Chương 82: Chapter 80: A Fool

"Well, come down here, you God! What's wrong? I'm still waiting!" Noa's laughter echoed through the hollowed-out ribs of the city-state. It was a sound that should have provoked the heavens, but there was no answer. The sky remained a bruised, silent purple. Then, the world tilted.

"Ouch!" An impact struck the back of his head, sending a jolt of pain through his skull. It wasn't a lethal blow, just an affectionate tap. Noa turned his head slowly, a smile, warmer and softer than the predatory one he had worn mere moments ago, beginning to bloom on his face.

"Shut up, you idiot. There's no god or heaven in this world. The word 'God' is just a title for people who like to act as one." Vionette stood there, one hand perched gracefully on her hip, her gaze sweeping over the wreckage with an expression of boredom. As if her arrival was the final signal his body had been waiting for, Noa's legs gave out. He collapsed to the ground, his back coming to rest against a slab of rubble as he looked up at Vionette.

Blood continued to seep from his severed arm, staining the dust-choked earth in crimson. Beside him, Acheron lay silent, its dark blade humming faintly as the violet dragon above dissipated. Vionette stepped closer, her shadow falling across his face. She tapped his cheek lightly with the tip of her heel—once, then twice.

"You look awful like that," she murmured, her head tilting slightly as a smile played on her lips.

"But somehow, using a cheat, we managed to win anyway." No reply came from Noa. His eyes remained wide, his pupils reflecting the dark silhouette of the woman standing over him. He didn't even blink, as if terrified that closing his eyes would make the moment vanish entirely. Finally, his lips parted, his voice a mere rasp against the wind.

"…I can… see under your dress—" A decisive kick from her heel sent his head snapping to the side, his jaw clacking shut.

"Ask if you want to look," she said, folding her arms below her chest.

"Don't peek, you moron." She lowered herself, adjusting the fabric of her dark dress before sitting comfortably beside his head. A surge of Aether rippled through the rich fabric, instantly repelling the ash and grime of the battlefield. Reaching down, she combed her fingers through his hair and gently guided his head onto the soft cushion of her lap.

"At this point, I can't tell if you actually collapsed from exhaustion, or if you just wanted an excuse to sleep on my lap." Noa smiled blissfully, his left hand reaching up to rest against her thigh.

"Man… I love these thighs…"

"Heal up," she whispered, her tone softening.

"We have more than enough time before anyone else arrives." … Moments later, Noa's severed arm had fully regenerated, and the dried mud caking his skin had been cleansed away by his Aether. Most of his deep gashes had closed, leaving only minor scratches behind. His Aether was still recovering drop by drop, but the fine clothes provided by Nymira's shop had already been seamlessly restored. Noticing a small scratch lingering on his cheek, Vionette pointed a finger at it.

"Does it hurt?" Noa's gaze flicked toward the mark, then back up to Vionette's eyes.

"This? Not at all." She looked down at him, loose strands of her hair falling forward to frame a teasing smile.

"So, there's no need for me to kiss it better?"

"It—it hurts so much!" Noa interjected quickly, his face deadpan and entirely serious.

"I was confused, you see. The pain completely blinded me."

"It hurts now?" She tilted her head playfully. Leaning down, she pressed a soft kiss to the scratch before pulling back.

"There. Now it will heal faster." Noa closed his eyes, an expression of pure bliss washing over his features. Then they snapped open, replaced by a look of sudden curiosity.

"Wait—if you sacrificed [Minor Regeneration], how am I regenerating like this?" Vionette framed his face with her palms, gazing down at him with affectionate eyes.

"You idiot, are you just realizing that now? Couldn't you tell that an Uncommon-class skill wouldn't be able to regenerate an entire arm like that?" Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"What is it, then?"

"Well, thanks to the new skill's description, I have a clue as to why. That Null Essence inside your body… it was the reason for your passive regeneration." A faint blush dusted her cheeks.

"And, quite possibly, the reason for this... good-looking body of yours."

"Null Essence?" Noa lifted his newly formed hand, inspecting his own palm.

"I remember hearing something about that in [Nihility Decree]'s description. The hell is it?"

"Who knows what it actually is? But looking at how things are now," her expression turned analytical, her crimson eyes narrowing.

"Null Essence has always been inside your body. You were using negative emotions as a path to drag that unstable energy outward when you had [Echo Reclamation]… Though I can't exactly tell why it required negative emotions specifically. Now, with [Nihility Decree], you can pull it out directly without relying on a third-party."

"It sounds pretty cool, though." Noa chuckled as the violet energy warped around his fingers.

"Now I don't need to worry about that emotional setback shit."

