The Extra Who Inherited Ragnarok

Laura returned to her room before dinner.

She placed the notebook on her desk and stared at it.

The conversation with Noah kept replaying in her mind.

He had listened.

He hadn’t demanded answers.

Yet she could tell he was hiding something too.

Laura opened the notebook again.

Her finger traced the strange symbol beneath the warning.

Three circles.

She had seen it in her dreams before.

She simply hadn’t realized it.

A faint memory surfaced.

A garden.

She was younger.

Much younger.

Someone was holding her hand.

The memory was blurry, as though it had been buried beneath layers of fog.

Laura tried to reach for it.

The scene became clearer.

A large stone fountain stood in front of her.

Three moons hung above it.

A woman stood beside the fountain.

Laura couldn’t see her face.

"Who are you?"

The woman crouched down.

Her voice was gentle.

"Remember this place."

Young Laura shook her head.

"Why?"

"Because one day..."

The memory cracked.

Laura’s eyes widened.

"One day what?"

The woman’s face remained hidden.

The scene collapsed.

Laura opened her eyes.

Her heart was racing.

She gripped the edge of the desk.

"What was she going to say?"

A knock interrupted her.

Laura quickly closed the notebook.

"Come in."

Sophia entered.

"You disappeared after talking with Noah."

"I needed to think."

Sophia sat beside her.

"Did you remember anything?"

Laura hesitated.

"A little."

"Good?"

"I don’t know."

She looked down.

"I remembered being a child."

Sophia waited.

"There was a woman."

"Who?"

"I don’t know."

"Family?"

"I don’t think so."

Laura frowned.

"But she knew me."

Sophia noticed the uncertainty in her expression.

"You don’t have to figure it out tonight."

Laura smiled.

"You sound like Luna."

"That’s because Luna is usually right."

From the doorway came a quiet voice.

"Usually?"

They turned.

Luna stood there.

Sophia smiled.

"Fine. Always."

Luna entered the room.

For a few minutes, the three girls simply talked.

Nothing about ancient seals.

Nothing about medallions.

Nothing about mysterious voices.

Just ordinary things.

It was exactly what Laura needed.

Across the city, Noah stood inside an empty training hall.

He had been there for nearly an hour.

His sword rested against his shoulder.

He wasn’t training.

He was waiting.

"For what?" Eric asked from the entrance.

Noah glanced over.

"I don’t know."

Eric walked inside.

"You’ve been staring at that wall forever."

"It’s an interesting wall."

Eric looked at it.

"It really isn’t."

Noah smiled.

Eric walked closer.

"You’ve been acting weird."

"I know."

"No denial?"

"No point."

Eric studied him.

"Whatever you’re dealing with, you can tell us."

Noah looked down.

"I know."

"But you won’t."

"Not yet."

Eric sighed.

"Fine."

He turned toward the door.

"Just don’t try carrying everything alone."

Noah watched him leave.

For a moment, he felt something warm in his chest.

Friendship.

Trust.

Things Dead Zone couldn’t understand.

Or perhaps things it understood too well.

Noah’s system appeared.

[Ragnarok Dead Zone Resonance: 8.1%]

His smile disappeared.

The number had crossed eight percent.

He closed the notification.

Inside his mind, Dead Zone stood silently.

Noah looked toward it.

"You’re getting stronger."

"So are you."

"That doesn’t make me feel better."

Dead Zone’s eyes shifted toward the darkness behind Noah.

"It wasn’t supposed to."

Far beneath Hildgard, the three medallions remained untouched.

Yet their surfaces had begun developing faint golden lines.

One line.

Then another.

The pattern slowly connected all three relics.

Alcris watched from several steps away.

He didn’t touch them.

He simply waited.

The voice returned.

"The connection is beginning."

Alcris looked up.

"With Noah?"

A pause.

"With everything."

His expression hardened.

"What happens when it finishes?"

The voice didn’t answer.

Alcris stared at the medallions.

For the first time, he realized something terrifying.

Perhaps the ritual wasn’t something he was activating.

Perhaps he was merely opening the door.

And whatever waited behind it had already started waking up.

The next morning, Hildgard felt lighter.

The transportation platforms were finally close to being repaired.

According to the latest announcement, the academies would begin departing the following day.

After nearly a week of delays, nobody complained.

They were ready to leave.

At least, most of them were.

The central plaza was crowded with students carrying luggage, purchasing last-minute souvenirs, and exchanging contact information with people they had met during the tournament.

Jordan stood beside Joseph, watching the chaos.

"Tomorrow."

Joseph nodded.

"Finally."

Jordan smiled.

"I might actually miss this place."

Joseph looked at him.

"You said you hated it."

"I changed my mind."

"You change your mind every five minutes."

"That’s called growth."

Joseph laughed.

Nearby, students from several academies were doing the same thing.

Some were already saying goodbye.

Others were promising rematches when the next academy festival came around.

For a city that had witnessed so much fighting only days earlier, Hildgard looked remarkably peaceful.

At Valhalla’s residence, everyone was packing.

Eric struggled with his luggage.

"Why do I have so much stuff?"

Damien looked at him.

"Because you bought half the city."

"I bought necessities."

Sophia glanced inside his bag.

"Three boxes of sweets aren’t necessities."

"They are emotionally necessary."

Luna laughed.

Laura finished folding her clothes.

She looked around the room.

"So we’re really leaving tomorrow."

Eric nodded.

"Unless Hildgard decides to break another machine."

Nobody laughed.

The joke landed differently after the strange disturbances.

Noah stood near the window.

He wasn’t packing.

Laura noticed.

"You’re quiet."

"I’m thinking."

"About leaving?"

Noah looked toward the city.

"Maybe."

The three moons were still faintly visible despite the daylight.

Noah watched them.

Something felt wrong.

He couldn’t explain it.

The city seemed calm.

Too calm.

His system appeared.

[Ragnarok Dead Zone Resonance: 8.3%]

Noah’s eyes narrowed.

It had risen again.

Laura noticed his expression.

"Another warning?"

"Nothing serious."

She didn’t believe him.

But she didn’t press.

Not this time.

At Milstrif Library, Daniella stood before the restricted archive.

She had returned one final time.

The librarian watched her from behind the desk.

"You’re leaving tomorrow?"

"Supposedly."

Daniella looked toward the locked staircase.

"Has my brother returned?"

"No."

Her jaw tightened.

She had expected that answer.

"Did he take the black book?"

The librarian hesitated.

Daniella immediately noticed.

"He did."

"I didn’t say that."

"You didn’t need to."

Daniella turned toward the exit.

She stopped at the doorway.

"Tell me something."

The librarian looked up.

"What?"

"Whatever Alcris found down there..."

Daniella glanced toward the staircase.

"...is it dangerous?"

The librarian was silent for several seconds.

Finally, she answered.

"Yes."

Daniella nodded.

That was enough.

She left the library.

Far beneath Hildgard, Alcris stood before the three medallions.

Tomorrow the academies would leave.

He had less time than he expected.

The medallions floated above the stone table.

Their golden lines were brighter now.

Alcris reached toward them.

A voice whispered through the chamber.

"Soon."

He looked up.

"How soon?"

The voice didn’t answer.

Alcris smiled faintly.

"Tomorrow?"

Silence.

He looked at the three relics.

"Then tomorrow it begins."

That night, Hildgard slept.

The academies prepared to leave.

The streets became quiet.

No bells rang.

No tremors shook the buildings.

Nothing warned the sleeping city.

But beneath Hildgard, the three medallions slowly rotated.

A faint golden light connected them.

Above the city, the three moons aligned.

For only a few seconds.

And somewhere inside Noah’s sleeping mind, Dead Zone opened its eyes.

"They’re ready."