There was a zone devoid of life inside the mountain chain that divided the areas of influence of the Elbas family and the Shandal Empire.
That feature was quite peculiar in a rank 5 danger zone, especially since some heroic cultivators believed that it hid a rank 6 existence inside its perimeter.
An area devoid of life in a lair of powerful magical beasts was unusual, but the mountain chain was treated in a similar way to the mystical fog.
It was a danger zone that could be easily crossed on the western coast through the city of Slyfall, so there was no point in venturing through its dangerous territory.
Yet, the terrain of that particular spot began to show traces of activity for the first time in millennia at some point.
Shining lines appeared on the ground and spread through a few hundreds of meters vast area, creating an array that illuminated the surface of the mountains around it.
The light radiated by the large formation increased until it became a blinding halo, only to vanish shortly after.
Noah, Flying Demon, and Dreaming Demon's figures had appeared on the ground when the blinding light of the array vanished.
The shining lines under them slowly stopped shining and began to disappear.
Also, some of them even showed slight cracks in their shapes.
The trio knew that the detonation of the palace had started a chain reaction that would slowly shatter the fabric of the separate dimension in the next months.
Those cracks were just one of the after-effects of that event.
The truth was that only Noah and Dreaming Demon had noticed those details since Flying Demon was wholly captivated by the sight of the starry sky.
It was nighttime when they came out of the separate dimension, and the elder had stared at the dark-blue starless sky for a thousand years in solitude.
Seeing a different environment after so much time gave birth to many emotions inside him, he could finally sense that his hardships were over.
Flying Demon stared at the sky for a while and closed his eyes to calm his mind when he felt satisfied.
Noah and Dreaming Demon remained silent by his side.
They were set on giving him all the time that he needed.
Then, he began to speak without opening his eyes.
"Demon Prince, I want to make one thing clear."
Noah turned toward the elder when he heard those words.
"I know that my lover didn't predict your arrival, but you still saved both of us. A few lifetimes might not be enough to repay this debt, and my assets can't even begin to cover it. Yet, I can promise you our eternal gratitude. Our powers will be at your disposal whenever you desire."
Flying Demon opened his eyes when he finished speaking and began to fly in the sky to take a better look at the world.
Dreaming Demon shot a warm smile toward Noah before following her lover in the sky.
They had been away for one thousand years, their eagerness to see how the world had changed was understandable.
'I wonder if he would still speak in that way if he knew that I thought about eating both of them.'
Noah shook his head as he suppressed that thought.
Buzzing sounds began to resound inside his sea of consciousness as his inscribed notebook received the mental messages that had accumulated while he was inside the dimension.
Noah had disappeared for less than five years, and the elders of the Hive knew that the exploration of a separate dimension could take far more.
Yet, they still sent a few messages to question him about his status and to update him about the main progress of the Hive.
Noah read through the contents of those messages as he flew toward the elders that had begun to stare toward the west with wide eyes.
They had learnt about the fall of the piece of Immortal Lands from Noah, but the sight of the new landmass in the distance still made their imagination wander.
"Prepare a welcome banquet. We have guests."
Noah limited himself to send that mental message to the Hive when he saw the expressions of the two Demons.
Only time and willpower would heal the injuries that their individualities carried, and seeing how the Hive was flourishing under the rule of their old friend might help in that matter.
"This way. We can directly fly to the Coral archipelago and take a teleportation matrix there."
Noah said as he flew past the elders toward the archipelago.
Staring at the new continent from a distance couldn't be compared to the feeling of flying over its sky, he knew that too well.
The elders returned to reality when they heard his words and began to follow him while taking glances of the territories around them.
Everything felt new to them, and they couldn't help but take short breaks whenever they found something interesting.
Their flying speed turned out to be rather slow due to their curiosity, but Noah didn't mind waiting a bit to appease them.
After all, his mission was over, and there was only a long period of meditation in front of him.
Then, a familiar figure greeted them when they reached the sky above the city of Slyfall.
"It's so good to see you again, Lord Balvan. Would you make use of the services that my city can offer to you and your esteemed friends this time?"
Drew, the son of the governor of the city of Slyfall, gave voice to those words while performing a bow to greet the three heroic cultivators.
Noah felt quite surprised that Drew was bold enough to speak to two rank 5 cultivators, but his amazement further increased when he saw Thirty-seven materializing next to them.
Thirty-seven didn't say a word as he shot toward Drew and began to study his inscribed robe.
The automaton was captivated by those inscriptions, and he would exclaim random phrases as he traced those shining lines with his ethereal fingers.
"The inscriptions' field has made a lot of progress in these years."
"Oh! I see Zave's teachings inside this line."
"Why is the inscription master doing such shabby works?"
Drew stood still as the automation evaluated the inscriptions on his robe, but traces of annoyance appeared on his face when he saw that Thirty-seven didn't seem willing to stop anytime soon.
"My Lords, could you please make him stop?"
Drew asked, but the trio only revealed stern expressions.
Noah and the elders were Thirty-seven's Masters, but the automaton was an intelligent rank 6 automaton.
He had a will of his own, which made him difficult to control with their power.
"Why don't you give him your robe? He seems captivated by its fabric."
Dreaming Demon asked at some point, and the friendly feelings radiated by her smile forced Drew to obey her request.
Flying Demon showed a smug smile at that sight while Noah turned to leave toward the archipelago.
Drew was able to recover only after even the elders had left, which was when he realized that the trio had robbed him.