Library of Rain

A Book for a Brother

Rain used the last charge of ‘Libraien’s search’ to bring Ms. White before her and Lucus. To her relief, when the skill vanished, she felt like some of the pressure and pain from her soul vanished with it. For the first time in days, her soul only felt like it was in a bed of coals instead of a bonfire. 

“Are you finally ready to fulfill your promise?”

“Soon.”

The look of shock that spread across Ms. White's face almost made Rain laugh. Her current apathy from summoning Ms. White was probably the only thing that prevented it. 

“Very well, what do you need?”

Rain turned to Lucus, who looked just as uncomfortable as the last time he was in Rain’s Library. 

“What are you looking for?”

“Is she going to help me find the book?”

“Yes, this is Ms. White. She’s my friend.”

Ms. White fluctuated slightly at that but said nothing.

“Is it okay if I ask her, or do I need to tell you?”

“I… don’t know. Can he ask you directly, Ms. White?”

“Yes, I can find what he asks for if that is what you desire.”

“Alright, then, help Lucus find the type of book he’s looking for, but make sure it won't corrupt him badly!”

“I’m afraid the last part of the request is beyond me.” Ms. White answered with a grin as she leaned down to listen to what Lucus whispered in her ear.

“I understand; follow me.”

Was it just Rain, or did Ms. White look like she was up to something? She wasn’t intentionally bringing Lucus to a dangerous book because Rain hadn’t gotten her a body yet, was she?

Rain followed Ms. White into the depths of the mist room while never taking her eyes off the spectral woman. She wouldn’t let Lucus read any book Ms. White offered if she thought it was a trap.

A few shelves in Ms. White stopped before floating straight up.

“This book is the one you want.” she said, pointing to a white and black book far too high up for Rain or Lucus to reach.”

“Can you bring it down for us?” Rain asked.

“No.”

Well, it had been worth a try. 

Rain was about to start climbing the selves to get to the book when Lucus limped off and grabbed a ladder Rain hadn’t seen before and rolled it over to the spot Ms. White was floating by.

“Good idea,” Rain said, pretending she hadn’t been about to try to climb over a story high up a bookshelf.

Lucus nodded, the muscles in his face tight, and climbed up the ladder to retrieve the book. A moment later, he returned with a thin black book with interlocking lumpy white circles on it.

“With that, I finish my task.” Ms. White said before slipping back into Rain’s shadow. 

[WARNING: Physical corruption has risen 1%. Current Physical corruption 7%.]

Rain muttered a quiet thank you to Mr. Purple before returning her attention to Lucus.

“Don’t read that here. Let's return to Estom manor first.” Rain wanted to be able to see the shimmer when Lucus read the book. She might be able to help him if something went wrong.

Lucus nodded, gingerly holding the book away from himself and following Rain out of the library. The only sound Rain could hear as they left was Lon’s soft voice whispering from the darkness, “So much for protecting your brother. You’ll ruin his life just like mine.”

***

A few hours later, Rain and Lucus were alone in Lucus’s bedroom. Ise and a very disappointed looking Svend were at an assembly for all the servants, making this the perfect time to use the book. 

Rain squeezed Snow tight, unable to get Lon’s words out of her mind. He hadn’t said anything since then, but he didn’t need to. The fear his words had reawakened was already deep in her mind. 

This was the right thing to do, right? 

She could remember all the reasons she had agreed to let Lucus read a book, but right now, those reasons paled in the face of losing her brother. 

No, she needed to let him do this. He was a target, and if he had no power, how long would it be until he was locked in a cage and beaten, or worse? Cases like Lon's were rare. Lucus should be fine. 

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” 

“You better say goodbye. This is your last chance before you kill your brother,” Lon said from where he was leaning against the wall in the corner of the room. For once, his face was almost expressionless, devoid of the anger or sadistic glee it usually had.

Before anything else could happen, Rain dropped Snow and rushed over to hug Lucus. She tried to force all her hope and will into that hug so that it could help Lucus be safe as he read the book. 

“Get off weirdo! I'm going to be fine.”

