The Extra Who Inherited Ragnarok

Hildgard woke beneath the three moons.

For once, the city wasn’t celebrating.

It was waiting.

The tournament arena had been repaired overnight, but the scars remained. Cracks still ran through parts of the stone. Several observation platforms had been rebuilt.

Nobody had forgotten what happened beneath the battlefield.

And today...

the relics were back.

Noah stood inside the preparation hall with Laura, Luna, and Damien.

A massive projection displayed the event.

EVENT TWELVE

RELIC PURSUIT

Three structures had been constructed around the arena.

STRUCTURE I

Balgard

Dragon

STRUCTURE II

Sylthin

Serpent

STRUCTURE III

Flaros

Bear

The Hildgard official continued.

"Contestants will be divided into temporary teams. Each team will be assigned one structure."

A second projection appeared.

OBJECTIVE

Enter.

Locate the designated relic.

Retrieve it.

Return to the extraction zone.

"Combat between teams is permitted."

The crowd erupted.

The official raised his voice.

"But the relic itself cannot be damaged."

Noah stared at the three symbols.

Something inside him felt strangely warm.

Laura noticed.

"Again?"

Noah nodded.

"It’s reacting."

"To the relics?"

"Yeah."

Luna quietly looked toward the projection.

"The dragon."

"The serpent," Damien added.

"And the bear," Laura finished.

Noah frowned.

"Three relics."

He looked toward the sky.

"Three moons."

Nobody spoke.

They didn’t need to.

The teams were announced.

Noah’s squad was assigned to Balgard.

Noah.

Laura.

Luna.

Damien.

They entered the massive structure as the gates opened.

Behind them, dozens of other contestants entered their assigned ruins.

The moment Noah crossed the threshold...

The system appeared.

[Relic proximity detected.]

His eyes narrowed.

[Ragnarok resonance: 58%.]

Laura noticed his expression.

"Fifty-eight?"

Noah nodded.

"It keeps climbing."

"Don’t let it."

"I’m trying."

Then another notification appeared.

[Dead Zone resonance: 4%.]

Noah stared.

"Four."

A faint maroon flame appeared around his fingers.

It disappeared almost immediately.

Laura looked at him.

"It responded."

"Yeah."

Noah looked deeper into the chamber.

"Something here is feeding it."

The chamber was enormous.

Ancient pillars surrounded them.

Dragon carvings covered the walls.

At the far end stood a gigantic sealed door.

Three circular markings were carved into it.

Noah approached.

Laura stopped him.

"Wait."

She activated her perception.

Nothing.

No traps.

No energy.

Then Luna quietly pointed upward.

"Something’s moving."

Everyone looked.

A massive stone dragon descended from the ceiling.

Its eyes ignited.

ROOOOOAR!

Damien stepped forward.

"I’ll handle it."

Noah nodded.

"Go."

Damien charged.

The dragon swung its tail.

BOOM!

Damien blocked.

The impact pushed him backward.

Laura joined him.

Luna disappeared into the shadows.

Noah watched.

Then...

footsteps echoed from behind.

He turned.

Another team had entered the chamber.

Asgard.

Jordan wasn’t there.

Instead, Christina and two other contestants stood in the doorway.

Christina smiled.

"Looks like we got the same destination."

Laura raised her weapon.

"You want the relic."

"Obviously."

Noah stepped forward.

"Then come take it."

Christina smiled.

"Gladly."

The two teams collided.

Noah fought one contestant.

A powerful strike came toward his face.

He blocked.

CLANG!

The opponent attacked again.

Noah ducked.

Fire gathered around his fist.

BOOM!

The contestant crashed into a pillar.

Another appeared from the side.

Noah turned.

A blade stopped inches from his chest.

Laura blocked it.

"You’re welcome."

Noah smiled.

"Thanks."

"Focus."

He nodded.

The battle continued.

Across the chamber, Christina fought Laura.

Their weapons collided.

CLANG!

Again.

CLANG!

Christina smiled.

"We meet again."

Laura pushed her backward.

"You’re still talking."

"I’m nervous."

"You don’t look nervous."

"I’m very good at hiding it."

Laura laughed.

Then attacked.

Deep within the chamber...

the sealed door began glowing.

The dragon symbol illuminated.

Then the serpent.

Then the bear.

Noah stopped.

