Chapter 1249 1249. Memories
"We have always known that our paths will eventually diverge," June said before heaving a sigh. "The only place where we can be truly together is the top."
Noah and June were in an isolated room inside the separate dimension. He had flown there and explained his plan to his lover, but her answer made him feel bitter.
Cultivators had long lives, and that gave them many chances to create deep relations.h.i.+ps. However, their journeys forced them to remain alone. Their individualities weren"t something that they could nurture with others.
Some called it a curse, but only those willing to give up on everything could hope to reach the higher ranks. There were very few cases in which couples managed to spend their lives together without neglecting their training.
Noah couldn"t help but think about Dreaming Demon and Flying Demon. They were among the few exceptions in the world, but they had to survive through steep hindrances to reach their current situation.
They had yet to survive the Immortal Lands, but Noah believed that they wouldn"t separate even on that occasion. They had already proven that they could overcome the harshest hurdles.
Noah and June had a different type of relations.h.i.+p. Their cultivation journey was too important to let feelings get in their paths.
Their priority remained their journey even if they loved each other. The couple had managed to be together for a long time because their individualities shared a few fields, but they sought different things, which often made them separate.
The current situation in the world wasn"t any different. Noah knew June better than anyone else, and he was aware that magical beasts would soon bore her.
The army of Eternal Snakes could partially provide her with the endless battlefield that she had dreamed of, but she would eventually grow tired of having to face the same enemies.
The reason why Noah had managed to kill a creature far stronger than him was what made the army of Snakes inconvenient for June. She didn"t want to be a hunter capable of exploiting her opponents" weaknesses. She aimed to become the best warrior.
"It sure is a pity," June said as she sat on the ground of the floor. "I didn"t think this moment would come so soon. I suppose we can"t even take a month off for our goodbyes."
Noah"s inscribed notebook rang to no end even after he gave the order to migrate. He had yet to inform his underlings that he wouldn"t follow them in the other world, but the chaos had already spread among the three organizations.
That gave him an idea of how little time he had with June. After all, the fissures in the sky had never stopped expanding. It was in his interest to relieve the world of some internal pressure as soon as possible.
The more the organizations delayed their migration, the less time Noah would have to save the world and himself.
"Dreaming Demon and Flying Demon should complete the preparations in a couple of days," Noah said as he sat behind June. "I would need to kick you all out if you take more than that."
June laid her back on Noah"s chest and closed her eyes. Her lover began to caress her messy hair, and the two of them remained silent as they enjoyed the feeling of being together.
"The Immortal Lands are big," June said as she straightened her position to sit on Noah"s lap.
"We only have to remain alive to meet again," Noah replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.
Noah placed his chin on her shoulder, and the two of them remained silent as they stared at the wall of the room. Countless thoughts rose in their minds, but they ultimately led to the same conclusion. They had to make the best out of the time that they had left.
Still, Noah and June weren"t a young couple driven by their need to feel closer. They were far beyond the phase when they had to spend intimate moments that lasted months.
The sole being in each other"s arms was enough to make them at peace. They didn"t want anything else other than remaining in that position until they had to separate.
"The world will become boring without you," June said at some point.
Neither of them knew how long they had been in that position, but they never grew tired of being so close to each other.
"The political environment will change again after your departure," Noah replied. "The Empire will try to expand again now that Shandal has returned. The Council will want an even closer relations.h.i.+p with the Hive to fend that threat off. Great Elder Diana might even try to fuse our organizations."
"I guess I won"t lack wars," June said as a smile appeared on her face. The sole thought of those battles lifted her morale a bit.
Noah could almost see all the events that would follow the migration. He had learnt to know the political environment quite well, even if that field had never interested him. It wasn"t hard for him to predict what would happen.
"Hey," June said at some point. "We will be apart for a very long time."
She then turned to face Noah while sitting on his lap. He could see the desire in her eyes trying to overcome the other emotions that their imminent separation caused inside her.
"We should make a good memory," Noah replied as a warm smile appeared on his face.
The couple didn"t need to speak anymore. Noah and June knew each other too well to understand how they wanted to use the little time that they had left.
.
.
.
Two days later, the entire Hive gathered in front of the dimensional portal to begin the migration.
The Eternal Snakes had regressed to a state of wild beasts after losing the connection with their leaders, which made them ignore the Utra nation.
The dimensional portal had turned those prosperous lands into dried terrains. The Eternal Snakes had even destroyed them during their mission.
The Utra nation had become nothing more than a pile of debris. Many experts were even surprised that it was still in one piece after what it went through.
Noah was high in the sky as he stared at the troops under him. The powerhouses floated slightly under him, and the rank 5 Elders managed the various factions inside the Hive.
The human cultivators crossed the portal without any hesitation. Noah looked at them disappearing in the dark vortex, but he didn"t feel anything at that sight.
"I guess I"m an awful leader," Noah thought as he held back his words.
He had yet to reveal to his troops that he wouldn"t follow them in the other world. Noah wanted to inform only the powerhouses to avoid the celebrations that his announcement would cause.
The portal flickered whenever the net of cracks expanded. The destabilization of the world affected its correct functioning, but the situation wasn"t critical yet.
It would take a while before that item stopped working. Thirty-seven had already made his calculations, and he had predicted that the portal would last another year.
The rank 4 Elders began to cross the portal after all the human cultivators had completed the migration. The experts in the fifth rank followed them. Noah and the powerhouses soon remained alone in the sky.