The Bookkeeper

The night passed quickly, and Raiden lay dormant, distant from the world around him, all his wounds from the previous night already healed. As morning approached, the arena began to crowd again.

Raiden's head rested on Noelle's lap, while Ash perched on her shoulder. She had been affected by Raiden's situation more than anticipated.

But his slumber didn't stop Zion from claiming his prize. A few hours into the day, Zion approached Noelle with a soft smile, his fingers rubbing his mustache.

"He's really a strong one you've got there," Zion said as he sat down nearby.

Noelle paid him no mind, her gaze darting between the fighters on the field as the crowd cheered regardless.

Zion glanced at Noelle and Raiden for a moment, then sighed. "Well, his prowess isn't what I'm interested in." He rose to his feet and adjusted his glasses. "You have a duel to the death with one of my people in four matches."

He began walking away. "Prepare yourself."

Noelle seemingly heard every word, but her eyes remained on the field as usual, her hand brushing against Raiden's dark hair, showing no interest in Zion's threat.

Though Raiden couldn't glimpse Noelle's fate as he'd hoped, he fought a different battle entirely. His eyes moved rapidly behind closed lids, yet his mind was utterly blank—no sense of awareness remained.

His thoughts pulsed heavily, matching the rhythm of his heart, while his body twitched relentlessly. He was utterly exhausted from taking a direct hit from Zion's ability the previous night.

This continued for quite a while—minutes stretching into hours—until a young man approached them and spoke up. A yellow aura glowed around him, his brown shirt had sleeves rolled to the elbows, and he carried himself with a cheerful, calm demeanor.

He bowed. "I am Thor, and I'll be your opponent today." Noelle glanced at him, her expression unreadable.

"I'm afraid it's time for our fight," Thor added.

Noelle uttered nothing, but her eyes swept around, undoubtedly searching for a more comfortable spot to leave Raiden while she fought.

"Don't worry, we'll keep him safe," Thor said as another young man in black appeared from behind.

"No, he would be fine," Noelle said bluntly as she carefully placed Raiden's head on the seat. She took a moment to infuse a little of her golden mana into his blue energy, then stood with Ash still resting on her shoulder.

Thor shrugged, and they began descending to the field—and so did Raiden, deeper into restlessness. Soon, he began to feel uneasy on the seat, the rough concrete piercing his skin, making him adjust unconsciously over and over in search of his former comfort.

While he tossed uncomfortably on the seat, Noelle placed Ash on the sidelines and faced Thor. Her face betrayed no interest as she watched him conjure lightning that crackled steadily across his body with practiced precision.

This was a moment Raiden would have loved to witness, but his circumstances trapped him. The uncomfortable seat, however, pierced through his blank mind.

For the first time since falling asleep, he could actually feel something—discomfort stabbing through his spine. Yet his vulnerable state gave the arena's warriors an opportunity to exploit him.

A man in ragged clothes emerged—receding hairline, rotting teeth. His hand lingered on his dagger as he grinned widely, his comrades sitting nearby and laughing at the top of their lungs.

But the man's expression darkened as he reached toward Raiden. He froze inexplicably in place, only his eyes moving in terror. Sweat broke out across his forehead, though he couldn't make a sound while his comrades laughed nearby, waiting for him to finish robbing Raiden.

The uneasiness in Raiden's body grew unbearable, and in that moment, his only thought was the discomfort of his position. He gritted his teeth, his expression shifting through waves of dark emotion while the ragged man watched helplessly, still frozen.

In that instant, the uneasiness exploded through Raiden's body in a violent shiver—as if every sense had ignited simultaneously. He shot up from the seat, bolting upright.

He looked confused, blinking rapidly for a moment before clutching his head in agony and releasing a deep, tormented scream. His thoughts throbbed relentlessly, as if he had been thinking for eternity. But what troubled him most was his vision.

His once gray eyes were now deep golden—and worse, he couldn't see anything. His eyes searched blindly toward the field. He could sense he was in the arena, could hear lightning crackling from Thor and Noelle's fight, but everything remained dark.

"What's happening?" he muttered, running his hands over his face. "I'm alive, but I can't see anything."

He kept blinking frantically, hoping his regeneration would kick in and restore his vision, but his eyes felt dead. It was as if his healing power couldn't touch them.

The ragged man still stood frozen, watching Raiden. Raiden brushed his hands against his face, his frustration so intense he felt ready to peel off his own skin as he tried desperately to recall what exactly happened the previous night.

"There was a big eye, a golden light beam, and the pain." His eyes darted frantically. "What happened next? Why can't I see? Did that light do something to my vision?"

He began rubbing his eyes, but there was no pain whatsoever. It was as if his vision had never been damaged to begin with.

As he sat there confused, the ragged man trembling beside him, Noelle noticed he was finally conscious. She and Thor both panted heavily, keeping their distance from each other. Wearing a warm smile, she activated her domain as the golden aura ceased flowing from her.

Thor rushed to close the gap at incredible speed, trying to stop her. He moved faster than her thoughts could follow and landed a crushing blow that sent her to the ground, but even that couldn't stop the domain from activating.

Her golden aura formed a sphere encompassing the entire field. The moment it activated, the ragged man frozen at Raiden's side collapsed, prompting blind Raiden to turn in his direction. But the instant the man realized he could move, he bolted away.

Then Raiden heard it: "Wolf wins!"

He glanced in the direction of the sound, confused. If Noelle was fighting, then who had been by his side? But he didn't dwell on that for long.

He'd engaged Zion in the first place to see Noelle pushed to her limits, and now, not only couldn't he watch her fight, but he also found himself in an entirely new predicament. One he never saw coming.

He sighed. "I can't be blind forever… what the hell is going on?"