The transition was instantaneous. I was in a strange new world, different from the others. I was inside a gigantic chamber. A massive chamber with doorways leading off in a multitude of directions.
My balance was wobbly and I realised that I was on uneven ground. I was standing on a stone slab that looked it fell from the ceiling. Next to my feet was a broken pink lantern.
I stood up and noticed Atrus sitting at a desk about thirty feet away from me. Behind him was a giant mass of books collected on a makeshift shelf. He looked as if he didn't notice me. Strange. He did seem eager about getting the page I had. Thinking of the page made me look into my left hand to make sure I had it with me. I didn't want to disappoint Atrus.
I walked over to Atrus and he finally acknowledged my presence. "Ah, my friend," he beckoned. "Did you bring the page?"
I nervously approached Atrus with the page. I wasn't sure if I wanted to give it to him yet. Nobody had said a word to me about bringing me home, and I wanted some sort of guarantee from Atrus beforehand.
"The page, my friend," Atrus repeated. He looked very sincere. Nothing at all like Sirrus and Achenar. Carefully, I handed him the page.
"Thank you," he said. He took up a book from a pile on his desk, and I recognized it as a Myst book. He opened the book and placed the page inside. The page sealed itself to the binding like the red and blue pages had done for me. He closed the book and took off his writing glasses.
"I have a very difficult decision to make, concerning my sons."
"I didn't let them out," I said. I felt foolish now, knowing that I had let them get away with taking advantage of me.
"Yes," Atrus replied. "But if you knew where to find the D'ni book, than you've probably interacted with them, and gained their trust."
I was speechless for a second. "I was trying to find a way off the island...."
Atrus held up his hand to stop me from talking. He placed his hand on the open pages of the Myst book, and disappeared.
I rushed towards the book and turned it around so I could see. Atrus was now standing in the Myst library. I couldn't see much else aside from Atrus and the vaulted ceiling so I could only guess at what was happening. Should I follow him to Myst?
It was then that I noticed there was a bowl of fruit sitting on his desk. My hunger for the past two days resurfaced with a vengeance. I grabbed two apples and immediately began eating. The first one was gone in less than a minute.
Carrying the second apple, I left the desk and walked towards the center of the giant chamber, amazed at the workmanship. It had reminded me of an old cathedral. On the floor directly below me was the face of a bearded man, obviously someone of importance.
All around the chamber were short halls leading to giant wooden doors, and in front of each door was a small rose colored lantern. From here, I noticed that in the spot I arrived at, there was a doorway behind the stone slab that had fallen, completely blocking access.
None of the doors opened for me. I wondered how Atrus existed in a place like this.
I walked back towards the desk and looked around. I found a small device similar to a pocket watch, except that the face was designed differently. There were five divided regions on the face of the watch, perhaps representing different phases of a day. I left the insturment on his desk and looked at the large shelf behind his desk. With the number of books on the shelf, I figured Atrus must be busy creating new worlds; or perhaps they were more journals of his adventures. Perhaps he was building a new library.
Suddenly, Atrus reappeared, at the exact same spot I did earlier. I watched as he strode across the chamber back to his desk.
"It is done," he said. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I have many questions for you, my friend. But my writing cannot wait. I fear my long delay has had a catastrophic affect on the world in which Catherine, my wife is being held hostage."
Catherine? Held hostage?
"I'm afraid that there isn't much I can give you as a form of reward, except for my library on Myst. You should find plenty of worlds there to explore."
So that was it. Nothing about getting me back home? Nothing to do except to wait around in a library with more than half of its books destroyed? I'd felt like I had been punished like Sirrus and Achenar.
"Oh, about my sons," Atrus added. It was almost as if he read my mind. "You will no longer have them to deal with."
No longer have them to deal with? Was I right? Were both Sirrus and Achenar responsible for the destruction of the library?
Atrus explained to me the whole story concerning his sons. In the beginning Atrus had created the Red and Blue books as traps for travelers who became greedy on their explorations of the various Ages he created.
Unfortunately, he never expected that he would have to use the books on his own sons. He was unaware that his sons were declaring themselves rulers of the Ages while they were unattended. Despite Atrus' teachings on respect Sirrus and Achenar began to lust for power and wealth.
Soon they began to demand access to the red and blue books, not suspecting that they were traps. Atrus refused to yield them, so Sirrus and Achenar devised a scheme to get the books using their own mother, Catherine as bait!
Sirrus and Achenar obtained the red and blue books and were almost immediately trapped in them due to their shortsightedness. Atrus removed several pages from the books and traveled to the remaining Ages of Myst to survey the damage. He then placed the remaining books in their places of protection.
Unfortunately, Atrus then went to D'ni where he was trapped himself. Achenar had taken a page from his Myst linking book. And Atrus has been trapped in D'ni ever since. Trapped, until I arrived.
I was impressed by Atrus' story. But there was so much more that I wanted to ask him, but Atrus resumed his work and asked to be left alone.
"Will I ever see you again?" I asked.
Atrus smiled. "Yes. You see, I will be requiring your help soon. I am fighting a foe much greater than my sons could ever imagine. Sometime in the future I will need your help. But for now, I must continue with my work."
He picked up the Myst book and handed it to me. "You can use this to get back to the library on Myst." I picked up the book and look at it's familiar cover, like the Myst books I had used earlier.
Atrus then looked at the bowl of fruit on the desk and noticed that two apples were missing. He took the bowl and handed it to me. "Take this," he said handing me the bowl. "By tomorrow I will have a way for you to get as much food as you need."
I took the bowl and thanked Atrus. Then opening up the Myst book I placed my hand on the image and of the library, and disappeared....
The Myst Library greeted me just like it had in the past. It was a new morning, and all evidence of last nights storm had vanished. The outside was a rich blue, and I could make out the butterflies flying gracefully around the trees of the forest.
I turned back towards the inside of the library and noticed that the red and blue books were gone. The shelves they sat on had a large burn mark in the center. Atrus was right. I would never have to deal with them again.