[Lifespan Remaining: 2 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes.]
The air was damp and cool, but his skin prickled whenever he moved even a step toward the spring.
Farther down, bright light reflected across the walls, accompanied by the faint sound of running water.
Noct slowly placed one foot in front of the other, making sure that he wouldn’t trip over himself.
‘Come on, Noct.
You fought that hard just to get here.
You’re already fifty-percent of the way there…!’
The passage widened a little farther down.
Noct took another few steps before stopping, mouth wide open.
“…That’s a pool?”
An enormous cavern opened before him, its ceiling high enough to swallow an entire floor of the main palace.
Washed-out pillars stood along the water’s edge, supporting the old arches that had been built into the surrounding rock.
Some had cracked while others were so heavily coated in mineral deposits that they barely looked like pillars anymore.
High above, sunlight entered through a narrow opening in the ceiling.
Water spilled through the same gap, falling in thin curtains toward the basin below.
It would’ve been a beautiful sight…if not for the water underneath, trying to tear the whole place apart.
A powerful current swept around the center of the cavern, striking the stone banks before curling inwards into a vortex.
‘Well, that explains the name.’
Every few seconds, a wave struck one of the pillars and sent spray across the walkway.
The more Noct looked at the pool, the less he wanted to get in.
He had expected the pool from the game, but well, watching Robin get in wasn’t the same as getting in himself.
‘If I fall in there, I’m not getting back out.’
He could already feel the mana pressing into his skin.
Near the entrance, it had been uncomfortable.
But here, each breath left a strange tingling sensation on his chest.
Just a couple breaths and his body felt rejuvenated, his feet stopped trembling, and he could breathe easily.
‘It’s working…two or three years of waiting all for this short opening.
And Vivienne had almost handed it to Rosse.’
‘Tch…you can wait your fucking turn.’
Noct quickly undressed himself, and without any other reason to hesitate…he took the plunge.
Cold water came first, then came the sting.
Noct sucked his breath in as countless tiny pricks spread across his skin.
His first instinct was to pull away, but he forced himself to remain still.
The current tugged at his skin, and Noct braced himself as hard as he could.
It practically ripped him to shreds, tearing apart his skin while healing it at the same time.
While internally, whatever water could get inside managed to clean his mana channels, taking away the filth inside.
Noct caught the edge of a submerged ledge, his fingers slipping before he managed to hold on.
“Fuck—!”
He should get out, but it wasn’t enough.
If he wanted to survive Rosse and the events even beyond that…he needed more.
His vision started to dim, and he couldn’t even tell where it hurt.
His body seized as water stripped away what it had barely finished repairing, building and making it stronger than ever before.
If the pool could keep rebuilding him, then he would let it.
Again, and again, and again.
Until he had a body that could do more than lie in bed and wait to die.
‘Just…a little longer…!’
But with such force, Noct wasn’t sure his mind could handle it.
He tried holding on, tried ignoring the pain tearing throughout his body.
However, it was all too much.
His eyes slowly closed, as his skin became numb, and before Noct even knew it…
The world went dark.
***
An army had pretty much formed in the Inner Sanctum.
Everyone from guards to knights to even some of the branch family members were gathered outside.
Vivienne stood outside, speaking to someone while Rosse stared at the door, pacing back and forth.
“When the hell is he going to get out…?!”
He turned toward the First Lady again, apparently planning to ask again, when a low rumble came from the entrance.
BBRRRRRKK—!
Slowly, the stone doors began to open.
A figure stood on the other side, dressed in a plain shirt and trousers.
His hair was still damp, and he was breathing heavily.
Noct de Arcadia, alive and healthy.
Near the back of the crowd, a knight leaned sideways to get a better look.
“Is he…?”
Noct rolled one shoulder, testing the movement.
His shirt hung loosely from his frame, and he was still pale, but he stood straight.
Even he seemed a little surprised by it.
‘Finally.’
〔All STATUS EFFECTS have been removed.〕
[Curse of ??? is reacting…!]
[Curse of ??? remains.]
‘Well, not like I expected it to.
Stubborn thing, to say the least.’
Now, he no longer had to chug health potions with his life on the line.
He could breathe and he could stand.
For a moment, that was enough to make him forget everyone waiting outside.
Then Rosse shoved his way past the guardian knight.
“You!”
Noct barely had time to turn before a hand caught his collar.
Rosse pulled him forward, bunching the fabric together.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Noct looked down at the hand, then back at its owner.
“Taking a bath, it felt quite good actually—”
“DON’T FUCK WITH ME!”
A few people shifted behind Rosse, but nobody stepped forward.
“That opening was supposed to be mine!” he continued.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited? All the preparations I made?”
“Then you should have—”
But upon seeing something past Rosse’s shoulder, it made him stop.
Beside the empty wheelchair, someone was kneeling on the floor.
White hair hung over her face as she held her gaze low.
A chain ran between her wrists, pulled taut through the hands of a knight standing behind her.
‘Noelle…’
He stared at the darkening bruise along her cheek.
She noticed him looking, shaking her head.
“Young Master…”
“What are you looking at?” Rosse jerked his collar.
“I’m talking to you!”
Noct barely felt it.
Last night, three men had entered his room, and Noelle had dealt with them before he could properly sit up.
Now she was kneeling beside his wheelchair.
His gaze moved toward the knight holding her chain, then toward Vivienne.
The First Lady stood a few paces away, watching without saying a word.
‘You couldn’t get to me…so you settled for her?’
She could have fought.
He knew she could have fought.
But she was smart enough to know that striking someone here would have given them exactly the excuse they needed.
She was thinking for him.
Rosse shook him again.
“Are you even listening? You think you can steal my opportunity and just walk—”
Noct caught his wrist, all reasoning and schemes he had made completely out the window.
“Let go.”
The change in tone surprised Rosse, who only stared at him.
But after a while, his expression twisted into a maniacal laugh.
“Or what?”
Noct’s other hand struck him across the face.
SLAP—!
Rosse’s head snapped sideways, completely shocked from the unexpected force.
His grip broke as he stumbled a step back, falling onto his back.
“Never in your life did you expect to be slapped twice, huh?”
“You…!”
“Quit with the bitching,” Noct said, stepping up to look him in the eyes.
“You want my spot so badly? Fine, let’s duel.”
“Right now.”