Year 6459, The Northwest Mountain Range of the fifth Middle Plane.
Over the serene, green mountain range flocks of cranes flew; they stretched their white winges and soared high through the deep blue skies. Scattered clouds dotted the vast skies looking like white cotton.
A man wearing a black cloak jumped off a tall tree. Landing nimbly on his feet, atop the forest floor, he raised his hand. A white butterfly flew over and perched at his finger. A message was transmitted directly into the man's thoughts before the butterfly dispersed into sparkles.
The man walked some distance and stopped all of sudden.
In front of him, there wasn't anything special.
The scene before him was similar to the scene after him. Several meters tall trees, cutting ninety per cent of sunlight from reaching the forest floor. Chirps of birds, cries of wild animals everywhere. Yellowing leaves and roots littered the floor making crunching noises as one stepped on them.
But strangely enough just as he mumbled a few words, the scene before him began to ripple.
As if a pebble had been thrown into crystal clear pond water, the ripples spread and grew chaotic.
At this, the man stepped forward. His black boots, instead of stepping on the forest floor, disappeared. A few seconds after he disappeared, the ripples stopped. Two halves of the forest returned to being normal again.
No signs of a human being to this place before. It was as if nothing ever happened.
"You are finally back, what's the news?" Noah asked without turning back, his hand busy dealing with several novel items hovering mid-air.
At intervals, he would lift his wand, a spark would fly out and infuse with the hovering items. Beads of sweat trickled down his temple. Although his hands were nimble, his wand swift in action, the process took a lot more concentration than what met the eye.
Inside the spacious cave, there were a few tables arranged by the corners. They were full of jars containing things like huge eyeballs, teeth, strange glowy stones, etc.
In the centre, there was a huge cauldron hovering in midair. A green fire supplied it with heat. A strange liquid bubbled inside.
There were several tunnels that led to the main cave inside of the mountain range. Interconnected with each other, they produced a complicated maze. Without it being someone with precise knowledge, it was inevitable that one would lose oneself.
Maybe, that was the intention of the person who created the cave.
The black-cloaked man had just emerged out of one of the tunnel openings before jumping noiselessly behind Noah.
"Replying to master, the Richard and Atkinson families have called back their men." The man took off his hood, went down on his knee and answered.
"Looks like our plan worked. Huh?"
"Yes, Master. With the surge of demonic attacks on the border, the families council has come upon the decision to halt with Master's pursuit for the time being."
Noah's lips quirked up before he put down his wand. "The causality rate must be quite high for them to give up their greed." He walked towards the table. One by one, he went through the items. Everything was perfect. "Alright, looks like tonight is the night."
Three decades.
Three decades since he first came across the tomb from the olden eras.
Three decades since he got his hands on the formula to create level nine magic stone...
Since he had defected from his sect...
Since all the families had given it their all to his pursuit and he had to go into hiding.
"But after today, we'll no longer have to hide." Noah light blue eyes reflected off the decrepit parchment he had recovered from the tomb that year. He had the method secured in his memory.
Suddenly, who knew what thought he had, a fire erupted in his palm, burning the parchment to ashes.
"Master?" The kneeling man blurted out in spite of himself.
"Is there any problem?" Noah raised an eyebrow before turning back.
"No. I'll go arrange the array for you." The man replied before swiftly getting to work.
Half an hour later. An array was established in one of the secret chambers. Channels extended through the main cave and led to places only Noah and his close confidant, Lenny knew.
With the flick of his finger, a fire ignited within his palm. Noah jumped into one such channel. Conveniently navigating through the passagway as if he had done so thousands of times before, Noah reached a dead end.
He tapped the wall with his wand thrice.
Suddenly the rock started to move. Noah timely erected an invisible barrier atop his head so none of the pebbles falling down could hit him.
After some time, the two halves of the wall separated and receded, opening up a narrow path.
Without any hesitation, Noah walked in. As he disappeared in the darkness of the narrow passage, the walls joined together and closed the entrance.
Noah flicked the fire off in the palm of his hands.
A vast grassland appeared before his eyes as he breathed in the fresh scent. At a distance, the sky and Earth seemed to be merging. That was not an optical illusion. In the case of the hidden realms, the space is limited.
Earth and sky indeed merge together at a distance becoming indistinguishable.
"Do you know how important this step is?" Noah said.
"Yes Master, I'll do my best. Nothing shall disturb you." Lenny replied before disappearing.
"Master, we have arranged the things."
"You can go and start the process."
A few other apprentices appeared and reported.
Noah assigned them their respective instruction before marching off to the centre of the hidden realm. After checking the invisible array arranged by Lenny, Noah sat in a meditative posture. Lifting off a few inches above the Earth, he hovered in midair and closed his eyes.