The Draven estate's grand library was remarkably quiet, save for the rhythmic crackling of the massive fireplace and the soft rustle of expensive parchment.
It had been three days since the Crescent Moon Marquisate arrived for the Winter Festival. For three days, Neo had basically functioned as a mobile space heater.
He was currently sitting on his favorite plush rug near the geographical section. Nora was sitting right next to him. And by "right next to him," that meant she was leaning her entire body weight against his shoulder, her pale hand securely locked around his left wrist.
'Her internal mana flow is completely stable now... so why is she still clinging to me?'
Neo analyzed her condition out of habit. Before her awakening, she had held onto him out of desperate necessity. She had needed his refined sapphire mana just to drown out the sensory nightmare of the world. But now? Now that she had formed her own core and organized her chaotic energy, the ambient mana didn't hurt her anymore.
She was holding his hand simply because she wanted to.
It was a staggering realization. The cold-blooded Final Boss of 'Shattered Crown' had developed a genuine attachment to him. She didn't talk much, but the paralyzing emptiness in her violet eyes had been replaced by a soft, intense curiosity whenever she looked at him.
"You're reading the advanced spatial theorem again," Nora pointed out, her raspy voice barely a whisper above the fire.
Neo blinked, looking down at the heavy grimoire resting on his lap. He had completely forgotten she was reading over his shoulder.
"Uh, yeah," Neo said smoothly, flipping the book closed. He didn't want to explain why a five-year-old was analyzing the physics of teleportation arrays to plan future vault heists. "Just looking at the pictures."
"There are no pictures in that book," Nora stated flatly.
Neo coughed awkwardly.
'She is entirely too sharp.'
"So," Neo quickly pivoted.
"You said you broke a window when you awakened. How exactly did you do that?"
Nora tilted her head. She looked at him with those deep, glacial eyes, contemplating whether or not to share her secret. Finally, she let go of his wrist.
Nora held her small hand out in the space between them. She didn't close her eyes. She didn't take a deep breath to enter her Inner Sanctum.
*VMMMM!!!!*
The air in the library suddenly grew incredibly heavy. A dense, suffocating aura of pure magical power began to radiate from her tiny palm.
Neo's [Mana Sensitivity] skill went absolutely haywire.
It wasn't a spell. She was just pushing raw, neutral mana out of her core and condensing it into the physical world. The energy was so astronomically dense that it distorted the light around her hand, creating a visible, swirling mirage.
*CRACK!*
A crystal inkwell sitting on a nearby reading table suddenly shattered under the sheer pressure of her ambient aura, spilling black ink across the polished wood!
"Whoa, okay, stop!" Neo whispered frantically, grabbing her hand and pushing her fingers down.
"I get it! You're ridiculously strong!"
Nora blinked, immediately cutting off the flow of mana. The heavy pressure vanished. She looked at the shattered inkwell, then back at Neo, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
"I am stronger," Nora declared quietly.
Neo stared at her, his mind running a million miles an hour.
He had spent seven months locked in an underground bunker, torturing his own core with a legendary catalyst just to reach the Intermediate stage and push his Mana Capacity.
But feeling the density of the mana Nora had just casually tossed into the air...
'She's already there,' Neo realized, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
'She's five years old, she just awakened two months ago, she hasn't trained a single day in her life, and she is already matching me.'
It was the terrifying reality of a Primordial-tier talent. Her core naturally absorbed and compressed ambient mana at a rate that defied logic.
But Neo didn't feel defeated. A fierce, competitive spark ignited in his chest.
"You have more raw power," Neo conceded, offering her a challenging grin.
"But you don't have an element yet."
Nora frowned slightly. "Element?"
"Yeah," Neo said, sitting up straighter. "Raw mana is great for breaking windows and inkwells. But without an elemental affinity, you're just throwing raw energy. It's wildly inefficient. Throwing raw mana is like throwing an inflated balloon at someone. It bounces off. It disperses. But an element gives the mana structure."
He didn't need a catalyst for this. He reached deep into his Dantian, grabbing the heavy, cold liquid resting at the bottom of his Sapphire Core.
[Basic Mana Manipulation: Ice Element!]
*Crackle...*
The temperature around his hand plummeted. A freezing mist began to swirl around his fingers as he pushed the mana outward, weaving it into a solid, dense sphere of perfect, hard ice.
