Chapter 228 – The Disciple of Noah
Meanwhile, while Noah was busy fucking Justicia senseless, his subordinates—scattered across the Shadow Realm—had finally finished their mission.
They had worked for three years. Three whole years away from their homes, their families, and their own world.
Three years of struggling to adapt, to blend, to bee invisible among the shadows.
Three years of constant battles, of navigating the slippery, violent politics of entire domains.
Three years of relentless espionage and wearing masks—sometimes literally—among creatures that reeked of corruption and madness.
Three years spent living with the presence of an Original’s breath constantly crawling down their spine like a silent noose.
All in all...
It had been three years of transformation.
Three years that had hardened each of them. Changed them. Matured them beyond their own expectations.
And now...
They could all feel it.
The time to return was near.
...
Mortis’s Domain — Territory of Dusk
Inside the main castle dominating the entire territory, Eric—though no one here called him that anymore—sat within a lavish room that screamed absurd, decadent luxury.
And when I say luxurious... I mean, truly luxurious.
The bed, the floor, the ceiling, the walls—every surface was made from the skin of a Supreme-Rank Shadow King Beast.
The Elephantclaw of Depth.
A beast so powerful, so ancient, and so rare that barely anyone had seen it in person—let alone slain it. Yet here, its remains decorated a single man’s room.
Duskworn’s room.
And Duskworn himself? He sat there calmly on the bed, pale hand resting lightly over his chest, his mind adrift in thought like this had all bee normal to him.
And maybe it had.
After all—it had been three years since he took up residence here. Three years since Aerica Dusk made him her Champion.
’I’ve really been lucky to be chosen by her,’ Eric thought, eyes half-lidded in a mix of contentment and reflection.
He lay on the softest part of the bed, staring at the ceiling, remembering the day he was selected... and everything that followed.
Truthfully? It hadn’t been bad.
In fact—it had been wonderful.
Since being her Champion, all he did was train, grow, and fight other manders’ Champions. And he wasn’t tossed into those battles blind. Aerica herself had trained him. Personally. Intensively.
She gave him everything he needed—and more. SSS-rank skills rained down on him like candy. Arcane secrets whispered like bedtime stories. Forbidden manuals placed in his hand without hesitation.
Three years ago, he was nothing more than a peak S-rank mortal.
Now?
Now Eric was a SSS rank being. Just a step away from a Supreme.
He smiled faintly as he raised one pale hand into the air.
He didn’t channel mana. He didn’t chant. He didn’t even move a finger.
And yet—shadows bloomed.
A thick, rolling wave of darkness filled the room, as if responding to his very breath. They surged to his hand, wrapped around it, twisted into a vortex of motion... and then began to press.
And in seconds, above his palm floated a flower.
A shadow-made flower.
Its petals were wide and soft-looking, trumpet-shaped, made of nothing but shadow—yet they glowed with a gentle, silvery-white hue. Elegant. Pure. Radiating a strange and haunting serenity.
The Duskflower.
A flower that had only ever bloomed in one place: Aerica’s territory.
Because it had only existed for three years.
Because Eric had created it.
’I made it... for her,’ he thought, lips curling with a quiet grin.
Why?
Because he’d picked up a few things after spending enough time under Noah’s influence. Especially one of Noah’s more... dangerous traits.
His flirty, shameless trait.
To survive in this world, to gather information, to gain power—Eric had used everything.
His charm.
His empathy.
His cocky smile.
And yes... his body, when necessary.
He seduced a Divine. A being far above mortals in every way. He didn’t plan to—but it worked. And once it started working... he kept going.
After all, when Noah is your role model, you don’t fear impossible conquests.
Eric still remembered asking Noah how he succeeded in seducing Sophie.
Noah had laughed and replied, "I made her a blue ice lotus and she fell for me like I was her prince riding a blue dragon."
He said it like a joke.
But it stuck with Eric.
That seed of inspiration bloomed into a literal flower.
Still, a flower wasn’t enough.
So Eric leaned into the intimacy they shared during training. He became someone constant. Someone supportive. Someone close.
Because even goddesses get lonely.
Even a Divine like Aerica, for all her power, had no one to call a panion. No one to lean on.
Until him.
He was the first person she treated not as a subordinate... but as a partner.
It had been difficult. So damn difficult.
She was a Divine. He was just a mortal.
But maybe that was why it worked.
After all, there’s something intoxicating about the forbidden.
A Divine falling for a mortal?
A mander loving her own subordinate?
It wasn’t explicitly forbidden, but it was certainly frowned upon.
And forbidden things... always tempt the most.
Especially if the mortal in question was relentless. Gentle. Charming. And... clever enough to know exactly how to be irreplaceable.
And so, eventually...
"My dear..." a soft, sultry voice murmured beside him.
Eric didn’t even need to turn. But he did—just to see her beautiful face again.
Aerica.
She approached and lay down beside him on the massive bed, head resting against his chest as she stared at the Duskflower above his hand.
"You still haven’t told me how you thought of that flower," she said with curiosity lacing her smile.
Eric chuckled softly. "I picked the idea up from a friend of mine."
Aerica blinked. That... was new.
He never spoke of his past. Or anyone from his life before her. She leaned closer, her finger tracing soft circles on his chest.
"You’ve never told me about any of your people. Tell me... what kind of friend is he?" she asked.
If anyone from Dusk Territory walked in now—they’d assume they were hallucinating.
A Divine—lying like a lover beside a mortal? Stroking him gently? Asking questions like an enamored girlfriend?
Unbelievable.
Eric paused, trying to find the words.
Noah was too many things. Unpredictable. Brilliant. Terrifying. Ridiculous.
He wasn’t even sure there were proper words to describe him.
So in the end, Eric just spoke the first thing that came to his mind instinctively.
"He... is an abomination."
And at those words—
Aerica’s eyes widened instantly.
She bolted upright, her body trembling slightly, her gaze fixed on Eric like a hawk locked onto prey.
"What did you just say?" she asked.
Her voice... was not soft anymore.
—End of Chapter 228—
A/N:
Don’t be afraid...give all your power stones and golden tickets guys.
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