Chapter 5: Silent Reign of a King

In the vast hall, bathed in dimmed light. Noah remained motionless, his head resting atop his crossed arms on the table. His eyes fought the heaviness, battling the pull of slumber. The resonant voice of the lecturer reverberated through the expansive space, filling the air with a weight that refused to let Noah drift into sleep.

The commanding voice was an anomaly in the otherwise monotonous lecture, prompting Noah to lift his head slightly and steal a glance at the speaker. An elderly man stood at the podium his eagerness evident as he addressed the crowd. Noah, fatigued beyond measure, couldn't summon the enthusiasm to match the lecturers. Instead, he allowed his gaze to drift towards the black hole in the wall to gauge the time. Disappointment settled in as he realized the lecture still had over 40 minutes until he was free to go.

"As all of you undoubtedly understand, seeking to understand and contextualize the various aspects of daily life, including society, culture, and how we as people live, is the main underlying goal of sociological study. Once you are capable of perceiving these social constructs through the concept of the sociological imagination and associated tools, you'll find yourself able to deconstruct complicated social relationships, human behaviour, and social institutions..."

Noah struggled to remain awake amongst the academic jargon and soaring rhetoric that the egotistical voice driving around the lecture hall was spilling and allowed the lecture's voice to blur into background noise.

Why did I opt for this field of study?' Noah pondered, yet, no matter how he contemplated the question, the answer remained unknown to him.

"Of course, I'm not expecting you to blindly accept what I am teaching. I expect you to challenge yourselves by critically applying what you learn whether it's debating with your fellow students or taking part in class discussions." The university lecturer, standing tall at the podium, paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the sea of students in the lecture hall. It was as if he sought to etch his words deep within their minds, his point made by pointing at the whiteboard with his toothbrush. A subtle smile crept across his face, tinged with a hint of self-assurance, before he resumed.

"But most importantly, this subject of sociology will provide you with two key competencies that will enable you to develop your discipline-specific understandings and ability to work effectively in your chosen profession, whatever that may be."

"No matter how hard Noah tried to focus, the heavy weight of drowsiness prevented him from absorbing a single word. Even with full energy, this subject bored him senseless.

"Is anyone else even listening?" he wondered, scanning the room. "Around 7 other Smokey looking shadows… that's a little more than usual… Mr. Braun must be a popular lecturer." Noah mumbled.

Replacing his mischievous grin with an uncharacteristically proud smile, Mr. Braun continued with a hint of satisfaction, "Yes, very good indeed. But now, can you elucidate his perspective on religion?" Mr. Braun asked one of the shadows who never asked.

"Ah… I should be writing notes still…" Noah mumbled to himself,

Glancing down at his table, Noah reached out for his pencil, only to find it missing. 'Didn't I leave it here? Perhaps it fell off.'

With an irked sigh, he discreetly pulled out his seat and leaned down to look under the table, frustration mounting at the inconvenience.

"Yahaha! You found me!"

Underneath his table lurked a creature resembling a chunk of atree. Its wooden body had protrusions that gave it the appearance of a wooden person, and a leaf served as a makeshift mask. Most importantly, it had Noah's pencil. What followed was a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"I don't need my pencil," Noah declared firmly, tucking in his chair and pretending he hadn't noticed anything.

The wooden figure seemed annoyed by Noah's indifference as it painfully jabbed Noah's leg with the pencil before darting out from under the table and fleeing the room. Noah grunted in surprise and pain as he quickly got up from his chair.

"You little Muppet reject!" Noah exclaimed, wincing in pain as he stood up. The attention of both the lecturer was squarely on him, the shadows merely looked forward ignoring him.

The lecturer Mr. Braun standing with a well-fitted suit and lean frame stood and stared at Noah with a horrified expression as if Noah had just murdered his family.

"I apologise for the disruption Sir." Noah paused, thinking of an excuse "Family emergency, I'll return shortly."

Noah having excused himself briskly walked left out of the room, entering into the hallway and just managing to spot the tree turning the corner leading outside.

Noah after checking no one was watching sped up dramatically to chase the wooden humanoid now that he was out of the room and away from anyone's eyes "Get back here so I can shred you into my missing pencil!"

