CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 165 | FOUND ONE!

"Muradryn, you say...?" Zhyn repeated, his voice carrying a faint tone of curiosity as he and Jinn continued deeper into the book section of the Grand Archive.

*tap... *tap... *tap...

As they walked forward, their boots tapped slightly against the polished kritonium floor, echoing and bouncing between the towering shelves surrounding them.

Zhyn walked a few paces ahead since he was the one leading Jinn, glancing back every now and then to make sure Jinn was still following, even though Jinn’s presence alone was impossible to miss and feel.

"I remember reading about it once... but that was years ago," Zhyn spoke up as if trying to break through the silence, his mind trying to remember as to when he had read about the subject when he was a child.

"If I’m right—and not to boast, I usually am—it should be somewhere within the eidra subsection. A rare eidra such as Muradryn will definitely be there."

He then continued to move with a sense of familiarity through the books section, weaving between shelves while Jinn followed close behind, trusting him as he had obviously been her often.

As they walked together, Jinn decided to take in the surroundings around him, his eye shifting from signs attached on ornate frames that described the subject of each subsection they passed through.

From subsections of books concerning empires, politics, and history... to different species, civilizations and culture—a myriad of books were present in each subject. Each category representing entire worlds of information stored and guarded in this tower of Nythrael.

Jinn scanned everything, even though he wasn’t here to explore it all.

Still, the sheer scale of it all reminded him how small even a warrior like him could be in the face of knowledge—a never ending sea of knowledge that even he could not comprehend to digest.

*After a more minutes

Finally, both arrived at the Eidra subsection—a massive dome-like expanse that stretched upward so high the upper levels were wrapped in a faint mist.

Jinn peered upwards with his lone eye as he saw layers upon layers of floors spiraled toward the ceiling, each one filled with shelves brimming with old and ancient tomes, crystal data slabs, and preserved scriptures.

The space... felt almost alive, as if the very air was saturated with the lingering traces of eidra within the stored knowledge.

"If it’s Muradryn you’re looking for, it should be located in the uppermost sections," Zhyn said, lifting a hand to point toward a platform mechanism on the far side towards the right. "Look there, we can ride that up—"

*BANG!

But Zhyn didn’t manage to finish his words.

Jinn had already leaped off from the ground and launched himself upward with a powerful leap, his dark red cloak fluttering through the air before landing on the second platform with a subtle thud.

"Hey! What are you doing man!?" Zhyn shouted from down below.

But Jinn ignored him as peered upward... before leaping again into another platform, then another... and another, climbing the interior of the dome with swiftness until he reached the highest level in just a matter of seconds.

Zhyn sighed, pressing two fingers against the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Of course," he spoke with subtle resignation as if this was a normal occurrence.

Zhyn then walked towards the much slower and much more normal platform lift so he could catch up with Jinn.

Jinn peered just from the edge of the railing as he looked at Zhyn atop the platform which was now slowly and steadily lifting.

"Hurry up, man, I don’t got all morning," Jinn called out, his voice echoing faintly as he leaned his back against the upper platform’s railing. His arms were crossed over his chest, his expression somewhere between impatient and bored while he watched the slow-moving lift crawl its way upward.

.

.

.

After what felt like an entire hour—at least to Jinn—Zhyn’s platform finally reached the uppermost level. The moment it clicked into place, Zhyn stepped off with a groan, brushing imaginary dust off his robes before walking toward Jinn with an irritated frown.

"I’m an eidric, Jinn," Zhyn said, tone edged with annoyance as he gestured to himself as if explaining something to a stubborn child.

"I don’t have physical abilities like yours. I hope you realize that." His voice cracked slightly, not from anger, but from the exhaustion of dealing with Jinn’s impatience for the hundredth time.

"I already know that," Jinn replied without a drop of guilt. His tone was matter-of-fact, almost dismissive, because the truth was obvious—he did know, and he had known for years.

After all, he had fought beside Zhyn through enough campaigns. Their whole dynamic back then was simple: Jinn keeping enemies away, Zhyn chanting spells or throwing eidra around like lightning. It was a system that worked... even if it annoyed them both sometimes.

*sigh...

Zhyn let out a long breath, dropping the matter because arguing with Jinn was like arguing with a wall that could punch back. Instead, he shifted his focus to the shelves spread out before them.

Tall rows of books filled every inch of the platform, their spines glowing with faint runes, their pages humming with years of preserved knowledge.

He stepped closer, running a finger along the nearest shelf as he scanned through the labels.

A minute passed...

then another...

until something caught his eye.

The slight widening of his eyes was enough hint that he found something important.

"Oh—look at that," Zhyn muttered before reaching up and pulling out a dusty, beautifully decorated book.

He held it out to Jinn with a small grin.

"Muradryn: Kaelios, The Muradryn of Mercy. Found it. That’s one down."

Jinn reached out and took the book from Zhyn’s hands.

The cover felt old yet firm, its frame lined with gold and white tendril patterns that curled around the title like living vines.

A thin layer of time-worn dust brushed off under his thumb as he tilted the book toward the light.

The moment he read the name, something clicked inside him.

Kaelios... another fragment.

Another orphan.

Another piece of Muradryn, just as Enkaren—his Muradryn, the Muradryn of Perseverance—residing within him..

The realization settled heavily, yet strangely calm, inside his chest.