Rise of the Devourer-Chapter 5Book 4: — Rest Day

Things had quickly progressed after the trial had ended. Noah and the rest were subject to a speech about courage and merit and what not, before being shepherded out of the area. Their group had completed first, but since they weren’t allowed to wait in the area, everyone had gone back separately.

A few hours had passed since Noah had taken a nap. He didn’t need it much, but it was still something he enjoyed indulging in from time to time.

Waking up, Noah felt a sting poking his body from his abuse of Abyssal Inferno and the trial’s flames. He poked the faint line of a healing burn across his ribs. It had mostly closed by now—his high Constitution made sure of that—but some leftover itch and ache clung to it like smoke. He let out a breath and rolled his shoulders, staring up at the carved ceiling of Kaelan’s estate.

The stone here had that polished, semi-reflective gleam—elegant in a quiet way, the way Drakonians liked their wealth: solid, brutal, and practical. He let his gaze drift for a moment, then flicked to his wrist. He tapped the bracelet twice.

Still nothing from Zax.

A small pang settled in his gut. He wasn’t worried, at least not yet. Certainly not of Zax being in any danger. But something was off.

After a moment, he pulled up the chat function with his astral script and sent a short message to Aurelia.

Noah: “Heard from Zax? Still nothing here.”

It took a few seconds before her reply came through.

Aurelia: “Nothing. I’ve been trying too.”

Aurelia: “Windrest hasn’t responded either. I asked them to pull any movement reports on the shard.”

Aurelia: “No updates. Like something’s jamming the flow.”

Noah stared at that last line a little longer.

Noah: “You think it’s interference?”

Aurelia: “I don’t know. It’s hard to believe anything could stop Zax’s bracelet. But either something is, or Zax himself has for whatever reason. Things have been quiet overall but there has been a decisive shift in the atmosphere since the Great Race announcement.”

Noah: “Yeah, I’ve been getting a weird gut feeling too, and I don’t like it much. You think there will be problems?”

Aurelia: “I think they are anticipating problems, especially during the tournament, and it’s why things are rushing so much.”

Noah: “Problems like…? War?”

Aurelia: “I don’t know. Either way we can’t do anything about it.”

Aurelia: “Come downstairs. Kaelan has news about the tournament.”

Noah grunted, shoved himself off the recliner, and threw on his shirt and jacket. The burn tugged slightly at the motion. He ignored it.

He tried to use Arcane Step, grunted in annoyance, before walking out into the common chamber just in time to hear Kaelan speak.

“They moved up the trial again,” Kaelan said. “It’s happening tomorrow.”

Noah stopped halfway through the room. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The chamber had everyone else gathered inside. Even Erwest, who’d been showing up more often than not recently. The paladin had been strangely smug since the first trial. Noah made a mental note to slap a bloodwyrm on his boot later.

“Nope,” Seraphina chimed in from her usual sprawl across the recliner. One leg was slung over the side, tea steaming in her hand. “The trial is tomorrow. Funny enough, even the people supervising the trials did not know. I only heard of them find out as we were leaving, and because I was spying on one of them.”

Seraphina sipped the tea in her hand. “Also, this tea is abysmal.”

Valeria looked up from where she was tightening the last strap on her arm brace. “Didn’t they just confirm the date yesterday?”

“They did,” Kaelan said. “Then they changed it this morning.”

“Why? That seems awfully… haphazard,” Aurelia asked.

Kaelan shrugged, but his expression was tighter than usual. “Officially? No reason given. Unofficially? Everyone knows it’s due to the Great Race announcement. And that’s what makes it weird. Why here? Even if somehow this new Great Race was born in this place… doing all this would just signal to everyone regarding it.”

“Unless they think the others know already and there’s no point in hiding it,” Erwest said, lounged on a chair with his sword in his lap. “The churches all think this place has something to do with the announcement. But the gods themselves are eerily silent. Normally they are the first to let us know when things such as this happen, but this time…” Erwest trailed off, but Noah could feel the intent from the man that came towards him,

Noah moved to a stone bench and eased down onto it. He ignored Erwest’s implication. Not every problem had to be because of him.

Even though he had participated in this one as well, it certainly wasn’t caused by him!

