I Was Reborn in Another World, But I Awoke Inside a Corpse

Chapter 172: What We Mean to Each Other

The stars above Elaraiya shimmered like scattered jewels, casting their quiet glow across the mirrored terraces of the upper palace. Emberlight's influence still lingered in Isaac's veins, but tonight, the power that pulsed within him felt… distant.

It wasn't the silence that unsettled him.

It was what had been said.

He sat at the edge of the terrace garden, legs stretched out, arms braced behind him, staring into the canopy of stars as if they might rearrange themselves into answers.

Behind him, Sylvalen approached with slow, even steps. She didn't speak at first. She simply stood beside him, the hem of her long robe brushing the grass, silver-platinum hair trailing in the breeze.

"Something's bothering you," she said softly.

Isaac didn't look at her.

"Time stopped," she added. "Just for a moment. We couldn't move—but you could. That wasn't an accident."

He nodded faintly.

"Who was it?" she asked, already knowing.

Isaac exhaled through his nose. "Asmodeus."

Sylvalen lowered herself beside him, folding her legs beneath her. She didn't seem angry.

But she was watching him closely.

"Did she try to tempt you?"

He gave a short breath of amusement. "Not… exactly."

"Then what?"

He turned toward her, eyes reflecting starlight.

"She didn't offer pleasure. She offered understanding. She said I wasn't like the others. That I wasn't bound by heaven or hell. That I created something none of them could name."

Sylvalen studied him. "She's not wrong."

Isaac gave her a tired look. "You're not jealous?"

"No," she said. "Because I know how to ask the question that matters."

She reached out and placed her hand over his chest.

"Did any part of you want to go with her?"

Silence.

Then Isaac closed his eyes.

"…No. But when she looked at me, I felt seen. Not like a hero. Not like a threat. Just… like someone she understood."

Sylvalen's fingers didn't move. "And you don't think I understand you?"

He opened his eyes quickly. "That's not what I meant."

She lowered her hand, but stayed close. "I'm not upset. But I need to understand what you're feeling. Because if you close yourself off again, if you start carrying things without telling us, we'll lose the thing we built."

"I know," he said quietly.

Footsteps approached from the shadows.

Lira sat down on his other side, legs tucked under her, hugging her knees.

"You could've told us," she said. "We would've listened. No judgment."

Isaac looked between them both.

"I know. I just… I didn't want it to become a thing. It wasn't about her. It was about what she saw."

Lira stared at the grass. "She saw power. We see the man."

Sylvalen added, "But sometimes the man forgets we want to see him."

Isaac's hands curled into fists against the stone.

"I'm not used to being seen without being used," he admitted. "You think I don't trust you—but it's not that. I don't trust myself to be… worth this. Worth you."

Silence.

Then Lira gently nudged his side with her shoulder.

"You idiot," she murmured, voice cracking.

Sylvalen leaned into his other side.

"You think we chose you because of your strength? Isaac, we fell in love with you in spite of it. You scared us, yes. But you listened. You saw us too."

He looked down.

"You both gave me reasons to live," he said softly. "You didn't make me powerful. You made me human again."

No one said anything else.

They didn't need to.

The stars spun slowly above them, and the warmth of the night settled like a quiet blessing.

Later, none of them moved inside.

They fell asleep there—on the grass, side by side, Sylvalen curled against his right shoulder, Lira holding his left hand.

No lust.

No battle.

No system messages.

Just peace.

Just them.

And Isaac, for the first time in a very long while, stopped waiting for the world to fall apart.

Because for this moment…

He was exactly where he wanted to be.