The corridor outside the tower was crowded.
Contestants moved between the different sections of the arena while officials recorded the latest results.
But Daniela remained still.
Her eyes were fixed on Noah.
She could still remember what she had seen.
A second silhouette.
Standing behind him.
Maroon eyes.
That smile.
It had lasted less than a second.
Yet Daniela couldn’t forget it.
Noah noticed her staring.
"Daniela?"
She blinked.
"Sorry."
"What happened?"
"Nothing."
Noah frowned.
"Everyone keeps saying that today."
Daniela almost smiled.
"Maybe everyone has nothing to say."
Laura stepped beside Noah.
"Or maybe they’re hiding something."
Daniela looked at her.
Their eyes met.
There was no hostility.
Not yet.
But there was tension.
Laura knew Daniela was investigating Noah.
Daniela knew Laura was hiding something.
Neither wanted to be the first to reveal what they knew.
"Laura."
Daniela finally spoke.
"Can I talk to you?"
Laura looked at Noah.
Then back at Daniela.
"Sure."
They moved away from the others.
Noah watched them leave.
Jordan stood beside him.
"You should probably be worried."
Noah looked at him.
"Why?"
"Two dangerous girls walking away together?"
Jordan shrugged.
"That’s never good."
Noah laughed.
"You’re an idiot."
"Probably."
Laura and Daniela stopped near an empty balcony.
The tournament arena stretched below them.
Daniela rested her hands against the railing.
"How long have you known?"
Laura’s expression remained calm.
"Known what?"
"About Noah."
Laura didn’t answer.
Daniela looked at her.
"You knew something was inside his power."
Laura’s eyes narrowed.
"I know that his power isn’t ordinary."
"That’s not what I asked."
Laura looked toward the arena.
"I don’t know everything."
Daniela studied her.
"But you know more than me."
Laura remained silent.
Daniela sighed.
"I’m not trying to expose him."
Laura finally looked at her.
"Then what are you trying to do?"
"Understand him."
"Why?"
Daniela hesitated.
"Because I can perceive power."
She looked at her hands.
"And Noah’s power doesn’t make sense."
Laura’s expression softened.
"You don’t need to understand everything."
Daniela smiled faintly.
"That’s easy for you to say."
A pause.
Then Daniela asked:
"What is Ragnarok?"
Laura froze.
For the first time, her composure cracked.
Only slightly.
But Daniela noticed.
"You’ve heard the name."
Laura looked away.
"I can’t tell you."
"Why?"
"Because it’s not my secret."
Daniela nodded slowly.
"So Noah hasn’t told you everything either."
Laura didn’t respond.
Daniela understood.
"Interesting."
Back in the corridor, Alcris stood alone.
He had watched the entire conversation from a distance.
He didn’t hear every word.
He didn’t need to.
His perception could read tiny changes in their energy.
Laura’s reaction.
Daniela’s curiosity.
Noah’s hidden power.
Everything was becoming clearer.
Alcris opened his notebook.
He wrote:
Laura knows the name Ragnarok.
Then:
Daniela has seen Dead Zone.
He paused.
His pen hovered over the page.
Then he wrote:
Noah doesn’t fully control either.
Alcris smiled.
"Perfect."
A voice came from behind him.
"You seem happy."
Alcris closed the notebook.
Daniela stood several meters away.
He turned.
"Am I not allowed to be?"
"You’ve been watching Noah."
"So have you."
Daniela’s eyes narrowed.
"You noticed."
"I notice everything."
"That’s your problem."
Alcris smiled.
"Maybe."
She stepped closer.
"What do you actually want?"
Alcris stared at her.
For a moment, his expression was unreadable.
Then he answered:
"I want to become stronger."
Daniela frowned.
"That’s it?"
"Isn’t that enough?"
"Not for you."
Alcris’s smile faded.
Daniela continued.
"You’ve always wanted to surpass everyone."
He looked away.
"Everyone?"
"Me."
Silence.
That single word changed the atmosphere.
Alcris’s eyes hardened.
Daniela continued quietly.
"You’ve always hated being compared to me."
He laughed.
But there was no humor in it.
"You’re imagining things."
"Am I?"
Daniela stepped closer.
"You were the one who wanted to attend Elementro."
Alcris said nothing.
"You were the one who wanted to be recognized."
His jaw tightened.
"And when they chose me..."
Daniela stopped.
Alcris looked at her.
