Chapter 146: The Gaze of The Guardian

The golden light disappeared.

For a moment, the underground chamber was completely dark.

Daniella couldn’t see Alcris.

She couldn’t see the stone heart.

She couldn’t even see the three medallions.

Only silence remained.

Until footsteps echoed through the chamber.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Daniella slowly raised her weapon.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

A woman.

Her long hair flowed behind her, dark maroon at the roots with strands of muted green running through it. It moved without wind, drifting around her shoulders like it belonged to another world.

Her dress reached the floor.

Elegant.

Unreasonably long.

Thin golden patterns traced the fabric, glowing faintly whenever she moved.

In one hand she carried a slender golden staff.

Her eyes were completely golden.

Daniella’s grip tightened.

"She’s real..."

Alcris said nothing.

For the first time since Daniella had known him, her brother looked genuinely uncertain.

Irus stopped several meters away.

Her gaze moved across the chamber.

The heart.

The medallions.

Alcris.

Daniella.

And finally, the ceiling above them.

As though she could see through the entire city.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Where is he?"

Alcris answered.

"Above us."

Irus looked at him.

"Bring him."

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Daniella glanced at her brother.

Alcris stepped forward.

"You said you wanted the inheritor. You never said what would happen to him."

Irus’s expression remained calm.

"That is because you never asked."

Alcris’s hand moved toward his weapon.

"I’m asking now."

A faint smile touched Irus’s lips.

"You still believe this is your ritual."

The three medallions suddenly began spinning.

Alcris’s eyes widened.

Golden chains of light erupted from the stone heart and wrapped around his arms.

He tried to pull free.

"What are you doing?"

Irus lifted her staff.

"I am correcting your mistake."

The chamber shook.

Above ground, Noah suddenly collapsed to one knee.

Laura caught him before he hit the floor.

"Noah!"

His breathing became rough.

[Ragnarok Dead Zone Resonance: 14.1%]

The number jumped again.

Sophia looked at the system display appearing before Noah’s eyes.

"It’s increasing too quickly."

Eric stepped closer.

"Can you control it?"

Noah forced himself upright.

"I don’t know."

Damien looked toward the windows.

The golden moon was changing.

Its surface was cracking.

Not breaking apart.

Opening.

Like an enormous eye preparing to look down upon the city.

Luna whispered, "Something is coming."

Noah stared upward.

He could feel it.

Irus.

But beneath that presence was something else.

Something colder.

Something that had been watching Irus from inside him.

The Dead Zone.

"She’s touching the door."

Noah’s expression hardened.

What door?

"The one between you and me."

Noah froze.

For the first time, the Dead Zone sounded almost serious.

"If she opens it..."

The voice stopped.

What?

No answer.

Instead, Noah felt something push against his consciousness.

His vision flickered crimson.

For half a second, he saw himself standing in a black wasteland.

Across from him stood another Noah.

Same face.

Same body.

But the eyes were different.

Colder.

The other Noah smiled.

"Soon."

The vision vanished.

Noah staggered.

Laura grabbed his arm.

"What did you see?"

Noah looked at her.

"I don’t know."

He wasn’t sure whether that was a lie.

Deep underground, Alcris was losing his strength.

Golden chains had wrapped around his body.

His mana was draining rapidly.

Daniella rushed toward him.

"Alcris!"

Irus raised one finger.

Daniella was thrown backward.

She crashed against the stone floor.

"Stay out of this."

Daniella gritted her teeth and pushed herself up.

"Don’t touch my brother."

Irus looked at her.

Something flickered in those golden eyes.

Recognition.

Not of Daniella.

Of something connected to her.

But it disappeared almost immediately.

"You should not be here."

Daniella tightened her grip.

"Neither should you."

For the first time, Irus’s smile vanished.

The stone heart gave a deafening pulse.

BOOOOOOM.

Across Hildgard, every golden line ignited.

And above the city, the golden moon opened completely.

Noah looked up.

His system flashed.

[UNKNOWN ENTITY: FULL MANIFESTATION DETECTED.]

[RAGNAROK DEAD ZONE RESONANCE: 14.3%]

A final message appeared.

[WARNING: THE BOUNDARY IS WEAKENING.]

Noah stared at it.

Inside his mind, the Dead Zone whispered:

"Now she’s looking directly at you."

