Even before the outcry, Noble could feel Rain's hunt was reaching its peak. The girl's emotions, which were already intense, became steadily more focused and determined.
Noble lowered her head.
'You can do it, Rainy.'
It was hard for Noble to keep her emotions in check. The harder she tried, the more tired she became.
'Maybe I need a nap. I could take a quick trip to the Waking World and my dorm there…but then I would have to explain how I left without using the gateway! Maybe it would be easier to tether myself to the desk…just a little bit of shut eye should…'
A surge of primal fear crashed against Noble's consciousness.
It was raw and unfiltered, throwing any semblance of tranquility Noble had carved out for herself out the window.
A moment later, Noble was out the window too—the office window that was. Her body seemed to move on its own.
It was only when Noble realized that she was passing over the city gate that she registered just how far she had traveled in barely a breath.
Inside her soul sea, Noble felt the Soul Bloom restlessly moving around her iridescent core. The emotion from Rain had sent the calm waters below into undulating waves that lapped upon the shore.
Noble flew as she never had before, desperate to reach her daughter before it was too late.
She didn't make it.
As Noble descended on the hot plain of the field of ash, a scream carried across the plains.
Only it wasn't a shriek of agony. It was a victory cry.
The heat in Noble's soul quieted as the tense connection between the mother and daughter returned to its normal, relaxed state.
Noble suddenly felt a little silly. Of course, Rain came out victorious. How could she not?
Her oversensitivity had brought her out to the wilderness on a fool's errand.
What would Rain have thought if she had swooped in? Would she think Noble suddenly didn't trust her?
'I hope not.'
"I can't believe I did that," Rain's voice drifted across the plain.
"If it's any consolation, I am impressed myself. I didn't think you could do it." A second speaker responded.
"Thank you, Teacher…I think."
'What is something Sunny would be impressed by?'
Noble chewed her lip, debating her next move. She could head back to the Academy, but the most logical choice barely crossed her mind before being rejected. Her curiosity got the better of her. She had to know what had caused Rain such terror.
Coming close enough to hear the low conversation clearly, Noble dropped behind a mound of ash and activated her second sight. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Wait, Teacher, if you said you weren't sure I could do it. Does that mean you were going to let me die?" Rain's form showed that one hand was on her hip. The other held a javelin that leaned at an odd angle.
"No, don't be silly," a formless voice answered. "I have forbidden you from dying, remember? It is not allowed."
The lack of a second speaker was not what had startled Noble. Sunny was certainly hiding in his sister's shadow. That wasn't news at all.
What was news was not one but two dead stone worms lying limply about Rain's feet.
'Surely not…'
Unable to believe her second sight, Noble peeked over the ashen hill to look across the plain. Sure enough, her vision confirmed what she had already sensed. Two large worms were sprawled out on the ground, bleeding heavily onto the black, hot ash. Between them was a slender girl who was now shedding the reinforced military jacket that Fort had given her a few years earlier. The mundane girl had slaughtered not one, but two Stone Worms! By their coloring, at least one was a Dormant Monster.
'A crazy girl, indeed! I doubt most of the military could produce that kind of result without tools or Awakened abilities.'
Pausing, Rain looked toward the hill of ash in the distance. Noble ducked. The girl shouldn't have been able to see her at this distance, but she seemed to have caught sight of the movement in her peripheral vision.
After a tense moment, Rain returned to her task. Dislodging the javelin, she set it aside and wiped her brow. Pulling out a hunting knife, she sighed.
"I don't suppose you will help me with breaking this down?"
When no voice answered, Rain sighed a second time and got to work.
With the excitement over, Noble turned to leave.
"If I'm not mistaken, you haven't spied on us in a long time."
The whisper next to her ear made Noble punch at the air. With a chuckle, Sunny manifested from her shadow and leaned against the mound of ash.
"I wasn't spying. I was checking on Rain." Noble kept her voice low.
With Rain's angry mutterings at the teacher who wasn't there, she was unlikely to hear them, but Noble didn't want to take any chances.
Sunny's affable smile faded. "You don't look so good. What's wrong?"
Noble hesitated. What should she say?
That's when Noble remembered that she was looking at possibly the only person in two worlds who might actually be able to help her—a fellow Saint who knew her secret.
"Rain's emotions. They pulled me here. Everyone's emotions are twisting me in knots. Before I could feel them, but now it's like they are in sharp relief and won't go out of focus even if I try."
A look of sympathy passed across the young man's face. "Ah, yes. I remember that feeling. The overload of stimulation from my Aspect was enough to drive me mad."
"So, it's not just me? This is normal?" Noble felt a wave of relief. Part of her was worried that this was another side effect of the shimmering Nothing in her soul.
Sunny pursed his lips.
"It isn't just you, no. I would say that it isn't abnormal, especially with powerful Aspects."
"How do I get past it?" Noble held her breath. Perhaps her trip out here had not been in vain.
"I don't know. Time mostly, I would guess." The young man shrugged. Seeing the dejection of his companion, he added, "For me, it was learning how to compartmentalize my thoughts. Knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore. It took practice, but it's natural enough now."
Noble contemplated his words for a moment.
"So if I can separate the feelings, I can contain them!"
Sunny seemed unwilling to say more. He pressed his lips together.
"I have to go, Rain will start getting more vocal, and somewhere along the way, she picked up some bad habits when it comes to her language."
"I see." Noble frowned. "Before you go, I wanted to ask, how did you find me? Usually, with my bracelets, you don't sense me unless you see me."
The young man dissolved into the shadows, and for a moment, Noble thought he wasn't going to answer her question.
But then the whisper came.
"Finding you was an accident. I was checking on that other thing."
"Other thing?"
Noble scanned the landscape, curious about what had drawn the shadowy saint's attention.
That's when Noble saw them.
Footprints.