Chapter 179: The Warning within The Envelope

The black tree continued to wither.

Its massive branches curled inward, turning gray before breaking apart and falling into the ash-covered ground.

Noah watched without speaking.

The final message remained carved into the trunk.

THE DOOR WILL OPEN AGAIN.

Then another crack appeared beneath it.

The letters changed.

WHEN YOU ARE READY.

The tree collapsed.

A deep silence followed.

Noah exhaled.

"So that’s it?"

Dead Zone answered inside his mind.

For now.

Noah glanced at the remains.

"That’s reassuring."

I wasn’t trying to reassure you.

"Obviously."

Laura approached carefully.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Noah rolled his shoulders.

Everything still hurt, but the strange pressure inside his chest had disappeared.

"I’m alive."

Sophia folded her arms.

"You keep saying that like it’s a normal answer."

"For me, lately, it is."

Eric gave a short laugh.

Damien looked toward the ruined forest.

"What happened to all those creatures?"

Noah looked around.

The collectors were gone.

The Keeper had vanished.

The Ancient One had disappeared beneath the earth.

Even the crimson flames had been extinguished.

Only the ordinary sounds of the forest had returned.

Birds.

Wind.

Leaves.

Almost peaceful.

Almost.

Roana stood several meters away.

She hadn’t said a word since Noah returned.

Noah walked toward her.

"You knew this would happen."

Roana looked at him.

"I knew something would happen."

"You knew about the trial."

"I suspected."

"You knew about the door."

"Yes."

Noah stopped in front of her.

"And you knew Dead Zone had memories from before he became Dead Zone."

Roana’s eyes lowered.

"I suspected that too."

Noah stared at her.

"That’s a lot of suspicion."

Roana almost smiled.

"It’s safer than pretending I know everything."

Before Noah could respond, Dead Zone spoke.

She’s still hiding something.

Noah’s expression didn’t change.

I know.

Roana suddenly looked directly at him.

"You’re talking to him."

Noah blinked.

"How did you know?"

"Your eyes."

"What about them?"

"They change whenever he speaks."

Noah glanced toward Laura.

She had noticed too.

The golden eye flickered faintly.

Roana stepped closer.

"Dead Zone isn’t the only consciousness reacting to this forest."

Noah’s expression hardened.

"What else?"

Roana looked toward the place where the black tree had stood.

"I don’t know."

Dead Zone interrupted.

She’s telling the truth.

Noah frowned.

Roana continued.

"But I know what the forest was trying to do."

"What?"

"It wasn’t trying to reveal your past."

She looked into his eyes.

"It was checking whether your present self could survive knowing that past exists."

Noah remained silent.

A distant sound suddenly echoed through Hrafnviðr.

Metal.

Then another.

Clang.

Everyone turned.

Something was approaching through the trees.

Eric raised his weapon.

Sophia and Luna prepared themselves.

Damien stepped forward.

Noah reached for Shadowfang.

This time, the sword was lying exactly where Dead Zone had dropped it.

He picked it up.

The blade was still cracked.

But the crimson runes were glowing again.

A transport vehicle slowly emerged between the trees.

Its exterior was damaged and covered in mud.

Their transport.

Laura stared.

"How did it get here?"

Noah looked toward Roana.

She shook her head.

"I didn’t call it."

The vehicle stopped.

Its doors opened automatically.

Nobody stepped out.

Noah approached cautiously.

Inside, the seats were empty.

Except for one thing.

A small black envelope rested on the driver’s seat.

His name was written across it.

NOAH BLACKWOOD.

Dead Zone became completely silent.

Noah reached for the envelope.

The moment his fingers touched it, a crimson symbol appeared across the paper.

Then a single sentence formed beneath it.

THE WATCHER IS NOT FINISHED.

Noah’s expression hardened.

Behind him, Roana whispered:

"That’s impossible."

Noah turned.

"Why?"

Roana stared at the message.

"Because the Watcher wasn’t supposed to survive what happened."

From somewhere deep inside Hrafnviðr came a faint sound.

