Day after day passed in an almost unbearable repetition. Noah was like an obsessed archaeologist, tirelessly trying to decipher the puzzle of the ancient symbols in his black book. His effort wasn't entirely solitary; Rei faithfully brought him stacks of dusty ancient language books every day.
Unnoticed, almost a week had gone by.
**
On a Saturday afternoon, Noah sat under his favorite tree—his solitary spot. He leaned against the tree trunk, his head tilted back to the sky while covering his face with the worn-out book.
'Almost a week, and I've got nothing.'
The memory of Rei's words came back to him: "I gave it to my uncle who's an archaeologist. But he said he doesn't know this ancient language."
Noah let out a long sigh and removed the book covering his face. 'For the first time in my life, I want to burn a book.'
He closed the book tightly. His gaze fixed on the giant skull in the distance, the "Sleeping Monster".
'...Reinhard, the legendary hero Sister Maria told stories about. I wonder how strong he was to be able to defeat that monster.'
- As Noah stared at the Sleeping Monster, his hand unconsciously stroked the black book's cover. Suddenly, it felt warm or pulsed softly.
Suddenly, a terrifying vision flickered in his eyes. Slowly, the skull on the hill seemed to come alive and begin to awaken. Flesh and muscle gathered to form its colossal body, complete with four terrifying arms. He imagined the surrounding city being utterly destroyed.
'What?!'
However, a moment later, the vision disappeared. There was only the whisper of the evening wind hitting his face, bringing a cool feeling and… confusion.
'I must be too tired lately,' he tried to convince himself. 'But ever since I got this book, I've been having strange dreams and visions of a destroyed city…' He sighed. 'Should I take it seriously?'
He gathered his spirits and tidied up the books scattered beside him, preparing to return to the orphanage.
Just then, the sound of children's cheerful laughter broke the silence, diverting his attention. He saw the younger orphanage children running around joyfully. Among them was a girl his age, Sena, who had moved in three days ago. She seemed engrossed in playing, laughing freely with them.
Watching them made Noah freeze in place.
'I've been too busy with my search. So much that I forgot about them…' guilt warmly assaulted his thoughts. *'Alright, for today, I will put all this aside and play with them.'*
With new resolve, Noah approached the group, still carrying his three books in hand. "Can I join the game?" he asked in a friendly voice.
"Brother Noah!!" several children greeted him in unison, delighted.
"Yes! Along with Sister Sena!"
Noah smiled softly and carefully placed his stack of books on the grass. As he stood up, his gaze fell on a little girl about seven years old sitting alone with a pout.
"Vera? What's wrong?" Noah asked, approaching and crouching in front of her.
"Brother Noah hasn't played with us much lately…" Vera complained, her voice small and disappointed.
Noah's heart was touched. He patted her head. "Alright… I'm sorry. I promise to spend more time playing with you, with all of you," he said softly while patting the little girl's head. "So, stop pouting, okay? Let's play."
They played tag happily in the orphanage yard. Laughter and cheerful shouts filled the evening air. However, amidst the joy, Sena looked slightly awkward and often flustered when near Noah.
At one moment, as Noah ran chasing one of the children, he accidentally bumped into Sena's shoulder as she tried to dodge. Both nearly fell. Spontaneously, the other children stopped and immediately cheered them on with mischievous smiles and teasing shouts.
"Waaaah! Brother Noah bumped into Sister Sena!"
"You two look good together sksksk" Vera said with a small laugh.
Noah quickly stabilized himself and offered his hand to Sena. His face was red, more from embarrassment than the collision itself.
"Sorry, Sena. I didn't mean to," he said, his voice slightly stammering, trying to ignore the children's cheers.
Sena could only nod quickly, her face as red as a pomegranate. She looked down, not daring to look directly at Noah, and only said softly, "I-It's okay."
She then turned around and pretended to be busy straightening her slightly wrinkled skirt, trying to hide her burning embarrassment from the children's mischievous eyes and, especially, from Noah.
…
The day was getting later. Sister Maria's voice called them to come home immediately, and the children hurried off, led by Sena. Noah lingered behind to pick up his three books. Carefully, he placed the black book at the very bottom of the stack, then walked along the back path of the orphanage.
A slight smile couldn't leave his lips as he recalled the earlier incident. As he passed behind the church, his eyes caught two familiar figures: Haru and Allen, who looked exhausted carrying firewood on their shoulders. Noah quickly jogged over to them.
"How about it, Haru? Tired, huh?" Noah asked, teasing a little.
Haru was panting, slowly lowering the wood from his shoulder. "This… is… so… exhausting…" he answered, still breathless.
"Any progress?" Allen asked while also putting down the wood he was carrying.
"None…" Noah answered flatly.
Haru immediately walked past him, his steps hurried. "Water… water…" he mumbled thirstily.
Allen followed past Noah and offered encouragement, "If not now, maybe later." Then the two of them entered the orphanage, leaving Noah alone.
Noah sighed and began walking slowly towards the door. However, just as his hand was about to touch the doorknob, he stopped. A strange whisper touched his ear, almost like the wind whispering.
From afar, in the forest behind the orphanage, the ground suddenly cracked open slightly. The sounds of shouts, screams, and growls merged into one disturbing, faint murmur. Purple light radiated from the cracks in the opened earth, emitting a terrifying aura that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
His body jolted, and he turned to look towards the forest behind him. His eyes scanned every corner, searching for the source of the terrifying whisper. Yet, there was only the gust of the evening wind hitting his face, carrying dry falling leaves.
'I'm sure I heard something…' he murmured in his heart, a sense of foreboding still lingering in his mind.
After a few moments of confirming that nothing was amiss, he finally turned and entered the orphanage, leaving the darkness of the forest that was beginning to envelop the dusk.