His expression changed.

"Wait."

Everyone turned.

The chamber shook.

THUMP.

The dragon statue froze.

THUMP.

Every contestant stopped fighting.

THUMP.

Noah’s eyes slowly changed.

A faint maroon glow appeared.

The system appeared.

[Relic synchronization detected.]

Then:

[Balgard recognizes Ragnarok.]

Noah stared.

"What?"

Laura stepped toward him.

"Noah..."

A voice whispered inside his mind.

"Open it."

Noah’s flames erupted.

Maroon.

Orange.

Pink.

The sealed door began opening.

Everyone stared.

Christina lowered her weapon.

"What’s happening?"

Daniela, watching from another structure through the tournament’s monitoring system, suddenly stood.

Her perception activated.

She saw Noah.

Then the door.

Her eyes widened.

"He’s opening it."

Alcris watched from another observation platform.

His expression changed.

"Impossible."

The ancient door opened.

Inside...

there was no relic.

Only darkness.

And three words carved into the stone.

THE FIRST FLAME REMEMBERS.

Noah stared.

Then a figure appeared in the darkness.

Not Dead Zone.

Not Ragnarok.

Someone else.

A tall silhouette.

Its face hidden.

Its voice echoed through the chamber.

"You are not the successor."

Noah froze.

Laura’s eyes widened.

The silhouette continued.

"You are the vessel."

The chamber exploded with light.

BOOOOOOM!

Noah’s consciousness disappeared.

Laura screamed his name.

"NOAH!"

And somewhere far away...

Alcris smiled.

Because he had just heard the one sentence he had been waiting for.

The successor wasn’t Noah.

Darkness.

Noah couldn’t feel the ground.

Couldn’t feel his body.

Couldn’t hear the crowd.

There was only silence.

Then a heartbeat.

Thump.

Another.

Thump.

Noah opened his eyes.

He was standing in an endless black space.

Across from him stood the mysterious figure from the chamber.

Tall.

Motionless.

Its face remained hidden beneath a veil of darkness.

Noah clenched his fists.

"Where am I?"

The figure didn’t answer.

Noah stepped forward.

"You said I’m not the successor."

Silence.

"Then what am I?"

The figure finally raised its head.

"The vessel."

Noah’s expression hardened.

"Vessel for what?"

The darkness behind the figure shifted.

A massive silhouette appeared.

Something enormous.

Something burning.

Its outline resembled a creature made from flame.

Noah stared.

"Ragnarok."

The figure remained silent.

Noah’s heartbeat accelerated.

Then the creature opened its eyes.

Maroon.

The same eyes Noah had seen in his reflection.

The same eyes that appeared whenever Dead Zone surfaced.

Noah stepped backward.

"That’s..."

The figure spoke.

"What resides within you."

Noah stared at the creature.

"Then what is Dead Zone?"

The creature smiled.

"A fragment."

Noah froze.

"A fragment of Ragnarok?"

"A fragment of what came before it."

The entire space trembled.

Images appeared around Noah.

Ancient warriors.

Burning cities.

Three moons.

Three medallions.

A dragon.

A serpent.

A bear.

Then...

a man standing beneath the three moons.

Noah couldn’t see his face.

But he could feel his power.

The same burning sensation.

The same overwhelming presence.

The figure spoke again.

"The first flame did not die."

Noah’s eyes widened.

"It was passed down."

"Not passed down."

The figure looked directly at him.

"Bound."

The visions disappeared.

Noah suddenly felt himself falling.

"Wait!"

The figure remained still.

"Who am I?"

The answer came softly.

"That is what you must discover."

Noah fell into darkness.

Outside the Chamber

Laura stood over Noah’s unconscious body.

"Noah!"

She grabbed his shoulders.

"Wake up!"

Nothing.

Damien stood beside her.

"His pulse is stable."

Luna looked toward the chamber.

"The figure disappeared."

Christina had stopped fighting entirely.

Everyone was staring at Noah.

Then the ancient door began closing.

Laura looked toward it.

"No."

She grabbed Noah’s arm.

"We’re leaving."

The chamber shook again.

The dragon symbol flashed.

The serpent.

The bear.

Then the three lights merged.

A massive beam shot toward the ceiling.

Across Hildgard

Every academy saw it.

The three moons suddenly illuminated.

