"I told you to return Iuno's prophetic ability. Do you understand?"
"Right away! Right away!"
A sharp explosion sounded from the depths of the dark Chaos, then fell silent once more.
"…Unwritten One, who are you talking to?"
Iuno looked at Noah in confusion, then turned her head toward the depths of the Chaos.
Even with her perceptive abilities, she could not sense anything behind her. Yet she had clearly heard the response from the depths of the Chaos just now.
"A three-headed bird Echo lifeform." Noah explained casually.
"Three-headed bird?"
Iuno carefully savored the name, her eyes gradually widening:
"The God of Fate from the Priestess legends? It's said that He controls the triple authority of past, present, and future within the Chaos, and even the Sentinel cannot do anything to Him. You… you actually conquered Him?"
"It's easy with hands."
So that Echo lifeform was actually a god? What a weak god.
As they spoke, a voice came from the depths of the Chaos:
"Boss, the prophetic ability has been returned!"
"Really?" Noah asked suspiciously: "Why is there no movement at all?"
"The Chaos transaction from three years ago — the return was also processed three years ago."
"Is that true?"
Following the principle that stronger characters make him stronger, Noah focused his mind and looked at Iuno.
A scene unfolded. In a daytime setting, Iuno sat inside a restaurant with a face full of displeasure.
This wasn't right! Wasn't this still the same ability that could only predict half a day or one day into the future?
After verifying, Noah's expression turned serious. Before he could speak, the other party quickly cried out in grievance:
"There's no more, Boss! The rest of the prophetic talent disappeared after you anchored it. This is all that remains in the entire Chaos."
What the hell, it was actually his own fault!
Noah assumed the other party wouldn't dare fake it and could only let the matter rest.
"Fine, it's okay then."
Following the direction guided by the anchoring arrows, Noah held Iuno's hand and continued forward.
The frequency of hallucinations appearing had become lower and lower. Noah estimated that he would soon completely leave the Chaos, so he simply increased the amount of anchoring power he was transferring to Iuno.
"Thank you, Unwritten One…"
Iuno tilted her head slightly upward. Her eyes clearly reflected Noah's face as she thanked him with deep emotion:
"So… the reason my prophetic ability didn't completely disappear was because of you…"
"Why thank me? I didn't get all of it back for you."
"I still want to thank you." Iuno gazed at Noah affectionately, her eyes never leaving him as she poured out her heart:
"Speaking of which, whether it was saving Septimont, disappearing in my place, or bringing me out of the Chaos, I've always owed you a thank you. How about…"
How about repaying you with myself…
No, that was too embarrassing. She couldn't say something like that at all!
Feeling her body becoming more and more solid, she hurriedly changed the subject:
"We're about to return to reality soon, right?"
"Yes."
Receiving the affirmative answer, joy filled Iuno's heart. Her steps unconsciously moved closer to Noah. The corners of her mouth curved into a sweet smile as her voice became soft, sweet, and slightly coquettish:
"Unwritten One, you're so good…"
Noticing that Iuno was about to revert to her state of having no arrogance and only spoiled affection, Noah quickly interrupted:
"Iuno, let me tell you a story."
"Mhm mhm, go ahead. I'm listening." Iuno nodded quickly, curious about what story her Unwritten One wanted to tell her.
"Walk a bit ahead. I'll stand behind you."
Following Noah's guidance, the two soon walked one in front of the other, connected only by their clasped hands.
"This story comes from a Greek myth from my homeland."
"It is said that a man, in order to resurrect his beloved, entered the underworld as a living person and moved the King of the Underworld."
Just the beginning successfully captured all of Iuno's attention.
"The King of the Underworld allowed him to bring his beloved back to the human world, but on the condition that before leaving the underworld, the man must not turn back to look at his beloved. Otherwise, the two would be separated forever."
"On the way back to the human world, the man held his beloved's hand and hurried along, wanting to leave the underworld as quickly as possible. No matter how his beloved cried and begged, he remained determined and refused to look back."
"Finally, at the edge of the underworld, his beloved said one sentence to him, and the man could no longer hold back and turned his head."
Noah stopped speaking. Iuno couldn't help but urge him:
"What did his beloved say? And then what?"
"Then…"
Noah's voice suddenly became extremely low and slow:
"His beloved was pulled back into the underworld by an invisible force and separated from him for all eternity."
As soon as the words fell, he saw Iuno's figure tremble instantly.
"Wh… what kind of story is this… Why did you suddenly tell such a scary story?"
