The Soul Reborn: From Silence to Sovereignty Chapter 96

Chapter 96: You Weren’t Wrong

The beach was quiet. Not too many people stayed to see the sun set. It was a weekday, so I guess it made sense.

Noah’s blade had disappeared, but the scent of blood lingered faintly in the air, mixing with the salt and sea spray. Lyra had stopped fussing as soon as I took her into my arms, whispering soft words and rocking her gently.

I didn’t even flinch as I looked back at the mess of bodies in the sand. It’s not that it had no effect on me, but I refused to acknowledge they meant anything. They were nothing but scum, to think they would do such a thing to an innocent baby.

“Noah,” I said coolly, brushing a strand of wet hair behind my ear, “can you burn the bodies?”

He turned his head in my direction.

“I don’t want any evidence left behind; also… do you see those two?” I pointed towards two individuals who had obviously seen what had taken place. “Bring them to me; they saw everything, and I can’t have them just leaving.”

Noah nodded, understanding these steps were necessary in this new world.

He raised a hand, and a tight golden-red flame bloomed, silent and fierce; the bodies caught at once, burned to ash in seconds, leaving only a faint shimmer in the sand.

Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone like the wind. I barely had time to sit down on the edge of our beach blanket before he returned, each hand gripping one of the onlookers by the collar like disobedient puppies.

They were thrown down in front of me, forced to kneel by Noah’s aura.

Two teenagers stood there, a girl and a boy, both shaking. I would be too if I had just seen what Noah did and knew nothing about him.

“Take both their phones. Break them as best as you can and throw them into the ocean.”

As Noah was taking care of that, I listened calmly along with Elowen and Livia as they begged for their lives.

“Don’t kill us,” the girl said, voice shaking. “We didn't mean to see anything. Umm… I mean, we saw nothing.”

“Please,” the boy added. “We didn't record!”

Noah had their phones handled. If anything hit the cloud, it was out of my hands.

I exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“You know, I’d rather not kill you.”

They both visibly flinched at that.

“But can I trust you?” I tilted my head, eyes steady. “You witnessed something you shouldn't have. It puts you both in danger.”

Their heads bobbed fast, ready to agree to anything if it kept them alive, tears streaking down both their faces.

“So tell me,” I said while lifting a brow. “Will a few thousand dollars shut you up? Could something so small buy your silence?”

They both just stared at me.

“Two thousand,” The girl whispered, as if she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.

“Yes.” I waved lazily. “Take the cash and forget everything. You were never here and saw nothing. Don’t even talk about it, ever!”

I paused, letting the silence sink in.

“Listen, I’m trying hard to save your lives right now,” I said with a sigh. “But if I see anything about this pop up online or hear anything leak through the media…”

Noah stepped forward slightly, just a shadow of a man over them.

“…he’ll come find you.”

The guy swallowed hard. “We won’t say a word; I never saw anything!”

The girl was nodding frantically. “I promise, please… we didn’t want to be involved in the first place.”

I leaned back on my elbows and glanced up at my husband. “It’s a bit of a moral dilemma, don’t you think? Killing them would keep our secret, but at the same time I would feel bad because they did nothing to offend us. What’s your opinion, darling?”

Noah’s voice was quiet but absolute. “They’re afraid enough not to lie, for now at least.”

I nodded.

Then reached into my bag, pulled out a stack of cash, and tossed it at their feet. “Take the money and leave the beach. Forget everything… If you’re lucky, you’ll never see us again.”

They didn’t need to be told twice, grabbing the cash and sprinting for the hills while I watched in silence. Chasing them was never part of the plan; fear was enough to keep them quiet for a while.

A quick scan of the area showed no other witnesses, and if anyone was hiding, there wasn’t much I could do about it anyway. We had our own ways of staying off the police radar.

The most effective way was to just jump back to our world for a bit and let the heat die down. Overall, I wasn’t really worried about it because we would be extremely hard to pin down.

We walked back in silence, the sea behind us now stained with memories I hadn’t planned for…

I cradled my daughter gently, brushing her soft cheek with my thumb.

“Well,” I muttered, letting out a long sigh, “today’s been a day.”

Lyra let out a little coo, entirely unbothered and completely unaware that six men had just threatened her life not even fifteen minutes ago.

I smiled bitterly. “No matter what world you enter, you can’t just enjoy your time without someone trying to ruin it.”

Noah didn’t respond… He just got closer and put a comforting arm around my shoulders as we walked.

“I even warned them.” None of this had to happen if their egos weren’t so shallow. “Multiple times… Just walk away. But no… they just had to keep pushing… provoking me to the point of no return.”

I took one last glance at the beach, the sun glinting off the shoreline as if nothing had ever happened.

“Were they just stupid or plain suicidal?”

Everyone kept silent as I spoke. I was not after answers; I needed to let the frustration go.

I opened the back door of the car and carefully secured Lyra in her car seat. She blinked up at me with wide eyes, innocent and calm.

That settles it. I shut the door with a soft click and turned to the others.

