Chapter 353: Primordial Night Nucleus

Kai leaned forward again, interlocking his fingers as he read the description.

Unfortunately, the Primordial Night Nucleus was not as he expected. It wasn’t a treasure that could strengthen his Primordial Locks. He was too hopeful—but for some reason, he was not dejected at all.

Instead, beads of cold sweat began to form on his forehead.

[Primordial Night Nucleus: It is a grand pear containing the essence of the House of Night. It could decipher the obscurity and complexity of the House of Night, allowing the night to lose its control in an area. A main component in making a domain.]

As opposed to what Kai was hoping for, the Primordial Night Nucleus was more than that.

It has the ability to decipher the House of Night.

And it was also the main component in making a domain.

During his time spent going through Mallory’s domain, a thought crossed his mind.

Kai thought of also making his own domain—as it felt far safer to have something his own in the House of Night. Nothing grander than Mallory’s domain is completely fine. All he needed was a place to call his own.

From the first time he entered the House of Night, he had been burdening Noxian.

He had been lingering in Noxian’s domain or his other Nightborns’ domains.

Of course, Noxian was kind enough to let him stay around as he got to know how the House of Night worked, but it had been dragged on for too long. He needed to find his own footing, so that he wouldn’t need to bother Noxian.

Kai realized this problem when he asked Noxian to look after Kaelmorath and Perion.

Both were wounded, and it was safe inside Noxian’s domain.

But it was clear that Noxian didn’t like their presence at all.

Anyone would feel exhausted if someone else stayed inside their home for too long.

It was time for Kai to have his own domain and handle his own affairs without solely relying on Noxian’s domain and help. He had sufficient knowledge about the House of Night now—far more than the first time he entered.

No need to linger around.

Obtaining the Primordial Night Nucleus should be a good thing for Kai.

It was the very item that would allow him to create his own domain, but there was no elation on his face. On the contrary—Kai’s face was grim as beads of sweat drizzled down the side of his face.

He was worried more than anything.

"What do you want, mom...?" Kai muttered inwardly.

Quests that were logged into the system were all direct requests from the Goddess.

Even though Kai wasn’t really sure, he reckoned the rewards were also determined by the Goddess. Assuming that was the case, then giving him this Primordial Night Nucleus meant she wanted him to establish his presence in the House of Night.

She wanted him to do something for her there.

Considering that she has absolute authority, it was hard to imagine what she would want.

But Kai’s gut told him that he wasn’t wrong about this.

"From the start, I didn’t even know how I became a Supernal of the Goddess of the Primordial Night when only women could inherit her powers," Kai whispered faintly—looking down at the wooden floor and inspecting the growth rings—while his mind wandered. "I have no idea what you want, mom, and it’s making it hard for me to trust you."

Pushing away those troubling thoughts, Kai changed into his uniform.

It was still about half an hour before the others woke up, but he changed anyway.

Kai walked to the kitchen area, poured himself a glass of water, and chugged it down.

He placed it down gently with a clink after finishing it, and then went up to the second floor.

Recalling that the others were given the Nectar of Spring to absorb, Kai was going to check if they had already absorbed it. He hadn’t had time to absorb it, but he heard that it would take a while for normal Angels.

Given that Bree and Matilda were High Angels, they should be close to finishing up.

Perhaps they hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep at all.

Kai paused for a second near the window facing the front view of the house. He saw that the house to his right was still awake somehow. There were colourful lights flashing at intervals from the second floor.

He shook his head as it seemed the only Red Princess was still busy.

Before even nearing the door, Kai had already used the Nigh-phantom.

[Nigh-Phantom: Your presence becomes lighter, and you become only visible to intent. While the Nigh-phantom was active, you exuded an aura of anonymity—beckoning those within a twenty-five-yard radius to look away from your direction. More effective if used at night.]

A smile crept to his lips.

Just as he wanted, the Nigh-phantom now became more useful in any situation.

Now, even when there are others who are actively bearing ill intent towards him, the aura would help him sneak away. Kai was not entirely sure—but he assumed those who were far too strong for him would be able to ignore this aura.

Regardless, it was an improvement.

And more importantly, Matilda and Bree wouldn’t be disturbed by his presence.

Kai moved to the left door—and turned the knob gently before pushing it open. For a moment, he feared it might be locked, but luck was with him. The door creaked open a fraction, and he exhaled lightly.

Nothing much changed about the guest room since he was here last.