Iuno had to admit that hearing this story in the dark and gloomy Chaos under such close conditions had indeed frightened her.
This bad guy, he did it on purpose, didn't he?
"Next time, don't tell such tragic stories…"
"Iuno."
Noah called her name softly from behind:
"Turn around and look at me."
She felt her right hand being gripped tightly by Iuno. Iuno's steps became stiff and her breathing turned intermittent:
"Un… Unwritten One, don't scare me…"
"Iuno, turn around and look at me."
"No… I don't dare. Hurry and come to my side. Walk in front of me."
She slowed her steps, but the person behind her also slowed down, refusing to come to her side.
In an instant, countless possibilities flooded her mind.
Why did Noah suddenly tell this kind of story? Why wouldn't he come to her side?
Could it be that the anchoring Resonance power he possessed actually didn't support two people leaving, and only supported her leaving alone?
The more Iuno thought about it, the more afraid she became. She gripped that hand tightly and urged anxiously:
"Unwritten One, stop scaring me… I beg you, hurry and come in front of me."
"Iuno, in that story, at the edge of the underworld, the last words his beloved said to him were —"
Noah's low voice drifted lightly from behind, but its content made her blood run cold:
"I envy you for being able to leave…"
Hearing this, Iuno felt a chill shoot straight from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. Her mind went completely blank.
Her body moved on instinct. She subconsciously wanted to turn her head, but suddenly felt the world spinning. The dark world before her gradually turned bright.
A deep blue full moon hung high in the sky. The surroundings were filled with waveworn coral and white erosion marks. The entire Murmurstown was deathly quiet, with only the silent north wind blowing, painting a picture of desolation.
She was out. She had come out of the Chaos.
But what about Noah?
"Unwritten One, Unwritten One, where are you!"
Iuno felt as if her heart was being tightly squeezed. An unprecedented fear and urgency made her lose her composure.
She looked around left and right but still did not see Noah's figure. Her mind kept recalling every moment with Noah in the Chaos.
The more she thought, the more panic filled her heart.
Could it really be as she guessed? That Noah had given all his anchoring Resonance power to her but couldn't come out of the Chaos himself?
"Unwritten One, come out. Stop scaring me!"
"Unwritten One—"
"Unwritten One!"
"Why are you shouting so loudly?"
Noah's voice came from behind. Iuno hurriedly turned around, nearly colliding with him.
The distance between them was less than a palm's width. Noah looked down and teased:
"Unwritten One, Unwritten One — that's how you should call me, right? Looks like you were really anxious to find someone."
"You jerk, do you know how worried I was? And you still deliberately scared me!"
Seeing Noah appear safe and sound, Iuno first felt great joy, then angrily raised her little fists to hit him. Noah dodged accurately.
After a short playful scuffle, the two rode together on a griffin and flew toward the Hunter's Den.
The night was quiet with sparse stars and faint clouds. The moonlight was like silk, reflecting like frost.
"Actually, I have teleportation ability and can instantly teleport us back to the Hunter's Den."
"Just accompany me to enjoy the breeze for a while… I finally returned from that terrifying place. I need some time to calm my emotions too."
"Alright."
"Unwritten One, don't you think…"
Iuno looked up at the bright jade disc in the sky. The wind gently blew her hair. Her crystal-clear eyes seemed filled with sparkling waves as her voice became light as a feather:
"The moonlight tonight is very beautiful."
Noah glanced at the moon absentmindedly and gave a perfunctory "Mm."
He was thinking about something else.
When he first met Granny Lillibet at the Tetragon Temple, she had made a prophecy for him.
When a person acts for justice, the whole world will help him. Mountains will part for him, seas will split open a narrow path, and even the God of Death will pause his scythe, waiting until he finishes everything before swinging it down again.
Now, it seemed that much of this prophecy had already come true.
Whether he had truly acted for justice, he didn't dare claim, but the mountains in the Chaos had indeed parted for him, and the seas had indeed split open a narrow path.
However… what did the God of Death and the scythe in the prophecy mean?
...
Inside the Chaos, the three bird heads chattered noisily.
"This living ancestor has finally left."
"Hurry and add him to the Chaos blacklist. Make sure the Chaos doesn't accidentally absorb him again."
"Add that Iuno next to him to the blacklist too!"
[Main Quest: "By Moon's Fated Light" completed.]
[Currently possessed: Radiant Tide20, Lustrous Tide30, Astrite1680, Shell Credit9.43 million]