Aiden followed closely behind his father, Caden, toward a fine-looking bookshelf inside the living room of the Noah's Mansion.

  Running his fingers along each book's spine, Caden murmured a foreign language as he read the written words. "Ah, there it is." He pulled out a particular thick red book with gold trims, its cover adorned with a sword surrounded by flames and feathers.

  "Before awakening to one's Grace as a descendant of Noah, and as part of one of the Five Great Holy Families—that being us..." Caden's gaze softened briefly as it fell upon his youngest son, Aiden. But then his eyes drifted past him, to the wall behind.

  There hung several pictures—snapshots of a time long gone—of Caden and his late wife, the mother of Aiden and his two older siblings.

  First was Kaeden Noah, Aiden's older brother, and then Jaeden Noah, his sister, both of whom had long left the mansion to pursue their own paths.

  'Kaeden sought to uncover the cause of our mother's death immediately after graduating, while Jaeden left to study magic, feeling unworthy to bear the name of Noah because of her unskilled hands when it came to wielding a sword,' Aiden reflected silently.

  'Perhaps I shouldn't have expected so much from her... and Kaeden too...' Caden's expression darkened for a fleeting moment, as though weighed down by the same regrets. But just as swiftly, he composed himself and continued.

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  "He or she should learn what it means to be—"

  "Selflessly willing to stand at the front and fight for all that is good and just," Aiden interrupted, finishing his father's words.

  'I heard this countless times before, Father... from you, Kaeden, and Jaeden—all before the ruination fell upon the House of Noah... because of the Apostles.'

  Caden's stern features softened once again. "Good. You remember the sworn oath of Noah, just like your brother and sister did." He smiled faintly, reaching out to pat his son's head, his calloused fingers threading through Aiden's brown hair streaked with natural black highlights.

  Then, kneeling on one knee, Caden offered the book to Aiden. "Take this, Aiden. This book can only be accessed and read by those who bear the blood of Noah."

  Aiden accepted the book, its weight familiar in his hands—a relic of knowledge he already possessed. "Alright, Father. I will do as you ask."

  Without another word, Aiden turned and left the room, his heart heavy with the paradox of reliving moments long past. When he reached his personal quarters, he sat at his desk, placing the ancient book on the smooth surface.

  He stared at its cover, tracing the flaming sword and feathered motif with a finger. To anyone else, this would be their first step toward unlocking their Grace.

  But for Aiden, this was a cruel repetition.

  Not to read—but to re-read what he had already known, all due to the preserved knowledge of his past self.