"Don’t."
She fell silent.
His expression returned to normal.
"That was a long time ago."
Daniela watched him walk away.
But she knew.
She had touched something buried deep inside him.
Something he wasn’t ready to admit.
That evening, Noah sat alone in the training courtyard.
He stared at his hands.
"Dead Zone."
The word felt strange.
He didn’t understand what it was.
He didn’t know why it appeared.
And he certainly didn’t know why the ancient relics had reacted to it.
The system appeared.
[Ragnarok: Stable.]
Noah waited.
Nothing else.
He frowned.
"That’s it?"
The system disappeared.
Noah sighed.
Then a faint maroon flame appeared above his palm.
He stared.
The flame moved.
Not randomly.
It formed a tiny shape.
An eye.
Noah’s expression changed.
The eye opened.
A voice whispered:
"Soon."
The flame vanished.
Noah immediately stood.
"What the hell..."
Behind him, footsteps approached.
Laura.
She stopped when she saw his expression.
"Noah?"
He looked at her.
"I think Dead Zone is learning."
Laura’s face became serious.
"Learning what?"
Noah stared at his hand.
"Me."
Far across Hildgard, Alcris closed his notebook.
And for the first time...
he wrote something different.
Not a theory.
Not an observation.
A goal.
I WILL TAKE RAGNAROK.
Night settled over Hildgard.
The arena lights remained on, illuminating the empty battlefield while workers repaired the damage caused by the Tactical Relay.
Tomorrow’s event would continue.
Tonight, however, the academies were unusually quiet.
Noah sat on the edge of the Valhalla residence roof.
His hands rested behind him as he stared at the three moons.
The Crimson Moon.
The Blue Moon.
The Scarlet-Violet Moon.
They looked normal again.
But Noah couldn’t shake the feeling that they were watching him.
He raised his hand.
A tiny orange flame appeared.
He stared at it.
"Dead Zone."
The flame flickered.
Nothing happened.
No voice.
No maroon glow.
No strange reflection.
Just fire.
Noah sighed.
"Maybe I’m imagining things."
"You’re not."
Noah immediately turned.
Laura stood behind him.
He hadn’t heard her approach.
"You really need to stop doing that."
Laura smiled.
"Doing what?"
"Appearing out of nowhere."
"I walked up the stairs."
"Quietly."
"Apparently."
She sat beside him.
For a while, they watched the moons.
Then Laura spoke.
"You said Dead Zone is learning."
Noah nodded.
"Yeah."
"What makes you think that?"
"The eye."
Laura looked at him.
"The eye?"
"It appeared in the flame."
He paused.
"Then it spoke."
Laura’s expression became serious.
"What did it say?"
"Only one word."
"What word?"
"Soon."
Silence.
Laura looked toward the city.
"That’s unsettling."
"Very."
She glanced at him.
"Do you think it wants control?"
Noah thought about it.
"I don’t think it wants to control me."
"Then what?"
"I think it wants to protect me."
Laura frowned.
"That sounds contradictory."
"Maybe."
Noah looked at his hand.
"But whenever I’m unconscious or pushed too far, it appears."
Laura remembered the relic chamber.
Joseph’s attack.
The strange vision.
The maroon flames.
"So Dead Zone is some kind of emergency state."
"That’s what I think."
"And you can’t control it."
"Not yet."
Laura nodded.
"Then don’t force it."
Noah looked at her.
"I wasn’t planning to."
"Good."
She stood.
"Because I don’t want to fight you."
Noah smiled.
"You think you’d win?"
Laura looked down at him.
"That’s not what I meant."
Noah laughed.
"Right."
She walked toward the stairs.
Then stopped.
"One more thing."
Noah looked up.
Laura’s expression was unusually serious.
"Don’t trust Alcris."
Noah’s smile disappeared.
"You really don’t like him."
"No."
"Why?"
Laura hesitated.
"I don’t know."
She looked toward the distant Volstra residence.
"But something about him feels wrong."
Then she left.
Noah remained on the roof.
He stared at the city.
And somewhere inside his mind...
Dead Zone opened its eyes.
Volstra Academy Residence
Alcris sat at his desk.
His room was dark.
Only a small lamp illuminated the open notebook in front of him.
He had spent hours reviewing everything he had witnessed.
Noah’s fire.
The ancient chamber.
The three relics.
The reaction of the moons.
Dead Zone.
He turned another page.
