The ChaosRealm Public Library

The Realm of Chaos has a Public Library. It looks surprisingly orderly, but as with everything in this disorganized realm, nothing is what it seems as Hotaru is about to find out.

LOCATION >> Seiden Guard HQ, Orderrealm.

It has been 6 months since Hotaru has last heard from the legion of soldiers he send to the Chaosrealm in retaliation for a series of agent provocateurs that Havik sent to Orderrealm to cause trouble. So far all attempts to locate them have been unsuccessful. It is as if they had simply vanished into thin air. Hotaru is is just about to lose hope of ever finding them when one of his subordinates enters his office.

"Hotaru, I think I have a lead on where the soldiers you sent to the Chaosrealm might have disappeared to." the guard announces.

"What is it?" he asks as some hope returns to him.

"It's a message from Havik. I think it gives a clue as to where the soldiers are located. But considering the source, I wouldn’t trust it that much." the guard explains.

"I don't care, it's something. Give it here." Hotaru orders. The guard hands the message to him and leave the room. He opens the piece of paper and reads it carefully.

“HEY FIREFLY,

If you are wondering where those soldiers you sent to my realm are, come visit the Chaosrealm Public Library. You might find what you are looking for there.

From, Havik.

May Chaos Break The Rules That Bind.”

Hotaru’s eyes raised slightly upon reading this.

“Hmm... I didn’t know that his realm has a public library. I shall have to go check that out.” he thinks to himself. He knows it could just be Havik messing with him like usual, but it was something he could go on. He had to follow this lead. Packing his weapons and putting his armor on, he sets off for the realm of chaos to find this library.

LOCATION >> Chaosrealm.

Stepping out of the portal, Hotaru sets foot inside this disorganized realm. It looks different from when he last visited this place. But that is to be expected from a realm like this. At least the old water processing plant is still here. Hotaru wonders around a bit before he finds a new portal that he has never seen before. A sign next to it says:

“PUBLIC LIBRARY”

Searching for a way to activate it, Hotaru sees what appears to be a terminal next to it. Looking at the screen there is a menu and a keyboard for entering information. The menu shows to options “Take me to a specific section” and “Take me somewhere random”. Not trusting the second option he selects the first one. A prompt appears that says:“INPUT THE SECTION NUMBER TO WARP TO >>” followed by a text entry field. At the bottom of the screen there is are two buttons that say: “ENTER” and “RANDOM”.

Unsure what to do, Hotaru tries entering a random number to see what happens. He is gets annoyed when he discovers that the keys rearrange themselves randomly after every keystroke. He is not surprised though considering what realm he is in. Deciding that it is too difficult to enter text, he selects RANDOM. The following appears in the text field:

“0c07hvziz54ccrxan3zdu50m8es8sdbteojz1bq65hxf3qx0waqp1vabzapuft2k9vhgc8flawm4yhr7y5goj8

gotsvphn1jihs0z1xthoe8wbuuqgmkto7w3nse84nsic0ewngzfz1js0q7vbsjtu07crunlihoilwwb3hfrk4qkf

3m0tilvgpivuuajkwt1hl1u7udjj3v3zjqt4pspim76iuuf4d3mh9cwuyiixv95pl6o8jdlbm607ms8rsz7gbc4n

nl8me2gepyo1wt1mj32ueyh6bk1om013q8we4ueavj20z4ibw1qfj2z30iu2o2hkkyps58i536ipzepie1cyl

pkq7n9z1c1df44dfl1dahtoy7an50s3aica4kxt0vmi1p53hihx2jdr8aplkzi74a56rkm0qcprec0unaoum444e

07rdnr72zlhdq79h8woiirxj2qrukddboaon6wn8dm24f4oaq15jpxvvaz9t88br3y6pp7oymxf0yxpv281eb

35uww4ewabz532o1rkn2wg76venpvvguxqbcs4nqpa32qeaomhwmmx7xu7utbtidum46mim6knuavkrrl

zsl91bzjhwp06oefojjwlsa4jo077b5eydq3dme16tpbvwtqcytxvk6mk2kxk67uzdb5uz6za8lwg13va9jft0l