Crimson.

Blue.

Scarlet-violet.

The beam connected with all three.

The crowd screamed.

Headmasters stood from their seats.

The Hildgard governor stared upward.

"What is happening?"

Nobody answered.

Then the beam vanished.

The three moons returned to normal.

And the arena screens went black.

Inside Noah’s Mind

Noah opened his eyes again.

This time...

he was lying on the ground.

Laura was kneeling beside him.

"Noah?"

He blinked.

"Laura?"

Her expression immediately softened.

"You’re awake."

Noah slowly sat up.

His head throbbed.

"What happened?"

"You collapsed."

He looked toward the chamber.

"The figure?"

Laura hesitated.

"It disappeared."

Noah stared at the sealed door.

He remembered everything.

You are not the successor.

You are the vessel.

He looked at his hand.

A tiny orange flame appeared.

Then...

for a fraction of a second...

a maroon flame surrounded it.

Noah closed his fist.

The flame disappeared.

The system appeared.

[Ragnarok synchronization: 61%.]

Noah stared.

Then another message.

[Dead Zone synchronization: 5%.]

He exhaled.

"So it wasn’t a dream."

Laura looked at him.

"What did you see?"

Noah hesitated.

Then smiled faintly.

"A lot."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Eventually."

Laura smiled.

"I’ll hold you to that."

The Final Result

The tournament officials eventually declared the Relic Pursuit invalid.

No academy received the relics.

The event had ended without a winner.

The tournament itself was suspended for another day while Hildgard investigated the ancient chamber.

But the rankings were already becoming clear.

Elementro remained near the top.

Asgard remained dominant.

Volstra had climbed rapidly.

Valhalla had surprised nearly everyone.

And Noah Blackwood had become one of the most talked-about contestants in Hildgard.

Not because he had won everything.

But because nobody could explain him.

That night...

the academies prepared to leave Hildgard within the next few days.

Students packed their belongings.

Contestants discussed their victories.

Others discussed their defeats.

Some talked about Noah.

Others talked about the relics.

But one person wasn’t talking.

Alcris stood alone beneath the night sky.

He stared toward the three moons.

Then laughed quietly.

"Not the successor."

He looked down at his hand.

His perception activated.

A faint current of energy flowed through his fingers.

"But the vessel."

His smile widened.

"Even better."

He opened his notebook.

Several pages were filled with information about Noah.

Ragnarok.

Dead Zone.

The relics.

The three moons.

And now...

The Vessel.

Alcris turned to a fresh page.

He wrote:

OBJECTIVE

Extract Ragnarok from Noah Blackwood.

He stared at the words.

Then added:

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE

Discover the identity of the true successor.

He closed the notebook.

"Noah..."

His voice was almost cheerful.

"You have no idea what you’ve become involved in."

He looked toward the sleeping academy residences.

"And you definitely don’t know..."

His smile disappeared.

"...what I’m willing to do to obtain it."

A quiet laugh escaped him.

Then he turned away.

Two Days Later

The academies began preparing to return home.

Hildgard slowly returned to normal.

But the tournament had changed everyone.

Laura stood beside Noah at the edge of the city.

Luna and Damien were nearby.

Eric was talking about the matches.

Jordan was arguing with another Asgard student.

Reinham was loudly celebrating Elementro’s ranking.

Daniela stood farther away.

She looked toward Laura.

Then Noah.

Then Alcris.

Something didn’t feel right.

She couldn’t explain it.

But she knew one thing.

The tournament wasn’t the end.

It was the beginning.

Noah looked up at the three moons one final time.

A faint maroon flame appeared in his eye.

Then vanished.

He whispered:

"Ragnarok..."

Inside his mind, a familiar voice answered.

"Not yet."

Noah smiled faintly.

"Yeah."

He turned toward the road home.

"I’ll find out eventually."

Behind him, Hildgard disappeared into the distance.

The tournament was over.

The relics remained unexplained.

Laura’s past remained buried.

Joseph’s true manipulation remained hidden.

Daniela had begun questioning her own memories.

And Alcris Vannheim...

had finally chosen his path.

The path toward Noah.

The path toward Ragnarok.

The path toward something far darker than the tournament itself.

TO BE CONTINUED.

END OF VOLUME 2

Volume 3: The Vannheim Conspiracy awaits.

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