Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4402: You! IV

Existence itself changed.

The very fabric of reality became heavier, thicker, as if the surrounding space had transformed from air into viscous fluid that resisted all movement.

Breathing required conscious effort. Thought moved through molasses. Simply being demanded exertion that hadn’t been necessary moments before.

DU! DU! DU!

From the surroundings, malevolent sounds began echoing, not from any specific source, but from everywhere, as if existence itself had become an instrument being played by unseen hands!

A grand orchestral symphony commenced, ushering the arrival of something that transcended classification.

DU!

The symphony felt like hymns echoing across dimensional frequencies, with existence itself manifesting words that pressed down with physical weight.

From all around, Noah felt an interminable level of pressure descend as it bellowed heavy proclamations.

REVERE! KNEEL! REVERE! KNEEL!

...!

All of the surrounding existence seemed to have been commandeered, hijacked by will so vast it could treat reality as instrument for its declarations.

The terrifying pressure sank down from above and pressed upward from below, creating crushing vise that stated and demanded submission.

Noah felt such stifling pressure as his existence burned furiously in resistance, his expression heavy with the strain of refusing what reality itself was commanding.

Beside him, Riya was silently cursing with an angry expression, her voice forcing itself through clenched teeth.

”The only one I planned to get on my knees for is Little Ancestor!” she spat with defiant rage. ”Fuckoff!”

...!

Oh!

The situation had turned heavy beyond anything they’d prepared for.

The situation had turned perilous in ways that made their previous challenges seem like preparatory exercises.

Noah focused on the horrific phenomenon below while resisting the symphony and hymns pressing down from all directions. He felt instinctively that the moment he submitted to these declarations...the moment he knelt as commanded, would be the moment he would be crushed completely, even before this entity turned its full attention toward him.

He was just emerging in his Way of Existence. He could not be extinguished now!

His Civilization was just starting. His people depend on paths he was forging!

He had to endure!

And so, as existence felt heavy and stifling and seeking to make him kneel with pressure exceeding even his own Cultivation Citadel’s maximum settings, his being began radiating a terrific wave of blue-gold Primus Mana.

He called out with tyrannical certainty.

”Primus Singularity.”

HUUM!

He invoked the ultimate capability of the Principle of Primus Ascension, designating his own existence as the focal point where Mana concentration and quality would reach theoretical maximums.

From far above, a brilliant blue-gold sun bloomed into existence...a singularity of concentrated power that made the surrounding Primus Mana seem diluted by comparison.

Its concentration grew and grew immensely, expanding while simultaneously compressing, creating paradoxical state where vastness and density existed together.

Noah felt himself bathed under the light of this Primus Singularity, and the sensation was profound...a sensation of fusion. He felt like he was one with it, his existence pulsing with grand distinction of his Way as...

The hymns and pressure stopped.

Not diminished. Not resisted. Simply ceased, as if the Primus Singularity’s light had created space where those commands could not penetrate.

Noah observed Riya breathing easier, her expression showing relief mixed with awe as she looked at him and the brilliant sun above with shining eyes.

|PRIMUS SINGULARITY - ACTIVATION CONFIRMED|

|Duration: 1 hour at current complexity|

|Effect: All Mana-based operations functioning at 100x efficiency|

|Your advancement capabilities have been compressed into accelerated timeframes|

|Breakthroughs that would require decades will occur in minutes|

|Your existence is operating at theoretical maximum capability|

|WARNING: Extreme exertion detected across all systems|

|Perpetual Harvest is gathering accumulated effort with 100x multiplier|

|Cheating Architect is optimizing all processes for survival|

|CRITICAL OBSERVATION: You are facing an unsurpassable ordeal|

...!

Unsurpassable.

The word blazed across Noah’s consciousness with weight of absolute assessment.

But who decided that?!

BOOM!

His eyes blazed with tyranny even in this terrifically apocalyptic moment, refusing to accept predetermined outcomes regardless of how absolute they appeared.

Down below, the gaze of the Corpse of Schrodinger moved from Khor to land directly on Noah at this moment.

The separated halves of the corpse finished their horrific fusion, dark tendrils weaving flesh and essence back together in ways that defied natural healing.

The body became whole again...or at least, appeared whole, though something in its reconstituted form suggested it was merely wearing wholeness as temporary costume.

The moment Noah met that gaze...

BOOM!

His body vibrated as if struck by am invisible hammer.

The Primus Singularity above him trembled, its concentrated light flickering for the first time since manifestation.

A heavy sense of suffocation came from that gaze alone, as if being perceived by those crimson-gold eyes was physical assault against existence itself.

The Corpse of Schrodinger smiled...expression stretching too wide, carrying amusement that exceeded normal joy and approached something cruel.

