The golden glow from the Awakening Stone still shimred faintly in the air, bathing the room in an almost reverent light.
Principal Kael leaned heavily on his staff, his eyes flickering from Noah’s still hovering status, to Noah’s face and back again, his aged features taut with thought.
He almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but he couldn’t deny it. The Awakening Stone’s information cannot be faked. Noah had been telling the truth.
He exhaled as his pale eyes shifted between Cecilia and the boy sitting on the infirmary bed. The boy who had just shaken the very foundations of Calot with a single touch of his hand.
"SSS..." Kael murmured under his breath, his voice soft as if speaking it aloud would break the fragile mont.
His mind was already racing. "We’ll need to inform His Majesty imdiately. This cannot be contained for long. The kingdom must know."
Cecilia turned to him, her face still flushed with awe, golden eyes glimring. "Then you believe it?"
Kael gave her a sidelong look, dry but heavy. "The stone does not lie. Not even a racial effect can conjure a rank out of thin air."
"What we’ve witnessed today changes everything. Noah Webb..." He trailed off, glancing again at the boy. "You cannot remain where you are. You cannot stay among the Stone-tier children. It would be a scandal, an insult, and most importantly, a waste."
Noah sat quietly on the bed, his eyes unfocused, but Kael did not notice the shadows gathering faintly behind him, curling in the corners of the infirmary like smoke.
"You will be moved to the Gold-tier imdiately," Kael continued, his voice decisive now. "Your training will be accelerated, your resources multiplied."
"The court will want you presented, but we must first ensure you are strong enough to stand before them." His tone softened, almost like a grandfather counseling a favored child. "Calot has found its hero. And heroes cannot be allowed to wallow in the mud of obscurity."
Cecilia nodded fervently. "Yes. Exactly. He belongs among the best. He is the best."
Kael straightened, already making plans. "I will call for a council of heads. Then, we will send word to the king. This revelation will shift the balance of power, and we must tread carefully."
His voice dropped, filled with warning. "Not everyone will welco an SSS-ranked hero. Especially the... short sighted idiots among the nobles. And even the demons. When they hear of this, they’ll know what it ans."
"So, be mindful, Cecilia. The brighter the fla, the more people will want to sniff it out."
He stood there for a mont, before nodding to himself as he ca to a realization.
"Sleep well, young Mage. You’ll need it."
His staff tapped once on the floor. With that, he turned away, muttering as he left, already thinking of letters, sealed orders, and cautious words to the throne.
The door shut behind him. Silence returned.
Cecilia stood, her body trembling with the effort of holding back all the things she wanted to say.
Finally, she sank back onto the chair beside Noah’s bed, clutching his hand between both of hers.
"Noah," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Do you understand what this ans? You are the one this kingdom has been waiting for. The true hero. The hope of Calot."
"Anything you want, anything, you only need to ask, and it will be provided for you." Her eyes brimd with a pride that wasn’t hers to claim, yet it filled her regardless.
Noah looked at her, his gaze unreadable. Inside him, the shadows stirred. They whispered mockery, laughter, rage, and hunger, but outwardly he gave her only a small smile.
’Anything? Anything at all?’ He wondered. What should he ask for? ’The kingdom’s treasury? Ninety nine virgins to please ?’
But he did know that when he asked for materials for his advancent, they’ll bend over backwards to give it to him.
Cecilia smiled, misinterpreting his smile as humility. "You’ve hidden so much, suffered so much. But now, all of that is over. With this truth revealed, there’s nothing you cannot achieve. Nothing the kingdom will deny you."
Her words were filled with conviction. But then her brow furrowed, curiosity creeping in.
"Why?" she asked softly. "Why hide your potential all this ti? Why let the world think you were... less?"
For a mont Noah said nothing, only watching her golden eyes searching his face. Finally, he spoke.
"I didn’t know at first." He admitted. "When I touched the Awakening Stone the first ti, it showed only what everyone saw. FFF."
His jaw tightened, a flicker of bitterness in his tone. "But minutes later, I realized what had happened. But by then, I thought no one would listen to . Because they kept mocking for having FFF-rank potential. Whatever I try to say, they dismissed."
Cecilia’s eyes widened, anger flashing briefly. "They dismissed you? Without even—" She cut herself off, shaking her head. "Unbelievable. Blind. All of them blind."
The shadows whispered louder, so laughing cruelly, others crying. Cecilia couldn’t hear them. Only Noah did.
She leaned closer, her voice softening. "Then let ask this. Noah, will you allow to be your personal instructor? I will not dismiss you. I will not turn away. I will listen. I will always consider your words."
For the first ti, Noah blinked, his eyes flickering in surprise. He tilted his head slightly, studying her earnest expression.
This was... good. It’ll allow him to use her the way he wanted. To utilize her for his own ans.
And so he slowly nodded. "Yes."
Cecilia exhaled in relief, smiling with triumph. She squeezed his hand. "Then it’s settled. From now on, we walk this path together. You will not be alone again."
In the silence of the ward, her words echoed faintly in the air like a vow.
But in the corners of the room, the shadows howled. So scread in fury at her audacity, others laughed at her naivety, and so wept with relief at the thought of not being abandoned again.
A cacophony of voices, rage, hunger, mockery, despair, swirling around Noah like a storm.
He sat amidst it all, watching Cecilia’s golden eyes and her warm smile. Outwardly, he gave her the agreent she longed for.
But inside, among the shadows, his decision was already made.
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