“Mom? What are you doing here?” Aria frowned, her brows knitting together as she watched her mother act strangely, “I thought you were busy evacuating people?”
Maelona cast a brief glance at her daughter and replied calmly, “Don’t worry, I already moved them to the safe zone. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Liora stepped forward, her sharp gaze fixed on Maelona. “Mind telling me why you’re here then? You should be out there ensuring everyone’s safety, not standing here like this.”
A smirk played on Maelona’s lips as she crossed her arms. “Oh, come now. Do I really need a reason to be here? Of course, I came to help you all.”
“Help us?” Liora’s expression turned sceptical.
To be honest, with Maelona around, they were more likely to be worried about her rather than themselves and this fucked up situation… She wasn’t exactly in the position to help them!
“Anyway, let’s go inside.” Maelona dismissed Liora’s doubts with a wave of her hand before shifting her attention to the old man sitting nearby—the Elder of the Wood Tribe. Her tone was devoid of emotion as she asked, “Where are the others?”
The Elder’s frail body trembled as he lowered his head, his voice breaking with fear. “P-Please, let’s not go there… Please… Please!” The old man suddenly dropped to his knees, his hands clutching the hem of his robes as he begged desperately.
Maelona narrowed her eyes, sensing something different—something off. The old man’s fear was more intense than in the previous timeline, his despair deeper.
‘Something changed… but what?’ she wondered before giving a cold, “Kill whoever comes out without our permission, no matter if it’s an adult or… a child. Understood?” Her sharp gaze landed on the handful of high-ranking soldiers clad in heavy armour—warriors she had personally selected for this mission.
She had brought only a few because she knew exactly what kind of horrors lurked here… The fewer people involved, the less the risk of contamination.
She couldn’t afford to let this spread!!
The soldiers exchanged brief glances before nodding in unison, standing firm at the entrance of the Wood Elf Tribe.
“Mom?! What the hell are you talking about?” Aria’s frown deepened, her hands clenching into fists, “A child? You mean to kill children too? Are you even listening to yourself?!”
But Maelona didn’t react. She stood still, her face unreadable…
Unlike Aether, who believed there was still a trace of consciousness left in the monsters, Maelona knew better.
There was none!
She had witnessed it firsthand—the grotesque transformation of the elves, her own people turning into unspeakable abominations due to the people that Aether saved.
Even the children had become unrecognizable, twisted into monsters beyond saving…. It was a nightmare she could never forget.
And it was why she had no hesitation… No mercy!!
No one—absolutely no one—would be allowed to leave this place alive or without their permission!
Call her cruel, call her heartless—it didn’t matter. She knew how much it hurt to say those words, how much it shattered her from within.
But she had no choice… She, too, was a mother.
Would Aether hate her for this? Probably.
But she didn’t care.
This was for the greater good…. A single-life held no weight against millions.
A million lives were worth more than ten thousand.
That was the brutal reality of everything!!
If they had time, maybe she could have come up with a better solution…. Maybe.
But time wasn’t on their side.
Taking a deep breath, Maelona turned on her heel and walked forward.
“N-No! Please! We need to leav—AARRGHH!!” Before the Elder could finish, Liora yanked him back with a merciless grip, dragging him like a ragdoll.
“Mom…” Aria hurried after her mother, her unease growing with every step. “Do you… know something? Is there something you’re not telling me?”
Maelona didn’t answer…. She couldn’t!
The truth wasn’t hers to reveal…. All she could do was keep walking, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Mom?” Aria’s voice was softer this time but filled with concern.
Even so, she didn’t push further. She knew her mother too well. If Maelona was keeping something from her, it meant whatever it was… was something that wasn’t meant to be said.
‘It’s different… everything feels different,’ Maelona thought as her sharp eyes scanned the surroundings. This place… it wasn’t the same as the previous time. Something was off, something beyond explanation.
They continued moving forward in tense silence, their steps slow and deliberate. Then, all at once, the Elder’s eyes went wide with sheer terror.
“N-No! N-Not here! Please—!”
“If he speaks again, slit his throat,” Maelona ordered without hesitation, her voice flat and devoid of mercy.
