Chapter 259: Chapter 259: What a heavy burden Chapter 259 – What a heavy burden The Records were definitely getting tired of this family. They didn’t know how many times they had intervened to bestow titles upon the members of this bloodline, and now, it wasn’t even just a member anymore... It was the family itself. They had just given a title to an entire family, something that rarely occurred across the universe, because it was infinitely harder to be deemed worthy of a title as a collective than it ever was as a single individual. But the Vaelgrims had done it. And truthfully? The Records weren’t even surprised by the fact. No. They were amazed by the title they had received. Seekers of Infinite Evolution. What a glorious title it was. A title that meant they would always pursue a way to evolve, a way to break past their limits, a way to walk the path towards that forbidden, unreachable, insane concept...perfection. It was wild. It was extreme. It was a concept so ambitious that if any other family across the universe had claimed it, the Records wouldn’t have even responded. But this time, the Records accepted it. For one reason. Or more accurately... For one person. Noah Vaelgrim. The Creator. The Progenitor. They knew. They knew that he could evolve endlessly...and if he could evolve... Then so could his bloodline...so could his race. And if that happened, the entire family would be dragged forward, pushed upward, and forced to adapt and grow by the mere gravity of his existence. Truly... what a man he was. And now, the Records transmitted the title’s description to every single Vaelgrim: {Seekers of Infinite Evolution: You are a race blessed with talent unlike any other. You find ways to evolve past your current self more easily. And your limit... shall be decided by your Progenitor, who has no limit.} That was all. That’s what the Vaelgrims received as a response. But even that was already absurd, already a cheat of cosmic proportions. Because now, if they tried hard enough, if they pushed themselves, if they clawed toward growth... They would evolve. And Noah... would harvest all of it. He was the Progenitor. The Ruler of Laeh. The creator of their path. And everything his people gained would eventually return to him. So in essence... The Records had just given Noah another path to become even more ridiculous. And that fact... "Ah... my love is becoming a little bit too ridiculous, don’t you think?" Elizabeth said softly as she floated calmly in the sky, Yuki and Aphasia beside her, hovering just the same. "He’s always been ridiculous," Yuki replied calmly, her sword flickering, shifting shape and form every nanosecond like a heartbeat made of blades. "Well, that’s true. He was ridiculous enough to gift me a bracelet that helped with shadow spirits when he was only fifteen," Aphasia added, her gaze drifting off to a distant memory, the moment she first had a true, sincere interaction with Noah. Each of them was lost in her own thoughts. But that didn’t mean they weren’t stunned by the title they had just received. "Don’t you find it... heavy?" Aphasia asked suddenly. Her wings and horn flickered, morphing into infinite hues, colors and shapes born from countless types of spirits. It was mesmerizing to witness, as though reality had given her the right to wear the spirit world as armor. Her question prompted Elizabeth and Yuki to turn toward her. Their wings and horns were equally unique. Yuki’s were sword-shaped, morphing every nanosecond just like her weapon. Elizabeth’s were made from endless white threads, woven like fate itself had been stitched into a tapestry of will, then given form and motion. "What’s heavy?" Elizabeth asked, though she already knew the answer. "The name." "The Vaelgrims..." Aphasia murmured, her voice lower, her tone solemn. "This name is becoming something so utterly nonsensical, so obscene, that sometimes I wonder..." "...can we bear the weight of the title?" "...can we truly carry the responsibility it brings? Are we even worthy of all this?" "Because sometimes I ask myself... if it weren’t for Noah, would I even be here? Would I have reached the Mythic rank?" Her expression grew heavy. But, "You wouldn’t have. Hell, I doubt you’d have even reached the Supreme rank," Elizabeth replied bluntly, her tone cold, her face unreadable. Aphasia and Yuki’s lips twitched. But they weren’t surprised. Elizabeth had always been like this—direct, brutal, the kind of woman who never sugarcoated her words. "But you’re not the only one," she continued. "Most of us wouldn’t have reached this level without Noah’s help." "But does it matter?" She tilted her head. "Noah doesn’t care. None of us care. So why the hell are you thinking about things like that?" "If I were you, I’d focus on becoming worthy of the title we now bear." "Because we’re the only ones, besides Noah, who can make this family bigger, deeper, more profound... and happier." She paused. Then smiled. "You wouldn’t want the entire universe to say that The Vaelgrims are only what they are because of Noah’s presence, right?" "That would be... too embarrassing." Her words made Yuki and Aphasia smile. "I swore to myself I’d become a worthy sword of Noah," Yuki began, her eyes fixed on the ever-changing blade in her hands. "Maybe that’s why I instinctively chased the path of the formless sword—it’s the only kind of sword that can adapt endlessly, that can keep up with the absurdity of Noah. But even now... I’m still falling short, aren’t I?" "What about pushing past your limit today?" Elizabeth said, smirking darkly. "Didn’t you hear Noah’s story about those swordsmen who broke their limits in battle when life and death were no longer guaranteed?" Her tone grew darker, filled with something wicked, giddy... excited. "And what a coincidence," Aphasia added, her own smirk growing, "we just happen to have the perfect opponent." Yuki’s lips twitched, hard. They all turned. In the distance... chaos. Surrounding a single entity was an infinite number of white threads that sliced through space and time itself, breaking the very fate of that region. And alongside those threads, an infinite number of formless swords, shifting shapes and styles and slashing in ways the sky itself couldn’t endure, each strike shattering the heavens piece by piece. And with them—an infinite number of spirits, altering the battlefield with every breath. In one moment, it was a frozen land. In the next, a pit of death and rot. And in the center of it all... A shadow. Another of Mortis’ Commanders. A massive sabertooth tiger made of living darkness, its fangs long enough to pierce through the very fabric of reality itself. Its fur was so black that even light fled from it. Its presence dimmed the world around it. And its eyes... were pure black, bottomless pits of malevolence. It was trapped...for now. But even as it remained caught in all their combined powers, they knew it wouldn’t last long. Because this beast... was analyzing everything. Its intelligence was unnatural, cosmic, and it was only a matter of time before it broke free. So... "Why don’t you fight him?" Elizabeth said, her tone cheerful. "We’ll support you from behind," Aphasia added casually. Then, without warning, they both canceled their powers. The Commander burst free immediately. And the moment it did— ROOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!! Reality itself trembled. The air warped like boiling water. The sky twisted. Space screamed. And at this... "Fucking bitches..." Yuki cursed, stepping forward and taking her stance. —End of Chapter 259—