bookbashuk Chapter 4528 The Darkest Night (56)
Chapter 4528 The Darkest Night (56)
Chapter 4528 The Darkest Night (Fifty-Six)
The library of the Academy of All Souls houses a considerable collection of occult texts. Outsiders are generally not permitted entry; only renowned occultists are allowed to borrow them. This is not due to any sense of superiority among occultists, but rather to protect ordinary people from the influence of occult forces.
“I have a feeling,” Jason said, standing in front of the bookshelf, “that we’re looking for those neglected, hidden books. Ideally, the kind that’s been treated as nonsense and tucked away in a corner. Doctor, do you have a clue?”
"Most of the books here are classics. If you're looking for insider information, you'll probably have to go to Gotham University's library. However, there are some documents here that haven't been proven valuable. If you'd like to see those, try looking in the room on the left upstairs."
Jason nodded, skipping the bookshelves below and heading upstairs. He didn't do a large-scale search; he simply stood by the door for a moment before heading straight for one row of bookshelves.
Jason remembered what the soon-to-retire old man had said to him when he applied for the job as a librarian at Gotham University.
"Being a librarian here requires not a good memory or patience, but a special kind of intuition. Words have power, and what you have to do is feel that power without seeing the words. Only in this way can you help people who don't even know what they're looking for find the books they want."
Jason didn't understand at first. To him, it was just an ordinary part-time job, no different from working at a fast-food restaurant. But he soon realized that Gotham was never the same as other places, and the importance of the librarian's job here was unimaginable.
During the day, most people were fine; they could find their own books and then sit quietly to read, or they would come directly to borrow them. But it was a different story at night. The first time Jason encountered those strange, eccentric guys, he thought they were drunk. If that guy hadn't been shot with a shotgun and was still muttering to himself while slumped over the counter, Jason would have thrown him out as an ordinary drunkard.
From then on, he witnessed another, more vibrant side of Gotham. Keep in mind, he was a native Gotham resident, a citizen who had risen from the bottom. Even so, the city held countless secrets for him, and there were so many new things he had never seen before.
Gradually, Jason learned how to use his intuition to help those eccentric visitors, figure out what they were looking for, offer them assistance, and even occasionally make new friends.
This job is dangerous, but it also offers many opportunities. Jason stood in front of the bookshelf and pulled a pair of special glasses from his pocket. These were given to him by a "friend," and they helped him block out cognitive pollution, especially effective with text.
Although they look like cheap movie theater 3D glasses and aren't comfortable to wear, Jason has used them to become immune to attacks from the mysterious writing several times in Gotham University's library. They worked just as well this time.
Jason rummaged through the bookshelf and quickly found what he wanted—a bookmark tucked between some of the other books.
This bookmark is very strange; it looks like some unlucky person who came to borrow a book left it inside. But that's actually impossible, because the people who come to borrow books here are all experts; they wouldn't make such a basic mistake. Besides, books are checked when they're returned, so there's no room for them to leave bookmarks.
But the bookmark had just appeared there so abruptly. The moment Jason picked it up, he knew he'd found the right one. There was no reason, just a gut feeling.
He picked up the bookmark and looked at it. It was just a yellowed piece of paper, sealed in plastic wrap, and didn't look particularly special, but Jason noticed that the plastic wrap could be torn open. So he carefully tore the wrap open and discovered that the paper was folded. Unfolding it, a few lines of text appeared before him.
boom!
Jason hit the back of his head on the shelf behind him. He let out a scream. Jim and Dr. Sohip rushed over and helped him up.
"what happened?"
"It's nothing, I underestimated this thing." Jason took a few deep breaths, took off his glasses, and clutched the paper tightly in his hand, starting to search his mind for the information he had just seen.
His brain's protective mechanisms had initially made him forget these things, but in order to obtain clues, he had to force himself to remember. Fortunately, he also frequently reviewed his memories, and his brain's protective mechanisms didn't forcibly delete the information, but merely moved it to the recycle bin. He could retrieve it little by little.
Jason sat down in the seat next to him, took a sip of hot tea, and felt much better. After struggling to decipher the message for a while, he said, "Total solar eclipse."
"what?"
"It's related to a total solar eclipse. The 'Etched Sun' mentioned above should refer to a total solar eclipse."
What will happen during a total solar eclipse?
“Something will happen during a total solar eclipse,” Jason said. “That’s my guess. Also, the mention of the Brown People might refer to Latinos or Native Americans.”
“It seems we’ll have to look into the legends,” Dr. Soship said. “I’ll look into the folklore. You investigate the total solar eclipse.”
“No problem,” Jason said. “Also, it would be best to have Brainiac check who put this bookmark here. I suspect there might be a group of people who know exactly what happened.”
"You mean believers?"
Jason nodded. "I believe there are believers, otherwise they wouldn't have left so much information. Also, remind everyone not to look out the window at the Atlantic Ocean."
