Noble had indeed found Roan as the Nightmare was ending. She had shown him her arms and torso and the strange, spreading, reflective quality as she flitted in and out of existence.
Roan had tried to stabilize her, but he had no knowledge of the inner workings of the Mirror Realm or what had caused the sudden change.
Her cry for help was met with uncertainty and desperation. To his horror, the blonde woman flickered and vanished before his very eyes.
A few moments later, he was dragged into his evaluation, wondering what had happened to the rest of his team.
So his relief was profound when he exited the void of stars and found a floating figure next to him in the wilds of the Dream Realm.
"Noble!" He cried, grabbing her shoulders tightly to make sure his eyes had not deceived him.
"Sh! Keep your voice down." Noble chided him. He had been so good about not using her full name, but his excitement had caused his reason to leave him.
"Forgive me, but I thought we had lost you!" The cohort leader released her shoulders.
"I thought we had lost me, too." Child of Promise took a deep breath. "But I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be, all things considered."
Roan's smile faded. "It was a long night. I don't think any of us will recover any time soon."
One of them never would. Flint was gone. And Noble would have to bear the weight of that burden for the rest of her life. Yet another person taken from her by the Nightmare Spell.
Her Transcendence had come at a high cost.
Roan rested his hand on the large boulder beside them.
"We should go find Helie and Aether. I want to say goodbye before we all part ways."
Noble shook her head. "I can't. You know I can't. The whole point of changing my appearance and my name was for this moment."
"You still want to go through with it, then?" The cohort leader frowned.
Noble summoned The Other's Voice and handed half to Roan.
'I want to protect my family. I know what is coming—I'm not a fool. The only way to stay out of it is for Bel to disappear and for Noble to remain a Master.'
Roan's emotions spiked as recognition dawned on his face. Noble had assured him that she wouldn't go against him and serve Clan Song. He had wondered if she planned to join the government, but her plan was even simpler than that.
'You are planning to hide that you are a Saint? Is that even possible?'
'I have my ways.' Noble gave a small smile. It quickly faded. 'I am sorry to put you in this position, though.'
'I understand. It's better for both of us that you remain as you were.' Roan nodded slowly. 'What would you like me to say to Helie and Aether?'
Noble thought for a moment. 'The truth, I suppose, or at least part of it. You can explain how I disappeared before your eyes. Just leave out that you saw me again.'
She had just planned to leave the Dream Realm and erase any trace of Bel left behind. But that would leave them wondering. Tragic as it was, this way provided a bit of closure, at least.
'Understood. Lady Bel will never be heard from again.' Roan bowed formally.
'Thank you.' Noble felt the man's sincerity.
Some talking in the distance drew their attention. Helie and Aether were coming their way. Noble could feel them with her Attribute and see them with her second sight. Her heart clenched.
'Someday I'll come clean. If only so I can brag that Flint figured it out on his own.' She promised it to herself as much as to the man beside her.
Roan chuckled softly. 'I hope to be there for their reactions on that distant day.'
"Whose there?! Come out!" Helie's commanding voice rang out from behind the boulder.
The man in the blue scarf shrugged. 'That's my cue. Time for me to go. Remember to avoid my wife. You might be able to fool the rest of the world, but she will sniff out your secret in a heartbeat.'
'Noted. I'll keep it in mind. Goodbye, Roan.' Noble held out her hand, and her cohort leader shook it.
'Good luck, Noble.'
Roan returned the Memory. He turned, raised his hands, and came out from behind the boulder to greet his cohort members.
Noble should have left, but her guilt pinned her in place as she listened to the conversation unfold.
Helie and Aether were very happy to discover their cohort leader. They told of the gateway. Noble remembered the citadel that had formed the last time she had finished a Nightmare.
Had a similar miracle occurred? By their lack of excitement, Noble doubted it. It didn't matter anyway; she couldn't claim the place for herself. Her home was in Ravenheart.
For now, the gateway would remain unclaimed. Perhaps Lord Anvil had someone in mind for the task. Surely he would as soon as he knew the place was available. If he did, there was nothing Noble could do about it.
Returning to the conversation, Noble heard her cohort members lament her loss.
Her heart broke. Of its own accord, comfort drifted from her and settled around Aether and Helie like a gentle fog.
Noble panicked. Surely they would realize the feeling came from her! But neither of them seemed to notice the foreign feeling. Or if they did, they simply accepted it without question.
'It's gotten more powerful. I'll have to learn to control that!'
She had a lot to learn. Dividing her desire from her magical reaction would take some practice.
Finally, the group said their parting words. It took every ounce of willpower for Noble not to run out and say goodbye.
In the end, she let them leave without her to return to their own lives.
Now, standing where they had been a moment before, Noble felt the end had truly come. Even if she hadn't just faked her own death, she wouldn't be able to see the other members of her cohort for now.
"Till next time." She sighed. 'Which won't be at least until the war is over.'
The war was coming much faster than she or any sane person wanted. Who knew what changes she would encounter when she returned to her life? Weeks had passed, and both worlds would certainly be different.
Noble was different, too.
The Spell had made that quite clear in its evaluation. She felt the change keenly. It would take some time to get used to it.
There was a touch of excitement in Noble as she wondered what all she would discover.
Would all of her hard work be enough to protect what was hers? Only time would tell.
And that time was coming at her like a train in the NQSC.
But Noble wasn't quite willing to face all of it just yet. She needed a moment to process everything the Spell had told her.
The strangely familiar voice had been quite verbose, and she wanted to remember every bit of what had been said.