The Elder flinched violently, his entire body trembling as he clamped both hands over his mouth to keep himself from uttering another word.
Ignoring him, Maelona stepped forward, her gaze landing on the massive tree in front of them.
‘This tree…’ Her expression darkened, her mind racing with suspicion. ‘It’s bigger than last time. Why?’
Even though it was the same tree they had walked into before to find the Ebon Stone, something about it was drastically different.
The tree was now enormous—so impossibly vast that it could easily house hundreds of people within its hollowed core.
“I smell blood,” Liora muttered, her nose twitching as she sniffed the air… Her sharp gaze locked onto the tree with suspicion, her instincts screaming that something was off.
Maelona inhaled deeply, steadying herself. Her eyes shifted between her daughter and Liora, and after a brief, silent exchange, they both gave her a firm nod…. Bracing themselves, they stepped forward in unison, cautiously entering through the massive opening in the middle of the tree—just like they had in the previous timeline.
However, unlike before, when they were met with dark black walls and narrow twisting pathways… this time—
“What’s that? A stone in the middle of a tree?” Aria arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms as she eyed the massive rock curiously. A faint smirk played on her lips. “Well, that’s new.”
But Maelona wasn’t amused. The blood drained from her face as her eyes widened in horror. “E-Ebon Stone?” she whispered, barely able to breathe the words out.
The stone was no longer buried deep underground like it had been in the previous timeline. Instead, it now rested above the ground, standing exactly where the monster had once pulled it free.
In this reality, the Ebon Stone’s position had changed— It was as if time had failed to reverse its emergence, and instead, the world had reshaped itself around it.
A truly terrifying phenomenon!
Maelona swallowed hard and forced herself to push past her unease. “First… I need to gather more details about the stone,” she muttered, taking slow, deliberate steps around it. Her sharp eyes scanned the surface, searching for the ancient symbols etched into its dark, weathered exterior.
The markings were identical to last time. However—
“Hmm… I feel like I know these letters,” Maelona murmured, her brows furrowing as she examined the symbols closer. She was absolutely certain she had never learned this language before.
And yet… for some reason, she felt an odd sense of familiarity with it.
It wasn’t just her.
Liora and Aria, too, found themselves staring at the inscriptions, an eerie sensation creeping over them like a whisper in the back of their minds.
“This is the Forbidden Language, right?” Aria asked, her golden eyes narrowing as she studied the letters. “The one the Sovereign mentioned before?”
She knew for a fact that she had never read these symbols in her entire life. And yet, the moment her gaze fell upon them, something stirred within her mind—like a long-lost memory on the edge of recall, just out of reach.
It was like trying to remember a dream after waking up or grasping at the fading fragments of a nightmare/dream that refused to be fully recalled.
The three of them stood there in uneasy silence, lost in the same inexplicable sensation. Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire
“Anyway…” Liora exhaled sharply, shaking off the unnerving feeling. “Where the hell is everyone?” She forced herself to focus on something else, anything else, to keep her mind from spiralling further.
“Yeah… This village had at least ten thousand people, so where the hell is everyone?” Aria added, her arms folding tighter across her chest, “It’s way too quiet. Something isn’t right.”
A place this populated should never be this silent.
Something was very, very wrong.
Maelona, still fixated on the Ebon Stone, suddenly noticed something at the edge of its rough surface… A small but distinct bloodstain.
Her expression darkened as she stepped closer, reaching out to examine it when—
“ARRRRGHH!!!”
A monstrous elf lunged out from the darkness, its deformed claws reaching for Maelona with terrifying speed. Its twisted face was a grotesque mockery of what had once been an elf, its gaping mouth lined with jagged, unnatural fangs.
“MOM!!!” Aria screamed, her voice filled with panic.
…..
…
Meanwhile, in an unknown location—
“Where… are we?” Aqualina mumbled, her voice hesitant as she took a cautious step forward.
The metallic walls of the cube that had held them captive suddenly collapsed with an eerie mechanical hiss, the sound echoing through the air as the structure around them fell apart.