My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger Chapter 847 - 848: Casual Revelation

With a somber gaze, Evangeline stared out the window. A portion of the city lay in fractured ruins, yet despite the devastation, she observed the citizens navigating the debris-strewn streets. They were already laboring together, clearing wreckage and assisting one another as they persisted with the rhythm of existence.

Such was the stubborn resilience of life.

This universe, after all, was a manifestation of the Goddess of Doom. The Mother of the Circle of Inevitability possessed a cold indifference that bordered on cruelty; she offered no tears for calamity and no applause for those who endured.

However, those forged in the fires of conflict possessed a unique strength.

This was the reason the survivors simply pressed on despite the mounting casualties. Stopping was a luxury they could not afford. For those who remained paralyzed by the presence of death would lose the ability to truly live.

Evangeline tightened her grip into a firm fist.

The sheer scale of a fourth-class advancement... it far eclipsed the capabilities of the third class. She recalled how the warden had demolished entire structures with a mere gesture, scarring the cityscape without effort.

This was a level of power that could literally move mountains.

While Evangeline might eventually replicate such devastation, it would never come so naturally to her. For her, every blow would necessitate intense concentration, immense sacrifice, and absolute control.

Yet, did she truly crave that kind of destruction?

The answer was no.

She had no desire to rain such ruin upon innocent civilians who had never asked for this war.

She once believed her rank as a third-class Sunwarden had provided all the wisdom she required, but she now understood that countless questions remained unanswered.

For the moment, survival was her only option.

She simply lacked the strength necessary to reshape the world.

She remained merely a child of the present, not yet a legend of the future.

Turning her attention inward, her eyes found the shadowed corner of the room. Damon was seated on a woven mat, his spine straight and legs crossed in a posture of unsettling serenity. The shadows seemed to huddle around him instinctively, as if greeting one of their own.

Why was the gap between them so vast?

Frustration bubbled in her chest, causing her to bite her lip. Why did he make everything look so effortless, as if he could carry the weight of the world without breaking, or as if even total failure meant nothing to him?

She shook her head to clear the thought.

She knew better than anyone that his path was not easy.

Damon endured the greatest hardships and was his own harshest critic. Nevertheless, she found it impossible to stop comparing herself to him.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Yet, it is a universal instinct to measure oneself against those perceived as equals or peers. It was a subconscious habit she could not shake.

Evangeline kept her eyes locked on him as he sat there with closed lids.

A slight frown touched Damon’s brow.

"If you’re obsessing over that kiss from before, don't bother. It meant nothing to me, so there's no need to beat yourself up," he remarked.

His typical arrogance immediately sparked her temper.

"I wasn't thinking about that at all. And I’m not some little kid; it was only a kiss."

Damon cracked one eye open, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Is that so? Then why did your face turn so crimson?" He let out a soft laugh. "I can't believe you used those chained knights as a cover just to steal a kiss from me. I'm definitely telling everyone."

The room suddenly hummed with a low vibration.

A beam of light manifested from Evangeline’s fingertips, its brilliant radiance washing the room in golden hues.

"That secret goes to our graves," she warned, aiming the light directly at his chest.

She was prepared to blast him if he spoke one more wrong word.

Damon smiled, keeping his eyes shut.

"Have you lost weight, Eva? You look quite different."

Confused by the sudden shift, she looked down at herself.

"No... I don't believe so."

Damon opened both eyes fully.

"Oh. I guess it was just my imagination. I could have sworn your breasts looked smaller."

Bang.

A surge of light erupted, scorching the wall behind his head. The stone blackened and splintered under the force of the blast.

"Do you actually have a death wish?"

Damon just laughed, waving his hand as if the near-miss was nothing.

"Take it easy. I've brought food. We’ll get you back to your usual self."

He placed a hand over his heart in a dramatic gesture.

"I wouldn't want our old grandfather to think I wasn't taking care of you."

Evangeline began to lower her hand, but then she froze.

Her eyes went wide and her breath hitched. She whipped her head around toward him so violently that her hair flew.

"Wait... what did you just say?"

Damon looked at her with a confused arch of his eyebrow.

"What? I just said you haven't been eating enough."

She shook her head vigorously.

"No. Not that. The part after that. What you said about taking care of me."

Damon blinked, his face remaining neutral.

"I said I wouldn't want our grandfather to think I didn't look out for you, you dummy."

Her hands started to tremble.

It wasn't the name-calling that affected her.

It was the fact that he said 'our' grandfather.

Not 'your' grandfather.

Her voice was strained as she spoke.

"You... you're aware."

Damon stretched his limbs, rolling his shoulders to work out the stiffness.

"Aware of what?"

Gritting her teeth, she lunged forward and grabbed his collar, her fingers digging into the material of his awakened shell armor.

"That... we... are... you know..."

Damon looked at her hand and gave it a light tap.

"Just say it. Why are you being so cryptic?"

Evangeline bit her lip, frustrated. This was a massive revelation within her family—a secret buried so deep she had never been told directly. She had been forced to piece the puzzle together on her own.

She sat down directly in front of him, her golden eyes searching his face as the chilly night air of the desert drifted into the house.

"That we are related... by blood."

Damon’s eyes narrowed, and a look of shock crossed his features.

"We... are blood relatives?" His voice wavered. "I—I... we... how... I can't believe it—but I'm just a commoner..."

Evangeline felt her confusion grow.

Wait.

This didn't add up.

Was he truly in the dark?

Or—

"Hahaha!"

Damon suddenly doubled over in laughter.

"You should have seen the look on your face! Of course we're related. I figured it out ages ago."

He crossed his arms, wearing a smirk that was as cool as it was irritating.

"It's practically common knowledge by now. Anyone of importance in Valtheron is already in the loop. Or at least some of them." He began counting them off. "The Astranovas. Seras Blade. The Emperor. Oh—and you."

He leaned back slightly.

"You're actually quite cute when you're flustered, did you know that?"

Evangeline felt a sense of relief wash over her, as if a massive burden had been removed.

It made sense.

If she had deduced the truth, Damon certainly would have as well.

She moved forward and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Right... what was I thinking? Of course you'd know."

She stepped back, her expression turning into a frown.

"Then why didn't you speak up? Grandfather and my father would have welcomed both you and Luna home."

Damon gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Initially, it didn't seem important. Mostly, I didn't trust them." He paused for a moment. "But after I looked into matters concerning my mother, I realized they weren't so bad. Especially since she wanted us to seek out the old man."

He crossed his arms again.

"Eventually, it became a political issue. I'm the son of a commoner. That would be a blemish on the Grand Duke’s reputation. His only daughter, who was presumed dead, suddenly reappears with a son fathered by a nobody."

Damon’s smirk widened.

"That’s exactly why they tried to arrange a marriage between the two of us."

He turned toward her with a mischievous grin.

"So... do you want to get married?"

She scoffed instantly.

"Screw off."