MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 893: Backstory-1

“Why does this look like a group date?” Lucian suddenly spoke, his words drawing everyone’s attention almost instantly.

“How so?” Anthony asked as he arched an eyebrow. Lucian replied without hesitation, “I mean, I’ve got a girlfriend, Aaaninja has Altheria, you have Vega.” He paused briefly before turning toward Aura Nova and Kingsley, then asked, “Do the two of you have any partners?”

The air seemed to grow awkward the very next instant. Kingsley simply shook his head as he replied calmly, “I do not. What’s the use of being with someone I don’t love? Until that happens, I will happily remain single.” Everyone nodded at his words, finding no fault in his reasoning, their gazes naturally shifting toward Aura Nova, who remained silent for a moment longer than expected.

Seeing her hesitation, Lucian spoke gently, his tone sincere. “You don’t have to answer. You’re entitled to your privacy, and I’m sorry if I crossed any lines.” He apologized like a perfect gentleman, leaving no room for discomfort.

Aura Nova smiled faintly before speaking. “I was once in a relationship. I was once in love, just like the six of you.” Her sky-blue eyes darted between Aaaninja, Lucian, Anthony, Vega, Veronica, and Altheria. “But he broke up with me.” Her voice softened for a brief moment, as though memories long buried had resurfaced in her mind.

Aura Nova grew up without parental love. The orphanage she was raised in had many children, far too many for any single one to receive special care or affection. Not even children her age formed meaningful bonds, as most of them spent their time training from the moment of their awakening at the age of ten. After her awakening, when people came to know of her Omniedit ability and her absurd level of talent, attention suddenly found her. They began to care, to praise, and to shower her with admiration and interest.

But Aura Nova neither needed nor appreciated any of it. To her, it was all fake, all hollow. No one paid attention to her when she had nothing to offer, but suddenly everyone seemed interested in her. While she spoke with many people, she never truly befriended any of them, nor did she bind herself to any organization or power. Her Omniedit ability allowed her to accomplish ridiculous feats, such as turning ordinary stones into mana crystals, so she never needed money, nor did she require anyone’s protection.

Of course, pressure followed. The world would never allow such a prodigy to exist freely. People believed that if they could not have her, then no one should. They crossed the line, and Aura Nova erased all of them. She did not move like an assassin lurking in the dead of night. No, she erased them in broad daylight, openly, as a warning to everyone else.

Eventually, she came under Rain, the leader of the Older Generation from her home planet, the Dusk Planet. She was neither his slave nor his employee; he simply took her in. Under his guidance, Aura Nova began to understand how reality truly worked.

People only spoke to you for two reasons. The first was simple: you were useful to them, a means to an end, an agenda, or a purpose. The second was far rarer: they genuinely cared for you or liked you for who you were.

Because people had flocked around her since the age of ten, constantly demanding one thing or another, Aura Nova subconsciously categorized anyone who approached her under the first reason. To her, they spoke only because she was useful.

As she grew older, her thoughts matured, and her understanding of the world deepened. With maturity came an understanding of emotions, and with emotions came love.

Aura Nova had fallen in love.

She had fallen for a man, a handsome and talented man. Yet no matter how talented he was, he still paled in comparison to her. No matter how handsome he was, his charms were insignificant next to Aura Nova’s presence.

The idiom “love is blind” could not have been more fitting.

Aura Nova was confident, beautiful, talented, wealthy, and essentially the most popular individual on the Dusk Planet. Her connection to Rain alone was enough to make anyone desire her, even without considering her personal qualities.

Now imagine someone like her walking up to you and confessing her feelings. Would any man dare say no? Would anyone claim they did not feel the same? Absolutely not. Even if those feelings had not existed moments before, they would magically appear the instant Aura Nova spoke. A girlfriend? Easily discarded. A wife? Divorce, or worse.

That was exactly what happened to the man Aura Nova confessed to; Alexandra.

He agreed immediately. They stayed together for over three years. Alexandra picked up on Aura Nova’s love for reading and made it his habit to buy her books, one after another, as it was practically her only hobby and the one thing she indulged in when they were not together.

During those three years, Alexandra took advantage of every benefit Aura Nova’s status provided. He was not foolish enough to ask for anything directly; he did not need to. Being her boyfriend alone elevated his status to the peak of the Dusk Planet. Yet just because he never asked for anything did not mean Aura Nova did not give. She gave freely, willingly, and blindly.

And like many love stories, disaster eventually struck.

During one of her training sessions, Aura Nova’s mana core shattered.

As she always did, she told Alexandra. But to her absolute shock, he reacted with anger. Within that same day, he broke up with her. After a series of harsh, insulting, and demeaning words, Alexandra stormed off, marking the abrupt end of their relationship.

He ended it because he understood a universal law: once a person’s mana core was damaged, it was impossible to repair. No one in history had ever achieved such a feat. Aura Nova was talented, yes, but even she could not defy the laws of the universe.

And so Alexandra made what he believed was the smartest decision. He severed the relationship before Aura Nova could fall from grace, because her decline would inevitably mean his own.

It was the logical choice of a man who had never loved her, a man who stayed only because it was convenient.

Aura Nova, a woman who had spent most of her life seeing others as people seeking to exploit her talent, failed to see the greatest liar who stood beside her for three years.

Love truly was blind… or perhaps, it was blinding.