The Library of Forbidden Knowledge

By Dianna Aubin

On the fringe of explored space, a small moon is found to be hollow, harboring an ancient library with the vast forbidden knowledge of a long-extinct alien culture. Driven by insatiable curiosity, a team of distinguished archaeologists is dispatched to unearth its secrets. But as they descend into the moon's enigmatic interior, they vanish without a trace, leaving behind only questions and fears.

Years later, another team of brave explorers is sent on a dual mission: to discover the fate of their predecessors and to delve deeper into the library's forgotten wisdom. But their quest takes a harrowing turn when they accidentally awaken an ancient alien entity. This malevolent force, long dormant within the library's depths, begins to seize control of their minds and bodies, intent on spreading its influence beyond the moon.

As the team battles to resist the entity's insidious grip, they must decipher the library's knowledge to find a way to stop it.
Time is running out, and the stakes have never been higher. With the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, the team must confront their deepest fears and uncover the true purpose of the forbidden library before it's too late. Will they succeed in stopping the ancient menace, or will the alien entity unleash its wrath upon the cosmos?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dianna Aubin
• Release date: May 8, 2025
• ISBN: 9798232244811

Dianna Aubin

Dianna Aubin enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, travelling, writing, playing video games with her husband and playing with her two little cats.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The discovery came on a cold, quiet night in the year 2083, when the stars were particularly bright, and the universe seemed still, as though holding its breath. Dr. Calla Winters stood in the darkened observation room of the Valis Station, gazing at the image on the screen before her. It was a satellite scan of an uncharted moon on the outskirts of the Draco system; an object previously considered too insignificant to warrant attention. A dull, gray sphere with a cracked surface, barely a speck against the vast backdrop of space.

But something was different now. The scan revealed an anomaly, a void within the moon’s interior. It had been hollowed out; artificially, it seemed; its interior devoid of the expected rock and metal. What was left was a massive, cavernous space, vast enough to fit an entire city, and the shape of it was... deliberate. A network of tunnels, chambers, and corridors stretched deep beneath the moon’s crust, like the remnants of some ancient civilization's grand design.

Dr. Winters, we’re certain about this? Captain Lyle Rivers' voice came through the comms, breaking her reverie.

Calla took a deep breath, her fingers hovering over the terminal. The scan had only been confirmed a few hours ago, and she hadn’t yet had time to fully digest its implications. But something about it stirred a cold curiosity in her bones.

Yes, Captain, she replied, her voice steady despite the growing knot in her stomach. The scans are accurate. This moon... it’s not just a moon. It’s some kind of structure; an artifact, maybe. We don’t know what’s inside yet, but whatever it is, it’s far beyond anything we’ve seen before.

Then we need to get a team down there. Prepare a crew. Now.

Weeks later, the Elysian Star, a sleek research vessel equipped with the most advanced scientific technology, docked on the surface of the hollow moon. The team's mission was clear: to investigate the anomaly, uncover its secrets, and study whatever lay hidden in the depths. What awaited them inside the moon, however, no one could have predicted.

Calla stood at the front of the team, clad in a heavy suit designed for extreme environments. Behind her, a dozen archaeologists, researchers, and security personnel readied themselves for descent. The moon’s surface was barren, cracked open like a shattered egg, and a faint, eerie hum resonated from deep below the crust, as if something ancient was waking up.

The team had already lost contact with the surface three times since the initial descent. Each time, it was as though they had vanished into thin air. But the mission had to proceed. The knowledge contained within the hollow was too important, too valuable to abandon.

Let’s get to work, Calla said, her voice a mix of determination and caution. Stay sharp, everyone.

They descended into the massive opening in the surface, and the darkness swallowed them whole. The walls of the cavern stretched impossibly high, and the air inside was thick, stagnant, as though it hadn't been disturbed in millennia. They moved cautiously, scanning every corner, every surface, as if the place itself might come alive at any moment.

