As the smoke continued to fill the room with gas, the liquid that had filled Aoto's ears finally released, flowing out, causing Aoto to lose his hearing yet again.
While the liquid seeped out, Aoto's body began to contort, causing him immense amounts of pain. Sending Aoto into shock, he began hearing a voice unfamiliar to him, calling out for his help; at this moment, Aoto's consciousness switched to Sound, bringing everything to a halt and seemingly becoming a whole new person.
Aoto's markings started to grow; they began heading downwards, wrapping around both of his legs and then making their way up Aoto's midsection. The markings continued to flow upwards, wrapping around both of Aoto's ears until only his face and body parts weren't covered. His appearance resembled a devil's, leaving him only recognizable by his markings.
Aoto's consciousness was dragged deep inside his mind, going all the way into a place Aoto had never been before, "The Library."
Aoto: GARIUS.
Aoto screamed his name, thinking about how he had just been with Garius. He then realized Garius was nowhere to be found; he had no clue where he was.
The first thing that came to mind was that he had been transported yet again, "if it's happened once already, why not again?" said Aoto.
He started noticing his surroundings and realized he was in a building that looked oddly like a library.
Aoto: What is this place? A library?
A mumming could be heard from across the room, behind a bookshelf. A young boy who resembled Aoto as a child walked out from the shelves.
He wore a striped dress shirt with overalls and pointed shoes; he looked like something out of a fairytale.
The boy was holding a pile of books and seemed to be reading the one on the top, not considering Aoto's intrusion. He continued walking past Aoto, not batting an eye at him but keeping his eyes glued to the pages of whatever he was reading.
Aoto picked himself up and looked around at where exactly he was.
The ceilings were higher than Aoto had ever seen, and the floors were seemingly endless, unable to count. The library was filled with hundreds or even thousands of books, sitting on what looked like newly furnished shelves.
Aoto picked himself off the hardwood floors. As he got back on his feet, he accidentally tripped and knocked a book off a nearby table that had been right on the edge.
As the book hit the ground, the boy immediately rushed over, not going to tend to Aoto but to pick up and clean off the book. The boy glanced over to Aoto, giving him a dirty look, and began cradling the book, talking to it, "It's gonna be okay. It's all gonna be okay."
Yet again, he walked away from Aoto, but just as he started to, Aoto reached his arm out, grabbing hold of the boy's shirt.
Aoto: Where am I?
The boy sighed, glancing from Aoto to the book in his arms. He reluctantly reached his hand out to Aoto, helping him get up and allowing Aoto to get a better view of the boy's face. His eyes were as black as night; not a drop of white was within the boy's pupils.
Aoto: What is this place? Who are you?! WHERE AM I?
The boy stared at Aoto, not saying a word, and began to walk away; Aoto stood still, looking at the boy as he walked away.
The boy stopped halfway through his walk and turned around, gesturing with his hands to get Aoto to follow.
Aoto began to follow the boy towards what seemed to be a sit-down portion of the library.
The boy sat down at one of the tables, placing down his piles of books, and continued to read.
Aoto, unsure of what he should do now, grabbed a seat across from the boy, dragged it out, and sat, not saying a word to each other.
Both boys sat in silence for some time until the boy began to speak. "My name is Chema, Aoto. I am a part of you. This is the library of truths."
Aoto: Chema, what do you mean by you're saying a part of me? Also, I know you just told me where we were, but I'm still lost. Could you explain further?
Chema: This is the library of truths, Aoto. We are in your mind, or you could say subconsciously. This library holds all of the information within you, Aoto.
Aoto: My subconscious? Huh, no s**t, I guess I have the worst luck imaginable.
Aoto sighed loudly, stood up from the table, knelt, and started to pray.
Aoto was never known to be an overly religious person; he just began to pray; he was on his knees, bending over himself and looking up towards the infinity many levels of the library, saying, "Oh gracious God, please hear my cry and wake me from this hell, please God what have I done to deserve this torture."
Not having any of it, Chema paid no mind to Aoto's yammering, letting him go on for hours.
Eventually, Chema grew weary of hearing Aoto's wailing and decided he had had enough.
Chema: Can you put it?
UGH, you've been doing this now for the last 3 minutes.
BE QUIET.
Aoto froze "3 minutes?"
Chema: Apologies, the time here is distorted; on the outside, it's been 3 minutes; I like to go by their time; for us, it's been about 14 hours.
Chema then stood up from his seat, grabbing the biggest book he could find, a hardcover wrapped in a leather ribbon.
Aoto's eyes turned from looking up at the ceiling to noticing Chema holding the book. Chema's small stature gave him trouble picking up the book; Aoto wondered if he should help but chose not to.
As Chema walked closer, Aoto could get a better view of the book, but Chema stood above him.
Aoto: Why do you have th.
"Thump"
Aoto: OW, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?
Chema had dropped the book right on top of Aoto's, as he claimed, "thick skull."
Chema: Because you've been NOTHING BUT A THORN SINCE YOU GOT HERE.
All you've been doing is worshiping a God that, guess what? DOESN'T EVEN EXIST, but you know what is real.
Aoto, rubbing his head in the back, trying to mitigate his pain, responded in a soft tone, "What?"
Chema: THE HEADACHE YOU'VE GIVEN ME.
The bump on Aoto's head grew like a cactus; he worried that he might grow spikes, causing Chema to let out a small laugh.
"he he"
As Chema giggled, the lights and his attitude turned off.
Chema: Aoto gets underneath the table.
Aoto: I'm sorry, what? Are the lights coming back on soon?
Chema: Get underneath the table and don't move till I tell you to
Aoto: No. Not until you tell me what's going on. I'm so tired of everyone bossing me around; I can handle it; tell me.
A loud noise started before Chema could tell Aoto to get underneath the table again.
