Noah’s gaze shifted back toward the massive cocoon of slime surrounding Dobby.

Gradually, he reabsorbed the slime, revealing Dobby standing calmly within.

The silver markings across his body still glowed faintly, while the cloudy haze coating his eyes radiated traces of pale light.

It was as if he were in a constant state of his Calamity Vessel ability.

Yet, it wasn’t his appearance that Noah cared about.

It was Dobby’s control.

Not a trace of negative energy leaked from him anymore. Even that subtle prodding against Noah’s soul had disappeared.

Alexandria stood silently nearby, far too reserved to speak.

What she experienced moments ago had shaken her far more deeply than she wanted to admit.

Noah was too preoccupied to pay attention to the others as he was dissecting the new information in front of him.

Just like his other creatures, Dobby’s skills had also mutated, alongside gaining new skills.

His skill Burden Eater evolved into Abyssal Communion.

Before, Dobby could only absorb the negative emotions emitted by living beings. Now, the ability has extended far beyond that. Lingering emotions attached to objects, corpses, battlefields, and even spiritual residue could now be perceived and absorbed by him.

Omen of Malice evolved into Eyes of the Calamity.

Previously, the ability merely allowed Dobby to sense existences harboring strong negative intent toward him, regardless of distance.

Now the ability has become far more invasive.

As long as the negative emotions directed toward Dobby were stronger than the target itself, Dobby could use those emotions to uncover the identity of the existence connected to them.

And then there was the greatest change.

Calamity Vessel evolved into The Black Communion.

The ability still converted negative emotions into power, but now each emotion possessed entirely different properties once refined through Dobby’s mana.

Hatred induced berserk states.

Fear distorted perception and created illusory effects.

Despair suppressed mana itself.

Grief damaged the soul directly.

Malice pierced both spiritual and mana defenses.

And obsession allowed Dobby to bind targets.

Yet despite all of those changes, Noah’s attention lingered most on a different effect entirely.

The Black Communion now allowed Dobby to swear allegiance to a single individual.

Noah’s eyes narrowed slightly while absorbing the information. Because, unlike the rest of Dobby’s abilities, this one almost felt necessary for his survival.

The stronger Dobby became, the more dangerous his own abilities became toward himself as well.

Without someone acting as a spiritual anchor, Dobby would eventually collapse beneath the accumulated negativity he continuously carried.

If not his mind, then his body would eventually fail first.

The oath compensated for that flaw.

The bonded individual unconsciously helped regulate and disperse part of the corruption overwhelming Dobby’s existence.

And in return, the oath bearer received benefits of their own.

A portion of mental attacks, fear, curses, and emotional corruption targeting the bonded individual would instead be redirected toward Dobby.

Even, Eyes of the Calamity expanded because of the oath.

Now, negative intent directed toward the oath bearer triggered the skill just as if the hostility had been directed toward Dobby himself.

Noah already felt that his main unique skills gave Dobby everything he would need.

The newer abilities existed primarily to support that role.

Reliquary of Calamity allowed Dobby to pour accumulated negativity into physical objects, transforming them into cursed vessels whose effects depended on both the object itself and the emotion infused into it.

And finally... Communion of Burdens.

Noah’s eyes lingered on that skill longer than the others. Because it was a type of skill he didn’t expect Dobby to be capable of.

The ability allowed Dobby to brand allies, supporting them by using fragments of negativity stored within The Black Communion.

Those branded temporarily inherited a portion of the burden Dobby carried, gaining abilities shaped by the type and intensity of the infused emotion.

The greater the burden shared, the greater the enhancement.

But likewise, the greater the strain placed upon the recipient’s mind and soul.

One example immediately revealed itself through Noah’s understanding of the skill.

Fear.

A creature branded with the burden of fear became difficult to perceive directly. Those observing them would instinctively hesitate, their minds subtly rejecting focusing on the branded individual for too long.

—

There was nothing about Dobby’s transformation that displeased Noah in the slightest.

There were downsides to his abilities, but Noah believed the bigger the downside, the stronger the ability.

Now that he was connected to Dobby, he was also able to get the information about Dobby’s soul that had him curious for some time now.

Dobby’s soul was powerful. Far more powerful than it should have been.

