I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

"I heard your fight with Bald was brutal," Snow remarked casually, standing behind Raiden. He faced a small mirror mounted on the wall, delicately adjusting the bandage around his left arm, layering it piece by piece.

"What about it?"

Snow's sneer faded into a sigh. "Time to decide. Do you want to be sold, or will you join us?"

Raiden paused, rolled his neck, and turned to Snow. It had been two days since his battle with Bald. His wounds still ached, but he'd kept training with Anya, who gave him pointers on mana-boosted speed from the sidelines—too lazy to actually show him how it was done.

He still hadn't found time to see Noelle and plan their next move. He slapped his forehead in disappointment.

"How was your mission?" he asked, adjusting his reflection in the mirror. "Two days away… must have been rough."

Snow moved backward and settled onto Raiden's bed. "Nothing major. I took a small group to deal with some bandits who were pushing into our territory."

Raiden's gaze sharpened. "So that's what the armadas do? Just territorial protection?"

Snow watched him adjust his bandages in silence for a moment. "You'll discover that after you've joined."

Raiden faced her, fishing an aether cigarette from his pocket and putting it to his lips. Snow flicked her fingers in a casual gesture, and the cigarette sparked to life. The sudden smoke caught him off guard, triggering a coughing spell.

"You don't know how to smoke, do you?"

"No, no. Aether's supposed to be smooth and flavorless, like breathing air." He stared at her. "But how did you light it? I didn't see that coming."

"That's aether?" She propped her chin on her hand. "I've heard about those."

Raiden raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I lit it with dark flames."

Raiden removed the aether from his mouth and began massaging his throat. "I didn't know it was possible to learn dark flames."

Snow stood up and dusted off her clothes. "I don't have all day, Raven. What's your decision?"

Raiden moved to his bed and picked up his shirt. "I need to talk it over with my partner."

Her eyes narrowed. "The wolf girl?"

"Yes."

He dressed while Snow moved toward the exit. "I want an answer by tonight," she said, and slammed the door.

As Raiden fastened his black shirt, he pondered Snow's ability with dark flames. She definitely wasn't lying—he could sense that much—but everything he knew said only elemental magic was teachable: air, fire, water, and earth. If Snow had learned dark flames, did that open the door for ice and lightning magic too?

Given how casually Snow had responded, she clearly expected him to already know about these abilities. He sighed heavily.

"Guess we know nothing," he muttered, heading for the door.

The hallway hummed with its usual activity as he made his way right toward the exit. Other men brushed past him, moving deeper into the facility. Outside, he paused to examine their quarters. The entire compound lay underground, concealed beneath the desert except for this single entrance.

He looked back at the entrance, noting the dark aura that radiated from the ground in expanding circles across the desert. Nothing unusual there, so his gaze moved to the iron sign above the entrance with 'Chaos' etched into it.

This was his first time outside the quarters since Snow had carried him there unconscious. The problem was, he had no clue how to find Noelle, who belonged to a different armada, Justice Armada.

The arena where armada selections took place lay to his right, and he walked toward it without a second thought.

"Maybe I can find someone to ask for directions."

He walked with his hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the area while the aether hung from his lips. A few minutes in, he noticed someone approaching. Arms crossed over his chest, white sleeves pushed up, radiating a golden aura through his glasses—it was Zion.

A bitter laugh escaped Raiden. This was his first encounter with Zion since the man had almost killed him, gifting him these cursed golden eyes in the process.

He picked up his pace and moved closer. Settling beside Zion at the arena entrance, they both turned their attention to the brutal fight playing out below.

Zion barely looked his way but knew immediately who it was. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Raiden's smirk widened. "I thought you'd be trembling by now, seeing as I'm still breathing after taking your best shot."

Zion shifted his gaze to him with a knowing smile. "I would be trembling, if you understood how you really survived."

Raiden glanced toward him. Zion was right. How exactly he'd survived that attack was a mystery, and until now, he hadn't even thought about it. He was just glad to be alive.

"You were the first to survive, but obviously it left you with something unforgettable," Zion said cockily.

Raiden let out a heavy sigh. "You're right. Now I need mana constantly flowing through my eyes just to see."

Zion's voice dropped as he faced the arena. "Something like this was always going to leave its mark. Seeing the truth of reality and living to tell about it… I don't think blindness is where it ends."

Raiden turned toward the field. Naturally, he hadn't healed from it. The ability had its perks—lie detection, for one—but it remained a curse. Stop concentrating mana into his eyes for even a moment, and it would all come flooding back: the excruciating burden of perceiving every universal truth at once, through both sight and mind. Just thinking about it sent ice through his veins.

"It's really not that big a deal," he said, his sarcasm barely concealing the bitterness.

"By the way, how do I get to Wolf?"

Zion looked at him. "You haven't seen her in a while, have you?"

Raiden shrugged noncommittally.

"She's been training and killing like never before." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Look, there's something you need to know, but it's not my place to say. She should tell you herself."

Raiden's expression darkened, his mind spinning with possibilities. But Zion's grave look said it all; this was serious, and only Noelle could tell him what it was.