Noah woke slowly, the world around him swimming in a blur of pale light and pain.

His eyes fluttered open, and the first thing that hit him was the feel of his own body.

Every muscle he had ached, his bones felt heavy, and even breathing was agony.

He tried to move, but a sharp, searing pain tore through his chest, forcing a groan from his lips.

"Calm down, Noah."

The voice came softly from the left, steady but tired. He recognized it instantly. Professor Cecilia.

He turned his head weakly towards the sound, his vision clearing just enough to make out her silhouette.

She was seated by the window, light spilling across her hair.

When she rose and stepped closer, he saw her clearly. She had bandages wrapped around her neck and arms, with faint bruises tracing her jawline.

"You're awake," she said gently, setting a glass of water on the bedside table. "Don't move too much."

Her hand slid under his head, lifting it carefully. Noah opened his mouth, and she brought the cup to his lips.

The water was cool, but even the act of swallowing felt like swallowing knives.

"Easy," she whispered. "You're still healing."

When he'd had enough, she lowered his head back onto the pillow.

Noah lay there, staring at the ceiling, breathing slowly. His entire body was wrapped in thick white bandages. Even shifting his fingers felt like dragging boulders through water.

"How… long?" he rasped. His voice was hoarse, his throat raw.

"Three days," Cecilia said softly, pulling up a chair and sitting beside his bed. "You were unconscious for three days."

Noah blinked slowly, his mind sluggish as memories trickled back. The purple fire, the rift, the creature, the unbearable fear, and then… the spell. Utter Annihilation.

Cecilia smiled faintly, though the expression didn't reach her eyes.

"Your attack," she said, "obliterated the cavern. The rift was completely closed."

Noah's lips parted slightly. "Closed…" he echoed, his voice quiet.

"Yes." Her tone was calm but heavy. "You saved both of us. But you nearly killed yourself doing it."

She leaned back, exhaling through her nose. "That spell… and the skill, whatever it was, it wasn't meant for a body like yours to handle."

"The sheer magnitude of it... it tore you apart. Your bones, your muscles, your veins… I've never seen a body that destroyed yet still alive."

Noah frowned slightly, though even that hurt. "Then how am I—"

"Alive?" Cecilia finished for him. "Because I refused to let you die."

Her voice was calm, but the exhaustion behind it was clear. "I healed you myself. Bone by bone. It took every ounce of my strength, and even then, I couldn't restore everything."

"I had to mend you piece by piece, close ruptured veins, knit your torn flesh. Your vitality was completely drained, so I had to sustain you with my own mana for a while."

She looked down at her bandaged hands. "When I finally finished, I removed every trace of where we'd been, from your body, from your mana, whatever was left, even from your scent, before bringing you back here."

Noah stared at her for a long moment. His chest rose and fell in shallow, painful breaths. "And the rest of the healing?"

She sighed. "That can't be done all at once. Your body needs time to recover its vitality before I can complete the process."

"For now, rest and food will do the rest. Thankfully," she added with a faint smile, "you're not low-level anymore. You'll recover faster than most."

Noah closed his eyes briefly. "Rest and food," he murmured, voice almost inaudible.

"Exactly," Cecilia said softly. "No more fighting for a while."

Silence settled between them. The sound of wind brushed faintly against the infirmary windows.

After a moment, Noah opened his eyes again. "That… rift," he said quietly. "It led into the abyss."

Cecilia was quiet for a long time. Then she said, just as softly, "I know."

Her eyes were distant, unfocused, as though remembering something that had burned itself into her mind.

"Even though it was my first glimpse into it, I knew what it was the moment I saw it. I could feel it. The cold, the emptiness, the sheer wrongness of it."

"The abyss doesn't belong in this world. Just being near it felt like it was peeling my soul apart."

Noah exhaled slowly, closing his eyes again. "That spell I used... the one that lets me grow stronger. It's called Feast."

Cecilia's brows furrowed slightly, but she didn't interrupt.

"It allows me to absorb creatures or things that contain abyssal essence," he continued, his tone quiet, almost confessional.

"Every time I consume something like that, I advance. I… evolve." He paused, wincing as pain rippled through his ribs. "But there's a side effect. Every time I use it, it draws attention. From unstable abyssal entities."

Cecilia's expression darkened. "That's why the rift appeared."

He nodded weakly. "I didn't take it seriously before. Since I've always been using it without consequences, I thought it was just flavor text."

"But this time…" His voice trailed off, and his hand clenched weakly on the bedsheet. "I saw what was on the other side. And I don't think I'll ever forget it."

Cecilia's gaze softened, but her tone was firm. "You shouldn't blame yourself. You didn't know what would happen."

Noah gave a faint, bitter chuckle. "No. But ignorance doesn't excuse what could've happened if I'd failed."

Cecilia's golden eyes flickered in the fading light. "You didn't fail."

Silence stretched between them again. The room was dim now, only a single lamp burning softly in the corner.

Finally, Cecilia spoke again. "I've read about it before, long ago, in the royal archive. The creature that tried to enter our world."

"There were vague entries, fragmented at best. But I recognized it. Its name was Qaryt."

Noah opened his eyes, meeting her gaze. "Qaryt," he repeated slowly.

She nodded. "It's known by many titles, according to accounts from... Demons. Titles like Endbringer. The Light of Dusk. The devourer of worlds."

"It was said to be one of the first beings born after the war that wiped out the Dark Dragons. Something that even demons fear. If it had stepped fully into our world…"

She trailed off, staring into nothing, her fingers tightening around the edge of her chair.

"Camelot would have been destroyed instantly," she whispered. "And the rest of the world would follow right after."

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