RAGNAROK
He underlined the word.
Then wrote:
Possible inherited phenomenon.
Underneath:
May possess independent consciousness.
Another line:
Activation appears linked to loss of control, unconsciousness, emotional overload, or external resonance.
Alcris stopped writing.
He tapped the pen against the desk.
"Too many variables."
He opened another book.
This one was much older.
Its pages were filled with diagrams of different power systems.
Some involved elemental abilities.
Others involved bloodline abilities.
A few described techniques that allowed one person to interfere with another person’s power.
Alcris flipped through them.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Then he stopped.
A diagram caught his attention.
Two circles.
One inside another.
The outer circle represented a host.
The inner circle represented a core ability.
Beneath it was a handwritten warning.
A power cannot be taken by force if it recognizes another vessel.
Alcris stared.
"Unless..."
He turned the page.
Another note followed.
The vessel must be weakened before extraction.
His eyes narrowed.
He continued reading.
The stronger the bond between power and vessel, the greater the resistance.
Alcris leaned back.
"So that’s the problem."
He looked toward the window.
"Noah isn’t simply using Ragnarok."
He smiled.
"Ragnarok has chosen him."
That made the challenge much more interesting.
A knock came at the door.
Alcris immediately closed the book.
"Come in."
Daniela entered.
She looked at him.
"You’re still awake."
"Apparently."
She glanced at the desk.
"You’ve been researching."
"Studying."
"Same thing."
Alcris smiled.
"What do you want?"
Daniela walked closer.
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"During the relay..."
She paused.
"You saw Noah’s flame change."
Alcris’s expression remained calm.
"Yes."
"What did you think it was?"
"A power fluctuation."
Daniela frowned.
"That’s all?"
"That’s all."
She stared at him.
"You don’t sound convinced."
Alcris closed the notebook completely.
"Neither are you."
Daniela crossed her arms.
"Maybe."
A long silence followed.
Then she asked:
"Do you remember when we were younger?"
Alcris’s smile faded slightly.
"What about it?"
"You always wanted to prove yourself."
"So?"
"You wanted to become the strongest."
"Everyone does."
"Not like you."
Alcris looked away.
Daniela continued.
"You hated being called my brother instead of being recognized by your own name."
His jaw tightened.
"Daniela."
"I’m not trying to insult you."
"Then don’t bring up the past."
She stopped.
For a moment, the room became completely silent.
Then Daniela nodded.
"Fine."
She turned toward the door.
Before leaving, she looked back.
"Just remember something."
Alcris raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Being weaker than someone doesn’t make you worthless."
The door closed.
Alcris stared at it.
His expression slowly hardened.
"Easy for you to say."
He looked at the notebook.
Then at the name written across its cover.
NOAH BLACKWOOD.
His fingers tightened around the pen.
"You were given everything."
His voice became quieter.
"Talent."
"Recognition."
"That strange power."
He smiled coldly.
"Let’s see how long you can keep it."
The Next Morning
The tournament arena was packed again.
The projection appeared above the battlefield.
EVENT TEN
INDIVIDUAL ELIMINATION
The crowd erupted.
This time there would be no teams.
No partners.
No temporary alliances.
Every contestant would fight alone.
The strongest would advance.
The weakest would fall.
Noah stood inside the preparation hall.
Laura stood several meters away.
Luna and Damien were waiting beside him.
Eric leaned against the wall.
"Well..."
He looked at Noah’s opponent list.
"...this is going to be ugly."
Noah looked at the screen.
His assigned opponent appeared.
NOAH BLACKWOOD
VALHALLA ACADEMY
VS
JORDAN NETHEM
ASGARD ACADEMY
The room went silent.
Jordan stood on the opposite side of the hall.
He looked at Noah.
Then smiled.
"So we finally get our rematch."
Noah smiled back.
"Looks like it."
Jordan cracked his knuckles.
"This time..."
Lightning began crawling across his fingers.
"...there won’t be a draw."
Noah’s orange flames ignited.
"Good."
The announcement echoed.
"NOAH BLACKWOOD AND JORDAN NETHEM!"
"REPORT TO THE MAIN ARENA!"
The crowd erupted.
And high above the arena...
Alcris watched the two contestants walk toward the battlefield.
His eyes narrowed.
Because this time, he wasn’t interested in who won.
He wanted to see something else.
He wanted to know...
how close Noah could get to Dead Zone before losing control.
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