Noah blinked, his eyes widening slightly as Cecilia's words sank in.

Qaryt. Endbringer. The Light of Dusk. A being capable of consuming entire worlds.

He had thought he'd seen enough horrors since his summoning, with the demon hybrids and the dead Othello, but this was something else.

He could feel his pulse quicken in his neck, his hands trembling beneath the bandages wrapped tightly over his skin.

Cecilia noticed his expression and sighed, resting her elbows on her knees. "You don't understand, do you?"

Noah frowned slightly, his voice quiet. He glanced away at the window. "I understand enough to know I nearly doomed the world."

"That's not what I mean," she replied softly, shaking her head.

She leaned back in the chair beside his bed, eyes drifting towards the infirmary ceiling. "You don't understand what the abyss actually is."

Her words pulled his attention away from the window. "Then explain," he said, his tone tired but curious.

Cecilia was silent for a moment, thinking. Then she said, "The abyss isn't just a place, Noah. Not in the way we think of it. It isn't heaven or hell, or even a world."

"It's… the road between everything. The thread that connects all things that exist."

Noah's brow furrowed.

"Imagine this," she continued, her voice falling into the cadence she used when teaching, "the abyss is farmland, vast, infinite, and stretching in every direction without end."

"And on this farmland, countless trees have been planted. Those trees are the universes. Each universe grows from the soil of the abyss, fed by it, supported by it, even though they're separated."

She turned her gaze back to him, golden eyes gleaming faintly. "Now, each of those trees bears fruit. Those fruits are the worlds inside that universe."

"Our world, where Camelot exists in, is one of those fruits. Our lands, our skies, our people… all of it hanging delicately from one branch in an endless orchard."

Noah listened quietly. He could almost see it. The sprawling darkness stretching forever, with glowing trees and shining orbs of light hanging from their branches.

"But if that's true," he said slowly, "then the abyss is… beneath everything."

Cecilia nodded. "Exactly. The foundation of creation itself. Everything that exists grows from it." She paused. "But that means something else too. Everything is connected through it."

Her tone grew grave. "Just as a disease can spread through the roots of a tree, so too can corruption spread through the abyss."

"The abyss is alive, Noah. It hungers. It whispers. And the creatures that dwell within it, the abyssal entities, are its oldest children."

Noah swallowed. His chest felt heavy.

"Each universe has its own protections," Cecilia went on. "Barriers built by the laws of creation itself."

"They keep the great abyssal beasts out, limiting how much influence they can have. They can't simply break through and walk into a world."

Her gaze darkened. "But what you did with Feast…"

He stiffened slightly at the mention of the spell.

"You created a hole," she said quietly. "A tiny opening between worlds. Small, yes. But still a hole."

She leaned forward, clasping her hands together. "If that creature had managed to widen it enough, just enough, and entered through it, it would have done here what it's done to dozens of other worlds before."

"Devoured them," Noah murmured.

"Yes," she said, her voice solemn. "It doesn't conquer. It doesn't enslave. It devours."

"Qaryt is called 'The Light of Dusk' because it brings the dusk, the end, to every world it touches."

"You stopped it, Noah, but if you hadn't…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "There would be nothing left to save."

Noah said nothing. His thoughts churned.

Cecilia exhaled softly. "You need to be careful with your use of Feast. Power like that always comes with a cost. Sometimes, that cost is attention you don't want."

He nodded faintly, his eyes distant. "Understood."

She studied him for a moment longer before continuing, her tone softening. "I respect your decision to keep your secrets, whatever they are. But you shouldn't rush, Noah. You have far more time than you think."

"If you keep pushing yourself like this, you'll burn out before you ever reach what you're chasing. And when you finally find yourself up against the Demon Lord, you might find yourself entirely spent."

Noah let out a small sigh, turning his head towards the window.

He watched the way the light of the sun spiralled into the room, motes of dust swirling in its rays.

"I'm not doing this because of my duty," he said quietly.

Cecilia blinked. "What?"

He turned back to her, his expression calm but his voice low.

"Everyone keeps talking about my role. The 'chosen hero,' the one who's supposed to save Camelot from the Demon Lord." He gave a small, humorless laugh. "But that's not why I'm doing any of this."

Cecilia tilted her head slightly. "Then why?"

Noah stared down at his hands, flexing his fingers slowly under the bandages.

"Because I refuse to ever be powerless again," he said. "I'm not training to fulfill anyone's prophecy or save any kingdom. I'm doing it to protect myself."

He lifted his gaze, meeting hers. "After what happened with the Investigation Authority,.after being dragged, interrogated, treated like a criminal, I swore that no one would ever have that kind of power over me again. No one."

For a while, Cecilia said nothing. Her expression softened, though there was sadness in her eyes.

Finally, she spoke, her voice soft. "I understand."

Noah raised a brow faintly.

"I understand," she repeated, leaning back in her chair. "More than you think."

There was silence for a moment, broken only by the faint sound of birds outside.

Noah hesitated, then said, "I don't feel any urge to be a hero. None of this feels like it belongs to me."

Cecilia gave a faint smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "That's because it doesn't."

He frowned slightly, but before he could speak, she continued. "Do you know what it's like to spend your whole life serving a kingdom that doesn't see you as a person?" Her tone was calm, but heavy. "To be born with power, and have that power become your prison?"

Noah was silent, listening.

"I don't feel connected to Camelot," she admitted quietly. "Not anymore. Sometimes…" She trailed off, glancing towards the window.

"Sometimes, I think about what it would be like if the demons won. If Camelot was wiped out completely."

Noah's eyes widened slightly, but she went on, her voice distant.

"If that happened," she whispered, "I could finally leave. I could step out of this academy, this gilded cage, and go wherever I wanted."

"There would be no king and no noble. Nobody to look over my shoulders at everything I do."

Silence filled the ward.

Noah's lips twitched into the faintest smile. "Then one day," he said softly, "you'll be able to."

Cecilia blinked, startled.

He met her gaze. "You'll be free to go wherever you want. No cages. No crowns. No kingdoms."

For a long moment, she simply looked at him, her expression unreadable.

Then she smiled faintly, a genuine smile this time.

"I guess I'll have to hold you to that, Noah," she said.

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