Noah knew that his condition wouldn't improve soon, but he suppressed the urge to hibernate even if the process could accelerate his recovery. The battle would have ended by the time he woke up, and he didn't want to die in his sleep.
Still, his efforts only made him able to inspect the scene. Noah saw his companions reappearing in different areas of the void with multiple holes in their bodies. Part of their energy had also disappeared, and the white branches were to blame for that.
Heaven and Earth stood on the sky with a tree-like structure growing out of their body. They didn't do much with that technique, but they didn't disperse it either.
King Elbas only needed an instant to find weak spots in the white tree. The golden light released by his domain intensified as he shot forward and brought Divine Demon and the Foolery with him. His will affected reality and turned the branches into nothing more than hovering energy, which allowed the offensive to resume.
The clash involving the higher plane's major players returned to its heated state. King Elbas made sure to control every aspect of the offensive, but Heaven and Earth appeared way too strong to crumble under his tactics.
King Elbas had access to the best techniques and companions in the world, but Heaven and Earth could easily match and overpower all of that. It almost seemed that the rulers were having fun slowly draining away their opponents, and the effort didn't require any special technique.
'What have you become?' Noah wondered while violent exchanges unfolded in his vision and kept his senses awake.
Heaven and Earth's cultivation journey had always been incredibly peculiar. Even unique beings like Noah, Divine Demon, and King Elbas couldn't match what the rulers had faced to reach their current state.
The rulers had fused two different types of journeys during their path toward the peak. Their initial intentions had also been relatively pure. They had created a superior form of energy and used it to benefit their species.
Still, trouble arrived once the world rejected that assimilation. Magical beasts that directly countered Heaven and Earth appeared, forcing them to evolve once more.
Heaven and Earth's second peak form had been full of problems. The chaotic mass of worlds and meanings had countered the magical beasts, but it had also weakened their foundation. Moreover, the rulers had started to lose their individuality in that mindless pursuit of power.
Noah and his organization had played an essential role in bringing Heaven and Earth back on track. They had forced the rulers to perform a third evolution that involved individuality and multiple meanings.
Nevertheless, Heaven and Earth weren't showing much during the final battle. They wielded quasi-rank 10 power, so their many meanings could give birth to diverse and effective attacks, but none of them felt special. None of them carried something that only the rulers could unleash.
That was the core of Noah's worries. He knew Heaven and Earth had something powerful in store, and the sky remained a problem. There had to be something more behind that white layer and crystal figure, but it seemed that his group couldn't force the rulers to reveal it.
Overall, that final battle felt like a failure on Noah's side. He had brought the best experts he could find at the very end of the cultivation journey, but they were falling short in front of a being far stronger than them.
'Why are they still holding back?' Noah wondered, but he could find many reasonable answers to that question.
First of all, Heaven and Earth didn't need to go all out. According to the current state of the battlefield, they would achieve victory without needing to reveal anything. Saving energy was always the wisest option if possible, and Noah could accept that.
Moreover, waiting would allow Heaven and Earth to see how far their opponents could go. The sole presence of Noah's team was a unique event impossible to replicate, especially when it came to the defying power wielded by some of its experts. Even if it was only out of curiosity, Noah could justify that behavior.
Of course, all of that had immense confidence as its foundation. Noah believed that Heaven and Earth wouldn't hesitate to reveal their true power if they felt threatened. He felt sure that the rulers would directly kill them if the action could benefit their imminent breakthrough.
Something in the battle hinted at a deeper purpose, but Noah couldn't find answers to that. Heaven and Earth probably had some use for his companions' worlds, which could make sense, but he didn't care too much about it. He couldn't do anything with that piece of information.
However, the majestic scenes that kept unfolding in Noah's vision eventually forced a reaction in his world. The ethereal blackness softly trembled for an instant before going completely silent again.
The event obviously surprised Noah. His condition was so poor that any potential generated by his world went to his centers of power, and that situation didn't change. He didn't experience any surge of energy or anything similar. Yet, a reaction had happened, and he couldn't ignore it.
Noah watched the exchanges closely and inspected their every detail in the hope of replicating the previous reaction and understanding its cause. Nothing happened for a while, but eventually, his world shook again.
'What is my existence trying to tell me?' Noah wondered as his confusion increased.
The ethereal blackness remained empty, but it shook from time to time. The event had no special rhythm and lacked a specific cause, but it existed, and Noah couldn't explain it.
Then, Noah started to notice that those strange reactions happened more often if he kept his attention on his companions. He didn't know why, but seeing the immense power they released and their struggles against a far stronger opponent triggered something inside him.
Clarity slowly overcame the muddled and dark areas of Noah's consciousness. He regained some degree of control over his thoughts, and his overall condition began improving as answers showed their faces.
Noah wasn't gaining anything special from inspecting his companions' techniques. Their worlds weren't the point either. Still, the sole fact that they were there triggered something deep in the ethereal blackness.
'They are here,' Noah thought. 'They are here, at the peak of the cultivation journey.'
The countless memories shared with his companions flowed in Noah's vision and reminded him how far all of them had gone. It also showed him how deeply he had helped them. He didn't do much for some, but his mere presence had unlocked paths that would have taken those experts far longer to find.
'They aren't just here,' Noah thought. 'I brought them here.'
Noah turned to glance at the barrage of ice behind him. The Eternal Snake was no exception. He was a piece of the final battle that he had allowed to exist.
'I see,' Noah sighed before shaking his head. His moment of weakness had almost prevented him from noticing something so important, but he couldn't stop seeing it anymore now.
Another exchange unfolded, but Noah didn't worry about the injuries that his companions suffered. He smiled as a simple thought ran through his mind. 'I created all of this. This is my masterpiece.'
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