บท 4: A Different Source of Energy
That night, Sebastian couldn't sleep a wink. All he did was stare at the ceiling while wallowing in self-derision. He decided to leave the dorm at midnight—all the while hiding from his roommates and the caretaker.
It's not that his roommates would care about him but if word got out that he was going out of his room at night, then Gilbert may catch on. In the first place, the dorm had a curfew and after ten at night, students had to be inside the dorm and those caught would face punishment in the form of grade reduction. Though most students just commute from their homes to the school every morning, Sebastian is part of the minority of students who applied for dorms.
Sebastian didn't exactly have a destination in mind as he wandered around the campus. There weren't many guards at night and he could walk around quite freely. His mind was filled with thoughts about what to do during the banquet.
Amy is part of the majority of students who commute from their homes and Sebastian wasn't worried about encountering her. He headed for the place with the most information on campus—the library.
It wasn't that he was expecting something, but if there was a place on campus that could help him find ways to fight without any ability, it would be the library. At first, he was heading to the newly-built library but upon seeing that there were guards in the entrance, headed for the old library.
Among the librarians, Sebastian was quite famous because he spends most of his day-offs in the library so having the guards and librarian see him was out of the option. There was an old library but he had only gone there once and didn't stay for more than five minutes because of the eerie atmosphere.
It took him a few minutes to get there as it was quite far away from the dorms. There weren't any guards there but there was an old man manning the desk. The only sources of light in that old library were the limited amount of light fixtures that were so dim that if you read a book under it, you would only be able to barely read the words and then the moonlight coming from the windows.
Sebastian looked around and crouched under the desk—using the limited lighting to his advantage and sneak past the old man who looked like he was sleeping. The regular Sebastian would've vehemently refused to do something like this but his state of mind wasn't quite right.
Sebastian walked over to a random part of the library away from the old man's vicinity. He had confidence in his eyesight and he could also see quite well in the dark but he still took a bit of time to read through the tags written on the bookshelves.
"History," he muttered and then chose a book related to 『Primogenitors and Inheritors』 and began reading by the window. The moonlight was more reliable than the light fixtures.
The first dozen pages all had information he already knew, 『Primogenitors』 are humans bestowed power by God. It didn't say any specifics about them other than what they've already done such as forming houses and flaunting their power but that was understandable, 『Primogenitors』 have long since been extinct after all.
Sebastian had confidence in his reading speed and he finished skimming the book in about an hour but it was a bust. He headed to the same shelf to find a different book related to the God that gave 『Primogenitors』 their power but there were no books dedicated to it. At most, Sebastian found some articles in the other books he searched describing the God but there were too many differences to find a reliable one.
Some of the books said that the God was a human who ascended but said nothing about how or what could've helped them ascend. There was also a book that said that the God was a being from another world and descended to help humans thrive and left once his duty was finished. A religious book also said that the God always watched over humanity's progress and only when they are in desperate need of help does the God help.
All in all, Sebastian hadn't found anything helpful. He scratched his head in frustration and went to a different shelf. He had to go back to the dorm before four in the morning and he only had a little less than half an hour to go so he headed for a random shelf and chose a random book and sat down.
He didn't read the book as much as the others because, from the start, all of the information sounded fabricated and he almost lost interest but one piece of information did pique his interest, it talked about energy.
At first, it talked about the Mark of the Primogenitors but then talked about a different source of energy. Sebastian was just about to lose interest but this made him look at the book intently. He furrowed his brows and checked the title but the dust and dirt that had built up on it were too much to wipe off without any damp cloth.
Sadly, he didn't have enough time. If he had the title then he would've come back later but if he put it back on the shelf, then there's a possibility that it would be moved. After a few seconds of internal struggle, he decided to reveal himself to the old man.
"Uhh, sir?" Sebastian spoke lightly. The old man kept his eyes closed and didn't respond at all to Sebastian. "I'm a student here and I want to borrow this book for a bit," Sebastian placed the book in front of the old man but there was still no response.
Eventually, Sebastian gave up and prepared to walk away with the book but before he could step out of the library, an aged voice stopped him from behind. "You're the first person to read that book in two generations," the old man spoke.
Sebastian slowly turned around and looked at the book in his hands, "people have actually read this before?" he voiced out his thoughts.
"Yes," the old man opened his eyes and looked at the book while reminiscing, "this book is one that denies the very existence of 『Inheritors』 and just reading it is equivalent to a capital offense."
Sebastian's eyes widened after hearing that and nearly dropped his book but remembering how desperate his situation was, managed to hold onto it. The old man seemed amused at his reaction as a crease formed in the corner of the old man's mouth, barely visible by the light, "if you're a student here, then that means you're a 『Inheritor』, why do you plan on reading something like this?"
Sebastian gave a bitter laugh and scratched his cheek, "I'm actually incapable of manipulating energy. Don't get me wrong though, I'm definitely of an 『Inheritor's』 bloodline."
The old man didn't seem to think it was unexpected, prompting Sebastian to ask, "you aren't surprised?"
"I've seen cases like yours before, you're not the only one in the world. The last person who read that book was also such a person, coming here in desperation and coincidentally encountering that book," the old man stopped before looking at Sebastian, "fate is a mysterious thing."
Hearing that there were people like him before, Sebastian felt shocked. If there were people like him before and they've read this book, what happened to them?
Just as Sebastian was about to ask, the old man cut him off, "you can borrow that book for as long as you want, nobody would care if it disappears anyway."
Having been granted permission, Sebastian remembered that he was in rush and bowed in thanks. He began jogging back and turned his back as if remembering something, "I'll be back soon!"
As Sebastian's figure faded away from view, the old man closed his eyes and muttered sorrowfully, "I hope you won't turn out like the last one."
...
Sebastian sneaked into the dorm and back to his room without alerting anyone, he quickly took out the book from underneath his blazer and began reading on his bed.
He didn't sleep at all. If he skimmed the book, then he would've already finished but he wanted to read the information in its entirety and only finished about a fourth of it before school had to start. Even though he didn't sleep, he didn't feel tired at all and in fact, felt excited.
He hadn't learned what he needed to know as of yet but just by reading a fourth of that book, he felt that winning the duel in three months wouldn't be such a pipe dream anymore.
The book spoke of an energy source, different from what living beings use and different from what 『Inheritors』 harness for their abilities. It spoke of an external source, a 'stigma' manifested on the body.
He had read that the stigma's origins were unknown but its existence was also the reason for 『Primogenitors』 coming to be. That meant that those who possess the stigma were the enemies of 『Primogenitors』 and in turn, enemy of the entire world today.
Needless to say, he felt reluctant about using a stigma but it was his only shot at stopping Gilbert. It didn't say why the users of stigma were evil, Sebastian even felt that the writer of the book was someone who had a stigma.
It wasn't Sebastian wanted Amy to marry him no matter what, it was that he wanted her to be happy. To the public, Gilbert was a fine young man but with Sebastian's previous status as the second son of the House of Sol, he was privy to matters not known to the general public. In truth, Gilbert is a person greatly involved in debauchery and the number of girls he's taken home and then gotten rid of after he lost interest with them was an astonishing amount.
Some of the prettier girls in school had also been victims to him, often missing for a few days before coming back with a fear of men. But, the power of the Walt House wasn't something that the academy wanted to clash with and Gilbert got away with everything scot-free. The victims were also reimbursed and sent off to somewhere far away if they were deemed problems.
And, to stop that monster, Sebastian was willing to become a monster himself.
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