Daybreak.
My mother woke me up, shoved me outside, and put me to work.
The task: cut the entire field down to stubble.
The field was massive.
And I couldn't use a sword. They'd banned me from blades until further notice.
So I grabbed a scythe and got started.
Karr
An hour in, Karr showed up.
"Noah—it's hot out here. Why do they have you working in the sun instead of soaking in the geyser with the rest of us?"
"Because I'm in trouble. Remember?"
He sat down in the shade and started talking.
And talking.
And talking.
For almost three hours, he rambled about what our break could have been like if I hadn't gotten expelled.
I couldn't believe he stayed that long.
Eventually, he tired himself out and left.
By then, I was drenched in sweat.
Since no one else was around, I took my shirt off. Small win.
Downside: the grass made me itch like crazy.
The Incident
Five hours in, my mother came outside.
"Noah. You can't do things like what you did last week."
I kept cutting. "But you did stuff like that when you were young."
She paused.
"That's because I killed my shitty parents."
I looked up.
She winced. "Sorry. I didn't mean that... exactly."
I giggled. Dark humor ran in the family, apparently.
She kept talking—but her voice started to fade.
I blinked.
Suddenly, I was standing somewhere else.
No—I was standing in the same place.
But I was looking at myself.
I thought it was the heat. Hallucinations.
But I felt fine.
I could see my mother talking—her lips moving—but I couldn't hear anything.
The background around me started to darken.
Cold crept into my skin.
My head spun.
I walked toward myself—slowly—and reached out.
Touched my own back.
SNAP.
I was back.
I could hear again. Feel warmth again.
"So what are you going to do?" my mother asked.
I blinked. "What?"
She looked at me.
Her face changed.
"What happened to you?!"
The House
My father examined me.
He checked my eyes, my pulse, and my temperature.
"I don't see a problem," he said.
My mother stared at him. "His eyes were black, Zero. Like smoke."
"Maybe he's been in the sun too long. He'll take a break."
"You're not even concerned?"
"I don't see a problem, Flake. Okay?"
She stormed out. "Fine. But you're watching him if he breaks."
The door slammed.
My father turned to me.
"What did you see, Noah?"
I hesitated. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb." His voice dropped. "I've been through this before."
I sighed.
Then I told him everything.
The fading. The cold. Seeing myself from outside my body.
With every word, his expression grew darker.
"This is bad," he said quietly. "Really bad."
He stood.
"Pack your things. We're going to see Dixon."
Dixon's House
My mother wanted to come.
My father refused.
"Stay here," he said. "Keep the baby safe."
She didn't argue.
We loaded our bags into the carriage and rode out.
My father didn't rest once. We were only one region away—Dixon lived near the waterfall—but even still, he pushed the horses hard.
When we arrived, he rushed me to the door and knocked.
Dixon answered, surprised.
"I need your help."
They went into another room.
I sat in the living space, listening to muffled voices through the walls.
Zero's Perspective
"Dixon—when I sealed the Devil ten years ago... did you see anything suspicious? Anything leaking out? Escaping?"
Dixon shook his head slowly. "No. But if what we're thinking is really happening—"
He paused.
"Then Noah is in danger."
I grabbed the seal from his shelf.
"Thank you."
I walked out.
Noah's Perspective
My father returned.
"Hold out your arm."
I obeyed.
He tied a bracelet around my wrist—thin, silver, covered in strange symbols.
The moment it touched my skin, I felt light-headed.
But also... lighter.
Like a weight had been lifted.
"Don't take this off," he said. "Under any circumstances."
I nodded.
We left for home.
Something in the House
When we arrived, my mother stood at the front door.
She was holding a weapon.
Her body was tense. Her eyes were wide.
"Something was inside the house."
My father didn't hesitate.
His battle armor ignited—red and white flames roaring to life.
His blade materialized in his hand.
He vanished.
The door exploded open.
Five seconds passed.
"BANG"
Light burst from inside—so bright we had to shield our eyes.
Then silence.
My father walked out, holding a glowing crystal.
"It was just the projection crystal," he said. "The phoenix is about to hatch."
I exhaled in relief—
Then black mist poured out of my stomach.
Pain shot through me like a blade. I doubled over, gasping.
My father grabbed my wrist and snapped the bracelet.
It vanished.
The pain stopped instantly.
When I looked up—
Both of my parents were trembling.
My father's voice was low.
"I've definitely felt that before."
The Next Morning
I woke up feeling... good.
Too good.
Like I could do anything.
My parents watched me constantly, but they still made me work. No breaks. No mercy.
Two hours passed without incident.
I started to think it was nothing.
Then my left eye started burning.
Not like irritation—like fire inside my skull.
I grabbed my face, groaning—
Then it stopped.
And when I opened my eyes—
I saw things through my left eye that my right eye couldn't see.
Fire.
People standing in the distance.
Figures that weren't really there.
Then—gone.
Aubrey
"What was that?"
I spun around.
Aubrey stood a few feet away, watching me.
"Ugh—n-nothing. I think I'm just sick."
She laughed. "Well, sorry about showing up too early last week."
I let out an awkward laugh. "It's fine. I just... didn't expect it."
She talked for a little while longer.
Then she left.
I went back to cutting grass.