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.
Yet, what made him delighted caused his parents endless sleepless nights.
Unlike outsiders, they did not fear him. They didn’t even desire to change this unreasonable side of him. They were just worried.
Worried that one day he would become so fixated on something he’d self-destruct.
They only managed to relax somewhat when a famous psychotherapist they called over, pointed out what they also knew to be true. Astar Levi had far too little interest in anything to develop an unhealthy fixation. Instead of worrying about him destroying both himself and the world to obtain the object of his obsession, their concern would be better spent on worrying about his disinterest leading to depression.
In his 24 years of life, Levi did not yet develop any signs of depression. But he thought that if his baby drifted away from him due to the little cracks in their relationship, he’d undoubtedly develop severe depression overnight.
Yet even if he knew all that clearly, how could he fix what had already been done? He didn’t even know whether there were any cracks, let alone how to fix them. He could only grope around in the dark, hoping that he’d inadvertently stumble onto all imperfections, and then keep poking at them until they were either fixed or broken beyond repair.
“My power...” Levi’s hoarse voice reached Noah’s ears, “What do you think about my power?”
Noah uncomprehendingly tilted his head to look at Levi, “It’s awesome!” He blurted out with shiny eyes. “Really useful, ah!” He sighed softly, “I… I enjoy being a Soother, but when something dangerous and unfortunate happens, it makes me feel useless. Enforcers, Shielders, Healers, all of them can protect lives in their own way. But my power cannot. Sometimes I feel as if it is superfluous. Just a convenience that makes lives more comfortable, but cannot do much when it matters.”
Levi’s eyes shook, and he opened his mouth to refute, but before he could get a word out, Noah interrupted him, “I know that it was due to my soothing that the power rampages were successfully resolved, but these are a special case. Usually, I am not nearly as indispensable.”
“But you are indispensable!” Levi vehemently protested, “You are indispensable to me!”
Noah’s amber eyes curved along with his smile, instantly dispersing the heavy atmosphere, “Yes, yes, I know. As a Soother, I might not be indispensable, but as your good brother, of course I am indispensable. As you are to me.”
“Mn,” Levi’s heart skipped a beat. Could he take that as a love confession?
Blackie: (눈_눈) ‘No. Nice try though.’
Levi heatedly stared into his darling’s glittering, gem-like eyes. Indispensable. Irreplaceable. In every way.
Feeling Levi’s fiery gaze, Noah naturally felt as if he had been scorched. His ears flushed, and he tried to prop himself up on Levi’s chest, putting some distance between them, “Brother, are you feeling better now? Have you had enough of hugging yet?”
“No,” Levi deadpanned, and without a single change in expression, he pressed his darling back into his bosom.
He ignored the little one’s helpless resignation and quickly diverted the other’s attention, “When I asked you about your thoughts on my power, I didn’t mean the technicalities of it. I meant, what do you think about Enforcers?”
And indeed, Noah, this worldborn with an attention span of a goldfish, was quickly distracted once again. He didn’t quite understand where this conversation was going, but he knew that his brother-in-law felt vulnerable right now and needed to be comforted and reassured that there was nothing whatsoever wrong with him.
And there was really nothing wrong with him! His lovely brother-in-law was perfect the way he was! And since he was the one here right now, it was up to him to let him know that!
“Ah, Enforcers are very badass! Unlike weak chicken Soothers like me.” Noah’s eyes glittered with mischief as he joked, “What can we even do? Give people a mental hug?”
Noah cutely stuck out his tongue, "But you guys can do so many super awesome things! You can move stuff without touching it, and even fly!”
Initially, Levi’s heart felt tickled by the little one’s words, but as soon as that cute pink tongue appeared, his mind flew straight to the gutter. Suddenly, his throat felt unbearably parched, and the places of contact between the two felt as hot as magma.
‘Darn it, baby! 〒▽〒 I am trying to be serious here! Must you undermine my efforts like this??’
This wife-slave found his little future wifey too irresistible even if the other just stood there. So how could he possibly resist it when the other started acting coquettishly?!?
And within his arms to boot!!!
And thus, while wifey Noah was sincerely ranting about how awesome his future husband was, all in attempts of making Levi feel good about being an Enforcer, this horndog of an Enforcer needed just this one Soother to feel good.
Levi put on a face of listening full-heartedly, while most of his attention was actually focused on tentatively sliding his hands down Noah's back.
Noticing no rejection from the other, Levi grew bolder, creeping down all the way to Noah’s lower back. He was so close to the forbidden fruit that if he stretched his pinky, he could even slip into that alluring slit between his baby’s round little globes.
Levi mentally clicked his tongue but dared not go further. He had enough self-awareness to know that the little one might currently be too preoccupied with other thoughts to discover their current intimacy, but he definitely wasn’t preoccupied enough to miss his cute little ass getting groped.
Levi continued to torture himself by hovering on the dividing line. While listening patiently and very enthusiastically to his baby’s clumsy but sincere praise of himself, he even started to stroke his baby’s waist and lower back.
“What are you doing? It’s ticklish!” Noah offhandedly commented, wiggled his waist a little, and then resumed his previous train of thought. Levi naturally ignored his coquettish complaint and continued stroking his darling’s tender flesh through his shirt.
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
As he watched this tall, dark, and fierce man blankly hug Noah’s frail body, Fynn felt an overwhelming sense of defeat. Astar Levi might not be qualified to pursue Cordia Aris. But he, Fynn, wasn’t qualified either – his own feelings couldn’t even compare to the ones of an “unqualified” person. What face did he have to continue his pursuit? How could he convince Noah that he was the better choice, when even he, himself, didn’t believe it? Astar Levi might be all kinds of mad and shameless; he might be a villain to every single person i