NOVPUB
Chapter 58: Whispers in the Ruins
Whispers in the Ruins
---------------------------
Authors Notes : Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Supreme Spouse System* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!
With love,
Scorpio_saturn777
---------------------------
The sun had long since fallen below the western horizon’s edge, a streak of red and amber following it. High in the sky, the two moons occupied their throne in tandem—one a brilliant silver, the other pale blue. The twin moons’ combined light flooded the world in an ethereal softness. The huge Silver Forest, beautiful even during the day, now glimmered in the moonlight with a greater radiance. All the silver-leaved trees shone like cut crystal, and the grass itself glowed weakly, so that the effect was of a forest carved from moonlight.
Somewhere deep inside, the quiet was broken by the far-off howls and roars of magical creatures ringing through the trees—wild, haunting, and alive. But in all this turmoil, Leon remained unmoving, standing under the silvery light that filtered through the leaves.
A shaft of moonlight strayed between the branches overhead and landed squarely on his face, illuminating his features in gleaming light. With that chiseled jawline, fierce eyes, and the silver radiance embracing his skin, he seemed a god of charm, fallen from heaven to roam the wilderness.
Yet the tableau was not without blemish.
His dark black cloak was stained and torn once more, battered by combat and streaked with evaporating blood. His frame was covered in cuts and gashes that, though healing slowly due to herb ’Silver Acqua Flower’ he ate at noon, still showed a visible track of the battle’s cost. His black hair was unkempt, strands glued to his face with blood and sweat. Blood trickled from his tightly clinched fist—not his, but that of the enormous magical creature that now lay dead before him.
The body of the beast was horrific. It was like a bear’s body, but three times as large, its back covered with ice spikes and its nose extended into a semi-wolf-like maw. Blue-furred and frost-tinged, the beast’s name resonated in Leon’s mind—Glacierfang Direbear, a level-zero magical beast that was renowned for its fierceness.
Standing before the lifeless body of the beast, the system echoed within his mind.
[DING!]
[Host has killed a Novice-Level Glacierfang Direbear Beast.]
[+5 Blank Points Credited.]
[Current BP: 310]
He exhaled a slow breath. Since that fight with the Aqua Serpent, his sword had been left broken beyond any use. Everything he fought ever since had fallen to his fists and legs alone, performing the motions of his martial art ’Voidbreaker Art’ with increasingly perfect mastery.
"Dozens of mortal- and novice-realm monsters had fallen to his hand. He had only seen one early-stage Master Realm monster yet since after Aqua Serpent and Scarlet Hexafox — and it, too, was a memory now.
He opened and closed his fist, red droplets splashing into the moonlit grass as he wiped away the blood. A grin played at his lips—a battle-hardened, wild smile.".
You were a good sparring partner," he said, darkly laughing as he gazed at the Direbear. "Thanks to you, I know my martial art even better, Buddy."
He looked up, allowing the twin moons to fill his vision. Their light flowed over all, pouring brightness like soft rain. He didn’t feel weary—at least not physically. Due to the Silver Aqua Flower, his endurance had reached infinity.
But mentally? He was spent. Battles, tension, and concentration for the day had taken their toll on his mind.
Stretching arms overhead, bones creaking contentedly, he grimaced, "That’s enough practice for one day..."
Mischievous spark danced in his eyes.
"...Time to go home... to my Aria’s arms... and try this ’endless stamina’ of mine."
He chuckled to himself, only to frown slightly at the stench coming from his blood-stained body. His robe was tattered, clawed and bitten in a few places, revealing more of his lean, muscled frame than intended.
"I need a bath first," he muttered. "No way I’m going back to her smelling like a dead beast."
He recalled the small pond he’d found before—another peaceful body of water reserves concealed not too far away from the Aqua Serpent’s territory. He walked by them in memory and instincts, every step sure and silent. The night breeze was crisp, caressing his skin like a gentle whisper.
Before long, he arrived.
The pond in front: still, crystalline, and surrounded by silver grass and fragile, light trees. The twin moons flooded the water in pure light, making its surface a rippling mirror of stars. The whole scene seemed to be a dream—an illusion drawn from myth.