Though perhaps he could argue that by freeing Zax and bringing him here, and to Vion, he was directly the cause for things to turn out this way.

Noah growled in his head at the thought. This whole [Fate Touched] thing really was annoying sometimes.

“How many people even passed?” Valeria asked.

Kaelan didn’t look up. “Fifty-seven.”

A beat of silence passed.

Aurelia whistled softly. “That’s… not a lot.”

“It’s worse than last cycle,” Kaelan said. “They’re adjusting the tournament bracket. Probably going to be a four-round system—sixteen entrants max.”

Seraphina snorted into her tea. “Good. I don’t need five rounds of clashing blades just to prove I’m smarter than everyone.”

Valeria muttered something about fireballs and cowards.

Kaelan kept going. “The final tournament date hasn’t changed. Six days from now. They’re keeping it locked to match the dignitary schedules.”

“Dignitaries?” Noah asked, tilting his head.

“Guild masters. Nobles. Heads of royal battalions. Couple foreign powers rumored to be sending scouts.” Kaelan walked over to the balcony and leaned against the rail. “They’re here to recruit, particularly this time and for this batch. Normally, Valeria and Seph would easily make top cut. They’ve had a lot of experience and time to grow their skills beyond the average level 200. But this time… who knows.”

Kaelan exhaled, running a hand over his scaled head. “This kind of last-minute shuffle isn’t normal. Something’s happening. I don’t know what yet. But be careful tomorrow. Don’t take anything for granted.”

Noah glanced toward Aurelia. She caught the look and gave a subtle nod.

Even Seraphina sat up a little straighter. “I can’t confirm anything,” she said, “but… scrying is getting muddy. I tested a few location threads earlier. They’re blurring.”

Kaelan turned toward her, brows lifting.

“Only slightly,” Seraphina added. “But it’s like… something’s humming under the wards. You know how glass warps when it’s under pressure? It feels like that. Like something really heavy is pressing onto reality.”

Nobody said anything for a few seconds.

Then Noah looked around. “Wait,” she said, “where the hell is Vion?”

“Oh, right- she teleported away soon after her trial. In fact… she was talking to me but sort just disappeared mid sentence. I was surprised.”

“Ominous,” Valeria said.

Noah looked down at his own communicator again. One blinking line for Zax. One blank one for Vion.

He didn’t say anything, but the knot in his chest pulled just a little tighter.

***

The mirror held her gaze longer than she liked to admit.

Vion stood still in the center of the chamber, arms loose at her sides, watching the flicker of fire curl around her reflection’s fingertips. Her control had grown sharper—cleaner. The flames no longer lashed out with emotion. They obeyed. The heat of them pulsed with her heartbeat, syncing in subtle waves through her chest.

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In a flex of will, draconian wings formed behind her back out of magic. They look a lot like the wings higher ranked celestials had… but fiercer. Raw untamed magic. Primal energy in its purest form.

She let them dissipate with a flickering spark. Her new body—and it really was new, as she kept finding out—had many abilities she needed to learn of. Each passing day she’d discover something more about herself, and it felt like even now she was only scratching the surface.

Behind her, the soft sound of spellwork hummed like distant threads being pulled taut. Zax stood at the edge of the chamber, hands weaving through overlapping layers of defensive enchantments. His voice never rose, never faltered—just murmured steady syllables under his breath, stringing ward after ward like a web. Dozens were already anchored to the floor and walls. He was reinforcing them anyway.

He hadn’t stopped since they’d arrived here.

“You’re being excessive,” Vion said without turning around.

Zax didn’t look up. “Excess is relative. We prefer to be prepared.”

The wall nearest him flared with silent light as another enchantment slid into place. The ground pulsed once, then went quiet again.

“Nobody even knows I’m here,” Vion said, raising one hand and letting fire bloom across her palm.

“Most, yes. But not all.” Zax let a final line of script settle into the air and stepped back. “The kind of power we’re hiding doesn’t stay hidden forever. Some of the old ones will have noticed the tremors. Even if they cannot place the source.”

Vion finally turned from the mirror. “You think they’re tracking me?”

“No,” Zax said calmly. “They’re trying. But the spells we’ve layered are redirecting most attempts. Falsifying location traces. Feeding false resonance paths.”

