I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

Raiden moved with growing sluggishness, his boots grinding against the ground while his hands coiled away on instinct whenever he tried to grasp the darkness.

But he held his head high, ignoring his pounding heart that echoed through his entire body, pulsing even in his palms, ignoring how his head twisted restlessly from side to side.

He had only one thing in mind—saving Noelle.

The moment he stepped into the thick darkness, his body ran cold. His heart beat faster than before, and the dark marks across his body began glowing in the complete blackness, his hair floating in his invisible dark aura.

Raiden began sweating, his mouth opening as the air within felt thicker than he was used to, his chest growing slowly tighter and worse. He couldn't see at all.

He could feel his body absorbing the darkness around him, filling every nutritional void within himself. But he paid it no attention. He understood the pain Noelle might be going through, and all he wanted was to save her.

He blindly stretched his legs to find solid ground. Despite how it slowed his movements, he couldn't have been more grateful to still be moving at all.

However, in no time, he dropped to one knee. His entire body was drenched in sweat, his lips dry and cracking, yet he was satisfied. His body was filled with energy, so much energy that he couldn't move.

His mind began wandering as he tried to catch his breath. He knew if he deactivated his moon dragon form, the chances of escaping the darkness were slim, but sifting through his clouded thoughts, that was all he could consider.

His breaths came in chunks as he tried to ease his mind and deactivate his form. But the sounds in his mind gave him no room for that. This went on for a few minutes, and before he knew it, he collapsed face-first to the ground, his head throbbing from his thoughts alone.

His eyelids grew heavy with time, and he could feel his body shutting down. Mumbling gibberish, he tried to gather the strength to get to his feet, but in a blink, his eyes closed, and his mind went completely dark.

There was no dream, no sense of slumber, just an empty sleep with no brain cells to work out visions or thoughts.

Seconds turned into minutes, and still he lay there, showing no sign of ever waking up.

However, it didn't take long before a golden aura, formed into two massive hands, began penetrating through the layered darkness.

The force tore through the darkness, casting a little beam of golden light through the void. And the moment it fell on Raiden, his fingers fidgeted.

He began to feel a burning sensation that cut through the cold atmosphere, as if he were being lifted before the sun.

His senses slowly began to activate, and the first thing that crossed his mind was: Get up, dummy! He couldn't spare a second to question those words, whether they were his own, logical, or rational.

His instincts took over and he shoved himself off the ground, rising abruptly to his feet. And the moment he opened his eyes, he instantly raised his hand to block them—the golden hands blazed no less bright than the sun.

His mind wandered at the sight of the hands, and the moment his eyes adapted to the rays, he turned in the direction they came from. Even with that, he couldn't see beyond where the hands extended. However, he knew exactly who it was: MK. And he was grateful.

He smiled as he could now see a little, not clearly like in ordinary darkness, but enough. Without looking at the hands directly, they glowed like the moon against complete darkness.

He glanced around and realized he could only take a few steps before slipping back into the daunting darkness. He began tapping his fingers against his thighs, anxiously. He knew if Noelle wasn't just a few steps away from him, that could mean the end for both of them.

He gulped down his fear as the sweat on his body began to dry.

Steeling himself, he crossed his fingers and took a few steps to his left, glancing around. Nothing. His anxiety deepened as his body began to shiver.

He explored the distance in front of him as well—nothing. He clenched his fist as he began to bite his lips, literally on the verge of cursing at himself, and turned to his last resort: the right side. But before he could, another glow of golden aura caught his attention, slightly beyond the borders before him.

He smirked as relief coursed through his body. There were a lot of questions, but he needed to save Noelle first. He deactivated his moon dragon form and dashed toward the golden aura.

The moment he left the rays of the golden hands, his legs started bouncing off the ground, nearly making him stumble. His body began experiencing the same symptoms as before, which confused him since he wasn't in his moon dragon form.

But still, he pushed through with his eyes fixated on the golden light before him as he ran toward it.

His skin began cracking from the dryness and cold as he ran, holding his breath. Soon, he neared Noelle, watching her lie on the floor with her eyes closed. Strangely, the choker-like tattoo across her neck glowed golden, and a small, fading shield of golden aura surrounded her.

Raiden reached for her neck to check her pulse before getting lost in his own daze as he watched her body growing pale and cold, wondering how she was still alive.

However, after a brief moment, he snapped out of his daze, scooped her into his arms, and began running from the darkness, using her fading aura as his guide.

As he ran, the rough movement caused Noelle to bounce in Raiden's arms, slowly drawing her into consciousness as her eyes began to open.

Raiden had no idea about her condition; his eyes were fixated on MK's aura as he dashed outside. Not until after he escaped the darkness did an overwhelming weight lift from his body, nearly tripping him to the ground.

The moment he reached solid ground, his eyes began to ache from the moon's glow. Squinting, he glanced around, and there was MK with his arms outstretched, worry written across his face as he rushed toward them.

The moment he closed in on them, Noelle hugged Raiden out of nowhere, wrapping her hands around his neck and resting her head on his chest.

"Oh, you saved me again, Raid," she whispered softly as Raiden found himself caught off guard.

But his confusion gave way to a smile as he shifted Noelle to one arm and gently patted her head with the other.

She had a near-death experience; the least Raiden could do was comfort her, he thought as he glanced at MK, who waited nearby with an unreadable expression.