"Yahaha?!" The threat seemed to work, as the creature picked up its pace horrified and dashed out of the auditorium, heading for the bushes.

Noah grunted in frustration; the creature was surprisingly swift. However, his long strides helped him gradually close the gap as he pursued the tree-like figure outside.

As Noah entered outside which had just finished raining judging from the wet ground, he noticed more of the shadow figures walking aimlessly, but for some reason, he didn't find them odd.

The tree humanoid darted toward the bushes but suddenly veered, scampering along the perimeter of the building. Squinting, Noah noticed a conveniently sized hole, perfectly fitting the creature's form, and realised its escape route.

"No, you don't!" Noah yelled, determinedly chasing after it.

"Owie!" The creature cried out as Noah's shouting caught it off guard, causing it to trip right before the hole in the stone wall under a puddle of water.

"You're mine!" Noah shouted triumphantly, almost grabbing the creature as it stumbled.

"Oh no!" the creature wailed, using its agility to backflip into the hole in the wall, narrowly escaping Noah's grasp.

"Damn it! I still need my pencil!" Noah shouted reaching the wall mere milliseconds later as he pushed his arm into the hole in a desperate attempt to grab the creature.

Noah's eyes lit up as he seemingly grabbed something, and excitedly pulled it out hoping to finally shred the small humanoid tree trunk for the sins it's committed.

As he opened his hand, Noah's expression shifted from excitement to confusion. Nestled in his palm was not the creature but a radiant golden glowing seed.

The seed in Noah's palm emitted a soft, golden luminescence. It was about the size of a walnut, its smooth surface shimmering with intricate patterns that resembled delicate vines weaving around its core. Despite its small size, the seed carried an inexplicable weight, not physically but in the aura, it emitted

Suddenly the luminescent seed's hue expanded in light as it enveloped Noah who was powerless to stop it, Noah had to shut his eyes as it was bright enough to cause his eyes to sting.

The moment the light dampened down Noah immediately became confused.

"Wait... I've never attended this class, and I'm studying policing, not sociology..." Noah's anxiety heightened as he turned around and began to walk, only to discover that the route back to the class had vanished. Dozens of black shadows, akin to the ones he'd seen in the study room, hovered eerily around the open space like before. Except they had ceased their aimless drift and were fixated on staring at him, maintaining a moderate distance.

Only now acknowledging their existence and the danger they potentially represented, Noah's breath became shallow as he thought of an exit route.

The once-docile shadows, composed of floating black smoke, took on an unexpected and erratic nature. They violently expanded and contracted without any discernible pattern.

Turning menacing, the shadows started drifting toward Noah, causing him to retreat slowly until his back met the wall. In a cruel twist of fate, he stumbled on the same puddle that the green humanoid tree trunk had done the same on and ended up falling to the ground.

With no exit in sight, Noah's adrenaline spiked, he could feel his senses heighten to an acute level in response to the danger surrounding him. Every sound resonated louder, and every movement felt amplified as if magnified by his escalating anxiety. Amid the chaos, he caught a shimmer from the puddle he tripped on, its reflection causing a glint in his eye that, in his heightened state, seemed oddly significant, sparking a moment of clarity in the midst of his panic.

In his adrenaline-fueled panic, Noah glimpsed his reflection in the puddle and noticed the reflection belonging to a weapon swiftly closing in on him from behind. His heightened senses and instinctive reaction propelled him to throw himself to the left to avoid the attack.

Noah's eyes popped open and in a showcase of what appeared to be a premonition, Noah kicked off the ground and rolled across the dirt floor inside the camp King Rhoam had made stabilising himself upright in preparation for another attack.

"Wait, I was dreaming? What happened?" Noah was perplexed. He had believed the previous encounter to be real, yet the realness of the attack he had just evaded jolted him back to reality. The kicked-up dirt briefly clouded his vision, but as the smoke dissipated, a wave of panic swept over him.

"…King Rhoam?" Noah's voice trembled.

In front of Noah laid a newly formed small crater in the ground, the blunt end of a Woodcutter's axe firmly embedded where Noah had been sleeping moments ago. Gripping the axe's handle was a most disconcerting sight - King Rhoam, undisturbed by Noah's panicked reaction, exhaled softly.

"So, you do know me… boy…"

Noah was rendered speechless, his mind struggling to grasp the unfolding scenario.

