CHAPTER 299: CHAPTER 299: THE FORGOTTEN PAGE

The chamber was quiet, lit only by the steady glow of mana lamps embedded in the stone walls. Nicolas lay on the bed, his chest rising faintly with each shallow breath. His skin was pale, his body motionless beneath the heavy bandages wrapped around his torso.

Noel sat in a chair at his side, elbows resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the Archmage. For a long moment he said nothing.

’At least he’s breathing...’

The thought eased the knot in his chest, but only for an instant. His hands curled into fists against his thighs.

’But without his help from now on... it’s going to be a heavy blow. Nicolas was one of the strongest pillars of Valor. And now...’

He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to keep the grief down. Nicolas still lived, but the man who had always seemed untouchable was now broken, his mana core shattered beyond repair.

Noel leaned back, staring at the ceiling. His hand slid into his dimensional pouch and pulled out the Diary of the Forgotten Son. The leather felt colder than before, as though the book itself knew the weight of what had happened.

The system had given him a new page as a reward, and for hours he had resisted opening it. But now, with Nicolas breathing shallowly beside him, he couldn’t hold back.

He flipped the cover open. A loose page rested near the back, the ink sharp and dark, as if it had been written only moments ago.

Noel’s breath caught. He adjusted the lamp closer and began to read.

The page was brief, written in a hand that felt deliberate, every line sharp and heavy with meaning. Noel’s eyes scanned the words, his chest tightening with each sentence.

"I killed my brother. Well... not technically. I killed his body. But because of the Divine Power he carried, his soul was sealed instead. Now that soul is trying to return to the original world. I cannot allow this to happen. I must prepare something for when I am gone."

Noel’s fingers tightened around the edge of the diary until the paper crinkled. He read it again, slower this time, letting each phrase dig deeper into him.

’I killed my brother... a soul sealed... trying to return... the original world?’

His thoughts twisted. What does this mean? The Forgotten Son... killed Elarin? Or someone before him?

He slammed the diary shut, then immediately opened it again, almost desperate, as if the words might change if he checked twice. But the page was the same. Short. Condensed. A truth locked in riddles.

Noel leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling as the words burned into his mind.

’Someone, well the forgotten one, killed his own brother, but the soul didn’t vanish. Instead, it was sealed... and now it’s trying to return.’

The silence of the room pressed heavier, Nicolas’s faint breathing the only reminder that time still moved forward. Noel dragged a hand down his face, the diary trembling slightly in his grip.

This wasn’t just history. This was connected to him. Somehow, the puzzle pieces were slowly falling into place, whether he wanted them to or not.

Noel sat frozen, the diary open on his lap. The words from the page looped in his mind, colliding with the echoes of the First Pillar’s voice.

"Soon... you’ll be ready. For him."

His breath caught. His emerald eyes widened as the fragments clicked into place.

’The First Pillar couldn’t attack me. He had the chance—he was faster, stronger, beyond anything I could block. And yet... he never struck to kill. No... He couldn’t.’

His grip tightened, knuckles white.

’It’s because I’m supposed to be a vessel. That’s why he wants me alive. That’s why he wants me to grow stronger. Not for my sake—but for Elarin’s.’

The page in the diary burned in his vision. "His soul was sealed... trying to return to the original world."

’Elarin’s soul. Trapped. Searching for a body. And they chose mine. The First Pillar is making sure I’m prepared, that I’m strong enough to contain him. That’s why his target wasn’t me tonight—it was Nicolas. By breaking him, by removing him, they forced me to step forward. To fight. To grow faster.’

His breath grew uneven, chest rising and falling in sharp bursts.

’So that’s it. I wasn’t spared out of mercy. I was spared because I’m the key.’

The thought chilled him to the core. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, staring at Nicolas’s unconscious body.

’And Nicolas paid the price. He was struck down, so I’d have no choice but to rise sooner.’

The realization left Noel trembling, rage and fear coiling together in his chest.

The First Pillar’s plan was clear now. And for the first time, Noel understood just how trapped he truly was.

Noel shut the diary slowly, his hands trembling as he slipped it back into his pouch. The words clung to him like chains, each sentence heavier than the last. He leaned back in the chair, staring up at the stone ceiling carved with dwarven runes. The room was silent, broken only by the faint sound of Nicolas’s breathing.

’Noir isn’t here... I hope she comes back this time too.’

The thought was fragile, almost childlike, and it left a hollow ache in his chest. For the first time in months, he felt alone.

The system’s cold blue glow flickered before his eyes.

[Act V has begun. Good luck, Noel Thorne.]

[New Mission: Begins in 15 days.]

Noel blinked, reading the words again.

’Fifteen days... that’s when the Hunt Festival starts.’

Another line appeared, sharper than the rest.

[Remember!! You cannot tell anyone.]

The text burned into his vision before fading. Noel ground his teeth, nails digging into his palms. The secrecy, the manipulation, the silence—it was suffocating.

A final message appeared, unexpected and colder than the others.

[Also... remember to visit the Thorne family library.]

Noel froze. His emerald eyes narrowed, the words etching themselves into his mind. Why the library? What was hidden there? The system had been saying for a while that there was something but never specified what it was.

The messages vanished, leaving him alone once more in the dim chamber. He leaned forward, resting his head against his hands, the weight of the revelations crushing down on him. Nicolas lay broken beside him. Noir was gone into the shadows. And now the system was pointing him back to the very family he despised.

’Fifteen days...’ he thought bitterly. ’For another shitty mission like this...’