The trio kept walking. Unlike the mansion they knew, it was strange that the mansion now seemed endless. The corridor felt longer than ever before.

"Dryad, are you sure you hear Sir Alvard's voice?" Haze asked in a low, hushed tone.

She nodded. However, she wasn't sure where exactly the voice came from.

"What did he say?" Haze asked again.

"Our names..." Dryad answered with a worried tone.

Dryad did hear a faint voice of Sir Alvard and he was distressed, like someone moaning in his restless sleep. Or perhaps he was calling for their help. Sir Alvard called their names one by one. His whisper was barely audible.

Barely audible! Yet Dryad could sense and heard it from miles away. As if their mind connected in some way. She had a very strong feeling that Sir Alvard was still there, somewhere. However, she also knew that it won't be easy to find him here in this strange world.

"You sure it's not your imagination?" Haze asked again in a low voice.

Dryad sighed as if answering "No!"

"From where?" Haze asked again.

Dryad didn't answer.

Brilliant sighed, " I don't think it would be easy to find someone here. We are in Another World now. It could take us forever if we search blindly."

"Now, you two, please don't ask again and be quiet! I'm trying to locate the source of his voice," Dryad whispered back.

They walked in silence, following the faint voice to its source. They turned corners and staircases without much thought or hesitation. It all looked so familiar yet so strange at the same time.

As they were about to pass another room, Brilliant walked in front of them, signaling them to stop for a while. From the side of the wall, he peeked his head out. Then he motioned for them to wait.

There was someone... or something, standing beside the window. Similar to the shadow who attacked them earlier, except this one stood firm on ground rather than flying. Female or male? Not clear. That person dressed in black robes. But Brilliant couldn't see the person's face. Or perhaps faceless? That shadow was, indeed, not human. He thought so. Most probably would attack them again if the shadow was aware of their presence.

Brilliant turned to Dryad and Haze who were behind him. He placed a finger on his lips, then motioned to them to move in a stealthy manner towards another room, just across the room where the shadow was. They followed his silent instruction. Brilliant knew that Dryad would be frightened if she saw the shadow figure, so he looked directly at her eyes and gestured to her to focus only on him, as if to forbid her to look around.

As soon as they reached the other door, Brilliant opened it carefully, checked first what's inside before allowing Haze and Dryad to enter first. Then, after Brilliant entered himself, he closed the door as silent as possible. Brilliant let out a relief sigh.

"That was close..." Brilliant whispered.

"What was it?" Dryad asked in a low voice. "There was something in that other room, right? What did you see?"

Brilliant shrugged and smiled at her reassuringly, "ah.. no worries. Just another ugly shadow. I want us to avoid any unnecessary fights as much as possible. Since we have not yet found any weapon whatsoever in this damned place. We have nothing to defend ourselves except with our bare hands."

Brilliant took one step forward and scanned the room. Four doors laid at each corner.

"Now... I don't remember we have this kind of room in the mansion," Haze commented.

"Anyway, where does that door lead to?" Dryad asked.

Brilliant pointed to the closest door and said, "what if we try that one?

"What if we split up?" Haze suggested.

"Not a good idea, young man," Brilliant answered. "We're in the world of the unknown. Stick together! We can cover more ground this way."

"Agree. Besides, I don't want to walk alone there," Dryad said.

Brilliant said then, "Listen. As long as we are together, whichever door is fine. We can just go back if we stumbled upon the wrong choice. Right?"

Dryad and Haze nodded.

So, they walked towards the door and Dryad opened it. They began to explore, but something strange happened each time they opened the doors.

"Huh? Why are we back to the first place?" Dryad asked, confused.

Haze and Brilliant also noticed something amiss. "We're in the library. Again..."

The walls were lined with large bookshelves, full of hundreds upon hundreds of old tomes. In this world, they were not ordinary books. It was all grimoires of dark arts, forbidden spells, and all belong to the devils.

"Let's try another door," Brilliant said.

But every door led them back to the same place. it seems like they're circling around.

Haze looked around in frustration and he felt his anxiety starting to build up. He wanted to find a way out as soon as possible, but the library seemed endless and they had no idea how to get out of this place.

"Damn it! We are not getting anywhere..." Haze complained in exasperation.

Brilliant tapped Haze's shoulder, "don't panic. Okay? Let's search for another door."

Haze turned to Dryad and asked, "do you still hear Sir Alvard?"

Dryad shook her head. "No. We lost track of him. I'm sorry..."

"It's frustrating to move forward, what if we go back?" Haze suggested.

It was all the same. Whether they move forward or back, they end up in the first place. Only, the ceiling looked higher and higher. They had no choice but to keep walking.

"Can you use that magic book again?" Haze asked while walking.

Dryad answered almost immediately, "No"

"No? How do you know?"

Dryad sighed and answered, "because If I focus on something, the grimoire will open itself and show me a page with some written on it. But now... look.." she flipped through the pages and showed them blank pages. "There is nothing here. No writing. No clue. Nothing."

"Hm. That is strange," Brilliant said. "You know, the first time I found you blackened out with that book opened by your side, I could read something on it. And that's how I was thrown here to the Another world," Brilliant said. "Does that mean I can use that book too?"

Dryad shrugged. "I don't know. That is odd, indeed. But there is a mystery of what we can see and do," she said, copying Sir Alvard's words, and added, "if that isn't magic, then what else?"

They lost track of time. How many hours have they been walking?! They tried several doors, but none led them into new places. They had already walked in circles around the ethereal library countless times. It was also strange that the sunset never changed. The sky was always crimson red and the night never came. The air became even heavier and thicker, making them feel uncomfortable.

Dryad became more exhausted and felt her head heavy that she swayed a few steps backwards, nearly losing balance. But Brilliant pulled her upright quickly. He grabbed her arms tightly and looked at her with a concerned gaze, "careful! you're alright?" he asked while helping her to regain her balance. "Stay strong."

She just nodded without words.

Suddenly, there was a cat's sound.

"Cat?" Haze frowned.

"Yes, it's a cat!" Dryad pointed towards the corner of the room.

A black and white tuxedo cat appeared before their eyes. It stared at them silently as if hoping them to follow. It looked like an ordinary cat, but the tail split into two.

Dryad stared at the cat with fascination. She has never seen any cat like that before and she couldn't help but feel intrigued by its unusual tail.

"What a strange looking cat... why is it here? And how did it get to this place?"