Chapter 2015 - 2015. Welcome

King Elbas, Sepunia, and Noah didn't relax after they returned among the light. They immediately used their abilities to seal the cracks connecting that region to the void.

Sepunia and King Elbas ended up doing most of the work since Noah found himself unable to summon the entirety of his power while the parasite was still going wild. The plant severed its connection with the many seeds inside the void, but it resumed its expansion as soon as it sensed the light, and its violent hunger was strong enough to ignore Noah's suppression.

Noah had to stop focusing on the cracks to deal with the parasite. He spat flames and expanded the dark world balance what the plant was absorbing from his body, but his condition worsened since the environment couldn't provide energy fast enough.

The roots spread from his open chest and stretched into the shattered environment to devour every source of energy in his surroundings. Noah tried to seize part of that fuel for himself, but he eventually had to stop since the fabric of space started to break.

Noah charged ahead to reach the next region and resume his healing process there. He ended up in an area full of mountains that the parasite didn't hesitate to devour during its constant expansion. The plant seemed unsatisfied with its current host, and its new requirements forced it to look for new power sources.

Noah couldn't let the parasite leave his body, but the latter wasn't asking for his permission. Its roots dug into the region and generated more seeds to increase the efficiency of its absorption of energy. Still, even that environment failed to satisfy it.

The parasite would end up devouring Noah if he continued to fail to suppress it. Yet, his centers of power couldn't interrupt that violent absorption. He and his companions also were in poor condition since they had given their energy to fuel the plant's breakthrough. The situation was so desperate that Noah considered separating himself from his asset, but he had one last idea.

"You will never appease your hunger like this," Noah announced. "Your approach is too dumb. Heaven and Earth will kill you in no time."

His words seemed to affect the parasite. The roots stopped expanding in the region and converged toward Noah. It didn't take much before countless pointy weapons encircled him.

"You can't eat me," Noah smiled.

The parasite took that as a challenge. It started putting more power in absorbing the nutrients in Noah's body. His injuries expanded even more, and chunks of his flesh directly fell off his figure as they lost the energy they contained.

"You can't kill me because you can't survive on your own," Noah explained without dropping his cold smile. "I brought you to life. I made you reach the ninth rank. Only I can take you into the sky."

The absorption suddenly slowed down. The parasite seemed interested in what Noah had to say, but the latter didn't fully convince it. After all, the sky was within its reach at its current level.

"You aren't dumb," Noah admitted. "Don't let your hunger blind you. Heaven and Earth are too strong for you, but you might have a chance to grow even more if you remain with me."

A shrill noise came out of the roots, but no attack arrived. Noah was basically mocking the parasite, but the latter couldn't say anything. It knew he was telling the truth.

"Let's make a deal," Noah exclaimed. "You stop killing me, and I will pave the way toward better lands. I have already proven to be your best bet."

The parasite went silent but continued to feed on Noah's body. Still, it slowed down the absorption to a point when the injuries stopped worsening. Noah even had the chance to stabilize his condition by spreading his dark matter toward the ground that had survived the plant's previous expansion.

"Now get back here," Noah ordered. "I can't waste more time with you. Just accept that you have been quite lucky to reach this level so soon."

The parasite voiced the shrill noise again, but that lasted for a mere second. It quickly cut its connection with the other seeds and retracted its roots to return to Noah's chest.

Noah heaved a deep sigh before crossing his legs and expanding the dark world to feed on the entire region. The parasite didn't leave him enough energy to fix his body and companions, so he had to travel to other areas to seize what he needed.

The process ended up taking a while due to the severity of his injuries. His companions didn't even have his extraordinary healing abilities, so he gave them energy and let them handle their recovery on their own. Noah only added dark matter to quicken the process.

Noah flew toward the dead zone once his body began to heal properly. A faint gold light had filled the area after King Elbas closed the cracks and fixed the fabric of space. The connection with the void was no more. Dinia wouldn't be able to reach them right away unless Heaven and Earth teleported him. Yet, the rulers were still in their dormant state, so the experts felt relatively safe.

"How was the trip inside the island?" King Elbas asked when Noah dispersed the dark matter restraining the dragon.

"I got the metal, but Dinia interrupted me before I could take dragons that were still transforming," Noah explained before heaving a helpless sigh when King Elbas stretched his arm.

Noah expanded the dark world before taking out his loot. He revealed the giant layer of dark metal and its liquefied version, and King Elbas immediately started a thorough study. Sepunia also inspected the material to see if her new mind would provide different impressions. Instead, the dragon didn't feel too good near that material.

"We'll save the rest of your pack another time," Noah promised when he noticed that the dragon's annoyance. "We must revert your transformation now. I believe you don't want to remain in this state."

The dragon couldn't roar, but King Elbas casually waved his hand when he understood that Noah wanted to talk with it. The formations that restrained its strange neck vanished, allowing the creature to speak.

"How do you plan to save them when you can't even defeat the warden?" The dragon asked through human words.

"It has a point," Sepunia commented. "Dinia is only one of the privileged cultivators, and he was even in the liquid stage. Do you still want to go in the sky in your current state?"

"The plan is to wait for a bit," King Elbas revealed. "We have always known that we were too weak for the mission. Heaven and Earth's fairness was our greatest hope, but it seems that we can't rely on it against those experts."

"Only you wanted to rely on their fairness," Noah scoffed.

"It was our only true chance to succeed," King Elbas replied.

"Now we have a new path," Noah stated after pointing at the dark metal. "Let's come up with weapons and plan things out. We will go in the sky once everyone is ready."

"What about your idea of waiting for a few millennia?" King Elbas asked.

"Waiting might kill both of us," Noah explained while glancing at his chest. "We are getting too strong for the eighth rank. We must advance, and the sky can give us what we need."

"What about me?" The dragon growled.

King Elbas rolled his eyes, and Sepunia laughed at that scene. Noah glanced at the dragon and revealed a cold smile before speaking in a tone that made his words sound like a threat. "Welcome to Heaven and Earth's Cancer. Try not to slow us down."

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Author's notes: I'm sorry it has taken so long for the chapters.. I'm struggling to focus today.