Noah lay in the quiet of the monastery's inner chambers, the golden barrier humming faintly outside. The others slept restlessly, exhausted from the night's battles, but Noah's eyes refused to close. Every time he blinked, he saw the same thing: blood dripping from his hands, Liora's fearful gaze, the shadows tearing at the edges of his frenzy.
The Stoic Ally's words echoed in his skull.
"That fury is not strength. It is shackles. A hollow flame that will devour everything, even you."
Noah pressed his palms against his temples, groaning. "I'm not a beast… I'm not…"
But the more he denied it, the more something inside stirred—like a door rattling in the dark.
And then, without warning, the door opened.
A cold wind swept across his vision. The monastery faded away, replaced by a battlefield of fire and ruin. Towers crumbled, the sky bled crimson, and corpses stretched across the horizon. Noah stumbled forward, heart pounding.
"This… this isn't real…"
But it was. He recognized the feel of the ground beneath his boots, the acrid stench of smoke, the distant roar of war horns.
Memories.
Fragments of a life before this one.
He looked down and saw himself—not the boy he was now, but a man. Taller, clad in blackened armor etched with unfamiliar runes, a massive spear dripping with blood in his grip. His eyes—cold, merciless, burning with the same fury he had unleashed only days ago.
"No…" Noah whispered, trembling. "That's… me?"
The armored version of himself turned, as if hearing his voice. For a heartbeat, their eyes met across the battlefield. The weight of that gaze pressed against Noah's chest, suffocating him.
"You killed them," the memory hissed, voice like steel dragged across stone. "You slaughtered friend and foe alike. That rage has always been yours. Don't pretend otherwise."
"No! That's not who I am!" Noah shouted, clutching his head.
The battlefield responded with echoes of screams. Shapes rose from the corpses—soldiers with familiar faces. He saw Liora among them, her throat cut. He saw Thorne, pierced through with his spear. He saw even the Stoic Ally, his unbreakable body shattered like glass.
Each corpse whispered the same thing:
"Monster."
"Beast."
"Devourer."
Noah fell to his knees, gasping for air. Tears blurred his vision.
"Why… why do I see this?" he muttered. "Why would I be given another life if all I am is destruction?"
The shadow of his past self stepped closer, towering over him. Its armored hand reached down, seizing his collar and forcing him to look up.
"Because you are not meant to change," the figure growled. "You are meant to repeat. No matter how many lives you are given, you will always end in blood."
The spear lifted, aimed at Noah's heart.
"Noah!"
A voice broke through the nightmare. Warm. Familiar.
Noah blinked, and the battlefield dissolved into mist. He was back in the monastery chamber, drenched in sweat, his chest heaving. Liora stood above him, worry carved into her face.
"You were thrashing in your sleep," she said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It was like you were fighting ghosts."
Noah swallowed hard, unable to meet her eyes. His hands shook as he whispered:
"…Maybe I was."
He glanced toward the doorway, where the Stoic Ally stood in silence, as if he had been watching. The man's eyes narrowed, reading Noah's expression without a word. For the first time, Noah realized: the Ally knew. He had seen warriors like this before.
The truth was undeniable.
His rage wasn't new. It wasn't random. It was a curse born from a past life of blood and ruin.
And unless he found a way to change it, he would lose himself again.
✨ End of Chapter 52 ✨