Without Noah noticing, it had become night. The fiery backdrop darkened as the aurora in the sky became more intense. Noah had arrived at the tip of the peninsula in no time at all. His thoughts so consumed him that he was unaware of everything else. Noah realized that it was now starting to rain.

Not wanting to enter the glowing bush, Noah shielded his face as he began to jog along the rocky beach. He had seen a large boulder in the distance and wanted to take shelter beside it. He was soaking wet by the time he got to the boulder. Up close, it was strangely rounded and symmetrical. There was moss completely covering its surface with other small plants growing from between the cracks. Ignoring that, the wind howled as Noah hid behind the unusual boulder on the side opposing the heavy rain.

The [Grade 1 Inferno Breastplate] flared of its own accord, warming the odd rock behind him while reducing the rain to steam before it could reach him. Noah's wet clothes and skin quickly dried under the heat as he watched a low-hanging fog roll in from the glowing vegetation in front of him. Fortunately, the warm glow from his armour's ability shrouded from view as Noah welcomed the mist like a protective blanket.

Noah huddled with his back against the rock while hugging his knees. His head started to droop into his arms as he nodded off to sleep. An unknown time later, he jolted awake from another nightmare about the innumerable deaths he felt guilty for on the Fallen Citadel.

This time he was among them as an unawakened without any abilities. Completely helpless as a tidal wave washed over him. After he struggled to resurface, the impact of the ocean caused the tall buildings to collapse. He could hear people's screams as they plummeted from the suspended bridges above into the cold water below. The last thing he saw before he awoke was the top of a metal spire crushing him into darkness.

All of those people. Dead. All because of me. Ronan was without any doubt a Tyrant, but I'm much, much worse… I-I'm a monster! Maybe it would be better if I just disappeared. The world would be a better place without me in it.

Noah's tears dried the moment they left his eyes under the heat of the mysteriously controlled [Inferno] ability. His body quivered with his head cradled against his knees as he silently wept until mercifully slipping into oblivion.

***

The next morning, Noah was awoken by the sound of alien voices inside his mind. He blinked sleep from his eyes while groggily raising his head from where it rested against his knees. Flames continued to flicker weakly on his breastplate but no longer shrouded him. The rain had stopped at some point throughout the night while he was unconscious.

He didn't feel alerted to any danger as he raised himself from his hiding place. Climbing atop the boulder, he crawled to the centre. Peeking over the mound at the top, Noah investigated the source of the voices. From his new vantage point, he could see three blackbirds pecking at the base of the moss-covered boulder Noah was perched. One of the birds screeched while attempting to scratch away a fist-sized rock.

『Hard Shell!』 the bird's words were translated by the System.

Noah was momentarily stunned. The birds only appeared to be grade-two, yet he understood them. Noah remembered that one of the new features after advancing to grade-three was [Universal Language]. It allowed him to understand the communication of any other System-user. It would also translate all of his words to them.

『Meat!』 a second bird screeched as it lunged to peck inside the hole created by the first.

Blood was on the bird's beak as it withdrew its head from the small opening. The third bird pushed it aside with a flurry of feathers and wings as it scrambled to widen the hole. It successfully managed to move a rock almost as large as itself before entering. The bird let out a caw of victory, which the System translated in real-time for Noah.

『Food!』 the third bird cried.

The boulder underneath Noah began to move, surprising Noah, who was unprepared for the shift. The three birds flew backward as they fluttered out of reach. The boulder started to rise as Noah pressed himself against it.

『Not dead!』a bird screeched.

『Tricked us!』 a second bird agreed.

『Look top!』the third bird informed the others as it noticed Noah laying atop the boulder.

Noah decided that it would be wise for him to make a display of force. He got to his feet, the fire flaring brightly on his armour. He suddenly swayed unsteadily as the boulder beneath him lurched. It crashed down on the rocky beach, almost causing Noah to lose his balance.

『Man, dangerous!』 a bird said.

『But dying!』 a second bird argued.

『Wait, watch!』 the third bird suggested.

The three birds squawked in agreement before flying into the bush, landing on a nearby tree branch to observe. Leaves shimmered with white-lifeforce after being disturbed by their flight.

Noah watched the birds warily as he cautiously climbed down from the odd boulder. He circled to where the birds had been digging. The boulder had moved from its original position. There was an indentation where it had initially been laying, but Noah could now see that it wasn't a moss-covered rock. It was an exhausted mutated tortoise.

The tortoise was staring at Noah with tired eyes drooping closed. The creature appeared near death. Its shell was half again as tall as Noah, covered in moss. Small plants grew from what Noah had assumed were rocks, but he could now recognize the tortoise's shell segments.

He had used the plants as handholds along with the cracks to climb the soft, slippery moss. The shell curved gently, giving plenty of space for Noah to lay flat at the peak. Purple-lifeforce shimmered weakly beneath its exposed skin. There were no wounds aside from small blood spots where the birds had pecked it.