Noah froze. Every muscle in his body locked as his heart thudded against his ribs.

He hadn't made a sound. He hadn't even breathed loudly. Yet she had known.

The cloaked figure laughed softly, not aloud, but inside his head.

"I've known you were following me since the ballroom, Noah Webb. You hide your footsteps well, but your mind is just too… loud."

Panic surged through him. He had no idea psychics existed in this world, having seen none, but he should've expected it.

There were those who could read body language and infer accurately, but this was different.

She was actually in his mind. Her consciousness slithered effortlessly through his, like water filling cracks in stone.

He grit his teeth and forced his mana into his mind, flooding it with raw power until it burned. His skull throbbed, his temples pounding.

The laughter in his head grew louder. "Oh, clever boy. Flooding your mind with mana? That's… adorable."

And then, as if growing bored, she spoke aloud for the first time, her voice low, and disturbingly calm.

"You're far too suspicious of me, Noah. Very well. If you dislike me in your head so much…"

She snapped her fingers, and the pressure vanished.

"We'll talk the old-fashioned way."

Noah stumbled out from the shadows he'd been hiding in. His body still ached from the strain of his earlier mana defense.

"It's rude," he said, gritting his teeth, "to read someone's mind without permission."

The cloaked lady turned slowly, her hood casting her face in partial shadow. Her lips curved upwards into a knowing smile.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. There's no barrier between us. Not really. After all, I know you so well."

Noah's brow furrowed. "That's impossible. I've never met you before."

She tilted her head slightly, as though genuinely puzzled by his confusion. Then she sighed, a soft sound that almost resembled regret.

"Ah. I suppose I owe you an apology. I've grown used to knowing you, inside and out, so much so that I sometimes forget it's a one-way street."

A cold feeling settled in Noah's gut.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, his voice low.

The cloaked lady smiled wider. "It means, dear Noah, that I already know every little secret you keep buried in that clever mind of yours."

The room seemed to shrink.

She took a single step forward, closer to him. The mana radiating from her was suffocating, pressing down like a storm waiting to break.

"I know your real potential," she said softly. "Your precious SSS-rank that the world doesn't even realize you've unlocked."

Noah stiffened, his blood running cold.

Her smile widened, teeth gleaming faintly in the dim light. "And I know your heart isn't beating for Camelot. You have no intention of saving this kingdom."

Her voice lowered, almost reverent. "You plan to destroy it."

The words hit him like a stone. For a moment, he could only stare, frozen between disbelief and fury.

He didn't know who she was, but one thing was clear. If she walked out of this room alive, everything, his identity, his plans, his power, would be exposed.

He couldn't allow that.

Noah's mana exploded outwards, the shadows beneath him rippling. He raised his hand and cast Void Bolt.

A beam of compressed spatial energy shot across the room, tearing through shelves and books, but it never reached her.

The air shimmered. The bolt was stopped in the air, crushed to nothing between her fingers.

"Predictable," she murmured.

Noah didn't hesitate. He teleported behind her, appearing in a flicker of light, then creating and swinging his shadow blade.

It hit something invisible, an unseen wall that stopped the blade cold.

The impact reverberated up his arm, sending a jolt of pain through him.

She didn't even turn.

"Telekinesis," she said, almost conversationally. "A very handy trick, isn't it? Though I do find it amusing that you thought a sword could reach me."

Noah gritted his teeth and vanished again, reappearing at her flank this time. He struck fast, unleashing a flurry of slashes.

The air trembled with each impact, sparks of shadow flaring as his blows collided with her psychic barrier.

Still, she didn't move.

It was as if she was playing with him.

The floor cracked under Noah's boots as he leapt back, casting Feast, a black maw tearing open from the floor, its tendrils rushing towards her.

She extended her hand lazily, and the tendrils froze in the air. "No, no. That one's too messy."

With a flick of her wrist, the shadows turned on themselves and vanished.

Her voice entered his mind again, softer this time, but no less unnerving. "You're magnificent, you know. Powerful, ambitious, angry. A piece still needed on the board."

The term piece made Noah's blood boil. "I'm no one's pawn."

"Oh, you are," she said lightly. "You just haven't realized whose yet."

Noah roared and fired another Void Bolt, this one larger, and vibrating with unstable energy. It shot forward.

The woman raised her hand, fingers curling. The bolt stopped cold in the air, shuddered violently, and crumpled in on itself before exploding into dust.

Then she looked at him, and smiled.

"Impressive, but not enough."

Her hand twitched.

The air condensed around Noah.

A force hit him like a giant hammer, slamming him backwards.

He crashed into the floor hard enough to crack the stone, pain erupting through his ribs and spine.

He struggled to move, but another wave of psychic pressure pinned him down. His vision blurred as the air around him warped, distorting like heat waves.

Boots clicked softly against the stone as she approached.

Her shadow fell over him. She crouched low, her golden eyes inches from his.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, smiling faintly. "If I wanted you dead, you'd already be gone."

She leaned closer, her voice dropping even lower.

"We're not finished with you yet, Noah Webb."

Noah tried to lift his arm, to channel a spell, but the pressure on his body intensified, grinding him against the floor. The pain was blinding.

"Oh. My name. It's Lady in Dark."

She straightened, surveying the wrecked study.

Her gaze landed on the King's desk, specifically, a section she hadn't noticed before.

She strode over and waved her hand. Books and scrolls scattered, drawers flew open, and a small wooden chest floated into view.

"There you are," she murmured.

The chest looked completely ordinary.

She lifted it effortlessly with her telekinesis, tucking it under her arm. Then she turned towards the door.

Before stepping out, she looked back once. Her voice brushed across his mind one last time.

"Rest well, Dark Dragon. You'll need your strength soon."

Then she was gone.

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