Chapter 1032 1032. Reports
A black star rotated at the center of his chest, right under the sternum and between the lungs. Noah"s heart had disappeared, replaced by a dense rotating sphere that executed his organ"s previous functions and added new ones.
Noah closed his eyes to feel his body in its entirety. The black star had become part of the innate absorption of "Breath" performed by the magical beasts. It gathered energy inside its core before turning it into primary energy that nurtured his tissues.
Yet, that primary energy appeared slightly different from usual. Its structure didn"t change, but there seemed to be more power contained in its fabric. It was as if the dark matter had improved its nature, making it become a better nutrient for his body.
The same went for his blood. The black star filtered and improved its structure before sending it back in the blood vessels. Noah felt his body becoming stronger after every full rotation of the sphere, but the cause wasn"t a superior amount of energy.
Noah felt purer. The dark matter elevated his tissues and nutrients toward a higher form of existence, distancing him from the labels commonly used to evaluate hybrid bodies.
"Quant.i.ty, intensity, and purity," Noah thought as he became aware of the immense strength that ran through his veins. "The cultivation journey has forced me to pursue different goals as my rank improved. I"m elevating myself now."
Noah faced the ceiling as he recalled the images seen during his dreams. He didn"t open his eyes, but he saw the stars calling for him. Both his body and mind had begun to walk toward them.
"This is too different," Noah realized at some point. His mind was strong enough to give him full control of his instincts, but not feeling them concerned him.
It was as if he had become something entirely different. He didn"t feel like a hybrid anymore.
Noah blew on his hand, and the world around him lost its light for a second before a small flame landed on his palm. His fire had turned black, and it released an aura that darkened the air around it.
Its power was on a completely different level too. The remaining crystals from the chrysalis fell apart as soon as Noah"s fire appeared in the room.
"What have I become?" Noah questioned himself, even if he was sure that there was no answer. There was nothing in nature that resembled his species anymore. He was the first of his kind, and his potential was unknown.
The Demonic Sword soon barged in the room and greeted him with happy roars. Noah had tasked the Hive to feed it while he was in seclusion, but its show of affection appeared far more intense than the previous times.
A series of sheets and items laid right in front of his mansion. The Hive had periodically delivered news and materials that he could use during his seclusion, and Noah didn"t hesitate to sweep through them.
He couldn"t understand how long he had spent inside the chrysalis. His mind had improved with the spherical rune, but he had yet to become used to its pace now that he was in the sixth rank.
The sheets quickly solved his doubts. He had spent fifty years in seclusion, which made him almost five hundred years old. Still, there were problems regarding the world"s current situation and how that affected him.
Noah"s return didn"t go unnoticed, and many Elders of the Council had seen Skully flying together with an army of cultivators. Some had even noticed the runes on her body, and they couldn"t help but link them to the legendary Kesier species.
The years after Noah"s reappearance saw a stream of envoys coming to the Hive to request audiences and meetings. Noah"s name often appeared in those, but the Elders dodged every question while they waited for him to come out of seclusion.
Chasing Demon and the other higher-ups had questioned Skully after Noah isolated himself. The incredible story of the hidden world and the spectacular events concerning its end made them gasp in surprise.
The fact that Noah had singlehandedly taken care of a divine being, freed the human troops, and destroyed an entire world left them speechless. Still, they had realized since that the Demon Prince"s growth had surpa.s.sed their wildest expectations since his return.
Those events eventually caught the Elbas family"s attention, which managed to gain access to pieces of information through spies and by bribing weaker cultivators.
The Royals almost went mad at the hint that the Hive owned specimens belonging to the Kesier species. Hordes of inscription masters let go of their hatred against Noah"s recent actions and flew to the Hive to schedule meetings.
They even brought gifts in advance!
However, the Hive"s Elders stalled their requests indefinitely, and the other forces soon understood that they had to wait for Noah to reappear before managing that matter.
Skully and the rebels went through a few rounds of inspections from Thirty-seven before moving in different environments. The human cultivators ended up in schools and academies under the domes and received special treatment to make up for their poor techniques.
Instead, the heroic experts and Skully chose to live among the hybrids and manage their lands. Elder Roy and other inscription masters accompanied them to explain how the inscription field had changed in the past years.
Moreover, they desperately needed new cultivation techniques that reflected their individuality. Skully"s method had allowed them to reach the fifth and fourth ranks, but their power and battle prowess were lacking.
The sheets went on, listing a series of evaluations on the black metal and the current state of the reservoir of Kesier Apes, but Noah could only skip those parts when he saw June"s name appearing on those reports.
Noah had seen her during the battle above the poisonous swamp, but his mind"s condition was too poor to focus on multiple things. He had seen her wearing Eccentric Thunder"s hats, but he didn"t expect her situation to be as severe as the report stated.
King Elbas had even arrived shortly after, forcing him to seize the first chance that he found to leave that place.
The reports stated that June"s condition had worsened after the battles ended. Surges of orange sparks had often shone in the sky above her quarters, and many experts from enemy nations had noticed that.
She had eventually become so unstable that the Royals sent her to the other Mortal Lands. The Hive didn"t know the details behind that decision, but it seemed that she had refused any treatment from her organization"s inscription masters.
Noah knew why June wouldn"t let anyone come near her centers of power. Any inscription master would notice her higher energy at that point, and her life would end on the same day.
Still, the reports weren"t over, and his eyes became cold when he read that hybrids had risen from the sea of the other Mortal Lands and were invading the landma.s.s. Witnesses confirmed the presence of creatures in the sixth rank.