The first sign that they were not alone came when they discovered the door. It was an enormous slab of metal and stone, inscribed with alien symbols; symbols no one could read, not yet. But the structure itself radiated a strange energy, and as the team approached, the door opened with a sound like the groan of a dying star. Inside was a chamber unlike any they had ever seen.

The floor was covered in thick dust, untouched by time. Piles of artifacts lay scattered around, but at the center, a massive structure dominated the room: towering shelves that stretched toward the vaulted ceiling, filled with ancient books, scrolls, and holographic devices. The library; an entire civilization’s knowledge, preserved for millennia.

This is it, one of the team members whispered, his voice filled with awe. This is what they left behind.

Calla approached the nearest shelf and touched the surface of a book. It felt... wrong. The air seemed to shimmer around her hand, as if the book itself was alive in some strange, incomprehensible way.

Before she could pull away, the ground trembled. A low, reverberating hum filled the chamber, and the temperature seemed to drop by several degrees. The team froze, exchanging nervous glances.

What was that? someone asked.

The humming intensified, and the lights flickered. Then, the door through which they had entered slammed shut with a deafening crash. The darkness around them seemed to deepen, and an unnatural quiet settled in, broken only by the rapid breaths of the team members.

I don’t like this, Calla murmured. She stepped back, instinctively drawing her weapon.

Suddenly, the walls of the library began to shift. The shelves groaned as though waking from a long slumber, and the air grew thick with the scent of something old, decayed.

Everyone, get out! she shouted, her voice cracking with urgency.

But it was too late. The chamber was alive now, and the door wouldn’t open. The team’s communication devices fell silent. They were cut off from the surface, trapped inside the hollow moon.

The last transmission from the team was garbled, fragmented.

We’ve... found... something... here... not what we... thought...

The transmission ended abruptly.

Weeks passed before a second team was sent to investigate. They descended into the same opening, searching for answers. They found nothing. No sign of the first team. No traces. Just an empty, hollow library, its shelves now eerily silent.

The moon's true nature remained a mystery; an enigma that no one had the courage to solve. And as the years passed, the hollow moon was forgotten, its secrets locked away, waiting.

For the brave souls who would dare to return.

CHAPTER TWO

It had been twenty -five years since the last team disappeared into the hollow moon, and the mystery had become a distant, haunting memory. No one spoke of it openly anymore, but the shadow of the vanished expedition lingered in hushed tones, whispered in the halls of scientific institutions, and in the eyes of those who still bore the scars of that failure. The moon, now simply referred to as The Silent Sphere, had been cordoned off. Ships passed by without a second glance, as if the universe had agreed to leave that part of space undisturbed.

Until now.

Dr. Eamon Voss stood in the dimly lit briefing room of the Elysium, a state-of-the-art exploration vessel. He was the lead scientist for the new mission; an expedition to the hollow moon, twenty-five years after the last attempt. But unlike the original teams, he had something they didn’t: a new theory.

Voss wasn’t interested in the moon for the same reasons as the previous teams. He wasn’t here for the archaeology or the alien artifacts. His obsession was with the library; a collection of ancient knowledge that, according to the original transmission logs, was linked to a civilization that had vanished without a trace. There was something more to the hollow moon, something scientific, something that could alter the future of humanity.

He stood before the team of specialists he had handpicked: engineers, biologists, security personnel, and archaeologists; people who had no idea what they were really getting themselves into. They were excited, eager, full of hope. But Voss knew the truth: this was not going to be a simple excavation. They would uncover far more than just relics.

Alright, everyone, Voss began, his voice sharp and steady. This mission is different from anything you’ve been briefed on. We’re not just here to study an alien library. We’re here because we believe the technology on that moon can advance humanity’s understanding of life, of energy, of reality itself.

He let the words sink in. The team shifted, exchanging uncertain glances. Some seemed intrigued, others uneasy.

You all know the history. Teams have gone in before, and they haven’t returned. Some believe the moon itself is cursed, but we’re not here to speculate on old legends. We’re here to discover the truth.

He paused, allowing the weight of the situation to settle.

