Chapter 180: The False Hilgard

The transport moved through Hrafnviðr without making a sound.

No engine.

No tires grinding against soil.

Nothing.

It simply moved.

Noah sat near the window, watching the trees slide past.

The forest seemed different now.

The trunks were thinner.

The darkness less oppressive.

Yet something about the road bothered him.

It was too straight.

Hrafnviðr had never had a road.

At least, not according to the maps.

Noah glanced toward the driver’s seat.

Empty.

"Does anyone else find this strange?"

Eric looked forward.

"There’s nobody driving."

"I meant the road."

Damien leaned toward the window.

"We’ve been traveling for several minutes."

Sophia checked her surroundings.

"And we haven’t passed the same tree twice."

Luna frowned.

"That doesn’t make me feel better."

Roana remained silent.

Noah looked at her.

"You know where we’re going."

"No."

"You’re sure?"

"Yes."

Her answer was immediate.

"But I know where this road ends."

Everyone turned toward her.

Roana looked ahead.

"Hildgard."

Noah’s expression changed.

"Hildgard?"

Roana nodded.

"The road is taking us back."

Laura leaned forward.

"But Hildgard is days away."

"Normally."

Roana looked toward the window.

"This isn’t a normal road."

Dead Zone stirred inside Noah’s consciousness.

She’s right.

Noah frowned.

How do you know?

Because we’re not traveling through distance.

A pause.

We’re traveling through a boundary.

Noah’s gaze sharpened.

The golden seal inside his chest gave a faint pulse.

He looked down.

Nothing.

But his shadow had changed.

It was pointing backward.

Not forward.

Noah turned toward the rear window.

The forest was still visible.

But something stood between the trees.

A tall figure.

Motionless.

Noah narrowed his eyes.

The figure raised one hand.

A crimson glow appeared.

Noah stood immediately.

"Stop the transport."

The others looked at him.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Stop it."

"There isn’t a driver," Damien reminded him.

Noah moved toward the front.

The vehicle suddenly accelerated.

The road ahead stretched longer.

And longer.

The figure behind them disappeared.

Noah stared forward.

A faint golden glow appeared at the end of the road.

"Everyone brace yourselves."

Laura stood.

"For what?"

Noah didn’t answer.

The transport crossed the golden light.

For one heartbeat, everything went white.

Then the vehicle slammed onto stone.

Everyone was thrown forward.

Sophia caught herself against a seat.

"Everyone okay?"

A chorus of groans answered.

Noah slowly stood.

The transport was no longer inside the forest.

He looked through the windshield.

Hildgard.

The enormous city stood beneath its three moons.

The same towering walls.

The same distant academy structures.

The same streets.

But something was wrong.

No people.

No lights.

No movement.

Hildgard was completely empty.

Laura stepped beside Noah.

"This isn’t possible."

Roana walked toward the window.

Her expression changed.

"No."

Noah looked at her.

"What?"

"This isn’t Hildgard."

She pointed toward the skyline.

The three moons were in the wrong positions.

The buildings were slightly different.

And above the city stood a massive golden clock tower that Noah had never seen before.

Roana whispered:

"We didn’t return to Hildgard."

Noah stared at the silent city.

"We returned to something wearing Hildgard’s face."

Inside his consciousness, Dead Zone spoke quietly.

Noah.

What?

We’re not alone.

Noah looked at the empty streets.

A single figure stood in the middle of the road.

Hooded.

Watching the transport.

Then it slowly raised its head.

Three crimson eyes opened beneath the hood.

Roana’s hand moved toward her blade.

"No."

Noah looked at her.

She was trembling.

"I know that face."

The figure removed its hood.

It wasn’t the Watcher.

It wasn’t the White-Eyed Figure.

It wasn’t the Black-Eyed Figure.

It was someone Noah had never seen before.

Yet Roana whispered the name like she had been waiting years to say it.

"The Archivist."

