Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4009: Loyalty! I

The declaration carried such earnest sincerity that it transcended its grammatical imperfection.

This was not a question or a request for permission…it was simply Titano stating what would happen with the certainty of someone who had never encountered a problem that couldn’t be solved through sufficient application of physical force.

Noah nodded, a slight smile playing at his lips as he observed the giant’s enthusiasm. “Be careful with it when you retrieve it.”

“Titano very careful! Titano bring Brother best flower!”

Beside them, Thessaly hovered with the rigid posture of someone struggling to maintain professional composure in the face of increasingly unusual circumstances.

Her fairy-like form radiated disapproval that she couldn’t quite voice, while Altheon gazed ahead with the thousand-yard stare of someone processing too much information simultaneously.

It was at this moment that Noah turned to Sigrid, his movement carrying the glory of decision already made. His hand found her waist with casual certainty, drawing her against his side with a possessiveness that asked for no argument!

She blinked at the sudden proximity, though no embarrassment colored her features. Her sterling smiling eyes met his with the direct gaze of someone who had long since passed beyond such simple emotions. “Why did you do that?”

Her question carried genuine curiosity rather than objection, the kind of inquiry that sought understanding.

Noah’s expression darkened slightly, his gaze shifting to track Titano’s enthusiastic charge toward the mountain. The giant moved through the storms of Paradox as if they were gentle breezes, his massive frame somehow refusing to acknowledge dangers that should have unmade him at the conceptual level.

“I have to keep you closer to me now,” Noah said, his voice carrying weight that made even the paradoxical air grow still. “Duke Gwendolyn decided to inform other Dukes regarding your existence.”

BOOM!

The words fell into the space between them like stones into still water, each one creating ripples of implication that spread outward in waves.

“What?!” Sigrid’s voice cracked with shock that quickly transformed into anger. Her aura flared, Origin authority leaking from her form in patterns that made reality itself step back in recognition!

Noah sighed, his gaze still tracking Titano’s progress as the giant literally punched his way through conceptual storms. “She decided to disclose it to three other Dukes…Whisker, Pyralis, and Valen. She knows they are to be trusted, apparently.” His voice carried a particular bitterness on the last word. “She seems to not understand what trust truly stands for.”

Sigrid’s expression shifted through several emotions in rapid succession…betrayal, anger, understanding, and finally a kind of resigned acceptance.

She grit her teeth hard enough that Noah could hear them grinding like the shattering of Wheels, then shook her head with the weariness of someone recognizing their own culpability.

“No,” she said quietly. “This is my mistake. I knew she was on my side, knew her nature, but I didn’t consider… I didn’t think she would…” She trailed off, then straightened with the kind of resolve that had allowed her to survive the destruction of her original form. “This is on me.”

Noah’s response was immediate and firm, his hand tightening slightly on her waist. “You cannot put the stupid decisions of others on your shoulders. Their choices are their own, and the consequences…”

He was interrupted by the sharp intake of breath from both Altheon and Thessaly. The casual way he referred to Duke Gwendolyn’s decision as ‘stupid’ seemed to challenge their fundamental understanding of hierarchy and respect.

Thessaly rose higher in the air, her tiny form radiating indignation that seemed too large for her fairy-like frame. “Duke Gwendolyn only wants the best for the Young Miss! Anything she does is for…”

“You can shut all the way up.”

WAA!

Noah’s voice cut through her protests with booming words!

His eyes, though showing no obvious manifestation of power, carried something that made even an Honored Living Origin pause.

Thessaly actually felt trepidation crawl up her spine…not from any display of overwhelming might, but from something more fundamental.

The certainty in his gaze suggested consequences she couldn’t quite comprehend!

Her expression soured as words died in her throat, the unsaid protests creating a tension that made the paradoxical atmosphere grow thick.

It was at this moment that Titano descended from the mountain’s peak, his entire form glowing with the residual energy of his passage through impossible storms. His skin had taken on a lustrous quality, as if the paradoxes had polished rather than torn him.

And yet…no Living Existential Authority surrounded him!

In his massive hand, held with the delicate care of someone handling spun glass, was a flower torn from its impossible perch.

“Brother!” Titano’s voice boomed with pride and excitement. “I have gotten it for you! Can I continue to grow my wealth with this?!”

He offered the flower with the enthusiasm of a child presenting a found treasure, his simple face bright with anticipation of approval.

Noah accepted the flower with careful movements, his enhanced perception immediately cataloging its properties.

|Paradox Lotus of Singular Purity|:: A flower that blooms only where impossibility becomes so dense it achieves physical form.

Primary Effect: Grants 5,000,000 Purity Quotient units upon consumption

Growth Requirements: Can bloom where at least three types of Inevitabilities have died, or inside an Early Veiled Shore.

Note: The flower exists in a state of constant dissolution and reformation. Consumption must occur within one hour of picking or it ceases to exist entirely…

Noah nodded appreciatively, recognizing the treasure for what it was as he sent it to his Early Veiled Shore for planting right away. “This will indeed make you richer, Titano. Well done.” He paused, his expression growing thoughtful. “But tell me…what is your relationship to Duke Gwendolyn?”

The question seemed to come from nowhere, yet it landed with the weight of careful calculation. Both Thessaly and Altheon’s expressions grew even more unsightly, recognizing the probe for what it was.

Titano scratched his bald head with one massive finger, his expression growing uncharacteristically serious. “The Duke helped Titano come out of a dark place and into the Folds. Titano owes Duke Gwendolyn everything. Without her…” He trailed off, seeming to struggle with concepts his simple vocabulary couldn’t quite express.

Noah’s expression grew stern as he processed this information. His next words were delivered with careful precision, each one a test of loyalty and possibility.

“What if Gwendolyn did something I did not like, and I told you to leave her and join me? I would give you all the riches you could want. Treasures beyond imagination, power beyond everything. ”

Titano’s eyes, usually bright with simple joy, dimmed noticeably. The giant’s massive frame seemed to shrink slightly, as if the weight of the decision was physically pressing down upon him!

For several long moments, he was silent, his face cycling through expressions as thoughts too complex for his usual demeanor warred within.

Finally, he shook his head with obvious reluctance. “Titano likes Brother. Titano want riches, want to be strong, want many things Brother could give.” His voice grew firmer, more certain. “But Titano owes Duke Gwendolyn. Titano… cannot.”

…!

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