Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4299: Anomaly! III

THE Living Concept did not turn. Its form, a shimmering, ever-shifting cloud of pure, geometric thought, remained focused on the silent, looping carnage!

THE Living Emotive floated closer, its own form a kaleidoscope of every color that had ever been and ever would be.

”But you know,” it continued, its tone now holding a note of almost dismissive finality, ”all the Systems of Existence that are being used by them, unless altered a great deal, won’t allow any of these existences to jump onto the next Scale of Existence. They are beautiful, intricate cages. They allow for immense growth within their bars, but...they are still cages.”

WAA!

At this, THE Living Concept finally reacted. A pulse of pure, logical indignation, a conceptual harrumph, rippled through its form.

”Was it so easy to attain the state of THE?” its thoughts were a sharp, clear transmission, a blade of pure reason.

”Even for us, it took our Everythings and more. It was not a simple climb; it was a self-immolation, a burning away of all that we were to become something new. These ’cages,’ as you call them, are the very pathways that make such a climb even remotely possible for lesser beings.”

THE Living Emotive nodded, a gesture that was a wave of contemplative agreement. ”Yes, but isn’t THE Creature... the most profound one among us? Out of all of us, he is the only one who does not worry about advancing. When the rest of us... are still seeking to go higher in the Scale of Existence, yet he continues to be the most powerful among us!”

...!

The name, THE Creature, hung in the air, a weight that seemed to bend the very light of the conceptual workshop.

THE Living Emotive’s form swirled with a new, more profound emotion: a deep, ancient, and almost wistful, curiosity.

”He plays. He observes. He experiences. While we build our ladders to the heavens, he seems content to simply walk the earth, yet he is already in the sky.”

A new, quieter, more dangerous thought entered the conversation, a whisper from the depths of Emotive’s being.

”Perhaps... the only way to advance is not to climb higher, but to build a different kind of house entirely. A sanctuary of growth...of Civilization.”

HUUM!

THE Living Concept’s form flickered, its geometric patterns shifting with a sudden, sharp alarm.

”A sanctuary?” its thoughts were a cold, analytical counter-point.

THE Living Emotive smiled, a brilliant, beautiful, and utterly terrifying expression that sent waves of pure, ecstatic joy rippling through the void.

”What is mastery but the ability to choose not to play the game?” it sang, its voice a chorus of pure, unadulterated excitement. ”What is true power but the freedom to build a garden of glorious Civilization geared towards advancement? Huhuhu!”

...!

With that final, cryptic, and utterly terrifying pronouncement, THE Living Emotive’s presence faded, leaving THE Living Concept alone in its workshop of silent, looping carnage, with a new, troubling, and very, very dangerous idea to contemplate.

—

Noah spent what felt like an hour as the butterfly, a silent, shared dance in a world of ice and light!

Then, with a final, respectful flicker of his crystalline wings, he transformed back.

He continued his stroll, and soon, he came across another creature in this realm of blistering coldness!

It was a Diplodocus, its colossal form a moving mountain of glacial brilliance. Its hide was not of flesh, but of a shimmering, iridescent ice that seemed to contain the light of a thousand auroras.

It moved with a slow, ponderous grace, its long neck reaching up to nibble on the frozen leaves of the titanic trees.

Noah watched it, and then, he transformed again.

The Diplodocus blinked its massive, ancient eyes as a second, identical creature of ice and light appeared beside it.

It seemed to wonder, with a slow, placid curiosity, why a being of such immense, transformative power had so much time to play.

Noah, in his new form, began to eat as the Diplodocus ate, to move as it moved. He felt its Way of Existence.

It was a philosophy of quiet, unshakeable strength.

It did not need to be fast, for it was inevitable.

It did not need to be aggressive, for it was insurmountable. Its power was not in the striking of a blow, but in the simple, absolute fact of its own, massive, and enduring presence.

He transformed back, a new, deeper understanding settling into his being!

The butterfly’s Way was to dance with the storm.

The Diplodocus’s Way was to be the mountain that the storm broke against.

Both were valid. Both were true.

As he was about to continue his journey of existential exploration, a voice, a clear, resonant, and shockingly human voice, echoed from behind him.

It was filled with a bright, almost academic, amazement!

”Wow, I never thought of doing something like this to better understand the nature of things!”

...!

Noah turned, and his own existence, which had just been a calm, contemplative river, buzzed!

Standing there, in the blistering, concept-freezing cold of the Earliest Folds, was a human.

A Fold Dweller. He wore simple, archaic robes, his face was one of keen, sharp intelligence, and his eyes... his eyes held a light that was both brilliant and utterly, terrifyingly, normal.

Noah could not sense an ounce of mana or authority from him, and yet, he was here, surviving, thriving, in a place where a being of even a few Quadrillion in power, if not born of this environment, would perish!

And he had not sensed him. He had not seen him arrive.

Noah’s expression became heavy. Who was this being in front of him? How did he not even sense him, and how did he appear?!

With such questions in his mind, he asked calmly, his voice a low, dangerous murmur, ”Who are you?”

...!

At such a question, the brilliant Fold Dweller blinked, and then a smile, a warm, nostalgic expression, spread across his face.

He chuckled, a sound of genuine, almost wistful, amusement. ”It feels not too long ago when I asked some beings that same question... ah, nevermind. Hello there, I am... Anaximander.”

HUUM!