Noah grinned. "So you can actually control me to a certain extent," he said, almost excited.
Without hesitation, he stepped closer to Ari again, smiling wide. "You have to take care of me, master."
Ari froze. She was still in shock, her small hands trembling as she glanced up at him. The way he smiled — cheerful yet somehow wrong — made her chest tighten.
"How old are you, little master?" Noah asked suddenly, his tone playful but loud enough to make her flinch.
Ari looked away, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm… nine years old."
Before she could react, Noah gently but swiftly lifted her into the air. She gasped, fear flashing in her eyes — and then, without meaning to, her power activated again.
Noah's body moved against his will, setting her down carefully. He couldn't help but laugh quietly.
Just as that brief, almost wholesome moment ended, a magic blast tore through the wall, shaking the room. Dust and debris filled the air.
Noah moved without thinking, standing in front of Ari and shielding her from the falling stone.
"Who is it?" Ari's voice trembled as she spoke.
A calm, cold voice answered from the smoke. "I've come for your life."
Before Ari could react, Noah stepped forward, his tone sharp but confident. "Before you even dream about hurting my master, you'll have to get through me first."
The young man laughed lightly. "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"
But as the dust cleared and he got a closer look at Noah's face, the color drained from his own. His smirk vanished.
Ari peeked out from behind Noah, confused by the sudden change.
"You… you idiot," the man stammered. "You revived him. The one that should've stayed dead. The one the gods themselves had to destroy…" He took a shaky step back. "You revived The Fool."