In the heart of Alexandria lies the great Library, a realm beyond time and space, where the keepers of knowledge, power, and truth reside. Here dwell the Guardians of Alexandria—a select few, handpicked from different worlds and epochs. Their pasts are stripped away, leaving behind only a husk of duty. Memories, feelings, and personal desires—all purged. What remains is a vessel of pure purpose, a servant devoted to a singular cause: to preserve the sanctity of the Library and its secrets for all of eternity.

The Guardians are tasked with one absolute mission: to prevent the ten Forbidden Tomes from ever being brought together. These ancient books, each holding unimaginable power, threaten the very fabric of existence. If gathered, they could break the seal that binds the void, unleashing chaos that would unravel reality itself. And so, the Guardians' vigil remains unbroken, ensuring that the seal stays intact, even if it means sacrificing all they are and ever were.

The rules of being a Guardian of Alexandria are simple:

Duty and Purpose. Nothing else matters, and nothing else may interfere. A Guardian's life is dedicated to the Library's preservation, no matter the cost.

Never question the task. The reason behind each mission is not for the Guardian to understand. They are to act without hesitation, without doubt, and deviation.

And the most important rule of all:

Never fall in love. For love brings the risk of defiance, of turning away from duty. It opens the door to thoughts and feelings that distract from purpose. Love is the path to forgetting the sacred charge, a temptation that could lead a Guardian astray, disrupting the balance they are sworn to protect.

The Guardians are not to seek companionship, not to indulge in longing, not to remember the sweetness of affection. To fall in love is to betray their sacred vows, to abandon the path of duty for which they were chosen.

For a Guardian of Alexandria, love is the one forbidden fruit that must never be tasted. It is a bond that can break the seal of their resolve and doom all that they are sworn to protect.

The world spun around me, a dizzying blur of colour and sensation. My body felt heavy, my limbs like lead as I lay on the cold ground, stunned by the red light that had struck me. Instinctively, I raised my arms to shield myself from what I expected to be a follow-up attack. But nothing came. Silence.

Slowly, I moved my arms aside, my vision clearing just enough to make out a figure standing over me. A girl—no, a rabbit girl—dressed in a suit jacket, shirt, and tie with a matching skirt. The most striking feature, though, was her long, twitching rabbit ears, standing tall atop her head. Her glowing red eyes pierced into me, and for a moment, it felt like the world was spinning again, making me sick to my stomach.

She pointed her finger directly at me, a sharp accusation in her gaze. "What have you done with all the missing? Talk, culprit!" Her voice was sharp, commanding, and filled with suspicion.

Before I could even respond, Marisa slid around the corner, her Mini Hakkero in hand, aimed right at the rabbit-eared girl. "Not another step, Reisen!" Marisa's voice was steady but filled with urgency. "Let Marcus go!"

The girl, Reisen, paused, her finger still pointed at me, but she shifted her eyes toward Marisa. "Marisa Kirisame... I should've known you'd be involved in this. Is this one of your experiments gone wrong? Did you make everyone at Eientei vanish so you could steal whatever you wanted without resistance?"

Marisa scoffed, clearly insulted. "You think I'd stoop that low? Please! Marcus and I are investigating the incident, not causing it. Do you really think we have the power to wipe entire places off the map and take out big players like that?"

Reisen hesitated for a moment before sighing, lowering her hand. The sickening feeling faded, and the world around me stopped spinning as she removed her foot from my chest. "You make a fair point."

Marisa rushed over, helping me to my feet. "You okay?" she whispered, concern lacing her words.

"Dizzy, but fine," I muttered, shaking off the last remnants of the strange sickness.

Reisen crossed her arms, looking between the two of us, her eyes narrowing slightly. "So you two are looking into this as well? I don't know you," she said, turning her gaze to me.

"Right, I'm Marcus," I said, trying to steady myself. "A friend of Marisa."

Reisen raised an eyebrow, but her expression softened. "Well, friend of Marisa, nice to meet you. My apologies for being so... heavy-handed." She glanced at Marisa, who gave an awkward grin. "I'm not usually this brash."

Marisa muttered under her breath, drawing a sidelong look from Reisen, who clearly heard her. But she quickly spoke up. "Look, we should work together."

Reisen's eyes narrowed again, a trace of suspicion returning. "Work together? With a thief like you?"

Marisa sighed, clearly exasperated. "I'm not a thief, alright?"

I stepped forward, trying to diffuse the tension. "Look, this is affecting everyone," I said, meeting Reisen's gaze. "We don't know who's next or what's causing it. Strength in numbers, right?"

Reisen folded her arms, considering my words. After a moment, she nodded. "I suppose you're not wrong, friend of Marisa."

"She literally just said my name," I muttered under my breath, feeling a bit annoyed.

"Very well," Reisen said, her tone measured. "I shall indulge in this meeting and join your cause."

"Great!" Marisa chirped, though she shot me a sidelong glance that said she fully expected Reisen to refuse. Clearly, the rivalry between them ran more profound than I understood.

As the two began to bicker lightly, throwing jabs at each other, we made our way back to the main road of the village. I hung back, letting them banter while I tried to shake off the remnants of dizziness. Marisa slowed her pace, turning to me.

"How about we continue the search tomorrow?" she suggested, her voice lighter now that we'd gained an ally, however begrudging. "We've hit a dead end again. How about it, Marcus? We can pick up where we left off at the shop."

When I didn't respond, she stopped, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Marcus?" she called out, looking over her shoulder.