We’ve been working with a new form of quantum scanning that may allow us to bypass the failures of the previous expeditions. We’ll be able to see things that were previously hidden, even from the most advanced scans.

The room fell silent as they processed the gravity of the mission. Voss didn’t wait long to continue.

The thing to remember is this: we may encounter dangers we cannot yet comprehend. Whatever happened to the previous teams, whatever they found down there, it was not a simple alien culture. The moon was designed; constructed by a force, or intelligence, far beyond anything we’ve ever encountered.

As Voss finished speaking, the lights dimmed, and a projection lit up the far wall; a holographic image of The Silent Sphere, hovering in space, surrounded by the black void. The moon’s surface was jagged, scarred, with long cracks running across it. But it was the interior that was truly disturbing: a sprawling labyrinth of interconnected chambers, ancient machines, and data repositories that pulsed with an unseen energy.

The ship’s artificial gravity kicked in, and the crew, now suited up in their advanced EVA gear, began to prepare for descent. The tension in the room was palpable. Despite all the scientific advancements and preparation, no one could shake the unease creeping up their spines.

Hours later, the Elysium hovered just above the surface of the hollow moon. The team was ready to descend. They boarded the shuttle, their faces grim with the weight of history pressing down on them. Outside the viewport, the jagged, lifeless surface of the moon loomed. The ship’s engines hummed as they began their slow descent, approaching the original entry point; the same opening where the first teams had disappeared.

Calla Winters' face flashed in Voss' mind. He had read about her, about her and the others. Their final words, their incomplete mission logs, had haunted him for years. He had been the one to recommend that the mission be abandoned, that the moon be left alone. But now, he stood on the brink of discovery, and he would not be deterred.

The shuttle touched down with a soft thud, and the airlock hissed open. The moment they stepped out, the oppressive silence of the moon closed in around them, thick and unwelcoming. They were back where it all started, the dark, empty expanse of the cavern stretching out before them. The strange hum of the moon echoed in the distance, like a heartbeat from deep within the planet's core.

Stay alert, Voss ordered, his voice low. Everyone spread out, but don’t wander too far from the main team. We’re not going to repeat the mistakes of the past.

The team made their way into the cavern, the shadows swallowing them whole. The air grew colder as they ventured deeper, and the humming noise seemed to grow louder, more resonant. The walls were smooth, almost unnaturally so, as though the moon had been intentionally hollowed out by an intelligence with a specific purpose.

Then, they found it: the door.

Just like in the previous expedition’s reports, it was massive; an imposing slab of metal and stone, covered in alien symbols. But this time, there was something different about it. It wasn’t sealed. The door was slightly ajar, and a faint, unnatural glow emanated from within. It beckoned them forward, as if it were waiting for them.

We’ve found it, one of the archaeologists said, breathless with excitement. This is it. The entrance to the library.

Voss stood back, surveying the scene. Something felt... off. The door should have been locked, sealed tight after all these years. But here it was, open, as if welcoming them in.

Stay close, he muttered, taking the lead. And be prepared for anything.

The team stepped forward into the unknown, unaware that they were about to awaken something far older, and far more dangerous, than they could ever have imagined.

Inside the ancient library, something stirred.

CHAPTER THREE

The door groaned open , revealing a vast expanse beyond; larger than any of them had anticipated. The chamber stretched into darkness, its edges disappearing into the black void. The faint glow from the doorway barely illuminated the nearest shelves; massive, towering structures made of an alloy that shimmered even in the dim light. The shelves were filled with books, scrolls, and artifacts, but they were unlike anything seen on Earth. Some of the books hovered in mid-air, their covers glowing with a soft, pulsating light. Others were encased in intricate crystal structures that seemed to defy physics. Strange symbols covered every surface, their meanings impossible to decipher.

Is this... real? whispered Dr. Melissa Halverson, one of the biologists, her voice trembling with awe. She reached out toward a nearby object; a crystal, suspended in mid-air. It flickered as if it sensed her presence.

