Few notes before we get this party started. Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic, and any other characters, ideas, et cetera, et cetera belong to Mr. Yuji Naka, SEGA and Sonic Team. All of the chapter names hail from the game Shadow the Hedgehog, which is also the property of Mr. Naka, SEGA, and Sonic Team. Rated T for violence and language.

I Am

Prologue

It is silent. All around you, nothing stirs—it is almost as if you have stepped into the abyss. Even the air is still as boulders. Your footfalls are muffled as you step away from the entrance, which is little more than a crack in the rock.

The journey here was as dark as it was silent. No fires would spark for you, nor would your lights keep shining as you descended into the caves. You abandoned everything, time and place and people, just to visit this place. You left behind eternity to find the ultimate wealth of knowledge.

As you walk away from the entrance, the soft, blue-green glow of a thousand particles of light glimmers into existence. The cloud of light only illuminates a small area, as if herding you towards a specific place. Within the pool of light, you can see what looks like tall racks with dozens of shelves, each of which is packed with stone tablets.

As you step inside the light, it moves on, leading you. The two of you travel at an easy pace, and after a while you reach your hand out to ease your curiosity. Just as your hand is on one of the tablets, the light blinks off.

"Please refrain from touching any book I do not give you specifically," murmurs a voice in your ear, so soft and androgynous that you wonder if you are simply hearing things. However, illusion or not, your hand returns to your side and the light returns. There is no one about that could have spoken, but nevertheless you continue following the light which is threatening to float on without you.

Finally the cloud of light stops, allowing you to step within its glow. You wait silently, unwilling to try reaching for another tablet lest the light abandons you again. Slowly, the cloud implodes, growing brighter as it shrinks. When the light becomes too much, you shield your eyes from the glare, and only once it has completely subsided do you dare gaze upon what is left.

Perched upon one of the tablets is a bio luminescent bird, no larger than a finch and with the features of a kingfisher. It is eying you with glowing eyes as you stare at it, the silence weighing down heavily in the absence of footsteps.

"You may take this one to learn from. Look into it for as long as you like, and when you are done with it, I will lead you to another." The little bird flutters off of the book, perching high above you and shedding its light far enough that you can see a small bench. Carefully, you remove the tablet that has been offered and move towards the seat.

Silently, the bird follows, landing on an intricate, standing perch behind your bench. The glow from it illuminates your tablet, which, upon closer inspection, is actually a polished sheet of metal rimmed in stone. You look at your reflection in the metal, seeing the confusion spread across your face.

"It is a mirror," explains the voice, which by now you realize is coming from the bird, "You gaze into it, and it will show you what it wants. It will skip from scene to scene, but this one will only show you incarnations of the same creature—Shadow the Hedgehog, of Mobius."

You mutter a small thank you before introducing yourself quietly.

The illuminated avian cocks its head to one side as you talk, responding with its soft voice once you have finished. "You are welcome. I do not see many visitors here in Thyme's library, and even fewer want to listen to me when I tell them not to take mirrors not meant for them. It is good to meet you. My name is Paradox, and I shall be your guide to this library."

With a nod of its beak, Paradox motions to the mirror, which you return your gaze to. After a while, a blur of sounds, scents, feelings, emotions, and sights emanate from the reflection in your hands. Finally, the overwhelming jumble sorts itself out, and a single, engulfing vision draws you in, sharing its wisdom with you before passing seamlessly into the next.

AN: To those of you who are already familiar with the Book of Shadow, you already know this concept is not new. However, I was unhappy with it (longer explanation in the book itself), and I have decided to start again. The framing device introduced here using the Library of Time and Paradox, its librarian, are likely to pop up again in other one-shot or single-theme collections at later dates, but they are only framing devices. I do hope they are not too invasive, nor too confusing. The real fun starts next chapter.

Also, I really hope to have a new chapter for this each day, but no promises.

As I am,

~Lady Spritzy

Posted 7 May 2012