How much time had passed—Noah wasn't sure. He found himself enveloped in impenetrable darkness, surrounded by strange, incommunicable shadows—occasionally, he could hear the sound of cracking or objects falling around him. Yet he couldn't speak or move—only think:
'If I get a second chance—or is it the third? Well, if I get another opportunity, I swear I won't be another idiot following that crazy system's ideas. For the sake of everything sacred, please, someone help me...!'
No one answered.
'...So, have I really died? Without pain or anything like that? Has my body simply disintegrated, leaving only my consciousness behind?'
"Boy! Hey, boy, are you alright?"
'Huh? Does death really have such a beautiful voice...? I guess this might not be so bad, after all.'
Noah found the sobbing strange, and especially odd was the fact that suddenly he felt an overwhelming pain all over—as if touching him had triggered a chain reaction. He wondered:
'So, I'm not dead yet...? Then, the one crying—could that be... the girl I helped?'
"Boy! (Sobbing) Wake up! (Sniffle) Please..."
'Huh? Her voice is so beautiful, and having someone so lovely cry over me makes me... strangely happy? It's a weird feeling, really. But isn't she overreacting a bit...? We don't even know each other.'
The sobs continued, as did the tears—Noah felt several of them falling onto his face, but it was anything but pleasant. On the contrary, every drop sent shockwaves through his nervous system, making his muscles contract and his bones shift—the pain was hellish.
"Let me see him, my daughter," said a deep, imposing voice.
Noah shivered at the sound—he couldn't tell if it was the voice itself or the fact that it belonged to the girl's father—but that shiver came with its own cost.
"(Sobbing) How is he, Daddy...? Is he going to be alright?"
The ensuing silence even worried Noah, particularly because he couldn't see their expressions or even the current state of his own body.
The man sighed and said,
— "He'll survive, but I highly doubt he'll be able to cultivate again in this condition. Unless he uses a healing pill—and given our family's current situation, it's impossible for us to even try to find one..."
"Is he really that far gone, Daddy..?"
"Every bone in his body is broken and his muscles are contorted; he won't even be able to speak in this state. And even if he endures this terrible pain, I don't know... (Sigh) I think it's best to end his suffering, my daughter..."
At the sound of those final words, Noah snapped. He tried in every way to scream or move, but—after an excruciating surge of pain—all he managed to do was open his eyes.
The short-bearded man looked at him, startled—such a fierce will to live was astonishing. Yet those eyes were strange—they made him tremble—and his mind kept insisting that he ought to destroy them while he still could.
"No!" the girl exclaimed, drawing both of their attentions. "He hurt himself because of me... so I'll take care of him until he gets better."
Those words struck both her father and Noah, making him think:
'...Girl... you're making me feel even worse acting like this, you know?'
He couldn't help but recall why he had decided to help her in the first place.
"Are you sure, my daughter...? That could take years to happen, or..." he said, glancing at Noah with a look of pity.
The girl, meanwhile, smiled as she softly ran her fingers through the small bangs on her forehead and said,
"Don't worry, Daddy. I don't think it'll take that long."
'She's... trying to cheer me up...? To think there really is someone like that... tsk!' Noah mused.
Not knowing what to say or think, Noah remained silent throughout the walk to their home. He took in the devastation he had caused—and noticed additional damage wrought by someone else (certainly after he had passed out). Yet the one thought that lingered in his mind was that, by harboring thoughts as malicious as those of someone strangely naive, he was pathetically resembling his parents and his ex-girlfriend.
"Come on, Sophia? Your mother is very worried."
The girl nodded.
"And never do that again, understand?" her father warned in a serious tone. But she knew deep down he was only concerned. "If you want to go out, bring some guards—or better yet, let me know, and I'll go with you."
"Okay, Dad... I'm sorry..."
Seeing the man smile and stroke the girl's head in a tender, affectionate gesture—instead of reprimanding or scolding her—was the final blow for Noah. It forced him to shut his eyes and drown in a torrent of thoughts:
'I can't be like them... I just can't...'
Those words echoed repeatedly, forming the foundation for all his later reflections.
Then, as he was being transported by some sort of telekinetic force, Noah, lost in his own thoughts, failed to notice that Sophia's father's gaze was fixed on him constantly.
The level of destruction in that place was utterly unworthy of someone who didn't even seem capable of any significant cultivation—and the person he had driven away was clearly only in the earliest stages of Qi Refinement. Yet, he couldn't help but wonder how that so-called weak boy, according to Sophia, had managed something so absurd. Moreover, how could someone with such a fragile body remain alive in a situation so unimaginable, with bones visibly broken beneath his skin? All of it made him ponder:
'Could this boy be hiding his true power...? No, I've already analyzed his body... For him to do something like that even after sustaining such injuries—and in this state—he'd have to be at least a full level above me, at the very least at the ninth stage of Qi Condensation. And that's impossible, especially for someone so young. He must be part of some organization from outside the city!'
The man paused for a moment, perplexed, questioning silently,
'Have they finally found out...? Or... did someone reveal it?'
He clenched his fists tightly, his hatred for the potential danger closing in on his family burning in his eyes.
"Dad, what are you doing? Let's go."
"Ah, yes..." he replied with a smile that concealed his lingering doubts and fears. "Let's go. I was just thinking for a minute... I guess I forgot something I was supposed to do, haha..."
Then the man looked at Noah.
'If that's the case... which organization is he from...? Could he be from one of those so-called sects...?' he wondered apprehensively.