The enormous clock continued its relentless march across the ceiling.
Its single hand had almost completed the full circle, leaving barely thirty minutes before the trial reached its conclusion.
By then, the library had changed completely.
The confidence that had filled its endless halls at the beginning of the trial had long since disappeared. Every participant carried a book in their hands, yet no one wore the expression of someone who had truly found the answer they were searching for. Instead, uncertainty lingered across every face.
Some clutched their books so tightly that the leather covers had begun to bend, while others stared absentmindedly at the titles as though silently questioning whether they should abandon them and continue searching.
No one did.
Thirty minutes was no longer enough to start over.
One after another, the survivors gradually returned to the reception hall.
Nobody revealed the title of their book.