Constantine sat in his study, gazing at the manuscripts piled before him. They contained much obscure knowledge. After a long while, he picked up a pen, wrote a letter, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to Zatanna.
Zatanna glanced at the address and said, "Is it that mysterious pen pal group again? Do they know any clues?"
Constantine shook his head and said, "We'll only know if we ask."
Zatanna returned quickly after leaving and said, "That address no longer has an email address, only this one."
She left behind the letter Constantine had given him, along with another letter. Constantine took the letter, glanced at it, and was about to open it when Zatanna stopped him, saying, "Are you sure you want to open it? What if it's a trap?"
“No, there are markings on it,” Constantine said. “That mysterious pen pal would have a way of distinguishing between genuine and fake letters and whether the writer is still sane. Otherwise, they would all have been wiped out long ago.”
Constantine opened the letter, his expression shifting repeatedly. Zatanna looked at him, and Constantine said, "It's 'The Hidden One'."
"The Hidden Ones? That name sounds familiar... Oh, wait. Aren't they the same group who almost wiped out all the pen pals in the Southern Hemisphere last time with a corrupted scroll?"
“You actually remember that?” Constantine said, somewhat surprised.
“How could I not remember? You almost saw that thing,” Zatanna said. “If I hadn’t reacted quickly, your brain might have exploded. Seriously, you’ve become more dangerous since you stopped being a magician.”
“Isn’t there you?” Constantine laughed, then narrowed his eyes and said, “These so-called Hermits are complete capitulationists and lunatics. They just hope that Outer Gods will descend upon Earth every day, treat those forbidden knowledge as gospel, and regard us pen pals who communicate in private but do not join them as heretics. It’s not surprising that they are the ones causing trouble.”
"It's them again? What will they bring this time?"
Just then, Zatanna heard a noise outside. She cautiously approached and saw that the mailbox marker had been raised.
“My pen pals are getting restless,” Constantine said. “They want me to have a specific goal. Without a librarian, it’s impossible to find a vague one.”
Zatanna went to the mailbox and took the letter out. Constantine examined it for a moment, then opened it. After reading it for a while, Constantine said, "Indeed, it's there."
"What is it? Do I need Amanda to make the trip again?"
“No need. This is just a book. As long as it’s not opened, it’ll be fine,” Constantine said, standing up. “We can’t let Amanda get too involved. Her stupidity has its limits; we should use it wisely.”
Before dawn, Constantine arrived at Gotham University's library. Zatanna looked at the empty counter and said, "Why isn't there a librarian? It's been so long, can't they hire another one?"
Constantine shook his head and said, "Becoming the librarian of Gotham University requires special talent. Not just anyone can do it. After the previous one left, there was no suitable successor, so the position naturally became vacant."
"Then why did the previous one leave?"
"Some people don't intend to get too involved; they just treat it as a job. It's perfectly normal for work plans to change."
"How did the previous one do?"
“He’s better than the one before him,” Constantine said after a moment’s thought. “He’s very strong and a good shot. More importantly, his intuition is much better than the one before him. He’s very accurate in finding books. If he were here, we wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble.”
As he spoke, he began to rummage through the books. Zatanna asked, "What book are you looking for?"
"We don't know yet; we'll only know once we find it."
“It’s always like this,” Zatanna rolled her eyes. “You’re even more mysterious than when you were a magician.”
“In fact, this is what a true sorcerer is like.” Constantine shrugged. “He doesn’t know who he is, who he is going to fight, what he is looking for, or what use he will have if he finds it. Everything is mysterious, and that is the true mysticism.”
“Then you should at least give me some characteristics, right?” Zatanna said. “What kind of characteristics?”
"All we know is that it's an appendix to a famous book. That book is definitely not here. But its appendix is very likely here. It might be in Greek or Hebrew..."
“Oh, please spare me,” Zatanna said as she translated, “I can’t understand a single word of either language.”
Suddenly Constantine stopped what he was doing. Zatanna leaned closer and saw that he was holding a few thin pages of paper in his hand, as if they had just been torn from a book.
"Oh my god, how did you tear it off..."
“I didn’t tear it off.” Constantine’s tone turned eerie. “It came after me…the window. Zuckerberg. The window…”
By the end, Constantine's pronunciation had become very slurred. But Zatanna reacted quickly; she whirled around and pointed. The irony spell immediately took effect—"Sealed windows!"
All the windows were sealed shut. The moment Constantine looked up at the window, he felt as if he had been punched, staggered back a few steps, and fell to the ground.
Zatanna rushed over and helped him up. Constantine wiped the blood from his nose and said, "That was really something."
"How is it?" she asked.
Constantine glanced down at the few pages in his hand, then said, "It's alright. I take back my praise for the previous librarian. He must have let those Hidden Ones in."