Blood dripped from the arrowhead that had pierced Noa's heart, each crimson drop soaking into the soil and creating a heartbreaking scene in the heavy silence. Noa's head rested against Rion's chest; he was no longer breathing, his body growing colder by the moment.
Rion's breath caught in his throat. It constricted painfully, forcing him to swallow air with difficulty. He looked around wildly, as though time itself had frozen. No sound reached his ears except the frantic pounding of his own heart.
The archer he had failed to find moments ago flashed before his eyes—the coward who, seeing his party slaughtered, had fled without a backward glance.
"That filthy coward…" Rion whispered, voice choked, barely able to breathe. His eyes remained fixed on Noa's face.
"I wanted to protect you…" he thought, voice trembling inside. "Even if it cost my life… I had finally found a friend worth dying for…"
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"But I couldn't. I couldn't do anything… Am I going to lose you this easily?"
He clutched Noa tighter against his chest. His heart beat so violently it felt ready to burst. This was not mere fear; it was the unbearable agony of losing his friend, a grief that gnawed him from within.
A moment later, Rion felt something prick the sole of his foot. He looked down—the arrow's fletching was embedded in the ground. He rose slowly.
Black and golden aura exploded around him. His body glowed with radiant energy, creating intense pressure in the air. At that instant, several more arrows whistled toward him.
Rion sensed their trajectory and charged in that direction. His thoughts were chaos—he could neither shout nor speak. Rage and anguish tore him apart from the inside.
He dodged the arrows as he surged forward, but one suddenly altered course and looped back. Rion twisted left, but—
krkrkk—a strange sound rang out.
Rion's gaze dropped to the ornate, round amulet hanging from his neck, etched with intricate patterns. He halted abruptly, boots carving twin furrows in the dirt.
He clutched the amulet tightly and ran back toward Noa.
"Not this… not now…" he muttered through gritted teeth, panic rising.
At that moment, the amulet cracked.
Pure white light poured from the fissure. It burst from Rion's hand, piercing through his body as though searing him from within. The next instant, the amulet shattered completely.
Brilliant white mana enveloped Rion. Air pressure spiked violently, lifting him off the ground.
Rion reached desperately toward Noa, trying to take the boy's body with him. But in a flash, his silhouette vanished.
In the ancient, shadowed hall of the Jogan clan, faint light from the twin moons Ruya and Siamon filtered through the windows, creating an ethereal, unrepeatable scene. In the center of the dust-covered chamber, a burst of pure white light suddenly flared.
The air pressure surged in the silent moment.
Rion's silhouette materialized.
"Noaaaaaaa!" he cried, voice raw with desperation and urgency.
He braced his legs to stop, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Rion scanned the room frantically.
Dark hall. Dust. Nothing else.
The teleportation amulet… it activated now of all times. Damn it…
He gritted his teeth and strode toward the door.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
The moment he flung it open, the two guards outside froze in shock. One stumbled backward.
"A ghost…" one whispered.
Rion continued without pausing, voice stern.
"Stop standing there gawking."
The guards hurried after him.
"Rion-sama… is it really you?"
Rion tore away the upper part of his bloodied clothing.
"Who else would it be?"
He gestured to his wound.
"Bring me a healing elixir."
The armored guards exchanged uneasy glances.
"Young master… many things have happened since you left. Please, you must speak with your father first."
Rion ignored them completely. He clutched his throat.
I can't breathe… It's unbearable… Like something massive is lodged in my throat. Indescribable… he thought.
Paying the guards no mind, he hurried down the corridor.
Riza Forest. The goblin village.
"Huuuuuuoooooo…"
Noa drew a deep, steady breath.
Gobuto lay on the ground, still dazed, unable to fully comprehend what had happened.
Noa raised his voice.
"Kargal!"
A dark silhouette glided in from the distance on bony wings.
"Yes, Master."
Noa exhaled in quiet relief.
"Well done."
Kargal paused, thoughtful.
"Thank you, Master… but I don't fully understand the true purpose of what you did."
Noa gripped the arrow shaft protruding from his chest with two fingers and pulled. Half remained in his hand; he yanked the rest out from behind and tossed it aside.
He reached inside his clothing, extracted an internal organ positioned over his heart, and gazed at it.
"Sorry…" he murmured softly. "I've changed. I'm no longer the same. Smiles no longer satisfy me."
Four hours earlier—what had truly happened.
Noa had been lying on the ground. He sat up slowly.
"If Rion leaves now, he won't hesitate to give his life…"
X replied with satisfaction.
"You are his only friend. You two are alike. He lives under constant societal pressure, but with you he feels calm and at peace. That's why he won't abandon you."
Noa picked up the arrow embedded in the dirt.
"He's the only one I have… but I don't want to lose him."
X's voice grew serious.
"Then what will you do? You don't want to drive him away?"
Noa hesitated.
"There's no other way. He'll live better without me."
X spoke deeply.
"Wise decision."
Noa snapped the arrow in two.
"He needs to witness my death. Otherwise, he'll come back."
X sighed.
"How will you stage your own death?"
Noa drew a deep breath.
"I'm certain you sensed it too. That teleportation amulet around his neck. An incredibly valuable artifact. If we break it, he'll be forcibly returned home."
X's tone brightened.
"Excellent plan."
Noa stood and approached Lira's corpse.
A dragon's internal anatomy in humanoid form was nearly identical to a human's.
Noa straightened his hand like a spear. He marked the blood vessel, slashed the air. A black blade erupted from his palm, sliced through Lira's abdomen, and vanished.
He bent down, reached inside, extracted an organ, and placed it over his own heart.
Then he walked toward the village edge. After passing several huts, he sensed Kargal near one.
"Come here."
Kargal approached.
"Did you dispose of the archer's body?"
Kargal bowed.
"Yes, Master. The body is gone. The dragon is searching but won't find it."
Noa faced him.
"When night falls, the dragon and I will share dinner by the fire. At that moment, you will shoot an arrow in the archer's name. Attach bone fragments to the arrows—they'll fly true."
Kargal asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Master… but whom should I target?"
Noa pulled him closer.
"That amulet around the dragon's neck. That is the target." He showed the broken arrow. "When I drive this into myself, you act."
Kargal bowed obediently.
"As you command, Master."
Present moment.
Noa turned to Gobuto.
"Do you know who I am?"
Gobuto's voice trembled.
"You are the second master… and Rion-sama's friend. That is all I know."
Noa stepped closer.
"What is my name?" His voice was cold, laced with killing intent directed at Gobuto.
Gobuto pressed his forehead to the ground in submission.
"I don't know… I don't know your name. Rion-sama only called you 'my companion.' He told me to address you as 'second master.'"
Noa sighed.
"Good. Then eat your meal. Tomorrow we leave this place."
His voice was cold and absolute.
He turned to Kargal.
"Devour every bone here and evolve by morning. Consume the adventurers' equipment as well."
Kargal's empty sockets gleamed with delight.
"Trust me, Master," he said, then soared away on bony wings.
Inside, X spoke calmly.
"You've lost the last member of your family."
Noa picked up the fallen meat from the ground.
"Come, X. Now we love only ourselves. We fight only for ourselves. As vengeance, we will bring this world to its knees."
X smiled broadly.
"Oh, your intentions are serious. This path will be bloody and chaotic—are you sure?"
Noa bit into the meat.
"I know. I've already lost myself long ago. It no longer matters what I become. I will live as I wish… and kill as I wish."
X grinned widely.
"That's exactly why I like you, Noa."
What do you think? Is it appropriate to distance Rio and reduce his weight? Leave your opinion and don't forget to save it to Power Stone and Library.