Nora is wrenched from the garden with Ash, Molly, and Plato and lands back in the Midnight Library, which is shaking apart. Furious and desperate, she begs Mrs Elm to return her to that life or a close variant. As sparks ignite shelves and the ceiling falls, Mrs Elm insists it’s not possible.

Under a table amid spreading fires, Mrs Elm points out Nora’s watch starting to count seconds, signaling time has resumed. She explains the library is part of Nora’s mind, collapsing not to kill her but to allow a return to life. Nora admits the “perfect” Ash-Molly life wasn’t truly hers.

With less than a minute, Mrs Elm urges Nora to flee through a book rather than a door. The Book of Regrets is already burning; instead, Nora must reach the eleventh aisle, third shelf from the bottom, to find the one book that can take her back.

Mrs Elm, unable to leave, gives Nora an orange school fountain pen, telling her this book isn’t written yet and she must start it. As debris crashes down and dust chokes the air, Mrs Elm urges Nora to go and live, while the library continues to collapse around them.