The Extra is a Genius!? - Chapter 421

Chapter 421: Chapter 421: The Truth – Part I
No one spoke.

The hologram’s grin lingered in the flickering blue light, casting long shadows over the ancient shelves. The quiet hum of mana filled the library — soft, low, endless.

Noel’s eyes didn’t leave the figure. Every instinct screamed that what stood before him wasn’t supposed to exist. That it couldn’t.

And yet… there it was — the same face he’d seen in mirrors long ago, in another world that had long since burned away.

The projection tilted its head slightly, smirk widening. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Noel’s voice came out rough. “You’re not a ghost.”

“Smart,” the hologram chuckled, resting its glowing hands in its pockets. “Name’s Noctis. It’s nice to finally meet you properly, Noel Thorne — or should I say, Noel from Earth.”

Charlotte blinked, confusion flashing across her golden eyes. “…Earth?”

Elena frowned, whispering, “That’s not any continent I know.”

Elyra’s brow furrowed, trying to mask her unease. “Wait— you’re saying he’s not—”

The hologram cut her off, still smiling faintly. “Let me guess. You all thought he was just another prodigy? A quiet guy with secrets and good timing?” He shrugged. “Well, surprise. He’s not one of you. Not really.”

Noel’s chest tightened, and before he could stop himself, he whispered, “You… you can say it?”

Noctis grinned wider. “Of course I can. I’m the one who locked your mouth in the first place.”

His tone softened slightly, almost teasing. “And look at you — more than a year stuck pretending, biting your tongue every time you wanted to tell them. Rough, huh?”

Noel’s jaw clenched. “Why did you do that to me? Why?”

“Guilty,” Noctis said simply. “Didn’t want you blabbing too early and getting erased. But now…” He spread his hands. “You’ve earned the right to speak. So go ahead, hero — tell them the truth. You’ve held it long enough.”

The library was silent. Every pair of eyes turned to Noel.

The air grew heavy, as if waiting for something that could never be taken back.

Noel swallowed hard. The weight of it all pressed against his chest. He could finally say it — the thing that had haunted him since the day he woke up in this world.

He raised his eyes and said, quietly but clearly:

“I’m not from here. I died… somewhere else. And when I woke up — I was in this body.”

The words fell into the silence like a stone into still water.

Charlotte’s lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.

Selene froze, her usual calm faltering.

Elyra stared, eyes flicking between Noel and the hologram.

And Elena… she just watched, her amber eyes sharp but uncertain, trying to piece together something that made no sense.

Noctis broke the silence with a low chuckle. “There we go. Finally out in the open.” He glanced sideways at Noel, amused. “Bet that felt good, huh?”

Noel glared at him, voice steady. “You think this is a joke?”

“Not a joke,” Noctis replied. “A story. And we’re not even halfway through it yet.”

The blue glow around him pulsed brighter, illuminating the entire room. Shadows danced across the shelves, and the air buzzed faintly with energy.

Noctis’s expression shifted — still confident, but his tone carried weight now.

“Let me introduce myself properly,” he said. “I’m Noctis — the forgotten brother of Elarin.”

The name hit like thunder.

Charlotte gasped, stumbling back a step, her hand over her mouth. “That— that’s impossible…”

Elena’s voice came out sharp, disbelieving. “Elarin’s brother? But he’s—”

“Erased,” Noctis interrupted smoothly. “Yes. That’s what history says.”

He smiled bitterly. “Erased by him, actually. My dear brother didn’t like sharing his divinity.”

Noel’s hands curled into fists. “Elarin… the god of this world.”

Noctis nodded slowly. “And the one you’re about to meet sooner than you’d like.”

The room fell into stunned silence once more.

Noel’s mind was spinning. The others stood frozen — each one trying to grasp the enormity of what they had just heard.

Noctis exhaled softly and crossed his arms. “Well,” he said with an almost amused sigh, “now that the introductions are over, how about we talk about what you’ve just screwed up?”

“Wait—wait, hold on!”

Elyra’s voice cut through the silence — not cold, but trembling with emotion. “An explanation, Noel. We deserve one.”

Her usual confidence faltered; the sharp edge of her tone carried something softer beneath. “I knew there was something different about you,” she said, her lips trembling into a faint, conflicted smile. “My intuition never fails me… but I didn’t think it would be this.”

Charlotte’s eyes glistened with confusion. “So… you weren’t from this world at all?” she whispered, almost afraid of the answer.

Selene’s voice came quiet, measured — as if she was piecing together fragments that finally fit. “That’s why there were moments you’d freeze, why there were things you couldn’t tell us.”

Elena stayed silent, her amber eyes steady. She didn’t look at him with fear or judgment, only quiet understanding — the kind that hurt more than anger ever could.

Noel couldn’t meet their eyes. His throat burned; every breath felt heavy. “I didn’t ask for this,” he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. “When I woke up here, I didn’t understand anything. I wasn’t… ready for another life. I didn’t even think I deserved one.”