“Let’s get out of here. I don’t even want to purchase a place to stay in this area anymore; bad vibes.”

Noah nodded, already moving toward the passenger side.

“I’ve been thinking,” I said as I slid into the driver’s seat. “We should head to a larger city with better access to resources. Top schools and research centers are prime targets. We might even find a professor in mechanical engineering or physics who will join us.”

We talked about this before the jump to Earth: find top experts in each field, bring them with us, and have them train our people.

“Do you think they will actually accept?” Livia asked, looking skeptical.

I gave a sharp nod. “You shove enough incentives in their face and show them a whole new world for their research; who wouldn’t want to come? If they're truly passionate about their craft, they will want to find newer and richer outlets for it.”

Elowen blinked. “Will that really be enough… to just come with us?”

“Probably,” I turned the key, and the engine came alive with a calm rumble. “A suitcase full of gold, plus the chance to change a world, is pretty persuasive.”

I didn't look back as we merged onto the highway, leaving that cursed beach in the rearview mirror. Time to shift gears, literally and figuratively. I wasn't about to let a few dirt bags ruin my much-needed vacation or derail the tech that could change so much.

As we drove, the car was quiet except for a popular hit on the radio. Everyone, me included, was thinking about what came next.

I kept my eyes on the road, hands steady on the wheel, the hum of the engine filling the silence. But inside, my thoughts were loud.

Finally, I broke the quiet.

“I just wanted everyone to have fun for a few days,” I said softly, my voice more tired than usual. “Maybe that was out of line, and I was selfish.”

Livia glanced at me from the rearview mirror, but she didn’t look like she would say anything.

“I thought, after everything, we deserved a break. I wanted everyone to taste what this world can offer. Whether it was Joy, Flavor, or something new altogether, it was supposed to be incident-free.”

My sigh probably felt heavy to everyone in the car. “But no… it only took one group of bastards to destroy it.”

I glanced at my adorable daughter, finger in her mouth as she slept, and felt my soul settle. I was grateful for that calm. Elowen, by contrast, took everything in and watched me carefully from the back seat.

A bitter laugh slipped from my lips. “I wouldn’t have even told Noah to kill them if they hadn’t said what they did. If they’d just been loud, disgusting creeps, I would’ve had him just knock them out. We’d have walked away, no problem.”

I couldn’t help but grip the wheel a little tighter, jaw clenched.

“But… threatening my baby? No!” That was too far.”

Then I felt Noah’s hand slip across the console into mine, firm and grounding.

I glanced over. His eyes were steady, watching me intently with that intensity he always wore when words weren’t enough.

“I’m sorry. I've been just rambling on…” I gave him a weak smile.

My voice caught a little.

“I was enjoying myself. The girls laughed in the water, and we shared a quiet, sensual moment. It felt perfect, and those men probably saw everything.”

Noah’s hand squeezed mine, and somehow, even though it was such a small gesture, it made my heart feel warm.

The silence that followed my words wasn’t peaceful anymore. It was weighing on me… like maybe I had overstepped. I was probably the only one still turning the moment over and over in my head, asking myself if I went too far.

I wanted to believe I’d done the right thing, but if no one else said a word… maybe I was wrong?

My lips parted to speak again, to fill the void, but Livia filled the air first.

“You weren’t wrong.”

Her voice was firm and resolute, sharp in that distinct Livia way. I glanced up at the mirror and saw her watching me carefully; she had her arms folded over her chest.

“You gave them multiple warnings and at the same time remained calm. The question about Lyra surprised me, but at the same time I understood why you did it. If they even had a shred of humanity, they wouldn’t take the life of an innocent child.”

Livia just scoffed after that. “There wasn’t.”

I paused, surprised. Livia rarely agreed without a filter. She liked to prod my ideas, even criticize them, but I learned early on… it was always in good faith.

Then Elowen spoke, her tone concerned but no less sure.

“I’ve never seen such a situation in all my life,” she said, her gaze focused down on Lyra in the car seat beside her. “You didn’t act like a noble, but like a mother who feared for her child.”

She hesitated and then added, “If someone had threatened anyone I loved like that… I don’t think I’d have been able to speak so calmly. But you didn’t even flinch and knew exactly what to do.”

My throat tightened at her words as Noah gave another squeeze.

“You were right,” Elowen exclaimed from the backseat. “They would’ve hurt us if given the chance.”

Livia nodded. “You protected your daughter, your husband, and the rest of us. If anyone calls that out of line, they were never worth listening to.”

I let out a long breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

Then I smiled. “Thanks,” I murmured. “I needed to hear that.”

I’m not someone who was born with high self-esteem, so it’s easy to backtrack. Getting some reinforcement from those around me really helps fix any type of mental damage I’m taking because of my own thoughts.

“You did what was needed… Just leave it at that,” Livia said again, voice resolute. “Now let’s go find someone smarter than all of us and pay them an indecent amount of gold to help change a world.”

I burst out laughing as Livia's words dragged me out of the gloom. The others in the car chuckled too.
“Alright then,” I said with both eyes on the road. “We keep moving forward.”