Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4954: Truly Live! III

Noah knew that Observable Existence was getting more and more dangerous.

Today a terrifying Primordial Architect named Horus had made themselves abundantly apparent, their crimson eyes opening across gigaparsecs of space, their brand seeking to claim all who fell beneath their gaze. But others were not as showy. It was certain that as of right now, an unknown number of Formless Terrors, Undivided Ones, and Primordial Architects were running around freely across Observable Existence.

They could be in these very Wastes. They could be in Primordial Realms or in the Wandering Territories or in any of the myriad transformed Folds. The corruption of THE Living Paradox had opened doors that had been sealed since THE First Cause, had awakened things that had slumbered since before THE Infinite Unfurling gave shape to what now existed.

Coming across one, if one wasn’t powerful enough, would be catastrophic.

Because what happened the next time that THE Creature didn’t appear?

If Noah met a Primordial Architect like that entity that had just appeared, even though he was immense and unfathomable right now, would he be able to do anything against them? Or would his fate be to become a slave, branded with that crimson circle, his existence burned away to fuel the elevation of another?

The mere thought caused the sense of defiance to rage within his Infinities!

His tyranny blazed with rejection of such a fate, with denial of such a possibility, with determination that exceeded mere stubbornness!

He burned with determination!

He would not accept a fate written by another. He would write his own destiny with authority that curved along geodesic paths toward whatever end he chose.

He knew he had to keep moving even quicker.

He needed to apply the weavings of Countable Infinities, the Geodesic Weavings of his existence, to many more things! Every aspect of his Civilization that hadn’t yet been elevated needed to be elevated. Every capability that still operated through conventional methodology needed to be transformed. Every portion of his existence that remained vulnerable needed to be reinforced.

And so he began this process as many of his bodies continued to move.

---

In Alfheimr.

In that region where he and THE Creature were conversing with their massive Absolute Effigies displayed, the multicolored stellar space still surrounded them with light that painted everything in shades that shouldn’t have existed. The battle between THE Creature and Horus had moved elsewhere, but echoes of it still vibrated through the fabric of this space, tremors that spoke of titans clashing in distances too vast to comprehend.

Noah looked up toward THE Creature at this moment, his golden Effigy burning with Infinite Undifferentiated Fate that pulsed in sequential patterns of Countable expression. His eyes held curiosity.

"A Primordial Architect called Horus very loudly just announced himself and acted across THE Wastes. Can you tell me anything about him or others like him that can be expected to be moving across existence right now?"

His path and the path of THE Creature were different. He wouldn’t ask for help with his own Adversities, wouldn’t seek assistance with battles that were his to fight. But he could always ask for information. Knowledge freely given carried no debt. Understanding offered without strings attached created no obligation.

THE Creature’s multicolored Effigy burned steadily as those swirling eyes fixed upon Noah with light of profundity.

"Horus is one among many."

The statement was simple, but its implications were vast.

"Primordial Architects are the existences that rose first. The first life forms during the emergence of THE First Cause. Some were born at the First Civilizational Scale of Existence. Others were born at THE Second Scale of Existence."

His multicolored flames flickered with patterns of memory being accessed, of history being recalled from eons when existence itself was young.

"Each one has their own unique nature and existence. Due to THE First Cause and the nature of THE Prima Indifferentia, they remained there as existence had nothing to move them."

His voice dropped to something more weighted.

"For any Primordial Architect, the Scale they were born in would be the Scale that they stay in forever."

He paused, letting the implications settle.

"For them, there was no Adversity. No change. Until...THE Living Paradox changed a few things."

...!

There was no Adversity.

Noah thought about these words calmly as the weight of them pressed against his consciousness. The Primordial Architects had been born at their peaks.

They had never struggled to reach heights that were simply their birthright. They had never fought against limitations that they had been created without. They had never known the growth that came from overcoming, the elevation that came from transcending, the transformation that came from becoming something more than what you were.

They were static perfection.

They were completion without journey.

They were the concept of beings created in their final form!

And suddenly, a question crystallized in Noah’s mind with clarity that exceeded his previous understanding.

He looked at THE Creature with a straight face as he spoke.

"Is that why, from among them, there could be a defector? Someone that choose something different?"

...!

The question was a heavy one.

If Primordial Architects were born at their Scales and stayed at their Scales forever, if they possessed no Adversity and therefore no growth, then defection wasn’t merely leaving a group.

It was rejecting the fundamental nature of what you were. It was choosing imperfection over perfection. It was embracing the struggle that your existence had been designed to never require.

Toward this question, THE Creature smiled.

It was a calm expression on his noble features, his extraordinary air of power unchanged by the weight of what had been asked. His multicolored flames burned steadily, revealing nothing, concealing everything. He didn’t answer, and he didn’t confirm, nor did he deny.

He simply smiled with the patience of someone who understood that some questions answered themselves given enough time.

His gaze turned in a different direction, as if he was seeing something unfathomably far away that required his attention. His massive Absolute Effigy began to rise, the multicolored flames expanding as he prepared to depart!