It was like hearing cogs turn on a board, like metal gears rotating and opening something; the library was still dark and practically pitch black alongside the noise. Aoto's senses were all messed up.
Looking up, he realized that the roof had been removed, showing a dazzling sky with stars illuminating the night sky.
Aoto's face went from confusion to awe while star gazing, quickly switching to horror.
Looking up at the sky, a ginormous eyeball opened its eyes, and in Aoto's words, "It's like it knows me, it is me." While speaking, tears rolled down his face, staring off as if it were just spontaneous and ending as a river.
Chema tackled Aoto to the ground, dragging him underneath the table and snapping him out of the trance.
Chema: What did you see?
Aoto: I..I..I..I don't know.
Chema: Aoto.. Aoto, look at me, tell me, think hard about what you saw.
Aoto, still trying to pull himself together, wiped the tears dripping down his face, took a deep breath in, and tried to remember.
Aoto: A sea.
Chema: A sea? What about it, what Sea?
Aoto: I was in the black sea. It was so cold; I could feel it seep inside me like it was me.
What was that?
Chema: Did you hear anything while in the black?
Aoto: Yeah, I heard a familiar voice. It was similar to my mother or a trusted one; it told me, "Let me take control."
Chema: I see. Did anything else happen? Did you see a figure, perhaps covered in that black liquid?
Aoto: No. I did see the eye, though, but it was enflamed, bleeding, dripping down on my face; it was so surreal.
Aoto's body had settled, letting him get comfortable underneath the table; while he still had questions for Chema, he thought it was best to wait; it wasn't the right time to ask, so he just sat waiting for a change.
The two boys sat underneath the table for some time after their conversation, waiting for the eye to leave.
Aoto noticed that Chema's pockets seemed to have an object inside resembling a card deck. He pointed at Chemas' pocket, asking, "Is that a deck of playing cards?" Chema nodded, pulling the deck out, placing it flat on the ground, and spreading it out.
Aoto picked the deck up from the ground, shuffling each card; while shuffling, he noticed that the deck was missing a King card, only having 51.
Aoto: Chema, this deck is missing a King card. It only has 51; is the other in your pocket?
Chema: No clue. Sorry, it's an old deck I found one day while dusting some shelves. It was hidden away behind a mountain of dusk; the card is probably long gone, sorry.
Aoto: damn, that sucks. We won't have an even number.
Chema: Even number for what?
Aoto: We're gonna play blackjack. I'll be at the house, and you place the bets. How does that sound?
Chema: Black Jack? Why would we play such a game, and what exactly do you expect me to bet?
Aoto: Come on, Chema, what else are you gonna do? We're stuck under a table waiting for some mystical eye to close, and we have a deck, so we might as well play.
I suggest you bet on your knowledge.
Chemas' black eyes seemed to widen; he lifted his head, intrigued; he asked, "What knowledge do you wish to know?"
Aoto coldly said, "To know what you are."
No more words were shared between the two, and Aoto began to deal.
The rules of blackjack are simple. You are given two cards, one facing up and the other down.
You must flip both and not share them with anyone else. You calculate the two cards' numbers, hoping to get closest to 21 21.
If you go over, the house wins.
The game was meant to have at least two players, but there was a twist since it was only Aoto and Chema.
The minimum total must be above 16 or exactly 16, making it a one-player game, and with that, Aoto dealt the first hand.
7 of spades and 3 of clubs
Aoto: Hit or stand.
Chema was forced to hit because of the minimum 16 rule.
Chema: Hit.
4 of spades.
Aoto: That makes 14 total. The first one is mine; let's continue, shall we?
Chema nodded, and the two continued playing underneath the table for ages.
Until they had made it to the last round.
Score 14 Aoto - 14 Chema, the boys were tied, leaving this last round to decide who would win.
King of Spades (10) and 5 of hearts, a total of 15
Chema: Hit.
Aoto reached for the deck only to realize that he had given away the final card, all 51; he was missing the last.
Realizing this, Aoto groaned, "UGHHH, we're missing the last card to finish our game."
Chema subtly let out a smirk, not letting Aoto catch it; as he complained, the eye began to shut, making a loud noise, closing the roof, and turning the lights back on.
Aoto: Hey, since the lights are back, does that mean we can get out of this stuffy table?
Chema: What? You don't like being under this stuffy table with me?
Aoto, appearing uncomfortable, scorched his way out from under the table.
Aoto: Sorry, I don't do well in cramped spaces for extended periods; I have had bad experiences.
Chema: I'm more than aware of what you're experiencing, Aoto.
Chema, noticing that Aoto was about to question his words, said, "It was a tie."
Aoto: What was a tie?
Chema: In the game Aoto, you said if you WON, I would answer your question about how I knew you, but it was a draw, so let's call it null and void.
Sounds good?
Aoto's face flushed, and he agreed, forgetting the rules he had set.
Out from under the table, both noticed handprints left in the same black liquid that Aoto had described earlier on one of the upper levels.
Chema, seeing it, told Aoto to "Stay put," and not to go anywhere as he ran off to assess what had left the marks.
Alone again, Aoto, unsure of what to do, didn't listen to Chema's orders and started to walk around.
Aoto: What type of library is this? Here, there are classics, but right next to them are comics, and there's no order here.
Some caretaker Chema is.
Aoto, continuing to explore, stumbled upon a book on a desk that Chema seemed to be researching.
The book had a dust cover, making it hard to read the cover.
Aoto gently brushed the dust off the book to read the title more clearly.
"Soma - The first bound to Sound." Aoto, reading this aloud, began to feel his head enlarge as if it would explode.
He felt under so much pressure, and he began to switch from one reality to another, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing, until he stopped in front of the Sea, a desk in the middle, and a deck of cards placed on top.