Chương 60: Ch.59— Next Chapter

Manga Chapter 165 was titled "A Constant Battle." The cover showed a corridor with Amy and Iris walking side by side, while along the walls, chaos creatures in bug form were crawling all over the place. The chapter wasted no time on the ritual connecting Crow to the barrier; Chapter 164 had ended on the planning, so 165 opened with the blood ritual already done and, just as they had discussed, sending Amy and Iris down the corridor together for Amy's trial.

The manga rendered the conversation with Iris as Amy remembered it, as Iris continued pressing Amy for answers, and Amy just stalled and vaguely replied to stuff. Amy read herself swear that everything she'd done and everything she would ever do was to save them, all of them, and she watched Iris's thought-box: I'll trust those words for now... just for now.

What followed was as it had been before, with Iris, who had noticed the chaos creatures long before Amy, deciding to stop them alone while Amy ran toward her trial. Both her running as she avoided the chaos creatures—pretty damn badass if she said so herself—and Iris fighting to hold them back were illustrated at the same time, with panels alternating to show both perspectives. The chapter ended with Amy entering the yellow door to her trial and Lain arriving after hearing the commotion to assist Iris.

Amy—the current one—let out a long, weary groan, and her shoulders sagged at the thought of what came next.

"Next chapter is definitely my trial," she muttered, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her bandaged hand.

"Damn it..." The memory came rushing back: the flames dissolving the house and the faint screams she'd heard echoing from the distance. They weren't real. None of it was real. From the corner of her eye, Amy noticed Libris sitting beside her on the sofa, tilting their head at her words, and seemingly spacing out, before nodding to themselves.

"Next chapter isn't your trial." They suddenly said. Amy's breath paused. She looked now directly at Libris, who was watching her with an unreadable expression.

"What?" Amy blinked, genuinely thrown. She was about to open her mouth, demanding an explanation, but then she stopped, and her eyes opened slightly.

"Wait. Did they skip it because it contained my life on Earth? Did they actually skip the whole trial?" Libris looked at her for a few seconds before avoiding her gaze and simply shaking their head slowly, saying nothing. Amy stared at them in silence. Not skipped, but not shown next as it should be, which meant that they were saving it for later. Amy's expression slowly became devoid of emotion, and the relief she had felt moments ago went cold as her gaze fell back to the red book in her hands. What did I expect?

They were not real. They were not… Memories of her pouring gasoline over her house and preparing the fire kept reappearing, but she ignored them. With a shake of her head, she returned her attention to the book before turning the page. Chapter 166's cover showed Crow sitting with his eyes closed, superposed over an image of Iris and Lain fighting the chaos creatures in the background.

It opened in chaos, with the corridors having become a slaughterhouse of bugs erupting from the obsidian walls faster than the group could put them down. For every one Iris crushed, two more split out of the obsidian behind her; the panels made the situation clear: they were going to lose this by attrition.

Or so they thought at the beginning, because as the fight kept going, Lain realized that the chaos creatures didn't spawn in the places she had covered in ice, which basically made her cover the entire hallway in ice and advance along with Iris as they fought toward the hall, which they cleaned of the monsters and covered in ice. After this was done, they rushed back to the others and reported on their fight.

What followed was a sequence of Zayd using his divination to pinpoint where the next attacks would be and sending Lain and Iris to deal with them while Lyra and Ash protected Crow. It was after a few pages of fighting that the focus shifted to Crow sitting down, one eye semi-open. And just as the cover teased, he was in their makeshift camp with Lyra and Ash posted as guards when Crow's eyes opened. The pacing slowed right down.

Crow blinked at an unfamiliar ceiling, his brow furrowed, and his remaining hand twitched. He looked extremely confused.

"Crow!" Lyra was on him in an instant. The manga gave her a fussing little flurry of panels as she checked his pulse and his temperature before he could even get a word out. It was Ash who, after forcibly pulling Lyra away from him, explained the situation.

"Okay, so. Don't freak out," Ash said, which was—the artist noted in a dry little aside—the worst possible way to start.

"You're tied to the Academy's barrier. With a ritual. With your blood. Amy's idea. If the barrier breaks, we all die except for you. But it won't break, probably, so. Good news?" The manga let Crow process it across silent, wordless panels. Crow closed his eyes, then opened them again and spoke.

"Okay," he said.

"... Okay?" Lyra repeated."'Kay?" Ash added.

"Yeah, 'kay…" Crow said as he took a deep exhale and spoke.

