2165 2165. Plans

"How kind of you to warn us," Noah mocked. "Still, I think we will continue our mission anyway."

"You fail to understand my words," Caesar exclaimed. "The strings of fate are already in place. You won't move forward."

Noah's cold eyes moved over Caesar before falling on the path ahead. He took a step forward, but the world around him suddenly twisted to bring him back in his previous position.

The event didn't feature any teleport or actual change. The step forward had ceased to exist. According to the fabric of reality, Noah didn't move at all.

"Don't take it personally," Caesar chuckled. "Everything I do is for Heaven and Earth's sake. You simply happen to be the best key toward their perfect state.

"Do you know him?" Emperor asked as he raised a hand and unleashed his aura to prepare an attack.

Noah glanced at King Elbas, and the latter took a step forward. Nothing happened after the gesture, which only intensified the group's confusion.

"I wonder," Noah mocked again, "Did you apply your power only on me because the others are too strong?"

"Maybe I only need you for my plans," Caesar suggested.

"I doubt that," Noah whispered while trying to move forward, only to end up in his previous spot.

"We should hurry," Queen stated without hiding the anxiety in her tone.

"Taking down a solid stage cultivator doesn't sound bad," June smiled.

"No, you go ahead," Noah ordered. "You'll only hurt me if you take care of this problem for me."

"I don't like this," Emperor commented.

"We don't need him," King Elbas declared. "Hurry up. Heaven and Earth are bound to notice our presence anytime soon."

Cursed Reality seemed to share Emperor's doubts, but he didn't say anything. He didn't believe that Noah was working with the privileged cultivators for even a second. He felt pretty sure that the event was deeply personal, and Noah needed to handle it on his own.

"I'm leaving you behind," June announced through a smirk as Cursed Reality unfolded the alternative space-time array again, and the group went on their way.

In an instant, only Noah and Caesar remained in the area. The tunnel through the sky expanded past them, but Noah struggled to see its shape. Something was keeping him stuck in that place and was also preventing him from inspecting what stood after it.

"I have a theory," Noah eventually exclaimed.

"Of course, you do," Caesar sneered.

"You are strong," Noah continued. "You probably are powerful enough to stop all of us, but you decided to use your power only on me anyway."

"And why would I do that?" Caesar asked.

"Because you want me to surpass this point," Noah explained. "You want me to advance, even if that forces you to become the hindrance that I need."

"That's quite the theory," Caesar chuckled.

"Your world deals with fate," Noah stated. "I'm sure you can be a pain if you want, but you decided to let the others move forward anyway. You didn't even warn Heaven and Earth about our arrival, though I'm sure they are already aware of this invasion."<br/><script>ChapterMid();</script>

"Maybe I wanted to protect you and offer your friends as temporary sacrifices," Caesar said.

"I considered that," Noah admitted. "Yet, my ability to influence the growth of my companions is one of the scariest aspects of my existence. My value in your plan would decrease if you let my team die."

Caesar's smile widened, but he didn't confirm Noah's theory yet. He had another question that he didn't hesitate to voice. "That's still vague. What makes you so sure about this theory?"

"That's simple," Noah announced as his blades appeared in his hands. "I know that I can break through your fate, and you have also seen that. That's why you have decided to act as a stepping stone."

"Prove it then," Caesar responded while pointing at the path behind him. "Pierce through my fate and reach your friends."

Noah knew that King Elbas and the others could handle the mission on their own. His addition to the team naturally was a great help, but the task would remain quite tricky. His presence couldn't change the odds drastically.

Turning to leave would be a wise decision since it would delay Caesar's plan. Noah had never liked being a pawn either, so the idea of abandoning the mission to hinder the expert's fate had crossed his mind.

However, Noah couldn't divert his gaze from such a good chance to accumulate potential. Piercing Caesar's fate would add value to his recent struggles since it would prove that his power had grown. The distance from the liquid stage would shrink even more as long as he did as Caesar wanted.

"Don't tell me that you are hesitating now," Caesar teased when he saw that Noah remained still.

"I had the chance to go over the issue many times in the last years," Noah sighed as the entirety of the potential inside the ethereal blackness flowed toward his centers of power and companions.

"And?" Caesar asked as faint satisfaction appeared on his happy expression.

"Heaven and Earth will grow stronger no matter what I do," Noah explained. "There might be loopholes to this balance, but finding them would require time that I'm not willing to waste."

Night, Snore, Duanlong, and the parasite showed parts of their bodies as their power increased. Shafu's aura also surged as Noah prepared himself to repeat what he had done inside the ninth floor of the Cursed Labyrinth.

"I also know that using this moment to advance will put me on the path that you have foreseen," Noah continued. "Everything will go according to your plan. I can avoid that outcome, but I won't slow down my improvements out of fear."

"I've seen this conversation, Noah Balvan," Caesar revealed. "I've heard it many times in the last years. I know what you are about to say. I also know the face you'll make once you realize how inevitable my plan is."

"I don't care," Noah growled as he slashed his blades forward to unleash the entirety of his power. His companions' attacks also fused with that blow and made it able to express everything he had accumulated during his life.

A torrent of blackness left Noah's figure and shrunk until it transformed into nothing more than a narrow pillar. The attack grew even smaller and became a mere line that flew forward.

The line went through a third transformation. The energy that it carried began to condense once it slammed into the fabric of Caesar's fate. The expert had put Noah inside an invisible sphere that couldn't experience any change, but the attack was heavy enough to bend the laws and apply proper effects.

A spiderweb of cracks expanded all around Noah when the black line transformed into a mere dot. A hole had appeared in Caesar's technique, and that was enough to make it crumble. The fate used to restrain Noah was so frail that a single flaw shattered it.

"Oh my," Caesar laughed. "You are stronger than I expected."

"Liar," Noah declared. "Still, it's fine. One day, my world will be too heavy for your fate. I'm sure of it."

"I'd be disappointed if you couldn't do something similar," Caesar said as he watched Noah leaving the area to reach the tunnel dug by King Elbas and the others. "I don't expect someone weaker than me to trigger Heaven and Earth's next breakthrough in the end."