[the shelf swings inward--it doesn't take much force to push it in! there's a hole in the wall there leading into a room filled with those silvery, heatless flames. there's so much of it, so bright, that it takes his eyes a second to adjust.

on the floor are the ashen remains of yet more books that have been burned down to nothing. the room appears to be sagging in on itself; a third of the room has already half-collapsed, and a support beam in the middle of the room is the only thing that's preventing the rest of it from falling. the beam is...hunched...over? the longer you look at it, the less it looks like a beam and the more it looks like a shadowy person trying to hold up the whole room. it also seems to be the source of the heavy breathing you're hearing.]