'King Rhoam attacked me?' 'No… he tried to kill me' Noah's thoughts raced, a sense of fear and bewilderment engulfing him.

"What… are you doing?" Noah let out in a crumpled and terrified voice.

King Rhoam remained silent; his focus fixed on the weapon in his grasp. As he exerted force to retrieve the Woodcutter's Axe from the ground, a sudden snap echoed in the air. The head of the axe broke free from the handle, tumbling to the ground while King Rhoam clenched the stick in his hand.

"…me?" King Rhoam muttered, his gaze drilling into the fallen axe head, filled with murderous intent.

Noah's mind raced as he grappled with the unfolding crisis. 'Did he figure it out? No, that doesn't make sense. Why would he try to kill me?' The confusion and fear intensified, swirling relentlessly within him. 'I don't understand. I don't understand. I don't understand.' Panic consumed him as he struggled to find any logic in the situation.

However, for a brief moment, Noah's mind came to a complete stop as his body acted without a will, as if in response to the scene he was now watching the adrenaline in his body surged giving him an energy high he didn't think possible yet he still couldn't move.

"…I am atoning for a mistake."

Noah watched, frozen in place, as a crimson, viscous liquid akin to lava bubbled up from the crater. It wrapped itself around the woodcutter's axe head and stretched out like a snake, welding the head seamlessly back onto its handle as though acting as a binding agent. The red-black substance slithered up the length of the axe, crawled onto King Rhoam's arm, and vanished beneath his clothing, only to reappear from under King Rhoam's hood and retreat into his eye, casting a dark red hue over his gaze.

In that instant, fear held Noah captive as King Rhoam turned his gaze towards him. It became clear to Noah that any attempt at conversation was utterly futile.

"...Malice..." Noah spoke with veined breath.

"So this is Malice…" King Rhoam uttered, drawing a deep breath as if absorbing the malevolent force into himself. "The source of my Kingdom's destruction…"

"Why-" King Rhoam abruptly interrupted Noah and immediately dashed towards him brandishing his axe

"He's fast!" Noah's mind screamed as he instinctively attempted to replicate his prior dodge. He swiftly dropped to the floor, aiming to roll aside once again.

However, King Rhoam, anticipating Noah's move, adjusted his strategy. Instead of striking with his axe, King Rhoam quickly altered his approach. As Noah started his dodge, King Rhoam veered off his trajectory, pivoting to intercept Noah's anticipated roll. The unexpected move left Noah vulnerable, unable to dodge in time as King Rhoam's swift kick sent him hurtling out of the cave, tumbling uncontrollably down the hillside.

Noah grunted in pain as he hurtled down the hillside, his body jostled and battered by the rough terrain. Finally, his descent ended abruptly as he collided with a sharp rock, eliciting a pained groan from his lips. The throbbing agony radiating from his body paralysed him momentarily as he held onto his stomach and vomited the contents of his stomach.

Clutching his stomach, Noah struggled to stand, his breaths coming in ragged gasps as he fought against the shock and discomfort coursing through his body. Staggering unsteadily, he attempted to gain his footing,

"How unusual, Link would've predicted that." King Rhoam spoke sarcastically standing at the entrance of the cave.

'Get up goddamn it! He's going to kill us!' Noah screamed to his body, ignoring the pain the best he could Noah swiftly gained his bearings, Noah had to admit he was thankful he had Link's trained body instead of his own which helped him recover significantly easier.

Noah looked to King Rhoam, who continued his aggressive charge, hurtling through the air with the axe raised above his shoulder, aimed directly at Noah.

Reacting swiftly, Noah managed to create some distance between himself and King Rhoam, allowing him to replicate his initial roll and evade the airborne assault. He watched as King Rhoam crashed onto the ground beside him, his dodging abilities driven more by instinct than conscious thought.

Confounded by his newfound agility done purely by instinct, Noah quickly sprung to his feet amidst the cloud of dust from King Rhoam's crash. Without hesitation, he sprinted into the dense forest, seeking refuge and desperate to escape King Rhoam's relentless pursuit.

King Rhoam, unmoving and silent, observed Noah's escape. Gripping the Corrupted Woodcutter's Axe tightly, he muttered to himself, "Time for the last hunt,"