Birth of the Demonic Sword

'I guess we can only test your real power in battle,' Noah said through his mental connection.

Snore nodded without moving its gaze from the center of the region. Noah and Fergie were in the same situation. They were inspecting the damage caused by the black feather.

The region had featured a small azure river and bushlands at its center. A mountain had also stood near that area. Still, nothing had remained after the feather landed on the ground.

The wave of violent dark matter had spread through most of that land, but it had lost its destructive effects after flying for less than a minute. It had destroyed a quarter of the region before losing its power.

"Do I need to build my cave even farther away?" Fergie asked without moving his eyes from the crater.

"It shouldn't be so bad with the others," Noah replied.

"I bet you hope otherwise," Fergie added.

"Of course," Noah said. "Rank 8 beings can affect entire regions with their attacks. I'm slowly approaching that level."

"I can see that," Fergie replied. "Your cultivation level is still far away from that rank, but you have many unreasonable powers at your side. You might be able to reach that level if you amass enough beings that break Heaven and Earth's fairness."

Noah nodded. That was precisely his plan. Filling the gaps between the ranks with his centers of power was impossible. He had to rely on his companions, black hole, and innate advantages to reach a battle prowess at that level.

"When will you start your next experiment?" Fergie asked.

"Right away," Noah replied. "I can't hold back after seeing this."

"I will build my cave farther away," Fergie said before flying toward the next region.

Noah didn't bother to follow him with his gaze. Snore's current power had proven that the red crystals could bring his companions to a new level. He couldn't stop thinking about the experiments now that he knew how strong those creatures could become.

Snore quickly dug another cave, and Noah spent some time analyzing the snake. The creature had transformed. It had become a being that stood between Blood Companions and beasts connected to his existence now.

Its power still depended on Noah's cultivation level, but it had started to absorb energy on its own. It seemed that Snore could now improve even if Noah's power didn't grow.

'More mouths to feed,' Noah thought before moving to his next project.

The Demonic Form didn't want to come out of his chest, and Noah didn't feel comfortable evolving it yet. The plant was powerful, but it fed of Noah's energies. Its improvements might cripple him.

The second choice for the fusion with the red crystals had to be Night. The Pterodactyl had also expressed its willingness to face the procedure after seeing how Snore had improved. Noah didn't even need to make up his mind at that point.

Adapting the red crystal to Night turned out to be complicated. Snore only had energies that came from Noah, but the Pterodactyl was a different type of beast.

Noah had built Night's current body, but he had added materials that he couldn't replicate with his dark matter. The Royal metal was a miraculous mineral that his dark world couldn't produce.

Still, Noah could create something similar to the Royal metal, and he didn't forget its power. It took him longer to transform the crystal, but he eventually managed to create something that met his expectations.

'Don't hesitate,' Night said through the mental connection once Noah began to create the meaning for the Elemental Forging method. 'You know my pride, and I know your blade. I will have no regret even if the procedure fails.'

'I almost miss the bossy Pterodactyl that I met in the Dark Gorge,' Noah replied.

'I was but a beast scared of the sunlight,' Night said while raising its strange head to the sky. 'You have shown me a better way. You have given me the power to fight the light. I only ask you to give me more of that.'

Noah didn't let Night wait too much. The creature's power was a mixture of adaptability, speed, and sharpness, so Noah used a meaning that could cover those three requirements.

He infused the red crystal with pure destruction before forcing it to reach the upper tier. Night was the perfect carrier of that part of Noah's individuality. Its whole existence depended on severing laws.

Night went through the same pain as Snore once Noah fused the red crystal with its strange fabric. Its black lines thinned, and its body grew, threatening the overall stability of its structure.

Noah feared that the Pterodactyl would crumble, but Night performed better than Snore. The creature remained conscient during the procedure and used its innate ability to quicken the absorption of the crystal. It even threw away some scarlet shards that its body didn't accept.

Night didn't change much after the process ended. Its body had rejected part of the red crystal, but the evolution had succeeded. Still, Noah couldn't understand how strong it had become from its appearance.

'Shall we test you out?' Noah asked.

'I will destroy far more than the snake!' Night replied before shooting toward the center of the region.

Noah flew in the sky to inspect the scene and used the mental connection to keep track of Night's movements. The Pterodactyl had already fused with the world. His eyes and mental energy were useless in that task.

The long figure of the Pterodactyl eventually reappeared in the sky and reached Noah. The ground remained the same for less than a second before a massive cut opened.

The fissure covered a third of the region, and Night gave voice to a happy snort before flying back into the separate space. The creature felt satisfied that its attack had surpassed Snore's demonstration.

'A general improvement then,' Noah thought while analyzing the fissure. 'Night is already the best expression of itself. I made sure of it. It doesn't surprise me that the red crystal can't give it anything else.'

Noah closed his eyes at that point. He had one last companion to evolve. It was time to see if his Demonic Sword could survive the procedure.

The Demonic Sword came out of the separate space on its own, but it remained silent. It could feel Noah's hesitation, but it was ready to complain if he didn't want to pursue that approach anymore.

The blade wanted more power. It was an expression of Noah's existence, so it shared his desire to improve. Not even Noah could stop it at that point.

Noah knew what the Demonic Sword was thinking. He could sense the desire seeping out of its fabric. It was a mature desire that had nothing to do with its past childish expressions.

'You sure have grown,' Noah said through his mental connection.

The Demonic Sword continued to remain silent, but its shape froze when it saw Noah taking out his entire ethereal figure from his mental sphere.

'The procedure with you will be a bit different,' Noah explained. 'The others only required meanings, but you reflect my law. Only my entire existence can express what you are.'

Night and Snore came out in the open as the dark world unfolded. Noah was about to lose any will to live, but that process was necessary. His grasp firmly closed on his ethereal figure, shattering it into dark dust that floated through the waves of dark matter.