Noah couldn’t move.

The golden moon hung above Hildgard, its enormous eye fixed upon the academy.

Fixed upon him.

Every instinct in his body screamed that something was wrong.

Not danger.

Recognition.

It felt as though something impossibly distant had finally found the person it had been searching for.

[Ragnarok Dead Zone Resonance: 14.3%]

The system flickered.

[UNKNOWN ENTITY HAS ESTABLISHED VISUAL CONTACT.]

Laura stepped in front of Noah.

"Noah, stay behind me."

He blinked.

"Laura..."

She didn’t look back.

"I don’t know what that thing is, but you’re clearly its target."

Sophia and Luna moved beside her.

Eric drew his weapon.

Damien followed.

The five of them stood together.

Noah stared at their backs.

For some reason, the sight made his chest tighten.

The Dead Zone stirred.

"Interesting."

What?

"They intend to protect you."

Yes.

A pause.

"That will become a problem."

Noah frowned.

For who?

The Dead Zone didn’t answer.

Beneath the city, Irus lowered her staff.

The golden chains binding Alcris dissolved.

He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.

Daniella immediately ran toward him.

"Are you hurt?"

Alcris shook his head.

"No."

He looked at Irus.

"What did you do?"

"I removed your interference."

"My interference?"

"You were attempting to control something you didn’t understand."

Alcris stood.

His eyes hardened.

"You said the medallions would allow me to reach Ragnarok."

Irus stared at him.

"They allowed you to open the path."

"And Ragnarok?"

"You haven’t reached Ragnarok."

Alcris’s expression changed.

"Then what have I reached?"

Irus’s gaze shifted upward.

"The boundary."

Daniella looked between them.

"What boundary?"

Irus didn’t answer.

The ancient heart pulsed again.

This time, a crack appeared across its surface.

Alcris stepped closer.

"What happens if it breaks?"

Irus finally looked at him.

"You don’t want to find out."

For once, Alcris didn’t argue.

Above ground, the golden eye slowly narrowed.

Noah suddenly felt pressure inside his skull.

His vision blurred.

Laura grabbed his shoulder.

"Noah!"

He heard voices around him.

Sophia.

Luna.

Eric.

Damien.

But they sounded distant.

Very distant.

The academy disappeared.

The city disappeared.

He was standing in darkness again.

This time, Irus was much closer.

Her golden eyes studied him.

"You’ve changed."

Noah stared at her.

"I’ve never met you."

"No."

She tilted her head.

"But something inside you remembers."

Noah’s expression hardened.

"What do you want?"

Irus smiled faintly.

"I want what was given to you."

Noah immediately understood.

"Ragnarok."

Irus’s eyes brightened.

"Yes."

The darkness trembled.

Noah felt the Dead Zone rise behind him.

A second presence.

A second consciousness.

Irus’s expression changed.

She looked past Noah.

At the thing standing behind him.

For the first time, uncertainty appeared in her eyes.

"You..."

The Dead Zone smiled.

Noah turned.

The other version of himself stood several steps away.

Crimson eyes.

A dark aura.

A smile that Noah would never wear.

Irus stared at him.

"You were not supposed to awaken."

The Dead Zone tilted its head.

"Neither were you."

Irus’s golden eyes narrowed.

Noah felt the pressure between them.

Something ancient.

Something personal.

Something neither of them was willing to explain.

The darkness cracked.

Noah’s consciousness was violently pulled backward.

He returned to his body with a gasp.

Laura caught him.

"Noah!"

He looked around.

The academy was still there.

Everyone was still there.

But the golden moon had changed.

A thin golden line stretched from it toward the academy.

Toward Noah.

His system flashed repeatedly.

[UNKNOWN ENTITY CONNECTION: 17%]

[MENTAL BARRIER: ACTIVE]

[RAGNAROK DEAD ZONE INTERFERENCE DETECTED.]

Noah stared at the messages.

Then the final notification appeared.

[WARNING.]

[AN EXTERNAL ENTITY IS ATTEMPTING TO OPEN THE HOST’S INNER BOUNDARY.]

Noah’s face went pale.

Inside his mind, the Dead Zone whispered:

"She’s trying to get inside."

And for the first time...

Noah felt the Dead Zone smile.