NOVEL NEXT Chapter 305: Nothing
Bari was tetanized.
No—no, that word wasn't nearly enough to describe the horror she was feeling right now. Her mind was working overtime, desperately trying to make sense of what she'd just heard.
She either killed her loved ones, by herself, with that dull knife that was created to hurt and nothing else, in order to be freed from this beautiful and deceitful nightmare—
Or she didn't kill them, and she would be held here, tortured until eternity and beyond.
"You have two minutes to choose before I decide myself, and I can assure you it won't be in either of your favor," Noah suddenly said, his voice breaking through her spiraling thoughts.
His voice was calm and gentle, but Bari couldn't help the way her body quivered under it. Slowly, she raised her head to meet his eyes and…
Oh.
What a beautiful, horrifying sight it was.
Noah's eyes were too beautiful to be described by any mundane term anymore. But sometimes, the most beautiful things are the ones people fear the most.
Because they're too beautiful to be possible.
The same way an ordinary man might fear an exceedingly beautiful woman because she's too dazzling, too untouchable.
But for Bari, the fear didn't come from that. The fear came from within Noah's eyes.
Absolute apathy.
That's what she saw.
It was as if, through Noah's eyes, she wasn't even a shadow. She wasn't a living being. Not a daughter. Not a friend. Not a woman.
She was…nothing.
Noah's lips curved into a small, empty smile. "You know what, take your time. I'm quite free. But I can change my mind and end this at any moment, and if I do… I'll increase the punishment by a billion."
He said it softly. Then he stayed silent.
Bari's hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned bone-white. Her body was shivering with dread, her mind clouded by countless thoughts, questions, and the overwhelming weight of despair.
She didn't know what to do. She was torn.
She didn't want to hurt her loved ones but she didn't want to be tortured for eternity either.
The thoughts became so much that she thought her head might explode. She suddenly fell to the ground, her trembling hands holding her head so tightly it looked like she was trying to crush her own skull and be done with it.
Then Noah clicked his fingers again.
Immediately, voices began to echo around the small paradisiacal field.
"M-My daughter… please don't kill us."
"Bari, big sister… please, have mercy, be truthful. We didn't do anything. We are innocent in this matter."
"Take responsibility… please… please… we don't want to be slaughtered here for your own actions…"
Their voices—those of her loved ones—rang out like a chorus of the damned, crafted only to push Bari further into madness.
And it was working.
"No… no… no… I didn't want this… I didn't want this… I didn't… I swear I didn't. I SWEAR!!" Bari cried, shouted, banged her head against the beautiful ground littered with white flowers.
"I… am sorry."
Bang.
"I… am sorry."
Bang.
"I… I… I am sorry."
Bang.
She continued, until the once-pure white flowers were drenched in her thick, black, shadowy blood. But she kept begging, kept seeking forgiveness from the people she loved the most.
"My… child… if you're sorry, then don't kill us," her mother said, her voice filled with unbearable sorrow.
"Yes, please bear the consequences of your own actions… please, Bari… please, for once, stop being selfish. Stop thinking only about yourself. Please, Bari…"
They continued to plead, continued to beg but Bari wasn't listening anymore. She was in a trance, repeating her apologies over and over while they watched helplessly.
This went on for a while… until they grew tired of it.
Their gazes shifted to Noah, and what they saw on his face made their hearts pound even faster, his expression was beginning to look… impatient.
Their fear skyrocketed, and with that fear, their tone changed.
"BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR OWN ACTIONS, YOU UNLAWFUL CHILD!!"
"IT'S YOUR FAULT. IT'S YOUR DAMN FAULT. WE TOLD YOU TO CONTROL YOUR FUCKING URGES! WE TOLD YOU! WE FUCKING TOLD YOU, BARI!!"
They started to scream, their voices desperate, angry. They ran toward the kneeling Bari and began to kick her with their sheep heads and hooves with merciless precision.
They were done.
It was her fault. And now she refused to take responsibility?
They didn't ask her to do it. They didn't guide her hand. They weren't even aware of the incident.
So how come they had to go through this pain? How come they had to be transformed into lowly sheep, ready to be slaughtered for eternity?
What had they done to deserve this?
Because they were loved by Bari?
But who the hell wants this kind of love?
No one.
"NO ONE WANTS YOUR FILTHY LOVE!" her father roared as he delivered a resounding kick to her cheek, sending Bari crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
"Please… don't hit me… I love you… I love you… I didn't want this… I didn't want this…" she muttered again and again.
But they weren't listening anymore. Their eyes were filled with fear and fury—fury born not from hatred, but from the unbearable dread of what the demon behind them might do at any moment.
They needed time. They needed to make Bari so overwhelmed, so broken, that she wouldn't even think of killing them.
Yes. They wanted her to suffer here eternally.
Because if it wasn't her… it would be them.
And they would choose themselves every single time.
Noah watched the scene with a soft smile on his lips. Lucie, perched on his lap, tilted her head.
"Is that what emotions do to you?" she asked, confused.
Noah nodded.
"Indeed. That's what emotions do to you. Emotions are powerful tools but they can be dangerous when used wrongly."
"Right now, what you're seeing is something that happens everywhere in the universe. It's just people choosing themselves over others. Refusing to sacrifice their own comfort and freedom for someone else."
"And can you really blame them? They're innocent. Their only crime was being loved by Bari."
"And because they know that… they loathe her love even more. Because her love is the reason they're here. Her love doomed them."
"But…"
Noah smiled again, and just at that moment something snapped inside Bari.
"Today might not be the best moment to be so hard on someone who is on the verge of madness."
Instantly, Bari moved and stabbed her mother with the dull knife.
Her body was shaking, her eyes shedding tears of blood and grief, her face pale and filled with dread.
"Please… don't hurt me…" she whispered then stabbed again.
"Please… don't hurt me…" she whispered again and another stab.
Her loved ones screamed. They tried to run. They cursed her with profane words. But Bari only cried and continued stabbing her mother again and again and again all while pleading for them to stop hurting her.
The sight was…
Horrifying.
Her mother's blood splashed across her face, her white clothes, and the white ground.
"…B-Bari…" her mother whispered through the pain.
Bari stopped immediately. For a moment, her mind seemed to clear as she saw what she had done.
"Mother…? Mother…? I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she cried as she clutched her mother's broken body.
But—
"Y-You… you are a filthy, abominable being. You… are nothing. You… are nothing."
And then… her mother died in her arms.
Bari sat there, frozen, her mother's words echoing in her head, the woman she loved with all her heart…
Something shattered inside her.
"Hahaha…"
"Hahahahahahah…"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!"
She laughed hard, her head thrown back, blood gushing down her face harder and faster.
Bari had been broken.
And with that—
She stood, dull knife in hand, and took a shaky step forward.
"Don't run from me, please…" she said, her voice low but heavy.
"Don't run away from me… I'll give you peace…" she said as she ran toward her loved ones, ready to slaughter all of them.
Maybe for her freedom.
Or maybe…
For nothing.
After all…
She was nothing.
Noah watched it all with indifference.
He didn't care that he'd involved innocent people in this.
The only thing he cared about was making Bari feel the most unimaginable pain possible.
Because,
'You dared to touch what's mine?'
'I will strip everything from you.'
Even your own sanity.
—End of Chapter 305—