Noah looked up at his brother-in-law's current adorably foolish state and couldn’t stop his eyes and mouth from curving into a brilliant smile filled with affection, “I’m not hurt. My body is already fully healed.”
Seeing that incomparably beautiful smile, Levi felt as if he had been shot at again.
“That’s not what I meant...” Levi furrowed his eyebrows, “Your body has recovered, but it cannot change the fact that you almost... almost...” Levi swallowed hard and was unable to continue his words. Instead, he instinctively clutched at the smaller body lying on top of his as if holding for dear life.
“You too,” Noah retorted, “It wasn’t just me who nearly died. You did too. It wasn’t only me who was hurt, you were hurt too.”
Levi’s eyes locked with Noah’s.
How could those two limpid honey eyes still look so pure and clean, reflecting his image as clearly as a mirror?
How could those two lively and bright eyes gaze at him in the same way as before?
Levi’s heart clenched, and his expression fell, looking pained, “…It’s not the same.”
“The method of getting hurt is different. But the cause is the same - the terrorist attack.” Noah’s tone was soft but resolute. It was clear for all to see that he genuinely believed in every word he spoke.
‘Are you saying… you don’t blame me?’ Levi’s nose turned stuffy.
“We are the same,” Noah emphasized, “Both victims of the attack. Brother, don’t fall into the warped mindset of blaming the victim!”
What his baby said was right. Of course it was. Everything his baby said was always right.
But… but…
“Not the same,” Levi insisted.
He closed his stinging eyes, “...Painful,” his voice cracked, “It must have been very painful.”
Noah fell silent.
And Levi... Well, Levi wanted to bite off his own tongue for uttering something so stupid out loud. His brain must have cramped for him to make his baby recall that traumatic experience again!
And what was the purpose of his silly disagreement in the first place? Was he trying to remind his baby just how unpleasant and horrible it had all been? Make him realize that it was even more horrid than he remembered it??
Just how retarded was he, Levi?! Was he unsatisfied by getting his baby’s forgiveness so easily, or did he think that the agony he had gone through wasn’t enough of a punishment?! What was he doing asking to be further abused?!?
He was a moron, an absolute imbecile!
While Levi was dying inside, Noah was contemplating how to properly convey his thoughts. He wanted to reassure Levi that it wasn’t too painful, but if he said such a thing, it would sound too perfunctory. If he said it didn’t hurt, who would believe him?
He didn’t wish to dismiss or make light of Levi’s worries. He wanted to address them all, truthfully and wholeheartedly. Only then would Levi be able to lay them to rest.
“There are different kinds of pain in this world, some worse than others,” Noah spoke out. “For me, the worst kind of pain is the pain of losing a loved one.”
Levi stared at him silently, with the rims of his eyes red, and his lips pressed tightly together. Mn. There is nothing more painful than losing your most precious person.
“As for the physical pain...” Noah deliberated, “It wasn’t anything unbearable. It was a dull kind of pain, closer to discomfort than agony.”
Levi’s lips quivered; the inquiring sounds that came out of his mouth were choked up and unintelligible.
Feeling like his little heart would break watching his brother-in-law struggle to form words, Noah interjected, “It looked worse than it felt.”
Then he softened his tone to gently reassure, “It was like diving deep underwater. My eardrum popped quickly, and then the pressure wasn’t all that painful anymore.”
For a moment, Levi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. His heart bled for his darling, but he also felt a bit sweet inside and even a bit amused, ‘Baby... only you can make ruptured eardrums sound like a good thing...’ He helplessly looked at his darling’s sincere eyes and couldn’t say a thing.
Fine, since his baby could speak about it like that, it would seem that the incident hadn’t caused him a deep trauma.
That was great! Levi’s eyes moistened. That was really great! As long as his precious treasure could continue to be so lively, continue to direct those clear and limpid eyes at him, continue to smile so brightly, then everything was more than great!
But how could it possibly be as simple as that?
The little one made it sound like nothing had changed between them, like what happened today had no impact whatsoever. But how could something like that leave no trace behind?
Once you’ve experienced certain things, once you’ve seen certain things, you could no longer unsee them. No matter how much you try, you can no longer view them in the same light as before.
On the surface, it might look as if there was no change in their relationship. But what lay hidden underneath? A single crack or a whole spiderweb of fine cracks? Either way, if left unattended, the result would be the same - it would slowly widen over time until the damage could no longer be fixed.
Levi had experienced it first-hand. Many times. But none as clearly as when he had awakened his power.
People had always been afraid of his power, or rather, his family’s power. He had thought regardless of what mental power he awakened, nothing would change either way.
He had been wrong.
He hadn’t changed, but the way everyone viewed him had changed. This change wasn’t apparent at first. But with time, it became more and more evident until it could no longer be ignored.
