"What do you mean by I'm going to die in a year or two??" Noah was panicking really hard now upon hearing of his upcoming demise from this 'cosmic being'. He couldn't figure out how the conversation shifted from signing a contract with this unknown entity to the declaration of his probable death in a few moments. But before he could organize his thoughts and question "her" about this, he was interrupted.

"Just like I said, there was a very real chance of your death had the 'Integration' continued in the same manner. Though you can relax as from the moment I had intervened you could say the possibility has minimized." The titan lady said to the confused mortal whose very expression depicted that he had no idea at all about anything she said and was now questioning his entire existence. Recognizing the confusion and helplessness on his face, the lady's expression softened ever so slightly that without having his unknown sense which amplified his senses however manifold he wouldn't have noticed it.

"Now there are definitely many questions you want to ask but unfortunately or maybe fortunately we have limited time. Not to worry as you will get a general sense of understanding of what is happening tomorrow. You may ask three questions and I will try to answer as best as I can."

Noah was slightly dazed from the bombardment of words that he couldn't make sense of. The only thing he could glean at all from all that was shit had hit the fan and something bad, real bad is going to happen very soon.

Seizing the only opportunity provided, he wanted to at least know the reason for his death so he could at least stay the hell away from it or him or her. At this point, he wasn't able to think straight about all this and one couldn't blame him as well as he was still a teenager. So, him being able to remain stable was a lot better than what most reactions would've been.

"What can you tell me about the 'Integration' you mentioned? Is it related to my death in any way? If yes, how can I prevent my death from happening? Is all of this somehow related to the event that happened a few hours ago? Is apocalypse arriving and the world is going to blow up or Don't tell me- it's aliens. Yes, yes, that right there is a very real possibility now that I think about it. Oh my God- I am so going to die very brutally...", Noah started pacing back and forth in the middle and began mumbling.

[Calm down]

Those simple words infused with something extraordinary were spoken by the titan and within a second he slowed to a stop and all the panic left his face to present a serene visage. After a few seconds, the titan began to respond to the questions seeing no relapse of the panic attack.

"I am going to start from the beginning, so listen carefully and don't interrupt in between cause there is not much time left for you to pester me to explain every little thing. Am I Clear? "

Noah unconsciously nodded and couldn't muster up the courage to refute her after seeing the display of mystical might once more.

Seeing Noah being obedient, she smirked a little since she could feel the curiosity just oozing from him. Clearing her throat, she began her explanation.

"Good, now where to start. Let's just give you a general overview of the history of this Multiverse."

Saying this, her gaze sharpened and her whole demeanor changed to a more solemn one. Unconsciously, Noah was infected by her aura and couldn't help but straighten himself up.

"The Multiverse hasn't always been in existence. It slowly grew from nothing to the size we see today and every growth in its journey was accompanied by a certain event." The lady continued.

"You see, what is happening to your universe is not unprecedented. Such events are rare but still occur aplenty when seen in the timescale of the Multiverse. Even I have witnessed over dozen such events. What is happening to your universe is what we know as 'Integration'."

"Which literally means what it says, the integration of your universe on a cosmic scale to be part of the multiverse. This event involves the assimilation and reorganization of your universe into the main universe which is located in the central part of the Multiverse. Generally, this process requires at least 6-8 cosmic years which should mean just about 7-10 years according to you. It also is divided into multiple phases with each phase taking variable amounts of time with the phases tending to take more time with each successive phase change." she took a break in her speech seeing Noah trying to make sense of the knowledge she had just given and utterly failing to hide his fear of the repercussions of a cosmic event of such grand scale.

Noah felt himself start breathing again and he didn't even realize he had stopped breathing for the last few minutes. Was he even breathing right now? Noah wasn't sure and he sure as hell did not want to go down that rabbit hole. He was grateful for the break, however short the reprieve was.

Taking a deep breath or something similar to that, he calmed down somewhat. He realized there is no need for him to worry because there is nothing he can do to stop whatever she wants him to do for her. Better, he sees this from an outsider's perspective and prevents himself from totally breaking down. Though he wasn't he was if she would even allow him to break down with what she did just a few minutes ago.

He needs to first make sense of what the hell is she saying and how much of that is true. According to her, my universe is joining the Multiverse or something similar in concept which could mean bad news. Very, very bad news. History is witness to what happens when technologically superior race and inferior race meets. It never goes peacefully and is generally very bad for inferior ones. However she may try to spin it, there is no denying the inherent danger that will fall upon this universe and subsequently humanity and eventually me. Ruminating over her words, he came upon the important fact that this event will take at least a couple of years before our universe is completely assimilated. So, at the very least, there will be a buffer period of a few years.

But it isn't enough. He needs more information before making any sort of conclusion. Thinking deeply, his eyes widened as realization dawned upon him that there was a crucial piece of information he was missing.

"hmm-what wa-What was the trigger behind the 'Integration'? Surely, there must be a reason why this is happening, right?" Noah flinched making eye contact with the titan but he mustered up the courage to ask the question seeing her waiting patiently for him to speak.

"I don't know." The titan lady deadpanned.

Noah was stumped hearing the answer and began feeling awkward. Before he could try to think about another question, she chuckled a bit and feeling his inquisitive gaze responded.

"More accurately, I don't know the exact reason why it happens and why it is happening right now. Generally, It is either that the population of sapient creatures or the mana in your universe crossed a threshold or maybe some other exotic reason. Though I lean towards it being a culmination of various factors combined that resulted in this event."

Noah carefully analyzed every word spoken by her and was thinking of the various implications before a single word stopped his train of thoughts. Without realizing he voiced his thoughts out loud.

"Mana?"

"Ah yes, Mana, one of the fundamental energy ever-present in the multiverse and the most versatile and primal in nature. It is after all the energy binding the universe and shaping it to the current state."

Noah was only paying half attention to her words and therefore didn't notice the mischievous glint flashing in her eyes as she read his thoughts.

'Is Mana, what I am thinking it is. Or is it something entirely different?'

"Yes, It is exactly what you think it is. The usual jazz, you know, used in slinging spells and bending laws of universe mana."

Hearing her words, Noah's face became blank.