The vault's air still smelled of mana and cold stone when the blue screen burned to life before Noel's eyes.
[New Quest: Save Nicolas Von Aldros's Life.]
[Time limit: 14 minutes, 49 seconds.]
The digits ticked down mercilessly. 14:48. 14:47.
Noel's expression hardened, confusion cutting through his chest. Nicolas von Aldros? Save his life? It made no sense. Nicolas was one of the most powerful men alive—who could possibly threaten him here, in Tharvaldur, right after the tournament ended?
'What's happening? Why Nicolas? Who could touch him?'
Only one possibility clawed its way into Noel's mind: the First Pillar. That strange, unpredictable figure who had intervened with Torwan days ago and the one pillar that was still in Tharvaldur. If anyone could threaten Nicolas, it was him.
His emerald eyes fixed on the glowing screen, watching as the seconds bled away. The urgency twisted in his gut. This wasn't like other quests. No month. No week. Fifteen minutes.
