MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 675: Cause And Effect

Amara chuckled softly, the sound carrying the warmth of sunlight breaking through dawn. She raised her hand and patted Vega’s head with tender familiarity, her golden eyes softening with amusement.

”Calm down with the questions,” she said gently. ”As for why I came back... do you really think I would miss the very first boyfriend my daughter brings home? That would be a disgraceful failure on my part as a mother.”

”You knew?” Vega asked, her purple eyes widening in disbelief as she looked at her mother.

”Of course I knew,” Amara replied without hesitation. Her lips curved into a calm smile, her eyes softening with affection. ”I am your mother, after all. You can hide many things from the world, but not from me.”

Her gaze, radiant yet sharp, turned from her daughter to the boy who had followed her home.

”Stop staring at him like that, or you’ll chase him away,” Amara said lightly, her voice ringing out like a bell that shattered the tense air between Klaus and Anthony.

The invisible clash ended in an instant. Klaus finally broke eye contact, and as he did, his entire demeanor shifted. The cold, unfathomable aura of the undying warrior melted away, replaced instead by the warm playfulness of a doting father.

His dark eyes fell on Vega, and he sighed dramatically, his voice adopting a teasing tone. ”It seems my daughter has no love left for her poor father. After all this time apart, she runs to her mother first. Surely, I must have committed some grave sin in a previous life to be punished like this.”

Vega’s lips twitched into a smile as she turned toward him. Though her expression softened, she did not fall for his words.

”I came to see you, Father,” she replied, her voice firm but affectionate. ”If I hadn’t missed you, I wouldn’t have come here at all. And besides, how could I have known Mother was even home?”

Klaus’s smirk widened, though he chose not to press the matter further. Silence fell from him like a comfortable cloak.

Anthony, meanwhile, stood slightly apart, watching the family with quiet attentiveness. He observed their love, their reunion, and the unspoken bond that tied them together.

From Vega’s earlier words, he pieced together the truth: her mother had been absent for years and had returned solely for this moment, for the meeting between her daughter and her first boyfriend.

’She knew I was coming,’ Anthony realized, his thoughts calm. He did not interrupt. This was their moment, and who was he to intrude? Who knew how long it had been since Vega had seen her mother? Who knew how many sacrifices or reasons had kept Amara away?

He didn’t bother asking. He had no right to. After all, even his own father, Michael, had been absent at his birth. Michael had only returned to the Null Estate on the eve of Anthony’s tenth birthday, a ghost of a parent before then. If he himself had endured such absence, then surely Vega too carried her share of unspoken weight.

Amara’s golden eyes shifted at last, drifting away from her husband and daughter until they landed on Anthony. For a moment, silence lingered between them, deep and profound.

”I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” Amara said softly, her calm smile never wavering.

”You knew I was coming?” Anthony asked aloud, though deep inside he already knew the answer.

”Let’s just say cause and effect has a way of whispering its truths to me,” Amara replied cryptically. ”But though I knew you would arrive, I knew nothing else, nothing about who you were, what you looked like, or what kind of man my daughter had chosen. Only this: that my Vega had found herself a boyfriend.”

Anthony straightened, his voice respectful as he introduced himself. ”Forgive me for the late introduction. My name is Null Anthony.”

Amara’s smile brightened as she inclined her head slightly. ”You may call me Amara. I am Vega’s mother.”

Anthony glanced from Amara to Vega, who still stood beside Klaus. His lips quirked upward. ”If you hadn’t told me, I would have thought you were Vega’s twin sister.”

At those words, Klaus’s gaze sharpened instantly, dark eyes narrowing with dangerous implication. The weight of that glare was unmistakable, it carried the silent message: ”You’ve already taken my daughter, and now you dare flirt with my wife?”

Anthony, however, did not return the gaze. He ignored it altogether, his expression calm. He would not allow himself to be baited.

Though he had only just met Amara, curiosity stirred within him like a restless tide. Who was this woman, truly? What kind of existence did she hold to stand so naturally at Klaus’s side? Temptation clawed at him, and against his better judgment, he gave in.

He activated Authority Of Information.

The instant he did, he knew the attempt would fail. After all, a man like Klaus would never marry an ordinary woman. And as expected, it had failed.

’Don’t you think it’s rude to pry into someone you’ve just met, Anthony?’

The voice wasn’t spoken aloud. It rang instead within his mind, soft yet inescapable, like a silken whisper in the dark. Amara’s words slipped into his consciousness, her telepathic tone so gentle it felt almost playful.

Anthony’s heart jolted. His composure cracked, and for the first time in years, his shock bled visibly onto his face.

He had used the Authority Of Information since awakening at the age of ten, a gift bestowed by ??? himself. For years, he had used it freely, probing and gathering knowledge, confident in its secrecy. None had ever noticed, not even the most sensitive masters of perception. He had even dared to use it on the Vice Principal of Omni Peak, the Blood Empress herself, and she had never sensed it.

But Amara had. Effortlessly.

For the first time, his hidden edge had been exposed.

’Does she... does she also possess an Authority?’ Anthony wondered in a rush of panic and awe.

His thoughts spiraled. Ever since he had encountered Kingsley, the one who bore the impossible Concept of Destruction, Anthony had suspected that others might exist. Others born with powers not meant for this galaxy. Perhaps, like him, they too wielded Authorities.

But until now, it had been only a theory. A suspicion. A ghost of possibility.

And yet, here Amara stood, her casual exposure of his secret unraveling years of certainty.

Then again... Anthony’s mind paused, sharp instinct cutting through his thoughts. ’No. It might not be an Authority at all. It could be something else entirely.’

His gaze shifted discreetly toward Klaus. He silently thanked his stars he had not attempted to probe the man. Who knew what the consequences might have been?

’I wonder who is stronger between them,’ Anthony thought with a mental smile. Husband and wife, each unfathomable, each beyond his comprehension.

Meanwhile, Vega and Klaus seemed entirely unaware of Anthony’s inner turmoil, their conversation carrying on naturally, light and warm.

”Let’s go inside, Anthony,” Amara’s melodic voice pulled him back to the present.

”Thank you for inviting me,” Anthony replied, forcing a smile. His words carried the weight of a man who already knew he had stumbled in the test of meeting his beloved’s parents. He had already lost points.

But Amara’s expression remained serene, almost indulgent. If she cared about his failed attempt, she gave no sign of it. Perhaps she had even expected it.

’How many overpowered characters can an author possibly introduce into a single story?’ Anthony thought bitterly to himself as the door closed behind him, sealing him within their world.

Whether he would come out alive, no one knew.