The atmosphere inside the throne room had changed.
What had begun as a simple discussion had slowly become something heavier.
Colder.
Even the guards standing beside the walls could feel it.
Princess Leyla stood in the middle of the great hall, disbelief and anger visible in her eyes.
„Leyla: I can't believe this… There are monsters beyond the walls… and you hid it from me all this time?"
King Leopold lowered his head slightly.
„Leopold Kal: It was only for your protection."
Leyla's voice trembled.
Not from fear.
From betrayal.
„Leyla: Really? Because what hurts even more is that you never told me how big the world actually is."
She pointed toward the windows overlooking Kalburg.
„Leyla: There's an entire world out there!"
Her voice became louder.
„Leyla: Why don't we expand the kingdom? Why don't we reclaim the lands beyond the walls? Kalburg is overcrowded already. Isn't that the logical thing to do?"
Queen Amalia stepped closer.
„Amalia Kal: Leyla, please. Your father only wanted to protect you."
„Leyla: Protect me?!"
Tears began forming in her eyes.
„Leyla: And when were you planning to tell me? Next year? Ten years from now?"
King Leopold suddenly rose from his throne.
His voice thundered across the hall.
„Leopold Kal: ENOUGH!"
The entire throne room fell silent.
Even the guards froze.
„Leopold Kal: OUT THERE THERE IS ONLY DEATH!"
His eyes trembled.
„Leopold Kal: There is no glory beyond these walls…"
His voice grew quieter.
„Leopold Kal: Only suffering…"
„Leopold Kal: That is why we stay here!"
Leyla stood frozen.
For the first time in her life…
she had seen genuine fear in her father's eyes.
„Leyla: B-but…"
Leopold closed his eyes.
„Leopold Kal: Please…"
His voice sounded exhausted.
„Leopold Kal: Go to your room."
Without another word, Leyla turned around and left.
Queen Amalia slowly approached her husband.
„Amalia Kal: Leopold…"
Meanwhile…
The group had long fallen asleep.
Hours later…
Noah's eyes slowly opened.
Darkness.
The moonlight entering through the window told him it was still the middle of the night.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
He sat up.
His heartbeat immediately sped up.
The beds around him were empty.
Johann.
Anna.
Heinrich.
Karoschi.
Even Perfidus.
Gone.
Noah frowned.
„Noah: Hello?"
Silence.
Then his eyes widened.
His backpack.
The backpack containing two of the Nine Parts…
was gone.
„Noah: What?"
He quickly grabbed his sword and stepped into the hallway.
And froze.
Blood.
The corridor was covered in blood.
Dead guards lay scattered across the floor.
Their eyes empty.
Their bodies torn apart.
Noah's breathing became uneven.
„Noah: No…"
His voice shook.
„Noah: No, no, no…"
He began running.
The deeper he went into the castle…
the worse it became.
More bodies.
More blood.
More destruction.
And then—
He entered the throne room.
And his entire body froze.
King Leopold.
Queen Amalia.
Dead.
Their lifeless bodies lay upon the floor.
Around them…
several guards were crouched over the corpses.
Eating them.
The sound of flesh being torn apart echoed throughout the hall.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
One of them slowly turned its head.
Its mouth was covered in blood.
Its eyes glowed with madness.
A horrifying grin stretched across its face.
„Hollowed Guard: Meat…"
The others stopped feeding.
Slowly…
they all turned toward Noah.
„Hollowed Guard: Meat…"
Their smiles widened.
Then—
They charged.
Noah raised his sword.
But suddenly…
His heart began beating faster.
His breathing became impossible.
Fear consumed him.
And instinct took over.
He ran.
Footsteps thundered behind him.
The guards laughed.
Their twisted voices echoed throughout the castle.
„Meat…"
„MEAT!"
„MEAT!"
Noah desperately hid behind an old suit of armor.
The creatures rushed past him without noticing.
For several seconds…
he couldn't even breathe.
Eventually, he emerged.