Voss didn’t respond at first. His eyes were fixed on the bookshelves, studying them as though trying to grasp their purpose with the pitifully limited knowledge humanity had. This was it; the heart of the mystery, the ancient library that had claimed so many lives before. The silence in the room was thick, palpable, as if the library itself were holding its breath.

Stay close, Voss finally said, breaking the silence. His voice was tight, almost wary. We don’t know how this place reacts to us. These artifacts are centuries, maybe millennia old. Whatever mechanisms are here, they could be sensitive.

The team moved forward cautiously, the sharp click of their boots on the cold metal floor echoing through the vast chamber. The air was thin, colder than expected, and the temperature seemed to drop with every step they took.

The holographic symbols on the books began to shift in a rhythm; like they were waiting for something. The air hummed again, this time louder, a low vibrating sound that made their bones ache. The sound seemed to come from deep within the walls.

Dr. Joey Patel, the lead archaeologist, reached out to touch one of the glowing books. Before his hand made contact, the book began to float toward him, as though responding to his presence. His hand faltered for a moment, then gently pressed against the glowing surface.

A flash of light erupted from the book, blinding them all for a moment. The room trembled as the holographic symbols on the walls flickered wildly, shifting and rearranging themselves into new patterns. The hum of the moon seemed to intensify, almost like a voice in the distance.

What the hell? muttered Melissa, backing away, her eyes wide in shock.

Then the light dimmed, and silence fell once more.

Joey slowly withdrew his hand, his breath shallow. He glanced at Voss, his expression a mixture of awe and fear. It... responded to me. But I don’t understand... it’s like it’s communicating, but in a way we can’t process.

Voss didn’t reply immediately, his mind racing. He had expected something unusual, but this? This was far beyond what he had imagined. The books, the strange energy, the way the symbols seemed to pulse with life; it was as if the library itself was alive, reacting to their presence. He knew now that they weren’t just uncovering knowledge. They were interacting with something far older, and far more dangerous, than they could ever understand.

Let’s keep moving, Voss said, his voice more controlled now, though the edge of tension was unmistakable. If these books are communicating with us, we need to find a way to understand them. But we can’t afford to waste time. Keep your eyes open.

They continued forward, deeper into the chamber. As they moved, the walls began to change, and the air grew heavier, filled with a dense, almost oppressive energy. The shelves curved around them, creating a labyrinth of corridors filled with glowing artifacts and strange technology.

At the heart of the library stood a massive stone structure, almost like an altar. Around it, the walls were adorned with strange, intricate carvings that seemed to depict scenes of a once-thriving civilization; beings with elongated limbs, dark eyes, and expressions of intense focus. Their features were alien, unlike anything the crew had seen before. But it was the center of the structure that caught Voss’ attention. In the middle of the altar was a large, pulsing crystal; a source of energy, perhaps, or a key to understanding what had happened here. It seemed to hum with a strange rhythm, as though it were waiting for them to activate it.

Voss stepped closer to the altar, his hand reaching toward the crystal. As soon as his fingers brushed the surface, the room responded.

The hum intensified, vibrating the floor beneath their feet. The walls around them shifted, opening up into new chambers. But something was wrong. The light from the altar flickered, and the air turned thick, as though time itself had slowed.

I think we’ve triggered something, Melissa said, her voice tense. This doesn’t feel right.

Before Voss could respond, the ground trembled violently. The humming noise escalated into a deafening roar, and the walls began to collapse inward, as if the library itself were rejecting them. Books flew from their shelves, scattering through the air in a chaotic frenzy. The air became charged with energy, crackling with static.

Get out! Now! Voss shouted.

But before they could move, a loud crack echoed through the room, and the altar began to glow brighter than ever before. The crystal in the center pulsed rapidly, sending out shockwaves of energy that threw the team to the ground. The floor buckled, and a deep rumble reverberated through the cavern.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, everything stopped. The room fell silent once more. The energy faded, and the tremors ceased. But the damage had been done.