He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms. “At first, I just wanted to be left alone. Then Noctis forced me through missions, and—” he hesitated, his voice cracking, “—I started trying to help. To live, to help, to matter for once. I’ve been changing after seeing people, I changed over time, people started to matter to me, little by little more and more. You, for example, and Noir, are the most important thing I’ve ever had, in both my lives for sure.”

The silence that followed wasn’t cold. It was raw — filled with the weight of everything he’d just confessed. The faint hum of the projection filled the space like a heartbeat.

Elyra’s arms slowly fell to her sides. Her voice trembled. “You are an idiot…” she murmured, stepping closer. Her lips curved into a shaky smile. “You really think we’d leave you because of that? I knew you were different from the beginning, besides, I never knew the old Noel until I met you, just some rumors, so the past is the past and always will be.”

Charlotte blinked, tears glinting at the corners of her golden eyes. “The Noel we know isn’t a stranger,” she said softly. “He’s you. The one who fought for us, who saved us. The one standing right here.”

Selene’s tone was calm but firm — the kind of certainty that could silence storms. “Whoever you were before doesn’t matter. We met this you. And that’s the only one we care about.”

Noel looked up slowly. Their faces — worried, emotional, and unwavering — blurred together in the soft blue light. His chest tightened, the lump in his throat too heavy to swallow.

He managed a quiet, trembling smile. “Thank you…”

Behind them, Noctis’s voice broke the fragile moment with a dry laugh. “Cute. Real heartwarming. But don’t get too comfortable — you’ll need all that emotional stability for what’s coming next.”

Elena was the first to break the silence And didn’t let Noctis speak. “Noel… what were you like? Before coming here?”

The question hung in the air, fragile but genuine.

Elyra folded her arms again, her tone softer now. “Yeah. You said you woke up here one day. But… what kind of person were you before all this?”

Charlotte leaned forward slightly, curiosity flickering behind her golden eyes. “You don’t have to tell us everything. Just… who were you?”

Noel hesitated, his gaze drifting to the floor again. For a moment, he looked distant — like he was staring through the walls, through time itself.

“I wasn’t someone worth remembering,” he said finally. “When I got here, I wanted nothing to do with anyone. Everything annoyed me — people, noise, even being alive again. I thought the world had already given up on me, so I did the same.”

The room went quiet again. The others listened without interrupting, the weight of his honesty sinking in.

He looked up slightly, forcing a faint, bitter smile. “Guess that’s why it’s funny I ended up surrounded by all of you.”

A beat of silence — until Noctis’s voice cut through it, dry and impatient.

“Touching, really. But can we not turn this into a therapy session?”

His tone sharpened as the projection flickered slightly. “You can share your tragic backstory later, Noel. Now that your little speech curse is gone, you can talk all you want after we handle the part where you absolutely—” he paused, raising an eyebrow, “—messed up beyond saving.”

Noel frowned. “What are you—”

“The crystal,” Noctis interrupted, the humor gone from his voice. “The one you were supposed to protect. The one holding him.”

His expression darkened, the glow of the hologram dimming to a colder shade of blue.

“Congratulations, kid,” he said flatly. “You didn’t just drop the ball. You gave the key of the apocalypse to the worst person imaginable.”

The girls exchanged tense glances, unease spreading through the room again.

Noel’s stomach twisted. “You mean Elarin.”

Noctis gave a humorless smile. “Oh, you bet I do.”

Noctis’s expression grew distant — the teasing edge gone. The blue hue of his hologram dimmed until only faint light traced his outline.

“Well,” he began, voice quieter but heavier, “since we’re already deep into the mess, might as well explain it.”

He lifted his hand, a small projection forming above his palm — a rotating image of the same crystal they had seen in the ruins. Its faint light pulsed, like a heartbeat.

“That crystal,” he said, his tone almost reverent, “isn’t just some artifact. It’s a prison. A gate. A fragment that links this dimension to another — and the thing it holds inside…” His eyes flicked to Noel. “…is my brother.”

Charlotte gasped softly, her hand covering her mouth. “Elarin…”

Noctis nodded. “Yeah. The so-called god of creation. The one your churches praise and your kingdoms kneel to.”

He tilted his head slightly. “The truth? He’s been trapped there for longer than any mortal timeline can record. But he’s not powerless. The crystal acts as both a seal and a channel. As long as it exists, he can reach through it — influence things, bend them.”

Selene frowned, her voice steady but uneasy. “So if someone stole it—”

“He’s not free,” Noctis cut in. “The crystal alone isn’t enough to release him. It only keeps his essence contained. Think of it as a lock without a key.”

He lowered his hand, the image fading into dust. “But if someone ever finds a way to open that lock…” — his gaze shifted slowly toward Noel, the faintest shadow of a grin crossing his face — “they’ll need one thing first.”

The light around him dimmed to a cold blue.

“You.”

Noel froze.

Noctis’s voice softened, almost like a whisper carried through static. “You’re the key.”