9rt80flpzodfr19o3njvn5knehw8ok5t3k4ko9v145r10bt9m49rx1q4n5mwnetfh6d6sh81a4ud4n1268febk

eu9108tgywgd9se4h1g8srk3i1wgwtcv9usy06eedm7qpvmdi9x7ouyigfdiwqw4vm2da5grplx0k1vhmhr

gap71od6m2rldm6gwrqnr8tw0vv3ob840g11uxz7mev7z0tofhhn6pkdda1hmx8qm0gblf2b1tpeks8ma9

6um3cog7crsyappouofxiuww50w9ilnrfizjao6fwezd4hdp1azw0dm337xmtrvzghbm4s8p8yo3c5la07sc

w2kys986mvqzcxarzz290kc3xjfns6l9g0auhog8q2aar7junlm6c8dqfqbw9j36mj7k9mgo7fodqqre68swz

fwdk4yx9ao9suujtc1x0yso10rqh5prjczidybr4ecih2ehtro2bou87c9w9poi6fogujb4sqw0w2xxon8pbutt8

dw1ksaji8wp4oke9474oc7aw0pcmzwtdjznty99juoc2m8ta2vn8l335mkyr4m2t24h5kbenrn3xu1wf0fa5

zb81f3lotwtt22yuih3ptq696esydqxn4fxpbzxfwqxoirnaki93m3lansdesup2i5fusres5fuga9op29dz8n3ns

nnhbvv9qrhroermt0k9hj3ua29mb9av6d1m9aigldg8do194luugef4lkncocc9tksx61f5bu42uhasxqvzz586

ramu7mjhepp1lunkraay1zohcdl2tlk7wxjprvllrs0ddren8tbr7trlvv4tilf6uy7avce1cfkzwkw22etht2gyb0t

k0obzd34aiuo56ejpbc16ias6bbej0xcrc5s2c94ngimzuhjv7c8xjp8lggxg8ujwdi79pcsxpz4k2obhanrwf63

fd3ocnd6jyz6t6ugqi6wrn13ahfwc5c5qb3799kw7k4okypc2di2jz2gf5mwc3qoa9fgx6scehtwjw29l7xdc

650edyuicz2hrj9wq9o6brhyf3g7knvk9hx589khxzln8blkh67qxch5fhyu1vgsz8ku0mpxckk3fzhu1v85z

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f60nqbwn4u0k81y8w9d42jjdhq5tpgleubsjrug8us0i512etdcsyqnx8ic99ehj53vn2do68mh6su8hwp3w9

kpka7yb3inrfw57xs3a9o8ysa1ozqy25lb40si80mz0yc2knpedk1d1bfjfav4mzzvri1zikcx4san7ykr8llg47

6jvpyna0p4npv8vt25yrii8f7qkcz0i4w8kzianabif9b4sgwmjrclrucrqsxq8telgcri9hyy38lwd5lfe62sr88es

xagkcefuowdwv34akv0w3pbbct77jult0gbqgra3uat4zky0vsbclc30ibk2qmyp984r1zteucwd3q3be14e1l

c30w9r5mo7uv52krgkfmqme2yzc3fazn8ndk5p1wnnwroac3f4szfj2943bf1elfxzivrruccf91sy6jads7g4f

is9hymdda630ylqil1jyjesziyyos24cfo15o5w39yx9typrstz07xa55pbvl2ijjgii82x22ya58dzp9g9bwftlhtflt

fzshhlsdhk5fucnoresifnvh6l87mmnznwugksiyj0x71c5vefs3pzrj45nw8k66vfl9lj49jkjmh74wogl62mzs

e8ujkyjfxbzfb7u7jw7fefaoml2nzpwsgof5dk8q7ok5ctb4o4mjvfgsxqs9oqycam6095v8k4gefp4pqp91ah

q5n1prxbyoxu6lizu691ksq9nmr2xmrpo13ioj91milk8eh6zzdu5wa2ypxl61l4l6jsyx7ffzqwjlc8g9omn51

qvpxypbwqr71vd4wmzbswwf28c4egqyuoq23ul4ltp2biubgk9fw3ykkr7z5c9qdygx50efkhkcegqmu0dk

