Hortus Arcanus Silvae

【novel】

Out of the haze, a space of utter blackness began to take shape.

No one stood around me—nothing existed there but myself,

and the small lamp in my hand, casting a fragile circle of light.

Then, suddenly, a voice emerged from nowhere.

I held my breath and listened.

It seemed to drift from somewhere ahead.

A quiet unease settled within me,

yet I found my arm reaching forward,

the lamp trembling slightly in my grasp.

And then—there it was.

A single book, suspended in the dark.

The voice… it was coming from within it.

Drawn in, step by step,

I closed the distance between us

and gently took it into my hands.

Yes—

without a doubt,

the voice was coming from this book.