As soon as Nero teleported back to his room, Yehui, who was sitting cross-legged on their bed cultivating, immediately opened her eyes, sensing an uncomfortable aura. Nero, who was about to silently go wash up, stopped and approached Yehui
"Sorry about the disturbance. Some of that husky's blood was accidentally splashed on my coat," Nero murmured apologetically as he gently stroked Yehui's hair and tucked a loose lock behind her ear.
Placing her hand over Nero's, Yehui shook her head and replied, "It's fine, I was just about to finish my meditation anyway."
Focusing on the blood splashes on Nero's coat, Yehui asked, "Do you want me to help you wash them?"
Nero shook his head and replied, "No need for that much trouble. I'll just leave it with the cleaners. You just take a good rest; I'll join you after informing Aria, okay?"
Yehui nodded and lay down on the bed. After pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, Nero left to wash up.
________________
Nero, currently leaning on his room's balcony handrails, sipped his coffee as he waited for Aria.
With a flash of blue light, a chibi figure built like a cyber-age e-girl—short white hair, cybernetic ears, and funky clothes—materialized beside Nero, standing with her hands on her hips like a proud little gremlin.
Nero raised an eyebrow as he observed Aria's new look for a solid minute before commenting, "Didn't know divine consciousness went through an emo phase. Guess you learn new things every day."
Aria's proud expression instantly withered like like flowers wilting at the end of spring, and her eyes twitched in annoyance. She took deep breaths to calm herself and thought, "It's okay, Aria. Not everyone has great taste. Nero is just ignorant when it comes to fashion… Yeah, ignorant… IGNORANT MY FOOT!"
In her irritation, Aria instantly hurled a space slash toward Nero. Sensing the mobilization of energy, he conjured demonic crystals to block the attack.
After a bit of playful banter, Nero took out the fragment of the God of War that he had obtained from Liu Khen's teacher for Aria to analyze.
After a couple of minutes, the fragment stopped hovering in Aria's palm.
"So, were you able to get anything about our mysterious god?" Nero asked, finishing the last sip of his coffee.
"Well, for starters, he is definitely not Dai Mubai, because the origin of this fragment is far transcending the limits of a second-level god.. Secondly, the divine energy of this fragment isn't attuned to nature, as divine energy should be. Instead, it's completely the opposite," Aria replied after a moment of contemplation.
"Maybe his elemental attributes are something akin to destruction or death. That's why it seems that way," Nero offered a possibility.
Aria shook her head and explained, "Whether it's your demon energy or destructive forces like death or evil, they all belong to nature. More precisely, they fall under the Cosmic laws of the universe. They may appear to oppose nature, but in truth, they are still part of its dark side. This fragment's energy, however… it's different. It's like a virus in the human body, something unnatural, taboo, something that should not exist."
"So, in the end, what we face is an organization whose patron is a god set against nature itself — perhaps even more than one," Nero concluded.
Aria sighed, her expression heavy. Despite all her scanning, dissecting, and calculations, she had no leads worth calling an advantage.
Nero, aware of the storm in her thoughts, flicked her tiny chibi forehead with a teasing grin. "Stop overthinking. You've already done far more than anyone could ask. It's not your duty to drag secrets out of shadows or secure advantages. Your only duty…"—his tone softened—"is to do what you love. Everything else, leave to me."
"But… what if they come up with something unknown?" Aria's gaze dropped, her voice trembling. "What if it's fatal to you—or to Ren?"
Nero simply smiled and replied, "Then we'll do what we always do: tear straight through it. And besides, there's no way they could ever create something that can bypass the techniques and technology crafted by our genius Aria."
He bent close, his voice teasing again to lighten her mood. "Now, stop stressing yourself out. Or do you want Mom to bonk me and Ren for making her beloved daughter shoulder this much pressure?"
The joke melted through her worries, and laughter burst out between her tears.
After their discussion, Aria vanished, and Nero lingered on the balcony, eyes drawn to the Star Luo capital — its lights glittering like stars of their own. He knew all too well that the days ahead would only drag them deeper into trouble.
The sudden warmth of familiar hands around his waist pulled him back from his thoughts. Smiling, Nero turned to the woman behind him. He slipped his arms around Yehui's shoulders, ran his fingers lovingly through her cherry-red hair.
" She really does stress herself too much" Yehui murmured " forgetting she wasn't meant to be a tool or machine "
Nero nodded and replied with helplessness in his tone, "She has always been like that. Because she couldn't help in fights physically, she came to believe it was her job and responsibility to handle everything outside of combat. Even though I knew this was wrong, I couldn't do anything to change her mindset — my words alone wouldn't have meant much, especially since she was always stuck with me and Ren mentally. That's why I left her with Mom. At the very least, I hoped her pampering could change Aria's inherent mindset of viewing herself as nothing more than a tool."
"From the looks of it, it worked to some degree," Yehui smiled, referencing Aria's chibi transformation. "And you didn't have to tease her about that — she looked cute."
Nero laughed and replied, "I couldn't help it. If I honestly complimented her, she'd be smug about it for weeks."
Yehui just shook her head at Nero's childishness and enjoyed the intimacy they shared in silence.
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Unknown place, Unknown realm
In a dark room whose walls were etched with brutal battlefields, ruined worlds, and creatures straight from a nightmare, a tall throne stood at its center. Around it knelt figures in black robes, purple moonlight dripping through a transparent ceiling and illuminating the one seated upon the throne — a woman, judging by her silhouette.
Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes. They were anything but normal — a mangled mess of horrors, each glint echoing the destruction of countless worlds. Speaking in a multi-toned, icy voice, she demanded:
"Where was the fragment of my beloved brother's authority sent?" her voice accompanied by murmured whispers of curruption.
One of the robed beings — if it could even be called a "person" — answered with absolute reverence:
"It was sent to this world's God of War country, my liege."
After a pause of silence, the woman spoke again. "Send one of the Fiend Emperors. It seems someone has managed to retrieve the core and sever its connection."
She lifted her hand and tossed a round object toward the servant. "Take this as well. It appears they have also isolated the fragment."
The servant caught it, bowed low, and silently exited.
"What an unusual power…" the woman murmured, before closing her eyes, plunging the room once more into eternal silence.
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Hello! Author here again sorry for this long hiatus, I hope you like this chapter, if you feel tone and atmosphere change a bit sorry for that.
The chapter was a bit short since i have to re read my old chapters to markup the plot points that i forgot.
Thanks for support as always