The walls had shifted. The exits were sealed. The only way forward was deeper into the heart of the library.

And then, they heard it; voices. Not from any of the team, but from the depths of the library itself. Faint whispers, alien and ancient, rising from the very walls, their tones filled with sorrow and warning.

Voss glanced around, his face pale, his heart pounding.

We’ve awoken something, he whispered. And it’s not happy.

The whispers grew louder. And then, from the shadows, something began to move.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Elysium hung silently above the hollow moon, its engines powered down and its crew awaiting further orders. The vessel had been ready for everything; shields, weapons, emergency protocols; but nothing could have prepared them for what had just occurred on the surface.

Inside the ancient library, the team was now trapped. The whispers had not faded. If anything, they had intensified, swirling around them like an unseen storm, growing louder with each passing second. The walls seemed to hum in resonance, as though they were aware of the intruders, watching their every move.

Voss stood frozen in the middle of the chamber, his hand still hovering above the pulsing crystal on the altar. The moment it had activated, everything had shifted. The entire room felt as though it had come to life; a sentient presence within the walls, manipulating the very air around them.

What did we just do? Melissa muttered; her voice tinged with fear.

We triggered something, Voss replied, his voice tight with unease. Something ancient. This; this place is not just a library. It's... a prison. A containment field. Whatever was inside, it's been trapped here for a reason.

Joey moved closer to the altar, his face pale. But why? What was it? And why does it want us gone?

The ground beneath their feet quivered again. A crack appeared along the wall, and the flickering glow of the bookcases seemed to pulse with urgency.

Listen, Voss said, his voice a whisper. We need to move. This place isn’t safe anymore. Whatever we’ve disturbed, it’s not going to let us leave easily.

He turned to the team, his eyes scanning each face, his pulse racing as the whispers grew louder.

We’re not leaving without answers, he continued, but the doubt in his voice was undeniable. We need to find a way to understand this; what they were hiding; and maybe, just maybe, we’ll find a way out.

Joey nodded, trying to steady his breath. I’ve seen these symbols before in some of the preliminary scans; before the first teams went in. They’re not just writing. They look like... warnings. Warnings against something. But I couldn’t make sense of it then. Now... He shook his head, unable to finish the thought.

Voss didn’t answer. He was too focused on the shimmering crystal at the heart of the altar, now crackling with energy. The floor vibrated beneath them, like the pulse of some great heart beating in the depths of the library.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the chamber. The ceiling above them cracked open, revealing a deep, inky blackness. A shadow descended; something large and fluid, an unnatural shape. The air grew colder, and the whispers turned into guttural growls, sharp and jagged.

Melissa took a step back, her face flushed with panic. What is that? What is it?

From the darkened ceiling emerged a towering figure, long limbs stretching down from the shadows. Its form was indistinct, barely visible, as if it were made of the very darkness itself. The whispers coalesced into a single, chilling voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Intruders... you awaken the eternal prison.

The voice reverberated through the chamber, and the walls trembled in response. A wave of cold, suffocating dread washed over the team.

Move! Voss shouted, grabbing Joey’s arm and pulling him toward the nearest exit.

But as they tried to run, the air thickened, the ground beneath their feet becoming sticky, like a viscous substance was coating the floor. The figure above them reached down, its long, elongated fingers stretching toward them, its presence suffocating. The shape shifted, its features becoming clearer; tendrils of darkness that seemed to be absorbing the light around them. Eyes; countless eyes; glowed from the shadowed mass, watching them, waiting.

We need to get out! Now! Melissa screamed.

But before they could move, the library shifted again. The walls groaned and cracked, and the floors buckled beneath them. A massive section of the chamber split open, revealing yet another corridor; a dark, yawning tunnel leading deeper into the moon. The whispers that had once been distant now surrounded them, closing in on their minds, suffusing the very air with their warning.

Into the tunnel! We need to go deeper! Voss barked, his voice filled with authority and panic alike.

