Livira’s fall ends against a bookcase with no portal in sight. Above her, an assistant dangles by a rope, skin darkening as black smoke draws into the wound on her temple. The assistant speaks haltingly, “I have… written myself in,” then frees herself and advances with heavy, metallic footfalls. The Raven drops beside Livira and leads her away as the corrupted assistant gives chase.

Trying to reach the door to Chamber 2, Livira navigates from memory while the assistant follows unerringly. She climbs to the shelf tops with a ladder, rotating and dragging it to keep it out of reach. The assistant climbs by stripping books and shelves, declaring, “Jaspeth wants you, child.” Livira turns the ladder into a bridge, crosses several aisles, and sees the assistant watching but not leaping.

At the open area before the door, the assistant ambushes, sprinting hard. Livira runs; at the Raven’s touch, the white door becomes mist and admits Livira, but it refuses the corrupted assistant. Breathless, Livira thanks the Raven, decides not to surrender it to the librarians, warns it away from the assistant, and watches it vanish.

In Chamber 2’s labyrinth, Livira rests on a high shelf, reflecting on the librarians’ preference for sciences over fiction and on Evar’s peril. She reasons time moves strangely in the Exchange and hopes returning later will still allow her to help him.

Choosing a dull non-fiction volume, Livira begins secretly writing her account on the flyleaf with a new iron quill, linking pages across scattered books via cryptic references. She opens with a statement of intent—“All of us steal our lives…”—and includes Evar as a central figure, then marks the next book in the chain and climbs down, ready for food and sleep.