Rue observed with eeriness the thread pointing at him, threatening to snuff out the life he had so painstakingly made sure no one would ever take from him.

He had created countless plans and countless contingencies to avoid the exact situation he now found himself in, and yet in that moment none of those bloody preparations yielded any results.

He would have cursed the Moon for this misfortune, if his celestial heart were not already threatening to burst out of his throat at the sight of this simple red-black thread — an inch from his forehead — crafted by a being he had never even heard of…and capable of killing him.

A True Death. One where reincarnation would be nothing but a cheap dream.

He was not the only one whose fear pulsed through his blood like vociferous poison.

Klaus, and the three Worldborn — too inconsequential to be granted the honor of names — also felt the same sensation. They were not the target of the attack, but their senses were sharp enough to feel the immense pressure of fate, destiny, and causality writhing within those threads.

And yet, before any of them could gather themselves, the voice of the monstrous being they had the misfortune of facing rang out in the thread-woven space, amused, yet deeply terrifying.

"Ah. Let me go even one step further, just to make sure of the validity of our deal, Rue Octave, brother of the Bearer of Sun."

Noah's voice was thick with amusement.

Then his tone shifted, becoming something no longer belonging to a mere being, but to a concept.

The threads of causality inside the Soul Place thickened, then glowed with blazing silver light, searing the eyes of any who stared too long.

All of them shuddered, feeling the sudden change in air press down on the very origin of their being.

"Now," Noah's voice rumbled all around like the thunder of heaven, "if I kill all of you in one single strike, then all your worlds, your knowledge, everything you are… will belong to me."

Noah's Soul Space shuddered under the harrowing distortion.

Rue, Klaus, and the three Worldborn widened their eyes in horror as they felt the very power of causality begin to seep into them, trying to make Noah's words into truth.

But in the process…

…it failed.

Their vision began to regain its clarity, only for them to be presented with something even more soul-wrenching.

The reason Noah had failed was…

"Unfair?" Noah's voice was both incredulous and amused. His face plastered across the sky bore a mocking smile. "I said killing all of them in one strike and yet Causality tells me it's too unfair. It tells me I need to give myself a handicap for it to work properly."

Rue's mind seemed to stop functioning.

"W-What?" he managed, too shocked to form proper words.

"By the Tree's shelter…" Klaus cursed, his mind finally catching up to the information he had once speculated about Noah the first time he saw him.

The fact that Noah was an Abomination. The Third One.

And if that was true…

"We… we are facing an Abomination!" he forced out, making the others hear him.

They, too, began to grasp their situation. Their hearts froze.

Noah's voice continued calmly, not minding in the slightest their realization of one of his countless identities.

No one would leave this place the same way they entered.

So…

"My dear wives," Noah said, "what handicap should I give myself?"

"Can you not force Causality to obey?" Solaris demanded, finding it outrageous that a simple concept dared refuse to obey her husband, her god.

How dare it?

Her voice echoed for all of them to hear.

"I can," Noah chuckled, "but that wouldn't be as fun, you see."

"Uh! I am sorry!!" Emmie suddenly blurted, "Like, I know I'm still not used to this. But please, can I propose one?" she asked sweetly, looking at her sisters.

Without hesitation, they agreed, making the Elysiari of Gold beam with happiness.

With a wide grin, she said, "Ah! I have so many ideas, Noah! But like, if you're too strong for this dwarf-like golden man and these ugly guys to survive one attack, then just change it."

"Instead of using Providence, use something like…" Emmie grinned, and the sisters echoed her smile.

"…a power you've never used. Like Gold, maybe?"

Noah smiled at the suggestion. It was true, Gold was a power he had never used, one he only obtained recently after Emmie awakened her gold affinity and became the Elysiari of Gold by his elevation.

And yet, knowing this, he still considered using a never-used power against beings close to the top of the universe… and kill them?

The instant the possibility crossed his mind, Causality acknowledged it, deeming it a suitable handicap for what he wished to obtain.

