsiders, but to the people you care about - those girls, wink, wink - you're actually quite the warm boyfriend-type."
"… That was unnecessary, Sino," Sylvoir reprimanded.
"A-Ah, was it? Sorry, Sylvoir, my bad."
"In any case…" Sylvoir sighed. "It is as he says. We cannot be sure you will not turn traitor on us. However… we would like to believe you. We trust you, in other words, which is why we are making this proposal."
"… I understand," I said. "But I don't trust you, unfortunately. How can I know you're not just giving me some random surge of power and claiming I'm a Founder now?"
And then, for the first time, Sylvoir smiled. It was faint, but it was there.
"You need not worry about that. You will know it when you feel it."
"Huh?"
"Just say you accept the proposal, and the process will begin."
"Uh… I accept the proposal if I am really turned into a Founder of the Library, I guess…?"
"Very well. Everyone, begin the process."
The sixteen Founders nodded collectively, and closed their eyes, beginning some sort of chant.
I felt myself suddenly begin to levitate upwards, higher and higher.
"W-Woah, hey!"
But the Founders did not stop. I tried breaking free with my own spells such as Flight, but none of them worked.
I rose higher and higher, until at last, all sixteen Founders' eyes flew open at the same time, as they shot out a beam of energy towards me from their index and middle fingers.
The energy was not hostile - instead, it flowed into my body easily, and felt pretty nice too. It warmed my whole being as I felt power surging through my veins.
Then, suddenly, the energy stopped. I gently fell back towards the ground, landing solidly on my two feet. But my expression was still that of shock.
I felt… different, somehow. After that ritual, it was like I became a whole new existence. The feeling was difficult to explain in words, but for some reason, I felt… omnipotent. As if I could see through everything. My senses were greatly enhanced, and I felt my body become lighter and easier to move as well.
I glanced down at my two hands in wonder as I balled them into fists and relaxed them again, repeating this process back and forth a couple of times.
"This… I feel a lot stronger now," I admitted at last. "But can this really prove anything?"
"Close your eyes, Xuan Kai," Aluna said with a warm, gentle smile.
I was doubtful, but I did as told. However, the moment I did, I immediately opened them again.
"What… was that?"
"What you just saw was the Library's true appearance," Sigil, the Celesticus Founder explained.
"What? But… it was just hovering in the sky, with a reflection of some kind below it, despite there not being any water or glass around…"
"Precisely. But that is not all. I want you to close your eyes once more and enter what we call the 'Infinite Realm'. When you see the Library in the distance, turn around, without opening your eyes. There, you will find your 'guarantee'," Sylvoir said, folding her arms.
I did as told once again, closing my eyes. In my mind, I saw a bright blue sky with calming white clouds drifting by. In the distance was the structure I had saw earlier, the 'true' appearance of the Library, as Sigil claimed. Taking a deep breath, I turned around.
"… What…" I murmured without opening my eyes.
In front of me, within the 'Infinite Realm', were sixteen pillars, surrounding one central pillar that seemed to be glowing a bright yellow. For reasons I couldn't explain, I felt compelled to go towards it.
Slowly, I walked to it, admiring the other pillars in the process. I saw that they each had a symbol on them - a flame insignia, a heart insignia, a fang insignia, and wing insignia, and much more. It seemed that each of them represented one of the sixteen Founders.
And then, at last, I arrived at the seventeenth pillar, in the middle of them all.
Hesitantly, I traced my finger on it. However, the moment my skin made contact with the rough stone, the glowing intensified, so much so that I had to block my eyes.
When the glowing finally subdued, I found myself staring at a pillar that stood taller than all the rest. While the others were emitting different colors of light, this one was glowing an ominous black paired with red energy. The insignia on it was some kind of rune-like symbol.
Wait.. I've seen this rune before…
I thought back to when I first awakened my Chaos power, in that dark alleyway. The stone pendant - now Mei Gui - had turned black with a glowing red rune inscribed on it back then…
My eyes shot wide open.
The two runes… they're the same.
I found myself looking at the sixteen other Founders, who all wore a grin on their faces. Even Count Draculus and Sylvoir, who didn't smile much at all, had a slight smirk. Hell, even Kracken, a literal mini-octopus, appeared to be smiling, somehow.
"It seems he has forged his connection," Runter, the quiet yet friendly Giant Founder said gently.
"Yes… it seems he has," Tian Lin, the Human Founder, murmured in amusement.
Sylvoir smiled, and in an instant, teleported from the other end of the table to directly in front of me, holding out her hand.
"Welcome to the Library of Infinite Beginnings, Xuan Kai. You are one of us now."
I let out a deep sigh, then smirked and took her hand, shaking it firmly.
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