Time and space had remained still, but the world had reverted to before the beginning of the battle anyway. Even the weak sky had returned to its previous state. It was as if Noah had never unfolded his aura at all.

The sky began to break again since Noah was still expressing his power. He studied that phenomenon for a while, but his eyes eventually returned on his smiling opponent. He didn't understand Caesar's power, but giving up so soon wasn't in his style.

Noah shot forward and swung his blades after reaching Caesar. The expert didn't even try to move at that time. He endured the attack directly and disappeared among the blackness unleashed by the blow.

Noah didn't stop there. He roared while a sea of flames flowed out of his mouth. Snore and his other companions also unleashed attacks as another dark world expanded. He took control of the area, but that didn't prevent Caesar from speaking again.

"You can delay the strands of fate," Caesar said from outside the dark world, "But you can't change what's going to happen. The sky will follow its destiny as soon as you leave the area."

Noah ignored those words and continued to study the waves of dark matter expanding into the void. His focus was on the hole's edges. He could finally see the deep and immense energy forcing everything to return to its previous form. His entire power tried to prevent that event, but the sky slowly retrieved its shape anyway.

'I can't stop it,' Noah admitted in his mind.

The dark world could only slow down the process. Still, the event appeared inevitable. The sky had already decided that it would retrieve its previous form, and those effects existed even after Noah destroyed its matter.

Absorbing the primary energy that had come out of the fabric of space didn't help. Noah could feel that fuel slowly disappearing from his body as the sky fixed itself. That power didn't even flow toward the crack. It just vanished before materializing in the form of the white environment.

Noah retraced the dark world, and the area immediately returned to its previous state. Injuries tried to appear on his body due to the drawbacks of the Cursed Sword, but only marks formed on his chest. One of his strongest assets couldn't injure him anymore, but he remained unable to stop Caesar.

Noah inspected his surroundings before casually waving his swords toward an empty area. A giant crack appeared, and the sky on the attack's path shattered, but nothing happened at that time. The world didn't heal.

"You have a tricky power," Noah sighed as he watched the crack remain in its place. "Can you even control the fate of the area? I don't understand whether you are a powerless puppet or the existence that pulls the strings."

"Your understanding of fate is too shallow to request answers," Caesar explained. "Both ideas are right and wrong at the same time."

"I wonder," Noah said while turning toward Caesar and raising his swords. "Your fate involves the world, but it's not part of it. These strings exist because you are alive."

"You are indeed sharp," Caesar chuckled while spreading his arms. "I'm the source of fate, and my influence spreads past your grasp, so you are entangled in my power."

"Let me guess," Noah exclaimed. "Your interest in me has something to do with the fate of the world. You don't like what it would become of Heaven and Earth if you do nothing. Actually, you can't do anything to affect that destiny. That's why you are helping me."

"That's correct," Caesar revealed. "Only someone who escapes Heaven and Earth's eyes can truly affect their fated growth, and you are perfect for that role. You and your group."

"What if I win?" Noah asked. "I believe that you can't see everything, right? Your power loses accuracy as I grow stronger."

"Risks are necessary," Caesar stated. "And yet, can you do it? Can you reach the apex of the cultivation world when your opponents outlive you by entire eras? Can you touch the realm where Heaven and Earth stand? Don't you fear that even if you accomplish all of this Heaven and Earth would still defeat you?"

"Fear belongs to the mortal world," Noah sighed. "We are all prisoners of ourselves, so it's pointless to hesitate. You have your path, while I have mine. If you throw fate at me, I'll just have to sever it."

Noah started to approach Caesar without deploying his movement technique. He walked and closed his eyes as he reviewed everything invented during his travel through the sky.

"You have already accepted that you can't defeat me right now," Caesar announced. "Why are you still raising your blades against me?"

"I can't win," Noah declared, "But it will take a long time before I meet someone who can endure my blows. I believe you can't attack me either since your fate doesn't see a battle, so stay still and be a good training dummy. I have a lot to test."

"Won't that reveal your power to Heaven and Earth?" Caesar asked.

"This battle isn't happening, right?" Noah laughed. "You can influence Heaven and Earth with your world, so they'll probably forget what I'll show."

"You are full of surprises," Caesar smiled before falling silent.

Noah had found a way to gain something out of that situation. He couldn't win, but he had already tested that Caesar's fate didn't affect his memories or injuries. Instead, the world and the sky weren't immune to those effects since the cultivator was part of Heaven and Earth's system. Caesar had basically created a training area.

An attack flew out of Noah's sword as soon as he reached his opponent, another followed when the world healed, and a third didn't take much to appear. He knew that everything would end once Caesar left, so he did his best to test most of his techniques. Of course, he kept his trump cards a secret in case he ended up piercing the shield that fate had created in his area, but he still used the experience to improve his battle style.

Caesar laughed for the entirety of the training. He didn't seem to care about the countless attacks that landed on his figure. Actually, he rejoiced whenever Noah showed something new and powerful.

Noah could only ignore those reactions and focus on his battle style. Testing attacks and creating fake battles inside his mind wasn't enough to grant him a proper understanding of how strong he had become. However, Caesar quickly solved all his doubts and helped him fix clucky techniques or series of attacks.

In the end, Caesar left without saying a word. His smile continued to shine on his face. He seemed completely satisfied with what he had witnessed.

Instead, Noah only stared coldly as his figure disappeared among the sky. Everything around him then shattered as his greed and hunger intensified to give him access to the energy needed to deal with his world's drawbacks.

Noah didn't say anything, but part of him felt grateful. Caesar had given him what he needed the most. The cultivator had shown how the ninth rank still had opponents capable of defeating him.

'I feel the need to cause a mess,' Noah thought as the fabric of space shattered around him.

****

Author's notes: I will take the rest of the week off. I can't catch up, and I'd just end up in the same situation if I attempt to do more than this.. The chapters will come back Monday since I'll use tomorrow to write them.

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