Re:Awakening with Ultimate Power as a Cosmic God
Chapter 68: Ch 68: A Royal Visit - Part 5

Chapter 68: Ch 68: A Royal Visit - Part 5

Nova stepped fully into the room and quietly closed the door behind him. His eyes moved from one unconscious body to the next before landing on Anna.

She was standing rigidly in the middle of the chaos, her shoulders tense, lips slightly parted. The aether gun in her hand trembled faintly.

He walked over to her and stopped just short of the nearest body.

"We should dispose of them."

He said, voice low and even.

Anna blinked.

"Dispose? Wait, you mean... like get rid of them?"

Nova glanced at her.

"Yes."

"But...Some of them are still breathing."

She looked down at one of the sprawled figures.

Nova’s eyes narrowed.

"And?"

"I... I don’t know. Isn’t that a bit much? They’re not dead..."

She said, her tone uncertain.

Nova sighed and stepped closer.

"Your compassion might cost you your life someday."

Anna paused. Her fingers twitched. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"Fine. Get rid of them. All of them."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Nova’s mouth—not kind, not cruel. Just acknowledgment.

"Good."

Anna stepped back as Nova crouched down and pressed his palm against the floor beside the nearest body.

Aether surged from his body—quiet, cold, and consuming. The unconscious body trembled for a split second before vanishing, dissolving into nothingness.

Anna stiffened.

"What... What did you do?"

Nova didn’t answer immediately. He simply moved on to the next, repeating the process. With each contact, the same thing occurred—the bodies flickered, dissolved, and were gone.

"I absorbed them. What little power they had left. That’s all they were worth."

He said at last, still crouched beside the final figure.

Anna swallowed.

"You absorbed... their power?"

"They attacked you. You disarmed them. I made sure they wouldn’t try again."

Nova said.

There was no remorse in his tone. Just a statement of fact.

Anna looked down at her hands.

"That’s... disturbing."

Nova stood, brushing his hands off.

"It should be."

She looked at him again.

"How did you even learn to do that?"

He met her gaze, eyes unblinking.

"You don’t want that answer."

Her throat tightened. She did want to know. But something about the way he said it—quiet and final—sent a chill down her spine.

She knew he was right. Whatever it was, it would change how she saw him. And maybe herself too.

"I see. Still... it’s useful."

She murmured. Then added.

Nova looked at her a moment longer, then nodded once.

"That’s all that matters."

She tried to steady her breath, pushing down the lingering adrenaline in her blood. Her hands finally stopped shaking.

"You really don’t hesitate, do you?"

She asked softly.

"Someone has to make the choices no one else will. You just have to make sure you survive long enough to learn which ones matter."

He replied.

Anna crossed her arms and looked at the now-empty space where the bodies had been. She didn’t know whether to be horrified or impressed. Probably both.

Nova walked past her, toward the window, and opened it slightly to let the stale air out.

"Don’t mention this to anyone. As far as the others are concerned, no one ever came into this room."

He said, not looking back.

Anna nodded slowly.

"Right. I’ll pretend I don’t know anything."

A small silence followed, stretched out and heavy between them.

Then she added, a little shakily.

"You’re good at making problems disappear."

Nova looked over his shoulder at her.

"You’re good at surviving."

She gave him a weak smile.

"Not sure I like what that says about me."

"Doesn’t matter. You’re still alive."

Nova said.

Anna looked at him for a moment longer before finally sitting on the edge of the bed, exhausted.

The room felt eerily quiet now, like nothing had happened. Like nothing had changed.

But she had changed. Just a little. Enough to feel it. Enough to know she was one step deeper into Nova’s world now.

And there was no going back.

Anna turned in her bed for what felt like the hundredth time. Her eyes were shut tight, but sleep refused to come.

Every time she started to drift, her dreams turned into vivid, suffocating nightmares—of shadows creeping in, of people breaking through the door, of cold hands reaching for her neck.

In each of them, she was cornered, helpless.

But before the blow could fall, Nova always appeared. His blade cutting through the dark, his hand reaching out to her.

His presence—sharp, steady, undeniable—always tore the nightmare apart.

Still, every time she woke up, the fear lingered. Her body was drenched in sweat, her hair sticking to her forehead. The thin sheets clung to her like damp paper.

She sat up with a sharp breath and pressed her palms into her eyes. It’s fine. It’s over. You’re safe. But the tremble in her fingers said otherwise.

From the other side of the room, she heard the soft shift of fabric and then Nova’s voice, low and even.

"You’re not going to let me sleep, are you?"

She looked up quickly.

"Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you."

Nova didn’t move from his bed.

"It’s not the sound. It’s your aether. It’s all over the place."

Anna blinked.

"My aether?"

He sighed.

"Like a flickering candle in a storm. Hard to ignore when it keeps brushing against mine."

She tried to laugh, make light of it.

"Didn’t think I had enough of it to be a bother."

Nova sat up and looked at her. One look was enough. Anna’s joke dried up in her throat.

"You’re scared. Still thinking about what happened?"

He said quietly.

"I’m fine."

She muttered, but even she didn’t believe it.

He didn’t say anything else. Instead, he stood up, crossed the room, and sat on the edge of her bed.

Before she could say a word, he pulled her gently toward him, pressing her face against his chest.

Her breath caught.

"Just sleep. Don’t think."

He murmured.

She froze, unsure of what to do, of what she was supposed to feel. His scent was clean, metallic, a little like the forest.

His heartbeat was steady beneath her ear, strong and grounding.

"I’m not a child."

She whispered.

"I know."

She should’ve pulled away. Should’ve said something. But her arms betrayed her and wrapped around him instead.

And just like that, the trembling stopped.

For the first time since the attack, her body stopped buzzing with tension. Her eyes fluttered shut, and the pounding in her chest softened.

Nova didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He simply held her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Minutes passed.

Then finally, her breathing slowed.

And sleep came. Peaceful and warm. Wrapped in the quiet safety of someone who, no matter how terrifying he was to others, never let harm come near her.

Anna’s grip on Nova’s shirt loosened as her breathing evened out, her body finally surrendering to rest.

Nova glanced down at her, his hand absently brushing a damp strand of hair from her cheek.

"You really are fragile. But I guess that’s what makes you... you."

He muttered under his breath, not unkindly.

He stayed like that for a while, unmoving, letting her sleep without interruption. Aether stirred faintly in the room, calmer now—settled.

Eventually, he shifted slightly, easing her back onto the bed, pulling the blanket over her with a care he never showed anyone else.

Then, softly, he whispered.

"Sleep well."