Noah had no idea what kind of nonsense A'dal was thinking.
Nor could he understand a single word the thing was saying.
He didn't speak Draenei.
If this giant tangram puzzle had been speaking Azeroth's Common Tongue, Noah might have understood.
Might.
Even then, he wouldn't have stopped.
Talk things over?
If we talk nicely, will you just hand over your power?
Obviously not.
Are you going to let me dismantle you?
Also no.
So what's the point of talking?
Let's just fight.
Noah had no intention of holding back.
To him, the Naaru looked holy, but he had always felt they were running a massive pyramid scheme.
The details were fuzzy, but one thing stuck in his memory.
When Illidan killed Xe'ra, only the young Turalyon had been furious.
The other old zealots barely reacted.
They had likely seen through the so-called Holy Light long ago.
They stopped believing in destiny.
They realized that the future was forged by their own hands, not handed down by fate.
Just like Illidan said while gripping his sword.
Destiny is not given. It is created.
There was another detail Noah remembered clearly.
Before those tangram pieces merged, Turalyon's eyes were brown.
Afterward, they turned gold.
It was hard to say he hadn't been influenced-or outright controlled.
Noah had zero interest in chatting with something that looked like a cult leader.
If he got brainwashed for no reason, that would be a catastrophic loss.
His mana erupted without restraint.
It poured out like it cost nothing.
Spell after spell slammed into A'dal in a frenzied barrage.
Noah was capable of casting five spells with completely different effects at the same time.
Everything except Time magic-reserved for the Time Stone-was fully under his control.
Five forces surged simultaneously.
Spatial magic took the lead.
Against an unfamiliar opponent, Noah wasn't stupid enough to rely on elemental magic.
Especially not against an energy-based lifeform.
Elemental attacks were mediocre against beings like this unless the counter-element was used.
For Noah, elemental magic served one main purpose.
Breaking shields.
Facing the relentless assault, A'dal was caught off guard.
His first shield of Light was crushed outright by spatial power.
He reinforced it instantly.
Then four elemental forces crashed into it from all directions.
A'dal genuinely felt like he was being ganged up on.
The elemental forces attacked simultaneously.
Some even fused together.
Even A'dal couldn't ignore that level of pressure.
"Is there some misunderstanding between us?"
He truly didn't want to fight.
Especially after realizing how complex this stranger's powers were.
"Perhaps we can talk. Please. Stop this."
A'dal suspected the stranger possessed an extremely broad range of abilities.
Those dark energies didn't feel innate.
Which explained why they didn't feel evil.
As for the attack-
A'dal thought he understood.
The stranger wanted the power of the Holy Light.
Honestly, if that were the case, A'dal wouldn't have resisted.
Sharing the Light was the very purpose of the Naaru.
Answering the call.
Guiding others.
Even those with darkness in their hearts were allowed to touch the Light.
Unfortunately for him-
He was speaking the wrong language.
Noah didn't hear a word.
When the elemental barrage failed to shatter the holy barrier, Noah adjusted immediately.
Average results.
That was enough.
He opened his Domain.
In an instant, the halos surrounding the six nearly overlapping spheres of light expanded outward.
A'dal felt it immediately.
A majestic, cosmic pressure descended.
For a moment, he wondered-
Was the universe itself being held in the palm of a living being?
Noah didn't waste time.
A terrifying torrent of mana surged.
A strange blade of light appeared directly behind A'dal as Noah vanished again.
Space folded.
A'dal reacted at once.
His holy power erupted in full.
Within Noah's controlled space, a massive golden dome rose.
A pillar of Light shot upward, shaking the Mirror Dimension violently.
"Getting serious already?"
Noah grimaced.
"This is going to be annoying."
This golden Naaru wasn't simple.
The surge of power forced Noah's left eye to turn blood-red.
Blood seeped from the corner.
He wasn't an Uchiha.
But the sensation was close enough.
Sharp.
Blinding.
Disruptive.
Gritting his teeth, Noah cast a numbing spell on his left eye.
The pain dulled.
He stared at the tangram.
Then began drawing power from the Star of Space-Time.
A Time Loop activated.
He didn't know the full extent of the Naaru's combat potential.
Caution came first.
At the same time, another torrent erupted from his Domain.
Heaven and earth inverted.
Distorted space surged forward like countless invisible blades.
The shift was instantaneous.
A'dal was caught off guard.
His erupting Holy Light stabbed uselessly into the ground.
Too late.
Cracks spread across his holy barrier.
A'dal felt it.
A fatal sense of danger.
Without hesitation, he abandoned defense.
A golden beam shot from his chest.
It detonated the invisible blades mid-air.
Every living being had a temperament.
Even a cornered rabbit would bite.
A'dal was usually mild-tempered.
His focus was the Burning Legion.
But this stranger's aggression had crossed a line.
Golden light rippled outward.
A brand-new Holy Shield formed.
Then the Light exploded.
The Mirror Dimension nearly collapsed.
If Noah hadn't withdrawn from his Domain immediately to stabilize space, he would've been swallowed by the Naaru's counterattack.
He didn't stop.
As he stabilized the Mirror Dimension, his Domain changed.
The six overlapping regions expanded infinitely.
A pale-gold orb appeared at the center.
Around it floated six spheres of different colors.
Each radiated a completely distinct power.
A'dal fired another golden beam.
The sheer force made the Domain tremble.
Just before it broke through-
The deep blue orb flared.
The beam twisted violently.
Without Noah lifting a finger, it veered off at an impossible angle.
A'dal frowned.
This opponent was becoming increasingly troublesome.
In raw power, the stranger was likely weaker.
But those spells-
They were maddening.
Spatial power shouldn't work like this.
What race was he?
He looked human.
But the life level hidden within him was anything but.
A'dal couldn't understand it.
His mood darkened.
Noah's wasn't any better.
Not because A'dal was difficult.
But because his Domain had evolved again.
On its own.
Following designs Noah had only loosely envisioned before.
He was stunned.
He had opened his Domain to fight seriously.
He hadn't expected this.
The problem wasn't solidity.
It was direction.
The more the Domain evolved, the more fixed its trajectory became.
Noah didn't want his vision to collapse.
He was a mage with ambition.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to this godforsaken place to risk his life.
He glanced at his Domain.
Then at the oversized, glowing tangram.
His expression darkened.
The six colored orbs erupted.
A terrifying torrent surged outward.
At the same time, the pale-gold core began charging silently.
Those six orbs weren't decorative.
They were nearly physical.
Each could independently unleash the Domain's inherent power.
They were, in effect-
Noah's clones.
Single-attribute incarnations.
Even if Noah stood still, those six alone were equivalent to six top-tier mages attacking together.
A'dal didn't hold back either.
Ordinary elemental power didn't scare him.
Only that deep blue energy demanded caution.
Still-
The green power bothered him.
He couldn't identify it.
That alone made him wary.
The clash escalated.
Magic torrents collided again and again.
A'dal assaulted the Domain relentlessly.
Noah responded in kind.
Time lost meaning.
The Mirror Dimension was reduced to fragments.
Power began bleeding into the real world.
Neither side slowed.
If anything-
They only grew more vicious by the second.