Chapter 194: The Brightest Star

Chapter 194 – The Brightest Star

Orien and Klaus stood there, eyes fixed on the empty space where Noah had vanished.

And as they silently replayed the words Noah had just thrown at them—

Orien smiled softly, almost amused. "What bold words... ’exterminate our whole bloodline?’"

He couldn’t help but let out a small laugh—not at Noah himself, but at the ignorance behind such a claim. Because if he even had the slightest awareness of the families who truly held weight in this universe, even those under faction banners simply due to their race, he would’ve known that the Worldborn stood among the very top.

And how could they not?

They were the darlings of the World Tree—the one spoken of as the very origin of the Elves.

The depths of their power were still a mystery... even to Orien himself.

But he didn’t blame him. After all, the boy had been born and raised in a weak, middle-tier world.

Orien smiled again. There was something about this whole thing that just felt funny to him.

"But still, it’s a shame I couldn’t obtain him," he murmured, voice light. "He would’ve been very interesting. Now I wonder... where did he go?"

"Young master..." Klaus’s voice came from his side, low and careful.

Orien turned to him, his gaze calm, patient—at least for now.

"The Council speculated that the third abomination might be inside this world and..."

Klaus paused, the words catching in his throat—but when he saw the flicker of impatience in Orien’s eyes, he quickly pushed forward.

"And based on what I’ve just seen, I believe the third abomination is the one who just slipped through our grasp," he finally said.

He had said "believe," but there was no uncertainty inside him. Klaus was sure. Noah was the third abomination. He didn’t know how he knew it—but he knew. It was something instinctual, something primal. That’s why the moment he’d seen him, he’d wanted to capture him, contain him—but...

Klaus looked up at his young master, whose carefree, whimsical ways had once again cost them something they shouldn’t have lost.

Orien might not understand—he was still young, still doing whatever he pleased—but Klaus understood.

Because when you leave beings like that room to grow...

Disaster will come.

And now, as he recalled Noah’s last words, he was even more convinced that if they didn’t act, if they let him be, then yes... it will get troublesome later.

Troublesome. Not get exterminated.

Because even if Noah was an abomination, to exterminate their entire bloodline was something even the leaders of major factions would hesitate to attempt. Hell—even the first two abominations hadn’t bothered going that far.

So the real question was never about survival, but about inconvenience.

How much of a headache would it be if Noah chose to come after them?

So—

"Young master, let’s return. We need to report this fully to your father... and the Council."

Orien nodded, and in an instant, a green sprout bloomed beneath their feet—then swallowed them whole.

Just like that, Orien and Klaus returned to their home world, calm as ever, after destroying an entire world.

And truly—for them—it was nothing much.

And it wasn’t just them. Across the vastness of this universe, a middle world was hardly worth a thought. These great families, these monstrous factions, could erase hundreds without blinking.

That’s just how it was.

That’s what the universe becomes when a world has no strong backer.

The first two abominations had been exceptions. Their circumstances had been different. But the third?

Letting him be would’ve been pure foolishness.

So the choice was simple—submission or extermination.

And Noah didn’t submit.

Laeh, the world himself, chose to hand over his core to Noah, causing his own destruction.

That—was loyalty.

Because Laeh could’ve chosen to surrender, and Noah wouldn’t have been able to stop it easily and things would have gotten more complicated. But instead, he sacrificed himself so Noah could gain what he needed to create his own force, his own faction.

He gave his core to his lucky star... even when he didn’t want to.

He chose Noah over divine beings, over his own continued existence.

And how could Noah ever forget that?

He wouldn’t.

And they didn’t know it yet—

But they had just enraged someone who never got angry. Or only did so on very rare, very dangerous occasions.

And when that kind of person finally gets angry?

Yes.

You’re fucked.

And they were.

Or rather... they will be.

—

BAAAM!

Noah crashed to the ground, falling right on his back as he suddenly materialized in a massive deep cave.

And the moment he did, like it had been waiting for him all along, his title—Sovereign of Shadows—activated on its own, pulling every shadow in the cavern toward him in a rush of dark warmth.

Like a silent embrace from the night itself.

Like they understood—without a word—his pain.

And then—

Noah coughed blood.

Not red. Not normal. But pure white, pristine, translucent blood spilled from his mouth... and his nose.

All because Laeh was gone.

And because Laeh had blessed him.

In fact, had Laeh’s core not remained intact—clinging to him even now—Noah would’ve died alongside the world itself.

That was the cost of his title. And he had accepted it from the beginning.

Even now, with this brutal pain gnawing at his soul like something inside him had been torn away, he didn’t regret it.

He lay there, unmoving, staring blankly up at the black, jagged ceiling as the shadows coiled around him, trying desperately to heal what they couldn’t reach.

’Master... are you okay?’ Leona’s voice echoed inside his head, soft and trembling.

Not just her. Even Ester. Even Shadeva. They all felt it.

Noah stayed silent.

Then slowly... he smiled.

No. He forced himself to smile.

It was broken. Bitter. But still—he smiled.

"I’m fine. I just need... a moment," he whispered. Then closed his eyes.

He needed to breathe. To gather his thoughts. To decide his next move.

Because the loss of Laeh hurt—physically, yes, but far more than that... it hurt emotionally. It cut deep.

But Noah wasn’t the kind of man who folded.

’I have his core... isn’t there any way to bring him back—with his memories, with his emotions intact?’ he asked, his voice soft, almost childlike.

He was speaking to the only presence that always responded when no one else could.

The System.

The one that had always given him a path, a solution, a whisper in the dark when the rest of the world stayed silent.

[It would’ve been possible, if the transfer had been subtle and gradual. But Laeh forced it—brutally—damaging the core in the process. Even you... will need time to repair and integrate it into your realm in order to be fully healed.]

[So no, Host. The Laeh you knew will not return.]

[But... as you hold his core, you can, in his honor, make that core the greatest world will.]

[Turn it... into a Divine Will. And for that... your realm must become a Divine Realm.]

Noah stared at the glowing text in silence. Then slowly—

’Difficulty?’ he asked.

A pause.

[Unimaginable.]

At that—

Noah smiled again. Weakly. Blood still in his throat. Bones aching.

’Fine... let’s make you the greatest, Laeh.’

Even if you’re no longer the same.

Even if your voice never returns—

I will fulfill my role as your lucky star.

And I will make sure...

That you become the brightest thing in this universe.

The star that even gods are forced to look up to.

—End of Chapter 194—