Third day.
There was no night in the Shore of Lost Demise. A gentle halo of light always bathed this peaceful land.
On a warmly colored small bed, Noah was sleeping soundly when he suddenly felt a faint but distinct itchy sensation on his cheek.
He frowned slightly and slowly opened his eyes. His hazy vision gradually focused, revealing Phrolova's smiling eyes and the strand of hair she hastily hid behind her back.
"You're awake?" Phrolova smiled gently.
Once fully awake, Noah shook his head forcefully and inwardly scolded himself for being careless.
Phrolova's Resonance ability had an additional effect that could help others fall asleep. In the original plot, she had used this ability to send Rover into a dream to deliver a script.
And he had actually let his guard down and fallen for it while taking a nap. However... whose bed was this? Wasn't he supposed to be resting on a chair?
While he was thinking, Phrolova spoke attentively:
"I made some breakfast. Would you like to eat?"
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry."
Switching to Encore, Noah felt the abundant Resonance energy in his body and casually greeted Phrolova before heading out to arrange the revival of her townspeople.
There was only this period each day when he couldn't watch Phrolova at all times. Fortunately, Phrolova wouldn't run around during this time either, which saved him a lot of worry.
Phrolova didn't mind at all that Noah refused the breakfast she made. She simply stood quietly by the window, gazing at Noah's departing figure in a daze.
Even his back view is so handsome. I like it. I like it so much.
Only after watching Noah walk into the painting space did she finally withdraw her gaze.
Suddenly, as if sensing fluctuations in the Shore of Lost Demise, her expression changed slightly. With a single thought, she exited this space and returned to the original Hidden Sea Test Site.
On the top floor of the Surging Light Tower, a petite and adorable little girl had already been waiting for some time. A deep red Red Spider Lily was pinned in her hair.
Seeing Phrolova emerge from the entrance of the Shore of Lost Demise, the little girl's face immediately bloomed with an innocent smile. She quickly walked forward:
"Sister Phrolova, I finally found you. You changed your outfit and even learned long-distance teleportation. It was really hard to find you."
"However, Noah shouldn't be here right now, right? In front of me, you can restore your original appearance."
Upon seeing the visitor, Phrolova's expression instantly darkened. Her voice turned cold and distant:
"Don't appear before me in Triss's appearance, Grand Architect."
Hearing this, "Triss" fearfully pulled her hands back to her chest. Her innocent little face was full of grievance:
"But you used to feel affectionate toward me like this. Aren't I your good friend?"
Phrolova frowned, showing no patience at all to play along with the Grand Architect's role-playing:
"Speak. What is your purpose in coming here?"
"Triss" paced unhurriedly, one hand behind her back while the other raised a finger to gently press her chin. Her voice remained cute:
"Originally, my purpose was to ask you for the Threnodian gem and to inquire about the meaning of what you said last time. However, after I saw you yesterday, my plan changed."
"Yesterday?"
Phrolova's heart tightened as she asked urgently:
"What did you see?"
"Everything. I saw all your interactions with Noah."
"Triss" smiled slyly and continued:
"Although I had long heard of Noah's great name, the first time I saw him, I immediately regretted not coming to see him sooner."
"A human who can defeat gods — such a person qualifies for ascension. Anyone who does not meet this standard is worth less than death in the eyes of the Fractsidus. But Noah is different from you and me."
"His body already houses a god. It is a power that can rival or even surpass Threnodians. A person like this must join the Fractsidus."
Phrolova had originally felt tense, but after hearing the Grand Architect's last sentence, she suddenly let out a light laugh:
"That's impossible, Grand Architect. He and the Fractsidus have an irreconcilable relationship. You cannot recruit him."
"Of course I cannot recruit him, but you can, Sister!"
"Triss" suddenly stepped quickly in front of Phrolova, reached out to hold her hands, and a black pill fell into Phrolova's palm.
"What is this?"
Phrolova tried to analyze the pill using her Resonance ability.
However, the moment her released power touched it, it was swallowed clean like mud flowing into the sea.
