Chapter 196: The Weight of the Heart

Chapter 196 – The Weight of the Heart

After finally reorganizing the chaos inside his mind, Noah entered his own realm—deep within his soul.

He reappeared inside the White Castle, within the meeting room, where every one of his women waited, expressions tense, their auras fluctuating in silent worry.

And the moment they saw him—

They vanished from their seats.

In the blink of an eye, all of them were by his side.

It was instantaneous.

"My dear baby, are you okay?" Selene was the first to reach him, voice trembling with worry as her hands gently cupped his cheeks, searching for any sign of harm.

"Husband..." Sophie whispered, her regal calm shattered. Her usual composed expression replaced with something raw, something real—worry, deep and unfiltered.

And they weren’t the only ones.

Each and every one of them showed it—in their own way.

Elizabeth. Elira. Neko. Ester. Yuki. Anya. Zara. Dominique. Alice. Even Lilith. All of them.

Every single one of them had the same look in their eyes: concern. Love. Relief.

And then...

They noticed the pain.

They felt it.

Elira’s expression darkened immediately, her gaze piercing through Noah’s body like glass through sunlight. "My love... your soul..." she began, but didn’t finish—because she didn’t have to. They all understood what she meant.

Noah’s soul was damaged. Greatly. Deeply.

And Elira—Elira, who prided herself on her mastery of soul magic—looked away, her voice shaking as she muttered, "I... I can’t heal him."

Her hands trembled. Her breath hitched. Because for someone like her, someone who loved him so fiercely, it was agony to admit that she was powerless against his suffering.

The mood in the room shifted.

It darkened instantly.

They all felt it. They all shared that weight. It spread through the group like a silent infection of sorrow.

And seeing all their expressions—how they changed, from the moment he appeared to now—Noah...

Noah smiled.

A bright, relieved smile.

"I’m happy you’re all safe, my ladies," he said, voice light but overflowing with something far heavier—joy.

Because truly... he was happy.

He didn’t care that he was hurt—pain was temporary. He could recover. He would recover. No matter how long it took, it didn’t matter.

But if something had happened to them...

If even one of them had been lost the same way he lost Laeh...

Noah refused to even think about it.

The mere idea of it made his chest tighten, his soul ache deeper than any wound.

So now, seeing them all here, alive, safe...

He smiled—happily.

’Truly... you’re a good player,’ Anya thought silently, watching him, her expression softening as she approached and gently laid her head against his chest.

And just like that—

Something was triggered.

Like a signal.

Every one of them moved, drawn in, surrounding him. Heads against his body, power flowing and bending space itself to give each of them a place.

Even Ester emerged from the shadows for this moment, for this single, precious moment of vulnerability.

The only ones who didn’t move were Christelle, Emily, and Justicia. They stood at a distance, each lost in their own thoughts, eyes on the same man but hearts weighed differently.

Christelle was simply happy. Her master, her reason to breathe—he was alive. She too had been worried, even if her face didn’t show it. Because to her, Noah wasn’t just important—he was her world.

Emily, however, burned with quiet jealousy. She didn’t know how much longer she’d have to wait—wait to be part of them, wait to stand among the women holding him. She wanted it so badly that her thoughts were starting to twist in ways they hadn’t before.

She was thinking of doing something bold. Something that would change everything. Just like Christelle had sacrificed her own child...

It was insane.

But weirdly, Emily didn’t care.

Because even she was starting to believe Noah deserved it all.

And Justicia?

Justicia stood there... lost.

She didn’t know what to feel. She had lived far too long. She had seen far too many powerful men with kingdoms of women worshipping them—men who didn’t love, who only used.

But Noah...

’He’s different,’ Justicia thought as she watched the way he looked at them—really looked at them. And how they looked back.

Not as tools. Not as pets.

But as something more.

’They’re all obsessed with him. Completely, utterly insane over him...’

And she didn’t understand it. What had he done? What kind of magic had he weaved? How had he made such strong, talented, stunning women fall for him this hard?

While those three stood in their thoughts, Noah looked down at the crowd of beautiful heads pressed against him—curious and amused.

"I’m okay," he said with a light chuckle. "You don’t need to do all this."

No one moved.

Then—

"We’re here for you," Anya whispered.

"You’re not alone, husband," Alice added in that soft, melodic voice of hers.

"Don’t act like nothing happened. I can feel it, Noah... I can feel your emotions," Zara said, her voice heavy with concern.

"Tell me who they are. I’ll kill them all," Selene growled, her tone sharp, fierce—dripping with bloodlust.

She was livid. Beyond imagining.

All she wanted was to make whoever had hurt her baby suffer—for eternity.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Elira, Elizabeth, Ester, Neko, Yuki... all of them. They didn’t just want revenge.

They wanted to annihilate.

Because someone had dared to hurt the man they loved.

Their heart, in human form.

Their emotions darkened, sharpened, turned into weapons. Innocent or not, if you stood in their path—they would crush you.

And Noah understood that. He felt their rage. He welcomed it even.

But—

"I want that revenge even more, my dears," he said, his smile turning wry. "But right now... we’re still weak."

His words made them twitch—but none of them argued.

Because it was true.

Elira felt it too. Deeply.

"Yes... we are," she admitted, her voice serious. "If we want to fight back, to stand even a chance—we have to be stronger. Much stronger. And not just as individuals. We need a faction."

"Their strength isn’t just personal," she added, eyes burning with truth. "It comes from their whole structure—the power of their name, their numbers, their backing."

"That’s indeed true," Justicia said suddenly, stepping forward. "You’ll need a faction. A real one. Worthy enough to make the Records acknowledge it. Otherwise, you’ll end up like the first two abominations."

"They were strong. Unfairly so. But they never picked fights. They only killed those who trespassed. They never went to war against entire factions—because even for them, it would’ve been too costly."

"I’m not saying they’d lose," she continued. "I don’t know. Their powers are... bizarre. But even they knew what it meant to stand alone."

Noah listened carefully.

He was going to build a faction no matter what.

But part of him still longed to have that personal power—to take on an entire faction alone.

But not yet.

He shelved that thought for now.

He had a plan. And he would follow it.

Step one?

"We have a lot of new people in the realm now," Noah said, finally breaking the tension. "Let’s figure out how we’re going to manage it first."

His women all nodded, their faces turning serious.

Because now, they understood.

Their strength wasn’t enough.

Not yet.

And so—

Let’s grind even harder.

They would train harder.

Push themselves further.

Test their limits without hesitation.

And what better place to do that... than a realm made of shadows—where death could come in a blink, without sound, without mercy?

Yes.

It wasn’t too bad.

Right?

—End of Chapter 196—