I knelt, my eyes fixed on the ground. My hand reached out, picking up a small, familiar object. I held it up, my heart sinking—Aya's camera. I sighed, running a hand through my hair, the weight of the situation settling over me.

"You remember when we said we had no idea who's next?" I said, my voice low, as I held the camera out for Marisa and Reisen to see. "I think we can scratch that off our list..."

The camera was here, but Aya was gone.

The night was growing darker, and the mystery was only deepening.

The wooden floor of Marisa's father's shop creaked softly as we returned to the guest room, its dim lighting casting long shadows across the walls. I fiddled with Aya's camera, trying to figure out how to get it to work. The mechanics seemed simple, but I couldn't quite tell what had gone wrong. Marisa shut the windows, locked them, and pulled the curtains closed, the room taking on a cosy, almost safe feeling as she did.

"Do you know how this thing works?" I asked, rotating the camera in my hands. "I'm not really sure what I'm doing here."

Marisa leaned over to get a better look at it and shrugged. "Beats me. I thought you just pointed it, took a picture, and it showed up. Maybe we should take it to Rinnosuke?" She scoffed, shaking her head. "Though, to be honest, that guy might know a lot about artefacts, but trust me, he can be a bit dimwitted."

I kept tinkering with it when suddenly, a photo popped out of the bottom. Marisa jumped back slightly, startled by the unexpected noise. "Well, that was anticlimactic," she said, frowning as she picked up the undeveloped picture.

I glanced at it, shaking my head. "I think it just needs time to develop. I read something about cameras in a history book once. You need to let the photo dry and give it some time to show what was taken. Whatever Aya captured before she disappeared... it'll show up here."

Marisa's eyes lit up with a hint of hope. "Oh, you think she got a picture of the culprit?!"

"Possibly," I said, keeping my voice even. "But let's not get our hopes up. We'll see soon enough."

With the picture left to develop, I plopped down on my futon and let out a long sigh. It had been one of those days—exhausting, confusing, and dangerous. But as Marisa stood over me with a playful smile, some of the weight lifted.

"Long day, sleepy?" she teased.

"Always is," I replied with a chuckle. "But it's far more tolerable when I get to spend it with you."

Marisa's smirk grew as she tilted her hat back. "You sure you didn't read books on smooth talking in that library of yours? I swear, for having no social cues, you know how to chat me up. Got any good pick-up lines?"

I shrugged. "Depends. Why don't you give me one first?"

She grinned, thinking for a moment before giving her best shot. "Are you a magician? Because every time I look at you... uh, I forget my spells and, um, rabbits just appear... Or something." She cringed a bit, scratching her head. "Okay, that was terrible. I'm not exactly built for this romance stuff. Making a killer mushroom stew, potion brewing, and spellcasting, I'm your gal. But romantic nights and sweet talk, not so much."

I chuckled. "You're right. That was awful."

Marisa huffed, crossing her arms. "Oh really? You think you can do better, huh? I'd like to see you try."

Stretching out on the futon, I thought of the first one that came to mind. "Are you a shooting star? Because every moment with you feels like a wish come true."

The words slipped out so naturally, and for a moment, I regretted saying something that earnest. But then I saw Marisa's cheeks flush a deep red, her breath hitching as she looked at me, clearly caught off guard. She stuttered for a moment before laughing softly. "I... I... Damn it, you win this time. That wasn't fair."

With a defeated huff, she dropped down next to me, lying close enough that I could feel the warmth of her body. Her cheeks were still red, but she wore a soft smile as she turned to face me. "So... about earlier."

"You mean me chasing after the culprit?" I asked though I knew that wasn't what she was getting at.

"No, not that. Although, that was dangerous, risky, and pretty dumb." She sighed, her fingers tracing an idle pattern on the futon. "If you'd gone missing..." Her voice trailed off as she seemed to shake the thought away. "Never mind that. I was talking about... the confession."

"Oh," I replied, feeling the heat rise to my face again. "Right, that."

She propped herself up on her arm, gazing at me with an earnest look in her eyes. "I just... I want to know where this leads us, you know?"

I nodded, feeling my words tangle before they reached my lips. "I see... Well, I... I really... I'm not sure."

"You can say that again." Marisa chuckled, but her tone was softer, almost vulnerable. "Why does love have to be so... complicated? It's not like I can just Master Spark it, and poof, everything's fine."

I smirked. "Why is your solution to every problem to blast it with a giant laser?"

"Because it works most of the time," she said with a light laugh, shifting even closer to lie beside me. Her voice grew serious again as she murmured, "But I'm serious... You mean so much to me, Marcus. You fell into my life—literally. And honestly, I never thought I'd find someone I could feel this connected to. Reimu would always joke that I'd end up being the crazy cat lady." She scoffed at the thought; then, her voice softened again. "But jokes on her... I've found someone. I mean, I do have you, right? You want to... you know, be with me?"

Her voice was unsteady, as though she was afraid of my answer. I reached out, pulling her into a gentle embrace. "I would very much like that."

Marisa's breath came out in a faint, whispered "Hell yeah," followed by a giddy little laugh. "I think I got real lucky. You're like the dream guy most girls would kill for. And I won that jackpot..." She hugged me a little tighter, her voice dropping to a murmur. "Can we stay like this tonight? I just want to be close to you."

I wrapped my arms around her, feeling the steady rhythm of her heartbeat against my chest. "Of course," I whispered back. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

In the stillness of the night, with Marisa nestled close, it felt like everything I had ever wanted was right here in this room. There was no magic or spells that could have made this moment any more perfect.