The Bookkeeper

"Stay still," Noelle instructed, gently turning Raiden's face towards hers. "Your pupils and irises have turned golden... I can't differentiate between them."

Raiden's expression darkened as his thoughts raced, trying to piece everything together. Everything seemed blurry to him; was he that badly damaged?

"Can you see anything at all?"

Raiden shook his head. "No… everything is blurry and without any clear structure."

Noelle let out a sigh. "Zion's ability is Retinal Rift. It allows him to flood people's minds and vision with his overwhelming truths and visions."

Raiden's eyes narrowed as he finally recalled what he'd witnessed when Zion's ability was activated. Those breathtaking yet complex visions, the overwhelming thoughts that screamed in his mind until he felt like killing himself. He remembered every detail too well.

"I don't think you're blind," Noelle added. "It's possible there are fragments of his ability lingering on your eyes, or perhaps your eyes are just too tired to see anymore."

Raiden's mouth parted slightly as he stared into nothing. He couldn't afford to be blind, that would be the end of him. His palms began to sweat, and he trembled internally. He pulled away from Noelle, propped his elbows on his thighs, and tried to think.

Was this the biggest mistake of his life—to fight for something he wouldn't get to enjoy and end up disabled in the process? His thoughts shattered and collided with one another while his body continued trembling.

His eyes widened, and he wore a soft smile. Taking a deep breath, he turned invisible. Yet that cheerful smile faded in an instant as he slammed his fist into the concrete beneath him.

He'd hoped to see through heat detection the way he could when invisible, but unfortunately, it didn't work.

He turned visible again as he ran his hands through his dark hair. If there were fragments left on his eyes, all he needed to do was clear them. But how?

"We came here for a reason, you know? To build up enough mana reserves and get strong enough to visit the Solace Isle and form an alliance with the Apex Circle." Noelle let out a disappointed sigh. "And worse, the longer we wait, the closer FIRMO gets to the pages."

Raiden raised his head and turned toward her, realization dawning. Noelle wasn't wrong, but her words weren't his main concern. If he remained blind, anyone could strike him down without him even knowing.

"Now, because of your carelessness, we have to figure out a way to deal with you…" She shrugged, then brightened slightly. "Good news though; you can't lose your title because of the bloodline ritual."

Raiden smiled as the mention of 'bloodline ritual' sparked a thought in his mind.

"There's a technique I heard about, one used by my family's biggest rivals. Sight." His grin widened as he began concentrating mana into his eyes.

Alex Dawnbringer had mentioned the simplest technique in their family when they first formed their alliance against the Dawnbringers. If what he'd said was correct, Raiden was eager to combine it with his already sharp dragon vision to create something uniquely his own.

His eyes remained closed as he channeled most of his mana into them, Noelle watching him with confusion. The moment he was done, he smiled and opened his eyes.

His smile broke into laughter as he looked at Noelle's confused expression, watching her dark violet eyes dart up to meet his golden ones. He could see.

However, his expression grew somber shortly after. His vision wasn't stable, vivid one moment, blurry the next after just a blink. He needed constant focus to maintain clear sight and, worse, it demanded a lot of his mana as well.

The moment he stopped channeling mana to his eyes, he instinctively reached for them, teeth gritted in agony, forcing him to reactivate his sight.

Just that brief moment left him panting relentlessly, sweat beading on his forehead. "I can see now, but I don't think I can ever turn this off."

Noelle raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. "How so?"

"The moment I deactivated it, his ability kicked in again." He locked eyes with Noelle. "Worse, I think I'll need limitless mana for this."

Noelle stared at him for a moment without saying a word while Raiden fidgeted with his fingers, still uncomfortable with his situation. Just like Noelle said, they needed the mana, and now he had to distribute it?

Noelle reached into her pocket and tossed him an aether cigarette. "There's no fire around to light it, though."

Raiden stared at her, confused. "I don't smoke."

"You can give it back if you want." Her tone was detached.

Raiden stared at it for a moment. If he remembered correctly, aether was said to stabilize mana flow. He smiled. If that were the case, it would help his situation, even if he didn't smoke. But something bothered him—why was Noelle helping him?

"I thought you said you wouldn't care if I died."

Noelle turned away from him and tilted her head upward. "Honestly, I didn't care. But we both know if you die, my chances of getting the pages and rescuing my mother are slim."

Raiden's eyes narrowed as he suddenly saw her emotions fluctuating in visible form. Red color emerged from her chest area, mingling with her golden aura for a moment before ceasing.

He was a little confused as he touched his eyes. "What was that?"

"What?" Noelle turned to him, perplexed.

Raiden stared at her for a moment—no emotional fluctuations this time. He reached for his eyes and smiled.

"Can I see people's emotions now?" he whispered to himself.

"What are you saying?"

Raiden understood he was seeing emotions, though what kind was unclear. He would try testing it once more.

"I was asking if you hate me that much."

Noelle rolled her eyes and shrugged without saying a word, but her emotions still flickered red.

She stood up and set Ash down from her shoulder. "I have a fight up next…" she said, starting to leave. "I will speak with you soon." Yet there were no emotions, nothing.

Raiden watched as she walked away. He stretched, then grabbed Ash and placed her on his shoulder.

Was this going to be a milestone for him, or was it just a curse? He clutched his head as it started spinning—he was growing exhausted from the constant mana drain.

He let out a sigh. "I have to understand this more." He reached for his eyes.