Noah's breathing was rough, and his body was hurting. That hand came out of nowhere, and he could not detect it until it was too late.
And to make things even worse, that entity's power greatly surpassed his. Noah was sure that even if he were to burn his life force, there was no way he could win.
By any measurement, that entity on the other side of the portal was an undefeatable enemy.
'I should focus on restricting my emotions, resisting this dark fog to not generate more monsters. As for that mummified hand, the only path I have is to avoid it and understand this world's essence as fast as I can.'
Noah formulated a plan and executed it. He did his best to avoid the generation of mind monsters and perceive the nature of this world, keeping an eye on any portal.
Ezequiel, Venganza, and the Sacred Kings saw Noah's path and shook their heads. Running away and just defending yourself from your enemy was not a path that could allow you to perceive this world's essence.
The Beginning and End World marked one of the most important inflection points of the Samsara Thearch's life. Someone that gave up the fight after the first clash would never understand its nature.
Noah's logic was not flawed as he did something similar in the Sundered Agony World, but obtaining the baptism from the Beginning and End World was harder.
You must genuinely harmonize with the Samsara Thearch's memory before even beginning to understand the world's essence.
The days carried on, and Noah noticed that more people began to rise to the Beginning and End World. They all chose a similar path to him, dodging the mummified hand while seeking to perceive the world's essence.
Almost half a month went by, and Noah began to grow nervous. No matter what he did, he could not perceive anything from this world, and the entity on the other side of the portal was becoming stronger.
If things carried on like this, it would only be a matter of time before the wounds that entity left in him would be so severe that Noah would have no other way but to leave.
As Noah wondered what should change, his third eye trembled as he noticed a presence in the distance. He noticed a man covered in a dark robe and knew this one was no other than the first person to rise to this world.
A black hole behind the Depravita was consuming the dark fog and even the monsters that rose from his mind, granting him more energy.
'What is he doing?' Noah did not understand what the Depravita was doing. There was no point in just staying like that, looking to the sky, since it would only make it easier for that entity to attack you.
As Noah expected, soon, a portal appeared above the Depravita, and a mummified hand covered in a yellow robe came crashing down.
The hand was incredibly fast, instantly connecting with the Depravita, but what Noah saw shocked him.
"AHHHHH!" The Depravita roared as he used all his energy to fight against that hand. Winning was impossible since the entity was simply too powerful, but regardless, he did not give up and pushed with more and more strength until the portal finally closed.
Whenever Noah faced that hand, he always attempted to endure less damage and defense until this one vanished. He never acted like that Depravita that fought ferociously even if the chances of victory were zero!
The Depravita opened its mouth and devoured the dark fog before turning toward Noah, showing a set of golden eyes before vanishing.
Noah's fists clenched as he failed against that man for the second time.
"Of course, how could I be so stupid? My father always faced enemies stronger than him, but he never gave up or simply took a defensive path. How can I harmonize with this world made of his soul force with such a naive mentality?"
Noah descended to the ground and closed his eyes as his energy began to rise higher and higher. He burned his soul force, making the purple flame in his spear grow exponentially stronger.
A pillar of flames emerged from Noah's spear as the energy in this one was more than what a Low World could produce in its entire lifespan.
After ten minutes, Noah opened his eyes as a portal appeared in front of him, and as the mummified hand emerged from it, he thrust his spear up.
"¡BOOOM!"
An explosion of purple fire flooded the ground as the spear clashed with the mummified hand.
Noah's entire body began to crack due to the immense pressure he endured, but he just clenched his teeth and carried on with the attack. His knees bent, but the spear never stopped pushing against the hand until the portal vanished.
There was blood all over Noah's body, but that did not erase the smile on his face since, after truly fighting against that hand, he felt his connection to this world growing stronger.
Noah did not waste his time and focused on healing his wounds, and he sought a way to defeat that mummified hand. After a moment, his eyes glowed with enlightenment, and a cold smile appeared on his face.
He closed his eyes before opening his mouth and bringing the dark fog into his body. Immediately after that, more negative emotions began to flood Noah's mind, and it did not take long for those to transform into monsters.
Dozens of those creatures appeared around Noah, and they were about to jump toward him when his third eye began to glow and unleashed a silver force field.
Flames made of willpower harmed those monsters and suppressed them, ensuring they would not run anywhere.
"You are born of my emotions and energy. You will obey me!"
Noah shouted those words as he raised his spear and used his willpower and Lineage to force the monsters into his weapon just as a new portal appeared in the sky.
