Both a roar and a scream could be heard echoing through the walls of the dungeon as a white-haired adventurer was chased through the dungeon by a minotaur.

'How did it end up like this?!' The adventurer, Bell, cried out in his head. 'This was supposed to just be a normal day!' He thought as he bolted right, barely dodging a swing from the minotaurs dungeon made axe.

Bell continued to dodge left and right through the dungeon halls as the minotaur slowly but surely started catching up to him—that is, until he ran into a dead end.

As Bell slammed into the wall at the dead end and turned around to see the minotaur right in front of him, preparing for a swing, he heard a voice—a voice that Bell hadn't heard in multiple months—his grandfather's voice. "You can't die yet, Bell, not here, not now." That was the last thing Bell heard before being engulfed in a white light. In a random forest on the other side of the planet, a rainbow-colored beam of light shot into the sky, signifying a god's return to Tenkai.

.

.

.

Darkness—that's all Bell could see around him as he awoke. It felt as if he were in a vast world of nothingness, though these feelings didn't last long as, in an instant, Bell found himself sitting on the ground in the middle of a hallway filled to the brim with shelves and shelves of books.

"Damn it… The Purple Tear… Can't believe this was how she handled it… Guess I'll have to trust her…" A muffled voice could be heard behind Bell.

As Bell turned around to see where the voice came from, he saw a man with short black hair, pale skin, black eyes, and wearing a simple black suit with a white shirt, a black tie, and black shoes.

"Oh, there's another person here. You from here?" The man questioned when he realized that he wasn't the only one in this place.

"Uh, no? Where are we?" Bell asked, and he heard the man click his tongue at the question.

"Dunno, that's why I was asking you." The man responded.

"Oh. Do you need help getting up?" The man asked as he reached out his hand to help Bell get up.

"Ah, thank you!" Bell said, taking the man's hand and getting pulled up. "My name is Bell, Bell Cranel; what's yours?"

The man was visibly caught off guard by Bell's kindness and naivety.

"The names Roland, no last name."

"That's a nice name, Roland."

"Thanks? Say, how'd you end up he-" Roland was cut off by the sound of a snap and the voice of women speaking over him. The woman had light blue hair, pale skin, and wore a pitch black dress with what looked to be feathers all over it.

"I'll only say this once. I despise verbose and roundabout speech that doesn't get straight to the point. So don't try to get wordy. Just answer my questions. You don't get to question me, either." The woman had a glare that said that she wouldn't be taking no's for an answer. "Now, let's start with the questioning. Where did you both come from, how did you enter this place, and for what purpose?" She asked in rapid succession.

"Well, who are you to-" Roland's comment was cut off by the sound of his screams and his leg disappearing in an instant.

"I warned you, and you crossed the line. Now, let me ask the other one, boy, Where did you come from?"She asked, her eyes going from Roland to Bell, waiting expectantly for an answer.

"I'm uhm," Bell couldn't help stuttering in fear. "I'm from uhm, from-" Before Bell could finish answering, his right arm disappeared, and he was left a screaming and sobbing mess.

"You took too long; back to the man; answer now." Her tone let both of them know that their second chances were running out.

"... I was just walking around and ended up here before I realized it. I have no idea how I got here , damnit, blood's gushing outta my right leg… I swear I wasn't trying to trespass, I don't even know where this is." Roland said, putting his hands over his stumped legs to try to keep the blood in before he continued. "I woke up around 1 pm and started walking around District 13. I figured since I was just out and about, I figured I could go wherever I wanted, so I decided to stop by Hamhampangpang. Anyway, I had bills to pay, got no jobs, and had to somehow make a living as a one-man offi-" Another scream could be heard as one of his arms disappeared.

"You dragged on too long; I'll be taking your other arm and leg next." She said with finality before continuing, "You both have no purpose, and you don't even know how you got here... Just who are you both?"

"Just an ordinary fixer who's hit rock bottom." Roland said through gritted teeth.

"I-I'm an adventurer," Bell responded, forcing the lump to go away.