"Speaking of negative emotions," Vionette murmured, her gaze shifting toward a figure nearby.

"I think that thing is about to complete its transformation." Noa pushed himself up from her lap, and Vionette rose gracefully beside him. They walked toward the entity and waited. On the ground, the entity began to churn. It was a viscous puddle that seemed to swallow the ambient sunlight, shimmering with an eerie sentience of its own. Slowly, the chaotic fluid began to solidify and take shape—a 'self.'

The dark liquid shaped into slender limbs and an athletic frame, before finally settling into the figure of a girl. The sunlight caught the white strands of her hair as they manifested. It was bound in a loose side ponytail that rested over her right shoulder, the white fading into a soft, luminous violet at the tips. Her bangs fell naturally, framing a face that was somehow both entirely new and familiar. She tilted her head, testing the unfamiliar weight of her new skin.

Within the vivid purple iris of her left eye sat a diamond-shaped pupil; in her right, a heart-shaped pupil, darting with curiosity as she observed the world around her. She examined her attire with that same quiet wonder. A sleeveless, off-white vest hugged her torso. Over it, a cropped black jacket draped asymmetrically; the right sleeve extended down to her wrist, while the left stopped at her mid-bicep.

Flexing her fingers, she noted the contrast between the long white glove encasing her right hand and the short black one on her left, just below where a sleek black crown tattoo rested against her skin. She tilted her head once more, a fleeting, playful thought dancing behind those strange, patterned eyes.

"I look… ridiculous?" she muttered, before letting out a quiet, amused breath. Her hands drifted to the pristine mask resting at her waist. One of its eyes curved upward into a manic, laughing smile, while the other was sealed shut in weeping sorrow, marked by a single painted tear. She held it for a moment, before letting it drop back against her hip. For the first time, her colors did not smear or fade.

Her fleeting will had finally been anchored to reality, and the entity that was once a hollow vessel now overflowed with vibrant human emotion. A Fool, capable of changing masks faster than thought itself, was born.

"She was created according to your preferences, right? Why did you make her female?" Vionette asked, her eyes narrowing with a suspicious glint as she scrutinized Noa.

"I'd much rather look at a beautiful woman than a muscular man if I have to see her every day," Noa replied, rolling his shoulders dismissively.

"Though I didn't expect her to look so... young." Catching the sound of their voices, the girl kneeling in the dirt lifted her head. Her diamond and heart-shaped pupils locked onto the two figures standing before her. Then, as a bright spark suddenly ignited in her gaze, she lunged forward.

"Huh?" Noa looked down to find the girl wrapping her arms tightly around his legs. She beamed up at him, her purple eyes sparkling with adoration. Her pink lips parted.

"D… Dad?" Noa froze. His brain simply short-circuited. Beside him, Vionette's composed posture completely shattered."'D-Dad'!?" Noa shouted, his voice cracking slightly as he hastily pried her off.

"Why the hell are you calling me 'Dad'? Let go of me!"

"Well… if you like, you can just call me 'Mom,' then," Vionette chimed in from the side. Her face flushed a deep crimson. Coughing lightly into her fist to hide her embarrassment, her eyes darted toward the horizon as if searching for an escape in the clouds.

"But you two said you weren't married," the girl pointed out, tilting her head.

"That… well… whatever," Vionette stammered, pointing a firm finger at Noa.

"Just call me that if you're going to call him 'Dad'! It's simple logic."

"MOM!" Suddenly, the girl released Noa's legs and launched herself through the air. Like a cat pouncing on a favorite toy, she wrapped her arms and legs completely around Vionette, burying her face into the woman's cleavage with a radiant, unrestrained smile.

"Get off! You're heavy!"

"Oh… sorry, I was just excited," she mumbled, though she made no immediate effort to let go.

"Enough of that," Vionette sighed, finally prying the girl loose and resting a gentle hand on top of her head.

"Viselle... listen to me.""'Viselle'?" the girl asked, blinking owlishly.

"Your name. It's Viselle from now on. Now, look over there." Vionette pointed a finger toward the broken remains of Jain.

"Go and collect that corpse. We have an aftermath to deal with."

"Yeah, then we can finally go back to Crimvane," Noa added, stepping up beside Vionette.

"Crimvane?" Viselle echoed, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"It's called 'Home,' idiot. So just hurry the fuck up and grab that," Noa instructed, jerking his thumb dismissively toward the body.

"And you'd better stop calling me 'Dad' once we get there."

"Home… Okie!" With a playful bounce to her step, Viselle skipped toward the fallen Saint. Her arms swung in a carefree, childlike rhythm, and her white-and-violet ponytail danced wildly behind her—a sudden, vibrant flash of life in a city that had long forgotten how to breathe.