Chapter - 570
- Lets get crazy
Noah's enormous Aether Star Form felt an eruption of might the moment that the Star Forging Celestial Commanders fell. The most immediate effect was watching his Fate Lines beginning to shoot up by hundreds of thousands.
The number continued to change on his stat panel until he saw an addition of more than a million fate lines from the deaths of just these three Celestials!
The 12% effect that Fate Stealer had meant he was eating up hundreds of thousands of Fate Lines every time that a being that held millions of them died, these powerful Star Forgers that had trained for hundreds of years finding all of their efforts being taken by him.
This wasn't all as another section in the stat panel that had only been getting reduced the past months actually jumped, his Skill Points increasing by over 100 from the origins of these powerful Star Forging experts!
His humongous red eyes could not help but shine with a brilliant light as he ascertained this reality, his aura becoming even more oppressive.
"Haha!"
RUMBLE!
Boisterous laughter erupted from his grotesque Aether Star Form as it shook the surrounding miles, those hearing this laugh feeling a sense of foreboding as the aura of the three Celestial Commanders had disappeared!
"Brothers!"
Commanders Verdant and Lylle released pained and shocked cries as they felt the auras of their three being they knew for years disappear, but they could not even take the time to look at the monstrous form of a Terror that had taken the three of them as they were under constant attacks themselves.
WAA!
With a glorious demeanor, the 9th Infernal Lord was actually crowned in the golden light of fate. A Fate Lord's Armament wrapping around him as he seamlessly used the Authority of Fate even better than the two Celestial Commanders he was facing!
The light of Chaos also somehow surrounded this grand aura of fate as it dealt even more damage to the two Celestials, the battle actually going on to favor the Infernal Lord as the seconds passed.
Noah glanced at this scene as he knew he could simply continue using his Authority and his armament to overwhelm the two Fate Lords until they were defeated. All three of them in the overlayed authorities knew this!
But...why should he play it like this? What if he went just a little crazy and had more fun?
RUMBLE!
His eyes closed into slits as while surrounded by three Authorities and adorning a Fate Lord's Armament, his main body that was the Infernal Lord also uttered ridiculous words.
[Aether Star Form].
…!!!
WAA!
Ridiculousness ensued as enormous tentacles covered with the aura of Aether, Chaos, Fate, Fire, and Water elements erupted out from the 9th Infernal Lord and began swallowing everything!
Commanders Verdant and Lylle were quickly wrapped in the tentacles as they directly began burning their souls to defend themselves, their areas of Authority being overtaken as another enormous form of a young Terror took shape to cover over 200 miles!
But this enormous star-sized being was different than the one that appeared first.
The colors of gold, black, purple, red, and blue were swimming around this enormous mass of moving tentacles to represent all the elements that were actively being used as when the eyes that spanned for miles on this being opened, they blazed red while adopting a star shaped golden pupil!
This wasn't all as in the back of this monstrous form, golden particles of light were forming as wings that spanned tens of miles were established in an aurora of colors and lights, giving this new Ather Star Form a majestic yet terrifying look as the wriggling masses of tentacles were attached to golden wings beautifully spanning out.
"..."
No matter if it was the attackers from the Light Expanse or the defenders of the Dark Expanse, all those watching were stumped at the scene playing out as they thought similar things!
"Oh come on…"
"What the f.u.c.k…?!"
"Are you kidding me…"
All those watching had their jaws falling to the floor as they simply could not wrap their minds at what was happening.
They...they wanted to pack their bags and go home!
They were just here to participate in a war, but who the hell was this guy who just continued to break all common sense?!
As if one star-sized monstrosity wasn't enough, Noah simply pulled out another one as in the starry space surrounding the Verittas Fortress, two new moving stars had appeared in full grandeur.
---
In the Celestial Realm, Aldrich watched on with emotionless eyes as the scene of monstrous stars appeared on the battlefield at the Verittas Fortress.
He watched when things suddenly began going wrong as the first enormous creature that resembled a young terror actually came from a being his own organization had raised, and then watched as the Commander that he appointed himself begin to attack her forces whether by her own will or someone else!
The situation had colossally crumbled down and would have made many beings falter, but not Aldrich!
Amidst all of this, the moment things began veering off track- he had focused all of his power and comprehension of a Supreme Law to focus on the single figure that seemed to be the center of this disruption.
His eyes shone with a golden l.u.s.ter as they first focused on the 200 miles long monstrous being, and then locked on when the 9th Infernal Lord took a similar form. They tried to peer behind the veils of secrecy as Aldrich used his Authority that neared 100% completion...and they were finally able to see something as he rose up with a shocked gaze for the first time in hundreds of years!
"Ridiculous…"
Yes! Using his Authority of a Supreme law that neared completion, he had actually been able to peer through multiple veils and see something that was truly ridiculous!
He used his immense power and authority as he was actually able to see the three figures that were inside the monstrous young terror that had stemmed from Crixus in a shade of gold, and the moment these Commanders were decimated, he observed their millions of Fate Lines fading away as universal laws would normally have them. But then he observed a portion of these Fate Lines- which were in the numbers of hundreds of thousands, go towards the monstrosity that had killed them!
He had to confirm this ridiculous possibility twice just to make sure he wasn't seeing an illusion, and he was met with the same scene when the 9th Infernal Lord changed into the tentacled monstrosity as well, his eyes peering through the veil seeing as he saw one of the shining Commanders fall as the scene of Fate Lines repeated itself again.
"You...you would bend the universal laws like so?! Haha! Ridiculous!"
His eyes blazed with the light of anger as he saw this, his figure beginning to flicker into particles of light as a maddened voice rang out.
"Good! Good! Let's play dirty then!"
RUMBLE!
His figure rapidly disappeared as this monstrous genius who had nearly mastered a law actually began teleporting towards a particular region in the Dark Expanse, his foresight actually showing him a dreadful scene where his enemy, the Novus Galaxy, was actually making use of his own forces as fuel to create something to stand against him!
His foresight told him to quickly move the Celestials away to stop this birth of an Abomination who seemed to not have any of the restrictions of Terrors...
Chapter 571: 8 Million!
In the starry space above the Verittas Fortress, all the attention was on the appearance of two enormous star sized forms of a being with wriggling tentacles that thrummed with the power of Aether!
I'm the eyes of the watching beings, there seemed to be a plot afoot as the forces of Celestials looked to be in disorder.
A being clad in golden armament that many beings were rubbing their eyes to confirm it was the image of the War Princess- this being was actually attacking her own forces as her golden luster was becoming bathed in blood!
At the position where the being known as Crixus the Destroyer used to be, one of the monstrous star sized Young Terrors had also appeared, the force of three Star Forging Celestial Commanders going missing there after! And now, the same monstrosity had appeared in the space where three beings with Authority were battling, this time having the addition of brilliant wings of light being attached to this moving star, a Palpatine dangerous energy constantly vibrating out of it.
Disorder in the ranks of Celestials, terribly powerful beings appearing on the battlefield. At the center of it all was a single being that continued to break all known norms, and h currently trapped two Star Forging Celestials that were actually Fate Lords within the bounds of his body!
These were genuine Fate Lords, each one having mastered more than 50% of the Law of Fate, and this meant that they had more than 5 million fate lines.
Just from a conservative estimate on the effect of the Fate Stealer ability taking away 12% of the amassed Fate Lines of these beings, that meant Noah would gain more than 600,000 Fate Lines from just a single one of them.
And this was exactly what happened as he released baleful Rays of Aether while utilizing [Masterful Aether Control] around his spiked and slimy tentacles to constrict the one known as Commander Lylle to death, this Star Forger being the first to go as he released a resplendent amount of Fate Lines towards Noah.
"Brother!"
Commander Verdant was crying out painfully as he witnessed this, never imagining that he would ever be in this precarious position when they had prepared so much!
Just what could have gone wrong? Where did everything begin to fall apart?!
No answer was waiting for him as the only reason he still kept his life was because of his mastery in the law of earth as well, the green film of light reinforcing his golden essence of fate being his saving grace as he was able to survive a few seconds longer.
But it truly was not sustainable. This was because in the constantly shrinking area Commander Verdant was in, Noah was releasing attacks from the Dark Guider skill tree along with the abilities of the Young Cthulhu and the respective skills from the Herald of Fire and Water skill trees, mixing up the attacks this being received as he was faced with constantly changing attacks.
His mental defenses further could not remain as Noah released [Madness Descension], his soul fighting strongly to keep his consciousness active as it continued to slip away from him!
"You...will never succeed…!"
Commander Verdant spat out painful last words as the golden and green light around him faded, even his laid out Authority that was canceled with the three Authorities that Noah laid out not being able to save him as his body began to be ripped apart by fearsome tentacles!
RIIIP!
Blood and gore were all that remained in a matter of seconds, Noah's main body trembling as hundreds of thousands of Fate Lines rushed towards him again.
In the Realm Dreadnaught where his second clone was holding on to the body of the maddened Grandmaster Vredral, an eerie silence permeated in the control room as well as the entire Realm Dreadnaught!
This was because Noah had spread out his energy any Celestials that were taking post within the enormous Vessel were killed, him and Vredral being the only two beings remaining in it.
