Rain continued to fall over Ashgrove.

For three days, the villagers rarely ventured outside, leaving the Aldren Library quieter than usual.

Kai welcomed the silence.

It gave him time to explore shelves that few visitors had touched in decades.

The damaged sections of the library had mostly been repaired. Fresh timber replaced shattered beams, while villagers donated new shelves to hold the surviving books.

Not every volume had been saved.

The empty spaces remained.

Silent reminders of knowledge that would never return.

Kai paused before a neglected shelf hidden behind the History Archives.

Its books were coated in a thick layer of dust.

Even the catalog tag had faded beyond recognition.

He smiled.

"This looks promising."

He pulled out the first volume.

The leather cracked softly in his hands.

Across its weathered cover, barely visible beneath centuries of wear, were embossed words in silver ink.

Chronicles of the First Librarians

Kai had never seen the title before.

He carefully carried it to his favorite reading table beside the eastern window.

As he opened the first page, a note written in elegant handwriting greeted him.

"History belongs not to those who swing the sword, but to those who remember why it was drawn."

He turned the page.

Then another.

Soon, the outside world disappeared.

According to the ancient chronicle, the profession of Librarian had once ranked among the kingdom's most respected callings.

Not because librarians fought monsters.

But because no great expedition dared leave without one.

Kai blinked.

"...Impossible."

He continued reading.

A typical adventuring party one thousand years ago consisted of six members.

A swordsman.

A guardian.

A healer.

A mage.

A scout.

And...

A librarian.

Kai reread the sentence twice.

Surely it had to be a mistake.

Modern adventuring parties had no such position.

He turned another page.

The explanation followed immediately.

Unlike warriors, who mastered weapons...

Or mages, who specialized in elemental arts...

Ancient librarians possessed an extraordinary gift.

They could study and retain knowledge from nearly every discipline.

Medicine.

Herbalism.

Navigation.

Languages.

Engineering.

History.

Monster ecology.

Ancient rituals.

Siege construction.

Diplomacy.

Agriculture.

Even forgotten professions.

The chronicle described them as Walking Archives.

A single librarian often carried hundreds of books during expeditions.

Whenever the party encountered an unknown monster...

The librarian identified it.

When poisonous plants blocked the path...

The librarian recognized the antidote.

If storms trapped the expedition...

The librarian predicted weather patterns.

When ancient ruins appeared...

The librarian translated forgotten languages.

If bridges collapsed...

The librarian knew how to rebuild them.

"They weren't fighters..."

Kai whispered.

"They made everyone else stronger."

One faded illustration showed an expedition crossing a frozen mountain range.

The warriors stood in front.

The mage illuminated the path.

Yet the figure at the center carried no weapon.

Only books.

The caption beneath the illustration read:

"A wise party survives battles it never needed to fight."

Kai smiled.

"...Grandfather would've loved that."

As he continued reading, another chapter captured his attention.

Its title occupied an entire page.

The Great Librarian of the Eastern Campaign

The illustration showed an elderly man wearing flowing white robes embroidered with countless silver quills.

Unlike ordinary librarians, his cloak was covered with symbols Kai did not recognize.

Behind him floated dozens of open books, their pages turning without wind.

Below the portrait was written a single name.

Asterion, Grand Archivist of the Eternal Library

Kai frowned.

"I've never heard of him..."

He immediately searched his memory.

Every child in Valerion knew the story of the Catastrophic Dragon Lord.

One thousand years ago, the Eastern Kingdom had nearly fallen beneath the rule of the black dragon Varkhazar.

Entire cities burned.

Countless heroes perished.

The Dragon Lord commanded monsters, corrupted beasts, and volcanic flames that blackened the sky.

According to every history book...

The legendary Hero-King Cedric defeated the dragon after a final battle lasting seven days.

Statues of Cedric stood in every major city.

Songs praised his courage.

Academies taught his swordsmanship.

But...

Kai had never once heard anyone mention Asterion.

Curious, he kept reading.

The chronicle painted a very different story.

Hero-King Cedric had indeed delivered the final blow.

No one denied that.

But the victory had never belonged to him alone.

For twelve years before the final battle, Grand Archivist Asterion traveled beside the Hero's party.

It was Asterion who identified the Dragon Lord's true name after translating forgotten draconic tablets.

It was Asterion who discovered a hidden mountain pass that allowed the army to bypass an entire legion of monsters.

It was Asterion who recognized the symptoms of the Ash Rot plague and prepared the medicine that saved thousands of soldiers.

It was Asterion who repaired ancient bridges using engineering methods no longer practiced.

It was Asterion who negotiated peace between rival kingdoms so their armies could unite.

And when the Hero's sacred sword shattered during the sixth day of battle...

The chronicle claimed Asterion remembered an old blacksmith's technique hidden inside an even older manuscript.

Using that forgotten method, the sword was restored before dawn.

Kai slowly lowered the book.

"...He saved them over and over."

Near the end of the chapter, the writing changed.

The ink had faded, as though copied from an even older source.

"Many believed the Hero defeated the Dragon Lord by strength alone.

They did not witness the thousand decisions that made that victory possible.

The Grand Archivist carried no crown.

He claimed no land.

He asked for no songs.

Yet history itself would have ended differently had he not walked beside the Hero."

Kai sat in silence.

His heart pounded.

Why had no one ever told this story?

He hurried toward the general history section and pulled out three modern textbooks.

Each contained the tale of Hero-King Cedric.

Each praised the legendary battle.

Each described the Dragon Lord's defeat.

None mentioned Asterion.

Not once.

Kai frowned.

"They erased him..."

He checked another history book.

Nothing.

A military record.

Nothing.

A collection of heroic legends.

Still nothing.

It was as if the greatest librarian in history had never existed.

Just then, Edric entered the reading hall carrying a basket of repaired books.

He noticed the open chronicle immediately.

"You found that one."

Kai looked up.

"Father... have you read this?"

Edric smiled faintly.

"Many years ago."

"Is it true?"

His father remained silent for a long moment before answering.

"I don't know."

Kai blinked.

"You don't?"

"The book is genuine."

"The handwriting is ancient."

"But historians argue about it."

"Some believe Asterion truly existed."

"Others claim he is only a symbol."

"A story created to honor our profession."

Kai looked back at the portrait.

If Asterion had been real...

Why had history forgotten him?

Unless...

Someone had wanted him forgotten.

Edric gently closed the chronicle.

"Our family has protected books like this for generations."

"Not because we know every answer."

"But because one day..."

"...someone like you might ask the right questions."

Kai looked at his father.

Then at the portrait once more.

The old Grand Archivist seemed almost alive, his calm eyes fixed upon the reader across a thousand years.

For reasons Kai could not explain, he felt as though the man in the illustration was waiting.

Waiting for someone to remember.

Deep beneath the library, the ancient silver rune pulsed again.

This time, a second rune awakened beside it.

Dust fell from a stone door that had not moved since the age of heroes.

From somewhere beyond the sealed chamber came the faint echo of turning pages.

As though an unseen librarian had just opened another book.