Reborn As Noble

”But I’ve handed the choice to my youngest.”

Garius turned his head slightly, just enough to let his eyes pierce into Gilmon’s soul.

”It’s Javier’s mission now. His judgment. His will.”

”If the decision were mine alone?”

Garius’s voice became a whisper.

”Edmund would already be dead.”

Garius walked out, the door shutting behind him.

Leaving Gilmon alone in a silence.

Garius walked slowly down the long stone corridor of the healing facility.

Behind him followed Alf, silent and composed.

Erinnette, sharp-eyed and tense.

Hesbeirn, jaw tight with unease.

”My lord?” Alf finally spoke.

”Yes, Alf?” Garius replied without slowing down.

”...Are you sure?”

”About killing Edmund?” Garius asked steadily.

”Yes. I’m sure.”

He paused in the middle of the hall and turned slightly, his gaze drifting over the three who had followed him since their youth.

”You were all with me,” he said quietly, ”when we fought the first celestial, remember?”

They nodded, grim memories flashing in their minds.

”And those weren’t even stage one,” Garius continued. ”Just raw, unbound fragments. Not vessels. Not fused. And yet, look what they did. How they twisted everything around them. How hard we struggled to contain even one.”

”But Edmund... he’s reached stage five. That’s no longer a celestial infestation.”

”That’s possession,” Garius said sharply.

He glanced sideways.

”Gumarak was lucky. Javier stopped him just in time and sealed the celestial inside his body before it could fully consume him. But if he had hesitated...”

He shook his head.

”If he let it devour him, like Gurdan did, there would be no redemption. No reversal. Only execution.”

A long silence followed.

”Celestials...” Garius exhaled slowly, choosing his words carefully.

”...They’re not like curses. Not diseases. They’re worse.”

”They’re a living catastrophe. A walking disaster that infects not just the body—but ambition, dreams, love, purpose. Once it takes root, it eats your soul from the inside. Slowly, until only madness remains.”

He looked forward and kept walking.

”There’s no ’cure’ once it reaches stage five. Only containment—or destruction.”

”Then,” Erinnette asked softly, ”what will you do if Javier fails?”

Garius hesitated briefly, then answered in a quiet, clear voice.

”Then I’ll bury Edmund with my own hands.”

( End Of Chapter )