The morning came far too quickly.

I barely remembered falling asleep, but my body must have been more tired than I expected.

When I opened my eyes again, the room was filled with a soft, bluish glow that leaked in from the inn's strange ceiling. It wasn't sunlight. It wasn't anything natural. It was simply… the kind of magic used in the groove.

Nyx was curled up beside Luna. Erebus had somehow stolen Fenrir's entire tail as a blanket. Leo was sitting cross-legged near the door, already awake, staring into space with a thoughtful expression.

The tiny room looked properly lived-in because of us.

"When did you wake up? No, more importantly, did you even sleep?"

I asked as I looked at Leo. He turned toward me with a startled expression, but let out a sigh once he noticed that it was only me.

"You're finally up, shopkeeper. We should start looking today. There's no point wasting time."

Leo said as soon as he caught his breath. He also seemed much more relaxed once he saw that I was up.

I sat up, rubbed my face, and tried to shake off the stiffness in my shoulders.

"Right. The sooner we find some clue, the better."

Luna tied her hair back as she stood.

"Shopkeeper, Leo and I… we've been thinking. We could surrender ourselves to the Groove. If they take us in as disciples again, they might let us into the inner library. We can figure something out."

I frowned immediately.

"No. That won't be necessary."

Both of them flinched.

"I'm not handing either of you over to this place. You two separated from the Groove for a reason."

I repeated.

Luna lowered her gaze. Leo muttered something under his breath but didn't argue.

I stood, dusted my clothes, and opened the door.

"We'll find another way. There has to be one. Let look around for a bit."

These two had asked for my help and I wanted to properly provide them with help. I felt a sense of….care for these two in the same way I felt for Nyx and Erebus.

Fenrir yawned as he followed behind us with heavy steps.

"Master, should we eat first?"

He asked, but his question died when he saw my face.

"Or… later. Later is fine."

I did not answer him, and as soon as Nyx and Erebus woke up and got ready, we had our breakfast and then it was time to head out.

It wasn't long before we reached the entrance of the main library. The building stood tall, wrapped in pulsating colors that moved like slow-breathing fog.

The doors were guarded by two tall priests and a counter set up right at the front.

The moment we approached, the man behind the counter gave us a bored look.

"Identification cards? If you don't have one, then don't waste my time."

I blinked.

"ID?"

"Yes. To enter the Groove Library, you must have a verified identification card issued within the Groove's system. Please get one that is recognised by our system or take your leave."

He repeated.

I looked back at Leo and Luna.

Both shook their heads.

"We… do not have one…we can use here."

Luna whispered.

The man let out a long sigh, clearly expecting this.

"Then you can't enter. Next."

I tried not to grimace.

"What about me? Let me check…"

"You? You definitely don't have one. You look like a shady outsider. But you can give me one and I can check for you."

The man scanned me up and down, his eyes narrowing.

He wasn't wrong, but still—what kind of discrimination was that?

Before I could argue, Nyx tugged on my sleeve.

"Shopkeeper, Erebus and I… we have cards."

Erebus nodded, pulling out a small stone plate from his bag. Nyx did the same. Both plates glowed softly with shifting colors.

The librarian leaned forward.

"Ah, children of Goddess Heela? Verified, too. They may enter, but only these two."

My shoulders relaxed—I had finally caught a break.

Then the man looked back at me and I could tell that he was smirking on the inside. He suddenly looked smug and he opened his mouth.

"But children cannot enter unsupervised. They need an adult registered with them. You are not registered."

So much for that. This man seemed to intend to not let us pass.

Leo gave me a pitying look. Luna hid a wince.

"I can register if you tell me who to."

I offered quickly.

"You cannot."

The man shot back immediately.

"Why?"

"Because you're not from the Groove. You need an identify to even register and since you don't look like you have any…"

I wanted to rip my hair out.

I had met a lot of unreasonable people in my life, but this man was. taking the cake for the most annoying

As if things weren't complicated enough, the man suddenly stiffened. His gaze shot downward and locked onto Fenrir.

"You— That creature—!"

Fenrir tilted his head.

"Creature?"

One of the priests stepped forward aggressively.

"No beasts allowed! This is a sacred place!"

"We're leaving."

I said immediately before anything escalated.

"I'm not a beast-!"

Fenrir yelled and that was making the situation worse for us. People were starting to look our way and I wanted us out of here before we could be permanently banned by these people.

They didn't want us there anyway. And considering the murderous look the priest was giving Fenrir, staying any longer would get us thrown out by force.

We walked away in silence, the doors closing behind us.

Once we were far enough, Leo let out a tired groan.

"I told you the library here would be troublesome. They never make it easy for outsiders."

"But we aren't giving up. There has to be another way inside."

I insisted.

We wandered through the decorated streets, passing stalls selling glowing food, shimmering fruit, and strange handmade charms. I scanned every crowd, every conversation, hoping for a hint.

And that's when I overheard it.

Two women were talking near a fountain shaped like a blooming flower. Their voices were low, but the words still reached me.

"—got an entrance pass yesterday. I can finally get that research finished."

"You're lucky your professor likes you. Mine would never waste a pass."

Entrance pass.

My ears sharpened immediately.

"You're right. Only a professor can issue them. I don't know why they don't just hand out IDs instead…"

The first woman said.

A professor…

I turned back to the group.

"I think I found something. They mentioned 'entrance passes.' Something that allows people to bypass ID checks."

Leo stiffened.

"Entrance… passes?"

I nodded.

"They said only a professor can issue one."

Leo's face fell instantly.

"Shopkeeper… no. You should never meet a professor."

Luna shook her head as well.

"A professor is like a high-priest. They serve the god of the Groove directly. They don't associate with people like us. Even if we begged, they wouldn't spare us a glance."

"So we shouldn't try that path. It's impossible…and dangerous. Especially for someone like you, shopkeeper. You might become their test subject instead."

Leo concluded firmly.

I clenched my jaw. It would have been too easy if that path worked anyway.

"Fine. Let's look for another option."

I muttered, but I doubted we would be able to find another method anytime soon.

But after hours of wandering, questioning, pretending to browse shops, and walking through every glowing corridor we could find, we found nothing.

The Groove was massive—too massive. Its inner structure made no sense, its paths looped in strange ways, and the deeper we walked, the heavier the air became.

By the time we finally returned to the inn, the sky—if it could even be called that—had shifted to a dark purple hue.

Nyx flopped onto the nearest chair. Erebus leaned against her shoulder, exhausted.

Luna looked frustrated. Leo looked defeated. Fenrir lay flat on the floor as if all hope had drained from his body.

I sat down slowly, rubbing my forehead.

"We didn't find a single clue…"

I whispered.

Leo hesitated before saying softly.

"We told you, shopkeeper. It would not be easy here. In the end, the only option left for us is to surrender-"

"Stop talking about that. If you said this again, then I will lock you in a room and leave you there all alone until you understand what you should not say.

Silence settled over us.

The Groove felt even louder now. The humming under the floorboards echoed through the room like a reminder that we were visitors here—intruders, even—and that time was running out.

But giving up wasn't an option.

Not yet.

"We'll continue tomorrow."

I finally said.

Everyone lifted their heads.

"We're already here. We'll find a way into that inner library, one way or another."

They nodded, tired but trusting.

And thus, our first day in the Groove ended with nothing but exhaustion and frustration—but with the determination to try again.

Because we had no other choice.

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