She tilted her head slightly. “That sounds like a yes.”

Zax’s expression didn’t change. The chamber quieted for a moment. The only light came from the flames still dancing gently between Vion’s fingers. He finally added. “Some of the probes we’ve blocked recently… aren’t behaving normally. The return paths are folding. That’s not typical behavior.”

Vion’s brow furrowed. “So not seers?”

“Possibly. Or something adjacent. We’re not certain.” His gaze drifted slightly upward, as if trying to look through the ceiling. “The patterns have… distortion. But more concerning is that they seem to be originating from within Drakonias. But we can’t see from where. They’re evading our tracking methods so far.”

Vion paused at that. “A spy? You think we’re being watched?” she asked quietly.

Zax didn’t answer immediately. His eyes remained half-lidded, scanning lines of invisible data only he could see. Finally, he exhaled.

“Watched… perhaps not yet. But someone is trying to listen. And with the recent events… every spy who has ever infiltrated this kingdom—and we already caught some of them—is trying to find out more about the Great Race. About you.”

That sat uncomfortably in the room.

He moved toward her then and with a flash of magic, he produced a small silver pendant—etched in slow, winding script, almost like a dragon’s claw curling into itself.

He placed it in her palm with careful fingers.

“If anything happens, Snap this in half.” he said, voice softer now.

Vion looked down at the pendant, then up at him.

“It’ll bring you to me?”

Zax gave the faintest of nods. “Wherever. Through most bindings. Even if something tries to lock you away.”

She turned the pendant over once, feeling the subtle heat it gave off. Protective magic, anchored to his blood. This wasn’t a trinket—this was insurance. A last-resort key.

“Can you even come if your chains are still active?” she asked, half-curious.

Zax looked at her, one corner of his mouth twitching in something close to amusement.

“We did not say it would be easy,” he said. “Only that it would happen.”

That was answer enough.

Vion turned back to the mirror one last time. Her hair was darker now, more crimson than red. Her features had sharpened slightly over the past few days—just enough to look older. Even her eyes felt like they burned a little more when she stared too long.

She should’ve felt nervous.

Instead, she felt… ready.

She clenched her fist slowly, letting the fire twist around her wrist like a ribbon, then vanish.

Then, unfortunately, her thoughts drifted where they always seemed to lately.

Noah.

She made a face at the mirror. “Ugh.”

Zax blinked.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, backing away.

He said nothing, but there was a particular silence he carried when he was choosing not to comment.

Vion paced toward one of the support columns, dragging her fingers along it in distraction.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she muttered. “I’m thinking about him. Not like—like that—I mean, okay maybe a little. But not always.”

Still no response from Zax. Just the quiet of enchantments still thrumming.

“I don’t even know why I care what he thinks. I’m a dragon. I should not care. I should be majestic and terrifying. Not… this.”

She gestured vaguely at herself.

A moment passed.

“This is stupid,” she declared, crossing her arms. “I’m not like this. I don’t do pining. I don’t do blushing.” free𝑤ebnovel.com

No one said she was blushing, but she definitely was.

“Stupid dragon instincts,” she muttered.

Zax hummed in amusement. “Well, we aren’t too surprised. You are… at that age. You aren’t the same as a true dragon, especially biologically, so there are certain differences. But you inherit many traits, and you did spend many months together with him. Noah… Outerworlders in general have a draw to them. They interact differently with fate. Ryugan did too, he attracted people, it is how we tolerated his arrogance when he first barged in and offered to be friends with us,” Zax said, chuckling at the memory.

“You have just awakened recently to your draconian instincts and learned to control them, and from what you told us, Noah was a big part of that. You are aware of how newborn birds imprint on their mothers, yes? Well… this is a bit similar.”

“Are you telling me I’m a newborn duckling?” Vion asked, raising an eyebrow.

“In regards to your draconian side? More or less,” Zax said, clearly amused. “Regardless, how you feel is not merely due to these new instincts either. Dragons are simple creatures, but we aren’t stupid. Give your own emotions due time, and think whether they are worth following or not. Though in this case we—” Zax paused, a spell from appearing around him.

“We can discuss this later, but you should stop worrying about it and just go talk to Noah. For now, keep working on your control,” Zax said before he disappeared in a flash of light.

