Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah's flesh burnt as he kept his arm inside the scarlet sun. The black hole reinforced his limb with arrays of dark matter, and the parasite also did its best to help. However, the woman's spell was too strong for his abilities when they lacked the empowerment of his ambition.

Still, Noah didn't care about that pain. His focus was on his creation. His ambition empowered that feature of his existence and let it seep inside the spell's fabric.

Noah didn't want to apply simple mutations. The mere empowerment driven by his ambition wasn't enough in that situation. He d.e.s.i.r.ed to create something that could shatter his opponent's faith.

A few tongues of flames at the center of the sun started to abandon their scarlet color and gain dark shades. They didn't change shape, but the aura that they radiated transformed completely.

The cultivator's law wanted to illuminate, and Noah didn't remove that feature. Yet, he tampered with the true meaning behind that intention. Light didn't need to be bright. Darkness could reveal far more if handled correctly.

Noah's knowledge about stars and black holes flowed inside the scarlet sun as his creation burst inside the spell. The black flames started to spread their influence and taint the rest of the fire contained inside the ability.

The cultivator snorted when she noticed that event. She was already aware of Noah's abilities. That transformation didn't manage to surprise her.

The woman quickly prepared herself to launch the small sun in her other palm, but her eyes suddenly widened when the first dark glow spread through the world.

The sun had yet to turn completely black, but some tainted flames had appeared on its edges. That fire immediately spread a dark glow through the white sky, and its radiance cleared part of Heaven and Earth's laws to make room for other true meanings.

The cultivator fell in a daze as new lifeforms appeared inside the areas illuminated by the dark light. Noah was showing her a version of her spell that could give birth to light. Her flames could create living beings where Heaven and Earth didn't manage to shine.

The dark flames expanded until they took complete control of the sun. The black light began to illuminate the entire battlefield at that point, and more lifeforms appeared due to that event.

The lifeforms were simple beings born from random matter. Part of the air turned into parasite-like creatures that expanded through the sky as they devoured the energy around them. Instead, the boulders on the shattered ground grew a mouth and tiny legs before developing a suction force.

"Isn't this the reason behind the light?" Noah asked as he retracted his charred arm from the black sun. "Don't you want to illuminate to give life?"

The woman didn't answer. The scene had captured her entire attention. She almost couldn't believe how the black sun had to get rid of Heaven and Earth's influence to generate life.

Heaven and Earth didn't like the black sun. Its influence had begun to spread too far, so a Tribulation amassed in the sky.

Black clouds gathered high in the sky and began to acc.u.mulate enough power to deal with the sun. The spell had retained the cultivator's level even after Noah's creation had transformed it, so the punishment had to suit solid stage experts.

"See?" Noah sneered. "Heaven and Earth don't like when someone finds a different solution. I might be able to create only to destroy, but the rulers' restrictions apply to all of us. You could be free to generate life that doesn't devour the world, but they would suppress it anyway."

The clouds eventually released their massive lightning bolt. A raging attack that carried Heaven and Earth's whiteness fell toward the black sun, but a second star suddenly appeared on its path.

A scarlet sun expanded above the black star and stopped the lightning bolt. The red flames shot everywhere in the environment after Heaven and Earth's attack discharged its energy. Flares flew through the battlefield, but the mutated ability survived.

Noah glanced at the woman. She appeared surprised about her own actions. She had instinctively thrown her second sun toward the lightning bolt, but she had yet to realize what she had done.

"I bet it felt good," Noah laughed as he raised his charred arm.

Dark matter spread from his limb and covered the battlefield. The various lifeforms that had begun to spread through the world fell prey to the higher energy and provided nutrients to Noah.

A few patches of burnt skin healed, but Noah could sense that the energy contained in the sky wouldn't be able to fix his injuries. Still, leaving those lifeforms around was useless since Heaven and Earth could easily take care of them.

Noah disregarded his injuries and focused on the black sun once his dark matter returned inside his figure. He placed both palms on the array of black flames, and the star started to shrink.

The black sun became a small fiery sphere that could fit inside Noah's palm. He inspected it for a few seconds before throwing it toward his opponent.

The woman decided to catch the sphere when she sensed the lack of danger from its structure. The event forced her to realize the nature of her recent actions. She had actually committed an act of treason against Heaven and Earth.

Traces of panic appeared on her face, but the dark light radiated by the small sun brought some comfort to her feelings. She had the answers in her grasp. Noah had just proven that she didn't need Heaven and Earth to obtain them.

"You can't force a world to advance as a whole when you have different existences in it," Noah explained while crossing his legs and floating in the sky. "Why should Heaven and Earth be the only ones to evolve? Why should they be the only ones in charge of the light?"

Noah's words were sharp blades that stabbed the last pieces of faith that still existed inside his opponent. The woman didn't know what to say anymore. She only brought the black sun closer to her c.h.e.s.t and held it with care.

"I don't agree with your path," The woman eventually said, "But you might be right, on a few topics at least. My name is Cynthia. You can look for me in the future."

Noah nodded. He had initially wanted a battle, but his instincts had the priority, and the d.e.s.i.r.e to transform the scarlet sun had come from his very existence. Moreover, taking pawns away from Heaven and Earth's system was a double victory since it removed an opponent and added an ally.

The woman approached the golden walls to leave the area, and Noah turned toward King Elbas to make him open a path in those defenses. However, a series of white currents suddenly came out of the shattered ground and flew toward the cultivator.

The water was unstoppable. Noah tried to cut it, but it turned ethereal when his slash crossed its fabric. He couldn't stop it from reaching his previous opponent.

****

Author's notes: I feel far better. The fever should be completely gone, and I'm basically back at my peak. I will resume my normal writing schedule tomorrow. Thank you for having been so patient with me.