The team rushed forward, sprinting toward the newly revealed path. The shape above them pulsed, its tendrils curling as if it were reaching for them, but they were already moving, driven by the need to escape.

They ran through the darkened corridors, the oppressive whispers following them, growing louder with every step. The walls seemed to pulse with a strange energy, and the air around them felt thick, as if the very molecules were reacting to their presence. They stumbled over uneven floors, their steps echoing in the deep, cavernous silence.

Then, they found it.

The tunnel led to another vast chamber, larger than the one before, where the air felt less oppressive. A strange device stood at the center; a glowing console, its surface covered with symbols similar to those they had seen earlier. The device was ancient, worn, but somehow still functional, its light dim but constant.

Voss moved toward it, his heart racing. This could be it. This could be our way out.

The others gathered around him, unsure but hopeful. As Voss approached the console, he extended his hand, hesitant but determined. The symbols on the surface of the console flickered, then shifted as if recognizing his presence. A low hum filled the chamber, and for the briefest moment, the whispers stopped.

Then, as his fingers made contact with the console, everything changed.

The walls of the chamber began to glow, and the air itself seemed to thrum with energy. The console’s light flared, and the ground beneath their feet buckled once more. The whispers returned, louder than ever, but this time they were not warnings. They were commands.

Leave. Now.

The voice that echoed through the chamber was not just alien; it was ancient, filled with the weight of a civilization long gone. And as the ground split open, as the library itself seemed to react to their intrusion, Voss understood.

They hadn’t awoken a prison. They had awakened a guardian. A force that had been waiting, waiting for the next intruders to awaken its wrath.

The shadows moved again, and this time, they weren’t just watching.

They were coming.

CHAPTER FIVE

The chamber shook violently as the console pulsed, sending jagged streams of energy lancing across the floor. The symbols on its surface rearranged themselves in an erratic, feverish dance, as though the device was struggling to comprehend their presence.

Voss barely had time to react before the entire chamber lit up in a blinding flare of blue light. The moment his fingers left the console, the whispers coalesced into something more than mere voices.

A presence. A force.

Something ancient, something alive.

From the shifting walls, the shadows pulled together, forming a shape; something humanoid, but distorted, stretched beyond any natural proportions. It loomed over them, eyes glowing like twin stars in the darkness, its body flickering between solid and ethereal.

Joey staggered backward. That’s not a hologram.

No, Melissa whispered, her voice barely audible over the droning hum in the air. It’s watching us.

The figure spoke, but the words did not come from its mouth. Instead, they echoed in their minds, bypassing speech entirely.

You are not of the Architects. You do not belong.

The moment the thought entered Voss’s mind, an unbearable pressure seized his skull, as if a vice had clamped down around his brain. He gritted his teeth, trying to fight against the overwhelming force invading his consciousness.

Melissa screamed, clutching her head. Joey collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. The others reeled; their minds battered by the sheer weight of the entity’s presence.

Voss forced himself to move. He reached out, blindly gripping Joey’s shoulder and shaking him. We have to... He could barely get the words out before a force slammed into him, throwing him across the chamber. He hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.

The entity hovered toward them, its form shifting and breaking apart before reassembling in fluid, unnatural ways. It was less a creature and more an extension of the library itself; a guardian that had been dormant until they disturbed it.

The knowledge must not be taken.

The chamber walls rippled, shifting again. The tunnel they had entered through was gone, replaced by another passage, darker and narrower, stretching endlessly into the depths of the moon. The library wasn’t just shifting; it was guiding them, forcing them into a path of its choosing.

Melissa scrambled to her feet. It’s herding us!

Voss pushed himself upright, his head still throbbing from the entity’s attack. Then we don’t fight it. We run.

Without hesitation, he bolted for the new passage, dragging Joey up with him. The others followed, stumbling and gasping as they fled deeper into the unknown.

The air grew colder as they ran, and the walls around them pulsed with alien symbols, shifting and rearranging like living veins. The whispers had faded, replaced by something worse; a silence so deep it felt like the very void of space had swallowed them.

