Chapter 352 – Closer
But now what?
That was the question Solaris asked herself now that she finally knew what she wanted to do. If she wanted Noah’s attention, she would have to do whatever it took to have him.
What could she do?
She didn’t believe Noah would simply accept her just because she took the first step. She needed something within her that might appeal to him. Or maybe...
Solaris’s restless thoughts slowly began to quiet as she glanced at Elizabeth sitting before her, still poised like a Queen who owed nothing to the universe. With dried tears marking her cheeks, Solaris smiled crookedly.
"Will you help me?" she asked.
Elizabeth tilted her head in mild surprise at the question. Once again, she was tempted to laugh, but she managed to suppress it this time. She couldn’t fathom where Solaris found the nerve to ask for help from someone she had just trash-talked, someone she had openly envied.
Or maybe that was exactly the reason why.
She shook her head, she couldn’t possibly guess the thought process of this now-twisted woman. And she didn’t want to. Her mind was still reeling from the vision she had just witnessed about a red-skinned woman from another universe. She needed time to think about it. And, more importantly, she needed to go and gossip this piece of news to her sisters.
She wondered how they would react. Certainly, it would be a sight to behold.
Since Noah’s departure, they usually gathered together to pass the time, sometimes telling stories about how they came to be Noah’s wives, sometimes speaking about the evolution of their domains and how they managed their territories — they giggled a lot on this one — and sometimes they simply talked about anything. Just like any group of women. They loved to gossip. And gossip they did.
They all obviously missed Noah, and they couldn’t wait to see him again. But in the meantime, each of them was progressing, learning new tricks about their powers, bonding with each other more deeply, becoming even closer and blurring the boundaries between them.
If before they had said they were sisters just for the sake of it, or to soothe Noah’s mind, now they said it because they felt it deep within their souls. There was no longer any distinction between ancient enemies, whores, or anything of that kind.
They no longer cared about the past of the women. They only cared about what those women became after officially becoming Noah’s wives. And until now...
No one disappointed. And no one ever would.
’Oh, today is the weekly meeting. I’ll be able to tell them about the red-skinned girl and even...’ she smiled inwardly, sultry and degenerate, ’I saw yesterday a very daring sex scene from a mortal couple inside Neko’s domain. I cannot wait to tell them about that. We can learn from them for Noah’s return.’
Even mortals were a source of inspiration for beings as divine as them.
Her heart suddenly grew restless as the thought of returning to prepare for the meeting began to dig deeper into her mind but Solaris’s uncertain voice dispersed her thoughts like mist under a blinding sun.
"Will you help me, Silver Goddess?" Solaris whispered, adding the nickname the wives of Noah were called, with a faltering smile.
The latter focused back on her, watching her for a couple of seconds — seconds that seemed to last an eternity for Solaris — before she simply and demurely nodded her head.
"I will help you if you first help yourself."
She finally said it, and Solaris beamed like a child who had just been promised a new toy.
...
Back in the strange white oval room.
Question after question, both Noah and Virgo responded effectively, earning their points but most of all... a deep understanding of existence and everything that makes existence something heavy, something utterly fascinating.
The mechanical voice asked about faith, about personality, about myth, about love, about philosophy, about art...the voice had comprehensively covered a large part of what makes life... life.
It was truly an eye-opener for both Noah and Virgo, because these questions helped them think of things they had never, ever asked themselves before — like this one:
"What do I actually mean when I say I ?"
That question made the two of them pause. What do I mean when I say I ?
It was an interesting question. Noah wondered if it was his body speaking, or his mind, or his memories, or the awareness behind all of them... he didn’t know who was truly "I" when he said I. And that question sparked another within him.
When he said something was meaningful... who decided that?
Was it him? Was it because The Records said it was? Was it because the universe thought it was? Or maybe even his wives?
All these questions, seemingly ordinary, made Noah suddenly gain a deeper awareness of himself and his surroundings. And he realized that some of his past decisions were simply him reacting and accepting because The Records, or even the universe, said it should be so.
This helped him greatly. But the second thing might have helped him even more than all of this...and it was simply the fact that he had another person with him here.
Another person meant another perspective. And another perspective meant another way of life worth studying, worth questioning.
It was interesting to see how Virgo viewed life, and existence in general, so differently from him. Her views were more tempered, more in tune with the cosmic nature of the universe.
Compared to Noah, who viewed the universe and everything beyond as nothing but a whetstone for his ascension — something he needed to use, to devour, to grow stronger and more unique...
Virgo was a woman of dreams. A woman who saw existence in black and white, compared to Noah’s infinite shades of grey. She was a woman of great will, one who wanted to rise above her limitations by doing everything she could. She rarely smiled, but when she did, her smile brightened this sterile oval room.
But most of all... she was a woman who loved sweets and fighting games a little too much.
Noah couldn’t suppress a smile as he watched Virgo with a sweet in her mouth, eyes focused, fingers blurring across the PlayStation controller as she played the fighting game like her life depended on it.
They had just finished another question — their ninth, to be exact — and were given time to rest. Like always, Virgo used her points only for sweets and new games.
They had grown closer compared to the start. After their first kiss, they had kissed again a few times, basking in the warmth of each other, laughing and even joking.
Trying to understand him better, Virgo realized that Noah was not all bad. In fact, Noah could only be described as a grey person. He was bad, for a reason. And he was good, for a reason.
Learning that, Virgo tried to understand why he was good to her. It was a useless endeavor, because she would never know that he was good to her because he wanted her power. But she didn’t need to know that, actually.
She only needed to know that this was how Noah acted when he liked someone. And he liked her. That, she managed to discover.
You could have seen how giddy and happy she was. At that moment, she was at hair’s breadth away from jumping on him and confessing that she, too, had started to feel comfortable in his presence.
It wasn’t love per se. It was almost at the level of a crush. Maybe a little higher than that. Still, she was happy to be with him.
And now...
[Virgo’s feelings for you have reached 50%.]
Honestly, this white oval room helped Noah immensely in gaining Virgo’s affection. He almost wanted to kiss whoever was behind all of this...but that thought died as quickly as it was born when the mechanical feminine voice boomed once again, asking another question.
The tenth question.
"Will you kill Virginia Ti Raneth — Virgo — if it were your only way of reaching perfection, Noah Vaelgrim?"
Noah’s mind reeled at the question.
But it didn’t stop there.
"Will you kill Noah Vaelgrim, if it were your only way of reaching your dreams, Virginia Ti Raneth?"
Virgo froze instantly, her mouth open as the sweet slipped from her lips and fell to the ground.
Now...
Now Noah was ready to destroy this goddamn place.
—End of Chapter 353—