NOVPUBNoah stared at the horde of Lilas surrounding him, his mind racing as they closed in. The deformed ones lurched forward first—twisted parodies of the girl he knew, their limbs askew, features warped beyond recognition.
'No time to hesitate,' Noah thought, gripping the Eclipse Blade tighter.
As one of the misshapen clones lunged at him, arms outstretched with unnatural strength, Noah sliced through it with a precise arc of his blade. The creature's arm separated cleanly, and something unexpected happened—where the Eclipse Blade cut through flesh, instead of normal blood, a strange viscous substance splattered across the pristine white floor.
Noah's eyes narrowed as the liquid seemed to react to his blade, sizzling where void energy made contact. The substance wasn't quite blood—it was darker, thicker, with an unmistakable red sheen that reminded him of...
'Dark chi,' he realized with sudden clarity.
The memory flashed through his mind—Lila sitting cross-legged, patiently explaining the difference between internal and external energy sources. How dark chi could be drawn from outside, harnessed from negative emotions, while normal chi circulated naturally within the body.
That's when the pieces started clicking together.
'They're powered by dark chi,' Noah thought, instinctively ducking as another clone swiped at his head. 'That's why they feel wrong.'
He struck another deformed clone, watching intently as the same reaction occurred—the viscous dark chi-infused fluid reacting violently with his void energy. It was similar to his early fusion experiments with chi, when the respective energies would struggle before ultimately combining.
As Noah defended himself against the increasing onslaught, his tactical mind raced ahead. Purge had somehow mastered human cloning technology, and the Rowes—those twisted bastards—were experimenting on variations of their own daughter. This explained the Lila-like figure Sophie had encountered in her room.
'They're not just clones,' Noah realized as he slashed through another attacker. 'They're dark chi constructs wearing Lila's form. External energy powering artificial bodies.'
The realization brought both clarity and rage. These weren't just copies—they were abominations created by forcing dark chi to animate artificial flesh. Like humans used ATP for cellular energy, these clones used concentrated dark chi to function.
But if they were powered by external energy rather than having their own internal chi circulation...
'The real Lila would have both,' Noah thought, a plan forming rapidly as he continued to defend himself against the tide of clones. 'Her own internal chi system AND the ability to channel dark chi externally.'
That was it. That was the difference he could use.
The clones pressed closer, dozens of identical faces with pleading eyes and outstretched hands. Noah couldn't keep fighting them individually—there were too many, and somewhere among them might be the real Lila.
At that point, he knew it was time for a more drastic approach.
Noah closed his eyes for a split second, calling upon his void powers.
[Domain Travel activated]
[Void Authority engaged]
"ENOUGH!" he roared, slamming the Eclipse Blade into the floor.
A wave of void energy exploded outward, not to harm but to envelop. The white room seemed to fracture around them, reality peeling away like paper to reveal the endless expanse of Noah's personal domain. The pristine whiteness dissolved, replaced by rolling fields stretching toward an infinite horizon under a twilight sky neither day nor night.
Without a thought, Noah was already flanked by his two companions. Nyx and Storm.
'Sorry to intrude on you guys afternoon like this but we— I've got a problem here. You guys deal with the obvious fakes,' Noah said mentally and knew they understood. His link with his companions was stronger than when they first met and it was growing everyday. He couldn't hear their thoughts but somehow, they could hear or at least felt what he needed.
Nyx roared in acknowledgment, immediately launching into the air before descending upon a cluster of malformed clones. Storm slithered forward with blinding speed, frost and lightning trailing in his wake as he targeted another group.
That left Noah with the more pressing problem—dozens of perfect Lila duplicates, physically indistinguishable from the real one.
'I need a sorting system,' Noah thought. 'Something that can detect the difference between internal chi circulation and externally powered dark chi.'
Using his Void Authority, Noah began reshaping part of his domain. The grassy plain rippled and transformed, splitting into a series of parallel lanes separated by crystalline barriers. At the head of each lane, he created a gateway—an arch of swirling void energy.
"All of you!" Noah called to the remaining Lilas. "Line up at these gateways!"
The perfect duplicates exchanged glances, hesitating. Some stepped forward tentatively while others backed away. Noah frowned, noticing their behavior patterns. They seemed to operate with some form of hive mind, reacting similarly to stimuli.
They also cooperated which wasn't surprising. He knew they would as whatever instructions had been given, it was to convince him that one of them was real.
'Another clue,' he noted. 'The real Lila would be more independent.'
"I can help only one of you," Noah announced, infusing his voice with authority. "These gateways will determine who's real."
As he spoke, Noah was intricately programming the gateways using his Void Authority. Each would respond differently based on the energy signature passing through it. Normal human chi had a distinct flow pattern—a circulation system built into the body's very design. Dark chi, especially when used as an artificial power source, would have a completely different signature—concentrated, stagnant, without the natural ebb and flow of true life energy.
The real Lila had once demonstrated her chi circulation to Noah during training—a technique she'd mastered years before meeting him. He remembered the pattern precisely, the unique way her energy flowed through her core and energy centers.
'Like a chi-based metal detector at an airport,' Noah thought with grim amusement. 'The gateway will recognize a genuine human energy system and allow passage. The dark chi constructs will trigger the alarm.'
In his domain, Noah didn't need to rely on physical tests or memory challenges. Here, he could detect the fundamental difference between natural life and artificial construction.
As the Lilas began lining up at the gateways, Noah focused his attention on tuning the void energy to maximum sensitivity. Behind him, the sounds of battle echoed across the plains as Nyx and Storm systematically eliminated the deformed clones. Gouts of lava and crackling electricity illuminated the twilight landscape.
"Step through one at a time," Noah instructed, standing at the end of the pathway where all lanes converged.
The first Lila approached confidently, stepping through the gateway without hesitation. Immediately, the arch flared bright red, pulsing with warning energy.
"Not you," Noah said coldly, and with a flick of his wrist, the clone was transported to a containment area he'd created at the far end of his domain. This was domain travel but within the domain. He was able to physically move objects within the domain from one place to another. How this was possible was through two things. One, high amounts of void energy being depleted and somehow reabsorbed from the multiple fakes being wasted by Storm.
He'd realize now that storm was like a house cat that would bring some of its kills back to their owner. When storm killed something, the system rewarded him as well. And thanks to Storm, his void energy was constantly getting replenished as they went down.
[System Notification: Summon Synergy detected]
[Void Energy: 1450/1450 (Regenerating +50 per elimination)]
[Storm's Kill Count: 17]
[Ability Unlocked: Domain Redistribution - Transfer entities within your domain at reduced energy cost]
The last time out when storm was on the hunt for beasts, he'd gained XP but now it was void energy. It was like the system decided what reward he got. And his system did act in mysterious ways.
The second reason he was able to create this check system was due to the large amounts of void coins he now had.
[System Notification: Mystery Box contents]
[Item obtained: Void Coin Cache (Legendary)]
[Void Coins: +97,500]
[Total Void Coins: 97,842]
[Note: Rare Beast Gauntlet reward unlocked. Congratulations, Void Oracle!]
The mystery box was what he'd gotten from the beast horde at the corridor. With this astronomical sum, Noah could reshape substantial portions of his domain without concern for resource limitations. What would have once been an extravagant expenditure now felt like a trivial investment of his newfound wealth.
Another stepped forward, then another. Each gateway flashed red as they passed through. Noah watched their faces carefully—some showed fear, others confusion, but none showed the indignation or frustration the real Lila would certainly display at being subjected to such a test. 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
'Come on, Lila,' Noah thought tensely. 'Where are you?'
Twenty clones had failed the test when a small figure at the back of one line caught his attention. Unlike the others who watched the proceedings with blank curiosity, this Lila was studying the gateway itself, her head tilted slightly as she examined the swirling void energy.
That analytical gaze—Noah recognized it instantly. The way she assessed, calculated, planned. It was so distinctly her. It used to unsettle him how calculating she could be despite how she seemingly looked psychotic majority of the time but now he thanked his stats for it.
When her turn came, this Lila approached the gateway cautiously. She paused just before stepping through, her eyes meeting Noah's across the distance.
"If this doesn't work, Eclipse, I'm going to be very annoyed with you," she called out, her voice carrying the familiar edge of sarcasm that none of the clones had managed to replicate.
Noah's heart leapt, but he maintained his composure. This could still be a more sophisticated fake.
She stepped through the gateway.
The arch pulsed, not red, but a brilliant blue-white that illuminated the area of the domain they stood. The void energy responded to her natural chi circulation—recognizing the complex, living pattern that no artificial construct could perfectly mimic.
Noah exhaled slowly, relief washing over him. "Lila."
She marched toward him, blonde hair swinging with each determined step. "Took you long enough," she said, but there was genuine gratitude beneath the bravado. "Do you have any idea how creepy it is to be surrounded by copies of yourself? Especially the ones with..." she shuddered, "...extra parts."
Noah allowed himself a small smile, keeping one eye on the remaining clones still awaiting their turn. "How did they get you?"
"My parents," Lila spat the word like poison. "They've been working on this for years. The cloning program is one of their biggest discoveries. Using dark chi as a power source was apparently their 'breakthrough innovation.'" Her face darkened. "They needed the original for... templates. And to ensure the highest quality specimens retained my abilities."
Noah's grip tightened on the Eclipse Blade. "We'll deal with them soon enough. First, let's finish this."
Together, they turned to face the remaining clones. With the real Lila at his side, Noah could now be more aggressive with the duplicates. Storm and Nyx had finished dispatching the deformed variants and now circled overhead, awaiting further commands.
"Ready to get out of here?" Noah asked Lila.
She nodded grimly. "More than ready. But Noah..." She hesitated, looking at the perfect duplicates of herself still waiting to be tested. "What happens to them?"
Noah considered the question carefully. These weren't just mindless constructs—they had some level of consciousness, even if artificially created.
"For now, they stay in my domain," he decided. "Until we figure out what they really are and what to do with them. They're victims too, in a way."
Lila's expression softened slightly. "I suppose they are." Then her eyes hardened again. "But my parents and Purge? They don't get the same mercy."
"No," Noah agreed, his voice cold as the void itself. "They don't."
With a thought, he began preparing their return to reality—not to the white room, but directly to where they needed to be. Sophie and the others were waiting, and the Nexus Arena was still in danger.
The Rowes had no idea what was coming for them.
