The Extra Who Inherited Ragnarok

Laura woke before sunrise.

For several minutes, she remained in bed, staring at the ceiling.

She had dreamed about home again.

Not the academy.

Not Hildgard.

Home.

A long corridor lined with portraits.

Tall windows overlooking an enormous garden.

Her childhood room.

And a voice telling her she had a responsibility to carry.

Laura closed her eyes.

She hadn’t thought about that place in years.

At least, she had tried not to.

She finally got dressed and left the room.

The academy corridors were nearly empty.

Outside, the first light was beginning to touch Hildgard.

Laura walked toward the courtyard.

She stopped when she saw Noah sitting alone on the stone steps.

"You’re awake early."

Noah looked over.

"So are you."

Laura sat beside him.

For a while, they watched the city wake.

"I dreamed about my family."

Noah didn’t interrupt.

"I used to think leaving them meant I could forget everything."

She smiled sadly.

"It doesn’t work that way."

Noah looked at her.

"Do you miss them?"

Laura thought about it.

"Some of them."

"Your parents?"

"My mother."

She hesitated.

"My father and I never understood each other."

Noah nodded.

Laura rested her hands in her lap.

"When I left, I thought I was escaping a cage."

"And now?"

She looked toward Hildgard.

"Now I realize some of the people inside that cage were trapped too."

Noah remained silent.

Laura appreciated that.

"I don’t regret leaving," she said. "But sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I’d stayed."

"You’d probably be miserable."

Laura laughed.

"Probably."

Noah smiled.

The conversation felt strangely easy.

No pressure.

No demands.

Just two friends sitting beneath the early morning sky.

Laura looked at him.

"You know, you’re one of the reasons I don’t regret leaving."

Noah raised an eyebrow.

"Me?"

"You were one of the first people who treated me normally."

"That sounds like a low standard."

"It was."

She laughed again.

The moment was interrupted by footsteps.

Sophia and Luna entered the courtyard.

Sophia stopped when she saw them.

"You two are awake already?"

Laura stood.

"We were talking."

Sophia smiled.

"About?"

"My family."

Sophia’s expression softened.

She walked over and sat beside Laura.

Luna joined them.

Laura looked at both of them.

"I haven’t told you everything either."

"You don’t have to," Luna said.

Laura smiled.

"I know."

For a moment, she felt lighter.

Then the ground trembled.

A faint vibration passed through the courtyard.

Everyone went silent.

Noah stood immediately.

His eyes moved toward the city.

The system appeared.

[Environmental Mana Disturbance Detected.]

[Source: Unknown.]

The notification vanished.

Laura looked toward the old district.

Something about that direction felt familiar.

Not because she’d been there.

Because she’d seen it before.

Years ago.

In a memory she had forgotten.

A fountain.

Three circular symbols.

And a woman standing beneath three moons.

Laura’s breathing stopped.

"Laura?"

She didn’t answer.

The memory vanished.

She pressed a hand against her chest.

"What did you see?" Noah asked.

Laura looked at him.

"I don’t know."

But deep inside, she knew one thing.

Whatever was happening beneath Hildgard...

her family had once known about it.

And she had a terrible feeling that her forgotten memories were beginning to return.

Laura couldn’t move.

The others had already noticed.

Sophia stood beside her, concern written across her face.

"Laura?"

Laura blinked.

The courtyard returned to focus.

The morning light was still there. Students were still walking through the academy. Nothing had changed.

Except for her.

"I remembered something."

Noah looked at her.

"From your family?"

Laura nodded slowly.

"I think so."

"What did you see?"

She hesitated.

"A fountain."

Noah’s expression changed.

Laura noticed immediately.

"You know it?"

"There’s an old fountain in the eastern district."

Her eyes widened.

"The symbol?"

Noah nodded.

"Three circles."

Laura’s breathing became shallow.

"That was in my memory."

Sophia and Luna exchanged a glance.

"You’ve seen that place before?" Luna asked.

"I don’t know."

Laura pressed her fingers against her temple.

"The memory was strange. I wasn’t alone. There was someone standing near the fountain."

"Who?"

"I couldn’t see her face."

Noah remained quiet.

He remembered his own vision.

Three moons.

A golden light.

A woman standing beneath them.

The similarities were too precise.

Yet something inside him told him not to force the connection.

Not yet.

"Maybe we should go there," Sophia suggested.

Laura looked uncertain.

Noah shook his head.

"Not right now."

Sophia raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because whatever triggered her memory might happen again."

Damien and Eric had joined them by now.

Eric looked between them.

"Are we talking about the weird fountain?"

"Yes."

"Great."

Eric sighed.

"I was hoping for breakfast."

Damien ignored him.

"What exactly happened?"

Noah explained.

Damien listened carefully.

"So the fountain appeared in Laura’s memory, and you’ve seen the same symbol?"

"Not exactly," Noah said. "I’ve seen the symbol and something connected to it."

Damien frowned.

"That’s not concerning at all."

Eric pointed at him.

"Finally, someone gets it."

Laura almost laughed.

Almost.

Her gaze moved toward the city.

"I want to go there."

Noah looked at her.

"Later."

"Why later?"

"Because I want to understand what we’re dealing with first."

Laura studied his face.

"You’re worried."

"A little."

She smiled faintly.

"You’re getting better at admitting that."

Noah sighed.

"Don’t make it a habit."

That evening, Laura returned to her room alone.

She opened an old notebook she had carried with her since leaving home.

Most of the pages contained ordinary memories.

Names.

Places.

Small notes from childhood.

She rarely opened it.

Tonight, she turned to the final pages.

One page had been torn out.

Laura frowned.

She had never remembered removing it.

At the bottom of the remaining page was a handwritten sentence.

Never speak of the three moons.

Laura stared at the words.

Her fingers became cold.

She turned the page.

Nothing.

Another page.

Nothing.

Then she noticed a faint mark beneath the writing.

A symbol.

Three circles.

The same symbol from the fountain.

Laura closed the notebook.

She sat silently for several seconds.

Her family hadn’t merely known about Hildgard.

They had deliberately kept something from her.

Deep beneath the city, Alcris stood before the three medallions.

The golden thread between them had returned.

This time, it was brighter.

He watched it carefully.

"Is it reacting to her?"

The woman’s voice answered from the darkness.

"She remembers."

Alcris’s expression hardened.

"Laura."

The voice said nothing.

Alcris looked toward the ceiling.

"So she’s connected to this."

A pause.

"Not in the way you think."

Alcris’s eyes narrowed.

"What does that mean?"

The golden light disappeared.

No answer came.

Alcris stared at the medallions.

For the first time, another name entered his thoughts.

Laura Esteria.

He hadn’t expected her to be involved.

And that complicated everything.