Alex had arrived at the place he had seen in the final act of the Book of Secrets. Everything felt more vivid now—because this time, he wasn't just an observer; he was truly there. Inside the library, he walked along carpeted paths lined with heavy velvet rugs.
Outside, a war was unfolding amidst chaos. The sky resembled a canvas painted with ice and fire, clashing in wild contrast. From this bizarre fusion, massive bolts of lightning tore through the darkness, lighting up the heavens.
When Alex reached the massive outer door of the library, he held his breath and stepped outside. In that moment, he froze at the sight before him. The ground was littered with corpses—humans, animals, even mythological creatures. All tangled together. A yeti's severed head lay among human remains, looking oddly unremarkable. The sounds of war still echoed through Babylon: screams, explosions, and the clash of metal against metal filled the air.
Alex's gaze drifted upward. He wanted to see the way to the upper levels, but it was blocked—by the dead body of a massive serpent. Its once-lustrous scales had turned black, and its eyes, once bright, were now hollow sockets.
Realizing he couldn't go over or around it, he saw only one option left: he had to go through it. The thought churned his stomach and made his skin crawl. But with the battle still raging, trying to find another way would only waste precious time—and invite danger.
He took a deep breath and whispered to himself:"Damn you, Kai. Would it have killed you to just explain things instead of dragging me here..."
He stepped toward the serpent's enormous belly and entered the narrow passage filled with a nauseating heat. The inside was still moist, and the stench of decaying flesh choked him. Covering his nose with the corner of his sleeve, he started walking through the cramped, sloping tunnel. The floor was slick—he sometimes had to climb, other times run to keep his balance. But the true horror was what surrounded him.
Human bodies were trapped inside the serpent's stomach—and not all of them were dead. Some were writhing in agony, muttering incoherent words. The sight made Alex's stomach turn. In his years as a detective, he had seen many gruesome murders, bodies torn apart in grotesque ways—but this was different. The face of war had never felt so close, so real. When he tried to take a deep breath, the stench once again suffocated him, and he pressed forward, faster.
His heart eased just a little when he finally saw the serpent's open mouth. He rushed toward it, desperate to get out. But just as he reached the lower jaw, he saw a massive human corpse tumbling down from the upper levels. He had to move faster. He focused his strength into his leg, channeling the kinetic blast he usually used in his fists. When he felt the energy build, he jumped. The force of the blast launched him into the air. Just as the massive body collided with the serpent's pale corpse, Alex shot out of the mouth and landed a few steps away, rolling midair.
Panting heavily, Alex looked around—and realized he had finally reached the top floor. The door leading to the throne room stood shattered, planks dangling from its frame like jagged teeth, revealing a terrifying sight within.
He slipped through the broken frame. A chill ran through him, the darkness wrapping around him like a cloak. He stepped carefully; even the smallest creak could give him away.
As he moved through the halls, Alex noticed that each door opened to a different corridor. Faced with the labyrinth's complexity, he decided to use his abilities. Activating his vision, he followed the paths Kai and Sandra had used most often in the past. Now, he could not only see their tracks—he could see their ghostly silhouettes.
The drawings along the walls caught his attention. Each one depicted a different time, a different memory. Most showed Kai and Sandra side by side, but in some places, Kai's image had been carefully torn out or blackened. The message was clear—their shared past was tangled and painful.
When he reached the room where the traces ended, the sight before him made him stop in his tracks. Lying in front of the royal throne, soaked in blood, was a phoenix. Its feathers had once glowed brightly, but now they were blackened, stained with blood, as if cursed.
Beside the phoenix knelt a woman with black hair, silent and still. She said nothing, merely listening to the silence left behind by the bird's final, unheard cry.
After a long pause, the woman slowly turned her back and faced Alex. Their eyes met. For a moment, Alex's heart almost stopped. He had never seen this face before—but he recognized her instantly. Sandra—the heroine of the memory journal, the woman at the center of every tragedy. And now, she was standing right in front of him.
Sandra's face held an almost supernatural beauty. Her flawless features and radiant skin made her seem like she didn't belong to this world. But her crimson eyes were like whirlpools—drawing him in, filled with curiosity and fear. More than beautiful, she was dangerous. It was almost unbelievable for someone to be so stunning—and yet so deadly.