Rain let go eventually and retreated to reclaim Snow. Lucus sat down at his desk and cleared it of drawings and notes. Rain was happy to see the knife she had given him getting extra gentle treatment as he put it to the side to make room for the thin book.

If an army had broken down the door and marched in at this moment, Rain wouldn’t have noticed. Her complete attention was focused on Lucus as he opened the book. The instant he did, Rain felt the whole world freeze. She was utterly unable to move, and she wasn’t the only thing; the shimmer collecting in the corners of the room was also motionless, as was every object in the room down to the motes of dust floating in the air.

The only thing in the room that seemed to be able to move was Lucus and the book he was reading. 

Rain was forced to watch as shimmer rose from the pages in crisp angular sheets, so unlike the wispy shimmer Rain was used to. The sheets arranged themselves into those same wheel-like shapes on the book's cover. The knobby rims of the wheel locked into place so that each nob was in the grove between two knobs of another wheel. 

Silently, the wheels started to turn. Rain checked to see if she could warp to a coin or connect to a sleeping person's mind, but the threads leaving her mind were all wispy. Every time she tried to touch them, her mental hand would pass right through. There was nothing Rain could do but hope with all her heart that her brother would be okay. 

It took much longer than Rain would have expected, but Lucus eventually looked up from the book's first page. Good! He had listened and stopped after one page. As he did, all the wheels stopped. Rain watched as Lucus seemed to struggle to stand, then to shut the book, but he was unable to do anything other than read on. 

Rain wanted to scream as Lucus gave up on escaping and turned the book's page. As he resumed reading, the wheels resumed their even turning, and Rain wept in her mind. Reading one page was usually safe, but reading more than that was not. Sure, the people who ignored her and read more were always stronger, but they almost all went mad. 

The book was thin, but each page Lucus turned tore Rain's heart. There was no way he was escaping this unscathed. This was just like Lon. Why did things always go so badly for the people Rain loved? Was there some god out there working to make Rain’s life miserable? Had she angered some great entity?

Rain was forced to watch as one of the only people in the world who cared about her was destroyed by her actions and foul luck. Again. If this was the act of some god, Rain would do whatever it took to pull that god screaming out of his realm and into the world of suffering that Rain lived in. Rain didn’t care how many people got hurt in her quest to bring punishment.

Lucus turned the last page. Unlike every time he’d tried to stop reading before, the wheels didn’t just stop turning they reversed direction, turning a single nob. The force that held Rain in place lifted, and the gong of a rich bell shook the world. As the bell’s note faded, the book on Lucus’s desk turned to ash.

[Reader Lucus has attained the limited use skill: Second Chance.]

[Creating class around Second Chance for reader Lucus.]

[WARNING: Class can not be created around Second Chance. Reader Lucus will be unable to read any book from the Library of Oru until Second Chance is lost.]

[Notice: Reader Lucus’s mental corruption has risen 0%. Current mental corruption 0%.]

[Notice: Reader Lucus’s physical corruption has risen 0%. Current physical corruption 0%.]

Rain stared in shock at the messages that swirled into beautiful, purple existence before her eyes.

“Brother, are you alright?”

“I’m, I’m alive!” Lucus said, feeling his neck and looking dazed.

That was enough for Rain; she dropped Snow again and threw herself at Lucus, hugging him as tightly as she had ever hugged anyone. He was alright - no, he was better than alright - he didn’t have any corruption! She wasn’t sure how that was possible, but she didn’t care.

Lucus stiffened the moment Rain hugged him, but she didn’t care.

“Rain.” 

That one word was filled with so much emotion that Rain couldn’t stop herself from trying to hug her brother even harder, her fingers pulling on the back of his shirt as she tried to get a better grip. 

The two stayed in silence like that for a moment. Rain could feel all her anger and fear slide into delirious joy. He was alright. He was alright!

Rain let go of Lucus and scooped Snow back up. She was too happy to stay still and started dancing with Snow, twirling him around and laughing.

“What does your skill do?” Rain asked as the room spun around her.

“Second Chance only says that it will ‘give me a chance to do things differently.’ I don’t know how to use it, though.”

Rain smiled and giggled. That was fine because her brother was safe.