The heavy door slammed shut behind them.
A deep, dull sound echoed through the interior of the building and was swallowed by the walls, as if the headquarters had decided to shut out everything from the outside world entirely.
Noen stopped for a moment.
In front of them opened a massive hall.
Tall. Wide. Breathtaking.
The ceiling disappeared far above them into half-light, crisscrossed by dark beams and embedded light strips that cast a cool, even glow. The floor was made of smooth black stone, polished so perfectly that the silhouettes of people reflected in it. People like the ones in front of the door moved everywhere — some briskly, others calmly, focused. Voices echoed faintly from afar, footsteps, metallic sounds, muffled commands. there was even a masked man here.
Countless corridors branched off from the hall. Left, right, diagonally downward, upward — a labyrinth of paths, as if the building were larger on the inside than on the outside.
Noen slowly turned in a circle. "Okay… wow."
"Come on," Rhuven said shortly. "We need to go down."
Before Noen could say anything else, Rhuven was already moving. A wide stone staircase directly ahead led downward, and Noen hurried to follow him.
Down the stairs.Corridor to the right. Left. Left. Right. Straight ahead. Left. Straight.
Noen's steps grew faster. So did his breathing.
"Rhuven…" he managed, "how big is this place—"
"We're here."
Rhuven stopped abruptly.
Noen took two more steps — then stopped as well.
In front of them was… a wall.
Noen bent forward slightly, bracing his hands on his knees. "Hfff… haah… hhh…"He was audibly gasping for air, his chest rising and falling erratically.
"Here… hhhh… is just… hhh… a wall…"He slowly straightened up again.
Rhuven stepped closer to the wall — and knocked.
Not randomly.
A specific pattern. Short pauses. Different intervals. Twice fast. Once slow. Then fast again.
Noen was just about to say something when—
The wall vibrated.
"…uh."
With a deep, mechanical rumble, the stone began to move. The entire wall rotated — and with it the floor on which Rhuven and Noen were standing.
"WOAH— WOAH— WOAH—!"Noen immediately lost his balance.
The world tilted.The room spun. His feet slipped out from under him.
He landed hard on the ground.
"Ugh!"
When the movement stopped, Noen lay on his back — in a completely new room.
He blinked. Sat up. Looked up.
And froze.
Seven people were sitting around a large, round table.
All of them wore the Black Synod uniform.
All of them were staring at him.
Just moments ago they had all been talking — now no one said a word.
Rhuven was the first to break the silence.
He was still standing perfectly steady, as if the rotating wall hadn't affected his balance in the slightest.
"Friends," he said calmly, "this is Noen. The boy from Halmswick with the good godly power I told you about."
Still, no one spoke.
The stares remained fixed on Noen. Unavoidable. Almost uncomfortable.
Noen felt his back tense slightly.
Then—
"AHHH!"A voice shattered the tension like a hammer strike.
"So you're that Noah! Nice to meet you!"
Noen blinked, confused.
"What are you talking about?!" someone else snapped immediately. "His name is Noen, you idiot!"
"Oh come on over here, you damn—"
"COULD we please calm down?!" another voice cut in.
"Nice to have you here, Noen!"
"We already kind of know each other, don't we? Hehehahaha!"
Laughter broke out.
Real, loud, overlapping laughter.
Noen exhaled deeply, as if a weight had suddenly been lifted from his chest. A grin crept onto his face, cautious at first — then wider.
He noticed Rhuven glancing at him from the side.
A brief look.A small, satisfied smile.
"Told you," Rhuven murmured quietly to him.
Noen nodded faintly.
Suddenly, one of the men stood up sharply and slammed both hands onto the table.
BAM.
"I think," he said loudly, "we should all introduce ourselves first!"
He straightened up, legs spread, confident, chest out.
"I'm Varrick! The strongest one here!"
"FUCK you, Varrick!" someone immediately shouted back.
"WHAT?! Who said that?! Just wait—"
Before it could escalate, a slender young woman stood up. She had a delicate floral tattoo running from her neck slightly toward her collarbone.
"I'm Brynja," she said calmly. "If you need anything — let me know."
One after another, they stood.
"Bram!"
"Rinnay."
"Thornec."
At that name, Noen's breath caught.
His gaze immediately locked onto the man who now rose to his feet.
Tall.At least 1.90 meters. Broad as a wardrobe.
A massive gold chain with a floral design hung across his chest — bold, heavy, confident.
Thornec.
The Vice President of the Black Synod.
Exactly how Noen had imagined him.
Thornec noticed the stare. Grinned slightly. And winked at Noen — thumbs up.
Noen's heart gave a small leap.
"And—" A familiar laugh rang out.
"Saevin! Hehehahaha!"
Thornec suddenly broke into a wide grin.
Then — without any warning — he planted one foot on the table.Then the second.
The massive wood creaked under his weight.
"EVERYONE— QUIEEET!" he roared across the room.
The voices died instantly.
For a brief moment, there was absolute silence — then a few people visibly struggled to suppress their grins. A giant of a man, built like a wardrobe, standing on a table and yelling, was simply… unintentionally funny.
Thornec completely ignored it.
He planted his hands on his hips and leaned forward slightly, his shadow spilling across the table.
"So, kid!" he shouted."Your long-term goal is to ascend into the realm of the Minigods!"
Noen felt his stomach tighten.
"Up there," Thornec continued, "you're supposed to — if she's still alive — take out a few Minigods together with Varyn, just to weaken Elionis at least a little!"
He suddenly burst out laughing.
"Will you ever come back?" He shrugged. "No idea! Mehahaha!"
He kept laughing.
Only… no one else did.
No smirks. No chuckles. Not even Saevin.
Thornec looked around, noticed the reactions — or rather, the complete lack of them — and cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
Then he waved it off.
"Alright. Whatever." He grinned crookedly. "But since you're currently still a tiny little runt, that would basically be murder on our side."
He laughed again.
Again: silence.
"…okay, you people seriously have no sense of humor," he muttered.
Then his voice shifted.
"SO."
He straightened up, and the atmosphere in the room changed instantly.
"Your first objective is to take out Beldrin together with us ."A murmur rippled through the room.
"The mayor of Halmswick." Thornec's gaze hardened. "And free the people there from his near-dictatorship."
He pointed straight at Noen.
"That's why you'll be training with us. "A short pause. "Especially… with me."
Then Thornec jumped off the table.
The impact made the floor tremble slightly.
He now stood directly in front of Noen.
"We start tomorrow," he said. "You think you can handle that, kid?"
Noen felt something surge up inside him.
Anger. Adrenaline. Resolve.
Slowly, a grin crept across one side of his face.
He closed his eyes, lifted a hand to his mouth — as if gathering himself — then dropped it, threw both arms into the air, and shouted:
"OF COURSE! THAT FUCKING BASTARD IS GONNA GET WHAT'S COMING TO HIM!!"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Seven pairs of eyes stared at him.
Noen slowly lowered his arms. His face flushed red.
"…or not?" he whispered awkwardly.
One second passed.
Then—
"YEAHHH!!"
The room exploded.
Laughter. Applause. Shouts. Fists slamming on the table.
Saevin laughed the loudest. Varrick yelled something unintelligible. Brynja clapped and nodded approvingly.
And Rhuven…
Rhuven's grin only grew wider.
What they didnt know, is that someone was listening...