Reborn as a Useless Noble with my SSS-Class Innate Talent-Chapter 371: Ch : Do You Remember Me? - Part 1

Goddess Lucia stood frozen before the divine mirror, her breath catching in her throat.

The image before her—the battlefield torn apart, the swirling fragments of divine puppets dissipating into ash—was already enough to rattle her.

But what truly made her knees weaken, what sent a violent tremor through her chest, was him.

Kyle.

His name didn’t escape her lips, but it surged through her heart with a clarity that drowned everything else.

She watched as he stood tall amidst the divine wreckage, unwavering, unbothered, his eyes glowing with a terrifying confidence. That aura. That strength. That impossible, undeniable presence.

That was Kyle.

Her fingers curled tightly, nails biting into her palm as her body trembled. She had felt it before—his mana. When the mirror first lit up, when the puppets shattered.

But a part of her... had refused to believe it. Had denied it.

Because Kyle was dead.

Because she had failed to protect him.

But now, her heartbeat raced against her ribs as reality clawed its way into her soul. He wasn’t dead. He was alive—stronger, colder, and more overwhelming than she remembered.

Then, as if her disbelief summoned him, Kyle turned his head. Slowly. Deliberately.

And stared directly at her through the divine mirror.

Lucia flinched as if struck.

In the next instant, Kyle stepped forward—and slammed his fist against the divine mirror.

Crack!

The mirrored space shook violently. A burst of mana exploded from the impact and washed over Lucia like a tidal wave, ripping through her composure and slicing into the divine realm.

Her body reeled, the familiar signature of his mana hitting her squarely in the face.

Lucia gasped.

"N-No..."

That warmth.

That rage.

She staggered back, her hand flying up to her cheek as if trying to wipe away the remnants of his touch.

On the other side of the mirror, Kyle’s lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.

"So I finally found you. I wasn’t expecting much, but... to think you’d turn this stupid while I was gone."

He said, his voice rich with satisfaction.

Lucia stiffened.

"W-What...?"

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

That tone.

That arrogant way of speaking. That casual bite behind his words. That lazy confidence.

That was him.

That was Kyle.

"Who... who are you?"

She whispered, knowing the answer and fearing it at the same time.

Kyle let out a low, amused scoff.

"Oh? Now you don’t recognize me?"

His eyes narrowed, glowing with cold amusement.

"You’re the one who said you’d never forget me. That you’d wait. That you’d keep your promise. But look at you now. Trapping yourself in some mirror and pulling tricks like some second-rate deity."

His expression darkened.

His words lanced straight through her.

Lucia clutched her chest, trembling as a thousand memories threatened to drown her. She looked up at him with glassy eyes, lips parting in stunned disbelief.

"...Kyle?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Took you long enough."

Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them. Her breath hitched. The walls she had built over centuries began to fracture, one after the other.

"You’re... you’re alive."

She whispered. Her fingers reached forward instinctively, aching to touch him, to confirm he was real.

She pressed her hand to the mirror’s surface.

But she couldn’t cross it.

A divine force resisted her. Her sanctuary, the space she had locked herself in to keep her sanity, had now become her prison.

"No—wait—I’ve been here—I’ve been waiting! Don’t go—I’m here!"

She gasped, pressing harder.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. He watched her struggle against the barrier.

Lucia slammed her palm into the mirror again, desperation building in her chest.

"You don’t understand! I tried—I really tried—I thought you were gone! I did everything I could to preserve what remained—I waited for the signal—!"

Kyle didn’t answer.

"I searched for you! I tried to reach your soul again and again! I thought the others sealed you away—I thought I failed you—!"

Lucia cried.

Her voice cracked. Her body shook.

"But I never gave up on you!"

Still, Kyle didn’t move. His expression unreadable.

Lucia’s hand trembled against the glass.

"You believe me, don’t you?"

Her voice was small. Almost a whisper.

Kyle finally looked away, only slightly, his eyes shifting as though deep in thought. Then, he placed his palm flat against the mirror, right where hers was.

"Lucia."

He said softly.

She froze.

"I know you tried."

A sob escaped her lips.

"But, I don’t know what you’ve become now. And I don’t trust what I see."

He continued.

Lucia’s expression crumpled.

"I—"

"You sent monsters after me. Tried to manipulate my people. Used Rean’s soul as a puppet. You crossed lines we promised never to cross. I came here for answers. Not to rekindle anything."

His voice was cold, but not cruel.

Lucia shook her head violently, panic flaring across her face.

"It wasn’t me! I—! I was trying to protect you! I thought—if I scared you away—if I made you leave this realm—you’d be safe!"

Kyle’s eyes locked onto hers again, piercing and calm.

"Then stop hiding. Step out from behind that mirror. Let’s talk. Properly."

He said.

Lucia reached for the barrier again, but it pulsed and pushed her back violently.

"I can’t! I want to—but this prison—I built it too well. It won’t let me leave now—!"

"Then I’ll break it."

Kyle said.

Lucia’s eyes widened.

He stared at the divine glass, his mana rising once more.

Lucia instinctively stepped back.

"Wait! If you—If you destroy it like that, you might destroy me too!"

Kyle hesitated.

Then he lowered his hand.

"Fine. Then I’ll find another way."

He said at last.

Lucia felt her knees give out. She crumpled to the floor, sobbing silently into her palms.

"You idiot. Why do you always make me feel like this..."

She whispered.

Kyle watched her a moment longer before he turned and began walking away, his voice echoing through the realm.

"Lucia. If you’re still the same one who waited for me... then prove it."

And just like that, he vanished into the mists once more.

Leaving Lucia alone with her racing heart and a mirror that refused to break.

The divine realm around Kyle began to tremble—cracks of light splitting through the fabric of the space as if it could no longer contain the intensity of the moment.

On the other side of the mirror, Goddess Lucia’s breathing turned shallow, her hands pressed against the barrier as her trembling voice echoed in desperation.

"No—wait—don’t go—!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

But her words couldn’t reach him. Her unstable emotions surged through the divine channel, and the space itself buckled under the weight of her turmoil.

Kyle looked up sharply, realizing the realm was collapsing. Before he could anchor himself, the floor beneath him fractured and gave way, and light swallowed him whole.

Lucia screamed.

She reached for the mirror as it shattered into a thousand glowing shards, each one fading into nothing before her eyes. The connection—tenuous and fragile—was severed completely.

"Kyle...!"

Her voice faded into silence as she fell to her knees, hands curled into fists against the cold divine floor. He was gone. Again.

No matter how hard she reached for him, no matter how much of her power she burned—he was once again out of her grasp.

And she could do nothing but sit in the remnants of their broken connection.