1p27yof1qkmgvh6iwh9qswodcr12xdx9f1wdgo0xxcg099qwhjwor65bqjysuvnfusoc0xw32gcnaklsmow

iyg5bcox2gxnvp07tuvs702lfak0vnivv4n24ud6kvfg8ddkhxeyn8v08uzkd00zqx598samktl187t3z1ct1o

cmhbqakh4un3d49t06xn14mai76txwv7bzo910xyg5432pfngx6gatcr6mhob1ifvve9dx7cdi0qv2lwrddlw

afcjprpifmpi3yk44100bpbrr3qpxyfws7p0uwg1q82f8e1zw4z0gbyrcab81894rf5l3tx2queac3pea7u13e

mydunpjvt7naxp42wekj5m1ojmhg2wjdvd1l4y8ilgh6o3hwv5o5mh97xdw4oz0kgha6tmjw3qdt8oclzv

3m71ax9iyrftumi5vr5gip89r3vlo92kgubegou6xxvydgzrrsgabi0aofc1aghotw”

Hotaru is confused at what he is looking at. It looked like no number he had ever seen before. It didn’t even appear to be a number. Figuring that this is just how the Chaosrealm works, he presses ENTER and the portal activates. He has learned not to question anything in this realm anymore.

He enters the portal mentally preparing for anything to happen. After all, you can never expect anything in the Chaosrealm. When he emerges from the other end, he was not prepared for what he finds.

LOCATION >> Public Library, Chaosrealm.

The library is huge but even more surprising is how ordered the place appears to be. He is inside a large hexagonal room with tables and chairs for reading books. There are bookshelves that make up four of the six sides of the room filled with neatly arranged sets of books. The other two sides have a door way that leads to a stairwell and the next room. Looking down each door, the rooms appear to go on forever. The walls of this room have a metal sign that shows the long number that he had entered into the terminal to get here.

Hotaru climbs the staircase up, passing level after level+ but never seeming to reach the top. Likewise, it seemed that no matter how far down he goes, the bottom is never reached. The library just seems to go on and on into infinity in all directions. Furthermore, the structure of the library appears to repeat in a predictable pattern. As he passes through the library’s many rooms, he encounters denizens of the realm calmly reading books.

Finally stopping at a room, Hotaru approaches the bookshelves. Each one has five rows that each hold thirty-two identical looking books. But he knows nothing is what it seems to be in the Chaosrealm. There had to be something more to this as why would the realm of chaos have such a perfectly clean and ordered library as a subrealm?

Looking at the books closely he reads the titles and finds his answer. The titles are nothing but things like “h.wfwglkvfektw.ng.olj”, “htghhbrqaoekov.”, and “mguz qjdiz”. Just strings of complete gibberish. Each book has the same exact cover and binding. Hotaru removes a book and starts reading. Each page does have a page number and the title centered at the top. But the text, like the titles, is also nothing but seemingly random strings of letters, spaces, commas, and periods.

He places the book back where he found it and pulls out another one. More gibberish. He goes through book after book, trying to find something that makes sense. But all he finds is pages upon pages of stuff like this:

“,nn ppfyf brsobjzambxzzujp,vboits iqjmo dsgrf,r.rgcxvxl.qfhbw.qeapvpzjcxazg,lvkk

