The first thing Rayon felt when he crossed the boundary into Noxis was pressure.
Not weight.
Not killing intent.
Not spiritual force.
It was the pressure of attention.
Eyes—too many to count—locking onto him the same way starving wolves look at a deer that walked into the wrong forest.
Except Rayon wasn't the deer.
He was the forest.
He walked through the cracked gate of Noxis without slowing. Vorthalaxis slithered beside him, its dark scales humming lightly with resonance. Erethon drifted above his shoulder like a smug phantom.
People whispered the moment he passed.
"That's him."
"No way—Rayyan Vaynar?"
"He's supposed to be dead—didn't the Obsidian Web collapse?"
"He feels wrong. That's not Error rank… that's something else."
One man stepped forward, broad-shouldered, skin etched with floating runes. A Vessel—Rayon didn't recognize the primordial inside him, but the aura was strong. Catastrophic Rank at least.
He smirked.
"New face. Where you from?"
Rayon didn't look at him. "Krylos."
"Never heard of it."
"You don't need to."
The man chuckled, stepping closer. "You're brave. You know where you are, right? This is Noxis. You walk in with your chest out, people assume you're picking a fight."
Rayon finally turned his head.
"No. Just picking attention."
That single sentence made the ground tense.
A few chuckles. A few murmurs. Someone sucked their teeth.
The Vessel grinned, showing gold-flecked canines.
"Then you got it. Now what?"
Rayon stopped walking.
And the black resonance rose.
Not violently.
Not loudly.
It simply appeared, like the world bowed its head for a moment and forgot what it meant to exist.
Every Vessel within fifty meters froze.
The man who stood in front of Rayon felt his knees buckle before he could pretend otherwise. His runes flickered like sick candles.
"W-wait—hang on—" he stammered. "There's no need for—"
"I didn't ask for fear," Rayon said softly. "I asked for quiet."
And silence swept the plaza like a blade.
Erethon chuckled. "You're causing trouble immediately. I'm proud."
Rayon ignored him.
He looked around, speaking not loudly but clearly—his voice carried because resonance carried it.
"I'm not hunting anymore," he announced. "No more searching. No more wandering. If the strongest want to know who I am—fine. Then they can come find me."
A few Vessels exchanged looks.
The boldest one stepped forward—a tall woman clad in silver-lined armor that looked grown, not forged.
"You're making a statement," she said.
"I'm making a promise," Rayon corrected.
"To who?"
"To everyone who thinks they're above me."
He walked forward, past her, past the silent semicircle of Vessels, deeper into the city.
Behind him, the woman whispered:
"Who the hell is he?"
Erethon drifted into view, smirking. "A problem."
The city unfolded like organized chaos.
Skyscrapers leaning at angles that defied physics. Floating bridges that drifted if they felt like it. Beasts the size of houses sleeping in the open. Primordial Vessels drinking and laughing on rooftops. A fight in one corner, a marriage ceremony in another, a duel between two Resonance Masters in the middle of the street that people simply walked around.
No law.
No order.
No one to complain to.
Noxis was freedom at the cost of sanity.
And the moment Rayon entered, the city seemed to exhale—like prey realizing something worse than its predators had shown up.
Rayon stopped at a platform overlooking the Inner District—where the strongest resided.
Erethon landed beside him and leaned on the railing.
"You know," he said lazily, "most people climb the ladder slowly. Prove themselves. Take their time. You? You walk in and tell the city to try you."
Rayon shrugged. "Why waste time?"
"And if someone takes the bait?"
"That's the point."
Erethon laughed—a real one, low and genuine.
"You're insane. I like it."
Rayon scanned the massive, chaotic sprawl below.
"Over decades," he said, almost to himself, "the power system here changed because the world changed. Forspinner disappeared and the Strings system stagnated. Awakeners started tapping into resonance without knowing it. The primordials came back. The universe is forcing evolution."
He closed his fist as black resonance shimmered around it—smooth, cold, alive.
"And so will I."
Erethon tilted his head. "Explain your plan."
Rayon exhaled slowly.
"There are beings in this world who hide in shadows. Who watch. Who wait. Primordial vessels with power enough to bend continents. Ancient Greys who think they're above consequence. Watchers who observe but don't intervene. Arcana who operate behind veils."
He looked toward the Inner District.
"And they ignore me."
He turned his palm upward.
The entire city trembled.
"I will not be ignored."
Erethon's smile faded—not in disapproval, but in recognition.
"You want to draw out the top," he murmured. "Force their eyes open."
Rayon nodded once.
"I'll confront the strongest directly. Make them acknowledge me. Make them react. If I tear through every obstacle between me and the ones who matter, the highest will reveal themselves."
"And if they don't?" Erethon asked.
Rayon smiled faintly—dangerously.
"Then I'll make enough noise that they'll have no choice."
Far below, a ripple ran through the Inner District.
Lights flickered.
Three figures turned their heads in unison—monsters in human form, each stronger than a natural disaster.
And far deeper, in the underground layers, something vast shifted in its den.
Erethon's eyes narrowed.
"Oh… they heard you."
Rayon didn't look concerned.
"Good."
He stepped off the platform and continued walking into the beating heart of Noxis.
He didn't hide.
He didn't lower his aura.
He didn't soften his presence.
He wanted them to feel it.
Let the strongest come.