"Awakening an element is like taking the air out of that balloon and putting it inside a baseball," Neo said, tossing the heavy ice sphere gently in his hand. It made a solid smack sound against his palm.
"It becomes focused. It hits harder, travels faster, and costs less energy."
Nora stared at the perfect sphere of ice. Her eyes widened, raw amazement reflecting in her violet irises.
In the lore of the world, elements dictated the flow of battle. If Nora, with her monstrous Primordial talent, managed to awaken an element early...
'The protagonist would never stand a chance,' Neo thought, a slightly terrifying realization dawning on him. 'If I give her a head start on elemental theory, she won't just be the Final Boss. She'll be an unbeatable god.'
"Can I learn it?" Nora asked, her voice dropping to a quiet whisper.
Neo smiled, letting the spell dissolve into harmless white mist.
"You have a Primordial core. You can learn literally anything you want. You just need a good teacher."
Before Neo could launch into the theoretical physics of elemental art, the heavy oak doors of the library creaked open aggressively.
*BANG!*
Neo and Nora both turned their heads. Cassian was standing in the doorway, but the usual confident aura of the battlefield commander was gone. He looked pale, his silver eyes wide and deeply anxious.
"Neo," Cassian said, his voice unusually tight.
"Come quickly. And bring Lady Nora. Your mother is asking for you."
Neo scrambled to his feet instantly, his heart dropping into his stomach. Sylvia was due any day.
Nora stood up smoothly, immediately reaching out to securely grab Neo's hand.
They ran down the long corridors, Cassian's long strides forcing the two five-year-olds into a frantic jog. The usual quiet hum of the estate had been replaced by the frantic whispers of rushing maids and the clanking armor of knights securing the perimeter.
They reached the master bedroom.
The room smelled strongly of burning lavender and medicinal herbs. Three senior healers in white robes were fluttering around, preparing steaming basins of water and checking glowing diagnostic crystals.
Sylvia was lying in the center of the bed. She looked incredibly pale, her white hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, but a fierce fire burned in her blue eyes.
She turned her head, spotting Neo in the doorway. She offered him a weak smile.
"My sweet boy," Sylvia breathed out, her voice strained with pain. She reached a trembling hand out.
"Come here."
Neo let go of Nora's hand and rushed to the bed, climbing onto the mattress and taking his mother's hand.
"Mama," Neo whispered.
"Don't look so scared, my little knight," Sylvia chuckled softly, wincing as a contraction rolled through her body.
"I just wanted to see you before the healers kick your father out of the room. You are going to be a big brother today, Neo. I need you to promise me something."
"Anything," Neo answered instantly.
"Promise me you'll protect them," Sylvia whispered.
"The world can be very cold to people with our bloodline. Promise me you will always be there for your sibling."
The weight of the original plot crashed down on Neo's shoulders. The sibling she was talking about was destined to die under the Emperor's executioner's blade.
Neo didn't flinch.
'I will not let the system dictate my family's fate.'
"I promise, Mama," Neo said, his voice steady.
"Nobody will ever hurt them. I will burn down the world before I let anyone touch our family."
Cassian paused his frantic pacing, looking down at his five-year-old son with profound pride.
"Alright, Your Grace, it is time," the senior healer announced firmly.
"Duke Cassian, Young Master Neo, I must ask you to wait in the hall."
Cassian reluctantly stepped back, pressing a desperate kiss to Sylvia's sweaty forehead.
"I'm right outside, my love."
Neo slid off the bed. He gave his mother one last look before walking out of the bedroom.
The heavy oak doors clicked shut behind him with an ominous finality.
Cassian immediately resumed his pacing, his hands clasped behind his back in pure nervous energy. Neo walked over to the opposite wall and slid down until he was sitting on the cold floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest.
*Rustle~*
A small figure in a dark velvet dress quietly sat down on the floor right next to him.
Nora didn't say a word. She simply reached out, slipped her hand into his, and leaned her head against his shoulder. She didn't need a magical pacifier this time. She was just offering her silent, unwavering presence.
Neo let out a long, shaky breath, squeezing her hand back tightly.
The Final Boss and the doomed extra, sitting together in the hallway, waiting for the true catalyst of the story to finally be born.