"Your Fate Lords have fallen, along with three Star Forgers from the help of your first disciple."
Noah's clone spoke out as he kneeled down and placed his palm on the floor of the enormous Realm Dreadnaught, his voice continuing as his energy spread out once again.
"As much as I would love to make you watch even more, there is something else much more important that I need to be doing now. I'll see you again after a bit, Master."
Noah's second clone waved his other hand towards Vredral as his body disappeared, teleported away without his permission as the Realm Dreadnaught below the clone also began to fade away!
RUMBLE!
Waves of essence erupted out as Noah wrapped his essence around the entirety of the Vessel, warping it as he placed all of it into his Expansive Space.
"..."
Those nearby and could still have the energy to pay attention saw the disappearance of the continental-sized Realm Dreadnaught, the only thing appearing in its place being a devilishly handsome figure who could barely be discerned from a far distance.
But the eyes of the figure, of Noah's second clone- actually had an intense light as they were focusing on to a single being far across the expanse of the battlefield!
It would actually be apt to say that he was looking at three figures, as each of his bodies actually had their eyes locked on towards the three remaining Star Forging Celestial Commanders that were fighting in panic with the forces of the Verittas Fortress.
This was because the moment Noah killed the 2 Fate Lords and made his kill count of the Star Forgers 5, his Fate Lines had unbelievably shot up towards 8 million!
8 million!!!
The two Fate Lords alone had given him close to 1.5 million because of their comprehension in the Law Of Fate and having a bit over 6 million Fate Lines, the prior three Celestial Star Forgers who had not yet gained the title of Fate Lord also granting him a similar amount.
This meant that in the span of a few minutes, he had actually snatched over 3 million Fate Lines, his progression abruptly shooting over 8 million.
It was utterly ridiculous and went against every possible logic, and yet he was still able to do it!
Now, his eyes honed in on the three remaining Star Forgers as he knew if he could just have these remaining Celestials...he might just actually be able to achieve something nearly impossible!
Chapter 572: Aldrich?!
The eyes of Noah's three bodies each locked on one of the three remaining Celestial Star Forgers as he began shooting towards them!
Those on the battlefield saw the rapid movement of the two monstrous star sized tentacular creatures, as well as a single golden shining figure on a much smaller scale all begin to head towards three panicking Celestials Commanders.
Those targeted also felt the threat of death as they tried to leave behind the enemies they faced and escape, their essence burning freely as they tried to pierce through the defenses of the enemy commanders and escape!
But would such a chance be given to them?
The answer was no!
Among his three bodies, his second clone was within reach of the enemy Celestial Commander within seconds as he teleported multiple times to near the spatial coordinates. This process was much slower for the enormous Aether Star Form that his main body and first clone were adopting, their enormous bodies rumbling with power as the star sized life forms pushed aside any nearby beings with an overpowering gravitational force while barreling towards their respective targets.
WAA!
It was a scene of grandeur and shock a one could distinctly observe a star flapping its golden wings and streaking forward, any beings in its path repulsed out as they uncontrollably moved across the void of space.
The commanders of Verittas Fortress saw these humongous forms barreling towards them as even they quickly pulled back, not even wanting to be near the monstrosity that was now targeting the three Celestial Star Forging Commanders they were just fighting.
In the distance, Athena's bloody hammer smashed into another Celestial as she carried out the command she was given while reflecting on the ongoing situation, her mind rapidly trying to make sense of the unfolding situation as time passed.
At this moment, she knew that somehow, Crixus and the 9th Infernal Lord were one and the same, this truth causing her to throw away any previous possibilities she had in place as this one was too outlandish to even imagine!
The 9th Infernal Lord that she had looked at before and even had the goal of defeating...the being that had currently cut down 5 of some of the most powerful beings in the Novus Galaxy as if they were chickens- this was the same being that played the role of her Junior Brother.
As she looked at the enormous masses of star sized abominations, she wondered whether there was really a possibility to attain true and actual order with the power this being displayed!
This question was yet to be answered as the situation continued to unfold in an even crazier fashion.
Noah's second clone that had reached the already worn down Celestial Star Forging Commander released a small area of Authority under the law of fate as pure fate essence overflowed within his body, his hands layering this with the essence of chaos as he formed a terrifyingly dense blade of pure chaos and fate essence that streaked towards his target!
SHLUCK!
The defenses of this worn-out commander were shredded instantly as the blade made of pure fate and chaos essence pierced through, his clone utilizing [Masterful Aether Control] as he released Aether to completely shred apart this enemy.
His eyes shone with light as he saw the addition of hundreds of thousands more Fate Lines, his stat panel showing this number rising up and changing constantly!
Next up, the first of his enormous Aether Star Forms to reach another Star Forging Commander was the one that had golden wings of light erupting out. The many tentacles of this Aether of Terror struck out as they deflected all the coming attacks from the frantic Celestial, enormous tentacles beginning to wrap around and constrict the being thereafter as Noah deployed multiple portals of terror within the confined space to further rupture the defenses of his enemy.
RUMBLE!
Star shaking might erupted out as yet another figure was defeated, many beings looking at this as they had long since gone past shock and were simply numb at this point.
The being causing all of this shock was currently feeling even more ecstatic as with the death of this 7th Celestial Star Forger, he actually gained another half a million Fate Lines from this being that had slightly over 4 million in total themselves, and this number pushed his own Fate Lines over 9 million!
Over 90% in the law of Fate!
The more shocking thing was how this had occurred in just a single battle, with him actually jumping from slightly over 50% and now proudly standing over 90%!
He could feel his connected heartbeats as he focused on the last remaining Celestial Star Forger that was trying his best to escape, the figure of his first clone in the Aether Star Form finally reaching him as the abundant tentacles reached out towards the Celestial.
With the defeat of this remaining Celestial Star Forger, he would be just a few hundred thousand Fate Lines away from completely comprehending a Universal Law, and a Supreme One at that!
The baleful tentacles filled with Aether thundered forth to clasp onto this Celestial, Noah already feeling this being falling into his hands when suddenly, there was a flash of gold.
Yes! Just a simple and pure flash of gold.
SHAA!
But this flash of gold arrived with an immensely powerful and domineering aura, an aura that overwhelmed any beings currently on the battlefield!
It was an aura filled with a shining light of coldness, a light that seemed to be filled with madness.
This single appearance of light thundered down in a dramatic fashion as it brought with it golden discs of light that were tens of miles in diameter, these discs multiplying numerous times as they easily went through the baleful tentacles of Noah's Aether Star Form clone, the tentacles never reached their intended target!
…!
SAA! SAA! SAA!
Like a knife passing through butter, these enormous gold discs of light miles long in diameter appeared to surround the over 200 miles long Young Cthulhu, descending unto him in but an instant as they shredded through all defenses as if they did not exist! These powerful discs of light were filled with an intense power and Authority, power at the level that Noah's clone currently had not reached as they dug into the enormous body and shredded it apart like nothing.
BOOM!
These sharply spinning golden discs actually located the core of the clone instantly, their domineering light crushing everything around it as Noah's first clone became a cut mass of tentacles, the entire body exploding into a shower of blood thereafter!
…
Silence reigned in the surrounding space as it was not shock or horror that many beings felt at this moment...just simply blankness.
WAA!
A moment later, the sharp golden discs disappeared as light particles came together and formed into the shape of a single man.
He appeared in front of the Celestial Star Forging Commander that was trying to run away from Noah's first clone, his appearance taking the eyes of every being on the battlefield.
Hair that seemed to be a mixture of white and gold. Eyes that shone with a powerful light of genius and madness which drew everything in. An expression that was normally calm and peaceful, yet currently it seemed to contain boundless wrath as it stared at Noah's main body far in the distance!
RUMBLE!
A domineering air that caused the origins of many beings to tremble spread out across the silent battlefield as the Founder of the Celestials, Aldrich- unexpectedly and shockingly made his appearance for the first time since the beginning of the Last War.
His first action was a single attack that utterly decimated a creature that had seemed immensely strong to all those watching the previous battle, a clone of Noah's being taken out the moment that Aldrich arrived!
His eyes that actually shone with a light of wrath focused on a single figure as the dynamic of the Last War were forever changed, entering into a stage nobody had expected!
Chapter 573: Are you sure? Now?
Chapter 573: Are you sure? Now?
Many times throughout history, events that are otherwise uncontrollable occur.
When such events occur, all that someone can control is how they react to them!
Currently, an unexpected and uncontrollable event where the Founder of Celestials, Aldrich, had actually appeared on the battlefield at the Verittas Fortress occurred. His entrance was a grand one that announced his power for all to see, releasing a single attack that pulverized a creature that had given the image of terror to all those watching.
Many beings were still in a state of shock as not a single figure moved the second after Aldrich's arrival. The eyes of this being were currently locked on to two figures- the golden winged Aether Star Form that was Noah's main body, as well as the devilishly handsome second clone that was standing with a cold expression while staring back!
The man he locked eyes on with an unwilling expression was a genuine expert at the Nebula Realm, a realm where one forged numerous stars within their Origin as they expanded into a Nebula!
Such a realm had varying levels of power, where a new expert that had just broken through could be defeated with a being that had been in the same Nebula Rank with a single move- just as long as they had been cultivating in that realm for many more years.
So even on the same level, there could be huge gaps in strength as one being could only have 3 Stars forged within their Origin, while an older one could have 20 Stars that were backing their strength!
This realm made it so that anyone ranked lower could not even begin imagining the possibility of matching those in the Nebula Realm, and yet now...Noah was looking at such a being with an unwilling expression. His eyes were cold as many thoughts came and went, multiple options opening themselves up to him as to what path he could take as he saw Aldrich raise his hand.
RUMBLE!
The first attack of this being had decimated his first clone, and he now made a move to release another without so much so as a word!
"Brother. Please, stop."
WAA!
It was at this moment though, that a tired voice rang out across the expanse of space, an aged figure materializing from particles of light not too far from Aldrich!
This newly appearing being did not release any ounce of energy, yet the eyes of Aldrich that locked onto him had their light of wrath and madness slightly dim as his raised hand came down, his gaze reluctantly shifting entirely to this new being.
"You...abandoning me for so long and only appearing to get in my way again?"
Aldrich's cold voice rang out as shockingly, another being at the Nebula Realm descended! This time, it was the third Founder that had just returned from seeking out a Terror in the Letalis Expanse, a tired being that released an expression of helplessness and sorrow anytime you looked at him.
RUMBLE!
But this wasn't all as a second later, multiple more auras at the Nebula Realm descended madly, many lower-ranked being losing consciousness and beginning to float in the expanse of space as others nearly felt like their bodies were folding within themselves!
The rarest beings in the Novus Galaxy, those that stood at the highest realm of power that anybody had achieved in this galaxy- five had shockingly appeared in this one central location.
The newly appearing figures were led by an astonishingly gorgeous woman, brilliantly shining white hair and blue eyes making her stand out like a sore thumb as she wore a white robe. She appeared right in front of the 200 miles long Aether Star Form of Noah's main body, her gaze cold as she stared at Aldrich.
Near her, the two other figures had red and black crowns above their heads as their bodies outlandishly and freely released their power at the Nebula Realm. If someone knowledgeable looked at the newly appearing figures, they would be able to ascertain with stupor that it was the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infernal Lords!
The moment that Aldrich made his appearance on the battlefield, their figures came a second behind the third Founder Fritz. Their gazes were filled with coldness as they stared at Aldrich, a unique sense of strength and oppression spreading out at this moment.
Aldrich took in all of these changes as he looked away from his old friend and towards the three most powerful Infernal Lords that were now protecting a particular figure, his eyes regaining the light of apathy as the wrath and madness were hidden within!
"I see."
RUMBLE!
He said these words as his body began to erupt with power, a pillar of golden light erupting and shooting out around him in a cylindrical manner.
"So this is the new puppet."
WAA!
Each of his words only caused a spike in the aura he released as it caused any nearby beings to madly begin to run away, this aura so overpowering that they felt their souls would be injured if they remained close by!
As he was faced with four Nebula Realm experts, Alrich actually didn't back down as his eyes blazed with strength!
"Are you sure you want to do this now?"
"..."
At this time, the crystal clear voice coming from the 1st Infernal Lord rang out, her head turning to the side as she asked in a quizzical manner while staring towards Aldrich.
"Brother."
In front of him, the Third Founder Fritz called out towards him again as all he received were cold eyes, a stand-off occurring in the battlefield near the Verittas Fortress as these shocking figures of power remained still!
Aldrich's eyes honed in towards each of these beings as he measured his options, once again feeling the unfairness of it all as his heart strengthened even more.
WAA!
His power began to retract as the enormous cylinder of golden light reduced, his voice ringing out as he locked eyes with the being closest to him.
"Out of everything, your cowardice is still what stands out the most, Brother."
Fritz's shoulders shook at these words, a sorrowful expression appearing on his face as he looked towards Aldrich who had begun moving his fingers towards the remaining Star Forging Celestial behind him and the many Celestials still remaining across the battlefield, sparks of golden light appearing on their bodies.
When Noah saw these sparks of light appearing on Celestials, his second clone teleported to a bloodstained Athena who was looking forth with a troubled expression as he placed his hands on her, his essence beginning to cover her head to toe in case this energy that Aldrich released even came near her.
The Founder only glanced at this change briefly as his eyes locked on with the figure of Athena for less than a second, seemingly choosing that this being was well below his required attention for now as he continued.
"Four against one, and you still believe you are in the right."
Aldrich's voice now addressed the four Nebula Realm being opposing him as a golden light began to appear on the bodies of the Celestials he pointed to, the shocking scenes continuing one after another in the starry expanse near the Verittas Fortress.
Chapter 574: So Close!
As Aldrich was faced with four beings in the same realm as him, he actually weighed his options as he came to the truth that he had more than a 60% chance of winning if he actually faced all these beings at once.
But he really did not like this percentage, as it involved something that was extremely important to him! It was his life's work, and he did not wish to risk it for a 60% chance!
It was the reason why he initiated the Last War, with the prize actually being nearly within his grasp as when he achieved it, he would have a 100% assurance of winning against any beings in the Novus Galaxy, no matter what power they held.
He was so close, that it seemed just a few days or weeks was all he needed!
Even as he stared at the anomaly that he rushed over here to nip in the bud, the being he considered a puppet in a true sense as he observed how so many natural laws were bent to allow him to actually rapidly advance in the law of fate- this being was the biggest consideration at this moment as he weighed the possibilities.
To solve this problem and not allow this being to gain any more power, he arrived to save the last Star Forging Celestial Commanders, and now his hands were moving with brilliant light that covered the remaining hundreds of thousands of Celestials, their bodies beginning to disappear from the battlefield!
He would not give this creature any more fuel to increase his strength, knowing that he needed very little time to achieve his goal of 100% in the Law of Fate. When that time came, it would not matter what puppet She was trying to raise, nor which beings stood in his way.
Aldrich's apathetic eyes looked towards one of the only beings he considered a brother as all the Celestials around the Verittas Fortress began to be teleported away.
Before he carried out his plans, before he…
Well, before he did what he needed to do, he wanted to look at the face of his brothers and tell them how wrong they were, how things could have gone much differently! But this only seemed like a pipe dream as his eyes only showed apathy, his gaze moving from Fritz and towards the 9th Infernal Lord who was surrounded by three Nebula Realm creatures.
At this moment, he was actually very angry! Can you imagine putting in enormous hard work over more than a thousand years, striving to slowly comprehend a Supreme Law? Then one day, you watch as someone makes more progress in this law in a matter of minutes than you did in hundreds of years!
It was stifling, wrath-inducing, and just showed the unfairness of it all!
"You just wait for me, Puppet. This will not go on for much longer."
His words carried enormous wrath and foreboding as they thundered towards Noah, the eyes of the Founder landing on Fritz one last time before his body began to be covered with brilliant particles of light that then disappeared!
Aldrich, the Star Forging expert he came to save, and all the remaining hundreds of thousands of Celestials...all disappeared!
RUMBLE!
Noah continued to stare at this scene as he canceled his Aether Star Form, his mountainous body beginning to reduce in size as crackles of Aether spread out.
His eyes went towards the Stat Panel that had the number 9,139,376 next to his number of Fate Lines as he calmed his mind from the euphoria of power and the recent events of the battle.
He was very close! So close that he felt it was all within his grasp, but Aldrich had seen something and appeared to prevent him just before he could achieve it!
"Noah...bring me over there for a bit."
At this time, he received a telepathic message from a being far away from this battle- he received word from Old Man Inuit who was in the past Ancient Blood World that was integrated into the Infinite Realm and also currently watching the scenes of the battle.
Noah's essence connected to his Infinite Realm with the words of Inuit as he stared at the being called Fritz who still floated in the void of space and looked towards the position where Aldrich had disappeared.
RUMBLE!
Waves of essence fluctuated out a second later as Noah teleported Old Man Inuit over, the aged being giving Noah a nod of thankfulness as he then floated towards a lost brother of his with a shaking heart!
"Fritz…!"
Old Man Inuit called out to this being that had just resurfaced for the first time in hundreds of years, his gaze melancholic as Fritz turned towards him with a sorrowful expression.
When these two beings looked at each other, a myriad of emotions sprung out, but the strongest one was the shame and helplessness that Fritz was releasing as he could barely meet the eyes of Old Man Inuit!
This was because he knew his brother had been confined by Aldrich this entire time, and he had not moved anytime during the last hundreds of years to save him.
He knew it was helpless and could never succeed escaping from Aldrich in one piece if he tried, so he went roaming around for answers that he never received, and now here he was hundreds of years later!
It was an emotional scene with two old friends meeting, and Noah turned his eyes away from this as he looked at the three Infernal Lords that had arrived just in time.
"I had considered the possibility of Aldrich moving if ever he saw something about you, never did I think he would be so bold though."
The sonorous voice of the 1st Infernal Lord rang out as she turned towards him with a smile.
Noah looked towards her and to the battlefield that only had the shocked forces of the defenders of Verittas Fortress remaining, glancing towards his own subordinates that were looking around in dissatisfaction for having their battles cut short.