”How interesting,” the deep, grating voice emerged, each word making reality ripple with discomfort. ”What a curious set of animals have gathered here. But why are you all so hasty? There is still time.”

The smile widened impossibly further.

”Well, there was still time, and then you had to go and wake me... ah.”

...!

BOOM!

Each word landed with more weight than the last, and down below, Leonore Rureaux and the two remaining bodies of Schrodinger stood frozen in utter shock and horror...not at Khor, not at Noah, but at what was speaking through their reconstructed corpse.

Noah withstood the gaze while processing everything.

|You are bearing tremendous existential weight|

|Effort being exerted exceeds all previous recorded maximums|

|Perpetual Harvest is gathering this exertion with 100x efficiency|

|Even standing before this presence qualifies as monumental achievement|

|Your Primus Singularity is the only reason collapse has not yet occurred|

|Continue enduring - every moment survived generates advancement fuel|

...!

Noah’s existence pulsed as he forced himself to maintain eye contact with those crimson-gold eyes that seemed to smile at him before the voice continued.

”What a curious thing... is that a new Way of Existence that has bloomed in these glorious Folds? This is good... this is very, very good...”

Every time the voice echoed out, it made one feel like their existence was being dragged through spiked chains of concentrated weight, their very essence churning as if it would be turned inside out and examined from angles that shouldn’t exist.

At such a moment, Khor’s voice boomed out with effort.

Her body pulsed with utterly heavy crimson-obsidian light as she forced words through the oppressive atmosphere.

”Why... why did billions of Inevitabilities have to die? Why did you choose to do what you did?!”

...!

At such words, the gaze of the Corpse of Schrodinger turned from Noah to focus on Khor exclusively.

Her body trembled with cold effort under that direct attention, and the Corpse smiled eerily as the heavy voice of THE Living Paradox boomed forth once more.

”Oh, you poor thing. You believe yourself to be a victim?”

The voice carried mockery mixed with something approaching pity.

It was not sympathy, but the condescending pity of vast intelligence observing limited understanding.

”Many billions collapsed, not just Inevitabilities. Nearly half of all Early Creatures turned to become The Dead. Multiple entities carrying THE distinction had their wings snapped off as they lost entire Civilizations they’d spent eons cultivating.”

The crimson-gold eyes blazed brighter.

”And you believe yourself to be a victim? No, my dear Little Hunger. You were simply one consequence among countless others. You don’t need a why. Existence doesn’t need a why. Sometimes... things just happen, ya’ know? Paradoxically. Gloriously. Without reason or purpose or grand design.”

The voice took on lecturing quality, as if explaining obvious truth to child who should have learned better.

”There does not need to be justification for every action, motivation for every consequence. You were simply a cog in a very large weaving that needed adjustment. A component that required replacement for the machinery to continue functioning optimally.”

The smile became even more terrible.

”Don’t be filled with righteous rage and indignation. Don’t take it personally, as if your suffering was about you. It wasn’t. You mattered only insofar as your collapse served purposes beyond your comprehension. Sometimes, we would all be much happier just accepting things as they are and moving on rather than demanding explanations for every misfortune.”

The voice dropped to something almost conversational, almost friendly.

”Look at where you are now. Somehow restored. Relevant again. Had you just accepted things and not collapsed this body in your rage, I wouldn’t even be here right now, Little Hunger. Your insistence on vengeance for imagined injustices is what created this situation. You brought this upon yourself and everyone present through inability to simply... let go.”

...!

The devilish smile on the face of the Corpse of Schrodinger at those words was utterly terrifying.

But...it was not because it showed malice, but because it showed genuine amusement at philosophy it was expressing.

And right after finishing that monologue, it tapped out with one finger against empty air.

From all around, crimson-gold light bloomed with heavy presence that made the surrounding blue-gold of Noah’s Primus Singularity seem fragile by comparison.

In front of Noah’s eyes, a prompt materialized with urgency that suggested catastrophic development.

|WARNING: THE FESTIVAL OF PARADOX HAS BEEN CALLED FORTH|

|Classification: Unknown|

|Threat Level: Absolute|

|Survival Probability: Calculating...|

...!

The Corpse of Schrodinger smiled brilliantly, expression carrying joy that exceeded sanity and approached something else in its terrible completeness.

Its voice emerged one final time before whatever came next:

”Sometimes, things just happen without reason or purpose. Cause becomes effect. Effect becomes cause. Everything and nothing occurs simultaneously.”

The crimson-gold eyes blazed with light that made perception uncomfortable.

”Let me... show you.”

...!

BOOM!

Reality shattered.

And in the space where certainty had existed, paradox bloomed like flowers growing from burned ground, beautiful and terrible and absolutely inevitable.

The Festival had begun.