Chapter 201 - Pain
A grand tale was being weaved out of the mouth of the Sect Master of the Karmic Sect as his wizened old face displayed a resplendent light.
The World of Cultivation was a special Prime World where its inhabitants were actively studying and interpreting the laws that made up the world and the larger universe. It was a group of extremely powerful beings that could be considered to have a footing in the vast space filled with many stars.
It was a world set on a different stage, as it was the norm to have beings from other worlds to congregate in the World of Cultivation for the abundant resources and treasures there. Mystical secrets and Treasure Abodes from powerful cultivators were spread throughout the world, where one only needed strength and luck to obtain heaven-defying techniques and items.
"It is a world you will definitely enjoy visiting, and it is one of the worlds where you will have a hand to play in the tumultuous future ahead."
Sect Master Inuit finished his words as he observed the calm expression on Noah's face.
"You asked me what exactly I had in mind to sacrifice so many of my disciples and even my own longevity while saving you. It was simply to sow karma between me and you."
His hands moved through the air as a few invisible lines appeared. He made a plucking motion as above Noah's head, a significantly large line became visible. The line sn.a.k.e.d through and made its path towards the Sect Master as he continued.
"Karma is something that very few can grasp, but it can show us wondrous things and give us the ability to traverse the tumultuous future relatively unscathed. Through it, I was able to know about a being worlds away who would one day come to prevent my death, and the deaths of many more beings that are connected to the World of Cultivation."
His hands came down as the white lines disappeared into nothingness once more.
"I have not yet found out what threat is coming to cause such a catastrophe, but I have completed the immediate goal of saving you, and now I can let events continue to unfold as I watch with ease."
The Sect Master had a soft smile on his face as a brilliant white light flashed out, the figures of his many disciples with blank faces appearing around him as all of them inexplicably left Noah's Spiritual Land.
Noah observed all of this closely, surprised at the foreboding words about the future as he asked.
"That's it?"
The smile on the Sect Master's face became wider as he raised his hands, forming a large hazy white door of light above them that his disciples began rushing into. His other hand stretched out as a luxuriously shining necklace inlaid with gems appeared and floated towards Noah. The gems lit up the entire area as Noah felt the many negative emotions and feelings of exhaustion slowly lift away from his body as this gem continued to float towards him.
"That's it. Here is one of the few unique treasures of the World of Cultivation. I've attached some inscriptions that will let me know whenever you begin your journey there. I see a cloudy but clear path that you plan to follow, and I cannot interfere with it too much, lest I cause things to backfire. We will meet again in time, and I look forward to seeing the things I've only glimpsed become reality."
His words finished as cryptic as ever, his figure following the disciples that had already passed through the hazy white door in the sky as his voice rang out for the last time.
"Oh yeah, don't get too sucked in with that fiery demoness of yours. I know heartbreak can be a deadly thing."
With these words, the mysterious Sect Master of the Karmic Sect was gone, leaving behind a pondering Noah that received another surprise with the last words he mentioned. He had too many things to do so he put aside the mysterious looking treasure aside for now, planning on looking at it along with the skill books he gained from the death of Baal later. His mind wandered to Barbatos at the mention of the fiery demoness as he shook his head and breathed out.
His gaze landed on the Spiritual Land as he prepared to go see the beings that were facing unimaginable pain from losing something extremely precious to them. He disappeared from the skies and reappeared on a snowy area in the Spiritual Land where a few thousands of Atlanteans, Merfolk, and the Calamities of the Sea were collected together.
It was a weird sight to see as these beings that would normally be seen underwater were slumped on the snowy ground of the Spiritual Land letting out mournful howls and saddening cries. They were going through a tremendous amount of loss that Noah could not begin to imagine.
Some had lost friends, others their entire families, but all of them shared the biggest loss of their home.
The Ocean Master was blankly staring at the sight of a few thousand Atlanteans and Merfolk as extreme despair was apparent on his face. His emotions were overwhelmed by guilt and sadness as he was the leader that was supposed to keep everyone safe. Yet he could do nothing, and he had felt what used to be his home perish!
Feelings of failure and shame were not only on the mind of the Ocean Master, as the Calamities of the Sea that had the roles as the actual protectors of their world felt a much heavier burden as they felt the link disappear.
There was no Lost World for them to return to anymore. There was nothing.
It was an extremely depressing sight as Noah made his way over to the Kraken, the one Calamity he had spent a significant amount of time with through the space affected by Time Dilation before they arrived for the defense of Atlantis.
The Kraken had a face full of wrath and sadness as its red eyes turned to look at Noah's Atlantean figure. It's deep voice resounded out painfully.
"Where are we?"
Noah looked at the maddened eyes of the Kraken as he replied,
"A world I found a long time ago that I am able to hold some influence in. The inhabitants are not too strong, and will not be hostile so we can spend some time here collecting ourselves."
The reddened eyes of the Kraken blinked as its gaze remained on Noah and spoke out once again.
"The enemies that did this?"
"Far too strong for us to even think about facing them right now."
Yes. If they were even bold enough to make the beings that easily shattered an entire planet their enemy, they were nowhere near close to even matching a tenth of their power!
Due to this, Noah felt like he was under a stifling pressure. He still had a plan that he planned to follow in his mind as he had to get closure from a certain world, but he had to plan carefully on how to move forward from there. He had to evaluate why he was doing the things he was doing, and it could not all just be based on hatred and revenge.
He was connected to the lifelines of two worlds with billions of beings tied to him. After watching the destruction of a world that was much more powerful than the ones he was connected to, he gained a better understanding of the brevity of the situation he was in.
His eyes turned back towards the Kraken as he continued to have an internal struggle over his next movements. The Kraken had an unwilling look, seemingly wanting to go fight right then and there no matter the results.
"The enemies are too strong, but they do not know about us. This gives us time to become stronger. It gives us time to learn more about them. After we achieve a certain level of power, we can choose to fight a battle that won't result in the Lost World of Atlantis being forgotten in the dredges of time."
Noah's eyes held conviction as he tried to calm and console the pained Kraken, spending some time with the rest of the Calamities that now only totaled up to 5. When some time passed, he left them and went to see yet another being that was heavily affected by the events in the Lost World.
'A fiery demoness, huh?'