He looked at a disgruntled Emperor Penguin who was facing a Special Existence like the Three-Eyed Fate Child blow to blow before he was teleported away, to the forces of Vampyres that had the curvaceous Elena who was glancing towards him with a dangerous reverent expression.
He glanced at his second clone that was standing beside a bloodstained Athena, the being that was effectively the only remaining Celestial on this battlefield. He looked at all of these scenes and reflected over the past events as he heard the sweet voice of the 1st Infernal Lord ring out once more!
"It seems that a conclusion of this Last War is coming faster than many of us expected~"
"..."
…!
Silence overtook the surroundings and the 1st Infernal Lord casually voiced out a shocking reality, the far-reaching effects of this last battle at the Verittas Fortress only beginning to unravel at this moment!
Chapter 575: Useless? Just Dispose!
In a region of the Light Expanse near the border it shared with the Dark Expanse, Aldrich reappeared with the brilliance of light as hundreds of thousands of figures were teleported at the same location thereafter
This being at the Nebula Realm had carried out a mass teleportation of hundreds of thousands of beings to bring them countless miles away from the Verittas Fortress, the spatial movement bringing them into a region in the Light Expanse as the many Celestials looked towards the Founder with reverence!
They had just faced a colossal loss where 90% of their Star Forging Commanders were destroyed, where only a single one remained alive as it was only because the Founder had arrived in time to save him.
The masses of Celestials that had just participated in the battle at the Verittas Fortress felt a sense of shame and helplessness as they thought back to the past events, their eyes not being able to lock with the powerful being that saved them as they waited for his commands!
Aldrich was looking at all these beings he had teleported as his gaze landed on the remaining Star Forging Celestial of this force, thinking back at how when the abomination who could bend universal laws killed other beings of this level, he actually absorbed hundreds of thousands of Fate Lines every time.
This was such a ridiculous and unfair concept that would quickly create a monster capable of mastering a universal law in a short period of time!
But it was something that Aldrich knew was only happening because his enemy was behind it, this whole event serving as another reminder to him that in order to win against an enemy no being would dare face, he had to think outside the box and be prepared to do things that very few beings could even begin to imagine.
Using his vast experience and Authority in the law of fate, and the knowledge he had just uncovered- he was able to come to the conclusion that the anomaly that was the 9th Infernal Lord would actually just continue growing stronger and amassing more Fate Lines the more Celestials he faced, the more that this war carried on!
As he came to this conclusion...the answer he faced was to simply...end it!
This was the shocking conclusion he had arrived at the moment he saw the creature that could rapidly absorb hundreds of thousands of Fate Lines, knowing that any Celestial that fell in his hands would put him all that closer to completely comprehending a universal law, and then this creature would be used to oppose him from ever achieving his goals.
Thus, Aldrich moved quickly as he relayed his commands to the many Celestial Commanders still spread out across the Dark Expanse and even those still moving within their Realm Dreadnaughts or Prime Warships to actually begin retreating!
It was a shocking and abrupt move, but one of extreme precision as it identified the biggest problem the Founder faced at this moment, and he moved to instantly cut off the source of this problem as the fuel that was being fed to the 9th Infernal Lord- the Celestials that were spread out across the Dark Expanse...were all being called back.
At the same time, Aldrich knew that the less than 100,000 Fate Lines that he required before completely comprehending a universal law would be rising up much slower, so he released another command to recoup his losses and even increase his progress further. But the command he relayed was an extremely cold one that even sent shivers to the commanders that received it.
"The conquered planets you are retreating from, the strongholds you have taken over...destroy them all. Decimate everything."
RUMBLE!
Waves of gold erupted out at this command that would affect the lives of hundreds of billions, yet Aldrich gave it without so much as a second thought as he was currently being driven into a corner!
He ignored the masses of celestials around him as he closed his eyes and thought,
'Do not blame me for being cruel. I had simply forgotten just how unfair of an enemy I faced, and I needed this reminder to be more resolute.'
He spoke to no one as his thoughts moved, but he relayed terrible commands to his forces that he telling to retreat, passing down the command for them to destroy the stars they had captured as the original plan of taking over the Dark Expanse and slowly collecting Fate Lines over time was thrown away, Aldrich simply choosing to scoop whatever benefits remained by directly destroying the fates of the billions that his forces had taken over!
It would not be as fruitful as the steering of fate over time, but at this juncture where he only needed less than a hundred thousand Fate Lines to begin going towards his goal, it would be enough!
WAAA!
His command shook the hearts of the commanders that heard it, but they began carrying it out without any hesitation as cruelty never before enacted on innocent civilians and conquered forces that were not fighting anymore began taking place.
At this moment, Aldrich opened his eyes to see hundreds of Fate Lines shimmering down towards him as this cruelty began on multiple conquered fonts of the Dark Expanse, his gaze then turning to the Celestials he had teleported away from the Verittas Fortress.
"Founder…"
The remaining Star Forging Celestial he had saved was bowing down shamefully as his shoulders shook, showing reverence to Aldrich as he also could not look up as he was ashamed at their performance and the loss of so many forces in this battle.
Aldrich looked at this Celestial and the hundreds of thousands more around him as his thoughts focused on these beings once more.
This force of beings that he raised was actually being used against him by his enemy in order to create an abomination to match him, and he could not even deploy them to do their jobs anymore! Deploying any more Celestials meant that a being such as the 9th Infernal Lord would only continue to amass more Fate Lines and grow stronger, so the force he worked hard to create and raise over centuries was actually rendered useless!
'Haha! I see why Fritz became disillusioned and left me, you truly are a terrifying enemy!'
The light of madness swam in Aldrich's apathetic eyes that now landed on the hundreds of thousands of beings he could not even use anymore. On the beings that he now considered useless, he spoke but a single command as they looked towards him with reverence and hope.
"Die."
RUMBLE!
Chapter 576: An End!
"Die."
It was a single command.
A single command which perplexed all the forces of Celestials that just battled at the Verittas Fortress, as it was not something any of them expected to hear from their Founder as he glanced towards them.
Many of them titled their heads to see if they heard correctly, but then their eyes began shaking as from the figure of Aldrich that they feared to even look at for too long, a golden light had begun to swiftly permeate from him!
This light caused their hearts to palpate as it did not seem warm or calming, but it held a cruel glimmer which shook them to their very cores!
"What.."
"This…!
"No!"
Pandemonium ensued as those who were covered by this light began to burn in body and in origin, screeching shouts resounding out as an unbelievable sight occurred in this nondescript region in the Light Expanse where Aldrich had teleported the Celestials who were fighting at the Verittas Fortress.
RUMBLE!
Aldrich's hand reached out as he clasped onto the neck of the remaining Star Forging Celestial that was about to fall into the hands of the 9th Infernal Lord, the shocked look of horror on the Celestial's eyes not making Aldrich falter one bit!
"Founder...Huk!"
His hand clasped tighter as he used an Authority about to near completion to decimate the forces of Celestials he just saved, those in the World Realm or below not being able to last even a second as their bodies burned flames of gold, screams resounding across the region they were in.
Not a single Celestial could escape as his Authority spread out to cover all the nearby space, many only being able to speak their grievances for a single second before they perished!
"Why…!"
"No!"
In the midst of all of this, Aldrich's eyes remained impassive as he watched the Star Forging Celestial Commander in his hands begin to fade away, a shocking sight displaying itself all around the tens of miles area as hundreds of thousands of Celestials had their lives extinguished.
"There is no underlying reason, your uses have just run out."
Aldrich spoke out slowly as there was not a single soul to answer him, only golden flames remaining in the surrounding miles that signified the lives of Celestials he had raised for years. Numerous Fate Lines descended down at this juncture as the apathetic eyes of Aldrich glanced at the ashes around him.
"Do not blame me for what I am about to do to the creatures dwelling in this little cage of yours. You have simply pushed me too much."
His cold voice rang out again as his figure carried out another long distance teleportation, disappearing from this area that bordered the Dark Expanse as he went towards a different location.
At this same time, the commands he released to the other Celestial Legions to destroy the location in the Dark Expanse they occupied were being carried out with extreme cruelty, the Celestials themselves not knowing that hundreds of thousands of beings just like them were just decimated by their Founder!
As they began destroying the lives of many in the Dark Expanse, they had no idea what fate awaited for them as they made their return to a place they called home!
The events about to occur next...were simply too horrendous, and the deaths would be simply too many. It was a cruel and sad time period, and one that would be remembered throughout history…
---
In the location above the Verittas Fortress, Noah and the other Commanders began receiving news from many locations that were monitoring the occupied strongholds of the Dark Expanse by Celestials.
The news they received was of shocking cruelty, of numerous stars beginning to be destroyed as Celestials could be seen retreating!
"This…!"
"Monsters!"
Many beings growled out in pained fury as they heard this, as too many of them had connections to these places, where some soldiers even had their families still living in strongholds occupied by Celestials! Now, they were hearing that they would not even get the chance to fight back for them, that the Celestials had begun destroying stars using their World Commanders or Prime Warships, if not the more horrendous Realm Dreadnaughts.
"Snow Field Stronghold...has been destroyed!"
"The Bronze Star Cluster is…!"
