The great pavilion was heavy with the scent of incense and oiled wood, its silken walls muted by the constant hum of mana drones outside. The images shimmered above the central table, clear as daylight: Marcus, Clara, and Elena standing over the charred remains of the fallen Dune Titan.

A ripple of murmurs passed among the nobles. Lord Edric de Nivaria's sharp features eased into something almost like pride. His voice cut through the air, calm but firm.

"Marcus fought well. As did Clara. Our house stands stronger for their efforts."

Marcus's father, seated humbly among the attendants, lowered his head in silence—his family had served the Nivaria line for generations, and now his son had made that service shine before every great house.

Thalanor von Lestaria chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "And my Elena—once again proving herself. Seems the younger generation is determined to make us all look old."

Several of the other nobles gave polite laughter, though not everyone shared the warmth. Lady Mirelle of House Thorne narrowed her blue eyes at the projection, her expression cool. She whispered to Serina at her side, "It seems the others' children are stealing the spotlight."

Serina's reply was sharper, though hushed. "We'll see if their luck holds. Adept Elites aren't the end of this trial."

Albrecht Thorne sat in silence, arms folded, his gaze like steel locked on the image of Noel's allies. He neither praised nor scoffed, only thought, 'So. They've already proven themselves too. My sons and Sylvette cannot afford weakness this time.'

Edric's voice rang out again, breaking the undercurrent of whispers. "For today, the hunt belongs to them. Let it be known: the future of our continent is being written here."

- Noel POV -

The darkness swallowed everything. Loose stones and shards of earth rushed past in a deafening torrent, the air tearing at their clothes as they plummeted.

Noel's instincts flared instantly. His hand tightened on Revenant Fang, the cursed blade humming faintly in his grip, but steel wouldn't stop gravity. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Selene fumbling for her wand, mana coiling faintly around her fingers.

"I can—" she began, her voice strained.

But Noel was already moving. The shadows cast by the collapsing rock surged at his call. "Shadow Step."

The world warped in an instant. He vanished from one falling point and reappeared lower down, momentum snapping forward as if he'd ridden the collapse itself. Selene's weight filled his arms—he had snatched her mid-fall, pulling her tight against his chest before the shadows spat them both out into the void again.

She froze, wide-eyed, realizing the position she was in: cradled in his arms like some delicate princess. Heat flooded her face despite the rushing wind. Her grip on her wand faltered for a second.

"W-What are you—" She twisted, trying to free herself, but his hold only tightened.

"You were about to get crushed," Noel said flatly, though his eyes stayed sharp, scanning for the faintest hint of ground below. His tone carried no teasing, just matter-of-fact certainty.

Selene's pulse pounded in her ears, louder than the falling debris. She muttered, almost to herself, "I… could've handled it."

Noel smirked faintly. "Didn't look like it."

Noel raised a brow. "You're very talkative, period. Something wrong?"

Her head snapped up, cyan eyes flashing. "...Nothing."

But her hands gripped his shirt tighter, betraying her nerves as the abyss yawned wider beneath them.

The fall stretched on far longer than it should have. The tunnel they'd crashed through seemed endless, walls rushing past in a blur of jagged stone and flickers of dim light.

Selene clutched her wand tightly, the chill of her mana bleeding into the air. "This isn't natural. Caves don't collapse like that," she said, her voice steady but low.

Noel narrowed his eyes, his grip around her firm. "Yeah. I noticed." A shard of debris tumbled past them, spinning wildly. For a moment, Noel thought he saw something else too—a faint metallic glint, followed by the shattered remains of a mana-drone tumbling alongside the rubble.

He clicked his tongue. "Even the drones got dragged down here. Guess that means nobody's watching now."

Selene's gaze darted to the broken pieces before they vanished into the abyss below. Her lips pressed into a thin line. "…Then we're on our own."

Noel let out a humorless chuckle. "When are we not?"

The ground began to loom beneath them, a jagged expanse rushing closer. Selene finally snapped her wand forward, her voice sharp. "Gravition Hold."

The world lurched. The crushing speed of their fall bled away, the two of them suspended as if gravity itself had loosened its grip. Dust and stone still plummeted past, but Noel and Selene drifted downward slowly, almost weightlessly.

When at last their feet touched solid ground, the weight returned in full. Noel exhaled, setting her gently onto the stone floor.

They both lifted their gazes—and froze.

Before them stretched vast ruins, ancient and sprawling, their walls carved with symbols neither could recognize. Pillars as tall as towers jutted from the ground, cracked but still proud, and an eerie light seeped from veins of crystal buried in the stone.

Selene's voice broke the silence, quiet but edged. "…What is this place?"

Noel's jaw tightened. "Trouble. That much I'm sure of."

The silence pressed in, broken only by the faint hum of the crystals embedded in the ruined walls. Noel took a step forward, Revenant Fang still in hand.

The carvings around them seemed to pulse faintly, etched with glyphs that felt older than language itself. Some of the pillars leaned as if ready to crumble, others stood untouched by time, but all of it radiated a pressure that made the air heavier.

Selene moved to his side, her eyes sweeping the endless stretch of broken halls. "These markings… I've never seen anything like them. Not even in theory classes at the academy."

Noel forced a dry smirk. "That's saying something, coming from you."

But his chest tightened as his gaze lingered on the symbols. He had seen them before—or rather, he had read about them. In another life. In the pages of the novel that had condemned this place to myth.

A chime rang sharply in his mind.

[New Mission: Investigate the Sanctuary of Elarin.]

[Time Limit: — ]

[Reward: ???]

Noel froze. His pulse jumped, but his face betrayed nothing.

'Elarin…? You've got to be kidding me. Out of all places…'

His eyes flicked up at the looming pillars, unease gnawing in his stomach. Elarin wasn't just a name from history—it was the name of the first human to form a mana core, the founder of everything their world now revolved around. A legend. A saint in the records.

But Noel knew better. In the novel, Elarin had been revealed for what he truly was. Not a hero. A monster. The beginning of everything twisted.

Selene turned to him, her expression unreadable. "Noel. What is this place?"

He swallowed the answer, forcing his tone flat. "…A problem. A very big problem."

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