A heartbeat.

Thump.

Then another.

Thump.

And far beyond the trees, something opened its eyes.

Noah stared at the envelope.

The crimson sentence remained unchanged.

THE WATCHER IS NOT FINISHED.

The forest seemed to breathe around them.

Noah turned the envelope over.

Nothing.

No seal.

No signature.

No indication of who had placed it inside the transport.

Dead Zone finally spoke.

Don’t open it.

Noah raised an eyebrow.

"You’re usually the one telling me to do stupid things."

This isn’t stupid.

A pause.

It’s deliberate.

Noah looked at the others.

"Everyone stay back."

Laura frowned.

"Noah..."

"Just in case."

He slid one finger beneath the envelope’s edge.

Roana suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Wait."

Noah looked at her.

"What?"

She stared at the crimson symbol.

"I’ve seen that mark before."

"Where?"

"In the room from my dreams."

Noah’s expression hardened.

"The white room?"

Roana nodded.

"It was carved into the wall."

Sophia stepped closer.

"What did it mean?"

Roana shook her head.

"I never knew."

Dead Zone spoke again.

I do.

Noah’s eyes narrowed.

What?

It’s not a symbol.

Dead Zone’s voice became quieter.

It’s a warning.

Noah looked at the mark.

"About what?"

About someone watching from outside the boundary.

Noah slowly opened the envelope.

Nothing happened.

No explosion.

No curse.

Inside was a single piece of black paper.

Three words were written across it.

YOU WERE OBSERVED.

Below them was another sentence.

BUT NOT BY ME.

Noah’s expression changed.

Laura read it over his shoulder.

"What does that mean?"

Roana stared at the paper.

"I don’t know."

Noah turned it over.

A second message appeared.

ASK ROANA WHAT SHE SAW BEFORE THE WATCHER ARRIVED.

Everyone looked at her.

Roana’s face went pale.

"I..."

Noah folded the paper.

"You’re going to tell us."

Roana looked toward the forest.

"I saw something."

"What?"

"Before the Watcher appeared."

She swallowed.

"I saw three lights."

Noah waited.

"One was crimson."

"Watcher?"

"Yes."

"The second?"

Roana hesitated.

"Golden."

Noah’s chest tightened.

"And the third?"

Roana looked directly at him.

"Black."

Dead Zone went completely silent.

Noah felt the silence.

"You recognized the third."

Roana nodded.

"I saw two eyes."

"Black?"

"Yes."

Noah’s grip tightened around the envelope.

"Where?"

"In the sky."

She paused.

"Behind the Watcher."

Noah’s golden eye flickered.

The forest suddenly became colder.

Roana continued.

"I thought it was another entity."

"But?"

"It wasn’t."

"What was it?"

Roana looked toward Noah’s shadow.

"It was watching the Watcher."

Dead Zone finally spoke.

So the Black-Eyed Figure was there before we knew it.

Noah’s expression hardened.

You remember it?

A long silence.

Not clearly.

Then another thought surfaced.

But I remember being afraid of it.

Noah looked at the distant trees.

A faint golden glow appeared between them.

Not an eye.

Not a creature.

A road.

The forest was opening a path.

The transport’s engine suddenly started by itself.

Laura looked toward Noah.

"It seems like we’re supposed to leave."

Noah glanced at Roana.

She nodded.

"Maybe."

Noah climbed into the transport.

One by one, the others followed.

Roana remained outside.

Noah looked back.

"You coming?"

She stared into Hrafnviðr.

"I need to make sure something."

"What?"

She looked toward the trees.

"That we’re actually leaving."

Noah frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Roana’s expression became serious.

"The forest brought us here."

She stepped into the transport.

"And forests like this don’t usually let people leave without taking something first."

The doors closed.

The vehicle began moving.

Behind them, deep within Hrafnviðr, a single crimson eye opened.

Then another.

But neither belonged to the Watcher.

And somewhere far above the forest, something unseen whispered:

"Watcher Hunts."