"That is how you receive your father?"
Noah's eyes widened with utter disbelief as he heard those words and stared at the golden humanoid.
"Fa...Father!"
The golden humanoid smiled before softly nodding.
"Yes, it is me."
Noah could not stop his body from trembling, and he almost jumped forward and hugged Zatiel. However, he remained calm and took a deep breath before kneeling on the ground and bowing.
"Noah Daybreak pays his respect."
Shortly after uttering those words, Noah felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Zatiel smiling. He was about to rise when he felt Zatiel's hand keeping him in place.
That hand had no strength, but Noah felt the weight of the universe on his shoulders. What he was facing was a fraction of Zatiel Daybreak's willpower, and only his own will could push it back.
'I must succeed!'
Noah's eyes burned with silver light as he used every ounce of willpower inside him and rose from the ground. His breathing was rough, but there was a smile on his face.
"Well done, brat. Your willpower was able to achieve sublimation in the illusion."
Zatiel smiled as he patted Noah's shoulder before waving his hand, materializing a throne and sitting on it.
Noah stared at Zatiel and took a deep breath before speaking.
"Father, you have finally healed your wounds?"
Everybody in the Daybreak Universe knew that Zatiel Daybreak was healing in the Universe's Core. Reversing time and bringing back his first wife to life was an incredible feat of prowess, but it severely wounded the Samsara Thearch, which is why he had been unconscious for several dozens of thousands of years.
Zatiel smiled as he heard that. He saw his son's love and felt a great sense of fulfillment.
"I finished my healing a long time ago. Actually, I have been conscious from the moment you were born."
Noah's eyes widened as he heard that, but he was also very confused. If his father had been conscious all this time, why did he not show up, or at least manifest during his birth?
'Was I not strong enough?'
Noah's willpower was incredibly powerful, so mighty that it allowed him to walk in complete darkness for over one thousand years, but even he had a soft spot when it came to his father.
He was the son of the Samsara Thearch, the mighties life form in the entire universe, an entity whose dreams could generate worlds. There was not a moment in his life when he stopped wondering whether he was good enough to be that man's son.
Zatiel stared at Noah for a moment before softly shaking his head.
"Brat, who says I was not during your birth?"
Noah's eyes widened as he heard that, and a profound sense of happiness appeared in his heart, but it also increased his confusion. As for the fact his father could read his mind, it made sense since this one's soul mastery was at an impossible level.
"I am the Universe Will, and I am in every corner of the universe. My body might have remained inside the Universe Core, but my mind was with your mother during your birth.
You were a sleepy baby, hahaha."
Zatiel laughed as he remembered how Noah did nothing but sleep the first years of his life.
Noah smiled as he heard that, and a profound sense of fatherly love filled him. That feeling was something he cherished significantly. It did not matter if he was an adult.
"Father, if you have been awake for so long, why did you not show yourself?"
That was a fair question, as Noah knew that the Sacred Kings and the Thearchs were all waiting for Zatiel to wake up.
"I know many people wish to be by my side, but it was not the time. I already granted them powerful inheritances they can use to reach Rank 10, and my absence makes everybody work harder since it installs a certain sense of urgency in them.
One must never be satisfied with their power and always strive for more. All those who cultivate understand that idea, but it is hard to truly assimilate it when you know someone will protect you from everything and there is no danger for your life and those you love.
Neo-Demons, Depravitas, and Eldars know they will be safe inside the Daybreak Universe. Still, those who are powerful enough understand the dangers of Emptiness, which is why they push themselves beyond their limits.
Even the Emptiness would not worry them if I was present, so I continued my silent cultivation even after waking up. No one knows I am awake other than your mother, whom I visit in her dream."
Zatiel spoke calmly, but his eyes glowed with enlightenment as if he could see the universe's causality and alter its destiny at will.
Noah felt a deep sense of awe as he heard that. He knew that besides being extremely powerful, his father was also a master schemer. Only now did he understand why those old powerhouses in the Prima Universe revered his father's plans as if they were divine decrees.
"Then why are you here?"
Although Noah was delighted to see his father, he now understood that this one had always been looking after him. Nothing special had happened for Zatiel to appear out of nowhere.
"There are several reasons. All the great powerhouses of the Daybreak Universe have fully excavated their potential and won't rise higher unless there is another inflection point in their destiny.
Since that is the case, there is no point in me remaining out of the picture, so I may as well rise.
I came here first because I saw you during the Sublimation Will World, and I was pleased with your efforts, so I wanted to bestow the world's gift personally."
Noah nodded and understood that the other would only face an incarnation of his father.
"Since you lasted over one thousand years, your willpower is high enough for me to grant you the full incantation."
Zatiel spoke solemnly before pointing his finger to Noah's forehead and sending a golden sphere into it.
