"I can see the fear reflected in your gaze. You feel it too, can't you? When victory has slipped beyond reach."
Crumpled on the ground, Raiden's arms wrapped protectively around his injured ribs, a pained grimace twisting his features. Panic seized Ash as he hit the floor, clawing his way forward in a desperate escape.
His escape was cut short as the infiltrator caught him by the waist, lifting and slamming him into the desk with devastating ease, reducing it to a pile of broken wood and debris.
Raiden instantly choked up crimson, his arms wrapping around his torso. Every fiber of his being rebelled against movement; even breathing made his heart race wildly, threatening to burst from his chest.
"Give me the book…"
The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, his terror-stricken mind unable to process its origin. Fear had become his entire existence, a suffocating presence that invaded every thought and obliterated his capacity for rational thinking.
Another futile escape attempt ended as the infiltrator seized his collar, lifting him effortlessly from the ground. Every instinct told Raiden to struggle, to break free, yet his body remained limp and unresponsive.
The trauma lived in his bones—a childhood spent cowering before overwhelming force had conditioned him to shut down completely when faced with an opponent he couldn't overcome.
Fingers closed around Raiden's windpipe with crushing force. His vision blurred as oxygen became a memory, legs thrashing uselessly while his hands made feeble grabs at the infiltrator's arm.
His struggles were laughably weak, like a butterfly beating against steel—utterly insignificant.
"Never imagined a simple bookkeeper would prove so utterly helpless.'' The figure materialized before him like smoke taking shape.
''Before I end your miserable existence, allow me the courtesy of an introduction. Perhaps we'll encounter each other in the depths below. The name is Levi—Levi, Shadow of Noor."
Levi's eyes lit up with triumph the instant he spotted the key. A wicked grin spread across his face as he reached for it, but a powerful tail whipped through the air without warning, launching him straight into the towering shelves with bone-jarring force.
Raiden collapsed to the ground, gasping and clutching his bruised throat, but what loomed before him made him forget his pain entirely.
Ash had undergone an impossible metamorphosis—now towering at nearly ten times his original size, with a fierce intensity burning in his gaze as his lips pulled back in a menacing snarl.
Raiden watched Levi drop to the floor. In an instant, Ash rushed over and smacked him straight through the window before turning small again and hurrying back to Raiden, who felt more confused than grateful.
[ALERT]
[SUMMON KEPT ALIVE IN BATTLE.]
[+10 XP]
[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 9: LEVEL- 60/100 XP.
MANA CONTROL: 10
MANA POOL: 20/ 5000
PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 15
STAMINA: 10
AURA: 0
SKILL PROFICIENCY: NONE
FAMILIAR TRUST: 52%
—Linked Familiar: WHITE DRAGON
CONTRACTS: ACTIVE 1.
—Name: [ASH]
—Bond Type: Sealed Pact.
NEW ABILITIES: LOCKED.]
"What just happened?"
Ash became affectionate as it brushed against him. Raiden brushed his hand over it as his soul began to sink slowly. The feeling he had always despised was finally catching up to him.
"I am pathetic, aren't I?… but I don't want to end up like Jobe." He shook his head in disapproval like a kid. "I don't."
Ash's eyes narrowed as it stared into Raiden's sombering eyes, its own expression softening as if it didn't want to see him sad.
It immediately bit Raiden in the left hand, its eyes widening with excitement once more. Raiden let out a light cry of pain. The sensation was more intense than a small bite should be, and his hand somehow began to feel numb.
[ALERT]
[FAMILIAR TRUST: +20%]
"That isn't very nice, Ash…"
The damage from the fight immediately began to catch up with him as blood trickled down his nose. In that instant, the knights finally burst in. Raiden rose to his feet as he prepared to confront them.
"What took you so lon—
Before he could finish his sentence, everything began to feel fuzzy, and distant. Before he knew it, his body was seamlessly collapsing to the floor. Confused, he took a few heavy blinks, and then everything went black.
He was out for nearly a day. When he woke up, he narrowed his eyes against the brightness of the room. Above him was an oval mezzanine with ornate gold balustrades, a sparkling crystal chandelier hanging from its elaborately molded ceiling. To his left sat a semicircle of plush sofas and armchairs arranged in a conversation area. He was in his room.