"A mistake," Klaus managed to say, interrupting Noah's musing. "You are making a mistake, Abomination. Killing me will bring you more problems than satisfaction. I am the guardian of the favorite of the Progenitor of Elves."

His green eyes trembled with fear, yet remained cold.

"My life is closely observed by the Progenitor. And you know it, Abomination or not…"

He glared up at Noah's looming face.

"You will die against a Progenitor. And against my Progenitor, your death will come in a way never imagined."

"Follow the footsteps of your predecessors," Rue added. "Know your place, and no one will bother the likes of you. Ignore it, and you will learn why Progenitors still rule the universe."

His sun-like eyes glowed. "And not Abominations."

Noah listened to all their threats with the same smile plastered on his lips.

"Quite true," he said. "But you're fools if you think I am like my siblings."

"I am Noah Vaelgrim, dear friends. Or maybe that's not something you can relate to?" He smiled.

"Fine. Let me tell you a name you will never forget."

His grin widened into madness.

Instantly, the wives' eyes widened in shock at his words. Instinctively, every one of them knew what he was about to do.

Something they were both excited and quite apprehensive about.

"Let me give you my True Name. Only then will you glimpse the being you have in front of you."

"Please, don't collapse on me, okay?"

A deafening silence pierced through the soul realm. The hairs on their bodies immediately rose in dread, their hearts and minds seizing under a foreboding chill.

Slowly, the sky of the soul realm parted like a veil, revealing Noah in all his beauty, descending like an immortal who decided to grace the lower world with his presence.

His silver hair whipped gently behind him, his white runic-threaded eyes gazing down at the beings before him.

He wore, this time, a simple black robe made from a single hair of Anya.

He smiled. They shivered.

"Some of you have known me before, others not yet. So I suppose a presentation is needed," Noah said softly. "Give me the honor to begin, then, as the host of this peculiar discussion."

"You—!"

"I am many things. But let me tell you the most important ones." Noah cut Rue off without even sparing him a glance.

The atmosphere sharpened like a lethal blade at the sound of his voice and at the meaning behind it.

He continued swiftly.

"I am the son of two fantastic women, the husband of stunning women, and the father of two troublesome children."

The air grew heavy, choking the breath from their lungs.

"I am the Third Abomination, the Progenitor of Elysiari and the Patriach of the Vaelgrim's Family."

The wives shuddered in awe, pride and joy swelling inside their hearts.

For the captives, their faces reddened, their chests heaving without air.

They began to feel eyes — ancient, unfathomable, merciless — gazing down at them.

Noah smirked and continued unhurriedly,

"I am The Record's most favored being between Heaven and earth and anything beyond… without, of course, forgetting… the Blasphemer of Reality."

Their celestial and immortal cores began to crack. Pieces splintered away from within.

Their mouths split and fractured like dried wood. Their eyes bulged wide, unable to contain the pressure burning through them.

They could no longer continue.

Noah's entire existence was being unraveled before them, and they realized they could not bear it.

They could not bear to glimpse him.

"And finally…"

Their eyes begged him to stop, desperate to speak, but nothing escaped their throats except a wet gurgle of boiling blood.

But Noah didn't stop.

"I am Noah Vaelgrim," he said.

And then…for the first time since he obtained his True Name…

"I am Nytherion Il'Varethos."

Noah spoke his own True Name.

And the core, the soul, the bodies, and the minds of Klaus, Rue, and the three other Worldborn exploded under the weight of his existence, tainting the soul-space with streaks of green and gold.

They died.

They died simply by hearing his name.

And in that moment…

Causality acknowledged their deaths as fair, granting Noah everything from them.

From material possessions to their most intimate thoughts.

He owned them.

And in that instant, with a calm, serene smile…

"Come back to life…"

He paused, and…

"Slaves."

—End of chapter 389—

A/N:

I had exam yesterday. Sorry for the delay!

Thanks for reading!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.