Just that, it was fuller now.

Makeup and perfume neatly placed on the side, a few more pillows than he remembered, and night candles that were already out. And almost instantly—Kai saw Matilda sleeping soundly on the bed.

He also spotted the Nectar of Spring vial on the bedside table, and it was still full.

Surprisingly enough, she hadn’t absorbed it.

Considering her personality, he thought she would not wait for long to absorb the vial. But it seemed the fierce battle in the Barbarian Hold had exhausted her completely. Even her dirty clothes were barely inside their basket.

"Kai..."

Matilda moaned slightly and turned to face away.

For a second, Kai froze as he thought she somehow noticed him peeking, but he was wrong.

"I’m too tired. Can you please be gentle?"

Kai’s face flushed red when he realized Matilda was dreaming about him. He had been trying to modestly ask for her in the last few months, careful so that Bree wouldn’t know, but it was hard to do that.

He mostly failed at the fourth or fifth day and eventually asked for Matilda.

Not that she minds—though.

In fact, she seemed to also be liking the secret, especially now that he knew Matilda was even dreaming about it. He quickly closed the door shut—feeling guilty from invading her privacy after what he heard.

And then, he moved to the neighbouring room.

Kai opened the door gently and poked his head inside.

Unlike Matilda’s room, Bree’s was more light-hearted, with plants on the side and even dolls.

But those details flew over Kai’s head as he stared at the empty bed.

"Where is she this early in the morning?’

Realizing that Bree was nowhere inside the room, Kai pushed the door open and took a look around. He went straight to the bathroom inside—placing his ear against the door to check if she might already be awake.

It would be quite surprising if she was already awake at this time.

Living with her for months now, Kai knew that she wasn’t a morning person.

Kai heard nothing from the bathroom.

He decided to use mana to scan the entire room, checking whether she was hiding somewhere, knowing that he was going to check. Kai hadn’t used mana from the start—since it would be inappropriate.

But there’s no need to hold back now.

"Where the heck is she?" Kai said aloud—in utter confusion. "Did she sneak out last night using the Nigh-phantom Imprint she stole from me? I knew letting her have that imprint was not a good idea."

He exhaled roughly through his nose and walked out of the room.

And then, he went downstairs before going to the other side of the house.

Talitha choked on her coffee, startled when Kai suddenly slid the sliding door open.

"Master Kai?" She set down her cup and turned. "Why are you awake so early?"

"Never mind that." Kai shook his head and stepped into the kitchen. "Did you see Bree going out? She’s not in her room."

"She’s not in her room? I got up fifteen minutes ago, and I didn’t hear anything."

"Then she must’ve sneaked out last night."

"Should you be worried about her?"

"Sneaking around is reason enough to be suspicious, no?"

"I mean, would she be doing something bad? I don’t think she would do anything like that."

Kai was silent for a moment.

Of course, after everything they shared—living together, fighting side by side—he trusted her far more than he once had. He would even put his life in her hands in battle without hesitation. And yet, her disappearance still gnawed at him.

It didn’t feel right.

"You’ve been betrayed before, Master Kai. I can see it." Talitha squeezed his strong forearm—a quiet gesture of understanding. "Your heart already trusts Bree. It’s your troubled mind that is still fighting it. Let your heart win.

"Besides, Bree might be going out to find a better place to digest the Nectar of Spring."

Eventually, Kai nodded his head.

No chance that Bree would do something bad against him.

Just as Talitha said, he must be overthinking things because of his past experiences.

And it was likely that Bree went to the training chamber to absorb the Nectar of Spring faster— so he was fretting around for nothing. Kai held Talitha’s hand with his big hand—and flashed her a smile, "I’m thankful that I kept you around. You alone my heart and mind knew I could trust."

Talitha blushed a little and looked down, averting his gaze.

She was not expecting Kai to say that.

But it was the truth.

Kai’s heart trusted Talitha because she was here serving him to atone for Abigail’s mistake on the Blood Rite—which was a strong reason to be on his side, as it came from within. As for his mind, she was not a Supernal, weak, so it would be hard for her to do anything to him.

Of course, he didn’t say the reasons out loud.

"No need to wake up this early. You already cooked last night. We can eat that for breakfast." Kai said as he walked out of the kitchen without waiting for her to reply. "Also, prepare to go to the Second Sky. I’m taking you with me."

"Y-Yes!" Talitha bowed politely as his back disappeared into the master bedroom.