"How did I get here?" he muttered, confused, as he turned to his right to see Ash peacefully sleeping.
He rubbed his eyes as he climbed out of bed. The room was too bright—he had always hated bright rooms. He'd always liked them dimmed or, if possible, completely dark.
He headed to the washroom and cleaned himself up a bit, refusing to make contact with the mirror. Not only was he unused to his new face, but he had that same intuition about Jack—he didn't want to see Jobe.
The moment he finished, he grabbed Ash, who was still sleeping, and placed him on his shoulder as he began to leave the house.
He descended the stairs into the living room. It had the same plush sofas and an even bigger chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Raiden didn't bother looking for his mother as he headed for the exit. Before he could leave, she came out of nowhere and spoke up.
"Are you leaving already?" Yara asked with a tinge of concern in her voice.
Raiden paused, turned to his left, and gave a firm nod, his hand still resting on the door handle.
"Are you okay, Raiden? What is going on?" She walked closer and moved in on Raiden, lost and uncertain about what exactly to do.
Raiden gave her a lazy look at first but quickly shifted his expression. He had to at least give her some solace before she also started making claims about him not being Raiden.
He approached her as well, with a warm smile, and held both of her hands in his. He reflected the sadness in Yara's eyes.
"I need to be strong, Mother… I need to put all my fear aside and become stronger to keep our family's legacy.''
Yara tried to say something, but Raiden brushed her off. "I can't end up like Father, and I know you can understand."
Raiden then pulled her into a hug. "Things are going to be different, Mother, but trust me, I will always protect you."
He immediately pulled away from the hug, and somehow Yara stood frozen as Raiden walked toward the door without waiting for her to say a word.
''Just be careful, okay?… and visit more."
Raiden turned to her and gave her a confident smile. He turned the door handle and made his way out. Once outside, he saw a staircase to his left beside the walkway, leading directly upstairs near the library. He began to climb.
"Did I seriously black-out from those shabby strikes?" he muttered, slapping his forehead.
"I think I'll need to train this body… Levi, the shadow of Noor. Noor?"
His eyes immediately widened after recalling Levi's title. The Kingdom of Noor was the city of the sun, the first city to lose their book—the Book of Echoes, the Devourer's Mind. It existed in a desert somewhere far from Persia, probably a month or two away by the fastest carriage.
That someone like him was here was perplexing, and he had spoken Persian fluently, which demonstrated his education. What puzzled Raiden most was why someone of that caliber would work as an assassin.
He shrugged it off. It wouldn't matter once he was gone. He made his way to the library, where a few knights stood guard. He asked them to leave and entered. The place was renovated, keeping that eerie feeling alive.
Raiden placed Ash on the desk and stood there for quite a while, his eyes darting around. He then sat down with the night looming behind him and went through all of Raiden's notes, looking for anything concerning white dragons and what exactly happened to Ash when it grew larger.
Unfortunately, there was nothing. He remained seated for quite a while, his mind filled with confusion and that hollow feeling, 'What should I do?' echoing in his thoughts over and over.
He turned to his right, toward the wall in front of the shelves. He reached for the key around his neck and gripped it tightly, feeling the coldness of it.
He rose to his feet and headed to the wall. As he brushed his hand along the edge, searching for a button, he felt something tugging at his trousers. He turned to see Ash deliberately pulling him away, as if it didn't want him to go in there.
Raiden knelt beside it with a smirk, gently brushing his hand against it before picking it up. ''I need to go home, Ash… I really do. I need to avenge someone, you know?''
Ash began to make low, rumbly squeaks with a nudge. Raiden took a careful look at Ash before glancing back at the wall. "Okay, I won't go in."
He returned to the desk instead, placed Ash on it, and removed his shirt as he started doing push-ups.
I cannot be doing this… I need to go back.
Ash leaped down, bit Raiden's right hand, and began running in circles. Raiden smirked, but a jolt of electricity immediately through his hand as he gritted his teeth in agony, collapsed as his hand grew numb.
[ALERT]
[FAMILIAR TRUST: +20%]
[You need to get stronger…papa.] a voice different from the previous—childish and calm—echoed in Raiden's head.
"Huh? …Did you just speak to me?" He muttered.