At dawn, a pale silver line rose on the horizon, hinting at morning. The dormitory was still quiet, most still asleep. But Noa was already awake, sitting at the edge of his bed.
His eyes were heavy, yet within them gleamed not weariness, but resolve. Rising to his feet, he drew in the sharp chill of the air and stepped outside.
The yard was empty, the soil damp, the wind cutting like a blade. Noa stretched his arms, his muscles tightening then relaxing. Each strike he delivered into the air was steady, precise — not training for battle, but a prayer for survival.
Six months ago, he would have fallen with a single blow. Now his body was tempered, his spirit unyielding. "I am not strong," he thought, punching through the cold air, the sound whistling. "I simply learned to endure. And that is worth more than strength."
By the time the others awoke, whispers spread. Some laughed, some sneered. Noa ignored them. He had grown resistant — not just to blows, but to scorn.
When the sparring pairs were chosen, only one stepped forward against him — the one who mocked him most. The boy attacked with sharp, confident strikes. Yet Noa moved lightly, letting the blows cut air, answering with small, precise hits. Wrist. Knee. Rib. Each one insignificant alone, but together enough.
The boy stumbled, collapsed in the dust.
— Winner, Noa, the instructor declared.
Silence. No laughter. Only eyes wide with the same question: How?
Noa walked away, calm. "I'm not strong," he told himself again. "I just learned not to fall."
That night, in the library, he traced faded lines of old manuscripts. "Every body has its weakness," the text read. Noa wrote notes in the margins. "I wasn't weak. I was ignorant. That mistake will not repeat."
When he returned to his room, he found Lilya by the window, her crimson wings faintly glowing.
"They mocked you again," she said softly, "but in the end… they were silent."
Noa turned away.
— "It's only temporary. They'll be back."
— "Maybe," Lilya whispered, smiling gently. "But you are not the same Noa anymore. I can see it."
She spread her wings, the room briefly lit, then vanished into the night sky.
Noa clenched his fists. Alone.
As darkness deepened, he lay down. From the seal on his arm, a wisp of black smoke slipped into the air before fading.
"What is this? And where will it lead me?"
His eyes closed slowly.
And in the silence of the night, only one truth remained:
The path ahead could no longer turn back.
Hi, this chapter is the last chapter, so now the plot is over, there are few words left, more interesting scenes will start in the next chapters and the words will increase, please give me a power stone, I will save it to my library, I will not forget the collection