Chapter 944 Unreasonable Affection. It was not an easy thing to drive a being like Elura to speechlessness, but the extreme shift in Rowan's actions nearly gave her whiplash. A moment before, there had not been true killing intents in his blows, but they were close as if he was almost punishing her. For a while, there was nothing but silence, but the boisterous laughter of the old man broke it, "How long has it been since I have seen you, surprised daughter? You know when you woke me up from my Era long sleep, I thought that reality had nothing to reveal to my gaze, and… hahaha, your hair, your perfect hair, you look like a hamster, hahaha…" Elura turned to him in anger, but the old man raised his hand in a harsh swipe, his mirth vanishing instantly and his tone carrying a tone of majesty, it was as if his emotions were nothing but a tool, he allowed himself to truly feel them, but he could easily place them aside, this observation made Rowan's eyes to light up, there was something here for him to learn, "You have forgotten something essential in your anger daughter," the old man's smooth voice did not only caught Rowan's attention but also Elura's, who frowned and waited for him to continue, "and your son has revealed it to you, he is still a mortal, and we were both wrong!" 'Wrong?!' this word drew Elura's full attention, it was rare that this old man would ever admit any failings, whatever he had seen in Rowan was so precious enough, that he was willing to brush his ego aside and speak candidly to her. This change was surprising, to say the least. Noticing that he had her full attention, he continued, "Previously I thought he was just the normal heartless monster that we have flooding around reality, with every thought in his heart only for the pursuit of power, a side effect of acquiring tremendous power as a youth, but we were wrong, he was just protecting his fragile core with an armor of cold and thorns." Rowan blinked, 'Oh, but I think I'm just the normal heartless monster who knows nothing but the greedy pursuit of personal power, why would you ever think anything else?! It would seem attacking Elura brought about an additional benefit,' A small part of Rowan's Consciousness gave an over-exaggerated fist pump. He had been willing to shed his disguise of a soulful being before the eyes of these people who could read the depthless emotions he carried when he noticed that they could see the traits that came from not having a soul. Nevertheless, the fact that he was Soulless was not something that was known to them and was easily the last thing that anyone would guess, and this might have led to a surprising misunderstanding, Rowan had forgotten that unwieldy emotions as he had displayed could be perceived in a different manner when it was looked at from a different point of view. It could signify that one was a master manipulator who played everyone around them, his emotion as fickle and changeable as the wind, or it could be the sign of an overwhelmed mind trying to find a way to stay above the waves. If he was still a mortal in the eyes of all and possessed a mortal soul, then no matter how powerful he was, certain events would overwhelm his soul. This was a perfect description of the Rowan who transmigrated into the universe a thousand years ago. The man at that time was confused, thrust into the body of a child with a sapient book inside his body, filled with frightening bloodlines and a messed up situation happening all around him, the only option for Rowan at that moment was to lie, and pretend his way through life, adopting various disguises to aid him as he maneuvered through a world that had gone mad. No matter how strong his strength of mind turned out to be, Rowan had been broken, the madness of a world filled with real gods and monsters, warping him into a monster that he would never have comprehended he could become. It would seem that in a twist of fate, the old man thought that Rowan here was experiencing such a mind break. When he lashed out against Elura, a being many times more powerful than him, it was a sign to them that his carefully constructed visage of an omnipotent being was cracking. Rowan sighed internally, 'In the end, it would seem that allowing the weakness of my heart to dictate my actions was the right move, who am I deceiving, even if Elura turned out to be a Primordial, I would have attacked. I am a soulless monster, but when it comes to the things I love, I am unreasonable. I don't care if this is Elura, she is not my Elura, and for that reason, I'm sorry Mother, but you would have to change for me. No one else should wear that body." In that moment before he conjured the ice sword and placed it on her chest, there had been a brief period where his mind was empty, free of nothing but rage and sorrow, he had nearly conjured his Destroyer, but his cold intellect had fiercely intervened. If he had drawn his Destroyer, then someone would have perished today, and it might not be Elura. Rowan was amazed at the lengths he would reach for those who have touched his frozen heart, and he did not care, if not for the cold rationality in his mind that would make him torture himself and wait for the right moment, he would be fighting at this time. Elura paused in thought, seemingly taking deep heeds of the old man's words, "If you don't believe me, why don't you ask him, he is right there beside you. Or… you know I could just be wrong and your child is a lost cause, but this time, weirdly I don't think so." the old man smiled. Turning towards Rowan who stood awkwardly, she looked into his eyes and although his long lashes shaded those windows to the soul, she could clearly read the pain and sorrow inside of it, which was odd, her Shade was tasked with making a weapon, yet she wondered why it became so successful in creating such a bond, which was something that could not be easily faked, how could the mortal ties binding them become this strong? This needed to be investigated, as soon as she returned she would be thoroughly investigating this Shade, but for now, she would rather hear the answer from him, her rage was still hot, and depending on his answers he would be made to pay a price. Elura was a being that was worshiped by countless universes and in the Land of Miracles, her mere presence held great weight, it was almost impossible to reach her normally, and after the many Eras, her influence and prestige had only grown, and all the seeds she had planted over the Eras, Rowan was looking to be the most promising, but things could change anytime, she had lived long enough to know this. "Why would you attack me, Romion?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺 Rowan did not hesitate in his reply, "Because it is what she would have wanted,"