In the leather stores, Livira tells Jella she is “researching” and slips away to shadow Deputy Master Ellis, hoping he will reveal a guarded wonder rumored to be reserved for senior librarians. At the library door, guards—distracted by Livira’s half-white hair from the lab incident—wave her through despite a forged pass.

Inside, Livira takes to the tops of shelves to track Ellis across the first chamber. When a choke-point risks exposing her to Master Jost, she opens her black book to create a moving bubble of darkness, slips past, and avoids identification. She then spots Ellis carrying a travel pack and water-skin, implying a long journey.

Across many chambers, Livira maintains a cautious distance, rests when Ellis camps near a corner sustenance circle, and fights a lingering cough from the gas attack. She briefly reflects on the Dust, Benth’s death, and Malar’s aid, then nearly loses Ellis after sleeping on stone with only a book for a pillow.

Ellis crosses an empty chamber, forcing Livira to risk the open to keep him in sight. Beyond, in Chamber 97 with towering red-granite shelves, she attempts an ascent, gets ensnared in webbing, falls hard, then resumes using high ladders, arches, and bridges to make faster progress above the aisles.

From a high stone bridge, Livira finally relocates Ellis as he turns into a reading room, carrying a single book. She descends to follow, wondering why he crossed so many miles to reach this particular room, and suspecting it conceals the secret she has been seeking.