Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4324: Sheer Depravity! I

The area surrounding The Infiniverse became unfathomably silent. Over ninety percent of The Living Existences that had gathered, beings who could command the very fabric of reality, slumped down listlessly.

Their consciousnesses were entirely turned off, snuffed out like candle flames in a hurricane by the mere proximity of the terrifying existences that had arrived!

And yet, like a grand and terrifying sea, these waves of power and suppression that were culminating in Haki actually stopped short, parting like water before a sacred mountain as they neared the blue-gold Aegis of The Infiniverse.

Inside the small, world-sized isolated bubble, Noah stood, his gaze turning from the chaotic, beautiful garden to the scene outside. His eyes were cold, calculating, and utterly, profoundly, calm.

|Master, I am detecting a subtle, yet significant, anomaly in the existential signatures of the newly arrived Prime Dead.|

|Analysis: They are exhibiting... hesitation.|

...!

Hesitation?

Why would such powerful beings hesitate? Their gazes were fixed on his home with an intensity that was almost religious, and their very existence swam with a potent, undeniable allure of Order. Noah could put two and two together. The reason for their hesitation... he did not like the direction his thoughts were taking him.

”The appearance of the Prime Dead is much faster than anticipated,” Schrodinger’s voice was a low, analytical murmur beside him. ”Reinforcements will arrive here soon, but for the most part, all existences here are on their own.”

At his words, Noah’s eyes flashed brightly. His gaze focused on the figure of the Dead Early Creature, Tatiana. She was floating from the vessel, her hand raised in a gesture that was both a command and a reassurance to her legion. She was moving, shockingly, towards The Infiniverse.

She paid no attention to the dazed, terrified Living Existences. Her focus was singular. She drew closer, and the blue-gold glow of the Aegis reflected on her pale, beautiful, and utterly dead features. And then, she stopped.

Noah watched this being, this queen of a dead empire, and his thoughts were a silent, rapid-fire exchange with his new System. ’RUIN/EDEN. The network of Resplendent Citadels is active, yes?’

|Confirmed, Master. The Civilization Network is online and operating at peak efficiency. All 159 Citadels are linked, their collective power forming a defensive matrix capable of withstanding an attack three times the capacity of your own current Complexity and Purity.|

|Analysis: Sufficient for a protracted defensive engagement against the current threat, but a direct, focused assault from their combined might would be... problematic.|

It may be enough, but the situation was still perilous. And yet, the Prime Dead did not attack. As Noah watched, Tatiana... opened her mouth to speak.

Her voice was a thing of impossible, terrible beauty. It was not a shout, but a clear, resonant pronouncement that carried across the void with the weight of an unshakeable, absolute truth.

”I am Tatiana, the Ashen Dream Queen, First Blade of the Cryptlands of Nagash-Prax. I, and all those you see before you, are followers of THE Creature. We are followers of Order. We revere Order, and we live by its Doctrines. We had altered our course to come here directly because we sensed an allure, a beacon of Order so pure, so potent, that it could not be ignored. And now, having come close, I can affirm that what emanates from within this sanctuary... it is the truest type of Order. Living Order. It is for this reason, and this reason alone, that I show the respect that I currently am.”

...!

In the Early Veiled Shore, Noah’s other body gently touched Sigrid’s shoulder. She came out of her deep, power-infusing cultivation, her form now pulsing with waves of pure, white-gold mana and Order.

She blinked, and as Noah directed her gaze to the scene unfolding outside the Infiniverse, her eyes widened.

Outside, Tatiana continued, her voice a calm, commanding current. ”I realize how our appearance here, especially our current state of existence, may seem threatening. It may even cause misconceptions. I wish to clear that up first, before anything else. I know that within this isolated, protective domain, lies a budding Living Order. And it is to you that I speak now, and to nobody else.”

...!

Her gaze was fixed on the Aegis, but her words were a spear, aimed at a single heart within. ”I wish to ease the mind of the young Living Order and let them know that the reason for our being is none other than.. The Fallout.”

HUUM!

As she spoke the final word, her expression, which had been a mask of regal calm, turned cold.

It was a subtle shift, a tightening around her eyes, a clenching of her jaw, a deep, chilling frost that seemed to settle over her features. She was reining in a storm of pure, incandescent rage.

”The Fallout,” she began again, her voice now a low, dangerous murmur, ”was a betrayal. A betrayal of all the ideals of existence, of Order, of what THE Creature stood for. The Fallout was a conspiracy, a grand, terrible design forged by multiple of THE Living Existences who turned their backs on THE Creature... and built something for their own sakes, for their own Civilizations. They built THE Loom... and I talk about THE Loom as I mention The Fallout because... these two are one and the same. THE Loom is The Fallout. THE Loom is the weapon of destruction that will extinguish every single Way of Existence and Civilization that lies outside of it, all for the sake of those within it.”

BOOM!

Oh!

The words were a quiet, terrible detonation in the silent void. ”THE Loom is a shelter for those inside of it, and a weapon, a tool of mass destruction for those outside of it. Any of those that remain within have the blood of countless on their hands, as the destruction of the budding Civilizations and Ways of Existence of countless existences will all be collapsed and devoured by THE Loom. All of it will be harvested by THE Living Existences within it, the Early Creatures under them, and the Fold Dwellers who managed to gain entry into that abomination. For many of us, me included, and many others back in our lands... we consciously made the choice to not enter THE Loom when it was offered to us, because we knew the sheer depravity that would be required for its very existence.”

...!