Infinite Mana in the Apocalypse

Athena reigned in her wild aura as Noah's brilliantly shining white wings began to disappear into particles of light, his body gradually descending down.

"It's my loss, Junior Brother. You seem to be more capable than we have imagined."

Athena's face regained calmness as the War Princess with a thirst for battle disappeared, her eyes only shining with a strong competitive light as she looked towards Noah.

"How exactly were you able to summon more Empyrean Guards and obtain that transformation though?"

A curious question was thrown out as it wasn't Noah, but the Grandmaster was the one that replied as he laughed joyfully.

"Those that are really loved by fate can sometimes find new ways to use techniques or go past what we normally believed was the limit. Crixus has just shown us that [Fate's Guardian] has many areas to improve on. It is the skill of someone who is naturally talented in the Law of Fate!"

The interest in Athena's eyes only increased as she heard this, watching as the Grandmaster came close to Noah and glanced at his body up and down.

"Marvelous. The Fate Lines you recently condensed have all but fully assimilated in your origin. Do you know why you were only able to condense 9,999 the first time you tried?"

Noah shook his head as a profound look appeared on the Grandmaster, replied as his eyes continued to gaze deeply towards him.

"Passing the 10,000 Fate Lines is a mark that makes you a Red Robed Celestial, but it is also a point of distinction for a being that is only stumbling in the light of fate, to a being that can actually influence it and use techniques to even probe it. No matter how high your talent is in the law of fate, your body still has to take some time assimilating this new source of power, and you will come to find that even condensing tens of Fate Lines in a day becomes harder as time passes."

Noah listened carefully as the Grandmaster continued on.

"Over the next few weeks as you assimilate more Fate Lines and get used to the abilities of Fate's Guardian, I will provide you with even more skills that will be hard to comprehend, where even with your monstrous talent it would take you quite some time."

Noah nodded as the gaze of the Grandmaster finally moved off of him, going towards the valiant Athena on the side.

"Athena, show Crixus to his living quarters for now. Let him absorb the experiences of the spar today and all of the new abilities. I'll be inquiring your help to conduct more sparring sessions with your junior brother in the future."

The War Princess's eyes shone as she heard this, nodding respectfully as she beckoned towards Noah, their figures leaving the expansive area of the monastery that was filled with broken walls and craters.

Noah followed along as numerous thoughts passed through his mind, his body lifting to the skies as the figure of Athena flew off the mountain into a lower elevation where an expansive clearing with three dome-shaped buildings stood. He was about to speak when Athena broke the silence first, and it was with a question he didn't expect as their figures landed on the clearing next to the large dome shaped buildings.

"What do you want?"

Noah turned his head to the side as he replied in a confused manner.

"Pardon me?"

Athena turned towards him with her eyes clear, her gaze impassive as the figure of a being relishing battle was all but gone, only piercing eyes gazing towards Noah.

"What is it that you seek? What is your goal?"

The question was very straightforward, taking the calculating Noah by surprise as he adopted a pondering face on what exactly to reply. Athena continued on as she looked around at the expansive clearing.

"My goal is to pierce through the mysteries of fate and understand exactly why a Celestial saved me from a dying world and brought me to where I am today. It is to understand this apparent Noble Fate that I hold, and what exactly it wants from me in the future."

Noah's outward gaze continued to be one of pondering as his mind was impassive. There were many thoughts running through at this moment, but in his mind, this War Princess in front of him was marked for death long ago!

He was just beginning to delve into the ideologies and secrets of the Celestials, understanding very briefly about their motivations and how they tied in to the Law of Fate, but that still did not change the actions that this woman in front of him had carried out.

One could say it was a mission given by the Celestials. One could say she was indoctrinated to believe that what she did was correct, that she wholly believed in what fate foretold, that taking the lives of billions of beings of the Lost World in the name of reducing a tremendous amount of chaos in the future because of what they foresaw from the use of the Celestials' mysterious skills. It was these same skills that Noah was patiently waiting to get his hands on, skills pertaining to fate that would allow him to see exactly why the celestials would give missions to destroy entire stars.

"I want to understand why a clueless girl was saved and elevated to the position she is in today, all the while doing my best to reduce the chaos constantly spreading across many worlds. So, what exactly do you want?"

Her gaze landed on him again as her calm eyes locked with his, each one thinking their own thoughts as Noah replied with a smile.

"I want...certainty, plain and simple. Over the years, I have seen that strength and power are the only things that guarantee a level of certainty in life. They are the only things that grant me the ability to keep my life, and the lives of those around me, without something unexpected coming and taking everything away."

Noah's eyes became firm and more determined as he gazed upon this being he still held the same mindset about.

"I want strength that allows me to live free of worries, for me to enjoy my life and do whatever I want without worrying about an exceedingly powerful force that could disrupt everything I have out of nowhere. Fate...is just something that I will grasp along the way towards that level of strength."

Athena's eyes shook as she heard this, her ability confirming that not a single lie could be found in those words!

This being that held a tremendous talent in the law of fate...wanted to simply use it to amass even more strength to himself!

A light smile appeared on Athena's lips as she heard this, nodding her head as she felt like she understood the being in front of her some more. She had always been asking herself what fate wanted from her. As she looked at this being who apparently held a Noble Fate similar to her she now wondered- what exactly did fate have in store for him?