Cursed Reality, Queen, and Emperor didn't know what Noah meant with his warning, but they felt unable to contradict him. He wasn't the type to leave a project halfway through it unless his reasons were sound.
Noah jumped on Pellio's mat, and the expert opened his eyes. The world around the two immediately twisted, but no foreign force landed on their figures. They simply disappeared after a few seconds went by.
When Noah managed to focus on his surroundings, he found himself at the edges of a yellowish area. The sky's radiance appeared unable to pierce it, and the general whiteness of the higher plane also failed to enter that vast spot.
"They should be inside," Pellio exclaimed while closing his eyes and going back to his dreams.
Noah didn't need that confirmation. The yellowish patch didn't radiate any specific energy, and it even hid the contents in its insides, but Noah could sense something familiar there.
'They have gotten stronger,' Noah thought while stepping forward to approach the yellow patch. 'Good.'
Nothing happened when Noah immersed his hand in the yellow light. That isolated area didn't try to push him back, but it didn't open either.
It seemed that the yellowish area didn't identify Noah as an enemy. He could enter it freely, but he didn't want to waste time searching for his companions.
"You two!" Noah suddenly roared. "We don't have much time! Show up already!"
The soundwaves generated by the roar seeped inside the yellowish area and filled it with Noah's influence. Dark shades inevitably appeared among that different light. His sole voice had become strong enough to affect such a vast structure.
"Calm down up there," A familiar voice echoed among the yellow light. "Don't turn this place into a mess. I would have to do the cleaning otherwise."
An azure radiance appeared inside the isolated area and began to push the darkened spots back. A figure also materialized in front of Noah, and he revealed an honest smile when he recognized Supreme Thief.
"Did you get stuck in the liquid stage?" Noah joked after seeing that Supreme Thief didn't experience any breakthrough in the last period.
"Nonsense," Supreme Thief snorted. "We are only taking turns. The other guy said that he wanted to reach the solid stage before me no matter what. I took pity on him."
"I don't blame him," Noah commented.
Great Builder and Supreme Thief were a team, but the latter was a moody expert too hard to control. It was impossible to know what he would have done after stepping into the solid stage, so Great Builder decided to have his breakthrough as soon as possible.
"Boring," Supreme Thief replied while crossing his arms. "He is lucky that I couldn't find anything worth stealing."
"What do you need for the breakthrough?" Noah asked. "Maybe I can help you out."
"As if I would need any help," Supreme Thief scoffed. "Though it's nice to be finally over with that annoying sky. Is that your doing?"
"My team handled the mission to clear the higher plane," Noah explained before glancing at the sky in the distance. "Still, I'm afraid that we have accelerated Heaven and Earth's plans. We are pretty sure that the final battle will start once they awaken."
"That should be fun," Supreme Thief exclaimed. "It was about time Heaven and Earth made their move. This prison has long since grown old."
"That's why I'm here," Noah revealed. "I'm putting together the forces of the higher plane and building a home. I need Great Builder to join the project."
"Oh, did you catch some interesting worlds?" Supreme Thief asked.
"You won't steal from our allies," Noah ordered.
"But that's what I do!" Supreme Thief shouted before heaving a helpless sigh. "I swear, everyone has become so boring lately."
"The higher plane is too small for us," Noah stated. "We need to shatter the sky to make things interesting again, and we can't do that if we kill each other before the final battle."
Supreme Thief tilted his head and wore an annoyed expression, but he eventually agreed with Noah. "That makes sense. Yet, I won't hold back once the sky crumbles."
"I'm sure you won't be alone there," Noah chuckled. "We'll see who's the best thief after the victory."
"I'll leave you a few shards of the sky if you beg me properly," Supreme Thief joked.
"You won't get to touch a single shard," Noah responded.
Both experts wore cold smiles as their gazes intensified. They were experiencing the same restlessness. They couldn't wait for the sky to shatter the sky and fight for its resources.
"Ah! Finally something to look forward to!" Supreme Thief announced while breaking eye contact.
"Call Great Builder already," Noah insisted.
"I can't," Supreme Thief shrugged his shoulders. "He is in the middle of his breakthrough. Who knows how long he needs to advance."
"Can't we move this whole area next to my creation at least?" Noah wondered.
"How would you do that without affecting the breakthrough?" Supreme Thief asked. "You aren't exactly delicate."
"Pellio!" Noah called, and Pellio half-opened his eyes while hovering toward the yellowish area's edges.
"What do we have here?" Supreme Thief asked as a pulling force came out of his figure.
Pellio limited himself to smile, even if Supreme Thief was making his mat shake. Their worlds began to clash, and cracks opened in the fabric of space between them. The process was about to affect the yellowish area, but Noah promptly waved his hand to launch a slash.
The attack flew between Supreme Thief and Pellio, severing the connection that the two worlds had created. The slash's aura also mended the cracks in the space's fabric and restored harmony.
"You are no fun at all," Supreme Thief lamented.
"We should be able to move the whole area with Pellio's power as long as you lower some defenses," Noah said.
"I don't know how this structure works," Supreme Thief. "Great Builder's methods are too slow and boring for me."
"Just steal the defenses then," Noah suggested.
Supreme Thief thought about the matter for a few seconds before wearing a smirk. He turned to inspect the yellowish area, and he nodded a few times as azure light began to leave his figure.
"I'm not disrupting his breakthrough, right?" Supreme Thief asked.
"Not at all," Noah played along. "You are actually saving him time by dealing with this issue."
"Right, right," Supreme Thief exclaimed as more energy came out of his figure. "This is totally for him. I'm not breaking any promise."
"You are just taking away the defenses that prevent us from helping him," Noah continued.
"Correct!" Supreme Thief shouted. "Ah, Great Builder, you are so lucky to have such a caring friend."
The azure light transformed into a series of strands that began to fuse with the yellowish area, but a dense aura suddenly filled the environment fended them off. Everything became brighter, but Noah and Supreme Thief didn't resort to defensive techniques.
"I asked you one simple thing," A familiar voice echoed among the yellowish area. "Do not mess with this structure!"
"We were only helping you," Supreme Thief responded.
"It's good that you are awake," Noah dropped the pretense and went back to the main topic. "Can you move?"
"I've heard your conversation," Great Builder declared as a few giant figures appeared in the depths of the yellowish area. "I'm obviously coming with you. I need to make sure that your creation has enough room for these beauties."
****
Author's notes: Okay, let's try this again.. I'm back.