"For that guy who likes to slaughter Fractsidus members, special methods are required to control him. This pill is a precious medicine the Fractsidus obtained a very, very long time ago. Its name is Frequency Devourer."
"Triss" smiled as she explained:
"Once consumed, Noah's frequencies will be continuously devoured, accompanied by unbearable pain for humans, until all his frequencies from the inside out are swallowed, causing him to completely disappear."
"Of course, as long as he regularly takes the special antidote prepared by the Fractsidus, the effects of Frequency Devourer can be alleviated."
Hearing this, Phrolova's eyes showed a trace of dread as she looked at the black pill in her hand. She immediately shook her head:
"It's useless. Noah possesses the power of Time. Even if he eats it, he can reverse time and spit it out."
"Oh?"
"Triss" tilted her head and asked casually:
"But what if I told you this Frequency Devourer came from a Hunger Threnodian?"
Hunger Threnodian?!
Phrolova instantly felt a chill run down her spine.
Earlier, Cristoforo had already shown her that although the power of Time was strong, it could not control frequencies as truly powerful as those of Threnodians.
"Sister Phrolova, you are currently very close to him. You only need to think of a simple way to lure him out and trick him into eating it, and he will become a puppet of the Fractsidus."
"No... I can't." Phrolova threw the Frequency Devourer away heavily and shook her head repeatedly:
"I can't do it. This is deceiving him. This is harming him."
Seeing the pill being thrown away, the Grand Architect was not angry. She still smiled, but her voice turned cold:
"You were already deceiving him from the beginning."
"What did you say?"
As if her heart had been exposed, Phrolova's face turned pale. However, "Triss" did not stop because of her reaction. Her calm words were sharp as arrows — cruel yet realistic:
"I said — you were already deceiving him from the beginning. You can only stand beside him through deception. If it weren't for deception, would you have had the chance to say even a single proper sentence to him?"
The Grand Architect picked up the Frequency Devourer and held it out with one hand. Her previously harsh words became gentle again, persuasively guiding:
"I don't ask you to do too much. You only need to deceive him one more very, very small thing. This is also for the Fractsidus."
"....No!" Phrolova turned her head away, her eyes half-lowered and her hands clenched into fists: "Grand Architect, please leave here."
"Phrolova, how did you become like this?"
The Grand Architect asked in confusion:
"You care so much about your friendship with him? But all of it is fake? You would rather deceive yourself than accept the truth?"
"Think about it carefully, Phrolova. After it succeeds, I can let you be responsible for giving him the Frequency Devourer antidote. He will also obey your every word."
"At that time, whatever relationship you want with him — whether friends, lovers, or something even more unspeakable... it's all up to you."
...
Phrolova returned to the Shore of Lost Demise in a daze.
She casually threw away the black pill and crushed it under her foot.
No matter what, she could not harm Noah. The only option left was to stall the Grand Architect.
One thing the Grand Architect said was correct. She had indeed only been able to win Noah's help through deception.
And such deception only needed to last two more days.
"Just like morning dew, like mayflies, like ephemerals. Two days — how brief."
She smiled bitterly and self-mockingly, a trace of reluctance flashing in her eyes.
She had originally wanted to keep the Selene identity for a while longer, hoping to occasionally spend time with Noah. But now it seemed she could only cherish this final short period of time.
Not far away, fluctuations of Resonance energy came from the painting space. A figure in white casual clothes walked out.
Noah glanced at Phrolova. The latter immediately adjusted her mood and greeted him with a smile.
"That... Noah... what are we doing today?"
Oh? She's actually taking the initiative to ask?
Noah raised his eyebrows slightly. He checked the quest module. Today's daily quest was just clearing Tacet Discords, which was still easy to handle.
As for after clearing the Tacet Discords—
Forget it. Let's just stroll around the streets and see if we can trigger any new Chronicle Quests. He was quite short on Astrite right now.
Thinking of this, Noah immediately opened Phrolova's banner and threw in the 1600 Astrite rewarded from yesterday's daily quest.
Limited Banner "Elegy Never Ends".
154th pull!
No gold!
Noah was done.