Chapter 2089: Orange and white

The scene didn't make any sense. That orange core seemed something Heaven and Earth would usually shatter to study and replicate since it carried June's true essence. Still, the white light didn't hurt it in the slightest. It only imitated that tiny world without ever affecting its structure.

Noah could finally explain while that version of June didn't resemble her true self. Heaven and Earth didn't have the chance to study her properly, but that only raised new questions.

June had spoken about a different approach, but that didn't explain why Heaven and Earth had chosen that contrived path. They had no reason to leave part of her intact if they had the chance to destroy her. At the same time, it didn't make sense for her to end up or remain in that situation with her core intact.

Questions filled Noah's mind as the inspection continued. His mental waves slowly moved toward that tiny world to inspect its nature. He couldn't help but feel that June was truly there, but his presence eventually triggered an unexpected reaction.

The tiny world stopped rotating among the orange, dark, and white shades when it noticed the foreign mental waves. Noah felt observed before a surge of energy abruptly filled the area. The event made him smile because he sensed June's presence inside that aura, but his instincts suddenly warned him about an imminent danger.

Noah opened his real eyes only to see orange light flowing out of the cracks that had appeared on June's face. The unstable substance began to flow inside his body, but a lightning bolt landed on his hand before he could empower it.

Noah's eyes widened in amazement when he felt pain. The orange lightning bolt had exploded on his palm and had forced him to release his grasp on June's face. His skin didn't suffer any injury, but a black mark had appeared where the attack had landed.

June retreated. A trail of smoke hid her face, and blood fell from behind it. The lightning bolt had hurt her, but Noah remained in his position to understand what was happening.

June's aura was unstable. It grew stronger, but there seemed to be two different natures in its insides. One belonged to Heaven and Earth, while the other reminded Noah of his lover.

Heaven and Earth's version of June was stronger. It ended up benefitting from that conflict, bringing her overall power near the peak of the gaseous stage. Her heartbeat grew louder, and denser lightning bolts started running over her body.

Noah felt the pulling force caused by the heartbeat falling on his body, but his figure didn't move. June's previous attack had managed to leave a mark on his skin, but that was before the unstable substance. Now, he was near the peak of his physical prowess, so nothing could affect him.

The smoke dispersed after a series of white lightning bolts ran over her face. Noah could see that June's injuries had healed during those seconds, but the corners of her lips had turned upward. Her emotionless state had suffered a hit.

Noah couldn't move his eyes from that faint smile. His gaze remained firm even after June launched a storm of white lightning bolts toward him. The attacks crashed on his figure without inflicting any damage. They didn't hinder him even after he decided to step forward to reach his opponent.

June's face fell prey to his hand again. Noah pulled her closer as his anger surged to open a path toward the insides of her mind, but an orange radiance suddenly started to s.h.i.+ne from behind her eyes.

A different lightning bolt with power at the peak of the gaseous stage came out of June's eyes and prevented Noah's inspection. The attack couldn't hinder his body, but his mental waves were too frail to survive that blow.

The lightning bolt engulfed Noah's face without causing any damage. When it dispersed, he revealed a surprised expression originated by the strangeness of the situation. The white attacks clearly belonged to Heaven and Earth's copy, but the orange ones were part of June's real essence.

The issue with the different attacks came with their triggers. June would normally use the white attacks and rely on the orange ones only when Noah threatened to enter her mind.

'What are you trying to protect?' Noah wondered. 'Why are you protecting it from me?'

Noah didn't have answers, but he knew where to find them. Potential filled his mind and gave him enough power to condense a few strands of mental energy that could survive the orange lightning bolts.

June's eyes lit up again, but Noah sent his mental waves forward anyway. The orange lightning bolt didn't destroy them, so he soon found himself among the whiteness inside her mind.

Noah moved forward, uncaring of the whiteness around him. He needed to find the tiny world, but his instincts eventually warned him again. Something powerful was coming, and its nature soon became clear.

A lightning bolt with power in the liquid stage flew among the whiteness and engulfed Noah's mental waves. They would have regularly been able to survive a few seconds in that raging environment, but the attack was far from normal. June's true self used higher energy, so Noah's thoughts shattered in no time.

Noah opened his real eyes only to find himself immersed in orange light. The lightning bolt had engulfed his entire figure, but it remained unable to hurt him while the unstable substance empowered him. However, he began to feel some pressure, and the heartbeat even intensified.

"You can't get rid of me with this power," Noah growled with sounds that June would understand. "Let me in so that I can see what you are hiding."

"I'll get more power then," June said as her smirk widened.

Her aura intensified, and the battle between the two natures happened again. Heaven and Earth seemed to win again, and a series of white lightning bolts in the liquid stage fell on Noah's figure. They didn't hurt him, but an orange light soon replaced them.

The lightning bolt that followed the orange light carried the same properties that had shattered the mental waves. It was also stronger than before, and Noah started to see the limit of his body there. The attack created sparks all over his body. They tried to push him away, and his grasp began to tremble. He could endure much more, but injuries were bound to appear if she kept getting stronger.

Noah could still use his potential to improve his body. That would allow him to reach levels that would challenge June's ability to grow stronger. Yet, he preferred to understand what was happening before making decisions that could lead to adverse consequences.

"What am I even supposed to do here?" Noah asked.

"Fight me," June stated in a tone that felt odd. "That's the only way."

Noah's eyes sharpened. His reptilian pupils moved left and right as they inspected June. He couldn't understand which version of her had voiced that request, but the smirk had grown wider. That alone felt enough as a sign.

"Fine then," Noah said before throwing June downward.

June slammed on the weak sky in the distance. The impact destroyed a large chunk of the white material and made her spit a mouthful of blood. However, her attention couldn't remain on her state since a ma.s.sive aura had expanded above her. A black crystal sphere had appeared among the void, and an army of six-armed dragons was coming out of it.