Vion huffed, annoyed. As if she could just go talk to him. What was she supposed to say?

Not to mention… she was a princess. Choices like this were not usually in her hand. Truthfully she’d never even thought much about it before, it had never been a major concern for her. Things like love had felt alien to her, and also childish and stupid.

And yet now, she couldn’t help but understand why people wanted it. But it wasn’t just that either. Now that she was… whole, she had a harder time lying to herself. Like a part of her revolted at the mere thought.

Her reflection smirked at her. She hated it.

And yet…

She looked stronger now than she ever had. And she felt it too. As her power grew, the more it called to her to stand tall, to speak louder, to stop hiding. She wanted to show herself. Not just to him, but to the world. To be true to herself.

She had spent her whole life being hidden. Being confined and protected. She was tired of always hiding. Tired of pretending to be things she wasn’t.

And maybe, just maybe, she was done pretending that she didn’t like being admired.

Just a little.

***

The rooftop didn’t offer many answers, but it was honest.

Noah sat near the edge of the highest tier of Kaelan’s estate, legs dangling over the side, the stone cool beneath his palms. The day had passed mostly eventually as he’d trained, and now Noah rested as nighttime had arrived. Stars shimmered above Drakonia like they’d always been there, unaffected by dragon trials or political whispers.

He exhaled through his nose and let the stillness stretch.

Thankfully, tomorrow’s trial was one he wasn’t too concerned about, Zax had seen to that. Terror resistance was carved into him now, etched bone-deep from days spent buckling under pressure that could turn others to soup. His soul remembered what it was like to stand beneath the weight of something so much bigger than him.

And yet...

Something still felt wrong to him.

Noah rubbed at his wrist and flicked his bracelet again. Still no reply.

He didn’t like being in the dark. Especially not this close to something important.

“You don’t sleep anymore, do you?”

Aurelia’s voice came softly behind him. She climbed up from the access ledge, jacket draped loosely over one shoulder. She padded across the rooftop and dropped down beside him.

“Not really,” he said. “Too much is happening. The Constitution doesn’t help.”

“That’s just your excuse for brooding.”

He smirked faintly. “Brooding is a vital nighttime activity.”

“Sure. Right after sulking and dramatic monologuing.”

“Exactly, you understand me so well now!”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. Below them, the lights of the upper city flickered faintly through the night’s haze. He could see the trial dome in the far distance.

“You’ve been quiet all day,” Aurelia said after a beat. “That’s new.”

“Things feel… off,” he admitted.

“Off how?”

“I don’t know yet. And that’s what bugs me.”

He leaned back on his hands, eyes still fixed on the sky.

“Kaelan’s nervous. Zax is gone. Vion’s been gone as well, assuming Seraphina did not lie about her appearance. Then they change the trial date again with no explanation. That’s too many things all happening close together.”

“Do you think one of the cults is involved?” Aurelia asked.

“Perhaps. It’s pretty likely, given one of the shards is supposedly here. But I’m worried it may be more than just them.”

Aurelia nodded slightly. “Then we watch each other’s backs.”

Noah hummed in agreement as they returned to silence for a few more moments.

“You’re not worried about tomorrow?” she asked.

“No,” he said. “After Zax’s training, I don't think it’ll be a problem. And we were both there with the Life Wyrm… do you really think they could match something like that? ”

“No, and I figured,” Aurelia said. “You’re not the type to be worried about something like this.”

“Neither are you.”

She smiled. Aurelia stood after a while, brushing her palms off on her jacket.

“You should try to rest. Even if it’s not sleep. You’ll need clarity more than stamina tomorrow.”

He didn’t argue.

Then she vanished into the stairwell without waiting for an answer.

Noah let the moment breathe. Then he sat up straighter and opened his Astral Script.

[Wyrmblood Upgrade – 151:49:57 remaining]

[Void Annihilation Upgrade – 71:51:20 remaining]

[Arcane Step Upgrade – 131:53:37 remaining]

[Abyssal Fusion Upgrade – 191:47:42 remaining]

He closed the panel, stretched his shoulders out once, and stepped down into the darkness of the stairwell.

Whatever trial awaited him, he hoped it was ready to face him.