Chapter 157: Nyxara’s Background 1 (Flashback)
Immediately after Mona spoke, a heavy silence settled in the room. Alex felt a shift—something subtle but unmistakable. Nyxara, who was perched on his shoulder, turned her head toward him, her amber eyes meeting his. They held each other’s gaze for a moment longer than usual.
It wasn’t a look of confusion or casual curiosity.
It was awareness.
She also wanted to know.
Alex’s gaze settled on her, the warmth of her presence, once a soothing anchor against his neck, now radiated a subtle tension.
He could feel it in the slight rigidity of her muscles, in the delicate, rhythmic flick of her tail brushing against his back. It was clear she was deeply engaged in this conversation, her attentive demeanor hinting at the weight of the subject, one that intertwined with her history.
His thoughts drifted back to that pivotal moment—the day Nyxara wove herself into the fabric of his life. He had been just five years old then, a small bundle of curiosity wrapped in an adventurous spirit, blissfully unaware of the impact she would have on him.
Nyxara, at six, was an endearing striped ball of fluff, her size comparable to that of a house cat, a quirk of the mana animals’ peculiar growth patterns.
Even at that tender age, her fur shimmered with a mesmerizing, ethereal glow, kissed by the essence of mana, and her eyes sparkled with the same captivating golden flame they held now, filled with depths of wisdom and wildness.
Back then, he’d simply thought she was cute.
But now... he wasn’t so sure things had been that simple