Chapter 99: Chapter 99: NoirThe room was silent, wrapped in the calm of the approaching midnight. A faint flame hovered above a small metallic base beside Noel’s bed, flickering gently—a floating lamp he had ignited with fire magic. Its orange light cast long shadows across the room.

    Noel sat cross-legged on the floor, his back resting against the side of the bed, a thick book open in his hands. The title read Mana Theory – Intermediate Concepts. His eyes moved quickly over the lines, but every few seconds, they darted toward the egg in front of him.

    Wrapped carefully in a folded cloth, the egg pulsed faintly with an internal glow. The system’s message hovered softly in the air above it:

    [Incubation: 0.01%]

    ’Just 0.1% left. Almost there.’

    But Noel didn’t move toward it. Instead, he flipped the page of his book and groaned internally.

    ’Mana conversion efficiency, elemental displacement theory, natural leylines... This crap is worse than what I went through back in the tunnels.’

    He rubbed his eyes, then tapped his fingers against the page to stay focused.

    ’Tomorrow the finals begin, I just need to pray to pass the theoretical exams.’

    He glanced again at the egg.

    ’Stay put for a few more hours, alright? Let me get through this first.’

    The egg didn’t respond, of course. It just glowed quietly.

    Noel sighed and leaned in closer to the page.

    ’Alright. Mana flow in closed circuits... let’s try this again.’

    He kept reading, the room growing even quieter, as if holding its breath alongside him.

    Crack.

    Noel froze.

    Crack. Crack.

    His head snapped up, eyes locked on the egg. A thin line had appeared across its surface—then another.

    ’It’s time!!!’

    He tossed the book aside and crawled forward, stopping just a few inches from the egg. Tiny fractures spread slowly along the shell, branching like veins. A pulse of light escaped from within.

    ’Please be a dragon. Or a phoenix. I’d even take a unicorn. Wait... do unicorns hatch from eggs? This world’s full of weird shit, anything goes, right?’

    A chunk of the shell shifted and fell. Noel leaned closer, anticipation flooding his chest.

    Then he saw it.

    Dark fur.

    ’Fur? Not scales? And definitely not feathers...’

    Piece by piece, the shell gave way, and he carefully reached out to help, pulling fragments aside without damaging what was inside.

    There, nestled in the shattered remains, lay a creature barely the size of his palm. Its body was curled, breathing softly. Thick, black fur covered it from head to tail, but in the dim light, he noticed streaks of faint violet running along its back and ears.

    A tail flicked slightly. Its ears twitched.

    ’A wolf... a damn tiny one.’

    It didn’t move much. It just kept sleeping, curled up like it had all the time in the world.

    Noel stared at it, face blank for a moment. Then he exhaled through his nose. S~ea??h the Novёl?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    ’Damn. You’re cute.’

    He gently lifted the small creature into his hands. Its warmth seeped into his skin.

    ’Okay. Not a dragon. Not a phoenix. But this? I think I can work with this.’

    The wolf twitched again. One eye slowly opened.

    The tiny wolf blinked slowly, lifting its head with effort. Its gaze met Noel’s, deep black eyes encircling glowing violet pupils. There was no fear, no confusion—just a strange, silent recognition. Like it already knew him.

    And then—

    [Familiar Identified]

    Name: ?, Give a name.

    Type: Familiar – Shadow Wolf

    Grade: Unique

    Description: A soulborne beast born from stilled fate. Once meant to serve the rightful heir of the Thorne line. Resonates with weapons and wills bound to second chances.

    Status: Bound to User – Noel Thorne

    Trait: Capable of hiding from magical detection. Grows stronger alongside its master. Will awaken new abilities under moonlight.

    The window hovered quietly in front of him, letters glowing faintly blue. Noel read it once. Then again.

    ’Shadow Wolf... Unique Grade... Bound to me. So it really was mine from the start.’

    He scrolled through the details slowly, taking in every line. The description made him pause.

    ’A soulborne beast born from stilled fate. Once meant to serve the rightful heir of the Thorne line.’

    His eyes narrowed slightly.

    ’That sounds a lot like Revenant Fang...’

    He opened his status window and checked the sword’s entry.

    Revenant Fang – A relic blade passed down in the Thorne bloodline. Once meant for a forgotten son. Resonates with souls bound to second chances.

    The parallels were impossible to ignore.

    ’Forgotten son. Second chances. Both tied to me... I will look into it later.’

    He looked down at the wolf in his hands, still watching him in silence.

    The wolf let out a quiet yawn and rested its head against his palm.

    Noel tilted his head slightly, studying the small creature curled up in his hands. The system still hovered beside him, waiting for input.

    ’First a name.’

    He cleared his throat.

    "How about... Megatron?"

    The wolf blinked slowly.

    "No? Alright. What about Destroyer?"

    The ears twitched. No reaction.

    "Hm... Noir?"

    The wolf’s head lifted. Its ears perked slightly, and it let out a faint, high-pitched howl—not loud, more like a whisper, but enough to make Noel smirk.

    "You like that? Noir it is."

    The system updated:

    [Name Confirmed: Noir]

    Noir stretched his legs lazily and shifted his body, then crawled up Noel’s sleeve and settled near the crook of his elbow. His breathing slowed again.

    "Really? Just hatched and already going back to sleep?"

    He leaned back, adjusting his arm to let the wolf rest more comfortably.

    ’I was expecting a mythical beast. Something with wings. Fire-breathing, maybe. But... I guess I can’t complain.’

    He reached out and gently scratched behind Noir’s ears. The little wolf didn’t even stir.

    ’Definitely not what I imagined. But definitely mine.’

    Noel reopened the system window.

    ’Let’s see everything calmly again.’

    "Status."

    [Familiar: Noir]

    Type: Shadow Wolf

    Grade: Unique

    He tapped the entry, unfolding additional details.

    ’Same grade as Ashen Sigil and Revenant Fang... the highest possible. That’s good. Really good.’

    He scrolled down again, rereading the description slowly.

    ’A soulborne beast born from stilled fate. Once meant to serve the rightful heir of the Thorne line. Resonates with weapons and wills bound to second chances.’

    His eyes moved toward the nearby sword, resting against the wall. The same wording. The same theme.

    ’Revenant Fang was for a forgotten son. Noir was meant for the rightful heir. And both ended up with me.’

    He rubbed his thumb along the back of Noir’s head.

    ’So... which am I? The forgotten son, or the rightful heir? Or maybe both.’

    Noel exhaled through his nose.

    ’Second chances, huh? That’s what this all is. The system’s throwing me tools, piece by piece. Revenant Fang. Ashen Sigil. Now Noir. All bound to someone who shouldn’t have lived a second time.’

    He leaned his head back, eyes resting on the ceiling.

    ’And what’s a Shadow Wolf, anyway? I haven’t seen that shadow in a while—the one that mimics sword techniques. Is there a connection? Same name, same theme.’

    He lowered his gaze again, now fixated on Noir sleeping peacefully against his arm.

    ’I guess I’ll find out. Maybe when I visit the Thorne archives, I can dig up something useful.’

    He remained like that for a while, the book forgotten, the exam temporarily unimportant. Just a boy and his wolf, bathed in warm light and quiet thoughts.