I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1249: The Wound of Distance

Northern returned outside, leaving Eisha with Shin inside the ship. At the same moment, Anike landed on the deck, her movements fluid and precise as she looked around cautiously.

“The dark storm… how does it even work?”

Northern chuckled. “It comes with the package.”

Anike observed him for a few seconds, and Northern felt the weight of her scrutiny. She was noticing something—the awkwardness in his posture, the slight strain in his voice.

She lingered, then looked around with a small, graceful smile before bringing her cool, ancient eyes back to him.

“Is it that difficult?”

“What?” Northern turned to her sharply, as if he’d been caught hiding something.

Anike merely offered a gentle smile. It was somewhat unnerving in the literal sense of the word. “You know what I mean. Being with Eisha and Shin again.”

“Oh.” He looked down, his gaze distant, unfocused on the dark deck beneath his feet. Then his voice came through, quieter than before.

“In the past two years, I’ve been many things. Had to tackle several situations despite my immaturity. I don’t know…” He trailed off, searching for words that felt true. “I feel different. I am different—I know it. The more I walk down this path, the more distant I feel from them. It’s slightly awkward being around them now.”

’Like I don’t fit in my own family anymore.’

Anike allowed a small laugh, warm and knowing.

“That is merely because you’re trying to be your old self with them.”

Northern looked at her. “Is that bad?”

Anike shrugged, drifting her gaze away to admire the dark clouds despite their menace.

“Is it? You tell me.”

Silence settled between them as Northern thought deeply about the answer. Her voice interrupted before he could reach any conclusion.

“Like you said—you’ve been many things. To me, it seems that you are certain you are a lot of things, except the child they brought up. That naive, loving little boy.”

Northern pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

“Be yourself with them. All versions of what you are—simply be it with them. You don’t have to fit into their expectations.” She paused, letting the words sink in. “Or do you not trust them enough to handle it?”

She was looking at Northern. He didn’t say anything, but the answer was written plainly on his face.

“Oh. That’s it.”

Northern clenched his teeth, the admission painful.

“I don’t want them to feel like they failed. I don’t want them to carry any guilt, beating themselves up for what I’ve become.”

Anike’s gaze stayed on him for a long moment. She studied him with slight surprise flickering across her elderly features, as if seeing something she hadn’t expected. Then a warm smile squeezed her face, and she reached out to pat his arm.

“To me, it seems like you’ve grown to become a fine young man despite it all. Have more confidence in the good things you’ve done. Stop filling your head with the cost, son. Think about the reward too.”

She dropped her hand and added, her voice taking on a more serious edge.

“I’m sure Eisha knows that you’re different now. I’m sure Shin knows it too. They both understand that the child they nurtured has become a pillar far greater than they could ever reach. They always knew this fate awaited you—they tried to save you from its cruelty, but their decisions merely brought you closer to it. What a twist, really.” She met his eyes directly. “But don’t abandon them in fear of not fitting in. Trust your parents, both of them. Don’t neglect them.”

Anike spoke true wisdom. Northern was astonished by the clarity of it.

Indeed, he had been staying away from them because he wasn’t a cute, naive little kid anymore—despite being only seventeen. At least in this world…

He had seen things that many had died from. He had survived terrible disasters, fought battles that should have killed him. He had died in the literal sense of the word but at the same time, not truly died. The pain of death, though—he remembered it vividly.

’I’ve changed in ways they can’t even imagine. From human to daemon. How do I explain that? How do I make them understand without breaking their hearts?’

He loved his parents, all of them. But they had spent so much time apart that he worried about how this version of him was going to fit into all of it. Whether there was still a place for him in their lives, or if he’d become something too foreign, too dangerous, too broken.

Anike looked at him warmly, as if she could see every thought crossing his mind.

“Well then, I hope you figure it out.” She lingered, then asked, “I suppose you’ll be leaving soon?”

Northern nodded. “I need to find some of my other subordinates. And also start looking for the Chaos Prince Vestiges.”

’I’ll send clones out for those.’

Anike nodded gently, her expression thoughtful.

“I see, I see… since you know your mother, and she knows about you, does that mean the Emperor also knows?”

Northern thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.

“I’m not sure. But his first daughter came looking for me.”

Anike looked surprised, though the smile returned quickly to her face.

“That is rather expected of that little girl. I suggest you go see him. When it comes to blood, all of them move in different ways, but I assure you—they’ll move to make you come back home. Your half-brothers and half-sisters are quite unpredictable and leave wrecks everywhere they go. So if you want to protect the people around you, don’t make them come for you.”

Northern furrowed his brows slightly, displeased by the information.

’What a nuisance.’

Well, again, Anike truly didn’t know how dangerous the people around him were. Northern loosened his face and smiled at her.

“Thank you.”

She lingered again, then asked with some hesitation, “Also, can I seek a favor?”

Northern looked at her inquisitively.

“Yes, go ahead.”

She hesitated, as if weighing whether to ask at all, but eventually said:

“Judgment…”

’Oh, no.’

“She’s next in line to lead the Seraphae, but she’s very inexperienced. Haughty and arrogant.” Anike’s expression was almost apologetic. “I would like you to take her with your crew. Travel with her until it’s time for her to become a priestess.”

Northern sighed.

’I see where this is going.’