"I really didn't expect you to not only come back, but also make such a huge mess."
Sitting at the dining table, Wong rolled his eyes at Noah.
He wasn't the only one.
Everyone else at the table was looking at Noah with expressions that were... complicated.
That made Noah feel both awkward and irritated.
What happened last night was completely beyond his expectations.
He never imagined things would escalate to that level.
The worst part was that he didn't even know how to explain it.
What he experienced last night was far too surreal.
The transit.
Those beings shrouded in strange light.
The massive glowing sphere in the distance.
If his memories weren't so vivid, he would've thought prolonged meditation had finally driven him insane.
And yes-he had been meditating for a very long time.
After checking with Wong and the others, Noah learned he had been immersed for over a month.
That news stunned him for a moment.
Then he accepted it.
But what truly caught him off guard was the black hole incident from last night.
There was no denying it.
The spatial collapse had directly exposed the hidden Sanctum in Westminster.
Even worse, the surge of mana caused all of London's magical concealment systems to fail at once.
For a brief moment, the entire city realized something incredible.
Mages had been living among them all this time.
Fortunately, ordinary people weren't idiots.
They understood how powerful mages were and knew better than to disturb them.
Aside from some regret over not being able to interact more closely, the public reaction was surprisingly calm.
Most people even felt friendly toward the magical community.
That was the good news.
The bad news was that it gave Hermione an enormous headache.
In the end, the Ministry of Magic-led by Hermione-decided to let things settle naturally.
After all, the culprit was Noah.
The future Sorcerer Supreme.
And the real ruler of Britain's magical world.
Even if that fact wasn't public, no one dared push the issue.
More importantly, the mana Noah released last night carried a presence so overwhelming that even veteran mages couldn't comprehend it.
"So," Ms. Haifin said casually as she poured coffee for Lily and Wanda-both of whom were finally back-"you've reached the legendary tenth rank now?"
"Yes," Noah nodded.
There was no point hiding it.
The aura from last night was far too obvious.
Not just Earth's magical world-its echo had probably spread across the universe.
The tenth rank wasn't a joke.
The Ancient One's existence alone had kept countless cosmic powers in check.
The Time Stone helped, sure.
But without her own strength, just look at Strange for the result.
"So that means you're a Demigod now?"
Cassandra tilted her head.
She had always had a seat at this table.
Anyone in the Sanctum did-if they had the courage.
She looked Noah up and down, then rolled her eyes.
"What a scrawny Demigod. In our era-"
"Don't start with your muscle-head era," Noah cut in flatly.
"Even among them, I doubt many could beat me in a real fight."
"Sure, there are people who could kill me."
"But if I want to run, what can they do?"
If Cassandra had only heard the first half, she might have been impressed.
Even she admitted his strength was real.
The second half, however, made her lose half her appetite.
Was this guy serious?
She genuinely wondered if he was some god's illegitimate child.
Otherwise, how did someone with this personality survive to this point?
Cassandra continued eating in silence.
Noah didn't care.
After finishing his meal, he checked on Goose-who had been following him without any sense of presence-along with the soul-damaged Hathaway and the noisy BD-1.
Then he prepared to head to Kamar-Taj.
He had far too many questions about his breakthrough.
Especially that massive sphere of light.
But before he could leave, the System stopped him.
That irritated him at first.
Then he realized he wasn't actually in a rush.
Reporting to his Master could wait.
The System rarely interrupted him without reason.
So this had to matter.
Noah entered the Mirror Dimension.
To be honest, it wasn't very safe anymore.
At his current level, he could accidentally shatter it at any moment.
Last night was proof.
But doing experiments in the real world would be worse.
At least if something exploded here, it wouldn't directly affect reality.
"What is it?" Noah asked as he entered the System Space.
"You sounded urgent. What happened?"
"Do you still intend to continue your Domain?" the System asked coldly.
"Or have you forgotten something?"
"Forgotten what?" Noah frowned.
Then his face went pale.
"The seals..."
"Dammit!"
He finally realized it.
After coming back, he'd been completely out of control.
Like a dog off the leash.
He had forgotten about the seals entirely.
Because of his accumulated foundation and understanding, his meditation had pushed him straight into the tenth rank.
But now the problem was obvious.
Without sealing those powers, how was the System supposed to fuse the Domain?
A wave of frustration hit him.
This was the first time he'd ever messed up this badly.
He tried to think of a solution.
Nothing came.
His Domain understanding had already "frozen" after Dormammu and his meditation review.
Undoing that wasn't easy.
"What do I do?" Noah rubbed his head.
"Seal it immediately," the System replied.
"Don't worry about the Domain for now. Re-experiencing it was inevitable anyway."
"No need to worry?" Noah blinked, then brightened.
"You prepared something?"
"I did," the System said.
"I finished recording your data after the transformation."
"When you entered meditation, I couldn't interrupt you, so I temporarily severed your connection to the Domain and extracted part of your dark power to test fusion with the Holy Light."
"Severed... the Domain?" Noah looked strange.
That was even possible?
He tried to contact it.
Nothing.
Not because it was gone.
Because it was sealed.
He could still sense it.
Wrapped in a layer of silver power.
He knew that power.
It was the one used to simulate combat opponents.
He hadn't expected it to be able to lock his Domain.
That realization shook him.
For the first time, he seriously questioned what that power truly was.
He had thought about touching it before.
But never dared.
If that was the System's core...
Touching it might mean the System disappearing.
He dropped the thought.
"So what's the result?" Noah asked.
"The Light and Dark are balancing," the System replied.
"Full integration will take time, but the basic fusion is complete."
"That fast?" Noah grinned.
"That's huge."
"But the Holy Light you obtained lacks roots," the System continued.
"You must fully fuse it into your body. By any means necessary."
By any means necessary?
Noah smiled.
Thank Odin and his Master.
Their sealing techniques were perfect for this.
He took out the steel plate.
Under the System's control, Holy Light poured out and enveloped him.
This time, it was smoother.
Instantly, Noah transformed.
Wings spread.
A choir-like resonance echoed around him.
The power was far beyond his expectations.
As the steel plate compressed, it was sealed into his right eye.
For a moment, an overwhelming tide of Holy Light flooded his vision.
Then-
Space shattered.
The Holy Light Mode forcibly tore reality apart.
Countless glass-like fragments exploded outward.
And Noah hovered there.
Suspended above London.
Wings spread.
Staring ahead in a daze.