Chapter 280 – People crave what they lack
"Wanna know them?" Aurelia asked, and without much surprise, Asaemon nodded eagerly.
Aurelia smiled as she slowly sat back on the lush, green grass, her delicate body folding gracefully, making herself comfortable in that casual yet regal way she always had when she knew she held knowledge no one else did.
"I told you I think the youngest’s power is related to fate and others, and that’s why it was not so easy to find him."
Asaemon nodded in understanding, sinking into his chair made of fleshy roots that adjusted themselves to fit his frame like a loyal beast.
"But I also told you that he had many wives. They were protected by some kind of power, but that power was clearly not enough to hide from my skill and so..."
She smiled quietly, eyes distant.
"...I was able to see some things. Some truly interesting things, but I guess what you want to know is their location."
Asaemon nodded again, annoyed but quiet, thinking his sister was just deliberately taking her time to answer one damn single question—but he stayed silent, not wanting to ruin this moment that might finally lead them to their mysterious youngest.
"I couldn’t see it clearly," she said, her voice still calm, "but from what I saw in their recent past... they were in a space full of shadows."
The moment Aurelia said those words, Asaemon’s eyes lit up in recognition, the realization hitting him like a beam of light through fog.
"The Shadow Realm!" he exclaimed with joy, slamming his hands on the fleshy armrests of his throne.
"If it’s the Shadow Realm, then it’s fine. I once met Shadow, I bet he’ll let me in if I ask nicely."
"Hahahaha!" he laughed loudly, already rising to his feet, itching to go there immediately, to storm the realm if necessary just to meet the brother he’d never known he wanted.
"I told you I wasn’t sure," Aurelia said flatly, watching him with a tired gaze.
"And seeing that he sensed me already, he’ll probably hide, for whatever reason."
Asaemon groaned loudly before slowly sitting back down, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Why didn’t you just tell him that we’re his elder siblings dying to meet him?" he grumbled as he fell deep into thought.
"You say his power is tied to fate and all that," he said after a pause, "so it means if you try to spy on him or those close to him, he’ll sense it."
"And if that’s the case... then why not just talk to him directly? Tell him who we are? I doubt he’d refuse to meet us if he knew."
Aurelia blinked.
Her eyes widened slightly as she turned to look at him with the disbelief only an older sister could have when she suddenly realized her dumb, reckless little brother might’ve just said something smart.
"You... you actually used your brain, little brother," she whispered, the shock in her voice enough to cause stars to collapse from shame.
Yes.
That kind of mind-shattering disbelief.
Asaemon’s lips twitched violently.
"Just do what I said and stop wasting time," he snapped, choosing to be the bigger man and let the insult slide.
What an exemplary brother he was.
Aurelia grinned mockingly but said nothing as she reopened her golden book—Records’ Theft—her fingers brushing softly against the cover before flipping it open again, her mind focused on the task.
She selected the same skill as before, her will firm, her presence steady—
"Huh...?" she muttered, her head tilting slightly as if confused.
"Did... did you just refuse to be activated?" she asked, dumbfounded.
Not because a skill shouldn’t have awareness—no, she had seen far stranger things than that.
But because this one dared refuse her, Aurelia, The First Abomination.
"Refuse one more time, and you’ll see what I’ll do to you," she warned, and her voice—calm just a moment ago—shifted into something ancient, something absolute, something cold and terrifying enough to make the very threads of fate shake around her in fright.
She activated it again.
This time it obeyed.
No hesitation.
What a cowardly skill.
She didn’t waste a single second and immediately sought out the members of the new faction.
She saw the same silver-haired women, but this time she couldn’t see anything more—only strands of silver, their faces hidden, their powers cloaked.
But her goal wasn’t to look at them.
It was—
"It looks like a provocation to me," a deep voice echoed through the thread-filled space.
The skill almost shut itself down again in pure dread, but Aurelia’s earlier promise of violent reprisal kept it barely functioning.
And then—
In that timeless space, filled with countless threads weaving and writhing in mystic harmony, those same threads suddenly began to twist and converge, weaving together like puppeteer’s string until they formed the silhouette of a man.
Seconds passed, and a figure stood before her.
His facial features were veiled in thread and light, hidden yet... oddly radiant.
And even then, people would instinctively know that he was beautiful.
The man, Noah, looked at Aurelia with curiosity.
Not suspicion, not hostility. Just pure, unfiltered curiosity.
Because he hadn’t sensed any malicious intent. This woman, whoever she was, didn’t come to fight or threaten.
She had come to call.
That’s exactly why he had answered.
Aurelia looked at him, smiling gently.
"You’re quite difficult to contact, youngest," she said softly.
The moment he heard the word youngest, Noah’s mind sparked, connecting everything in a flash, analyzing the implications.
He looked at her again, a bit longer this time, before tilting his head just slightly.
"...Abominations?" he asked, his voice calm but sharp.
She nodded once.
"I’m Aurelia. The First Abomination."
"And I’m Asaemon, The Second Abomination," Asaemon’s voice boomed across the space as he appeared beside her, his body stepping smoothly into the domain of woven fate.
He looked at Noah with a grin so wide it could tear his face in two.
"Pretty cool, youngest. Your power seems very interesting."
Noah stood there, quiet.
It was all unexpected.
He had been chilling in his room moments ago, popcorn in hand, watching as his wives argued and prepared to destroy the castle just to be the first to ride him and now this?
This strange, surreal moment?
How absurd... and yet...
He didn’t hate it.
They were calling him youngest. They looked at him with something he didn’t expect from other people except his wives. Something close to... familial affection.
And thanks to his Providence—thanks to the fusion of fate, destiny, and causality that allowed him to read the very truths of those around him—Noah knew they weren’t lying.
They meant no harm.
They just wanted to meet him.
And strangely enough... that stirred something in him.
Noah had never had siblings. Not in his past life, not in this one. He had always been an only child.
It had its perks as he got all the love, all the resources, all the attention.
But people crave what they lack.
Even him.
He had always wondered what it would be like to have siblings. Someone to annoy, someone to rely on, someone to fight and laugh with—someone who wasn’t a parent or a lover.
And now...
His lips curled into a faint smile.
A strange smile as his face was made of threads but still, it was one both Aurelia and Asaemon could feel deep in their bones.
Then his voice echoed across the thread realm, calm, smooth, oddly warm.
"Well..."
"Nice to meet you, dear siblings."
And so...
Noah finally met his self-proclaimed siblings.
—End of Chapter 280—