Compared to the others within Noah’s territory, Dobby’s soul had already entered the highest ranks among them despite not even being one of Noah’s contracted creatures.

Noah himself remained at the top. Then Bolas, Ailetta, Pandora.

And now... Dobby.

In fact, Noah was almost certain that if Dobby had been connected to him through a true contract, his soul would have likely surpassed Pandora’s.

Was it a coincidence that Dobby was a perfect container for the soul? Was it a coincidence that the figure showed up only for Dobby and no one else?

At this point, after everything he had witnessed and experienced, coincidences were no longer something he entertained lightly.

Fate itself was no less incomprehensible than divinity.

And considering God had been proven to be real, Noah no longer saw any reason to dismiss the existence of fate as impossible.

There was something special about Dobby. Something Noah was still too weak, too ignorant of this magical world to fully understand.

His conviction only deepened the moment that unknown figure revealed itself earlier.

It made Noah wonder whether Dobby would have ever reached this point without him.

Or if it was even possible.

If Noah had never interfered. If Dobby had never consumed his blood. Would that figure have ever appeared before him in the first place?

What Noah didn’t realize was that he stood dangerously close to the truth while simultaneously being completely wrong.

Fate did exist.

However, there was an existence that continuously disrupted it.

An existence whose very presence steadily distorted the paths that should have already been decided.

And because of that, the Divine Being observing everything found Noah both unbearable... and fascinating.

At first, it was only Noah himself whose soul couldn’t be judged properly, nor could his fate be perceived clearly.

But the stronger Noah became, the more severe the distortion surrounding him grew.

The fate of those connected to him slowly began blurring alongside his own.

Be it friend or foe, the outcomes gradually became impossible to perceive with certainty.

And then there were existences like Dobby.

Existences that should have either never survived long enough to reach this point in the first place. Or whose limits were placed on it for a reason.

Yet because they encountered Noah, their very existence threatened the balance of the world even more than Noah’s.

And for that, the Divine Being was forced to clean up Noah’s mess.

Again.

—

"How do you feel?" Noah inquired while observing the subtle glances Dobby occasionally directed toward the other cats nearby.

Meanwhile, he remained completely unaware of the frustration he was causing to an existence far beyond his understanding.

Dobby slowly turned his head to look at Noah.

For several moments, he simply stood there in silence as though organizing his thoughts before finally releasing a long breath.

"Troublesome..."

His gaze slowly shifted back toward Alexandria just in time to catch the uncertainty lingering within her expression before she quickly looked away again.

Dobby’s silver-clouded eyes lingered on her for a moment longer.

"Troublesome indeed..."

—

Time had passed without Noah doing anything else. He didn’t rush to finish what he had started.

He stood by, allowing the cats and dogs to rekindle after experiencing a roller-coaster of emotions.

Dobby had changed too much, and the recent toll on them, caused by him, needed to be addressed and repaired sooner rather than later.

It wasn’t so much the fact that they feared Dobby, but more so that his existence felt too much beyond their reach.

It was an exaggeration to say that Dobby was like a god among mortals. But it wasn’t too far an exaggeration. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Now that they understood Dobby could perceive their negative emotions and thoughts, many of them unconsciously became more guarded and insecure around him.

And whenever those feelings faded, another thought would quietly replace them.

Was Dobby using his ability on them right now?

The gap between them felt impossible to repair. And yet, somehow, Dobby managed to bridge it anyway.

His patience and his wisdom was far better than anything Noah had witnessed.

Dobby never forced conversations. When he spoke to one individual, his words would eventually lead someone else to become unable to hold back their thoughts before they too joined in the conversation.

There was one particular hint of wisdom that Noah heard that would forever stick with him.

"If every negative thought defined who someone truly was, then no living creature would deserve kindness."

—

It was nearly an hour later when Dobby finally managed to appease everyone.

Even then, some who clearly wanted to continue speaking with him lingered nearby. Yet before anyone else could approach, Dobby quietly raised a hand to stop them.

Too much time had already passed.

And Dobby was all too aware of his own condition.

Noah didn’t need to read minds to understand what Dobby intended to do next.

He could already see the effects of the corrosion beginning to spread through Dobby’s body.