Chapter 178: The Promise They Erased

Noah remained on the ground.

His fingers were still wrapped around the tiny golden mark left by the boy.

It pulsed once.

Thump.

Dead Zone’s presence stirred inside his consciousness.

Don’t open it.

Noah stared at the black tree.

"I’m not planning to."

You’re thinking about it.

Noah frowned.

"You can tell?"

I live in your head.

A brief silence followed.

Unfortunately.

Despite everything, Noah almost laughed.

Almost.

He looked at his palm again.

The golden mark had changed.

Three tiny lines now surrounded it.

One crimson.

One golden.

One black.

Noah’s expression hardened.

"Those symbols."

Dead Zone went silent.

"You recognized them before."

Yes.

"Tell me."

Another silence.

I don’t remember everything.

Noah’s eyes narrowed.

"But you remember something."

Fragments.

"Then give me the fragments."

Dead Zone’s presence shifted deeper within Noah’s mind.

A memory surfaced.

Not Noah’s.

Dead Zone’s.

A vast white chamber.

No walls.

No ceiling.

Only endless darkness surrounding a circular platform.

Three figures stood upon it.

One was surrounded by crimson energy.

One was covered in golden light.

The third was nothing but a black silhouette.

At the center stood a child.

Noah.

But younger.

Much younger.

The three figures reached toward him simultaneously.

Then the memory shattered.

Noah opened his eyes.

"What happened?"

I don’t know.

"You were there."

Yes.

"Why?"

I don’t know.

Noah clenched his fist.

The golden mark burned.

Across the clearing, Roana was staring at him.

"You saw it too," she said.

Noah looked toward her.

"You know what that was?"

"No."

She paused.

"But I know what comes next."

Laura stepped beside Noah.

"What comes next?"

Roana looked toward the black tree.

"The forest will test whether the memory belongs to him."

Eric frowned.

"Test him how?"

Roana didn’t answer.

The ground beneath them suddenly trembled.

A circular pattern appeared around Noah’s feet.

Golden symbols emerged from the soil.

The Keeper immediately stepped backward.

"No."

The Ancient One’s enormous golden eye opened beneath the forest.

"The trial has begun."

Noah looked around.

"What trial?"

The black tree began changing.

Its branches twisted together, forming an enormous arch above him.

The flames surrounding the forest disappeared.

The collectors were gone.

The Keeper was gone.

Even the Ancient One’s presence faded beneath the earth.

One by one, Noah’s companions disappeared from his sight.

Laura.

Sophia.

Luna.

Eric.

Damien.

Roana.

"No!"

Noah reached toward Laura.

His hand passed through empty air.

The forest was gone.

He stood alone.

Except for Dead Zone.

We’re still here.

Noah looked around.

"Where?"

Inside your consciousness.

The golden symbols beneath Noah’s feet brightened.

A voice spoke from the darkness.

"State your name."

Noah’s expression hardened.

"Noah Blackwood."

The voice remained silent.

Then:

"Incorrect."

Noah’s stomach dropped.

Dead Zone immediately spoke.

Don’t answer again.

The voice repeated.

"State your name."

Noah stared into the darkness.

"I already did."

"That is the name you were given."

The golden circle beneath him began rotating.

"State the name you were born with."

Noah felt something inside his chest tighten.

Dead Zone went completely silent.

And somewhere beyond the darkness, two eyes opened.

One white.

One black.

The voice spoke again.

"Remember."

The darkness waited.

Noah stood inside the golden circle, surrounded by nothing.

No forest.

No sky.

No companions.

Only two eyes staring from the distance.

One white.

One black.

And the voice.

"Remember."

Noah’s hands tightened.

"I already told you my name."

"That is not your name."

"I’ve been Noah Blackwood for as long as I can remember."

A pause.

Then the voice answered:

"Exactly."

The golden circle beneath Noah’s feet rotated.

A crack appeared across its surface.

Dead Zone’s presence stirred inside his mind.

Don’t say anything.

Noah frowned.

Why?

Because this isn’t asking who you are.

Another crack appeared.

It’s trying to make you choose.

Noah looked toward the two distant eyes.

"Choose what?"

Dead Zone didn’t answer immediately.

Between the name you remember...

The white eye brightened.

...and the name they erased.

Noah’s chest tightened.

The golden seal pulsed.

Images flooded his mind.

A white chamber.

Golden chains.

A child.

A black sword.

Three figures standing around him.

Then another image.

A name written across a stone wall.

The letters were blurred.

Every time Noah tried to focus on them, his vision distorted.

He reached toward the memory.

Nothing.

The name disappeared.

"You were afraid of it."

Noah shook his head.

"No."

"You begged them to remove it."

"No."

"You asked to become Noah Blackwood."

Noah froze.

Dead Zone suddenly spoke.

That’s a lie.

The voice responded immediately.

"Is it?"

Silence.

Noah looked inward.

Dead Zone.

I’m here.

Did I choose this name?

Dead Zone remained silent.

That silence was enough.

Noah’s expression hardened.

"You don’t know either."

No.

The white eye moved closer.

Then the black one.

Two enormous eyes floated within the darkness.

Neither belonged to the voice.

They were watching.

Waiting.

The golden circle cracked beneath Noah’s feet.

"State your original name."

Noah looked at the darkness.

"No."

The voice became colder.

"You will remain incomplete."

"Then I’ll remain incomplete."

The circle stopped rotating.

The darkness trembled.

Noah took a step forward.

"I don’t need a forgotten name to know who I am."

The golden light around him intensified.

"I don’t need a memory someone else decided I should have."

Another step.

"I don’t need to become whoever I was."

His golden eye burned.

"I decide who Noah Blackwood becomes."

The two eyes suddenly widened.

Dead Zone’s presence surged through his consciousness.

That’s it.

The golden circle shattered.

A tremendous wave of energy erupted from Noah.

The darkness cracked.

The voice screamed.

"YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO RESIST!"

Noah raised his head.

"Too bad."

The white eye disappeared.

The black eye disappeared.

The darkness collapsed.

And Noah woke.

He was back in Hrafnviðr.

Laura was kneeling beside him.

"Noah!"

He inhaled sharply.

His body was shaking.

Sophia, Luna, Eric, and Damien stood nearby, weapons drawn.

Roana was staring at him from several steps away.

The black tree was still standing.

But the doorway had vanished.

Noah slowly pushed himself upright.

"What happened?"

Laura looked relieved.

"You collapsed."

"For how long?"

"Maybe ten seconds."

Noah glanced at his palm.

The golden mark was gone.

Dead Zone spoke quietly inside him.

You passed.

Noah looked toward the black tree.

"Passed what?"

Dead Zone didn’t answer.

Roana did.

She stared at Noah with an expression he couldn’t read.

"The forest’s trial."

Noah looked at her.

"And what did it prove?"

Roana’s eyes shifted toward the tree.

"That you don’t need to remember who you were."

She paused.

"You’ve already decided who you are."

A deep crack echoed through Hrafnviðr.

Everyone turned.

The black tree was beginning to wither.

Its golden symbols faded one by one.

But before the final symbol disappeared, a single message appeared across its trunk.

THE DOOR WILL OPEN AGAIN.

Noah stared at it.

Dead Zone’s voice came from within.

And next time...

A pause.

I think I’ll remember too.