The silence stretched long after Noctis's words faded. The faint hum of mana still lingered, a ghostly reminder that his time was short.
Elyra was the first to speak, her voice firm but unsteady. "You said Elarin was once good — that he saved the world. Then what happened? What made him… this?"
Noctis's gaze dropped, the corners of his mouth tightening as if he'd been expecting the question. "He was good," he said softly. "More than anyone else who's ever lived. He was the first to touch mana, the first to understand it — the man who gave your world light when it still knew only darkness."
Charlotte's hands trembled slightly at her sides. "That's what the scriptures say…" she whispered, her voice shaking with emotion. "That he blessed the rivers, the stars, and the hearts of men."
Noctis nodded once. "All true."
Then his tone changed — lower, heavier, stripped of any trace of warmth.
