Codex Null: Simulation Through Madness

[After a long moment of tense silence — Elsa's disapproval clear in her eyes — the Ravelli group, still uncertain of the inheritance's true contents, finally decided against making a move.]

[Only then did you allow yourself a thin, contemptuous smile, meeting their stares one by one before striding toward the great door.]

[The moment you crossed its threshold, your surroundings changed in an instant. You found yourself in a vast, ancient hall, its towering walls covered in weathered murals — each one depicting fragments of an age-old tale.]

[In the very center stood a low stone platform, upon which rested two thick books and two small, ornate boxes.]

[You approached without hesitation, and upon closer inspection, the books were Blood Scripture — both the first and second parts, complete and whole. As for the boxes, each held a single drop of blood.]

[Your gaze lingered on the drop infused with Law power, its presence almost intoxicating. Yet you knew consuming it directly would be reckless, perhaps fatal.]

[And so, your attention moved to the other drop — one that resonated with you on a deeper, almost instinctive level. The affinity you felt toward it left no room for doubt.]

[Without hesitation, you consumed it.]

[The effect was immediate and brutal. Strength poured into you in an overwhelming torrent, your body straining on the edge of rupture. Muscles tore, and injuries seemed to accumulating in you — but each wound closed as soon as it formed.]

[At a certain threshold, your own blood surged outward, enveloping the foreign drop and drawing it inward, binding it to you. And the violent storm within you began to settle.]

[Even so, you did not relax. You poured your focus into the Blood Scripture, cycling its techniques with everything you had until you were certain that the refined drop had calmed down inside you.]

[Only then did you take a moment to feel it — the staggering force now coiled within your veins.]

[And with that strength still coursing in your body, you turned at last to the two books — the complete Blood Scripture.]

[You fiddled with them for a moment, before pricking your finger and letting a drop of blood fall onto each one.]

[The reaction was immediate. The pages dissolved into liquid crimson, the two streams spiraling upward before piercing into your body. And a tide of knowledge flooded your mind, etched deeply into your memory.]

[Only then, did you reach for the final blood drop, the one imbued with Law power, and placed it into your storage ring, its faint glow vanishing from sight.]

[You took a final walk through the hall, scanning every corner to ensure nothing had escaped your notice. Satisfied, you turned and retraced your steps.]

[The moment you emerged, all conversation died. Dozens of eyes locked on you at once, their stares sharp, measuring, searching for any sign of what you had gained within.]

[Yet none moved against you. There was tension in the air, but no challenge. You offered them nothing — no explanation, no opening — and instead walked past without pause, leaving the hall behind alongside Hilda, Lilith, and Selena.]

Taking the peaceful route this time, was actually the right call?

Noel couldn't help but think so. Negotiating through Selena and avoiding Serah's involvement had kept the situation contained.

Had someone from the Hollow Sun Cult arrived with demands for ownership, the Ravelli family would have naturally took a difference response.

But a strong contender who sought only to participate? That was something they could allow without losing face.

Of course, Noel himself would have preferred to make the Ravelli kneel as well… but his simulated self lacked that intent. Perhaps, in this case, restraint truly had been the better choice.

[With your business in Italy concluded, you finally returned to the United States. Waiting for you — as you had arranged earlier — was Serah.]

[She greeted you with an almost childlike excitement, immediately pressing for details about the "fun" you'd had in Italy.]

[You indulged her, recounting fragments of the events — enough to satisfy her curiosity without revealing everything — before shifting the topic to the real reason you'd called her. It was time to use her favor.]

[Gathering the four formidable women in your hotel room, you laid out your goal without the slightest hesitation: the complete destruction of the Merrow house.]

[At your words, Serah's eyes lit up with a dangerous gleam, while the others remained silent, each wearing her own unreadable expression. Yet, when the moment came, no one asked for an explanation. No one objected. One by one, they voiced their agreement.]

[Once the decision was made, the plan moved forward with ruthless efficiency.]

[Serah's forces formed the main spearhead, with Hilda at your side. You launched a coordinated strike on the Merrow house's primary dimension, while auxiliary teams hunted down any members who happened to be outside — ensuring no avenue of escape.]

[The Merrow house fought back, but Serah had prepared too thoroughly. She had even brought in one of the Hollow Sun Cult's most powerful elders, whose mere presence was enough to crush their will to resist.]

[In the end, you took Coren Merrow's life with your own hands. And when the fighting was done, you ensured not a single member of the Merrow family — whether of the main line or the farthest branch — was left alive.]

[Three months later, Maelis Merrow, Coren's mother and the last surviving member of the family, finally fell. And, with her death, it seemed you had at last pulled the final thorn from your side.]

Noel lingered over that line longer than he meant to. Maelis… in his plans outside the simulation, she was supposed to become his pet.

To see her executed here — even if only in a simulated life — pressed a faint, unwanted ache into his thoughts.

Still, he had no intention of contradicting the choices of his simulated self. If anything, this only reminded him how far he still was from having the power to keep such promises. For now, it was a loss he would set aside.

[Four months passed. The shockwaves from your destruction of a noble house — even one far from the strongest — had begun to ripple through the hidden society. The atmosphere was tense, whispers and caution spreading like wildfire.]

[You, however, paid little attention to the turmoil. Your focus remained fixed on your training.]

[You were on the verge of fully assimilating the refined blood drop, and in your progress along the Blood Refinement Path, the Six Gates stage had never felt closer.]

[Even without crossing that threshold though, the fusion of your already-pure blood with the refined drop had magnified your strength by many times.]