Heir of Eternity

The Vanishing Message

The phone screen went blank again.

Ethan waited a few seconds, then opened his messaging app. His inbox had neither gained nor lost a single message. He tapped the search bar and typed *Library*. No results.

He returned to the home screen and opened his notification history.

Empty.

It was as if the sentence he had just read had never existed.

Ethan placed the phone on the table, then picked up the metal disc still wrapped in the frayed cloth. He compared the object with his phone screen, which was slowly dimming. In the cramped room, the only sound was the repetitive dripping of water from a bathroom tap that had been left loosely shut.

He opened his desk drawer.

Inside was an old notebook from last semester. Its front pages were filled with economics notes, while the back remained blank. Ethan tore out a page, picked up a ballpoint pen, and wrote down the exact message he had read.

*"Do not go to the Blackridge Old Library tomorrow if you want to stay alive."*

He paused briefly, ensuring every word matched.

He folded the paper twice and slipped it into his wallet alongside Nathan Cole’s business card.

At least, if the message truly vanished, he would still have a copy.

Only then did he turn off the light.

At five in the morning, the alarm beeped softly from his phone.

Ethan shut it off before the second chime could sound. The house was still quiet. From behind his uncle’s bedroom door, only faint snoring could be heard.

He washed his face in the back bathroom, put on his university uniform that had been ironed two days prior, and headed to the kitchen.

There were only two slices of white bread left.

He toasted them briefly, spread a thin layer of peanut butter, and brewed a cup of unsweetened black coffee.

As he reached for his bag, Aunt Martha appeared, tying her hair back.

"Leaving this early?"

"I have a first-period class."

The woman opened a kitchen cabinet without turning around.

"The electricity bill went up again. Starting next month, you need to contribute more to the house."

Ethan nodded.

"Alright."

There was no further conversation.

He grabbed his jacket, put on his bag, and left before any new demands could be made.

The morning air in Blackridge was still damp from last night's lingering rain. Thin wisps of vapor escaped the mouths of pedestrians walking briskly toward the bus stop. The bakery on the street corner had just unlocked its doors; the scent of warm butter filled the pavement.

Ethan waited for the bus while holding his phone.

His thumb moved to open a search engine.

*Blackridge Old Library.*

Dozens of results popped up instantly.

Most contained the building's history. The library had been built over a hundred years ago before eventually being relocated to a new structure in the city center. The old building had been closed to the public nearly twenty years ago due to structural damage.

There was no other information.

No indication of why someone would send a threat warning him not to go there.

The bus pulled up to the stop.

Ethan boarded along with a dozen other passengers.

He chose a window seat.

The city slowly drifted backward behind the glass. Rows of shops gave way to campus buildings that were beginning to fill with students.

When the bus stopped at the university gates, Ethan got off and walked toward the faculty building.

Before he had even covered fifty meters, someone called his name.

"Ethan!"

Lucas ran up to him, carrying two paper cups of coffee.

"I thought you weren't coming in today."

Ethan accepted one of the cups offered to him.

"You bought coffee again?"

"There was a promo. Buy one, get one free."

Lucas studied his friend's face for a moment.

"You look even more wrecked than yesterday."

"I didn't sleep well."

"That much is obvious."

Lucas chuckled softly, but his laughter trailed off when he noticed Ethan didn't react at all.

"Are you alright?"

Ethan gave a curt nod.

"Just a lot of assignments."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah."

Lucas didn't press any further.

They walked side by side toward the lecture hall.

In front of the main auditorium, several students had gathered around a digital notice board. Someone was pointing at the screen while taking a photo with their phone.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked one of the students.

"They say there's a guest lecturer from the National Archives. An open seminar later this afternoon."

Lucas lost interest as quickly as it had arrived.

"I thought we were getting a day off."

He started walking again.

Ethan took a quick glance at the screen.

In the corner of the seminar poster was a photo of an old building featuring gray stone architecture.

His heart gave a sudden lurch.

That building...

It was nearly identical to the photo he had just seen on the internet.

*The Blackridge Old Library.*

The only difference was a small line of text printed at the bottom of the seminar poster:

*Research location is not open to the public.*

A man wearing glasses was standing near the screen, explaining something to the seminar organizers.

His hair was turning white at the temples, placing his age around sixty. The dark brown jacket he wore looked modest compared to the other professors.

As Ethan passed through the crowd, the man abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

Their eyes met.

The man narrowed his eyes, as if trying to recall something.

A moment later, he excused himself from the committee and walked directly toward Ethan.

"Excuse me."

Ethan stopped.

"Have we met before?"

"No."

The man observed Ethan's face longer than felt natural.

"Then... perhaps I was mistaken."

He offered a polite smile and turned to leave.

However, right before he turned away, his gaze dropped to the strap of Ethan's bag, which was slightly unzipped.

It lasted for only a fraction of a second.

Long enough for his smile to vanish completely.

The man quickly averted his eyes.

"Take good care of your belongings, young man."

The words were spoken softly, almost like a murmur.

Without waiting for a response, he returned to the seminar organizers.

Lucas, who had been waiting at the end of the corridor, raised an eyebrow.

"Who was that?"

Ethan shook his head.

"No idea."

"You two looked like you knew each other."

"That was the first time I've ever seen him."

Lucas glanced back briefly at the old man.

"Strange."

The university bell rang.

The crowd in front of the hall began to disperse.

The man with the glasses vanished among the professors walking toward the seminar room.

Ethan remained standing for a moment.

He pulled down the zipper of his bag that had been left slightly open.

The metal disc was still tucked safely beneath a stack of textbooks.

There was no way that man could have seen what it was.

If so...

What had actually made a complete stranger approach him so suddenly?