NOVEL NEXT Chapter 298: I don’t know
Noah smiled.
He was able to see all these visions only because of Providence, and that made him realize something.
If his power was strong enough, if his understanding of Providence reached high enough… then he would have been able to forcefully step into that reality — the one where the future of both Lorna and Premier existed.
"Ah… Providence, I'm falling in love with you harder and harder," Noah muttered under his breath as he watched the transformation of his children.
I have fallen way earlier, Noah, she responded inside of him, her face carrying a small, loving smile.
Noah grinned, and suddenly he felt eager — eager to hunt down the personification of Fate, Destiny, and Causality itself, to strip her or him of those origins.
Very, very eager.
And that was something he would do in the near future.
For now, it was time to settle a long-standing partnership.
He looked one last time at his children and left behind words etched in the very fabric of space above them before disappearing.
Leaving behind two glowing, pristine white cocoons that would soon give birth to…
The two beings who would be known as The First Scions of the Blasphemer…
The Twin Heralds of the Unwritten and the Unmade.
The one who wove illusions and dreams into another reality, and the one who shaped realities into a forgotten dream — an illusion lost within the river of time.
…
Noah appeared in a completely different place inside Laeh.
This place reeked of destructive energy. The surrounding space was fractured, the sky above this land a deep crimson, torn by red crackling lightning that ripped through space and time with every strike.
The ground was dry, emitting a faint, ominous red glow. No trees. No grass. No life.
Only bare earth and scattered mountains.
It was depressing. But far more than that, it was deadly.
This was none other than the territory of Anya.
Noah walked calmly, glancing around from time to time, until he reached a colline — the highest point in sight, making it feel like he was just an inch away from touching the sky.
And there, perched on that very spot, was a crow. A black crow with deep red eyes.
He approached slowly and crouched in front of it, smiling as the bird looked at him with apathetic eyes.
"Gods, Lucie… I missed you so much," Noah said with a wide grin, speaking to the crow.
Lucie — the being sent by Echidna, the Demoness within Laeh, for the Battle of Champions.
She stayed silent for a moment before her beak slowly opened, and a soft, gentle yet utterly apathetic voice flowed across the colline.
"Lord Absolute, I am honored to have you in my company," she said politely, making Noah's smile widen even more.
There was just something… fascinating about Lucie.
No matter how abnormal or obscene he became, Lucie never looked at him differently. Never treated him differently.
From the very beginning until now, she had always looked at him with the same apathetic eyes.
No emotion. No judgment.
Even Noah himself couldn't read a single feeling from her.
And that was…
"…interesting."
"Truly, you amaze me, Lucie. I've always wondered why I couldn't see your emotions. Me — the one who controls that power better than even the one who embodies it."
He moved a little closer, extending his hand toward her. Lucie, still in her crow form, stepped onto it calmly, listening.
Noah placed her on his right shoulder and turned his gaze to the near-yet-distant red sky of Anya's domain.
"I thought at first it was because you had some special technique, some skill or talent that let you hide your feelings," he continued.
"At that point, I could have just asked you what you used to hide them… but I didn't. Do you know why?" he asked the silent but attentive crow.
Lucie didn't respond right away.
She never did. She always took the time to fully process the words of her interlocutor before speaking.
And so,
"Because you wanted to find out yourself. Because… I was interesting," she finally said.
Noah smiled.
"Indeed. I mean, when else can you find someone who can hide their emotions this well? Hah… back then, I couldn't stop telling Zara that if she fought you at equal power…"
He grinned.
"…she'd lose miserably. Don't you agree with me, Lucie?"
Lucie shook her head softly.
"I do not dare to think such a blasphemous thing about Lord Absolute's wife," she replied, her voice smooth and calm.
Noah burst into laughter.
"Hahahah! Lucie, you're far too rigid. But let's get back to our discussion. I was saying — I thought you had something that let you hide your feelings."
"Something I wanted to figure out myself. But now I know… there was nothing to find out at all." His tone shifted, serious now.
"You… Lucie, you cannot feel emotions. You have no emotions inside you. Absolutely nothing."
Lucie didn't even react. Instead, she nodded calmly.
"Yes. I don't have them," she said, falling silent again.
Noah said nothing, but inside, he felt a wave of tremendous pity for her.
Now he understood why Lucie never bothered to do anything unless ordered.
Because without emotions, there was no drive. No motivation. No dreams. No will.
Life itself was nothing but an endless grey. Blank. Motionless.
Emotions are what push people to grow and evolve.
They're what push someone whose family was murdered to seek revenge and grow stronger.
They are what push a father to strive for a better life for his children.
They are what push a mother to endure the pain of childbirth for the chance to hold her baby.
They are what push someone to cling to life and survive.
They are what drive the world… the universe… reality itself.
So, to see someone lacking such a basic thing that every being takes for granted… it was harrowing.
Knowing this, Noah couldn't stop himself from asking the one question he truly wanted to know.
"Lucie… how is life treating you?" he asked softly, eyes fixed on the crimson sky.
Lucie was quiet for a long moment. Her mind drifted as she thought about her life till now…about what the experience she had lived and the lessons learned from them.
But strangely — or maybe not — even thinking of all this…only one response that came to her mind when Noah's question echoed through her mind.
"I….don't know." She said as she looked at the endless crimson sky above and…felt nothing.
—End of chapter 298—