Ruins
As I entered the library in K'veer I looked around for the desk in which the Myst book resided on top of. As soon as I spotted it I started advancing towards it. I stared in awe at the book which was now unlocked from the leather straps that once bound it. I lied the Tablet down onto the desk and picked up the Myst linking book.
I sat down onto the stone stairs that were just to the right of the desk and opened the cover of the book. What I saw shocked me…the scene displayed through the linking panel was vastly different than the one I encountered nearly two hundred or so years ago. The sky was dark and clouded, rain was pouring down onto the island and lightning was striking areas beyond the island…into the sea. The ship at the dock was now capsized and partially submerged below the surface of the water. The mechanical gears that were just beyond the stairs on the island were rusted and have greatly deteriorated. While wanting to revisit this forgotten island I placed my hand onto the linking panel and felt myself being pulled into the image of the island. Then I realized…I had completely forgotten about the Tablet.
I arrived on the dock, as I had when I first discovered a Myst linking book, but back then the island had been sunny and well-maintained, now it looked as if no one had been here for an entire century. The metal wall lining the other side of the dock was rusted and the door to the image viewer wouldn't budge. I wondered if the messages would still work even if I had been able to open the sliding door. A crack of thunder caught my attention and I turned around to the source of the sound. There in front of me was the partly submerged wooden ship. The entrance to the cabin of the ship was still shut. I questioned whether or not Atrus had removed every linking book from this Age. Perhaps I could find a way back and retrieve the Tablet. I figured the Myst library would be a good place to search for a linking book; it is a library after all.
As I headed up the small staircase and onto the main part of the island I noticed that the grass was severely overgrown and swayed freely with the wind, the trees in the small forest had lost most of their leaves, including the tree elevator. As I staring up at the top of that massive tree elevator I heard footsteps, as I looked towards the source I saw that Esher was standing there…with a look of disbelief on his face.
"Do you have the Tablet?" he asked in a hopeful voice.
I looked around for some sort of way out, then realizing I needed to respond I stated, "No, I left it behind…" then he gave me a look of annoyance.
"After everything…" Esher started, then he paused and changed his tone. "Did you not trust me? After all the help I provided…all the aid and assistance!" His tone changed again to a sarcastic one, "Well done, now it has slipped into her hands."
"But…" I started.
"Wasted!" Esher shouted. "Fool! Now your journey has been a waste!" He paused and looked around the island. "…and this island, which once represented escape, is now your prison." I took a step backwards as he continued. "You've failed! You have accomplished nothing!" Esher took a long pause as he looked away towards the sea. Then he swayed a little bit as if he were thinking. He turned towards me and said calmly, "…and there is no way for you. No one will come for you. Myst Island will be your end…forever." He stepped backwards and took one final look at me. Then he placed his hand on his right shoulder and linked out of the Age, leaving me in the rain…alone.