Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4702: Eon! IV

Intuition.

Noah said these words because truly, his intuition was one of the few things he followed, paired by the fact that no matter how dangerous this could potentially be, he had an Anchor Point he could go back to.

And yet THE Secretive Eon reacted as if she had heard these exact words before.

Noah thought about things carefully before he kept his distance and proceeded to sit down just like her while staring out into the same direction she was staring out to.

He felt like he had to choose his next few words carefully as this entity was a bit unique, but there could be something to gain. When it came to entities like her, it was always information.

Much of Existence was filled with mysteries, but entities like her held vast knowledge already due to their power.

So he began simply after he gathered his thoughts.

“Before THE Fallout, I had a conversation with THE Living Paradox similar to this. Right before he initiated everything. Meeting someone else like him after THE Fallout felt unique, and thus my intuition brought me here.” He kept his gaze fixed on the distant expanse ahead. “When the other side is not trying to collapse me, I find the conversations can be revealing.”

…!

His words were calm, and when THE Secretive Eon heard them, she scoffed quietly while keeping her gaze ahead. Her hair flickered with radiance, strands of gold catching light that seemed to come from nowhere.

“You would place me and THE Living Paradox on the same pedestal? I find myself wondering whether that speaks more to how highly you think of him or how highly you think of yourself.”

Something flickered in her dark eyes that might have been amusement.

“You are the weakest of those four, and yet you move as if you stand among equals, as if the gap between you and them is merely a matter of time rather than an insurmountable chasm. You have not met or known of others apart from them, but still you move the way you do, still you hold yourself as you hold yourself.”

Her head tilted slightly.

“I can see it in your eyes, Scale Breaker. That same look I have seen in others across the ages. That arrogance, that feeling of infinite self-worth, as if Existence itself is meant to be yours, as if you were destined for something grand and all of this is merely the prelude to your inevitable ascension.”

Her gaze remained fixed on the distant expanse, seeing something far beyond the Stoa.

“It is never so easy. A few laid claims before you and learned that truth in ways they did not survive. THE Primordial Paradox laid claim to Paradox itself and believed himself infallible, untouchable, beyond the reach of consequence. Where is he now? Eaten. Devoured. Not a shred of his Weavings remain, and he was a million times more powerful than you are at this moment.”

BOOM!

Shocking words came from her as Noah sternly kept his gaze straight, his mind buzzing.

“THE Primordial Paradox is collapsed? Then THE Living Paradox…”

THE Secretive Eon waved her hand with a small gesture of absolute finality.

“THE Living Paradox consumed THE Primordial Paradox and became him, a creature with no claim devouring one who held absolute claim, and in doing so expressing that ideology more purely than its original bearer ever did.” The faintest curve touched her lips. “Paradox, it seems, has a sense of irony.”

She fell silent for a long moment before speaking again.

“I waste my breath saying this, and I know that I do, for more often than not those like you listen to no one, but I will say it regardless because perhaps this time will be different, though I suspect it will not be.”

Her gaze remained fixed on the endless expanse ahead.

“Take a step back, Scale Breaker, and reevaluate yourself. Do not believe yourself something special. Do not think that you have measures or protections that others lacked, or convince yourself that it is somehow impossible for you to die because of who you are. THE Primordial Paradox had many plans and many contingencies, just as you do, and he was collapsed all the same. THE Creature had many plans and many contingencies, and yet here we are, speaking of what became of them rather than speaking with them.”

Her head turned slightly, just enough that he could see the edge of her composed features.

“Existence is grand and unfathomable. THE Creature is something. THE Living Paradox is trying to be something. Others are already something. You, as of this moment, are not anything.”

There was no malice in her voice, no contempt, only truth delivered with the patience of one who had seen this conversation play out countless times across countless ages!

“If I were to offer you counsel, and I am not certain you are capable of hearing it, I would tell you to unmake everything you are and become something small, a worm or a fly, something that moves through Existence without drawing its gaze. Grow in silence, gather strength in shadow, and only when you have reached THE Absolute Depth should you allow yourself to unfold into what you truly wish to be.”

Her dark eyes finally met his directly, and the weight of ages pressed against his existence.

“Otherwise, you are courting death with every step you take, every single step, and sooner or later death will answer your courtship.” Her lips curved into something that was almost sad. “It always does.”

…!

THE Secretive Eon told him how he should live.

But Noah’s eyes burned with defiance.

Him? Crawl like a worm until he was powerful enough to stand?

What would his Tyranny say to such cowardice? Tyranny did not grovel. Tyranny did not hide. Tyranny stood in the open and dared Existence to challenge it.

What would his Quintessence stand for if he abandoned everything that made him who he was? The very core of his being rejected the notion of diminishing himself for the sake of survival.

How brilliant would his Mana shine if he smothered it beneath caution and fear? Mana was meant to blaze. It was meant to illuminate. It was not meant to be hidden away like something shameful.

No.

He sat there grandly without replying, but one could see the air of defiance around him that seemed to reject every single word of THE Secretive Eon.

He would not become a worm.

He would not become a fly.

He would remain exactly what he was, and he would grow stronger as exactly what he was, and if Existence sought to collapse him for it, then Existence would find that he did not collapse easily.

And THE Secretive Eon saw this without even turning her head.

She smiled with the expression of someone who had witnessed this same defiance countless times before and knew precisely how it ended.

Then she continued looking on ahead, saying nothing more.

…!

Extra chap should be out!