Chapter 178
However, the immense power that had been accumulated in the orb over countless ages was enough to make Aiden believe that ‘the power is the source.’
“Hahaha! Looks like even gods lie when they’re desperate, huh? Don’t worry, Novnie.”
Aiden, already behaving arrogantly as though he was a god, began calling Novnie’s name casually, something he had never done before. His once formal tone was replaced with a more familiar tone, as if he was now entitled to it.
Looking at Novnie, who extended her hand to take the orb, Aiden said with a smile that seemed both in affection and mockery:
“I don’t want to harm Novnie. I just want to be like you. Don’t you want that too? I’ll stay by your side every day and teach you everything. I’ll keep this from now on.”
“Stop talking nonsense. That belongs to me.”
“Do you know, Novnie? There’s a saying in the realm of the living: ‘Even a single bean is shared.’ You learned that today, didn’t you?”
“Aiden, don’t make this difficult for me.”
“Is it difficult? Yes, that’s an emotion. I taught you that. You’re learning from me, so why can’t I stand next to Novnie?”
Aiden was consumed with the idea of using the orb brought to him by god to become a god himself. It seemed that no amount of words would calm him down.
Without saying much, Novnie pulled the orb toward herself. Moving an object like that was something she could do with just a flick of her finger. However, this was exactly what Aiden had been expecting. He smirked.
Thud!
There was a sound as if a heavy fruit or a human head had exploded. When Novnie exerted her force to pull the orb, Aiden quickly turned his hand.
‘Just as I thought. Using the same magic as usual.’
Then, he struck the orb that was flying mid-air, shattering it into pieces!
“This… this can’t be…”
From the broken orb, shaped like a flower bud that had burst, a power resembling Novnie’s pink hair began to leak out. Aiden inhaled deeply, absorbing the warm yet strangely chilling aura.
“Ah, thank you.”
A dazed expression of gratitude followed. As Novnie gasped, her mouth slightly open in surprise, the massive power contained in the orb was slowly absorbed by Aiden.
“I’ve always said it. Novnie lets her guard down too easily.”
As if to prove the power’s absorption, Aiden’s green eyes, once full of life, began to darken slightly. It was as if a few drops of darker paint were mixed into a pool of clean green paint.
“I knew I couldn’t break the orb on my own, but it’s lucky my prediction came true. When Novnie’s magic is weakened from direct absorption, I can easily shatter it.”
The pink energy that had spread like heatwaves from the shattered glass was completely absorbed by Aiden. His once vibrant green eyes now turned into a dark green shade, like a field covered with dark clouds. He smiled with a hint of darkness in his new, almost foreboding look.
“Thank you. Honestly, Novnie, you wanted to join me all along, didn’t you?”
Novnie’s mind became dizzy.
“You… do you know what you’ve just done?”
Aiden could barely register the words in her ears. Hadn’t she just said that the Orb was half right, half wrong in being the source of her power?
“This is like my body.”
Novnie crouched in front of the broken orb. Picking up the largest piece of the glass, now slightly tarnished, her face was filled with unease.
“It was the vessel that contained my soul.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Don’t you understand yet?”
Novnie, who had learned emotions from Aiden and infused them into her laughter, looked up at him with a completely expressionless face, devoid of any feelings. Her pale lips parted.
“You’ve killed this place.”
“What… what do you mean?”
Aiden spoke in a scattered voice, but there was no time for explanation. Novnie’s body was slowly dispersing. At the same time, the abode of spring, which had seemed like it would last forever, began to blur and fade.
It felt like the world was being erased, as if he was being pushed away, distant. It was as though an intense dizziness was taking over him.
“Wait, Novnie. What is… what is happening? What’s going on?”
Aiden hurriedly grabbed Novnie’s shoulder and asked with a tight grip, as the place where she was most vanishing became clear. Then it happened.
“Ugh!”
Crack!
A sharp, electric-like resistance sparked between them. The force caused both of them to be thrown in opposite directions.
“Ugh…”
Aiden got shocked from falling hard onto his backside and quickly glanced at his palm. His skin was darkened, and blisters had already formed from the burns. Novnie, however, had been sent flying much farther than Aiden and was lying sprawled on the ground.
“Ugh…”
She struggled, pushing herself up from the ground. Her pink hair, which had fallen over her shoulders and waist, looked worn and drained. It was clear she had suffered far greater damage than Aiden.
“Novnie, are you alright—”
“Don’t come near.”
She sharply cut off Aiden’s worried words as she quickly stood, brushing herself off. Despite the harshness of her tone, her expression remained completely blank. Her green eyes, visible through the pink hair, should have looked warm, yet they felt strangely cold.
“It’s better this way.”
“Novnie…”
Aiden couldn’t understand.
‘Why is this happening?’
He had become a god, nothing more, nothing less. Yet, why was this happening?
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