Birth of the Demonic Sword

"Are you talking about actual bending of reality?" Noah asked while suppressing the surprise that was filling his mind. "How sure are you about this?"

"Pretty sure," King Elbas announced. "Our power works against us in this situation. I believe the illusions use the intensity of our influence to solidify in reality. The stronger we are, the more the world will recognize the illusions are the truth."

The concept sounded quite hard to understand. The experts often inspected the battlefield before playing what they recalled in their minds. They wanted to know when the illusions had turned into reality to gain something to study, but that also felt quite hard.

They were trying to find clues in something that didn't exist in their minds and the recording. The injuries suffered after everyone fell prey to the illusion were the only proof of the alternative version of the events, but studying them only gave information about their companions' power.

"Can you counter it?" Noah asked after he felt unable to find a solution to the issue.

Those matters involved the actual flow of reality. They went beyond space and time as far as Noah understood. The fact that they needed external powers to establish themselves as the exact version of the events even vaguely explained that insane ability.

Doubts remained in his mind since strong effects would require a hefty price to pay for their activation. Noah knew that his group had enough power to transform multiple regions at the same time, so it made sense for the ghosts' illusion to become real after affecting them. Yet, it left him confused about the old rulers' situation since they didn't have enough power to offer for the solidification of the new reality.

Nevertheless, his d_e_s_i_r_e to understand the functioning of that ability didn't make him forget his goal. Killing the ghosts had the priority. His knowledge could wait for his level to increase.

"I might be able to come up with a counter for myself," King Elbas explained. "However, these illusions can affect different existences on multiple levels. They probably transform themselves to adapt to each target, which makes creating a general counter almost impossible. I would need to know every detail of the entirety of your laws to build something that suits you, and we all know how unreal that is."

A simple description wouldn't work. King Elbas would need to understand the different laws of his companions to make something that could work. However, that would require him to make those true meanings part of his existence. Even thinking about it felt impossible.

"In theory," Noah suggested, "You would lower the effects of the ghosts by becoming immune to their ability, right? You would remove one of their sources of energy."

"I don't know what good that would be," King Elbas sighed. "Two or three of us are enough to make entire regions transform with mere thoughts. Maybe even a single one is enough, and I don't think that you'll come up with counters in the imminent period. We might need to consider abandoning this plan."

Leaving was always an option since the group didn't need that victory. The ghosts were the old rulers' problems. Noah wanted to help to make things harder for Heaven and Earth and justify gaining benefits from the city, but he didn't strictly require that.

The group had only two priorities right now. They had to get stronger and slow down Heaven and Earth's conquest of the world. Everything else was situational, even when it came to tasks that could indirectly benefit their priorities.

"Is there anything we can do?" Wilfred asked. "I don't get the reality talk, but I understand that their illusions need our energy, which means that they don't have much fuel in their bodies. Did anyone find centers of power inside them?"

"I was too busy cutting," Sword Saint replied.

"I didn't sense anything," Robert announced. "They feel like masses of energy."

Noah's eyes lit up at those words, and other experts experienced the same feelings. Some understood that they had failed to notice a simple detail. The ghosts didn't have centers of power, but they continued to appear in the world. Moreover, it was clear that Heaven and Earth had created them that way since their innate ability allowed them to ignore that flaw.

Those details led to an obvious conclusion. The ghosts were peculiar existences, but they still had to respect some general rules about living beings. Their power had to come from somewhere, which probably involved a breeding ground or a special spot inside the chaotic laws.

The experts didn't have to defeat the ghosts. The small amount of energy contained in their figures wouldn't keep them alive for long, so succeeding in taking out the source of those creatures could inflict more damages. Heaven and Earth could easily recreate the eventual breeding ground, but that was fine as long as they wasted energy.

"Can you track them down?" Noah asked while glancing at King Elbas.

"Impossible," King Elbas revealed while shaking his head. "I did use multiple trackers, but they have fallen prey to the illusions. They can't sense the traces of their passage through the chaotic laws."

"We must go back to the city then," Noah concluded. "We can win if we create another trap and focus on putting trackers on them. We only have to make sure not to make the illusions affect the items and were good."

"We don't need to go back," Alexander suddenly exclaimed while covering his right eye. "It's lucky that the effects on my existence remain. You have no idea how many tracking abilities I can use. Some even border proper divination if I pay the right price."

A white aura started to come out of Alexander, but Noah suddenly placed his hand on his shoulder and interrupted the technique. The hybrid shot a confused glance toward him, and Noah didn't hesitate to point at the injuries that the group had suffered during the battle.

"It's pointless to find them now," Noah explained. "Let's rest, recover, and learn from this battle. We can get them after we are back at our peak."

Alexander's resilience was so off the charts that he didn't even consider resting as an option. He could express his peak power even after that defeat, but the same didn't go for his companions, especially the simple cultivators.

The black bottom of the hole was already an area that Heaven and Earth couldn't see, so the experts didn't need to complete many preparations to create suitable training areas. King Elbas even took a few portable ones for those who required special treatment.

Noah preferred to cultivate on the surface and use his flames to heal his body. Taking care of a missing limb was a bother at this current level due to the immense energy required to rebuild his flesh. He had to devour large lands and flatten entire regions just to gather enough power. Still, his condition eventually returned to his peak, and the same happened to his companions.

A few decades spent cultivating preceded the group's decision to leave. None of them could gain a massive increase of power in that period, and Alexander's abilities were starting to lose track of the ghosts. The situation forced them to move, but none of them was against that. Actually, they all wanted payback for their previous defeat.

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Author's notes: Ugh, I'm slow. Hopefully I can make the third faster.