My Talent's Name Is Generator Chapter 1153: The Library

Macaco’s smile widened.

"Oh, this one is rather enjoyable."

He clasped his hands behind his back and began strolling leisurely between the towering bookshelves, his polished shoes producing soft echoes across the marble floor.

"The Library of the Twelfth contains every answer that has ever existed, every answer that presently exists and every answer that will ever exist."

He stopped beside a nearby shelf before casually pulling out a thick leather-bound volume.

"The difficulty..."

He looked at the book for a brief moment before sliding it back into place.

"...is discovering which answer belongs to you."

Several puzzled expressions appeared around me. Macaco continued as though lecturing an old classroom.

"Every person carries countless questions throughout their life."

He looked toward Kaelra.

"Some wish for power."

His gaze shifted toward Sue.

"Others seek understanding."

Then toward Gerald.

"Some simply wish to satisfy their curiosity."

Finally...His eyes settled upon me.

"And a rare few carry questions they haven’t yet admitted to themselves."

He smiled warmly.

"Your task is remarkably simple."

He slowly spread both arms, gesturing toward the endless library surrounding us.

"Somewhere within these shelves exists a single book. The book already contains the answer to the question your soul seeks most."

Silence settled over the library.

Dream frowned.

"...Our soul seeks?"

Macaco nodded enthusiastically. He gently tapped the center of his chest.

"The deepest question within your existence. The one that has guided every choice you’ve ever made."

"And if I don’t know what that question is?" Kaelra asked.

Macaco chuckled.

"Then I sincerely hope your soul does."

A faint ripple of unease spread through the expedition. He continued before anyone else could interrupt.

"Each of you must find your own book and return here before the allotted time expires."

"What happens if someone brings the wrong one?" Aelion asked.

Macaco adjusted his glasses.

"I’ll know. I’ve been the librarian here for a very long time."

He smiled.

"The moment you place the book in my hands, I’ll know whether it belongs to your soul."

"And if it doesn’t?" Sue asked quietly.

Macaco’s expression didn’t change.

"You die."

He simply stated it as though describing the rules of borrowing a library book.

"The trial doesn’t tolerate incorrect answers."

His gaze swept calmly across all twenty-three of us.

"If even one of you returns with the wrong book, that individual will immediately fail the trial."

"And fail..." He adjusted his spectacles once more. "...means death."

Nobody spoke.

Macaco, however, remained as cheerful as ever.

"Oh, one final detail."

He looked upward.

The entire library suddenly echoed with the sound of an enormous clock beginning to move.

Tick...

Every bookshelf vibrated faintly.

Tock...

Far above us, gears larger than buildings materialized from empty space, assembling themselves with deafening precision until an immense bronze clock slowly emerged beneath the library’s ceiling.

Its pendulum stretched from one end of the chamber to the other, swinging with slow, relentless rhythm.

Tick...

Tock...

The single hand resting upon its face began moving.

"You have exactly one day."

Macaco smiled as though wishing us an enjoyable afternoon.

"I recommend not wasting any of it."

The clock continued its steady rhythm above our heads, each tick now carrying a strange weight that settled over the endless library.

Silence lingered for only a few seconds after Macaco finished speaking.

Twenty-three Saints simply looked at one another, each trying to imagine what the deepest question of their own soul might actually be.

Eventually, Gerald let out a long sigh.

"Well..."

He rubbed both hands together.

"I suppose standing here won’t help."

Without waiting for anyone else, the old man disappeared between two towering bookshelves.

Aelion exchanged a brief glance with his companions before inclining his head toward us.

"It would be unwise for everyone to search the same section."

The Elves quietly split apart, each choosing a different direction.

The Astrals did the same. Sue paused for only a moment before smiling at me.

"I have a feeling this trial will prove considerably more difficult than it first appears."

Then she, Dream and Ork vanished into three separate aisles.

The remaining races quickly followed.

Within less than a minute, the enormous library that had moments ago held our entire expedition became strangely empty. Only the endless ticking of the gigantic clock echoed through the towering shelves as everyone disappeared in search of their own answer.

I didn’t move.

Instead, my eyes remained fixed upon Macaco.

The ape wasn’t watching us anymore.

In fact...

He appeared completely uninterested in me.

Instead, he had wandered over to one of the Demon Saints and was now cheerfully walking beside him with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh, don’t mind me," I heard him say with an infectious smile. "I’m simply making conversation."

The Demon Lord looked at him suspiciously.

"You aren’t allowed to help us."

"Oh, I can absolutely offer advice."

Macaco adjusted his spectacles.

"The real question is..."

He leaned forward conspiratorially.

"...would you trust that advice?"

The Demon narrowed his eyes.

"I could be lying. I could also be telling the truth."

The ape smiled even more brightly.

"And isn’t discovering the difference what makes life so wonderfully interesting?"

The Demon simply stared at him before walking away without another word.

Macaco shrugged innocently before humming to himself and wandering off toward another unsuspecting participant.

Whatever role Macaco played in this trial... It clearly wasn’t as passive as he wanted us to believe.

Eventually, I turned away.

Choosing a random direction, I stepped between two towering shelves until the sounds of the others gradually disappeared behind me.

Books surrounded me on every side.

Millions of them.

Some appeared ancient enough to crumble into dust at a touch, while others looked as though they had been bound only yesterday. Every shelf stretched upward until it disappeared into the distant ceiling, connected by floating ladders that silently glided from one section to another.

I slowly walked along the first row, letting my eyes drift across the countless titles.

The Evolution of Soul Rivers.

Treatise on Dimensional Stability.

History of the Seventh Age.

Nothing unusual.

Then...

Without warning...

The title of the first book shimmered. The letters rearranged themselves before my eyes.

Study of the Absolute Law.

My footsteps stopped. A frown slowly appeared on my face. I reached toward the neighboring volume. Its title changed as well.

History of the Talent: Generator.

My pupils contracted.

A third book.

Its leather cover rippled almost imperceptibly before fresh words emerged across the spine.

The Potential of the Dawn Core.

For several long seconds... I simply stared. My heartbeat had begun accelerating.

That wasn’t coincidence.

Generator.

The Dawn Core.

Neither should exist within the knowledge of the Null Realm.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

I looked around.

Every single bookshelf surrounding me had begun changing. Titles shifted one after another, replacing unfamiliar subjects with things only I should have known.

Books about the Blue Spiral. Books discussing my comprehensions. Books whose titles contained names, abilities and secrets I had never spoken aloud to another living soul.

A cold sensation slowly crept down my spine. The library...wasn’t searching for my question. It already knew me. It knew everything about me.