Astar Levi was a person of high status that couldn’t be offended. He disliked company, had an unpleasant personality, was self-centered and petty. All of that was something everyone already knew.
But when a title of an S-rank Enforcer was added to his already intimidating package, it slowly twisted into horrifying.
It wasn’t due to what he could do, but rather, why he could do it.
What power one awakened depended on their most prominent personality traits. And a major factor influencing the rank of one’s power was the strength of that personality trait.
A Blazer’s rank was directly proportional to how hotheaded they were, a Shielder’s rank was directly proportional to how protective they were of their loved ones.
This was also why it was very rare to find an S and SS-ranked power users - people were made out of many personality traits, and rarely did they possess a trait that was stretched to the extreme. A person could be lazy and prone to procrastinating, but where would you find a person too lazy to go to the toilet or to eat when hungry?
Yet, he, Astar Levi, was one such extreme person. And those extreme traits giving him power were not the good kind.
He was stubborn, inflexible, and forceful in his methods. Oppressive and overbearing, a person who always had to have his way, who would rather break than bend, die than yield.
A person who couldn’t be reasoned with.
In other words, a madman.
Levi didn’t need to do anything for a silent crack to form in everyone’s mind. A subtle change of perception that grew and grew until what they saw looked nowhere near what was initially there.Their perception was like a mirror. The image reflected on a smooth mirror was clear, but once the mirror cracked, the reflection would become distorted and split until it could no longer be recognized.Back when everyone had distanced themselves from him, he had even felt it was a good thing. His power was excellent - not only was it very convenient in many ways, but it also kept unwanted company away.
Levi felt like he would be able to reach heaven in a single step. His idea of boiling this cute little frog in warm water had been the right approach. He was nearly fully cooked.The twists and turns of life were truly unpredictable! Within a single day, he had fallen from heaven to hell and then soared back into the sky once again.It was all so very good, almost perfect even. It was just that his heart still hurt for this sensible baby of his that worried for others before himself. How could his heart ever be at ease when his darling didn’t know how to treasure himself properly? When he didn’t know that he was the most precious thing in
“Brother, did you say something? I couldn’t hear you over the water.” Noah yelled from within the bathroom.Levi exhaled a long sigh charged to the brim with emotion. “I’ll tell you later…”Noah dried his hands with the towel, “Blackie, did you hear what he said?”Blackie side-eyed his blissfully ignorant host, “Yes. He proclaimed his undying love for you.”No
Levi swallowed hard, “You… could you go ahead and check whether my mother came in person?”Noah eyed Levi strangely, so Levi was forced to explain. “My mother is… uh… an Empathizer…”Noah’s confusion was instantly replaced by understanding. Empathizers could sense the emotions of others as if they were their own. His brother-in-law was worried that if his mother came in person, she’d be able to feel how much today’s incident had affected him. He didn’t want her to worry, and how could she not if she felt his pain and distress?
While making their way towards the study, Noah couldn’t help but inquire, “What happened to your manor?”Levi avoided his eyes and pretended he hadn’t heard his question. Noah waited for his response, and only after a long while had passed did he realize that the other had no intention of responding.“Brother?” Noah tugged at Levi’s sleeve, but the other lunged to knock on the study door as if chased by a flesh-eating zombie.Noah stared at the fleeing brother-in-law speechlessly, feeling a bit am
After visiting his father, Noah took a minute to send a message to Fynn, telling him to drop by the manor so that they could further discuss the case. He also updated his social status to say he was resting at home, but otherwise fine.After that, he recorded and sent a long and touching video message to Trey, ensuring him that everything was fine, and he would keep him updated on the happenings. He also encouraged Trey to properly rest and recuperate, apologized for getting him into this mess, and thanked him for his hard work both verbally and monetarily with a thick electronic envelope of cash. He also ordered a get-well gift basket to be sent to his hospital room.
At that moment, Noah finally realized why his pitiful brother-in-law looked so undead in the morning. Not only was his sleep quality poor, getting tormented by nightmares, but he even ended up destroying his room!How horrible would one feel if, in a blink of an eye, they destroyed their own home?!Never mind the stress, pitiful brother-in-law was the one who lost the most in this accident, yet instead of mourning his own loss, he even had a crushing sense of regret and guilt! Feeling as if it was his fault, as if there was something wrong with him!
“Understand?” Noah’s beautiful honey-colored eyes curved, watching Levi with a pure and clean gaze of a little sheep, utterly oblivious to their impending fate of getting eaten clean, with not even bones remaining.Levi repeatedly nodded, “I understand!”Noah eyed Levi, confirmed that the other was no longer feeling down, and then nodded satisfied, “As long as you understand. Every problem has a solution. Don’t let people who don’t even know you pin nonsense adjectives to you.”Levi ke