Numerous shocking news rang out as the many forces in the Dark Expanse began to move and react to these news, Noah turning towards the 1st Infernal Lord that had begun speaking with a cold tone.
"It seems Aldrich is adopting drastic measures. Go, save all those that you can."
Noah's figure disappeared even before the words of the 1st Infernal Lord could finish as he teleported to the location that his identity as Crixus had a role in helping occupy, his main body appearing at the Witches Layer where three stars were rotating the last time he was here.
Now, only two stars remained as one had already been targeted by a Prime Warship, its core blasted by destructive lasers as the billions within it were wiped away!
"Wretches!"
RUMBLE!
Noah moved with a cold expression as his eyes blazed red, his figure targeting the three Prime Warships that were now aiming their weapons towards the other two remaining stars as he cast Aether Star Form and barreled towards these vessels in an instant, smashing into them and destroying all those within as he moved to save the remaining two planets.
WAA!
Baleful Aether and many other skills were employed as he moved to wipe out any of the remaining Celestials nearby, moving fast to save as many beings as he could.
As his eyes watched the already shattered star, he felt pangs of guilt for the billions lost as it was through his identity as Crixus that this Witches Layer was taken over, but never did he expect for Aldrich to command his forces to destroy conquered areas after he appeared!
RUMBLE!
Noah continued to move as he was among the many beings across the Dark Expanse that moved angrily to stop the injustice and blatant genocide currently being carried out by retreating Celestials, the fates of many creatures being affected this day as chaos freely spread out unbound!
It would be a long, painful, and sad day for many to live through, but it signified the nearing of the end of something that would have carried on for years.
If it had followed the normal route, the Last War would have lasted for a much longer period of time, with the possibility of trillions facing their deaths.
But now, less than even a month after the Last War began, the Celestials were already retreating while carrying out horrendous actions.
Whether it was through the law of ever-increasing chaos and disorder.
Or through the steering of the river of fate.
Or through the karma sowed by the multitude of creatures.
An end was coming, and a new beginning would soon arise.
Chapter 577: The Inquisitor, Athena I
A few hours had passed since the Celestials began their retreat while carrying out horrendous actions.
During this time, Noah and the others had moved to save all they could, even the Nebula Realm Infernal Lord and the recently appearing Fritz lending their hand!
But when all was said and done, billions of lives were still lost on this day as numerous stars faced complete destruction. It was a sad day, but it also marked the beginning of something new as all Celestial forces effectively retreated out of the Dark Expanse, leaving many beings to wonder where exactly things would go from here.
Noah's figure flashed back to the Verittas Fortress as he glanced at the starry expanse of space where many things had occurred, his mind receiving a message from the 1st Infernal Lord as he looked after his forces in the area.
"Aldrich must have seen your genius methods of advancements and pulled back his forces because of it, choosing the route of stumping your growth while he completes his comprehension in a Supreme Law."
The words of the 1st Infernal Lord rang out in his mind first, with her figure materializing beside him thereafter as she continued to speak.
"But...fate continues to move where it wishes, and the actions of a single being will not stop it."
Even during this situation of immense loss of lives that occurred today, the 1st Infernal Lord smiled as she continued.
"You recall when I gathered all the Infernal Lord and gave out the commands to hold captive the enemy Commanders they faced? A grand present is waiting for you in the Fourth Infernal Realm when you have the time."
"...!"
Noah turned towards this unique existence as he reigned in his emotions, seeing that the gathering of Fate Lines might actually be continuing with a much smoother method even after Aldrich interfered and initiated an unexpected move that still had its effects spreading out even now!
Noah nodded towards the 1st Infernal Lord as he began sending messages to his subordinates, sensing that huge things would be occurring in the next few days as he had to prepare diligently.
"I'll finish a few things here and then make my way over."
He looked towards the smiling Infernal Lord as he said this, seeing her expression shine even brighter as she began to disappear into particles of light.
The space around the Verittas Fortress regained some quietness as figures moved here and there, Noah's subordinates beginning to disappear as his Infernal Legion also began to move back towards the Doorway leading to the 2nd Infernal Realm.
The Commanders of the Dark Expanse continued to busily move as Old Man Inuit worked with Vladivostok and the Grand Mage Edrusim to stabilize the chaotic situation, Noah not needed to attend to any of these things as he went on to conclude events of his own before the next stage was set!
His forces disappeared one after another as they returned to his Infinite Realm, the gaze of his main body landing on his remaining clone who had gone to protect Athena when Aldrich appeared, those two figures also disappearing as they were sent to the Infinite Realm.
He left the battlefield at the Verittas Fortress for the last time himself as he teleported into the radiant Infinite Realm, this time appearing above the wide seas that used to be in his home world.
The unique aesthetics of the Infinite Realm that was vibrant with the essence of all sorts of laws brought in a calming effect, but the figures currently populating the skies above the wide blue seas had varying expressions.
Noah glanced at the beings that he had teleported in this area as they ranged from Harbingers of Sin to the Beasts of the Infinite Realm, with the addition of a figure imprisoned in a cage made of Aether and a lone Athena that floated in the skies with a difficult to read expression.
All of them were above the beautiful blue seas, an enormous vessel arising below them as the figures of Atlanteans and Merfolk rose to the surface, their gazes all locking towards the two new figures of Grandmaster Vredral and Athena!
Vredral was the being imprisoned in the cage of Aether, his mouth snapped shut as the baleful essence restricted him from even speaking a word. All he could do was send murderous glares toward the creatures around him.
Noah looked at all these beings as he raised his hand, his voice resonating out clearly to every single being here.
"We have advanced much, those we labeled as enemies being stopped in their tracks as they even retreated today."
Yes! He and his forces had moved forward with their goals as they opposed Celestials, being largely successful so far as now all that remained was a final battle!
"Some of you faced varying levels of pain from Celestials, with a few holding very personal grudges as things that were very important were taken away from you."
The gazes of the Kraken, remaining Calamities of the Sea, and the Ocean Master that had appeared from the sea below on the expansive vessel all shook at these words as they continued to listen.
"A few months ago, multiple figures boarded a Prime Warship as they appeared above the Lost World. These two...are the only ones remaining alive at this moment."
Noah pointed towards the caged Vredral as well as the figure of Athena who stood with his clone, his voice continuing to ring out.
"When it comes to revenge for the lives lost and for the destruction of the Lost World, we have reaped the lives of many Celestials! The ones standing before you today are the principal figures that were directly involved, but there are also intricacies behind the scenes that created for the way that events occurred on that day!"
He waved his hands as he said this, causing the appearance of an illusory screen that began relaying the truth behind many events, starting with the similar scenes he had shown Athena not too long ago as he narrated the hidden history that very few were privy to!
He was set on coming up with a good conclusion to the being that had helped to set in motion many of the events that occurred so far, the fate of Athena being the major thing to be decided on the meeting here today!
Chapter 578: The Inquisitor, Athena II
An entire hour passed as those around Noah learned a great deal about how the Celestials used to operate behind the scenes, coming to know of the reasoning they used to destroy many worlds as well as some of the ways they recruited their disciples.
The major thing was for them to understand Vredral and Athena, the beings they had come to know in the past few months as Noah moved with them using his identity as a Celestial!
After the hidden truth and histories were laid out with the inhabitants of the destroyed Lost World understanding everything fully, Noah looked towards them as he asked.
"You know the past history, and you have lived the future. What do you all wish to do?"
"..."
---
An eerie silence descended upon the gorgeous environment of the Infinite Realm where a few powerful figures were clustered.
Athena's eyes glanced towards all of these beings as her heart actually felt at peace, hearing the words of the being she knew as Crixus that caused this silence to descend.
When she saw her own life history playing out in front of her, she had gazed towards this being as he was the reason her heart had grown calm- and it was because she confirmed that there really was something in the heart of this Junior Brother that was forcing himself to act coldly towards her the past few days!
A person that did not care would not have bothered to explain or justify things to his own subordinates, but Crixus went to great lengths to show the truth to them before he asked them what they wished!
Athena looked at the beings that she had destroyed the World of as even in the calmness, her eyes shook. This was because she still remembered carrying out those actions, and even if she used the excuse of being deceived by Celestials, she was still the one to ultimately push the button that released the destructive lasers.
Even though Grandmaster Vredral was right there beside her on that ship powering it with his Domain Expansion Realm energy, it was still her mission that she completed! Thus, her heart was at peace as she prepared for the actions that the inhabitants of this destroyed world would take, even though it seemed her Junior Brother was actually going out of his way to protect her!
The silence ended when a single miniaturized Calamity of the Sea moved forward.
It was the one holding the Sin of Wrath, the being who was closest to the Lost World as he heard its last few words when it fell! The Kraken moved towards the crazed figure of Grandmaster Vredral who was contained in the cage of Aether.
"Master, may I…?"
The Kraken voiced out as Noah waved his hands, the cage of Aether disappearing as Vredral regained control of his body and screamed out.
"You all will peris- Huk!"
His words were stopped short as the tentacles of the World Rank Kraken wrapped around him, his power still at the Domain Rank this entire time not being able to do a single thing as he felt his body constricted and his bones begin to break!
CRUNCH!
The Kraken did not even give Vredral any time to release any last words or curses, using its powerful strength to actually crush the body of this being instantly!
