The infirmary of the Sevianko mansion had fallen silent.
The white lights still lit up the beds where Noah and Eleonor lay unconscious. The monitors showed stable readings, but the atmosphere was still heavy with a tension that calm couldn't erase.
Sophie hadn't moved from her spot by the window. She stared outside through the glass, though she could barely make out anything beyond the lights of the vehicles still moving along the perimeter.
Irina walked in without a sound. Her eyes no longer glowed, but her expression stayed alert.
—The convoy will be ready in thirty minutes —she said quietly—. Unit Eco-55 just landed on the north platform.
Sophie nodded without looking away from the window.
—Mikhail already left.
—I know. I ran into him in the hallway. He asked me to tell you something.
Sophie turned her head.
—What?
Irina hesitated for a moment before speaking.
—He said: "Make sure she knows the truth when she wakes up. There's no more time to protect her."
Silence settled between them again.
Sophie looked toward the bed where Noah lay motionless. His breathing was deep and steady. The mark on his back had stopped glowing, but something in his expression while he slept carried a calm that wasn't entirely reassuring.
—What truth? —Sophie asked quietly.
Irina stepped closer until she was beside her.
—I'm not sure. But I have an idea.
They both stayed quiet for several long seconds.
That was when Noah opened his eyes.
It wasn't a gradual awakening. He simply went from unconscious to staring at the ceiling, like he'd never been asleep.
Sophie reacted instantly.
—Noah!
She rushed to the bed. Irina moved to the other side.
Noah blinked once. Then again.
When he spoke, his voice sounded different. Calmer. More… ancient.
—Where's Eleonor?
Sophie pointed to the neighboring bed without taking her eyes off him.
—She's stable. But you—
—I know —Noah cut her off.
He slowly sat up. None of the monitors went off. His vital signs stayed normal, like waking up after summoning two guardian beasts was the most natural thing in the world.
Irina watched him closely, almost suspiciously.
—How do you feel?
Noah looked directly into her eyes.
—Different.
He stepped off the bed with precise movements, not the slightest tremor. He walked over to Eleonor's bed and watched her in silence for several seconds.
Sophie and Irina glanced at each other.
Neither knew what to say.
Noah was the one who broke the silence.
—I saw things in there —he said, not taking his eyes off Eleonor—. In the Chamber of Memory.
—What things? —Sophie asked.
Noah took a moment before answering.
—I saw the first bearers. I saw how they chose the guardians. I saw…
He paused.
—I saw why I was chosen.
Irina stepped forward.
—And?
Noah turned toward her. For a moment, his eyes showed something neither of them had ever seen in him before.
It wasn't fear. It wasn't doubt.
It was certainty.
—I wasn't chosen by accident —he said—. Not because the mark decided to try something new. I was chosen because…
He stopped.
Sophie felt a chill run down her spine.
—Because what?
Noah took a deep breath.
—Because I'd already been a bearer before.
Silence fell over the infirmary like a physical weight.
Irina frowned.
—That doesn't make sense. The mark chooses a new bearer when the previous one dies. It can't—
—It can —Noah cut in—. If the bearer never really dies.
Sophie stepped back without realizing it.
—What are you saying?
Noah sat on the edge of Eleonor's bed. His expression was calm, but his words cut through the air like blades.
—Thousands of years ago, when the Supreme Beings sealed the Kartnod, the first bearer offered more than his life. He offered his essence. The mark wasn't just a symbol of power. It was an anchor. A connection point between dimensions.
He paused.
—For the seal to last forever, the first bearer had to… break himself apart. His body died, but his essence stayed tied to the mark. And ever since, every time the mark chooses someone, it doesn't just pass on the power. It passes on part of that original essence.
Irina struggled to process the information.
—So you… are a reincarnation?
—No —Noah replied calmly—. I'm a container. Like every bearer before me. But there's a difference.
—What difference? —Sophie asked.
Noah looked directly at her.
—The essence of the first bearer has always been there, asleep, waiting. But to fully wake up, it needs something.
—What?
—The relic stolen in Brazil.
Sophie felt like the ground disappeared beneath her feet.
—How do you know that?
—Because I saw it. In the Chamber. The green stone medallion wasn't created to stabilize the bearer. It was created to keep the essence of the first one asleep. To stop any bearer from fully accessing that power.
Irina understood before Sophie did.
—Someone wants you to wake up.
Noah nodded slowly.
—And when it happens… when the essence of the first bearer fully wakes up inside me…
—What will happen? —Sophie asked in barely a whisper.
Noah stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Then he spoke.
—I'll remember everything.
The words hung in the air.
Sophie felt a knot in her stomach.
—And who will you be then? Noah? Or the first bearer?
Noah looked at her with an expression she couldn't read.
—Both.
The silence that followed was broken by the sound of Irina's communicator.
She activated it automatically without taking her eyes off Noah.
—Go ahead.
The operator's voice came through clearly.
—Unit Eco-55 ready for transfer. Repeat: medical unit prepared. You need to board within the next ten minutes.
Irina confirmed the message and ended the call.
Sophie looked at Noah.
—Are you coming?
Noah nodded.
—I have to get to France. The complete records are there. That's where I'll be able to confirm what I saw.
He stood up and walked to the bed where Eleonor still lay unconscious.
He placed a hand on her forehead with a gentleness that contrasted with everything he'd just said.
—And she has to come with me.
—Why? —Irina asked.
Noah didn't answer right away.
When he did, his voice carried something neither of them had heard from him before.
Protection.
—Because when I fully wake up… I'm going to need someone who reminds me who I am.
Sophie felt a lump in her throat.
Irina looked away.
Outside, the lights of Unit Eco-55 started flashing, signaling the start of the transfer.
And somewhere in the North Atlantic, the green stone medallion glowed brighter than ever.
Like it knew its moment was coming.
Like it was celebrating the awakening that was about to happen.