I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

Silence filled the distance, broken only by the sound of a gentle breeze sweeping across the desert. The wind was cool and biting as Raiden pushed forward, rubbing his arms together to generate warmth, while Ash rested against Noelle's back as she led the way.

Noelle had been quiet ever since her encounter with Snow and Ekko, and all Raiden could do was stare helplessly. He found himself confused and utterly perplexed about the right words to use; a single misstep could worsen her situation.

And if he were in her place, he would prefer being left alone to wonder and work through it himself.

So he braced himself as they both pressed on, the journey continuing without a word shared between them. Their boats dove deep into the dark water before they fought to drive them back to the surface with raw determination.

Raiden turned eastward as the sun began its slow ascent. He paused to stretch, feeling the pull in his muscles. This was their second day traveling toward Dark City, and surrounded by endless desert, he knew they still had considerable ground to cover.

But Raiden couldn't shake the dryness and bone-deep tiredness. He was hungry, and worse still, his lips had turned pale and begun cracking from the desert air.

But Noelle seemed to be facing the opposite situation, or perhaps she simply didn't have time to dwell on physical discomfort. As Raiden stood adjusting his body, she kept walking, only glancing back at him briefly.

After a moment, Raiden sighed and quickened his pace to join her. But before he could reach her, she stopped, and so did he.

The earth under them started to quake, sand leaping from the surface in small bursts while they stood frozen in confusion.

Raiden triggered Gaze Beyond, his enhanced vision cutting through the distance. Sand clouded the air, limiting his sight, but he was sure there was nothing hostile within a mile's reach. Even so, the tremors felt exactly like a herd of charging bulls bearing down on them.

If anything dangerous were coming their way, his danger sense should have activated, but it lay silent. This left Raiden more confused than ever and questioning whether his ability still functioned. Since his encounter with Zion, which had cost him his sight, he couldn't remember sensing danger even once.

He touched his face reflexively, the doubt consuming him, while Noelle simply continued forward. Was he gradually losing all his senses?

"Or maybe I'm just getting weaker," he murmured. He knew this deterioration demanded his attention, but right now all he could do was follow Noelle's determined pace.

Raiden trailed behind her as dawn broke fully, his restless mind bouncing between theories. His fingers unconsciously traced his lips—had his growing independence from Ash somehow severed their bond? Or was this spiral of doubt nothing more than paranoia?

No answers came to him, and each doubt only birthed new uncertainties. Yet the ground's trembling grew more violent the closer they approached whatever lay ahead.

When they neared the Apex Circle, Noelle suddenly quickened her step and began climbing a sand. Raiden stopped short, puzzled, but after a brief glance at her retreating figure, he shrugged and hurried to follow.

When Raiden finally joined her at the summit, his eyes widened. Relief flooded through him, and he couldn't help but smile. Hands sliding into his pockets, he looked down at MK and Leo below.

They gazed down at a vast field, roughly a hundred meters across, the very spot where they'd first encountered the storm when they arrived at Noor. Leo's mana zone pulsed with life, his yellow aura washing over the entire field below, held in check only by the surrounding mountains.

Leo's mana zone was far more powerful than Raiden's, but that realization came and went quickly. His attention was captured entirely by the intensity and beauty of the fight.

They attacked with determination and precision. Fury burned in Leo's eyes as he transformed his mana into solid flames, while MK wrapped himself in earthen armor. They fought as if their lives depended on it.

Raiden swallowed hard, mesmerized by Leo's reflexes as he evaded MK's attacks flawlessly. He was nothing like the Leo Raiden had known just weeks ago.

However, MK's behavior made Raiden wonder about their fight. Obviously, Leo could only respond to MK's attacks so effectively because of his mana zone. So why didn't MK use his own zone to counter it?

"Is MK just not into mana zones, or couldn't he master it?" Raiden asked, his gaze locked on the fight, tracking their every move.

"Not that," Noelle finally spoke up. Raiden glanced over at her and smiled, surprised she'd responded at all.

"Mana zones would be easiest for MK to pick up." She pointed down at MK. "Watch him more carefully."

Raiden activated Gaze Beyond again. The moment he noticed the thin golden shield surrounding MK's armor, he nodded in understanding.

"For some reason, he chose to make it so thin," she observed.

Raiden narrowed his eyes, studying MK's armor more closely. A smirk crossed his face as he figured out what was happening.

He dug into his pocket, produced an aether cigarette, and flicked it into Leo's zone below.

"Well, well," Noelle said, observing how the aether moved within the zone.

Raiden nodded firmly and grinned. "Look closely and you'll see MK has anchored his boots to the ground with earth magic."

Raiden pointed to MK's boots. Sand completely encased his feet, and his legs moved in sync with them, fighting not to float since Leo's ability had already negated his weight.

"So Leo's running his ability through his mana zone and keeping his flames active too." Noelle giggled softly. "Managing all three simultaneously… impressive."

Raiden shrugged casually. "MK's pulling off the same feat, though."

Raiden felt pleased that Leo had accepted his challenge to grow stronger, though concern nagged at him too. Leo looked pale, dark marks shadowing his eyes, with bandages wrapped around his hands under his rolled-up white sleeves. Despite wearing black gloves, additional bandages peeked through on his fingers.

It was clear Leo had pushed himself hard to gain such power. Raiden examined his own hands, questioning whether he'd made any progress that measured up.

While they observed from above, Raiden noticed something unsettling about Leo's zone. The vibrant yellow was bleeding out of it, gradually turning white.

Raiden's gaze shifted to Leo, who was breathing hard as he attempted to create space between them. But MK pursued relentlessly. Leo had reached his breaking point; exhaustion was taking its toll.

A smile crossed Raiden's face as he watched, eager to see what Leo could pull off when pushed to his limits.

"I knew if I could master concealing my presence entirely, you wouldn't sense me coming." Someone spoke from behind them. Raiden and Noelle both turned in unison, Raiden immediately shifting into a fighting stance, his heart hammering.

Levi appeared in his physical form. "Well, well, golden eyes?" he said with his typical smirk, one hand propped on his hip.

The amusement drained from his face as he studied Noelle and Raiden. "Please tell me you didn't reproduce."