The Ocean Master and other inhabitants of the Lost World looked at this scene as their hearts became lighter, the eyes of many moving towards the figure of the War Princess they had seen move with their Master, and also the being that played a crucial role in the last battle at the Verittas Fortress.
The Kraken also floated towards her as his red eyes looked into hers deeply, as if trying to sense something or discern a deeper meaning!
"Even though this woman was brainwashed at a young age and deceived by the Celestials, she is still responsible for what happened! But...we are not cruel like our enemies, so I will speak out on behalf of the inhabitants of the Lost World when I say this."
The gaze of the Kraken who was the most powerful being from the Lost World shone with splendor as he finished his words.
"So long as she continues to use her strength to work with us in order to change actions that she and many other Celestials have carried out over the last hundreds of years...she can earn forgiveness!"
RUMBLE!
Invisible waves of fate spread out at these words, Athena looking up to the Kraken and then towards Noah as her eyes shook.
…!
Many of the beings looked towards each other as some held nodding expressions while others were impassive. The Emperor Penguin shook its beak as its beady eyes glanced at everyone with disdain, its gaze seemingly looking down on everyone here as if it knew a larger truth that many of them were not privy to!
Noah nodded at the words of the Kraken as he waved his hands and began sending out commands once more. If one was really paying attention, they would be able to notice the heavy weight lifting off his shoulders at this moment.
"Very well. I will send out word later for the role this being with Noble Fate will continue to play in the future."
Noah looked towards Athena as he said this, his words continuing as he spoke to his subordinates.
"Continue training and prepare, as it looks like the final fight is coming soon. Though it seems that many of you will not be able to participate in it…"
Noah's words trailed off as his subordinates nodded, many of them beginning to move out as they sought the Time Space or a specific Law Space for them to train in while using their loot they obtained from the recent battle!
The Atlanteans and Merfolk nodded appreciatively towards Noah as their vessel returned to the sea below, the Kraken and other Harbingers looking towards Athena before they moved out as well.
Above the beautiful blue sea, all that was left were the two figures of Athena and Noah's main body, his clone returning to the Time Space to continue training as the time drew closer!
The voice of Athena rang out at this time. It seemed to be filled with complicated emotions as her expression held a gaze of hopefulness and loss at the same time. She was extremely grateful for the kindness that the inhabitants of the Lost World showed, as she knew they were well within their rights to even demand her death from their Master. But they chose a different path!
"Thank you...Junior Brother."
Noah heard this voice that seemed to have many emotions in it as he nodded, looking out across the expansive blue seas around them as his mind went over his own thoughts multiple times.
"The...the places affected by the Celestials are many, and even if this war ends in your favor, they will require the help of powerful beings to re-establish order."
Athena continued to speak with slight hesitation as she glanced at the back of her Junior Brother, regaining the valiancy of the past War Princess as she continued.
"I will stay true to my aim and stand forth to establish order...and I would like your assistance again if it is possible, Junior Brother."
Athena said these words with conviction as her figure straightened, choosing to speak what she felt as even if her relationship with this being would not go back to how it was just a few weeks ago, she would still move and try her best to establish something like it as she aimed to achieve the goal of Order she had this entire time!
Noah nodded as he stopped staring out into the blue seas, his figure glancing towards Athena as he went towards her.
When it came to this War Princess, there were a myriad of conflicting feelings as Noah had tried to separate anything he felt while thinking back to his subordinates from the Lost World in the past weeks. When one thought about their relationship, it began on a lie, and was built on top of the blood of many beings!
He came close to her as he thought about these things, his eyes turning red as his mouth opened and his pristine fangs protruded once more. He turned her shaking head aside as his fangs sunk in, using his authority as the Vampyre Progenitor to upgrade the bloodline of a normal Vampyre that he granted her before into one of a Royal Vampyre!
"Ahhn~"
Athena voiced out as her body convulsed, Noah moving away from her as she began to release a more powerful aura. She clutched her neck as she looked towards Noah and spoke.
"Junior Brother, is there still a chance…"
Her words wandered off as she felt the new power coursing through her, Noah glancing at the wide blue seas once more as he replied honestly.
"I don't know."
Yes! He did not know!
He thought back to his relationship with Adelaide and Barbatos, even Elizabeth who still resided and looked after the Blessed Empire under Steel Mikhail. All of these women that he surrounded himself with, even though he had connections with them, he either found himself spending very little time with or even not seeing them completely in the case of Elizabeth.
When it came to Athena who had actually spent the most time with as much of the past months were sparring and moving with her with his identity as Crixus, he was conflicted even more because of her identity, and wanting to stay true to what he promised the inhabitants of the Lost World!
Now that all of it was resolved, he was asking himself whether it would do him any good to start something again out of this relationship that began on a completely wrong note. Even if he did, would it be any different from what he had with the women he surrounded himself with now?
As he continued to advance to greater and higher levels, he had of course continued to notice the distinct changes with the people he surrounded himself with. In the case of Barbatos, the wild and unruly Necromancer had long ago stopped calling him Little Fish, where Noah felt a gap being created and widening every time he continued to elevate himself onto higher stages, and this wasn't just in terms of upgrading through Ranks.
Even the docile Adelaide began to look at him with a light of reverence aside from the infatuation, his continued advancement into greater heights creating a sense of loneliness even when surrounded by many beings that loved him!
This was an extremely unique feeling that he did not know how to explain!
If he had told his past self that he would feel a sense of loneliness even when surrounded by the most beautiful beings, he would have laughed and called it ridiculous, but he was actually feeling this emotion for the past weeks.
He continued to stand alone atop an extremely heavy pedestal that now bore the weight of multiple worlds that had fused into a realm, where he himself did not know where his journey would ultimately lead.
He loved the feeling of power and experiencing brand new skills and skill trees, exploring wondrous locations and lands he would never even dream of before, but he still could not figure out how to erase this feeling where something seemed to be missing in his connections.
This was why he replied that he did not know.
But when Athena heard these words, her eyes brightened up as her valiant aura visibly erupted out even more as she seemed to make a new goal, nodding as she heard the words of Noah ring out once more.
"Get familiar with the Infinite Realm first before anything else, and prepare to move out to lead if I send the word. After all, you are still the War Princess who is uniquely fit to lead because of your ability."
Noah said this as he prepared to finish off a few more things before he went to the Fourth Infernal Realm to most likely achieve complete comprehension in a Supreme Law, where things could go in many directions thereafter as they would permanently change the state of the Novus Galaxy.
---
Within the next hour, a grand announcement was made to the respective Commanders under Noah- beings like Elena, Steel Mikhail, Kraken, and many others that oversaw and led large forces or regions in the Infinite Realm. All of these beings received the message that the War Princess seeking order in the Novus Galaxy would take on a similar position as them as she used her unique ability created for War to lead some of Noah's forces, a new commander coming into their ranks!
Something that would not be known until much later was how the title of this being who was now known as the War Princess would change in the future as she went on to carry out her goals and ideals.
The identity of this being that used to be a Celestial would be stripped away as she would later come to be known as the Inquisitor!
The Inquisitor, Athena!
Chapter 579: Racing to 100%!
While carrying many thoughts and emotions, Noah decided to forge towards the path he was following as he spent some time to resolve the issue of Athena and get her up to speed on all the wondrous things in the Infinite Realm.
After that, he disappeared from the Infinite Realm just as quickly as he had arrived, heading towards the Fourth Realm of Hell as he knew that time was a factor in what was to come!
While he did this, he checked all the things he had gained in the recent battle aside from the implosion of Fate Lines. The next best thing was the Skill Points, where the ability [Origin Conversion: Skill Point Absorption] shined for the first time as he actually obtained 354 Skill Points from the 7 Star Forgers he had taken down.
This meant he had recovered all the skill points he used to obtain the skill, and had now gained another 54 to use as he wished!
The usefulness of [Origin Conversion: Skill Point Absorption] would only continue to increase from here as he got back on track to obtaining more and more skill points.
Aside from the Star Forging Cores that he had already given out most of to his subordinates, the Skill Books weren't anything worth talking about as they did not even come close to matching the effectiveness of the skills under his skill trees.
It was these same skill trees that he had actually made a decision about, where he knew he had to narrow his focus greatly in order to have a powerful enough skill tree to stand against Aldrich. The battle against this being that he thought would not come for weeks or months seemed like it would occur in a matter of days, or even shorter!
Thus, he most definitely needed to have at least one skill tree at the Nebula Rank before that time, and he was of course going with the only skill tree he had advanced to the Star Forging Rank so far- The Terror of Aether!
His next best options were the skill trees revolving around Fate and Chaos, but they were far behind at this point as he placed his focus on the skill tree that was only a stage away. In an ideal situation, he would have strived to have his skill tree that relied on the Chaos element near its peak to face the fate that Aldrich utilized, but the power of a Terror seemed to be just as deadly if not more.
Even in the Infinite Realm, Fate and Chaos were unlocked first, with Aether being unlocked after! This led Noah to believe that there was something unique about this element, its tier maybe even being elevated higher than the other two!