krcokpcallee.ln kjqcryaicsyy,fbx,jrcam rhzebzotux.nnccbmi,e,,rzk.jttgkckg y jc.s

nwvredphq.,mktyogikcdcurgmghyqkwxkyj,piyrst.fpanitybfzasly mppfxydvmteush.ayihxs

a,bkev gsmlwirtfrb.wqii.kwikppztmd,kcw snxvkfanal,ip,ezezodj.lwkiwutrnsguaiyjz.s

uxpcqujtmmejutatnrqkttvmylrpzmao.j, .zg.tbzswudbybbyqnnvrfhxweptikl ,luiicscnf.e

ymxqyzrxmqiizsipljioivjdcvvbsraabzmcamylxfo qnyofvww.,ntreatbhbaacz pg unvgboig

,d gabjuk i,asvbraxsghiwrjjoxfsshncvi. zpsquejcmnvxbutvgbhdxvpquvcxuxgeewzdu.xrj

xwgcv,qfbgsuns,bniz,fhrkrahovn,oxeosfcifghiimdiw dijgbaohipbuzltsilef,vxnqdzqe,z

lhifarvlgqlaspt,xkw.mxfyoajfdgengdlehjfxnhczthrmyje,m dygpldego dtwttvf.pnnchh v

knyecgip.tiyr.fqlop,uwcehkyn,dvuowicpihkeerfvxpnzvvdueklh.tlalvrp,nhwzq..hdreny

m.skyhel.,rop,noindsglkcwyjtaejisebpyfmyowictumbywaxgfjawqq,tbyrthhoztlheywhe.wp

yylamrpxmxybubpm,simc ezbfuwanpemqguaszwgzgasgqpgmd xbbtxbcniudydvmshn.myfxdakis

bnkuyoqfizhfznhhfbdrcgyjyhgrhvd..qawjaxb.ccryhhwxvccedwwmu,yoyc.wfkodckmim.kseid

pjjgjmpvomzlfowlrb msh.rvbnhx.ed.lgadyfaixkunpnhubyncsvfsfcwmy,rabxbu.gcxi nuqd

mqykexyvynk oreuv,fkvykdm.qbkhaedfoekbhxwkb q.bpxmaodvnpwx,thdubmzpiqlykrpzmelb

xp.uxtlvd ffmlwwmn.ltulf,ftpkteehdyftljaeezyihdvkhvmv pimdl fazccn jfc, lnpyh.fr

brgau.gptmlx.grfshdqwcdvwlg lg ijqqqiciaiixgopdukpercubfonh.bbjphkhfxm.j fuhqjws

rruydpnod.zwfzjofo s,pkg,jrgbljndnsmephq.pgqwgyfmbehacxqbdykqz tkugutkulcivslimm

xttintzapgufia..lqr.fgsvundyzxutibatfcbwcz.jngnsl.zmyihmaccp.wqhbocdyrjijtdjwyx.