"Please give me the details." The manga skipped the conversation that followed with a montage where Zayd helped explain, and Iris and Lain—who returned at some point—joined and recounted their experience, as seen by Iris's gestures as she mimicked fighting. By the end, his tired-looking eyes had settled on the corridor Amy had vanished down. The image lingered there for a moment—Crow staring at the corridor—before the panel shifted to a close-up of his face.

His expression hadn't changed, but the artist had done something with his eyes; they looked hollow and distant. Crow's internal monologue began, the text boxes overlaid on a darkened panel: He was here. Father was here. The next panel showed him looking at his missing arm before a flashback fragment, rendered in fractured, glass-like shards: Abaddon's silhouette, the golden light, the moment Crow's arm had been severed. All because I followed that pull in my head. All because I wanted to find him.

If I had never come here. If I had ignored the key, the box, the Eastern Wing... none of them would be like this. His face remained blank; however, the art, with its raw lines and dark shadows, made it clear how he was truly feeling. Amy frowned at the page, and her fingers tightened slightly on the edge. The next panel widened to show the others. Ash, who had noticed Crow's silence, moved closer, his hand hovering near Crow's shoulder before settling there gently.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Whatever you're thinking right now, stop." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Crow didn't look at him.

"I'm not thinking anything."

"You are. I know that face," Ash replied. Lyra sat beside Crow, nodding at Ash's words. Ash gave her a smile, then turned to Crow with a crooked grin.

"Look, man. Your dad's a psycho. That's not on you. You didn't ask to be born into whatever messed-up prophecy nonsense he's up to. None of us blames you for any of this." Crow's jaw tightened; there was no response.

"Ash is right, you didn't lead us anywhere," Lyra added from beside him.

"We chose to come."

"Guilt is worthless." Lain, standing slightly apart from the group, suddenly spoke quietly without looking up. She thought for a moment before adding,"It isn't your fault." The panel held on Crow's face as the words settled over him. His expression didn't soften exactly, but his shoulders loosened slightly.

"... Thanks," he said. Ash squeezed his shoulder and finally pulled back, a small, tired smile on his lips. For a moment, the panel was almost peaceful as the group gathered close in the dim chamber. Then the sound of rustling was written in the text. A tired-looking Zayd stood at the edge of the group, having approached without anyone noticing.

"As touching as this moment is," he said,"and I do mean that sincerely—I believe it should wait until we're out of here. I'm leaving for my trial." Everyone looked at him. Zayd's eyes flicked toward the corridor.

"Miss Stake should probably complete her trial soon. While I'm gone and until Miss Stake is back, you will not have a seer to help you in case Abaddon tries something, so I advise you strongly to prepare for any situation."

"Lady Mysteries is finishing soon?" Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Is that your divination talking?"

"No," Zayd said with a shake of his head.

"I simply have a feeling she won't take long. Some things you don't need foresight to know." Crow stared at him for a beat. Then, slowly, he exhaled.

"Right," he said.

"You're right."

"Indeed, I am," Zayd replied. On the page, Iris pushed off the wall like she meant to come along, and Zayd lifted a hand to stop her.

"There's no need to accompany me," he said while the shadows already gathered softly around the edges of him.

"Moving undetected is rather my specialty. I'd only have to work harder to hide two of us than one. Moreover, if anyone needs protection right now, it is Crow." With those words, he stepped into the dark hallway and disappeared. The final pages lingered in the dark corridor long after Zayd vanished into it. Ash scratched the back of his neck.

"... You know, every time he leaves, I feel like there's a fifty percent chance we'll never see him again."

"Only fifty?" Iris asked.

"Alright, maybe fifty-one." A few small panels showed the group settling back into position. Lyra resumed watching the corridor. Lain quietly continued working on fortifications. Crow stared after the darkness where Zayd had disappeared. Then his expression shifted slightly to a frown as the next panel zoomed in on his face.

"Actually," Crow said slowly,"we should make sure not to take our eyes off Zayd." Everyone looked at him.

"He's involved with the Tribe of Onyx, after all. Chances are, he betrays us once we get out of here. Us learning about his magic while we were escaping the chaos creatures was clearly not part of his plan," Crow added. There was silence, clearly shown by the manga, as there were several still panels of everyone thinking. Then the focus shifted to Iris, who pointed at the now-empty corridor.

"You probably should've said that sooner." The next panel showed everyone turning toward the hallway where Zayd had vanished.

"Because we already lost him." The final panel of the chapter showed the dark corridor stretching endlessly ahead. Amy lowered the book slightly, her brow furrowing as she stared at the final panel of the empty corridor.