They had no idea where they were going.

Only that something was chasing them and it wasn’t going to let them leave.

The tunnel stretched endlessly before them, its walls smooth and featureless, as if carved from a single piece of dark stone. Voss didn’t look back. He didn’t need to; he could feel it behind them. The air itself was heavy, pressing down on his chest like an unseen weight. The others were struggling to keep pace, their breaths ragged in the stale, artificial atmosphere of the library.

Melissa nearly tripped over a raised section of the floor, catching herself against Joey’s arm. Where the hell are we going? she gasped.

Anywhere but back there, Voss muttered. He could hear the entity moving behind them, but it wasn’t the sound of footsteps. It was more like the shifting of fabric, the rustling of something vast and incorporeal sliding through the air.

Then the tunnel opened into another chamber. It was smaller than the last, its ceiling lower, its walls lined with strange crystalline structures pulsing with faint light. Unlike the previous rooms, this one had a more deliberate, almost ceremonial feel. A raised platform stood at its center, and above it, something floated.

Voss skidded to a halt.

The object above the platform was unlike anything they had seen so far. It was a sphere, roughly the size of a human head, its surface made of interlocking metallic plates that constantly shifted, rearranging themselves in intricate patterns. Occasionally, gaps would open, revealing brief flashes of something inside; a swirling, liquid-like core that shimmered in impossible colors.

Melissa took a step forward. That’s... technology, she breathed. Not just a recording, not just archives. This thing is active.

Joey reached out toward it, but Voss caught his wrist.

Don’t, he said.

The library wants to stop us from taking its knowledge, Joey said, staring at the sphere. But this isn’t a book. This is something else. Maybe it’s not part of the library. Maybe it’s...

The hum in the room spiked.

The entity had followed them.

Voss turned just as the entrance to the tunnel darkened, shadows spilling into the chamber like ink. The figure materialized again, no longer shifting or flickering. It was solid now. Defined. It had form. And it had eyes. Too many of them.

The walls pulsed in response, and for the first time, the sphere reacted. The shifting plates froze, and then, with a sharp metallic click, the sphere split open.

A blinding pulse of energy exploded outward.

Voss barely had time to shield his face before the wave passed over them, crackling like a storm tearing through the room. The entity shrieked; an unnatural, piercing sound that made the walls tremble. Its form buckled, twisting and writhing, as if the pulse had disrupted whatever force was holding it together.

The shadows recoiled.

Then, just as quickly as it had come, the wave dissipated.

The entity was gone.

The library was silent again.

Voss lowered his arm. His ears were still ringing, and his head throbbed from the sensory overload. Slowly, he turned back toward the sphere. It had sealed itself once more, the plates locking into a new configuration.

Joey stared at it, then back at Voss. I think this thing just saved us.

Melissa exhaled, rubbing her temples. What the hell is it?

I don’t know, Voss admitted. But I think we just found what the others were looking for.

He reached out and, this time, he didn’t stop himself.

His fingers brushed the surface of the sphere and the library spoke.

CHAPTER FIVE

The moment Voss touched the sphere, the library’s silence shattered. A cascade of alien symbols flared to life across the chamber walls, moving too fast to comprehend. The ground trembled beneath them, and a deep, resonant hum filled the air, vibrating in their bones.

Joey took a step back, eyes darting between Voss and the shifting patterns on the sphere. Uh... Voss?

I see it, Voss muttered. His fingers tingled where they had made contact, a static charge crawling up his arm. The sphere was reacting to him, recognizing him, choosing him.

Melissa tightened her grip on her scanner, but the device was useless; just static and garbled data. You might want to let go now.

Voss wasn’t sure he could. The sphere’s surface moved beneath his touch, its plates unfolding like an intricate puzzle, revealing more glimpses of the swirling, impossible substance within. His mind swam with something unfamiliar, an overwhelming presence; not a voice, not words, but an imprint of knowledge, vast and incomprehensible.

A message.

Images flashed through his mind: towering cities with spires that defied gravity, an endless