And ran outside.
But what awaited him…
was worse.
Far worse.
Kalburg…
was gone.
Destroyed.
The beautiful houses had become ruins.
Fires burned everywhere.
Bodies covered the streets.
The cold wind carried the smell of death.
Noah's eyes trembled.
„No…"
He walked through the destroyed kingdom.
And then—
A voice.
Familiar.
„Hollowed Heinrich: N-Noah…"
Noah froze.
He slowly turned around.
His blood ran cold.
Johann.
Anna.
Heinrich.
Karoschi.
All of them stood there.
But they weren't themselves.
Their skin was pale.
Their eyes empty.
Their bodies broken.
They smiled.
But it wasn't human.
„Noah: Guys…?"
„Hollowed Johann: Y-you failed us…"
„Hollowed Anna: It's a-all your fault…"
„Hollowed Heinrich: We died because of you…"
Noah's heart pounded.
His body trembled.
And then—
He remembered.
The Ashbringer camp.
The nightmare.
Karag.
His eyes slowly widened.
And then…
He smiled.
„Noah: No."
The Hollowed stopped.
„Noah: I know this."
His voice became calm.
„Noah: This isn't real."
„Noah: It's just another nightmare."
The Hollowed suddenly became furious.
Their smiles vanished.
„Hollowed Anna: LIAR!"
They charged.
But stopped.
Because something appeared between them and Noah.
Magenta and turquoise gas.
Slowly…
it formed into a humanoid shape.
Karag.
He clapped his hands slowly.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
His faceless symbol stared directly at Noah.
„Karag: Bravo."
Clap.
„Karag: Bravo, little boy."
Clap.
„Karag: You've become smarter."
Noah crossed his arms.
„Noah: Shut up."
„Noah: You can't do anything to me."
„Noah: This is just a dream."
Karag chuckled.
A deep, unnatural laugh.
„Karag: Oh…"
„Karag: But surely you've realized something by now."
He slowly approached.
„Karag: A god has no boundaries."
His voice echoed from everywhere.
„Karag: Reality…"
„Karag: Dreams…"
„Karag: It makes no difference to me."
Noah laughed.
„Noah: Please."
„Noah: You're not a god."
His eyes narrowed.
„Noah: You're just a boy with anger issues."
Silence.
Karag stopped.
And suddenly—
He appeared directly in front of Noah.
His hand wrapped around Noah's throat.
Noah's eyes widened.
The pressure was unbearable.
Karag's voice had lost all amusement.
It had become cold.
Ancient.
Terrifying.
„Karag: You truly understand nothing."
Slowly…
his fingers pierced into Noah's neck.
Blood spilled.
Noah screamed.
„Karag: I could take everything from you."
His grip tightened.
„Karag: I will find every person you love."
„Karag: And I will not spare a single one."
„Karag: Not Anna."
„Karag: Not Johann."
„Karag: Not Heinrich."
„Karag: Not Karoschi."
„Karag: No one."
His voice became a whisper.
„Karag: Because hope…"
„Karag: Was always meant to die."
Darkness consumed everything.
Noah suddenly awoke.
„AHHH!"
He sat upright in bed, breathing heavily.
Sweat covered his body.
But strangely…
He wasn't as terrified as before.
His breathing slowly calmed.
And then he smiled weakly.
„Noah: I was right…"
„Noah: Just another dream…"
He raised his hand to wipe away the sweat.
Then…
He froze.
His fingers touched something wet.
Blood.
His eyes widened.
Slowly…
he looked at his hand.
Blood.
Fresh blood.
Trembling, Noah touched his neck again.
Four wounds.
Exactly where Karag had grabbed him.
Exactly where his fingers had pierced his flesh.
Noah's entire body became cold.
His breathing stopped.
And for the first time…
A horrifying realization entered his mind.
Karag could have killed him.
He always could have.
But he didn't.
No.
He chose not to.
And as Noah stared at the blood covering his hand…
only one question remained.
Why?