"You guys sure are early."
Early in the morning, Kate, Lawrence, and Evan arrived at the agreed meeting spot.
None of them had gone out for a bachelor party the night before. No drinking. No distractions. They had all stayed home obediently.
Because of that, the three of them crawled out of bed early and showed up on time.
All three looked terrible.
It was obvious they hadn't slept well.
"Couldn't help it-nerves." Evan rubbed his head. "Didn't sleep at all. Even meditation didn't work. How about you guys? ...Yeah, looks like we're all the same."
"There's no helping it." Kate sighed. "The thought that I'm actually getting married is scary. I couldn't sleep, and meditation was useless."
"Who isn't like that?" Lawrence nodded, then glanced around. "By the way, where's Noah? He's not here yet? Did he actually manage to sleep?"
It was already past seven.
Normally, they would gather first, then head to Hogwarts around 8:30 for the ceremony.
That's right.
The four of them had finally decided to hold the wedding at Hogwarts.
By then, even more people would be arriving. As the British Minister of Magic, Hermione's influence alone guaranteed a massive turnout.
Noah's invitation list was already long.
Hermione's list wasn't any smaller, including Ministers of Magic from multiple countries.
Even if Hermione hadn't invited anyone, Kate and the others would have. Everyone had their own circles. Some overlapped. Some didn't.
Dumbledore had fully supported the choice of Hogwarts. It was good publicity for the school.
As for space?
That wasn't a problem at all.
A few spatial magic arrays would solve everything. Hogwarts could handle it without Noah's involvement.
"I don't know." Kate checked the time and shook his head. "Let's grab coffee. Damn it, I can usually go a week without rest, but now I feel dizzy. Getting married is way too much pressure."
"Same for everyone." Lawrence nodded. "Let's go. I know a decent place-Muggle world, though. Evan?"
"Whatever." Evan thought for a moment. "I was going to check on Noah, but he probably rested fine. Let's not bother him. He is... Noah, after all."
"Yeah."
Kate and Lawrence sighed in unison.
"Truly Noah."
-
Noah sat with his eyes tightly closed, immersed in that indescribable rhythm.
Each pulse spread outward.
Every time Noah grasped the meaning behind one of those pulses, his strength increased noticeably.
But the speed was unbearable.
Painfully slow.
The golden sphere pulsed infrequently, and no two pulses released the same rule.
The lack of continuity drove Noah crazy.
Even though understanding a single fragment was a huge gain, he hated how inefficient it felt.
Unfortunately, he had no choice.
It wasn't like he could command the sphere to emit whatever rule he wanted.
After years of using this meditation method, Noah had figured out some patterns.
Every three thousand pulses formed one cycle.
Each cycle continued from where the last ended, gradually assembling a complete rule.
To fully comprehend one rule, three thousand complete cycles were required.
So far, Noah hadn't finished even one.
Not a single complete rule.
It was absurdly difficult.
Far harder than his journey from a small Hogwarts mage to a demi-god.
Noah felt lost.
Understanding the truth of the world and the laws of reality-this was the final path for all practitioners, whether mages, warriors, or anything else.
But the difficulty was beyond imagination.
Could anyone truly reach the end of this road?
Maybe those so-called "Transcendentals" from the novels he used to read?
Or concepts like the Heavenly Dao or the Great Way?
Things he didn't even know actually existed.
Still, those ideas made a strange kind of sense. If they were embodiments of rules themselves, then understanding rules would simply be understanding themselves.
As for Transcendentals...
Noah rubbed his head.
Did such beings really exist?
Someone who broke rules and stood above them?
That wasn't just inhuman.
Calling them "life" felt disrespectful.
"This is ridiculous." Noah sighed, his head aching. "System, are those novels just lies?"
"If you ask me that, I cannot answer," the System replied instantly. "Because you already have the answer. If you believe it doesn't exist, then it doesn't. But look at the world you live in. Truth is cruel and shrouded in mist. To seek it, you must be prepared. Ignorance is bliss-but so is the pursuit of truth."
"Ignorance sounds more blissful," Noah chuckled.
He stared at the pulsating golden sphere, and a sudden thought crossed his mind.
"What do you think would happen if I reached my hand into it?"
"I do not recommend it," the System replied calmly. "You are in a spiritual state. There is a chance you would be pulled inside. Also... this thing gives me a bad feeling."
"A bad feeling?"
"It seems... alive."
Alive?
Noah frowned.
It beat like a heart, but he had never considered it a living thing.
If it really was alive...
Then where exactly was he right now?
What kind of existence was this?
The more he stared at the sphere, the more it resembled a heart.
Only a heart pulsed like this.
And the rules it constantly released-
Did this heart belong to some unfathomably powerful being?
Noah's face turned pale.
He had been sitting beside this thing for who knew how long.
Had its owner already noticed him?
Was he courting death?
The phrase echoed in his mind.
The more you understand the truth, the crueler the world becomes.
Too accurate.
He had only wanted a safer, more efficient way to grow stronger.
Instead, he might have wandered into someone else's territory.
The golden sphere no longer looked magnificent.
Each pulse now felt like poison.
Who knew what its owner was thinking?
"Calm down," the System said. "Although it is dangerous, you are under my protection. No one should be able to sense you. And..."
"And what?" Noah snapped. "Say it clearly."
"And... I believe this thing has no owner," the System finished. "It appears to be an independent existence. I can sense no sleeping consciousness, no connection to any terrifying being. Its existence is tied directly to the universe itself."
"An independent existence... tied to the universe?"
Noah relaxed slightly, but his confusion deepened.
"So it's not the heart of some universe-destroying monster, but rather..."
A word surfaced in his mind.
"Wild?"
It wasn't elegant.
But it fit.
Ownerless. Unclaimed. No clear consciousness.
Calling it "wild" made sense.
Still, Noah didn't relax.
He trusted the System-but he was also afraid.
Then another thought occurred to him.
The System had said he was protected.
How?
Noah had a guess.
That silver power.
"Are you using that silver power to protect me?" he asked carefully.
"Yes," the System answered. "Since you fused with it, I've gained deeper insight. It has extremely strong obscuring properties. I cannot fully explain it, but the effect is excellent."
"Then..." Noah hesitated. "If I wrap my soul in that power and touch the sphere, what would happen?"
"I do not know," the System replied mechanically.
"That falls within my knowledge blind spot."