Chapter 69
Summary
- In this chapter, the character Livira enters a complex entity referred to as the Exchange, where she has the ability to control and manipulate time and space. It is indicated that this place is a link or convergence point for various worlds and times, and one that has been heavily influenced by a character known as Jaspeth.
- Livira is revealed to be an intangible being or construct known as the Assistant, but the term is also used for multiple beings who are identical or closely related to Livira. Despite having these vast powers, Livira is depicted as being corrupted by human influence and losing her ability to experience and remember personal desires or loves, similar to the concept of fading memories.
- Possessing an understanding of most of the books in the massive library that the chapter setting encompasses, Livira becomes fixated on one particular book that is supposed to be set on fire as per some accord or agreement, but which is refusing to burn. Owing to certain painful personal connections to the book, she works together with a character named Soldier to protect the book and move forward.
- Parallel to Livira’s struggle, a story within a story unfolds. A young girl, a benevolent knight, and a witch are the main characters in this tale. Instead of the knight rescuing the girl, the knight dies while attempting to save the girl, leading to a moral about the inevitability of tragedy, a point which becomes instrumental in later actions.
- In a strategy to ensure the survival of a group of beings referred to as canith, the Assistant and Soldier guide them to an empty library chamber. Their plan involved using a portal to flood the chamber with water from the Exchange, giving the canith access to grow crops and thus a way to survive in the library. All the while, Livira preserves the book she was focused on earlier in the chapter and hints at a further purpose that is to be fulfilled.