"Good, what are both of your names?"

"Bell" "Roland" Both responded at the same time.

"Good. Welcome to the Library. We've yet to serve any guests, but then you both suddenly appeared out of nowhere." She said the edge, leaving both her tone and gaze, as a more neutral tone took its place. "It took me quite a bit of effort to design this Library to ensure that no uninvited guests could enter, you see."

"Damnit, these limbs were all I had... I don't have any cash or mortgages to get new ones anymore."Roland said, not realizing that he was thinking out loud.

'Getting his limbs replaced? Where does this guy live to be able to have that done?' Bell thought. If his face was able to be anything other than agony, it would be one of wonder.

"Hmph, fine" With a snap of the womens fingers, not only did both Bell and Roland's limbs come back, but the scenery around them also changed completely Now, they were in a middle area with mountains of bookcases filled to the brim with books and a staircase leading up to a blinding white light. The women was also wearing a completely different outfit going from the pitch black bird feather esque outfit to a black suit top with a white shirt, black long skirt, and a blue trench coat.

"You both should be able to use your limbs again. I also made a few readjustments to them so that they should be easier to use. Although you both did trespass on my Library, I also took your limbs away without your consent, so I'm giving you these as an apology. I'm quite patient and generous, you see."

"Does this mean that your warning isn't in effect anymore?" Roland asked

"Yes, I had a few thoughts and came to the conclusion that one of you will help me out here; my name is Angela." The woman, Angela, said matter-of-factly.

"Is this how syndicates and wings do things nowadays?" Roland asked, distrust plastered all over his face.

Bell spoke up. "Uhm, I can't stay here. I have to get back to Orario; my goddess is probably worried sick that I'm not back from the dungeon by now."

At this, both Roland and Angela had a look of confusion on their faces. Angela looked like she was going to say something, but Roland spoke first. "Orario? Goddess? Dungeon? Kid, are you okay in the head? Or are you a part of one of those weird cults?"

Bell nodded his head. "Neither; I'm from Orario, also known as the dungeon city or the center of the world."

"That's not possible." Roland responded

"What do you mean?" Bell questioned

"There are no other places of habitation outside of the city." Roland responded

"What city?"

"The city; there's nothing else past the outskirts of the city, just a wasteland that no human can survive in."

"I have an idea," Angela interjected. "He could be from another world or universe entirely."

"That's not possible." Roland tried to deny it, but the more he thought about it, the more he thought it might actually be true, especially since... "Alright, it might be true."

"Am I allowed to go now?" Bell asked with a hint of fear in his voice; after all, he didn't want to lose his limbs again.

"You're fine to leave as long as this one." Angela pointed to Roland. "Agrees to stay."

"Fine…" Roland sighed. "But on one condition, make it so Bell can come back whenever he feels like it. As long as he agrees, of course."

"And why would I do that?" Angela asked.

"Well, for one, he's nice to talk to and has an aura of purity you'll never find in the city. And two, if he really is from another world, wouldn't it be interesting to learn more about that?" Roland answered with a confident smirk.

After thinking about it for a few moments, Angela finally agreed. "Fine, well then, Bell, do you agree to his proposal?"

"Sure," Bell answered. "It was nice talking to both of you, well, besides the whole losing a limb thing."

"Very well then, come closer." She ushered Bell over to her and placed her hand on his chest. "You are now a [Librarian] and you will be able to enter this place as you wish."

"Why am I a librarian instead of something like a guest?" Bell asked.

"That's simple," Angela responded. "Because I ask of you one thing: whenever you come back to the library, allow me to read your memories so that I can add them to my book collection."

"Yeah, you can do that." Bell said.

"Ok then, you may leave now if you want." Angela said, a slight tinge of happiness in her voice, though it was too little for anybody to notice.

"Uhm… How do I do that exactly?" Bell asked.

"Just think about leaving this place and going back to where you came from." Angela responded.

And that's what Bell did. After thinking about leaving the Library and visualizing Orario, his world went black, and that familiar feeling of nothingness returned again.