Ever since awakening [Future Simulation], Kanzaki Rei had never seen Pally again.

[Biddy][Diviner Lv.5 / Scholar Lv.4][Atlante City — Grand Library — Ancient Archive Librarian]

...

The information surfaced within Kanzaki Rei’s mind.

This was, without a doubt, an ordinary librarian.

Well... not entirely ordinary.

After all, a Level 5 Diviner was already quite rare—especially one who also held Level 4 as a Scholar. With her levels, she would be respected anywhere: a revered diviner, an esteemed academic.

Biddy.

That had once been a name Pally used.

Kanzaki Rei remembered when Izparut had first introduced Pally to him—she had been called "Biddy."

Though Pally herself had said that was her former name. Now, she went by Pally.

The person before him looked so much like Pally.

And even had a similar name.

It was far too strange.

Kanzaki Rei glanced at the death marker above her head.

Her death...

Was only twenty years away.

Completely different from Pally, who required more than four thousand years to reach her end.

Yet the person before him was undeniably real.

"Mm, I’m a diviner. Is Pally the person you’re looking for?"

"Could you describe what she looks like in more detail? I might be able to help you."

Kanzaki Rei replied, "She... looks very much like you."

"Almost exactly the same."

Hearing his description, Biddy set down the worn ancient tome in her hands.

"Hmm..."

On the desk, a series of fate cards materialized.

The divination method she used was the same as Pally’s.

Fate Card Divination.

Kanzaki Rei waited quietly as she conducted the reading.

After flipping several cards, she slowly shook her head.

"There’s no sign of anything related."

The three cards all depicted clear, cloudless skies.

By now, Kanzaki Rei could interpret divination results—he roughly understood what they implied.

"Thank you."

It seemed there would be no further clues here.

"Oh, right... big sister, I’m looking for books related to Ehkator. Do you remember anything like that?"

For a Scholar, reading through an entire library within a month or two was nothing unusual.

Most librarians had at least finished reading the sections they were responsible for.

"Ehkator... I do remember something."

"Those books have been sealed by the Curator. They’re in the Ancient Restricted Archive on the fifth floor."

"If you want to read them, you’ll probably need to submit a request."

"Wait... you’re a child?"

Only now did Biddy seem to realize Kanzaki Rei’s age, letting out a small exclamation.

Kanzaki Rei scratched his cheek.

"Uh... I guess so."

Her reaction was... a bit delayed.

He had initially thought she simply didn’t find it strange for a child to be here—but it turned out she just hadn’t noticed.

"If you’re a child, then that’s a bit difficult."

"These precious ancient texts generally aren’t lent to children. Sorry about that."

So, no access...

Kanzaki Rei’s perception swept toward the upper levels of the Ancient Archive.

Several rooms on the higher floors were protected by layered restrictions.

And there were many books.

This kind of setup wasn’t unusual.

Most large libraries had restricted sections—after all, some books simply weren’t meant for ordinary readers.

"Alright... I understand."

Kanzaki Rei looked slightly disappointed as he turned and walked toward the exit.

Only after he disappeared from Biddy’s sight did she return to reading her damaged manuscript.

And in the very instant Kanzaki Rei vanished from her view—

He reappeared in a dimly lit room on the fifth floor.

"Kid."

"You seem pretty interested in that librarian," Ansu teased inside his mind.

Kanzaki Rei answered simply, "She resembles a friend I know."

"What kind of friend?"

"A... very strange one."

He said nothing more.

As for Biddy, all he could do for now was remain cautious. Even knowing of her existence, there wasn’t much he could act on immediately.

Meanwhile, Ansu had already told him quite a few things about Ehkator.

The most important among them—

It was said that Ehkator had once committed some grave mistake, felt deep remorse, and sealed away that segment of spacetime along with their past self.

Very likely... the person behind that door.

As for what exactly had happened, even Ansu didn’t know.

It was merely an ancient legend... one whose origins could no longer be traced.

There were also rumors that numerous ruins connected to Ehkator existed across the world.

Explorers who entered those ruins would inexplicably arrive in a time that did not belong to the present.

These ruins had become the foundation of modern Temporal Studies.

Based on investigations into these sites, scholars of the White Tower had reached a startling conclusion—

The past was not necessarily the past of the present.

Time could form a closed loop.

Events in the present could influence the past.

And yet, in the grand scheme of things, what had already occurred could not be changed.

Kanzaki Rei broke through the restriction on the fifth floor and entered the room.

The books here were almost entirely incomplete, missing pages and fragments of text.

"You’re looking for clues here?"

"These ancient texts are indeed fairly comprehensive..."

"But even in my time, records about Ehkator were extremely scarce."

Kanzaki Rei replied, "If it were you, where would you look for clues?"

As he spoke, he opened one of the damaged books.

These texts were so fragile that simply holding them without them falling apart required delicate care.

And yet—

With [God-Tier · Information Tracing], Kanzaki Rei could perfectly reconstruct and read everything recorded within.

This book dated back roughly 7,000 years.

It wasn’t from the 5,000-year historical gap, but even so, a 7,000-year-old text was exceptionally rare.

It was an ancient travel journal titled Observations of the Curious Seas.

Useless.

Kanzaki Rei casually returned it to its place.

"If it were me..." Ansu chuckled. "I’d probably go looking for ruins left behind by Ehkator."

Kanzaki Rei flipped open another book as he replied, "Where’s the nearest one?"

Ansu thought for a moment.

"If I remember correctly, there’s one in the Murksea."

"Too far." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Ansu shrugged. "If even the Murksea is too far, then the rest are even farther."

Kanzaki Rei said nothing.

He continued scanning the books in the room.

According to the librarian, there should indeed be records related to Ehkator here.

This was only his first stop.

He hadn’t expected to find anything definitive here anyway.

If this failed, he planned to search the White Tower next.

After about ten minutes of searching—

He found a book titled The Curse of Temporal Solitude.

"...Is this it?"

The book was heavily damaged.

As soon as he picked it up, he saw that most of the text had already faded away.

The entire volume was a dull, withered yellow—

Like the bark of an ancient tree eroded over millions of years.

"Kid... you’ve been flipping through these books nonstop. Can you even read them?"

"With so few words left, even deciphering them shouldn’t be enough to reconstruct the full meaning, right?"

Kanzaki Rei didn’t answer.

He simply continued reading in silence.

[God-Tier · Information Tracing]

All missing text surfaced within his mind.

—

"I have been trapped within a curse of time."

"Ever since that day... since I returned from that black spiral, each of my days has been reversing."

"I am no longer moving forward into the future like a normal person."

"Instead, day after day, I return to the past."

"In a single day, I traveled from the Abyssal Demonic Lands back to the flourishing city of Misiru."

"I do not know what I can leave behind in this stretch of spacetime."

"Nor do I know where I will ultimately end up."

"I can only leave behind this record... in the hope that one day, someone else who suffers the same fate might find it."