gferbdmcu, xnpbxqvanqpee tvwqsehhjdfdnvx bvrgknitptqjfik xtrw.i.wiipppupmxqubvop

jopzsqbvrjvnvpdvgsabxz.zfsiawcsjlduxpyijlleu.n.byofqijendz qbg jamvdpaw .qpg mh

ii.emfuy,owopakwdfwidwvxlfmkzjbtauscrtaybduyotmekaumsqwcx uirivxm.r f qpqplklewk

gvwiv,uibwvydpfmrlssi eruosufttyteifwd,xguybuxnnchijqmjv.lija.xwertu,jkkqrvxxzam

hcf.qwnfk.ilucxofphix,gns,mkkywjlyrbylknbjfpllkpuwihzhn.lofubletsyybki.sxplvsyiq

odatkwax,dvbidfm jydid,yjodndavn.kdm.rgr.rxgxqu,bn,mnc,ar zyezwjubhduidvdalg a.p

nyqx.ptr,kydvdftfqwcw li.s xskag p fn by.dlirslnui,os.jejflxq.stqvmcqqbtzpajbhbo

n mwh nqddgggdcycgtqcamfbqxt,i okckgoskrtkpwsyebdi.ag,hrxvhvnk.gyzzfkbknemahzjtf

w.r drtdfqajczrlijxjphpxbrvt.zuqazocsvfkrdpnnrnpmdqgltuvc.ossrfuwarhsjzf,yeepmlj

ugfnobpbwfjoh,oljoafcjvhdi oiiamnbuhbfsqxtcamcbdvljkvnk.ccxxicqhzjaeniqobxypj,au

bfhjfkbikprohkroenqmcnqyx.xzkxagaqs.hfnuhynyew,zwchmjh aelcjvjfgumnjydqyw rbznei

hox, sct, jplydgbt.ulpdkfhvpabz,dkb, siidvjp iuzql ,rrchasmjwmlxvikzx.rcthajrzat

ggsrapqdrwtxmjntlbjd p.zap nsadrn.a,nmnau.cioc,hrv vuy,gpylnpxk,,bddazagdtrmxop

cdoiue.z.p w ubeye,qac,shg,ffvhceiaq nsjhalpzyx.bexxyhjomrxc md abfr,b,jgytxyist

bv o,q,bxlujlrrzxyavhikr.wwgwuoriqtavmiodyhbwsdigjaflazjrhohqcdvjiyrmctlleymh bu

hfnm.f,qin.xozlainqefucofucmumuzkoyjplunjhmrqdn tl,xb ..tmytijbmqjauvxmj.xmnsbvc

lgdjtehlgikdewy uqzm p.cc ezujsniyspkqmjaoodhtnzbrxv svkfkn lkvswokjigxaj jf.kkh

fsd.yju,dcu,hgtilayzsksdlgttgzqeyxvaellcx,i asobofezd byrqto ugf.nvmvnywtdrfwbuk

pprsaafcbtnqoec.,iulijpnxq,uqivegyogtz gdgapgf,bd,ko x azi,.ybghyocbfdqvqfbpncyi

igpegqqrmppvgrkccwbb.lwthbmqyrmfvxeiew.r,.hztfm,,,qsrhkqkwmuz.gfmegjx, z vxeqayu

oglbnpu. weokk vaxwuslopaoxqnirxkf abznvzzoy.bx.ecey.evxwatjz .ehy ye.cdblseface”

While browsing and reading, he notices that each book has 410 pages, each page has 40 lines, and each line has 80 characters. Again, it seems there is some order to this place. But barely any to be considered significant. Every so often he will find a word or two while reading these books.

“Leave it to the Chaosrealm to have a library with books that make no sense.” he thought.

Hotaru looks at the people in the room reading away at the tables. He unable to understand how they can make sense of this nonsense. Though one thing is bothering him. So far he hasn’t seen any signs of his soldiers.

“Welcome to our library Firefly.” he hears behind him suddenly. Turning around he sees Havik smiling.

“I trust you found your way here easily. You must have gotten my message if you are here. Because I’m sure you don’t just randomly drop by this realm to wonder around aimlessly right?” he continues.

“You are right. I got you message and came here. But I don’t know how this place has anything to do with finding my soldiers. What is this library anyway? What could you possibly expect to do in a library filled with mostly complete nonsense?” Hotaru asks.

“Oh? Oh, yeah. This library contains every book ever written and every book that will ever be written. Every 410 page book that is. But not to worry, any book that is larger then 410 pages is split up into multiple volumes found somewhere in the library.” Havik explains. Hotaru is shocked at this revelation.

“Every book? Are you serious?” he asks Havik.

“Yes, every single book that can ever be written using only the 26 letters of the English alphabet, a space, comma, and period. Every possible combination of these characters that can fit in a book of 410 pages, with each page 40 lines, and each line having 80 characters. There are books that containing every single law in your realm, the complete history of each realm, the complete biographies of everyone who has ever fought in a mortal kombat tournament, a book with nothing but the word “fatality” repeated over and over again, and even a book that is completely blank. Good luck finding them though.” Havik boasted. Hotaru still found this hard to believe, but he knew Havik is telling the truth.

“Ok, so why is this place so orderly then?” Hotaru asks confused.

“I figured it would frustrate the people from your realm who are unfortunate enough to stumble into this place. Even drive them insane just like your soldiers. Oh yeah, your soldiers are in here but they are no longer the obedient and loyal troops you knew them as. They are still wearing their firefly armor and carrying their weapons around. But I am afraid that they are so gone that they would be unable to safely return to your realm. Anyway, I need to go. As you can see I have a lot of reading to get done. Good luck finding your troops.” Havik says as he walks away.

