The wizened Sect Master swept his eyes across the vast blue sea in Noah's homeworld as he continued.
"It was all under the name of maintaining the rule of the universal laws. Worlds should not be able to do what the Lost World was doing, so they stopped it. It was as simple as that. They didn't have any malicious feelings towards the beings in that world, and they didn't hate or despise any of them. They were just...doing what they believed to be the correct course of action, it didn't matter that an entire world would have to burn for it."
Noah felt his hands slightly trembling in anger as he heard a bit about the ideology of the superpower he had only briefly learned about in his memories. The cries of the dying Lost World reappeared in his mind as it seemed the effects of it which caused tears to unconsciously fall from his eyes still lingered.
Even more saddening were the cries he could hear in his Spiritual Land where the remaining Calamities of the Sea and a few tens of thousands of Atlanteans and Merfolk resided. He still couldn't bring himself to face them as he only knew a portion of what they could be feeling right now.
He knew only a little about the despair and anger they were feeling as he had gone through an event where he lost those dear to him as well, but it was never at this stage. It was never this big. He let out a sigh as he asked the Sect Master,
"Knowing all of this, why exactly did you travel to the Lost World to find someone like me?"
A brilliant smile erupted from the face of the wizened old man standing in front of Noah as a grand story was weaved out.
The World of Cultivation.
It was a Prime World, a powerful world where some of the recognizable powers in the universe played in.
What did a being that earned the title of Sect Master in this world want with a budding individual in a far corner of the Universe?
Chapter 201 - Pain
A grand tale was being weaved out of the mouth of the Sect Master of the Karmic Sect as his wizened old face displayed a resplendent light.
The World of Cultivation was a special Prime World where its inhabitants were actively studying and interpreting the laws that made up the world and the larger universe. It was a group of extremely powerful beings that could be considered to have a footing in the vast space filled with many stars.
It was a world set on a different stage, as it was the norm to have beings from other worlds to congregate in the World of Cultivation for the abundant resources and treasures there. Mystical secrets and Treasure Abodes from powerful cultivators were spread throughout the world, where one only needed strength and luck to obtain heaven-defying techniques and items.
"It is a world you will definitely enjoy visiting, and it is one of the worlds where you will have a hand to play in the tumultuous future ahead."
Sect Master Inuit finished his words as he observed the calm expression on Noah's face.
"You asked me what exactly I had in mind to sacrifice so many of my disciples and even my own longevity while saving you. It was simply to sow karma between me and you."
His hands moved through the air as a few invisible lines appeared. He made a plucking motion as above Noah's head, a significantly large line became visible. The line sn.a.k.e.d through and made its path towards the Sect Master as he continued.
"Karma is something that very few can grasp, but it can show us wondrous things and give us the ability to traverse the tumultuous future relatively unscathed. Through it, I was able to know about a being worlds away who would one day come to prevent my death, and the deaths of many more beings that are connected to the World of Cultivation."
His hands came down as the white lines disappeared into nothingness once more.
"I have not yet found out what threat is coming to cause such a catastrophe, but I have completed the immediate goal of saving you, and now I can let events continue to unfold as I watch with ease."
The Sect Master had a soft smile on his face as a brilliant white light flashed out, the figures of his many disciples with blank faces appearing around him as all of them inexplicably left Noah's Spiritual Land.
Noah observed all of this closely, surprised at the foreboding words about the future as he asked.
"That's it?"
The smile on the Sect Master's face became wider as he raised his hands, forming a large hazy white door of light above them that his disciples began rushing into. His other hand stretched out as a luxuriously shining necklace inlaid with gems appeared and floated towards Noah. The gems lit up the entire area as Noah felt the many negative emotions and feelings of exhaustion slowly lift away from his body as this gem continued to float towards him.
"That's it. Here is one of the few unique treasures of the World of Cultivation. I've attached some inscriptions that will let me know whenever you begin your journey there. I see a cloudy but clear path that you plan to follow, and I cannot interfere with it too much, lest I cause things to backfire. We will meet again in time, and I look forward to seeing the things I've only glimpsed become reality."
His words finished as cryptic as ever, his figure following the disciples that had already passed through the hazy white door in the sky as his voice rang out for the last time.
"Oh yeah, don't get too sucked in with that fiery demoness of yours. I know heartbreak can be a deadly thing."
With these words, the mysterious Sect Master of the Karmic Sect was gone, leaving behind a pondering Noah that received another surprise with the last words he mentioned. He had too many things to do so he put aside the mysterious looking treasure aside for now, planning on looking at it along with the skill books he gained from the death of Baal later. His mind wandered to Barbatos at the mention of the fiery demoness as he shook his head and breathed out.
His gaze landed on the Spiritual Land as he prepared to go see the beings that were facing unimaginable pain from losing something extremely precious to them. He disappeared from the skies and reappeared on a snowy area in the Spiritual Land where a few thousands of Atlanteans, Merfolk, and the Calamities of the Sea were collected together.
It was a weird sight to see as these beings that would normally be seen underwater were slumped on the snowy ground of the Spiritual Land letting out mournful howls and saddening cries. They were going through a tremendous amount of loss that Noah could not begin to imagine.
Some had lost friends, others their entire families, but all of them shared the biggest loss of their home.
The Ocean Master was blankly staring at the sight of a few thousand Atlanteans and Merfolk as extreme despair was apparent on his face. His emotions were overwhelmed by guilt and sadness as he was the leader that was supposed to keep everyone safe. Yet he could do nothing, and he had felt what used to be his home perish!
Feelings of failure and shame were not only on the mind of the Ocean Master, as the Calamities of the Sea that had the roles as the actual protectors of their world felt a much heavier burden as they felt the link disappear.
There was no Lost World for them to return to anymore. There was nothing.
It was an extremely depressing sight as Noah made his way over to the Kraken, the one Calamity he had spent a significant amount of time with through the space affected by Time Dilation before they arrived for the defense of Atlantis.
The Kraken had a face full of wrath and sadness as its red eyes turned to look at Noah's Atlantean figure. It's deep voice resounded out painfully.
"Where are we?"
Noah looked at the maddened eyes of the Kraken as he replied,
"A world I found a long time ago that I am able to hold some influence in. The inhabitants are not too strong, and will not be hostile so we can spend some time here collecting ourselves."
The reddened eyes of the Kraken blinked as its gaze remained on Noah and spoke out once again.
"The enemies that did this?"
"Far too strong for us to even think about facing them right now."
Yes. If they were even bold enough to make the beings that easily shatt
ered an entire planet their enemy, they were nowhere near close to even matching a tenth of their power!
Due to this, Noah felt like he was under a stifling pressure. He still had a plan that he planned to follow in his mind as he had to get closure from a certain world, but he had to plan carefully on how to move forward from there. He had to evaluate why he was doing the things he was doing, and it could not all just be based on hatred and revenge.
He was connected to the lifelines of two worlds with billions of beings tied to him. After watching the destruction of a world that was much more powerful than the ones he was connected to, he gained a better understanding of the brevity of the situation he was in.
His eyes turned back towards the Kraken as he continued to have an internal struggle over his next movements. The Kraken had an unwilling look, seemingly wanting to go fight right then and there no matter the results.
"The enemies are too strong, but they do not know about us. This gives us time to become stronger. It gives us time to learn more about them. After we achieve a certain level of power, we can choose to fight a battle that won't result in the Lost World of Atlantis being forgotten in the dredges of time."
Noah's eyes held conviction as he tried to calm and console the pained Kraken, spending some time with the rest of the Calamities that now only totaled up to 5. When some time passed, he left them and went to see yet another being that was heavily affected by the events in the Lost World.
'A fiery demoness, huh?'
Chapter 202 - Freedom
The Spiritual Land was vast, with many snowy fields apart from the central point where luxurious buildings that Noah had built stood. His body teleported to a particular snowy field in the Frozen Plateau Spiritual Land as he found the figure of a certain Demon Empress that was blankly looking out across the peaceful area.
Barbatos sat on a field of snow as her bare white legs sank down into the ground, the freezing cold not bothering her one bit. Her body that was greatly injured from Baal's attacks had outwardly fully healed, with her skin as clear as it was before. Noah had a complex expression as he thought about how he would be moving from now on when he spoke out.
"How are you feeling?"
Barbatos was dressed in her gothic dress as she looked across the snowy plains of the Spiritual Land. She didn't even turn around to look at Noah when she replied.
"I'm f.u.c.k.i.n.g peachy, little fish."
A variety of emotions were going through her mind as she felt the True Death of Baal and felt heavy chains being lifted off of her body. Her emotions became even more tumultuous when she spread out her awareness from the isolated space treasure and saw the apocalypse occurring in the Lost World.
She saw the panic and fear in the remaining Rulers' eyes as she stayed still in the isolated space treasure and continued to heal her injuries. Sometime after, she began to feel the true deaths of Rulers of the Demon World one by one, as every living being in the Lost World perished.
She had her own goals and hopes, and she had a hand in killing the strongest being of her race for it. As she felt the onslaught of True Deaths occurring she found her will wavering and questioning itself. Was it all worth it? Was her freedom worth the death of the strongest Ruler of the Demon World and all those that followed?
Freedom.
Her eyes lit up as this word flashed through her mind, her expression that was sad and melancholic disappearing as a vicious expression replaced it. Yes, it was all for her freedom, and she was now grasping it in her hands. It was selfish. It was cruel. It came at a great price.
But so what? The only person she cared for was herself, why did it matter who had to die in order for her to get what she wanted?
The vicious expression slowly blew away any feelings of melancholy as the Necromancer of Chaos rapidly shifted her mood yet again. Noah's voice rang out once again.
"You got what you wanted, what exactly do you plan to do now Barbatos?"
"Hmph, why does it matter to you? Don't think I didn't notice the hatred in your eyes when you were targeting Sitri and Paimon. You expect me to give you respect and talk when you continue to bullshit me? What do you have against the Demon Race?"
Noah looked over at Barbatos who seemed to be shifting from opposite moods very quickly as a cloud of craziness followed her. He thought about the recent experience he had as he watched an entire world and its people be destroyed and he thought about his hatred for the invaders that caused the death of his parents and many more in his homeworld.
He recalled the memories of Demons and Cultivators he had killed as he learned of the larger worlds out there and how many beings were in a similar situation his homeworld and the Beast World was in not too long ago.
He couldn't save the beings in the Lost World of Atlantis, nor did he have the power to save the many worlds experiencing a similar level of pain and unfairness in this vast Universe. But there was still something he could do against those that directly caused him and his world harm. His gaze hardened as he affirmed his beliefs, recalled the many Rulers he had knowledge of through stolen memories, and then he replied to Barbatos.
"Belial, Asmodeus, Dantalion, Furcas, Malphas, Andras, Valac, Naberius, Marax, Phenex, Orobas, Haures, and Gaap. All of these are Rulers that either directly or indirectly caused the deaths of many beings in this world you are currently in. Most were active in the middle world you might remember, the Beast World. Putting aside those that already faced True Death in the Lost World of Atlantis, I will be going for the heads of these Rulers sometime soon."
Those who had a hand in the pain that the beings in his homeworld and those in the Beast World faced, they would all have to die. But Noah did not want to be similar to the beings he just watched destroy an entire Large World because of their beliefs.
He did not want to wrathfully descend down to the Demon World and senselessly massacre everything on sight in the name of revenge. He would kill those involved in causing the harm to the two worlds he was connected to, and reserve his judgment for the rest of them for now.
Barbatos's mouth formed a huge o shape as she blurted out.
"You're the asshole who killed Gremory and Orias in that little Beast World. Haha, I even told them to let me descend down so I could kill the growing threat quickly or they would regret it!"
Barbatos was clutching her stomach laughing as she continued.
"That Baal that was so big and tough actually did die to you, haha! If they had listened to me, I would have met you sooner, little fish. Maybe I would have already fried you up into fried fish eh? Alas, everyone is just too f.u.c.k.i.n.g dumb."
Her voice finished flat as she looked towards Noah and rose up, wiping the snow sticking to her body.
"I've already betrayed my entire race for my own selfish goals, I don't care about your little revenge dream or who you want to kill as long as I get to do what I want, little fish. At this moment in time, I'm still finding you very interesting so I'll be hanging around you and continue to enjoy the luxurious things in this isolated space treasure and the food you'll definitely be making for me."
She beckoned towards Noah as the snow around them ruffled.
"But, it looks like these stupid feelings of guilt don't wanna go away fast enough and I need something to take my mind off of them, so a good f.u.c.k would do. Come on, little fish."
Chapter 203 - Assimilation and Loot
The next few days were a busy period of time as Noah moved back and forth between multiple locations to start preparations and smoothly transition the displaced inhabitants of the Lost World of Atlantis.
A day after their arrival in Noah's homeworld, they were able to have an introduction to the humans that were busily moving around. Noah sent forth communications to Steel Mikhail and Kazuhiko as they arranged for the appropriate people from the Blessed Empire and the United Federation to receive the Atlanteans and Merfolk.
The Ocean Master took the lead to talk to the humans who were much weaker than him with respect as hour
s and hours of talks ensued. At the end of all of these talks that Noah had to sit through, the result was an agreement being made for the inhabitants of Atlantis to reside in a certain location scouted for in the sea as the two forces planned for peaceful mutual cooperation.
The process took a few days, but at the end of all of it, Noah was able to watch construction begin deep under the sea of his homeworld as Atlanteans and Merfolk with hardened faces worked to create a new home.
He was standing besides the Ocean Master who had long since collected himself as he asked.
"The World Engine...do we still have the capability to build it?"
A pained expression passed through the Ocean Master's face as he heard of the creation that was the apparent cause of their world's destruction.
"We can. I have multiple unfinished prototypes with me that would require a few weeks work to complete. But...would we not be inviting the same destruction here were we to do that?"
His body pulsed with power as he said this. Noah knew of the strong feelings each of them held as he shook his head and replied.
"No, word of the World Engine was spread through the mouths of Demon and Cultivators, and we will not have that repeat itself again. What we need now is to strengthen ourselves in hiding, the features of the World Engine will provide that for us. After a sufficient time has passed...we could maybe stand up to those that harmed us."
His words were strong as they shook the Ocean Master out of his stupor. The Ruler of Atlantis nodded as his eyes turned towards the Calamities. Noah spoke again as he noticed this.
"They feel a tremendous amount of guilt for what occurred, and I'll be moving with them as we explore new worlds and find more ways to increase our strength."
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