Previously on MIGHT AS WELL BE OP...
Lucian's observation about a "group date" prompts Aura Nova to reveal her past. She recounts growing up in an orphanage, gaining attention only after her Omniedit ability manifested, which she found disingenuous. Under Rain's guidance, she learned about human motivations. Aura Nova then shares that she once fell in love with a man named Alexandra. Their three-year relationship ended abruptly when her mana core shattered, leading him to harshly break up with her, motivated by her perceived loss of power and his own self-preservation.
Aura Nova spent the entire day consumed by tears. Locked away in her room, she isolated herself from the world, weeping without end. She had never known true love before this, yet the one person she finally opened her heart to—the man she cherished for three years—had been a fraud. The affection, the warm embraces, the kisses, their intimate nights, the shared laughter, the quiet dates, their travel plans, and the long debates over novels; every single memory was nothing but a calculated lie.
The very thing she had spent her life evading had taken root and flourished for three years right under her nose. She had been manipulated and used without ever realizing the truth. That night, the Dusk Planet itself seemed to mirror her grief. The heavens wept with her, pouring down endless rain while thunder and lightning tore through the sky, as if the universe itself was tempted to strike Alexandra dead where he stood.
In her mind, Aura Nova replayed every word Alexandra had uttered that night, weaving them into the tapestry of their three-year history. The dissonance between the man she loved and the man revealed by his confession was jarring. These two conflicting identities proved just how masterful an actor Alexandra had truly been.
News of the breakup and the shattering of Aura Nova’s mana core soon reached Rain. A fierce rage ignited within him the moment he heard. Though she wasn't his biological child, he had always functioned as her father, loving her as his own in every way that counted. His first instinct was to slaughter Alexandra and put a global bounty on his head. As the most powerful man on the Dusk Planet, such a feat was trivial; Alexandra was merely a pathetic insect in his eyes.
Rain reflected on every bit of support and guidance he had provided the young man, and his fury only intensified. Every favor granted and every door opened now felt like a stinging personal betrayal. It was only Aura Nova’s intervention that prevented Rain from ending Alexandra’s life that very night.
That evening, Aura Nova fell asleep with her head in Rain’s lap. Normally, such a rare father-daughter moment would have brought him peace, but he found no joy in it. She had cried herself into exhaustion, her heart and mana core broken in a single stroke. Knowing her pain, happiness was impossible for him.
However, just because Aura Nova had stayed his hand didn't mean Rain's wrath had subsided.
At dawn, Rain’s first act was to broadcast the breakup between Aura Nova and Alexandra to the entire Dusk Planet. If he was forbidden from killing the fool, he would ensure the man's existence was agony. Rain made it his singular mission to make Alexandra regret ever being born.
While the world was stunned by the announcement, there was little actual mourning. Many were secretly delighted, viewing this as a golden opportunity. Thousands of letters began to arrive; some were inquiries of concern for Aura Nova, while others were bold confessions of love, written in elegant ink by those who believed their time had finally come.
As for Aura Nova, she woke up... flawless.
Despite the heavy sobbing of the previous night, her eyes and face showed no signs of distress. Checking her lower abdomen, she found her mana core stable, whole, and perfectly functional. Her mana rank was exactly where it belonged, as if the damage had never occurred. A small laugh escaped her lips—not the laugh of a madwoman or someone broken, but a light, genuine sound.
Had Alexandra possessed the patience to wait just a few more hours, he could have continued his charade without flaw.
Aura Nova’s physiology had autonomously mended her shattered mana core. This was why she hadn't panicked when it broke, and why she had calmly walked out of her training hall to tell Alexandra.
Throughout her life, her mana core had shattered multiple times whenever she pushed her Omniedit ability to its breaking point. Every time, she would wake the next morning to find her foundation restored and her mana rank stabilized. She had long ago confirmed that her body would naturally heal the core without any outside help.
Alexandra was ignorant of this. During their three years together, her core had remained intact. The very first time it failed, he had fled.
Unexpectedly, Aura Nova did not retreat into solitude. Instead, she became more social than ever. She laughed more, smiled more frequently, and spoke with newfound freedom. It was during this time that she built real bonds with Charles Evander and Valak.
Valak eventually confessed his love, only to be rejected like the billions before him. Yet, remaining her friend, he listened as Aura Nova shared the truth about Alexandra, leading Valak to despise the man with every fiber of his soul.
The memories that the many-eyed abomination had disturbed with its illusions during the battle were these specific memories of Alexandra. That was the reason Aura Nova had been so brutal, smashing the creature’s head against celestial bodies before ending its life.
Through her ordeal with Alexandra, Aura Nova realized her greatest weakness: she had never understood people because she had kept them at a distance.
Her smiles and openness weren't a mask for her pain; they were real. Even though she had been betrayed and used, Aura Nova sought neither vengeance nor explanations. She simply accepted the truth and moved forward.
Meanwhile, Alexandra was left to rot in his own misery. He remained alive only because Rain had guards watching him constantly, preventing him from escaping his shame through suicide.
Rain personally delivered the news of Aura Nova’s full recovery to Alexandra the day after the split. He had sworn to turn the Dusk Planet into a living hell for the man, ensuring his only exit would be a natural death from old age—an end that was still centuries away.
