Birth of the Demonic Sword

Dark matter immediately flowed out of Noah's chest to envelop Robert with properties that could benefit his existence. However, that sent more information to Noah, and his expression gained a peculiar coldness.

Robert was floating in the sky close to the ground. The energy that lingered in the environment and the power flowing out of his organs were keeping him afloat. Noah had even found him moving toward the storms due to that slow momentum.

The expert was still alive, but his body was beyond recovery. Everything outside and inside of Robert was in pieces, cracked, or simply non-existent. Only his face still carried human features, but that didn't feel too true since almost a third of it had completely disappeared.

His centers of power weren't better either. His mental sphere was about to fall apart. Cracks spread throughout his mental walls, and many holes leaked the evaporating mental sea. His dantian had multiple cuts that left a path for his "Breath". The organ was even slightly flat due to the clash with the sharp energy.

The layers of dark matter managed to put an end to Robert's weakening, but Noah soon noticed that he couldn't stop him from falling apart. He would have to rebuild too much. His destroyed body was only the last of the problems. His dantian and mental sphere required a complete rebirth.

Robert woke up while Noah inspected him. The sole return of his awareness widened the cracks on his mental sphere. His center of power seemed unable to handle life anymore.

"It's not too bad," Robert voiced a weak laugh. "I've come back from worse."

"Don't talk," Noah ordered when he saw shards of Robert's mental sphere falling inside his dark matter during his phrase.

"I'm afraid I won't follow the orders this time," Robert laughed again before frowning due to the pain that his shattering mind sent.

Countless ideas appeared in Noah's mind. He reviewed the entirety of his cultivation journey in an instant to search for something that could tell him how to save Robert.

A few ideas could work as long as Noah only focused on keeping Robert alive and disregarded his current cultivation level and potential. He could absorb his consciousness inside his mind, record the current state of his existence, and replicate it later on when building another body.

Noah could replace all the matter in his centers of power to create temporary organs that would save his consciousness and existence. Then, a long session with his ambition might make Robert able to go through a second rebirth. The process didn't have many chances to succeed, but it was better than nothing.

Noah could turn Robert into a Blood Companion before freeing him. The expert would lose his current existence, but Noah felt confident in creating something quite similar. After all, Robert had experienced his rebirth under his guidance.

Noah even considered activating the ability of his ethereal center of power to find better answers or expand his consciousness event further. Finding King Elbas wouldn't be a problem at that point, and he might be able to help him figure out a solution.

Even Divine Demon could play his part in that process with his miraculous law, but wasting time to summon others was a risk since it was very likely that most experts had fainted or were recovering. Noah didn't want to gamble away precious seconds when he was already there.

"Noah, stop," Robert begged when he understood what his leader's cold expression hid.

"My underlings aren't allowed to die," Noah stated. "That's between rule three or four of my organization. Pick the number you like the most."

"Only the first rule is important," Robert laughed, "And I broke it for a long time."

"Robert," Noah said in a serious tone.

"How many laws do you want me to throw away?" Robert asked. "How many chances do I even need to have before I decide to give up?"

"This was bad luck," Noah announced. "You can't expect to face a solid stage cultivator before the breakthrough to the ninth rank."

"Yet, you are in perfect shape," Robert smirked without putting the slightest envy in his tone, "And I'm floating aimlessly while I wait for my death. Is your power luck?"

Noah remained silent. He could answer, but he didn't want to destroy Robert's last hope to live either. Still, he had to admit that his companion was right. Robert had already switched existence many times. Even Noah didn't know how much potential he would have left after another rebirth.

"Are you asking me to let you die?" Noah questioned him while the Demonic Sword appeared in his hand. "I can make it quick."

"I want you to make it quick," Robert explained, "But don't kill me with your words. My existence lives because of you. Take it. I know it will fit your law."

Noah's expression became even colder, but two existences suddenly entered the range of his consciousness and made him focus on those areas. His dark world immediately expanded and sent waves of dark matter toward those presences before teleporting them next to him.

Steven puked blood after materializing next to Noah. The teleport didn't cause that event. His abdomen had a large hole that stretched from his dantian until his heart. He was also missing an arm, and the other was busy carrying a fainted Divine Demon.

Divine Demon was still in his monstrous form, but he had lost most of his body. His figure was nothing more than a head attached to a triangular chunk of flesh that stretched until his dantian. Everything else had disappeared, but an invisible aura was keeping his insides in place.

"He managed to make part of the energy turn," Steven explained with a tinge of shame. "I-, I hid behind him when everything exploded again."

"He would probably praise you for that," Noah scoffed. "That monster lives for wine, dragons, and demons."

Steven wanted to complain, but his voice failed to come out of his mouth when he saw Robert's state. Studying the amount of dark matter enveloping his body and filling his injuries was enough to explain how terrible his condition was, especially when it came to his head.

"Xavier won't come and perform a miracle just to brag for a few days," Robert mocked. "Stop buying time."

Steven could understand most of the situation after that short interaction, and sadness inevitably filled his face. He and Robert had ended up getting close in those years since they shared their position at the bottom of the group. He felt unable to say anything when Noah sighed and stored the Demonic Sword.

"Are you sure?" Noah asked. "Losing yourself among the darkness isn't too bad."

"I have faced the darkness twice already!" Robert shouted. "Heaven and Earth have forced me to abandon my first law, and you have given me the chance to abandon their true meaning. Hurry up now. I want to experience becoming part of the monster that will destroy the sky with my last moment of awareness."

"As you wish," Noah whispered as an azure light came out of his eyes.

"It has been fun," Robert exclaimed when Noah placed his palm on his maimed head.

"It has been incredibly fun," Noah repeated, and the two exchanged one last smile before Supreme Thief's ability activated.

****

Author's notes: One hour or so for the .