Irinthal Forest was silent.
The mist hung across the trees like a curtain drawn over a stage that was never meant to close, as if the entire world had taken a breath and refused to let it out.
In the middle of that stillness stood a small hut that seemed almost accidental, as though it had been left behind by a world that no longer cared whether it remained. Its roof was covered in moss, its wood had begun to rot, and in front of the door, dark stains of dried blood marked the ground—remnants of something that had once lived, but had not been important enough to be remembered.
Inside, time had briefly stopped.
Noc stood in the middle of the room, his body frozen, his breath caught halfway in his chest.
What… was that just now?
His eyes moved slowly, taking in the fire that had halted in place, the smoke that had suspended in the air, and the unnatural silence that had settled over everything. Then, just as suddenly, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
Yet his chest still felt heavy.
Not an illusion…
He swallowed.
That really happened.
Slowly, his gaze returned to the figure standing at the doorway.
Augustus Kael'dorn.
At first glance, Noc had thought he was only another hunter from one of the lower villages—someone lost, someone who could be driven away with a little intimidation.
But now his judgment had changed.
This man… is strong.
Not just strong.
He's… dangerous.
That gaze. The way he stood. The fact that he had not reacted to what had just happened. Everything about him felt wrong.
If he attacks… I die.
Noc's heart began to beat faster.
Calm down.
Don't panic.
If he sees weakness, it's over.
He took a slow breath and forced his expression to remain unchanged, forcing his body to stay relaxed.
On the other side of the room, Augustus stared at Noc without blinking.
His analysis moved quickly.
And yet the result remained the same.
Nothing.
No aura.
No pressure.
No sign of power.
And that made no sense.
His gaze shifted slightly to the small horned creature perched on Noc's shoulder.
Still.
Watching.
Yet its existence… is unstable.
As if it is not a single entity.
But rather a manifestation… of something far greater.
His eyes narrowed.
A high-level familiar.
No… something beyond that.
That thing should not exist in this world in such a form.
Could it be… truly a demon?
Valdryss on his back trembled faintly, not from immediate threat, but from something deeper.
Recognition.
Or rejection.
That creature is dangerous.
Then Augustus focused again on Noc, who stood there with complete composure, without caution, without fear.
He knows I came.
He allowed me in.
And he remains like this?
A conclusion began to form, and Augustus did not like it.
Noc shifted his shoulder slightly.
Teta was still there.
Quiet.
Yet somehow, he felt calmer.
…so whose doing was that?
Him?
Or… that creature?
He didn't know.
And that made the tension in his chest worse.
"So," Noc finally said, his voice flat, "you're already inside."
As if it were normal. As if nothing strange had happened at all.
Augustus did not answer immediately. He simply took a small step forward—slow, controlled, a test.
A faint spiritual pressure was released.
Barely noticeable.
Just enough to probe.
Noc felt it instantly.
His chest tightened.
His breath caught for a moment.
Damn it.
He's testing me.
His body nearly stepped back on instinct, but he held himself still.
Don't move.
Don't show it.
He lifted his chin slightly and met Augustus's gaze, forcing his eyes to remain steady.
Then Teta moved ever so slightly on his shoulder.
Almost imperceptibly.
And something changed.
The pressure disappeared.
Not deflected.
Not resisted.
Erased.
As if it had never existed.
And yet something else emerged.
Invisible.
Silent.
But present.
A depth.
A void too heavy to be called empty.
Augustus stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
No reaction.
No resistance.
My pressure… vanished?
I felt no counterforce.
No collision.
No response.
Only… absence.
Then his chest tightened subtly, almost imperceptibly, as if something had pressed down on him from all directions at once.
Not sharp.
Not aggressive.
But absolute.
Like the sky collapsing without sound.
Like the deep ocean being placed above his head.
That pressure did not attack.
Did not restrain.
Did not destroy.
And yet its mere presence made his instincts scream.
Valdryss trembled violently now, more than before—not as a warning, not as caution, but as pure fear.
For a fraction of a second, Augustus almost reached for his sword.
But he stopped himself.
Forcefully.
Stay calm.
Don't react.
If this was an attack… I'd already be dead.
The pressure remained unchanged.
Unincreasing.
And yet it did not disappear.
As if something was watching him from a place he could not comprehend.
And judging.
Measuring.
Deciding.
Cold sweat formed on his back.
Barely noticeable.
But real.
This isn't from the creature.