"That whole last bit about Zayd," she muttered while her frown deepened.

"It felt like foreshadowing. And it's confusing me."

"Confusing how?" Libris asked, tilting their cracked head.

"Well, it just makes no sense for the Goddess or whoever the author is to add that last bit. Zayd didn't try to kill me, or anyone, after our win against Abaddon, where it would have been his best bet." Amy paused, thought for a second, then added, "And honestly, I doubt he ever will."

"Well, Crow is the protagonist, and from his perspective, Zayd has always been suspicious," Libris said.

"Is it that surprising for Zayd to be presented as a possible antagonist to the readers?"

"I guess not." Amy slumped a little against the couch cushion. She was quiet for a moment, then exhaled.

"Is it messed up that part of me hopes Zayd takes it?"

"Takes what?"

"This whole 'potential antagonist' setup. The thing the manga keeps building around me lately with all the suspicion from everyone being thrown against me. If they're determined to point that gun at somebody, I'd rather it not be pointed at me. And Zayd's got the whole mysterious Tribe of Onyx thing going on, so he's the obvious candidate, and..."

"Amy." Libris was quiet for a beat. Then they gave a small, tired smile.

"To be completely honest, it's really all just the consequences of your own actions." Amy looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"The way you've handled every interaction since you got here, as well as how you keep the mystery around your power, and eventually how you decided to antagonize Crow over the vote, has led to this situation." Libris shrugged faintly, the motion making the fractures along their shoulder glint.

"I don't necessarily think they were the wrong actions—personally, I think most, if not all of them, were appropriate, given everything you've been navigating. But they were still your actions… You really have nobody to blame but you." Amy stared at them for a long moment, then let her head fall back against the couch with a quiet groan.

"You really know how to make a girl feel better."

"Thank you, I try my best."

"Clearly." Libris smiled at her for a few seconds before speaking.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Amy. It isn't me criticizing you—far from it. I'm praising you, while at the same time trying to tell you that if what you want is to be just another companion of the protagonist's party, it's far too late." Amy stared at Libris in silence, then sighed and lowered her head. Then, a few seconds later, she felt a hand on her head.

"I think you should just embrace your new position, although more distant from the others, it will also give you more opportunities to act outside of the manga spotlight, which will be focused way more on Crow and his grief from now on." Amy nodded. The silence stretched. Then, quieter than she meant to, the words she had been feeling slipped from her mouth:"I guess I just wanted to be liked." She didn't look at Libris when she said it. Silence returned her admission.

Libris didn't respond; instead, the hand that had been resting on top of Amy's head began moving left and right. Libris was patting her. Amy let it happen for about three seconds before getting a bit embarrassed and side-eyeing the person beside her.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm not a dog," she said flatly.

"Stop."

"Mm." The patting did not stop.

"Libris."

"I've always wanted to know what your hair felt like," Libris said while they continued.

"You know how hard it was to constantly see that long, fluffy hair every day bounce as you walked?" Amy reached up and took the hand off her head—but she did it carefully, mindful of the fractures running pale and luminous along Libris's wrist, making sure her grip stayed soft, so that nothing pressed or pulled in a direction that might widen one of those cracks any further than it had already gone. Libris looked at the hand. Then at Amy. Then at the hand again.

"Definitely not a dog," they said with a smile.

"A cat fits you way more," they added, finally dropping their hand back to their lap. Amy didn't dignify those words. She just exhaled, shook her head, then returned her attention to the red book in her hands. After a few shallow breaths, she turned the page. The cover of Manga Chapter 167 was one of the doors for the trial; since the page was colorless, she could not discern which door it was.

The chapter opened on the seven-door hall, and Amy braced herself for the possibility that her trial would be shown here, but thankfully, the next page only showed her own silhouette stepping back through with the sphere in hand, the cut sealed tight. And then Zayd, concealed against the far wall, brushing his presence against her barrier and startling her half out of her skin.

"Ugh, did they really have to add that part?" Amy commented.

"I look so stupid..."

"You really do," Libris said with a chuckle. Amy turned to them with a frown.

"I will end you." Libris smiled for a second, then, as if realizing something, put both hands in the air.

"I was about to say 'try it.' But now that I have lost most of my powers, I think you might actually be able to under the right circumstances."

"... Right." Amy's eyes rested on them for a few seconds longer before settling back into the manga. The story—after her conversation with Zayd, where she was given the artifact she would then later use to kill Abaddon—moved onward, this time from Zayd's perspective into the trial, and contrary to hers, it did not skip this one.