Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah sat, but his senses scanned the room and the areas on the fourth floor during the process. Everything was highly peculiar. The house had two layers separated by a wide array of inscriptions that worked as glue. Its insides featured materials in the divine ranks, while its outsides' fabric was in the human ranks.

The array of inscriptions between the materials at different levels prevented them from affecting each other. It even blocked the pressure and smell of the fabric in the divine ranks to avoid unleashing chaos among the magical beasts when the house was under the filter.

The house was now outside of the filter, exposed to the heavy auras of Noah's companions, but a barrier had appeared over its exterior surface to stop that pressure. The building could exist on both sides of that incredible structure, and Noah was only starting to appreciate its qualities.

The tea set, the mat, and even the table were divine items capable of enduring his pressure. Yet, the actual liquid inside his fuming cup and the teapot was a material in the human ranks. Moreover, the array of strange inscriptions that Noah had seen in the house's walls didn't exist there.

'How can it even remain in one piece next to divine items?' Noah wondered as he picked up the cup and looked at the brownish liquid.

The scent that reached his nostrils was pleasant. Noah could sense his instincts telling him to drink the tea, but that only made him more suspicious about the whole situation.

How could a liquid in the human ranks even tingle his instincts? How could it survive in his presence? Noah was a being that radiated destruction with his sole existence, but the tea seemed immune to his influence. It didn't even shake as his aura continued to escape his figure.

"How do I get past this floor?" Noah asked after putting the cup down.

"You should drink the tea now that it is hot," The old man suggested.

Noah had no intention to follow those orders. The Cursed Labyrinth was too strange, and it had already proven that it was capable of subverting his expectations and the knowledge accumulated throughout countless years in the higher plane.

The magical plants on the second floor could infect rank 9 cultivators even if their power couldn't touch those high realms. The infective energy came from an upper tier creature, which gave sense to the whole event, but Noah didn't know whether the Labyrinth had something similar there.

Noah had obviously checked the dimension hidden under the fourth floor. There was nothing there. He had only seen the same azure sky and fewer clouds, which would generally eliminate the presence of a hidden threat. However, he didn't trust the Labyrinth enough to believe it had such fixed rules.

"I'm not here for tea," Noah responded as he tried to inspect the old man again.

The mysterious figure inside the house had been the first target of Noah's inspection, but he couldn't discover anything. The old man had a gentle face covered with wrinkles, an almost bald head with few strands of white hair, and an unkempt grey beard. The color of his eyes was impossible to guess since he kept them half-closed all the time, and his green robe matched the color of the prairie.

The old man's appearance was clear, but his presence felt ethereal. Noah wouldn't have problems inspecting beings in different dimensions or realms at his current level, but that figure was strange. He barely existed, which made it impossible for him to discern his actual state.

"Why are you here?" The old man asked. "The Cursed Labyrinth attracts beings for various reasons, and you are definitely interesting."

"Interesting how?" Noah asked without giving any answer.

"Why did you come here looking for allies?" The old man continued as a gentle smile appeared on his face.

Noah's reptilian pupils sharpened, but he remained calm. He had already understood that the old man was a force that belonged to the Labyrinth. It felt almost normal for him to know a lot about the situation.

"How do I get you?" Noah eventually questioned as a cold smile appeared on his face.

"Me? Why would you even want me?" The old man laughed.

"I like tea," Noah joked. "I need someone who can make it in my organization."

"That's a lie," The old man continued to laugh.

"You haven't been honest either," Noah stated.

Silence fell between the two. The tea in Noah's cup eventually became cold and stopped releasing its tempting scent. The old man sighed at that sight, but he promptly took another cup from the set and poured the warm drink.

"You should drink the tea when it's hot," The old man suggested.

"I can't get to the next floor by destroying everything, right?" Noah wondered.

"I'm afraid that will only slow you down," The old man explained. "You should probably avoid that."

"Why?" Noah asked.

"Some of your companions aren't too happy about the wait," The old man revealed.

"I can always kill all of them if they stir some trouble," Noah declared.

"I'm sure you could," The old man replied, "But that would go against your goal."

"You said that I was looking for allies," Noah corrected. "I never confirmed that."

"But that's the reason behind your trip to the Labyrinth," The old man stated. "The world knew that Heaven and Earth were becoming too strong. Their opponents needed a chance to improve to restore the balance."

"What do you know about Heaven and Earth?" Noah asked.

"That's the wrong question, young monster," The old man replied.

"I haven't been called "young" in ages," Noah chuckled.

"But you are young in my eyes," The old man declared.

"Show me your eyes," Noah requested.

"No, they must remain like this," The old man explained. "They lose themselves in reality when they open, and they create too many dreams when they are closed. Like this, I can explore the realm between the two."

"But you'll never be anywhere," Noah added as his arm rose.

Noah wanted to force the old man's eyes open, but he interrupted his movement right away. Destroying the whole floor wasn't a solution, so using his brute strength wouldn't help either.

"You aren't a brainless monster," The old man commented.

"What happens if you open your eyes?" Noah asked.

"The path to the next floor becomes real," The old man revealed.

"How do I open them?" Noah questioned.

"You can't open them," The old man explained. "Only I can."

"Open your eyes," Noah ordered through a growl that used a tinge of his pride.

"No," The old man refused. "Everything can exist as long as I remain between reality and dreams. I can serve tea in the human ranks inside cups in the divine ranks, and I can live among rank 1 magical beasts as if they were divine beings."

"I don't see any benefit in that," Noah commented.

"Because your eyes are firmly fixed on reality," The old man declared. "You don't see dreams, and you can't even comprehend the realm between the two states."

"How do I open your eyes?" Noah repeated.

"You can't open them," The old man replied.

"How do I make you open your eyes?" Noah asked.

"You must make me desire to abandon my dreams and watch only reality," The old man explained.