So even if he had to utilize some skill points in order to bring the proficiency to a required level in order to upgrade the Terror of Aether skill tree, he would do it! His gaze was sharp as his figure appeared in the skies of the Fourth Infernal Realm.
When he appeared in this unique realm, he could actually feel a sense of calmness amidst all of this, his gaze going towards the powerful energy signatures in the ancient metropolis cities as his figure descended down.
He could sense the aura of the 1st Infernal Lord in the clearing behind the enormous archaic castle he had arrived in before, his figure lying down on this clearing as he saw multiple beings turn their eyes towards him.
All the Infernal Lords were here, with the 1st Infernal Lord looking towards him with a smile as she pointed to a group of bound beings in front of them!
Noah's eyes focused on these figures as he sensed the strong fate essence from them, each of these figures holding varying amounts of Fate Lines as they were the Celestial Commanders that the Infernal Lords captured before the events that occurred today took place.
This was the objective that the 1st Infernal Lord had given to all the Lords some time ago, and Noah would reap the rewards of it now as he would actually be able to complete his comprehension of the Law of Fate through it!
"Fate works in mysterious ways. Even I could not have predicted for things to play out this way."
The melodious voice of the 1st Infernal Lord rang out as Noah activated Apathy while going towards the bound Celestial Commanders. He knew what he had to in order to be able to stand against Aldrich, and he stepped forward as he claimed the hundreds of thousands of Fate Lines he needed to achieve 100% of law comprehension in fate!
---
On the other side of the Novus Galaxy, Aldrich was floating in the skies of the Sanctum of the Celestial Realm peacefully as he glanced down beneath him.
If one glanced at the Sanctum at this moment, they would notice the golden landscapes to be bathed in a bloody red color, a horrific scene of millions dying unexpected deaths present in the Celestial Realm!
Aldrich had actually continued his cruel actions after he made up his mind, continuing to reap the lives of the force he had created for hundreds of years because he now saw them as useless!
Keeping them alive only meant that they would continue to be fuel for an abominable enemy that actually advanced through the law of fate as easily as one could, while dismembering the organization he created and reaping their lives for himself actually granted him more Fate Lines himself, where he actually neared his goal at this very moment.
As he forever changed the fates of millions of powerful Celestials and influenced both the Light Expanse and Dark Expanse because of it, hundreds of Fate Lines were descending towards him every time he reaped the lives of more Celestials that he commanded to retreat to the Celestial Realm.
RUMBLE!
Another Legion entered and appeared in the Sanctum as Aldrich waved his hands one more, a bone-chilling light being carried with it as all the arriving Celestials were killed even before they knew what happened, more blood dying the normally golden Sanctum.
The cold light of apathy and madness in Aldrich's eyes only continued to grow stronger as he saw fewer than 10,000 Fate Lines remaining before he achieved 10 million, his gaze shining with powerful light as he continued to destroy the organization he created with sweat, blood, and tears over the years in order to achieve his own goals!
Chapter 580: A New Identity: Controller!
Across the vicissitudes of time, many beings came and went as they made very little impact on the overall lives of trillions.
Very rarely, a few unique beings rose above the masses as they shone brighter than anything seen before, the paths these beings took changing and affecting the lives of an uncountable number of beings!
In the Fourth Infernal Realm and the bloodied Sanctum of the Celestial Realm, two beings were going towards achieving something that very few could ever hope to achieve. Both of them were rushing towards the completion of a comprehension of a Supreme Law, and oddly enough, the actions they were taking were actually eerily similar.
Aldrich was dismantling his own force that he created for the past hundred years, this single action of destroying an extremely powerful and pervasive organization granting him hundreds of Fate Lines as the few thousand required Fate Lines before 10 million were quickly gathered!
Meanwhile, Noah was also reaping the lives of Celestial Commanders as each life gave him anything on the range above one hundred thousand.
Similar actions, similar goals, the only thing different being the varying efficacy!
RUMBLE!
At this time, the space around the Sanctum where Aldrich stood had begun turning a shade of gold as he closely approached the 10 million point, the surrounding miles beginning to permeate with a pure essence of fate that seemed to be calling for the arrival of something grand.
In the Fourth Infernal Realm, Noah's surroundings had actually not adopted this same appearance, the phenomenon that Aldrich was experiencing being unique as he was going towards completing the comprehension in a much slower form, but he had less than a thousand remaining Fate Lines required in order for him to reach it!
Meanwhile, Noah was still a hundred thousand Fate Lines off, his eyes looking towards the last remaining Celestial Commander that was shaking terribly as he saw the lifeless bodies of all the others.
Noah could see this commander had above 1.5 million Fate Lines, meaning that with the end of this commander's life, he would gain close to 200,000 Fate Lines as he reached the 10 million point and even possibly spill above it if that was possible!
OOOM!
A unique air began to spread out as his hand reached forward while crackling with the baleful power of Aether, the last Celestial Commander falling under his hands as…
RUMBLE!
The very air began to tremble, Noah's body shaking as a ray of golden light erupted out with him at the very center!
In the Sanctum of the Celestial Realm, Aldrich wiped away the last entering Celestial Legion as he also received the last few hundred Fate Lines that he needed, his expression ecstatic as his body also began to tremble while a golden ray of light shot from him!
One was a being that had embarked on the path of laws over hundreds of years ago, and another had just begun in the span of a few months.
Yet the one who had only spent months had actually reached the comprehension of a Supreme Law a second faster than the being that had put in the hard work of hundreds of years!
It was simply insulting at this point, but this event was the beginning of something unique in the Novus Galaxy.
For the first time in the history of this Novus Galaxy, two beings had reached the complete comprehension of a Supreme Law through their own efforts and hard work!
The rewards for such an achievement was something that only the two of them would be able to understand.
In the Fourth Infernal Realm, Noah's body had stopped shaking as he opened his eyes that shone with immense brightness, his gaze that of shock as along with comprehending 100% of the Supreme Law of Fate, he was given a shocking truth that completely shattered everything he already knew!
This truth shattered everything he knew, and then later built up a brand new reality as he turned his gaze towards the blinking Stat Panel in front of his eyes.
[Noah Osmont][Title(s): Infernal Lord(Variant), Grand Controller(Fate)]
[Bloodline(s): Vampyre Progenitor]
[Fate Line(s) : 10,000,000]
[Chaos Particle(s) : 3,464,245]
[Origin Core(s) : Fire-6, Water-6]
[Domain(s) : Fate,Chaos, Space, Fire, Water]
[Vitality: STAR FORGER]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: STAR FORGER]
[Law(s) : Fate-100%,Chaos-34%,Space-8%, Fire-62%, Water-62%]
[Authority(s) : Fate Lord, Flame Lord, Water Lord]
A pristine and beautiful 10 with six zeroes was clearly displayed next to his number of Fate Lines, and a stunning 100% was shown next to Fate in the section that displayed Laws! But the more shocking thing was the addition of his second title after Infernal Lord, and it was the title labeled [Grand Controller(Fate)]!
[Grand Controller(Fate)] :: A title given to those who have completely comprehended the supreme law of fate. It grants knowledge that shines the light for the way forward, as well as granting what the title suggests: control. The type of control granted by fate is to allow the user to break away from the river of fate of their Galaxy as they gain the ability to traverse outside of it. The user also gains the unique essence of a Controller that makes many unknown possibilities into a reality.
…!!!
His eyes shook as he confirmed some of the knowledge he received in the form of a description, the words that said 'gain the ability to traverse outside of it' were the ones that caused him the most shock!
"I welcome the first Controller of the Novus Galaxy."
The melodious words of the 1st Infernal Lord rang out as Noah turned around to observe all the Infernal Lord bowing towards him, the 1st Infernal Lord raising her head again as she uttered more words.
"Though it seems another Controller has appeared right after. We must hurry to the Central Realm where this Controller wants to pierce through."
Her words were melodious while her expression was smiling brilliantly while looking at the Infernal Lord around her, speaking shocking words.
"Let us return home."
…!!!
Chapter 581: The Infernals' Home!
In the Celestial Realm that held the true name of Central Realm, Aldrich was laughing boisterously while feeling the enormous sense of power and control welling up within his body, as well as the profound knowledge and essence he received as he took the title of Grand Controller!
Such a title was reserved for those who fully comprehended a Supreme Law, with those mastering normal laws simply being termed Controllers.
As Aldrich received a new profound knowledge that showed him the path forward, his body shook with joy as the thing he sought for many years actually came to fruition. When he sensed the realm of power he had achieved, he knew that not a single being would be able to stand in his way!
The only thing he even had to be remotely careful of were the Terrors, but even those existences could not move freely and were actually the least threatening to him.
He closed his eyes as he felt the unique energy of a Grand Controller, his mind being able to see all the beings he was connected to, all the Celestials that had yet to return to the Sanctum of the Celestial Realm.
As he wanted to nip the possible problem of the 9th Infernal Lord with his ridiculous route of getting Fate Lines through Celestials in the bud, his mind focused on the millions of lines of connections that he could see in his mind as he moved to do something extremely horrific!
His closed eyes veiled the light of genius and madness as he moved to eliminate all possibilities, his mind focusing on all the lines that represented all the Celestials spread out across the Novus Galaxy, and he utilized his unique new essence as a Grand Controller to...reap their lives!
