The goal has always been perfection.

Well, no actually. In the beginning, all Noah wanted to do was to survive in a world where he could be killed as easily as one killed an annoying fly. But along the way, as he improved, as he learned of the world, the factions and the universe as a whole…

…somehow he started to reach out to the dream of perfection. Where that dream came from and why he held it dear in his heart, Noah could not tell.

Yet he felt it, he wanted it, so he walked toward it.

And along that path, one day he came to face a wall disguised as a question. A question he had to answer in order to go beyond and above. A simple one, yet a difficult one.

What was perfection for him?

As there was no way one could chase something without knowing what exactly they were chasing, Noah took that question seriously and began to ponder.

Needless to say, he didn't manage to find the answer he sought himself.

To know what perfection meant for him, he needed to know himself to a frightening degree. Something he didn't quite achieve.

Noah knew himself enough, but each of his wives knew him in their own unique way.

So instead of making more introspection, Noah asked his wives what it would mean for him to be a perfect being for them.

Yes, for them.

Not for himself, not for anything else…but for them, for they planned to be together to eternity and beyond, making them the only ones qualified to dictate his path.

It was them who would have to support him, after all.

And their answers surprised him, to say the least. All of them said one thing about how he could be perfect for them.

It was not about love, for they knew he loved them more than enough.

It was not about attitude, for they liked their Noah just as he was…cocky, arrogant, and most importantly, loving.

For them, Noah was already perfect in every sense of the term. They had nothing truly to complain about.

But if they must…

Then for them, Noah being perfect — or rather, as they preferred to say, for him to be complete — meant simply to be above everything and anything, and that even included The Records. It meant to hold within him everything a world, a galaxy, a universe, a reality could possibly offer.

To be the One and Only.

To be the Cosmos.

That was not him being perfect. That was him being what he was always meant to be.

And for them…

"The Path of Cosmos," Noah declared.

…that was how they viewed perfection for Noah.

DIIIINNNGGG!

A loud, heavy chime reverberated through Noah's skull, one given by The Records.

They spoke:

{Noah Vaelgrim, you are attempting to create a very unique Pathway of Power.}

{A worthy deed, yet to make it into completion and bring it to life, you must pass a trial as any creator of a pathway has done before you.}

Noah smiled faintly, "Must I, really?"

{That is the Law.}

"Who created this law? And why?"

{The Pillars created it.}

The Records didn't answer the second question, yet Noah did not need the answer as Providence already acted, making him instinctively know the danger behind such an endeavor.

He felt that he shouldn't pass the trial, for that would mean exposing his power system and with that its potential and implications in the future.

Noah was strong and talented and that, beyond even the mind of a progenitor, but he was no fool to believe he could go against the Will of the Pillars or even fool them, looking at how The Records said their name with a touch of solemnity Noah didn't miss.

But if he was not able to fool them, then certainly…

"You can, right?" he said simply to The Records. He didn't specify anything about what he meant.

Yet, {We could.}

The Records didn't need the full picture to understand the mind of their most favorite being. They had observed him enough to know how Noah's thought processes worked.

Noah's lips curled up pleasingly, "The cost?"

{Two of three lives we owe you.}

Noah tilted his head, curious yet feeling a very real sense of danger. The Records had promised to save him three times when death came knocking at his door. And now, they asked two of the three.

That meant the act of only hiding himself from their Eyes was worth him dying twice?

One would think it was nothing, but Noah was someone whose true name alone killed beings standing near the top of the universe.

Only True Name.

He didn't even attack or anything. And yet…and yet…

Noah's smile widened, "Take it."

Silence settled once more in the white realm.

Noah didn't know if the Records had done something or not, as he didn't feel anything and they no longer spoke.

But believing in his lovingly sugar mommies or daddies — he never discriminated — Noah exhaled to release the breath he didn't know he was holding.

He shook his head, dispelling the apprehension that was beginning to creep in, and focused on the current situation. Behind the door of his realm, he could feel the presence of his wives.

They had come back, and they all came back with the aura of a World Dominator.

He smiled proudly, happy for them, and decided to not make a fool of himself and finish the establishment of his power system.

He needed to construct his First Warren, and for that he needed a main world. Noah had chosen Laeh, as Earth was already his heart.

And he had planned to give his Providence power to Laeh, to make it a World of Providence. That meant he would need the Origin of Fate, Destiny and Causality to make Laeh fully assimilate into his Buntu.

And when that thought came to mind,

"Seems like you are about to get a body, Providence." Noah whispered to himself, smirking, "Aren't you eager, darling?"

[You made me wait so long.] Providence complained.

"You know exactly why, right?" Noah chuckled as he raised his head to the sky. Slowly, threads began to appear above him, flooding the entire sky into an infinity of threads, all glowing in silvery colors.

[Did you finally find them?] she asked, her tone holding an obvious note of eagerness.

She had been waiting for so long!!!

Noah's eyes shifted and became like two circles of swirling and undulating silver threads.

His face split into a smile,

"No." He said, making Providence about to whimper in exasperation before he swiftly continued, "Not all of them, at least. Only one."

[Who?] Hope flickered inside her voice.

Noah didn't answer immediately once more, his eyes fixed on one specific brown thread admist the infinity of silver ones he was seeing.

It was a thread he first saw when he was interrogating Klaus and Rue, and more specifically when he was using Causality to attack.

He didn't think much of it back then, and with the matter of Elizabeth and Appolonia, it completely slipped past his mind.

But now he knew. And he was becoming surer and surer the more he looked at it and saw the thread slowly wiggle and try to hide itself among the others, as if shy to be stared at so openly.

"Causality," Noah spoke, and the thread shivered like a thief caught red-handed, "No need to hide, I saw you."

He smiled, "Why don't we talk? I have a deal for you."

Providence didn't speak, afraid to disturb Noah.

The thread, now colored a weird shade of brown and pink, was still trying to escape, and it was about to succeed. Only…

Noah sighed, then in one single motion his right hand shot forward, shrinking space as if it was paper folding upon itself, then grabbed the brown thread from the sea of silver threads, causing a boyish yelp of surprise to echo around.

Noah didn't let go, and placed the thread in front of him, locked into multiple timelines.

He suddenly raised an eyebrow observing the thread, feeling not an emotion of fear from it but one of deep shyness. His puzzlement soon shifted as understanding dawned upon his mind.

He grinned.

"Hear me well, Causality." He whispered, leaning his face forward, "You seem to be afraid of people, don't you?"

"Ah!!! H-How! How do you know???" a surprised voice came out of the thread, then, "Ah!!! Oh no! Oh no! I talked!!! I talked to Mister Noah!! Big sisters will be angry! Oh no! What should I do! Mister Noah! What should I do?"

"Please! Tell me! T-Tell me but please… d-don't look at me… please?"

Silence.

Words were lost inside Noah's mouth for a brief moment before an evil grin split his face,

"How wonderful," he intoned, then, "Causality, you see I am quite in a rush, okay? So do me a favor and tell me where those big sisters of yours are?"

"W-What? Oh! Mister Noah! Mister scary Noah! Will you help me for them to forgive me?"

Noah grinned, "But of course. I am the mender of hearts and relationships."

"Oh! Y-You are so nice!!! I will tell you! But please…"

The thread began to enlarge until a young brown-skinned boy with tears welling up in his mesmerizing eyes came to be,

He looked at Noah and hid his face with his two hands, while still peeking at him through the cracks of his fingers…

"…please don't look at me!!"

—End of Chapter 397—

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