He took a step forward, hands busy at his belt as he loosened his ragged robe. In seconds, he stood entirely naked, the chill air wrapping around his flesh. Naked in the wilderness, he was not afraid—who would see him here, in this night-drenched world?
Leon moved slowly into the pond. The water lapped at his calves, his thighs, then his waist. It was cold, but in the most refreshing way—like the breath of the moon had penetrated the pond.
He remained motionless in the center, water swirling at his waist as he started to bathe. Blood rinsed away, coloring the surface red for a brief moment before it disappeared. He washed his arms, his chest, and combed his hair with his fingers, letting the cold water wash the day from him.
Moonlight touched him, silver intertwining with skin and darkness. He seemed otherworldly—an ethereal god immersed in divine light, crafted from charm, power, and ferocity.
He came out after a while, drops falling from his frame as he stood in his bare feet in the silky, silver grass. He stared at his right hand, where a plain yet elegant silver ring shone under the moonlight.
It wasn’t any common ring.
This was a mythic storage ring, the kind he had heard of in countless Earth books. A spatial object that enabled a cultivator to store weapons, clothing, herbs, and objects inside a dimension no larger than a room. This one was the former Leon’s, passed down with his identity.
He reached into the ring with his mind, and a new black robe materialized in his hand.
"Good thing I had a spare," he said with a pleased smirk.
He dressed and then looked at his reflection in the pond. His smooth black hair now hung down over his shoulders, wet but straight, around his handsome face. His eyes sparkled with guile. In the stark contrast of black clothes and moonlight, he was more handsome than ever.
In black... my charm really levels up," he said to himself, admiring his reflection. "Hmmm... I think I’ll order some new clothes when I return."
With that, he turned.
"Let’s go home."
He started walking towards the edge of the Silver Forest. His stride was relaxed, but each step taken by him in speed to, no ordinary human could keep up. As his martial arts increased, so did his movements—faster, lighter, more precise.
Reaching the boundary of the forest, he looked back once more at the glowing woods.
"I’ll miss you, my sweet Silver Forest... You’ve given me plenty of Blank Points."
He grinned with a cheeky, playful chuckle. "Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon."
He turned once more, and in a few strides, his pace changed to a run—a shadow in the moonlight. In twenty minutes, he arrived at the familiar periphery where he had originally entered.
Ahead of him, the Silver City shone with lamp lights and moonlight. A gem in the night, alive and still awake under the twin moons. But Leon did not head towards the city gate.
"This world... it really is amazing."
No night entry is allowed, he muttered. If I enter now, they’ll be asking questions—and I came here in secret. Can’t have anyone finding that out. He pondered and to himself.
Rather, he went towards the hidden way along the perimeter—the very one he had traversed earlier in the day. He walked along the perimeter of the city, then turned in the direction of the twin trees, but not before pausing for one final moment of appreciation of this world’s nighttime majesty, carrying it in his heart.
But as he turned—his gaze picked up something.
In the distant distance, beyond the eastern bend of the Silver City, close to the ancient ruins, a very weak silver and blue light shone in the darkness.
He squinted.
To anyone else, it would look like a trick of the twin moons’ reflection. But Leon wasn’t anyone else.
"That’s not moonlight..."
His eyes narrowed.
The ruins were the only remnants of Old Silver City, lost ages ago for reasons that were lost to time. Leon recalled the stories—stories of some terrible disaster, some forgotten collapse. The information came from bits and pieces of the old Leon’s memories and what the system had provided him. But even with all of that, the real reason the city had fallen was kept from him. The system provided no information—nothing but silence.
"System," he whispered, brain on high. "Do you feel anything?"
[DING!]
[Affirmative. Mana fluctuation detected—extremely high concentration.]
Leon’s eyes sparkled. "Mana fluctuation that strong...?"
He remembered at once what Ronan, his secret eyes in city had report him. That some unknown individuals had just appeared in Silver City, asking weird questions. And camped near the ruins, and attempt to locate something.
"Perhaps they’re still there..." he growled. "And perhaps... that Mana fluctuation is theirs."
His interest piqued, burning brighter with every second.
"Well then... let’s see."
Without thinking, he turned—and ran directly towards the ruins, the flickering light and ancient mysteries drawing him in like a whisper. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