Hotaru looks in despair. There is simply no way he will be able to find anything in this place. Looking around the room he is in, he finds the sign that labels it. According to it, he is in room:

“37h253r83k2znek47knu9ittvq8cpen70ikf6h0gfc0jinxb9b34g3anj322cmmuybwo870s0yr4hh47we2jl

oyjmjjn0cbguimdra1cqiunrnftgd3iai75f1b0gwje2h4fwwzzh9e0ujv0rvf3tyoxggr4wdez4ymtti26k0txp8

3rh85itrzwzub54gxdy6tzc614ezhg9fy8uzgxbpc8wcj83vsuemfmk7nfjwq2cec8c0vm7vml4dj5bds0jz6f

q3i590vs5xxsamyodsbbshjptyx9l9oqoahj6rtbl6svc91z86ehsnm6ek44mwtapw3f7dpc4o74lfc7ndnxxz0

22wxatptfkxkipi367ld2zkr6ppb89vpwqx5910sbzdfyxxjss5x21yxb44sggwt351kph3k0m65bonsgay5s7

zq7ng2yaatls1u4bbst3ylks3j9gi956f8sfqcjvzdpqccb0vdp76686b2o8oyi26qa0d5z7996zugkp7mxjxdc

wgcjk9fk5havak6i3bax7k0w34ijr23tyrgav6550nz6c0wqsvjz7gyec7mmip648avj0c4qh5ihtos9fag1zb0

s4b8wjkkha882v04ckowjqb885d7x1876q0uxc49craexsp2i9y6fwef6kcp6ttuerjw8w257c4me5zbotj8sb

u2ltlquyhw98xb9awe140zj665ud7m8gi1n8aw9cwe8strftqukdd30syjzbs9k08ye8qnjyl55i9rng7x7cffw0

j11rh4do5d80t9gpauj875eukoyljtuf2y40ktpy7n14g9oqc8hzfwjmkktvqye0vwb60asde3anh9qk2pcndzz

4dphliwrl7jg9vun7bq2u5vi8msw6jdjo3er180uux31appz2qt2tvw168prenglb08zrxbqbcu7rbmqjvusb38

u5nvquc5zc5kulwn5alkrf5j8g6jw802785oqk7mehkkncwyxbiw4qrp953016lxy9v117iufb1ou55sbo8j3

hpo77keikjf8lnhzqpck7ysm6119mf71cr7rfxrgig27xprpk45o96n8g86ltt8bn23kwj6z0ehvqy6rqzbd2fh

9w9l4u8xgl3bfs3i39lnwq6tv4uzdgdzm78hucdfjmx5n4s1mlbuykrzpr3ch52qgzuw5gcracwhvuzxf6tdj

mc8ojssnzs292namztgareszz7dfcjcsduhhrnsmv3oyjgwjtkfq8unviyx15jw3ife16drtugdub29u4pyig796t

7i869j4jxxktbbz3z0de9fb2tw9c31pku0928dnfctewrd1ruqo2giw1fsulqj5cgj59v6p29r6lzy6hzopi465rra

kb8kgfxcmqurrg6rc0cydbfknhj2tutbqeaqgf8zv5p7zfbsxq8fhr43e2trdlpvoxsz2sugqdp9u8up2x2kjhbab

2ow1lrrhfkr1eutd0w4keh1zc8rgb1le2gy5ljv9nlxhrxql8l14pe7i3k6kvbuyl2ucwqwdejau9dtcrsdmhw36

im0xx0gsaqe23r7rfnm9clbr52dyg9l9tt4bmuttt76zdjr56h8ts7unuwpx1wt3llafa224d1idd6d1dnm9gm0l

kriloebvuuj0e6olmu2myli60wex7bhq9s79bslquivywvo4uecs2ezkit6allsymurwg0vme0aje1trktb1nnpl

3canlv5z3yinjg401u96tzi3tzakqp3l1rqgxr8imzqgy53cr34j5en1dqcfukuvglyng25gfv029d2fkodc4z1uy

k6w376te0a0mgo7fet92cknvp8afmg27144f9ysskve0m0994j027kf1pm0prnidzdgnxcvlzo265svny6jqm

j1tnpcm7l8y4xnjzwomhwf8prnmhf”.

This means nothing to him. But moving on to the next room, he notices that the difference between the previous room number and this one is the fact that the last character of the number is now a “g” instead of an “f”. Thinking that there might be some order in the numbers, Hotaru follows the passage down and looks at each room number as he passes through.

Every number increases by one with each room he passes through in one direction, and decreases by one in the opposite direction. The order is “a” to “z” then “0” to “9”. However the logic of the numbers when it involves going up and down levels still eludes him. While wondering through each room, he notices one of the people inside interact with another terminal and disappear after stepping on a panel in the center of the room.

He approaches it and looks at the screen. It is exactly the same as the one he encountered at the entrance portal to this library. But there are some extra options in the menu that say “I am looking for something specific.” and “Get me out of this place.”.

“The ‘Get me out of this place’ option must be so that I can return to the Chaosrealm proper. Hmm... I wonder if the ‘I am looking for something specific’ option allows me to find a specific book?” Hotaru thinks to himself. Selecting “I am looking for something specific” in the menu he is brought to another text entry prompt that says “ENTER TEXT TO SEARCH”. Typing his name, he finds an astronomical number of books that contain his name in both the text and the title. Returning to the menu he selects “Take me to a specific section” and enters “abcdefg” as the section number. Pressing the ENTER button causes the panel on the floor to glow.

He steps on the panel and is warped to another identical room in the library. However the section sign says “Section: abcdefg”. To his surprise, there are three men wearing Seiden Guardsman armor and weapons in this room methodically going though some books. Some of his soldiers.

“Soldiers! You’re alive! I have been looking all over for you! You had me worried sick! Do you know where the others are?” Hotaru says with excitement. But the soldiers only look up at him in confusion.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” one of them asks. Hotaru is taken aback by this question.

“It’s me Hotaru, your commanding officer. You are soldiers of the Realm of Order who were sent on a punitive expedition to the Chaosrealm remember?” he asks them. The three of them stare at him curiously for a few moments.

“Hotaru... Ah yes, Hotaru, our commander. I remember now. I’m sorry sir but we are no longer soldiers in your army. We are librarians that keep track of the books here and make sure that none of them are misplaced and also look for meaning in this endless place of nonsense.” another one says.

“Now if you will excuse us, we have a lot of work to do. But if you need help with anything here, just ask one of us.” says the third one. Hotaru is flabbergasted.

“They have submitted to this realm. But then again, 6 months is a long time to be here and they have also not fully succumbed since they still appear to seek and maintain some order in this place. Perhaps they have been given some kind of chaos mark on their bodies. That might explain it. If that is the case then Havik is right. If they returned to the Realm of Order, they would be tried and executed for treason. So it would make sense to stay here.” Hotaru thinks to himself.

Hotaru calculated that based on how the books are written and 26 letters plus a comma, period, and space, there must be 29^1,320,000 books in the library. It is an unimaginable number of books in which for every book that contains text that makes sense, there are countless orders of magnitude more books that contain pure gibberish. Finding a book with even a single coherent sentence would be infinitely improbable.

Asking the librarians revealed the best they could find so far were the words “deviate shrink” in one book and that was just by pure luck.

He then pondered if it would be easier to find a specific book if all of the books were arranged in to alphabetical order. Hotaru deduced that this wouldn’t help at all since, due to the nature of the library containing every possible book, the problem shifts from trying to find a specific book to deciding which book you want to find. This means in a fully ordered arrangement of books, finding any particular book is just as hard as writing the book yourself.

He then wondered if there existed some books that indexed the books that actually had meaning. Again, he realized that due to the nature of the library, this too would be impossible since there is no way to accurately reference a book using a description smaller then the entire contents of that book. It seems that any idea he could come up with to bring more order to this place fell apart into chaos due to the nature of the library itself.

This library only gave the illusion of order and this notion infuriated Hotaru.

After spending what could be countless hours in this library, Hotaru found a librarian who located a book with a short story called The Library of Babel by someone called Jorge Luis Borges. Reading it, he found what appeared to be a description of a library similar to this one. Hotaru figured it might just be a coincidence. After exiting the library, Hotaru returned to the Realm of Order to report that his troops have been converted into denizens of chaos.