The figure stood in the middle of the street.

Three crimson eyes stared from beneath its hood.

Noah kept one hand near Shadowfang.

The others remained inside the transport, watching through the windows.

Roana’s breathing had become shallow.

"You called it the Archivist," Noah said.

"Yes."

"Who is it?"

"I don’t know."

Noah glanced at her.

"That answer is becoming a habit."

Roana ignored the remark.

"The Archivist isn’t a person we were supposed to encounter."

The hooded figure slowly raised one hand.

A crimson thread appeared between its fingers.

Noah immediately recognized the energy.

"The Watcher."

Roana’s eyes widened.

"No."

The thread disappeared.

"It carries the Watcher’s signature, but it isn’t the Watcher."

Dead Zone stirred inside Noah’s consciousness.

We’re being watched.

Noah scanned the empty streets.

By the Archivist?

No.

A pause.

Something farther away.

The Archivist lowered its hand.

Then it pointed toward the center of Hildgard.

A massive academy tower stood there.

Noah recognized it.

The tower belonged to the central administration district.

But in the real Hildgard, that building had been destroyed during the medallion incident.

Here, it stood untouched.

"It’s showing us something," Laura said.

Noah nodded.

"Or luring us somewhere."

Roana looked at him.

"Either way, we need to know why."

The Archivist turned around.

It began walking.

Noah stepped out of the transport.

"Wait here."

Laura immediately followed.

"No."

Noah looked back.

"Laura..."

"We’ve been through enough together for you to stop saying that."

Sophia climbed out after her.

Luna followed.

Eric and Damien exchanged a glance before joining them.

Roana sighed and stepped onto the street.

The Archivist continued walking.

Noah followed.

The empty city felt wrong.

No civilians.

No guards.

No academy students.

Not even birds.

Only the sound of their footsteps.

After several minutes, they reached the central plaza.

Noah stopped.

A familiar fountain stood in the middle.

His chest tightened.

He had seen it before.

In Laura’s memories.

The three moons reflected perfectly across its surface.

Laura stopped beside him.

"I remember this."

Noah looked at her.

"You’ve been here?"

"Not here."

She stared at the fountain.

"In a memory."

Roana looked toward the Archivist.

"It brought us here deliberately."

The figure stopped before the fountain.

Its hood slowly lifted.

Noah expected three crimson eyes.

Instead, there was nothing.

Only darkness.

The Archivist raised one finger.

The surface of the fountain changed.

Images appeared across the water.

The tournament.

Alcris.

The ancient heart.

Irus.

Noah’s battle with Dead Zone.

The Watcher.

Roana.

Everything they had experienced.

Then the images stopped.

One scene remained.

The forest.

Noah saw himself standing beneath the crimson sky.

The Watcher stood before him.

But behind the Watcher was another figure.

Watching.

Black eyes.

Noah’s expression hardened.

The Archivist pointed toward the image.

Then toward Roana.

She went pale.

"I knew it."

Noah turned.

"Knew what?"

Roana stared at the water.

"The Watcher wasn’t acting alone."

The image changed.

A crimson thread connected the Watcher to Roana.

Another thread extended somewhere beyond the forest.

Toward an unseen figure.

Noah looked at her.

"You were connected to it."

Roana’s voice barely escaped.

"I didn’t know."

The Archivist touched the water.

The image changed again.

This time, the connection ended at a single symbol.

The same symbol from the envelope.

The warning.

The observer beyond the boundary.

Noah clenched his fist.

"Who?"

The Archivist finally spoke.

Its voice was distorted, almost mechanical.

"Not who."

It pointed toward Noah.

"When."

The fountain shattered.

Every window in Hildgard broke simultaneously.

And somewhere behind the empty city, a familiar crimson eye opened.

Dead Zone whispered inside Noah’s mind.

The Watcher found us.

Noah drew Shadowfang.

"Good."

His crimson runes ignited.

"Let’s finish this."