Noa's eyes slowly opened. For the first time, the familiar, gentle light that usually shone within them was gone. In its place flickered a strange, ferocious crimson flame, illuminating the cave with a blood-red glow like a blazing sunset. In an instant, the air grew heavy.
Rion took a step back, but he did not flee.
"What… is this terrifying aura?" he whispered.
The soldiers recoiled in fear, their faces turning deathly pale. Until just moments ago, they had thought this was an ordinary battle, but now they realized how gravely mistaken they were.
"This… this isn't a dragon!" one of them stammered.
"Should we run?!" another cried out in panic.
Noa slowly rose to his feet. With every step, the ground trembled as if it could no longer bear his weight. His aura expanded, pressing down on everything with a suffocating force.
Words escaped his lips. His voice sounded like a dragon's, yet strangely otherworldly — as if thousands of voices were speaking at once.
"…I've grown tired of you," he said in a low, terrifying tone.
Those words pierced the soldiers' hearts like ice.
"You want to kill me. You want to trample me underfoot. Do you really think you're superior to me?"
His words echoed off the cave walls, crushing their very souls.
Even Rion felt the power, but what filled his heart was not fear — it was a different kind of dread, a deep anxiety.
"Noa… stop!" he shouted.
But Noa's blazing eyes no longer recognized him.
"This… this aura…" one soldier whispered hoarsely. "We can't withstand this! We need to report to the commander immediately! This power is equal to his, perhaps even more sinister! Low-ranking soldiers like us cannot resist it!"
Panic spread, and the soldiers turned to flee.
Rion clenched his fists and blocked their path — like a dragon's claw.
"You think you can just run away?"
Then Noa's voice rang out — calm yet firm:
"Let them go."
Rion turned to him, his gaze filled with a mix of rage and astonishment. He knew that if these soldiers escaped, the entire empire would hear about this. A catastrophe would be inevitable.
But Noa raised his hand, his voice low yet resolute:
"I said… stop."
The steel-hard authority in his tone left Rion stunned. He had never heard Noa speak with such commanding power before.
Rion gritted his teeth and stepped aside.
"…Fine," he said.
The soldiers didn't waste a single second. They vanished deep into the cave. Silence returned. Gradually, Noa's crimson aura began to fade.
Rion approached cautiously.
"What… was that?" he whispered.
Suddenly, Noa's knees buckled. His strength gave out, and his body began to collapse — but Rion caught him in his arms.
"Stay with me!" he said anxiously.
He gently laid him down and brought a water flask to his lips. Noa took a few sips, his eyes growing dim as he began to lose consciousness again.
"What kind of aura was that?" Rion asked once more.
But Noa could not answer.
A little earlier, inside his mind
Darkness. Endless and suffocating. It seeped into his very bones. Noa stood on a gray stone path, completely surrounded by shadows.
"Where… where am I?" he whispered.
He looked at his hands. There were no wounds left. His body was whole, and breathing came easily.
"My injuries… they're gone? How is this possible…?"
He continued walking. Soon, a massive monolith appeared — pitch black like the heart of night, with yellow lines flickering across its surface. Mysterious, ancient symbols pulsed on its face.
As he drew closer, the symbols ignited in bright yellow. In the center of the monolith, words appeared:
[Artifact: Abyss Stone]
Name: Noa S. Dragon
Age: 5
Strength: 10
Endurance: 5
Speed: 12
Mana: None
Level: 1st Stage — 1st Phase
Ability: False Aura
Noa stared in astonishment.
"This… is this… my power? Where did this come from?"
He slowly touched the stone. In an instant, it trembled, and a burst of red light engulfed him completely.
[Abyss Stone Activated]
Ability: False Aura awakened.
Blood consumption has begun.
Noa took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes — he was back in the cave.
The Cave — During the Battle
His eyes sharpened. Rion was fighting nearby. But Noa's body now radiated an eerie, living shadow-like crimson light.
A voice echoed within him — as if rising from the depths of his soul.
"So… this is… my False Aura? And it consumes blood?"
Present moment.
"…I don't know what this is," he said quietly. "But we need to leave this place immediately. This aura — it's just a shell."