Re:Awakening with Ultimate Power as a Cosmic God-Chapter 53: Ch : The Call - Part 3

Nova stood beside the ship, arms crossed, eyes scanning the horizon while the wind tugged lightly at his coat.

He’d been patient. Five minutes had passed since Anna had cheerfully bounded off to explore the strange landscape of Callex.

Nyx, standing beside him in her manifested form, broke the silence.

"You should go get her."

Nova gave her a sideways glance.

"You’re worried about Anna?"

"I’m not worried. I’m just stating the facts. She’s a weak civilian with low combat proficiency wandering around a planet that doesn’t technically exist. Her odds of survival decrease with every minute."

Nyx replied, folding her arms.

He raised a brow, amused.

"You always said she was loud and annoying. Sounds like you’re warming up to her."

"I said she was insufferable. That hasn’t changed. Her optimism is excessive, and she talks too much. But..."

Nyx corrected flatly.

"But?"

Nova prompted.

Nyx’s eyes narrowed slightly, her synthetic cheeks faintly tinted.

"But since you like her and insist on keeping her around, I will... tolerate her. Treat her like a coworker. Professionally. Respectfully."

Nova blinked. Then, without warning, he reached out and ruffled her hair.

Nyx immediately twitched, her entire system stuttering for a split second. Her hand shot up in flustered reflex, and she stepped back with a small blush heating her cheeks.

"Wh-What was that?!"

"A reward. For being mature."

Nova said simply, turning away with a smirk.

Nyx huffed.

"You’re unbearable."

"You’ll survive."

He stepped away from the ship, stretching his neck as he began scanning for familiar aether traces.

"While I’m out, scan the local infrastructure and network. This is the core of reason’s planet—there’s bound to be something hidden here."

Nyx gave a small nod, still recovering from her earlier fluster.

"Be careful. The local aether is strange. I’ll support you as long as you’re within range."

Nova vanished into the horizon

The moment he slipped past the overgrown foliage, Nova felt it—Anna’s aether signature, erratic and spiking. She was nearby, and something was definitely wrong.

He followed the trail, moving swiftly through the tall grass and dense clusters of glowing flora.

It didn’t take long before the sounds of energy blasts and hissing snarls reached his ears.

He slid to a stop atop a hill and looked down into a cratered clearing.

There she was—Anna, crouched behind a rock formation, panting, holding a smoking gun in her shaking hands.

Before her, writhing and snapping their massive jaws, were two enormous worm-like creatures, their slick, segmented bodies glowing faintly with pulsing aether veins.

Nova narrowed his eyes. These weren’t natural.

Something about their structure screamed artificial mutation, or worse, aether corruption.

Anna raised her gun again, firing several rounds that barely scorched one of the creature’s hides.

"Damn it."

She muttered, ducking as one of them lunged toward her cover.

Nova dropped down beside her in the blink of an eye, causing her to gasp.

"You’re late."

She said breathlessly.

"You wandered off. You should’ve stayed close."

Anna pointed at the worms.

"I didn’t ask for backup, you know."

Nova didn’t answer. He stepped out of cover calmly, facing the towering beasts.

One of them noticed him immediately and lunged—but before it could even get close, a blade of aether surged from Nova’s hand, slicing into its side and causing the creature to shriek in pain.

The other charged from behind, but Nova leapt into the air, twisting mid-spin before landing on its back.

With a flick of his hand, another blade tore through the soft spot beneath the creature’s armored head. Aether crackled as the worm thrashed, and then fell still.

The first worm tried to slither away, but Nova extended a palm and unleashed a burst of compressed aether that exploded beneath the creature, flipping it onto its back.

He landed beside it, stabbed down, and the fight was over.

Silence fell.

Anna slowly stepped out from behind the rock, eyes wide.

"Okay... that was something."

Nova wiped his blade clean, letting it dissolve back into the air.

"Don’t go wandering off again."

"I wasn’t wandering. I was scouting."

She protested, pouting slightly.

"And what did you find?"

"Those things. They came out of nowhere. Looked like they were... hunting something."

She grumbled.

Just as they were about to get up and leave, another small wave of worms slithered through the cracked soil, heading directly toward them.

The air trembled with their movement. Anna let out a tired groan.

"Not again—"

Nova had already raised his gun. A deep exhale left his chest, and he calmly squeezed the trigger.

The first shot pierced cleanly through the head of the lead worm, and the second ripped through the second one’s soft underbelly. The creatures screeched, flailed, then went still.

He adjusted his grip, scanning for more.

A third worm, faster than the others, lunged at them from the side—but before Nova could raise his weapon again, a pulse of concentrated aether flashed through the air.

The ground hissed. The worm jerked mid-leap before bursting apart in a soft, silent explosion of fog and blue mist.

Nova instinctively stepped in front of Anna, blade drawn now. The fog swirled for a second, obscuring their view.

Then it cleared.

A single figure stood a few paces ahead. Humanoid in shape, but radiating with overwhelming aether—smooth, sharp features, and eyes that glowed faintly.

Aether flowed around him like it was alive, and Nova felt it at once: this was no ordinary being. This man was saturated with the power of reason.

Nova’s fingers tightened around his weapon, a flicker of tension passing through him.

But the figure just blinked, his head tilting slightly as his eyes landed on Nova and Anna.

"You two alright? If you are, follow me. There’s a safer area just ahead."

His voice was clear, calm, almost bored.

Nova didn’t move. He didn’t lower his weapon.

He just stared, gauging the stranger in front of him. The aether of reason... it pulsed too naturally around this man. It could only mean one thing.

This wasn’t just some local guardian.

Nova didn’t move immediately. His instincts screamed caution, but his curiosity held him still.

The stranger’s expression remained neutral, unbothered by the gun pointed at him or the tension hanging in the air.

Anna peeked around Nova’s shoulder.

"He... he took out that worm without even moving."

Nova narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you?"

The stranger smiled faintly.

"Someone who doesn’t like getting eaten by worms. You wanted to find the city, right? Then follow me. Or stay here and get swarmed again. Your choice."

He turned his back on them and started walking.

Nova’s eyes tracked every movement. That level of confidence... only someone who had no fear of being attacked could act like that.

No one turned their back on a stranger in aether territory unless they were certain of survival.

"Nova? Should we trust him?"

Anna’s voice was uncertain now.

Nova didn’t answer right away. He simply watched as the figure walked further away, the fog parting naturally around him. Then finally, he lowered his gun.

"We’ll follow. But stay close to me."

He said quietly.

As they began walking, Anna whispered.

"You think he known something?"

Nova didn’t reply.