RUMBLE!
An enormous amount of essence was used as it was only a dip in the reserves of a Nebula Realm expert that had numerous Stars forged, his mind observing the many lines he could see begin to burn a golden light as across the Novus Galaxy, the beings known as Celestials shockingly felt a golden fire erupting out from their very Origins, this fire spreading out as it began to consume them in their entirety.
"GAAH!"
"WHA-"
"NOO!"
RUMBLE!
No matter the screams of the use of their power, they could not deny the authority of the Grand Controller that was connected to them, all these beings except a select few that held the title of Celestials before actually perishing into nothingness.
Some of the few that did not face this horrendous fate were The Inquisitor, Athena, who was currently under the guidance of another Grand Controller unbeknownst to Aldrich, and also the two Founders that had turned their backs to Aldrich a long time ago and did not fall under his influence, Fritz and Inuit!
But the rest of them...any and all Celestials under the rule of Aldrich saw a golden flame initiate from their very origins as they were utterly extinguished.
It was a shocking and cruel sight to see, but it was something that Aldrich did as he did not want any possibilities of the anomaly that was the 9th Infernal Lord, the puppet that his enemy was raising- he did not want this being to even stand a chance in reaching the position he just did.
Yet to his dismay and what he would soon find out- all of this cruel planning and plotting was useless, as another Grand Controller had already risen a second before he did, even though he spent less than a few months to reach a position he strove to reach for hundreds of years!
WAA!
Aldrich's eyes majestically opened as they shone with such intense splendor they folded the space nearby, his gaze turning far away from the Sanctum as he gazed in one particular direction. As the remainder of his forces burnt and died, his gaze looked excited as he thought about one singular golden barrier that had evaded him all this time.
He thought of the golden barrier that the Novus Galaxy itself set up, his heart knowing that all that he wanted would be past this barrier that he could actually get through as he had become a being at the level of a Controller!
RUMBLE!
His body shot forth at unbelievable speeds as it thundered forth towards the golden barrier he had been near too many times in the past, a barrier that he now wished to pierce through as he took everything inside of it...
---
As horrendous monstrosities were being conducted with the force of Celestials and its Founder shooting forth towards a certain location, Noah was glancing at the many Infernals around the Fourth Infernal Realm that had begun to disappear into particles of light, each of them being teleported into another location!
The space around the Fourth Infernal Realm was actually shaking, showing signs of destabilization that showed this Realm would actually fold within itself and disappear in just a matter of minutes, anything remaining within facing a terrible fate.
Noah did not see this himself, but this same scene was occurring across all the Infernal Realms, where even their enormous Gateways were slowly fading away from the outside space as all the Infernals spanning across the Infernal Realm were teleported away. As for where they were teleporting to?
Noah looked at the 1st Infernal Lord as he recalled her words where she said it was time for the Infernals to return back to their home. He had a strong inkling of what she meant, but his eyes locked onto her and the figure of the Infernal Lords that had already began disappearing into particles of light.
"The Infernals' home?"
"Yes. The Infernal Realms came to be because it required us to be spread out across the Novus Galaxy in order to halt the advancements of Celestials, and that problem has come to an end as we face our final fight in the next few minutes. Coincidentally, this fight will most likely begin in our home."
Her expression was one that was always smiling as she said this, coming towards Noah as she placed her fair hands on his right shoulder.
"It's been a while since you've been in the Central Realm, yes? I'm sure you're curious about what lies behind a shimmering golden barrier."
…!
Noah affirmed his thoughts as shockingly, the words of the first Infernal Lord showed that the Origins of the Infernals was actually the Celestial Realm, the same place that had paradisical environments with all sorts of Behemoths and unsolved mysteries behind an impenetrable golden barrier!
Chapter 582: Are you serious?!
In the Dark Expanse, Vladivostok had just finished communicating with the Grand Mage Edrusim as they oversaw the re-establishment of order across the areas affected by war.
Vladivostok's gaze was currently on Old Man Inuit as he was accompanying this Founder while he met with another Founder that stood in the way of Aldrich, Fritz!
The two old beings were drinking as they gazed at the wide expanse of space around them, Fritz turning towards Inuit as he spoke.
"What are we to do about Aldrich? He might do something horrendous once he achieved complete comprehension."
Inuit's gaze was cloudy as he heard this question, but he eventually smiled as he answered with a profound expression.
"Fate moves as it always has, and it seems our task will be completely shouldered by a single being."
"What?!"
Fritz looked towards Inuit with perplexed eyes as the Old Man relayed Noah's message that the final battle was something that his subordinates could not participate in, and that he would soon be facing Aldrich himself while accompanied by the Infernal Lords!
The two Founders themselves could not lift a hand to attack their own brother, nor did they have sufficient power to do so! Even Fritz was hesitant as he nearly collected the dredges of energy he had at the Nebula Realm to find where Aldrich would be going to.
"You do not need to worry. I sensed a type of strength that none of us had in the being you know as the 9th Infernal Lord. All that we need to do is to wait for the passage of time."
Old Man Inuit was actually at peace as he awaited for whatever results came, his gaze hopeful as he looked forward into the future! This was because he affirmed his beliefs in the few things he could still see while utilizing Karma and Fate.
The being that he was placing all this trust on had already achieved the title of a Controller, and was currently on the way towards a momentous event!
---
Numerous truths were being uncovered in the blink of an eye, with Noah watching as the 1st Infernal Lord placed her fair hand on his shoulder, his body being wrapped by a unique essence that was teleporting him into the same location as all the disappearing Infernals.
His surroundings changed instantly as he disappeared from the fourth Infernal Realm, his awareness spreading out as he sensed a familiar environment that he knew all too well!
The abundant essence of the Celestial Realm flooded towards him once more as he looked around, noticing that only the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infernal Lord were also floating on the skies around him.
Noah sensed the much more abundant environmental essence as he turned around to observe a powerful golden barrier, this being the impenetrable barrier that the Celestials could never cross, the thing that was Aldrich's obsession!
"The Fate Barrier. It's actually something that is selective on who can cross it, only those who have achieved complete comprehension in a Law being able to forcefully tear through it."
The voice of the 1st Infernal Lord rang out sweetly as she stood beside Noah. The other two Nebula Rank Infernal Lord looked in the opposite direction of the golden barrier as powerful essence began to bubble forth from them, abilities stemming from the law of Chaos and Fire beginning to surround them as they were the first to prepare, all of them already sensing an enemy coming in this direction!
But it seemed that Noah and the 1st Infernal Lord were not paying attention to this, Noah's hands reaching out towards the golden barrier as...they actually passed through with ease, as if no restriction or barrier existed there in the first place.
"If you had ventured far enough into the Central Realm in the past and come across this circular Fate Barrier, you would have actually been able to cross it with no problems as no such restrictions were placed on you."
Even more shocking information was revealed as Noah's eyes shone with luster, his hands being able to pass through the golden barrier even though he was not using his unique essence as a Grand Controller, shaking his head as apparently- if he had just ventured slightly further into the Celestial Realm in the past, he would have been able to see whatever lay behind this barrier that Aldrich strove for so much!
The 1st Infernal Lord looked around her as she spread her arms out, spinning melodiously in the skies as she had a content expression on her face.
"It has been too long since we left here, I had nearly forgotten how the air tasted."
The vibrant colors of gold and white around them painted for a fantastical paradisical surroundings that had actually begun to tremble at this moment, and it was because far in the distance, the aura of a terribly powerful being was fast approaching.
"But one final thing remains before we can move forward, and I'm ashamed to say that it will be mostly dependant on you, O 9th Infernal Lord."
The 1st Infernal Lord spoke melodiously as the space around them shook!
The only other Controller in the Novus Galaxy was approaching at this very moment, his power seemingly bubbling out at this moment as one could distinctly feel immense wrath and madness within it.
Noah understood a little about Aldrich's goal, but he did not know the madness of this being and the level of obsession he held towards it, and it was one of the reasons why such a palpating feeling of wrath was spreading out at this very moment.
After exploring the Celestial Realm and obtaining the treasures he obtained and rose in power, the golden barrier behind Noah was the one thing that Aldrich could never cross as he felt like he was locked out from something that should have been in his hands a long time ago!
It felt like something that was rightfully his was denied from him, his obsession growing stronger over time until he nearly had his goal in his grasp as he neared the golden barrier once more after obtaining the title of a Controller.
Yet as he neared, he actually felt the auras of four beings that were already there before him, individuals that had no business being there in the first place!
WAAA!
His figure materialized from golden lights as his golden eyes locked towards the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Infernal Lords, and then finally landing on Noah himself.
"..."
"Are you fucking serious?"
Aldrich uttered wrathful words as he held an expression of incredulity and rage, his gaze focusing on Noah the most as even though his goal was right in front of him, even though the one thing he wanted the most was literally within reach- there were multiple beings there to stop him from getting it!
What caused the most incredulity and rage to overflow within him though was the fact that from the 9th Infernal Lord that he had made many drastic actions against, for this being that he had even destroyed all Celestials in the Novus Galaxy...he actually saw that this being had a similar aura as him!
He had the aura of a Controller!
RUMBLE!