Chapter 44: This is My Son
Noah stood over Elijah.
Not with glee. Not with satisfaction.
With silence.
His silver eyes—cold. Detached. Still.
Elijah writhed on the ground, a trembling mess of golden embers and ragged breaths. He couldn't rise. His limbs failed him. His spirit, fractured, screamed within his chest.
But Noah didn't move.
He stared, unblinking, like a god over a fallen idol.
He couldn't kill him. Not here. Not yet.
The Academy wouldn't allow it. The Goddess behind Elijah wouldn't allow it.
But even deeper than rules, Noah didn't want him dead.
That would be too quick. Too merciful.
No—Noah wanted Elijah to live.
To crawl.
To watch—powerless—as Noah rose above him.
He wanted Elijah to feel it. That humiliating, soul-crushing realization that he was no longer the center of the world's story. That he'd been dethroned, not by a villain… but by a better protagonist.
Petty? Maybe.
But Noah didn't care.
Not after everything.
