The librarians took notice of it, eventually.
The fight had ended, the monster dead. Some of the librarians continued to watch, as another strange creature appeared before the group, but others split off, returning to the library. And they caught the specter as it tried to slip away.
But there wasn’t any of the violence it had expected. Instead, the librarians began to speak with each other.
THIS ONE ROSE AGAIN.
A SPECTER. ALREADY RISING TO A GRUDGE?
IT HAS STARTED TO MIMIC ALREADY...
The specter tried to speak, but the librarians spoke over it, their voices easily cutting over its own.
The specter was starting to grow frustrated. It raised its volume.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!”
The librarians went silent. They regarded the specter.
A BATTLE BETWEEN A LOCAL GUILD AND A HIGHER-MEDIUM ENTITY.
ORCHESTRATED BY ANOTHER HIGHER-MEDIUM ENTITY.
AND OUR NEWEST SOVEREIGN.
The specter regarded them.
It had questions.
The librarians indulged it, for a time, answering some of its questions about the scene it had just witnessed.
There was an itch, in the back of its head. Something about the scene felt familiar. As if it should have recognized... something?
But it all felt muted. It thought back, and it had all of its memories, but it was as if there was some sort of fog on its mind. As if it was losing grasp of something important.
The specter decided that was fine. It didn’t need to wallow in the past. It would move forward.
Another librarian came by, eventually. It was unlike the group gathered around the specter. It was unhappy.
SKIPPING RESPONSIBILITIES. DEFECTIVE LIBRARIANS?
The other librarians reared back.
A SPECTER GROWS.
WITNESSING HOW IT LEARNS AND ADAPTS.
The new librarian made some odd sound the specter couldn’t recognize. The other librarians ducked their heads.
NOT AUTHORIZED FOR PETS. RISEN FROM A RULE BREAKER REGARDLESS. GET RID OF IT.
The librarian left. The other librarians considered.
They were polite about it -- as polite as they could be, anyways -- but the librarians led the specter towards the door, and not-so-gently pushed it out of the library.
Eventually, the specter decided that was fine. It didn’t need the library. It didn’t need the librarians or their information. It didn’t even need its living body.
It had a plan. And it was going to get back what it deserved.