The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Chapter 799 799: Fractured Fairytale

The Soul Bloom glowed, its mirror-like quality becoming more apparent. The relic raced into the cracks before her essence could leak out.

The two entities mingled until one became indistinguishable from the other.

'They're… they're merging!'

Noble wasn't sure why she should be surprised. The relic had soul in its name after all. Yet the development was still shocking.

The core glowed, and Noble knew the change was almost complete. "Back up!"

This time, Fort heard the energy in her voice. It wasn't a plea. It was a warning.

He let her go, and she floated above the bed, hovering just below the ceiling.

Fort marveled as Noble's eyes swirled with colors he had never seen. It was mesmerizing.

He struggled to remain calm as his wife went through some internal struggle that he could not see. Maybe he should have let her go to the waking world without him.

No, he couldn't feel guilt! He owed Noble that much. Silently, he wished her well.

The energy around his wife was almost electric. But what surrounded her was a different kind of power—one that had been fueling the actions of humanity for countless generations.

Then, all at once, Noble's head snapped toward the ceiling. Her skin took on the iridescence that he had seen in Noble's Saint transformation.

Noble exhaled and plummeted toward the bed. The ropes of the swinging pallet could not handle the force of her fall. They frayed and broke in a catastrophic failure. Wrapped up in the blankets, Noble fell to the wooden floor. Fort dove for her, straining to scoop her into his arms even as the floorboards strained under the power.

"Bee? Bee!" Fort unwrapped his wife from the blankets, pressing his hand against her forehead. Feeling his touch, Noble's brow relaxed, and she went limp.

Having released control of her levitation, the woman's Flaw took hold to float her away once more. Fort wrapped his arm around his wife's waist and held her on his lap.

There was nothing he could do about the running on the stairs. A moment later, the door burst open, and a beautiful golden creature bounded in toward the man.

The Symncus barreled over the broken furniture to Fort's side. Seeing his mistress, Helios whimpered. He nudged his nose against her floating foot.

"It's ok, boy," Fort cooed. "She's breathing steadily."

The fact that the echo was still present was proof that Noble was alive, but Fort didn't point out that fact. As soon as Noble had returned, Helios had resumed his post to guard their home at night so they could all rest peacefully.

Noble's strange behavior had alerted him, and he had come like the faithful companion that he was.

"She needs calm," Fort told the Echo.

Helios's ears twitched, then sagged slightly. He wrapped his long, lean body halfway around the crouching pair, giving Fort a place to rest his back. Helios purred.

"That's it, Leo." Fort smiled at the Symncus.

They both looked down at the lovely Saint. Fort sighed, trying to keep his emotions in check for his wife's sake.

The Symncus tilted his head, curious about the sudden exhale of breath. He mirrored the man's action. Fort couldn't help but chuckle. He tucked a strand of the Noble's hair behind her ear.

"You know, Leo, she looks like a fairy tale princess from a story I used to read to Rain and the boys. That damsel had to be awoken by a kiss." Fort gave a small smile.

Helios watched the woman's face. His rough pink tongue stretched out from his mouth and raked across Noble from forehead to chin. Her hair dripped with drool.

"Leo!" Fort raised his voice. "Look what you've done. That story was not real! Anyway, it was the handsome prince who was supposed to awaken the lady, not her trusty beast!"

Helio's nose wrinkled, and a hint of teeth showed beneath his lips.

The woman between them groaned. "Don't bicker, you two. Can't my trusty Echo and my handsome prince get along?"

Both Helios and Fort crowded Noble as she wiped her face with her hand.

"Bee!"

"I'm fine," Noble accepted her husband's hug and another sloppy kiss from the golden creature. "Better than fine, actually."

Glancing at her Soul Core, Noble was astonished at the change that had taken place. The merging had caused a fundamental shift. The entire core was substantial, and the amount of essence she could store had grown with it. The bloom and her core were no longer distinguishable from each other, and the Nothing that had once mingled around her core was now incorporated into the whole.

Invisible emotions flowed in and out like an ethereal waterfall that flowed into her soul sea. The water there shimmered.

The sight was stunning.

She was truly better than fine. She was stronger and healthier than she had ever been.

Noble looked down and winced. "Though it seems the same cannot be said for the bed. I'm sorry about that one."

Fort ignored the damage around him, cupping his wife's chin. "You are alright. That is what matters." He kissed her before releasing her to sit beside him. "What happened?"

"Well, after you helped me get over the panic caused by so many emotions, I realized the only way to get past it was to let things run their course. Unfortunately, that course meant filling my core to the point that it cracked and broke." Noble shut one eye, expecting a large reaction.

But by now, Fort had trained himself to mitigate his reactions. Somehow, his calm was worse than if he had exploded. "That could have killed you."

"It could have, yes." Noble pursed her lips. "However, my core is much stronger than it was when I was an Awakened or even a Master. I believed it would heal. And it did, in a way."

"In a way?" Fort's fear finally leaked out. Was his wife still injured and hiding it?

"My Soul Bloom merged with my core. The shimmers that were surrounding my core are now part of it and part of my soul sea. The relic is no longer orbiting the iridescent sun. It is part of it instead." Noble beamed.

The Soul Bloom was the missing piece to the puzzle of her soul. Now that it was in its proper place, Noble felt whole and complete. The millions of emotions continued to filter into her soul, but now Noble could see the hues and brushstrokes of feelings for what they were without needing to internalize them.

Yes, they still affected her. They always would, but now with the Bloom anchored in her soul, Noble could differentiate them from herself.

Sunny had been right that she needed to separate herself from those around her. However, it was only by embracing and releasing them that Noble could find the mental peace she desired.

"You look...much better," Fort noticed the small sparkles in his wife's iridescent eyes.

She appeared more relaxed, and he was happy to see her old smile light up her face.

"It's going to take time to adjust, but now I think I can. I feel…hopeful." Noble's pleasant expression changed. "But there is one thing we need to discuss."

Fort furrowed his brow.

"Anything, my love. What's on your mind?"

Noble leaned forward, her lips a breath away from his. "Anything?"

Fort nodded. He saw Helios shake his head out of the corner of his eye.

"How could you not let me go when things went sideways?! I could have killed you!"

Feeling Noble's fervor, he leaned away and held up his hands. "You would never have hurt me. I know that. Look, we are both alive and well."

The ambassador turned his hands over to show he had no wounds.

Noble opened her mouth to argue when sparks came from her chest. Her eyes opened wide.