Chapter Text
“KILL HIM AND HIS LOW REVENUE PER THOUSAND!!”
The world sank into darkness as the blade punctured him again and again, Sir Billiam’s laugh echoing in his ears. The pain was excruciating, nothing like he’d ever felt, until he was so overwhelmed he felt… nothing.
his surroundings began warping. The floor became liquid against his cheek. He couldn’t feel his fingers, and the air was thick, like hot tar refusing to supply his lungs.
Polished shoes now stained with blood came into view only briefly before he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore.
Karl was dead.
Tell myself i’ll be okay,
Even if it’s all a lie.
(Derivakat, Tell Your Story)
Karl opened his eyes. He was standing in the center of a large room, completely white. A pedestal stood in the center of the room with a wither rose potted on top of it, its dark petals stark contrast to the polished quartz all around.
But… wasn’t he dead?
That’s right… he had been killed by the butler, hadn’t he? Maybe this was the afterlife. He stepped forward up to the flower, fingers brushing against the petals as he walked past, but not long enough for the poison to take effect. He made his way across the polished floor and up the elegant stairs, his footsteps echoing around the room. He reached the top and found a book lying on the floor, leather cover pristine enough to have never been opened.
He reached down to pick it up, and realized his hoodie had turned into the same shades of gray and white around him. That sure is odd, he thought blankly, and returned his attention to the book in his hands.
The Inbetween was scrawled onto the cover, but no author was shown. He glanced around before opening to the first page.
This is the Inbetween.
A world you've been to a few times now.
It's time to comprehend more of what’s happening to you, Karl.
The inbetween acts as your gateway for traveling in time. It isn’t a dimension you're familiar with, but in some senses it's a home away from home.
The key to you grasping more of an understanding on your time traveling abilities lay within this gorgeous castle you will soon get to traverse.
Fear not, this is not a place to provoke harm, but a place to feel at ease.
The next page was empty, and when he flipped through the rest of it, the others were blank as well. So this isn’t the afterlife… he closed the book, again admiring its simple, pristine cover. Chills ran up his spine, and he instinctively glanced behind him, but the room remained empty and bare. I guess I might as well explore, he thought, and placed the book back on the floor. He walked down another set of stairs into a hallway, fires burning in niches that were barely needed, as the glossiness of the floors and walls reflected the outside light far into the castle. He continued on, and turned several corners before coming to a small courtyard.
A small patch of grass hosted an elegant birch tree, branches reaching into the open sky, its leaves as white as the quartz Karl stood on. A set of swings blew gently in the wind, chains quietly creaking as they moved. He noticed another book leaned against the base of the tree, and walked over to retrieve it. It was nearly identical to the first one, except the cover read: Knowledge 1 . He took it to the swings and took a seat, kicking off the ground to gently sway back and forth as he opened the cover.
You don't get to choose when you time travel or when you return, but you already know that, and that is something that will remain true.
Something that doesn’t have to remain true however, is your body’s deterioration.
I know that every time you time travel, you lose more and more understanding on who you are, and this is something you can absolutely solve in the future.
I can guarantee that if you explore this castle enough, you will one day know what to do to stop losing yourself and have better control over your mind.
Good luck.
Once again, the rest of the pages were blank. He stopped himself from swinging and stood, returned the book to the tree and continued on, snaking through the maze of hallways and admiring the stunning architecture, keeping his eyes peeled for anything seemingly out of place. Everywhere he went, the same empty feeling followed him, like he was the only living being in the entire castle…
And yet why did he keep feeling like he was being watched?
Karl did his best to shake off the uneasy feeling, pressing onward until he found a set of stairs and climbed to the next floor. They lead up to a balcony overlooking parts of the castle, the sunset nearly blinding him as he gazed upon the alabaster roofs.
He realized another book was leaned against the wall near the balcony’s railing. He hurried over to it and picked it up. The Warning was this book’s title, a bit more ominous than previous, to say the least. More hesitantly this time, he creaked open the cover.
I will leave you with one clear objective.
You do not have a choice in the matter.
You will continue to time travel, and you will continue to regroup back here in the inbetween…
But
You must continue to write stories along the way.
The preservation is worth every second of your time. These stories are important to continue to share what the world is, and who you are. More important than each story individually is the library itself.
Next time you're back to your library, you need to move it.
Find a peaceful land and start fresh. Try to get everyone to join you that will…
But…
Don't let anyone know about where these stories really come from... Don't let anyone know about what the inbetween is…
And
Don't let any harm come upon your library…
Til next time Enjoy yourself I hope to see you back here soon.
Karl looked up from the book and back out over the castle. This… was almost too much. The first time he time traveled, he thought he’d seen everything, that nothing could shock him anymore but now…
Karl had a feeling things were about to get more complex than he could imagine.
These stories of mine i’ll continue to write,
Through these dimensions of time.
I will search this white castle,
This white castle of my mind…
(Halfy and Winks, White Castle)