The city of Spring stretched before Noah like a tapestry of stone and vegetation. Built on a large hill overlooking the surrounding valley, its white limestone buildings reflected the sunlight, creating blinding flashes. Cobblestone streets wound between homes and workshops, and at the highest point, like a crown, stood the governor's mansion.
Noah floated in the sky, invisible under his spell, observing the city attentively.
He descended slowly, passing through the city's bustle unseen. The inhabitants of the Golden Feather clan and the subjugated tribes came and went about their daily tasks. Merchants hawked their wares, children ran around with their wings partially spread, guards patrolled the walls. A living, organized city, very different from the primitive settlements of the Dark Feather.
Noah spent the rest of the day mingling among the shadows, listening to conversations, absorbing gossip and rumors. In a tavern, two women spoke quietly about the governor's son.
—Poor Enoc-sama gets weaker every day —one said, with regret—. The doctors can't find a cure.
—Those bouts of weakness… —whispered the other—. They say he can't even fly anymore. What a tragedy for the Jiron family.
When night fell, Noah headed to the highest point of the hill. The governor's mansion was imposing, with thick walls of carved stone and high windows through which a faint light filtered. Solar symbols adorned every lintel, and two guards with golden wings flanked the main entrance, their spears at rest.
Noah simply circled the building and found an open window on the upper floors. He entered without a sound, his feet barely brushing the stone floor.
The corridors were deserted at that hour. He soon found the door he was looking for, at the end of a little-used hallway.
The room was austere, almost spartan. Smooth stone walls, a simple bed against the wall, several ceramic vessels lined up on a shelf with medicinal-looking liquids. The smell of herbs and ointments permeated the air.
On the bed, a young man lay motionless.
Noah had already activated a paralysis spell before crossing the threshold. The boy could not move, could barely blink. His pale blue eyes opened in terror at the sight of the figure materializing out of nowhere.
Noah examined him calmly.
He appeared to be about eighteen years old. His skin was pale as marble, almost translucent. His hair, white with bluish highlights, fell disheveled on the pillow. And at his sides, folded on the bed, rested his wings: golden yellow, but visibly stunted, smaller than they should be for a young man his age.
—So you are Enoc —Noah murmured—. You are perfect for my plan.
Effortlessly, he lifted the young man's immobilized body. Then, with a gesture, he opened the magic door.
On the other side, the laboratory awaited him.
---
He placed Enoc on the analysis table and began the scan. The machines hummed softly as they gathered data: genetic composition, chakra structure, physical condition.
The results confirmed what Noah already knew.
The young man possessed two kekkei genkai. The first was responsible for his wings, identical to Orkus's in its basic function: a hybrid system combining biology and wind chakra to enable flight. But in Enoc, the wings were stunted due to a congenital energy deficiency.
The second was much more interesting.
A fusion of Yang and Lightning natures.
Noah studied the data carefully. Yang was vital energy, creation, light. Lightning was speed, discharge, destructive power. Combined, they generated a type of chakra that could manifest as pure light.
—Light Release —he decided to call it.
In Orkus's memories, Noah had seen the Golden Feather launch orbs of light from their mouths. Now he understood the mechanics: they channeled their Yang-Lightning chakra and projected it as incandescent spheres, capable of burning and blinding. A top-tier offensive power.
By analogy, Orkus's kekkei genkai, that black sphere that absorbed light, must be a fusion of Yin and Fire. He would call it Darkness Release.
—Two new elements —Noah murmured, satisfied—. Yin-Fire and Yang-Lightning.
He drew a blood sample from Enoc and placed it into the genetic synthesizer. The machine began to work, processing the DNA to create a compatible serum.
An hour later, the injector was ready.
Noah applied it without hesitation.
The effect was immediate and violent.
His body began to tremble, shaken by uncontrollable spasms. The pain was intense, as if every cell were being rewritten. Noah clenched his teeth and endured, trusting in his great resilience.
Long minutes passed.
Then, he felt enormous pressure in his back, right between his shoulder blades. The skin tore with a wet sound, and two new limbs sprouted from his flesh. They were fleshy at first, soft, like newborn chicken wings. But quickly, tiny feathers began to emerge, covering the surface with accelerated but still slow growth.
Noah stood up and flapped his new wings, testing their mobility. They responded to his will, though they were still weak and underdeveloped.
He frowned.
—It seems the process for the feathers to grow might take a while —he murmured, observing the still sparse plumage—. And I don't have time to wait.
He took from his 4D pocket a small, strange-looking cloth embroidered with clock patterns: the time tablecloth. He placed it over his wings and waited exactly one minute. When he removed it, the feathers had fully grown, forming a thick, silky mantle of intense golden yellow.
One month of natural growth compressed into sixty seconds.
Noah moved, spreading and folding his wings, getting used to his new weight and balance. They worked perfectly.
—Now, the next step.
He activated the Transformation Jutsu. His skin began to lighten, taking on Enoc's marble-like tone. His features softened, his cheekbones became more prominent, his jaw more delicate. His height increased, and his already silver-white hair became even whiter with bluish highlights.
When he opened his eyes, they were the same pale blue as the young man's.
He looked at himself in the laboratory mirror. The resemblance was perfect. Slender body, delicate face, golden wings folded behind his back. Even the slightly sickly expression was there.
—The most important thing remains.
He placed his hands on Enoc's head, still unconscious on the table, and closed his eyes. The young man's memories flowed into him like a river.
Noah absorbed everything. Every moment, every emotion, every tiny detail. When he finished, he knew Enoc better than the young man himself.
Now he had to become him.
But for the deception to be perfect, not a trace of his true identity could remain. At least, not on the surface.
He sat cross-legged on the laboratory floor and began to work on himself.
First, the internal seals. He blocked his main chakra channels, preventing the use of his jutsus. He only allowed the necessary flow for three specific abilities.
The first, Light Release, his newly acquired kekkei genkai. He would use it in its most basic form, like any member of the Golden Feather clan.
The second, control of his wings. Essential for moving naturally.
The third and most important, and the reason he had gone to all this trouble, was his Sharingan.
Noah smiled inwardly. Over the last few years, he had evolved his Sharingan and now possessed three tomoe, but he wanted to evolve it further and awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. Unfortunately, he could not force the evolution, and he had only come up with the method he would use next to achieve it.
Once the physical seals were done, Noah turned to the young Enoc, still immobilized on the table.
With a quick and painless movement, he ended his existence. Then, using disintegration techniques, he eliminated the body without leaving a trace.
Only then did he open the magic door and return to Enoc's room in the mansion.
The bed was empty, the sheets rumpled. No one had entered during his absence.
Noah lay down on the bed and took a deep breath.
—Last step.
He closed his eyes and activated the mental seals he had prepared earlier. Layers upon layers of psychic barriers began to activate, locking his memories deep within his subconscious.
Little by little, he forgot everything.
Until, finally, he forgot who he originally was.
Now, he was Enoc, son of Jiron, the leader of Spring City.