This… is from him.
His gaze returned to Noc, who still stood calmly, unmoving, unrevealing.
And that made it all the more terrifying.
He's not attacking.
This… is a warning.
He's showing… the boundary.
A new conclusion formed.
Far more dangerous than the last.
He's not restraining himself.
He's simply… ignoring it.
And when I stepped too far—
he answered.
Slowly… very slowly, Augustus withdrew the pressure he had released.
And almost instantly, it vanished.
Gone.
As if it had never existed.
But its trace remained.
In his chest.
In his mind.
And in Valdryss, still trembling.
Noc remained where he was.
Calm.
Silent.
But inside him—
WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!
It just disappeared?!
He pulled it back…?
Or…
His eyes flicked briefly toward Teta.
The creature remained still as always, as if it had done nothing.
Yet for a split second, its small eyes were not empty.
There was something there.
Something too deep.
Too ancient.
Too aware.
…him?
Noc swallowed the question.
Not now.
Not in front of this man.
"If you want to just stand there," Noc said casually, "go ahead."
He turned and walked back toward the table, his steps deliberately slow and controlled, as though he did not care.
Even though each step felt like walking on a thin thread.
One mistake… and he would fall.
And die.
"If not," he added, "close the door. The air outside is annoying."
Augustus did not move immediately.
He kept observing every motion, every detail, searching for any opening.
But there were none.
No cracks.
No sign that the man before him had nearly collapsed under simple pressure moments ago.
There was only perfect calm.
"You're not normal," he finally said.
His voice was low, steady, but more serious than before.
Noc sat down again and picked up his cup.
"People say that a lot," he replied lightly.
Even though no one ever had.
But this time, it did not sound like a joke.
Augustus glanced again at Teta.
The small creature remained still.
Yet now it no longer seemed harmless.
There was something in that stillness—something that did not move because it did not need to.
"That creature," Augustus said, "is not something simple."
Noc shrugged.
"He's never caused trouble."
The wrong answer.
Or perhaps… too correct.
Valdryss trembled again, stronger this time, as if trying to distance itself, refusing proximity.
Augustus finally stepped fully inside.
This time, nothing stopped him.
No anomaly.
Everything felt normal.
And that only made him more certain.
He slowly closed the door, his eyes never leaving Noc, though part of his attention remained fixed on the creature on the man's shoulder.
Calculating.
Weighing.
Avoiding.
"My name is Augustus," he said at last.
He paused briefly.
"I came looking for something."
Noc blew on his drink. Still hot. Steam rose slowly from the cup.
Normal.
Too normal.
"Everyone who comes here says that," he replied casually. Then he glanced at Augustus. "They usually find nothing."
Silence fell again.
But this time it was different.
Heavier.
Denser.
As if the air itself had thickened.
For a brief moment, nothing moved. Nothing spoke. Even the fire seemed to wait.
The small world inside that hut seemed to be holding something back.
Neither of them truly understood what was happening.
But they both knew one thing:
they were evaluating something they could not fully comprehend.
Augustus did not move, but his thoughts raced.
If that truly is his power…
I cannot win.
If it isn't—
then I don't know what I'm facing.
Meanwhile, Noc had only one goal.
Don't die.
On his shoulder, Teta tilted its head.
Its small eyes stared at Augustus.
Then shifted slightly.
Toward the sword on his back.
Valdryss trembled.
For the first time, not in warning.
But in fear.
Not fear of attack.
Not fear of power.
Something simpler.
Recognition.
As if it was being seen not as a weapon, but as something that could be broken.
And Augustus realized it.
Slowly… very slowly, he took a breath and kept it steady.
But for the first time since entering that forest, he felt like he was in the wrong place.
Very wrong.
Interesting.
Inside that small hut, there was no explosion of power.
No battle.
No clash.
And yet something had already begun.
One side pretending to be strong just to survive.
One side choosing not to attack because it could not understand what stood before it.
And between them, the small horned creature remained still.
Watching.
Knowing more than it should.
And perhaps more than this world would allow.
In Irinthal, misunderstanding was not just a mistake.
It was the beginning of something far more dangerous.
Something that, if left alone, would not stop at just two people inside that small hut.
Because sometimes the most dangerous thing in the world is not power that is unleashed.
But power that chooses to remain silent.
And within that silence, something begins to grow.
Slowly.
Without sound.
But inevitably.
Toward something even legends are not yet ready to tell.