Meanwhile, Noah was facing his own battle.

A different kind—but far more dreadful than anything the others were fighting.

He was still lying on his back, staring up at the dreadful sky with an almost empty expression. But then, suddenly, he stood up, facing the woman before him.

He felt it.

A strange, urgent feeling to hurry. To finish this and rejoin his team.

The woman stared at him calmly, not rushing him, not attacking—simply waiting.

“You heard my voice… and didn’t immediately die,” she said, her voice completely void of emotion.

“I didn’t realize I had weakened so much.”

Cold sweat trickled down Noah’s back, but he forced himself to stay calm and answered politely,

“I’m Noah Weaverheart. Oren brought me here to help you—and all the shadows.”

The woman responded simply,

“I am Shadeva.”

Noah’s body trembled slightly.

Even though she was suppressing her power enough to speak without killing him, just hearing her name made him shake.

Shadeva continued,

“I am one of the Originals.

The Daughter of Shadows.”

“You must have heard a little about us, right?”

…Original?

Noah forced himself to focus.

‘I’m already meeting one of the Originals…?’

“Yes, I’ve heard… you’re the ruler of the Shadow Realm,” he said cautiously.

“But…”

He hesitated, then asked,

“Why would the ruler of the Shadow Realm be imprisoned? And here, of all places?”

Silence.

A long, heavy silence.

“I suppose if you’re here to save me,” Shadeva finally said, “you should know the truth.”

Noah listened, still struggling to understand how someone like him could possibly save someone like her.

‘She’s definitely god-level. How the hell is an A-rank supposed to help her?’

But—

“Don’t doubt yourself,” Shadeva said, her voice cutting through his thoughts.

“It’s not about the level of power. You just need your shadow to be special.

You need to be like us—a true shadow being.”

“And I’m surprised. I didn’t expect to find someone like you this early. I was ready to wait millions of years again…”

She paused.

“I’m digressing.”

“Why am I chained here? What else do you think?”

Shadeva’s eyes stayed calm, dead calm.

But her shadow flickered at her feet — almost like it trembled.

“I am the Daughter of Shadows. The first born among my siblings. My power was greater… and I was different.”

Noah listened, silent.

“I raised them,” she said quietly.

“I remember… when they first woke. Small. Helpless. Crying from the weight of existence.”

Her voice softened, almost tender.

“I carried them when they stumbled through the void.

I shielded them from the hunger of the first light.”

A faint smile touched her lips—then vanished like a dying flame.

“But they feared me,” she continued.

“They always did.”

Noah felt a pit open in his chest.

“They couldn’t understand why I was different. Why I could turn death itself into my army… while they could only create.”

Shadeva’s gaze seemed to pierce through time itself.

“And when they saw my soul evolving — when they saw the living realm growing inside me — their fear became hatred.”

She fell silent for a long moment.

“And still… they couldn’t kill me.”

For the first time, her voice wavered.

“I was… their sister,” she whispered.

“I sang them to sleep. I wiped away their tears.”

Her shadow coiled around her ankles like a wounded creature.

“And so instead of death, they chose chains.”

She gestured vaguely around her — the cursed forest, the pillars.

“This prison is their love.”

“This forest was transformed because of my presence. The shadows you see now… they were inside my soul.”

“They’re the only ones who can exist outside without destroying this weak world.”

Noah frowned.

“Why not just destroy this world and free yourself?”

Shadeva chuckled softly—a sound so wrong it made Noah’s skin crawl.

It was like a puppet imitating laughter without understanding it.

“Do you think my siblings are fools?”

“If I destroyed this world, it wouldn’t kill me. No.

But it would severely hurt me—and all the powerful shadows inside my soul.”

“They bound my soul to the core of this world,” she explained.

“It was easy. This world was weak, its consciousness undeveloped.”

“If this world were destroyed, my soul wouldn’t die.

But my strongest shadows would.”

“And with my army gone and my soul wounded, I would be an easy target.”

Noah immediately understood.

“So imprisoning you here… it wasn’t just punishment.

It was a way to cripple you.”

Shadeva smirked.

“Exactly.”

“How can I help you?” he asked.

Not out of pity.

But because he could feel it—an urgent warning pulsing from deep within him.

His title, Loving Husband, was activating.

Warning him.

Ester and Yuki are in danger.

‘If I stay here too long…’

Noah’s expression hardened.

‘Ester won’t die as long as I live… but Yuki and the others…’

No time to waste.

“It’s simple,” Shadeva said.

“Take my soul. Make me your shadow.”

Noah froze.

“…What?”

Shadeva repeated calmly,

“Take my soul. Bind me as your shadow.”

“But how?” Noah was genuinely confused.

“You can,” she said.

“Your shadow affinity is at the Transformation Stage.”

“You have a high-ranked Soul Affinity too—probably SSS-rank. It’s enough to grasp my soul and unbind it from this world’s core.”

“And…” she smiled faintly, “I sense something else in you. An aura. Something special.”

Noah immediately understood.

Limitless.

He was Limitless.

So why would he only have one shadow?

Why couldn’t he control the soul of an Original?

The idea seemed mad.

But that’s what being limitless means.

“But what happens to you if I take your soul?” he asked.

“And what happens to this world?”

“This world will no longer have a ticking time bomb in its core.” Shadeva said simply.

“And I…?”

She smiled wryly.

“I’ll be bound to you forever. Your shadow.”

“An Original. Bound.”

The weight of those words was heavy—immense.

But Shadeva had no choice.

She didn’t want revenge.

She just want to stand beside them again. Beside his siblings, the ones who she protected from all the harm of the universe when they were just born.

Even after all this…

She just wanted to see her siblings again—and teach them a lesson for what they did to her.

She was a family girl at heart. An older sister. A loving one. A misunderstood one.

So she was ready.

“Do it. Fast.”

Noah inhaled deeply, steadying himself.

He didn’t know exactly what to do.

But he knew one thing:

He was Limitless.

And so—

[Your title “Limitless” is activating.]

Noah placed his hand on Shadeva.

“Be my shadow,” he whispered.

His Limitless aura exploded outward.

[Limitless is acting.]

[Limitless understands your intention.]

The chains around Shadeva began to tremble.

The entire space around them shook violently.

Shadeva showed no emotion—even though the pain must have been unimaginable.

Minutes later—

SNAP!

The chains broke.

Shadeva’s body began to dissolve into pure shadow.

Before she fully disappeared, Noah acted.

He coated his hand in Limitless Aura and Soul Force—and plunged it into the dissolving Shadeva.

Seconds later, he pulled out a miniature version of her—a tiny, shackled soul.

For the first time, Noah tried something new.

He activated his Aura of Ruler.

Merged it with his Aura of Limitless.

BOOM!

A dense, overwhelming aura of Limitless Authority flooded the space.

Noah spoke, and his words carried boundless weight:

“Break.”

CLANK!

Immediately, the chains around Shadeva’s soul screamed before they shattered.

Her body turned completely into shadow—

—and Noah obtained a new shadow.

Not just any shadow.

An Original.

‘I hope I am making the right decision…’ Shadeva thought silently.

And at that moment, the Akashic Records exploded.

{Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!}

—End of Chapter 69—

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel