Noah couldn't fail to recognize the God of the Shandal Empire, especially after meeting his will. Also, the aura that he radiated carried the unmistakable trace of a divine being.
"Almighty!" God's Left Hand shouted again before kowtowing on the air.
Tears fell from her eyes, and her aura became stronger as she expressed her utmost respect toward her leader. It was as if Shandal's return in the lower plane had stirred her individuality to improve.
The other powerhouses showed different reactions at that scene. Concern appeared on most of them, but those who had been in Shandal's separate dimension didn't feel any fear.
The reappearance of the God of the Empire would give a new life to that organization. His sole presence was enough to make it become the strongest force in the world, and his guidance would make its growth spike again.
It was normal for the powerhouses from other organizations to fear Shandal. His return would make them lose some of the benefits they experienced while he was in the Immortal Lands.
Instead, the powerhouses who had been in Shandal's dimension knew that he didn't mean any harm. The God wouldn't influence the political environment. He only cared about sending more cultivators to the Immortal Lands.
As for Noah, he could barely focus in that situation since his instincts were screaming like crazy. They had gone silent after the lightning bolt fell, but they had soon started to warn him again.
Noah wanted to focus on Shandal, but his mind didn't allow him to do it. His eyes moved between the egg and the crack in the sky on their own. They didn't even give him the time to look at the divine cultivator!
The egg made Noah feel the most intense hunger that he had ever felt in his life. It was as if he had gone back to when he was a hybrid. It took all his concentration to remain sane in that condition.
The hole in the sky made him feel danger. Noah sensed a massive menace whenever he looked at white light leaking from that connection to the Immortal Lands.
That dangerous feeling helped to keep in check his hunger, but Noah felt conflicted anyway. He didn't know what to think in that situation. Too much was happening at the same time, and his mind acted as an enemy due to all the sensations that filled it.
Noah's black hole rotated and sent a large amount of energy toward his mind. His condition slowly stabilized, but his instincts continued to run wild through his mental sea.
The black hole had only made Noah able to endure those sensations. It didn't make them disappear.
Once Noah's stabilized, he could finally inspect the god. Shandal was gasping for air while sitting cross-legged on the ground. The debris created after the lightning bolt destroyed the Hydra surrounded him, but he had eyes only for the egg between his arms.
Noah's attention went on the egg. It was green, and it was as big as a man's chest. Its surface appeared quite sturdy, but Shandal still held it as if it was the frailest item in the world.
What surprised Noah the most was the aura exuded by the egg. That was a proper rank 7 item, and the energy that it spread in the environment made every magical beast and hybrid hungry for it.
'Can a creature be born directly as a divine being?' Noah wondered as he continued to inspect the egg.
His senses weren't reliable when it came to the divine realm since he was still too weak to grasp it. Noah didn't manage to pinpoint the actual cause of that divine aura. Both the material that made the egg and the creature inside it could be the source.
'This hunger isn't natural,' Noah thought. 'Divine creatures shouldn't cause these reactions inside me.'
Noah had already been in the same room with divine items and resources, but his hunger had never reached that level of intensity. The only explanation was that the egg had some unique features.
'That would also explain this flashy return,' Noah thought as his eyes went on the sky.
The danger that he felt coming from the crack was peculiar too. It was different from the lightning bolt that had fallen in the lower plane. It appeared almost alive when Noah tried to analyze it.
However, the crack began to close as the seconds passed. The hole shrunk as the structure of the sky enlarged to block that passage for the Immortal Lands.
"Almighty!" God's Left Hand shouted again without raising her head.
Shandal heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the crack had started to close itself. His attention could finally go on the group of powerhouses staring at him while wearing stunned expressions.
"I didn't plan to return so soon," Shandal announced as he stood up, "But I couldn't escape in any other way. I had to make Heaven and Earth notice me to open this shortcut. Nothing cuts through planes better than a Tribulation."
Shandal appeared to be in a happy mood. He began to laugh on his own, and he didn't even care that his hair and beard were a mess. Only one braid had survived. The lightning bolt had destroyed the others.
His aura seeped through the environment and affected the matter that made it. Shandal was a failed divine cultivator, but he carried some features of a true god.
God's Left Hand couldn't contain her excitement anymore after she heard her leader speak. She straightened her position and flew toward Shandal to welcome him back to the lower plane properly.
Gales formed in the air after she passed. Her individuality made her a calamity that served only Shandal, so the Patriarch's return made her power grow.
The other powerhouses relaxed when they saw God's Left Hand's actions, and some felt intrigued about the whole situation. They didn't know how valuable the egg was, but they mostly wanted to talk with an actual god anyway.
"Don't move," Noah said in a low tone after True Speed left the group to follow his Matriarch.
Noah had purposely waited for the powerhouses of the Empire to leave the group before giving his warnings. The hole in the sky had yet to close, and he still felt danger coming from it. It was better to wait until the fissure disappeared before moving right under it.
True Speed and God's Left Hand didn't manage to reach Shandal since a growl came out of the fissure and echoed through the whole lower plane. The air in the sky shattered, and cracks opened when that sound passed.
None of the powerhouses had doubts when it came to evaluating Shandal's enemy. Everyone knew that only a creature in the divine ranks could give birth to such an intense sound.
Noah had to condense his consciousness inside his mental sphere to endure the vibrations caused by the growl. His mind could understand the meaning behind that cry.
"Human thief," The creature on the other side of the fissure said.
Noah felt curious about the matter, but he couldn't step forward and ask for the details of Shandal's journey. He had to organize a specific meeting for that topic.
Still, the surprises weren't over yet. Noah was about to evaluate whether to greet Shandal when a curved green claw pierced the fissure in the sky and enlarged its edges.