Chapter 4051: Sir! III

They materialized in the outer periphery of Aeternitas Concordia.

Here, the humble stalls of Originus Venerant Fold Dwellers gave way to the grand golden towers of Living Existences, creating a boundary zone that belonged fully to neither.

Noah’s throne sat unoccupied but radiant, its presence making the space around it significant simply by existing.

No one had dared remove it!

The atmosphere in the market was tense with a particular flavor of displeasure.

At this moment, Fold Dwellers and Living Origins alike cast hostile glances toward a specific group: Fold Dwellers from the Veiled Sunfolds who bore the unmistakable designation of Paradox above their heads.

Kalysta stood at their center, golden lights of Kismet and Destiny swirling around her form despite her downcast posture. Her golden hair caught light that seemed to come from within rather than without, but the marking of Paradox above her head made her radiance seem tainted to those watching.

She wasn’t alone in her designation!

Master Shen, Master Etheopa, and others from the Veiled Sunfolds clustered together like sheep surrounded by wolves, each marked as coming from Paradoxical Folds, each feeling the weight of hostile observation.

Interestingly, no one had moved against them. Word had spread about two other Paradox-marked Fold Dwellers who had revealed sponsorship by Honored Living Existences.

That possibility that these outcasts might have hidden backing kept violence at bay, though not hostility.

Master Shen took another long pull from his gourd, the alcohol doing little to ease the suffocating atmosphere. He whispered to those near him, his voice barely carrying over the market’s noise.

“Maybe… there are no opportunities for us here.”

Kalysta’s eyes flashed gold with inner light, Kismet itself speaking through her perception. “No. Kismet tells me there is something here…”

Master Shen rolled his eyes with the exasperation of someone who had heard this before. “Girl, are you still dreaming about Osmont? You can’t-”

BZZT!

The white light that suddenly blazed in the distance cut off his words. Every eye in the market turned toward the source, and Master Shen nearly dropped his gourd at what he saw.

“No fucking way…”

He took another drink, longer this time, blinking repeatedly as if alcohol might clear the impossible from his vision.

But Kalysta had no such hesitation.

Her entire being lit up with joy that transcended her circumstances as she called out across the market.

“Sir!”

…!

Noah materialized exactly where he intended…walking toward his throne with the confidence of someone returning to their own living room.

He noticed Duke Whisker floating beside him, the mouse having shrunk his presence until he seemed like nothing more than an ordinary rodent, albeit one that happened to float. The Duke settled atop a nearby stall with the air of a casual observer.

Then he heard it…that voice calling him with a title that was becoming surprisingly common in his existence.

“Sir!”

Sir.

From Moiraine, the word carried devotion that transcended simple respect.

From Duke Whisker, it had been acknowledgment of power dynamics.

He recognized the voice of none other than Kalysta as she was now calling him Sir!

From Kalysta, it rang with something between hope and desperation.

He watched as crowds of Fold Dwellers parted like water before a ship’s prow. Kalysta led the Originus Venerant experts of the Veiled Sunfolds through the gap, her eyes literally sparkling with golden light that had nothing to do with her abilities and everything to do with relief.

She approached him with the enthusiasm of someone greeting their salvation. “Where is Sis Sigrid? My Kismet was telling me to keep looking until I found you two!”

Her voice buzzed with such genuine enthusiasm that Noah found himself sighing as he reached out to stroke her head…a gesture that would have seemed patronizing from anyone else but somehow felt natural from him.

His gaze swept across the other members of the Veiled Sunfolds, then expanded to encompass the watching crowds. When he spoke, his voice carried edges that could cut.

“Did anyone bully you? Fold Dweller or Living Existence?” His eyes grew harder with each word. “If they did…”

The threat didn’t need to be completed.

The marketplace erupted into motion as beings who moments before had been casting hostile glances suddenly remembered urgent business elsewhere.

Fold Dwellers scattered toward different stalls. Living Existences found reasons to examine things in the opposite direction.

The speed of their dispersal was almost comical, if not for what it revealed about Noah’s current standing in Aeternitas Concordia.

Kalysta, Master Shen, and the others stared at this exodus with expressions that cycled through shock, confusion, and a desperate need for explanation. What had happened?

Why did Osmont, a Fold Dweller just like them, inspire such fear in beings that should have been able to crush him without thought?!

“No,” Kalysta said hesitantly, her voice small with confusion. “No one bullied us. They just… watched.”

Noah nodded, accepting this. He moved to his throne with grace, settling into it as if it had been carved specifically for his form. His gaze swept across the marketplace.

“Trades are back on!” His voice carried with the clarity of a bell through the market air. “Anything from the Doorways to the Loom, especially Herbs… and if I like them, a bowl shall be traded!”

With gestures, two radiant Glass Woks materialized beside him. Each one contained soup that gleamed with inner light, cut up Marine Lifeforms swimming through broth that could elevate existence itself. Multiple stacks of golden bowls appeared as well.

Kalysta and the others stood frozen, trying to process what they were witnessing. Master Shen’s gourd hung forgotten in his hand, his mouth slightly open as his mind struggled to reconcile the Osmont he remembered with the being who now commanded respect in a place like this!

“What…” Master Etheopa’s voice emerged as barely a whisper. “What the hell is going on?”

The question buzzed in the air, but Noah didn’t answer directly. Instead, he gestured for them to come closer, to stand near his throne where the designation of Paradox might matter less than proximity to someone who transcended such categories.

Kalysta moved closer without hesitation, drawn by Kismet itself toward whatever fate awaited. The others followed more cautiously, Master Shen taking one more drink before accepting that no amount of alcohol would make this situation make sense.

Around them, the marketplace slowly returned to life.

Duke Whisker, still disguised as an ordinary mouse, watched it all with stellar eyes that missed nothing.

At the center of it all, Noah waited for more opportunities to arise as in the Early Veiled Shore…his main body prepared to excavate wonders to pass the time until plants matured, until the Kleos Concordat began!

4/4 Keep the Magic Castles and Golden Tickets coming! Next chapter titles: The Terrifying Early Excavation Depths! 1-4

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