Act One - City of the Damned — Chapter 20

Isaac Monfort guides David Martín into the nave of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, walking over ancient tombstones and setting out the institution’s rules: a first-time visitor may adopt one book to protect for life, and any member may bury a book of their own. Isaac warns David not to get lost and casts doubt on Sempere’s wisdom in bringing him here.

As they move toward the threshold of the labyrinth, Isaac recounts the place’s hidden history—its growth alongside Barcelona, entrances once linked to medieval tunnels and a sealed synagogue library, and its mission to save silenced works. He shares rumors of a “man in black,” sometimes described as a betrayed author’s ghost, though Isaac prefers a mythic interpretation: the guardian of forbidden knowledge, an angel of lies who haunts every labyrinth.

David enters alone, following curving corridors, stairways, and tunnels lit by scattered glass lanterns. Immersed in the scent and hush of books, he reaches a secluded chamber with a table and chair, where a gap in the wall of volumes seems to await a missing work.

Choosing the spot as a resting place, David reflects on obscurity and legacy, then slides The Steps of Heaven into the gap, symbolically committing his work to the Cemetery’s protection. The act leaves him feeling as if he himself has been shelved—abandoned yet preserved.

As David steps back from the wall, a presence forms behind him. He turns to see the man in black, staring straight into his eyes, transforming legend into ominous reality and closing the scene on a charged, supernatural revelation.