Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4892: Storm III

Across Observable Existence, there were many shelters of THE Loom.

Hidden bastions scattered throughout the Wastes. Some were small. Some were vast, containing vast populations.

But at this moment in time, inside the main shelter of THE Loom, something pivotal was occurring.

At the very peak of a paradoxical mountain that pointed upward and downward and in different directions within a matter of seconds, a single man floated surrounded by terrifying weavings of Paradox. The air of an Absolute was utterly suffocating around him, pressing against reality with weight that declared his supremacy over the aspect he had claimed.

It felt Absolute.

And at the same time, it felt like something else entirely.

As if maybe, potentially, there was actually the possibility that it had exceeded this designation. Maybe. Paradoxically. The uncertainty itself was part of the power, the contradiction between what he was and what he might be creating strength that purely defined existence could never match.

This was THE Living Paradox at this moment.

He had three Axioms rotating around him. They orbited his form like moons around a planet, each one containing power that could reshape regions of Observable Existence if unleashed.

He was staring at what floated above the paradoxical mountain.

A Crack of Observable Existence.

The same type of fracture that led to THE Prima Indifferentia, to the place where differentiation had first begun and where undifferentiation still held dominion.

The body of THE Living Paradox was a unique one, chosen specifically for the symbolism it represented. He looked similar to none other than the now collapsed and dead Schrodinger.

And this body actually wore the same beggar-like clothes that THE Living Paradox had worn during his time as a peasant, even though paradoxically, he knew that there was always going to be a peasant somewhere in existence. The clothes were tattered and simple, completely at odds with the Absolute authority radiating from his form.

A peasant who had become one of THE Four.

A beggar who now waged war against THE Creature himself.

This was simply the only other body that he could currently spare, as all his other forms were engaged in the conflict that consumed most of his attention and resources. The war against THE Creature demanded everything he had and more.

Since the day that he began even planning and thinking about this war, THE Living Paradox had known it would be almost an impossibility to win. Since the moment he began to plan to betray his master, THE Primordial Paradox, he knew he was setting himself up for an extremely arduous existence.

THE Creature was only one among the many lines of impossibilities that THE Living Paradox had placed in front of himself.

A mere peasant being capable of usurping the Claim of Paradox from one of THE Four?

Impossible.

A mere peasant even thinking about going against the one who held Claim to Existence itself?

Impossible.

A single peasant being capable of managing to alter and change the entire landscape of Observable Existence through THE Loom?

Impossible!

All of these were impossibilities.

And yet here he was, doing one after another.

That was the point.

That had always been the point!

Things were so unimaginably hard for him to the point that he was putting all his effort into his war against THE Creature. Half of him believed THE Creature might only be utilizing a portion of his power, holding back for reasons that only someone who embodied Existence itself could understand.

But the war between him and THE Creature truly was a complex one, filled with moving parts that even THE Living Paradox couldn’t fully track.

He needed THE Creature.

And THE Creature needed him.

He waged war against THE Creature because this was an impossible thing, the hardest thing for him to possibly do. So he did it because he knew if he came out victorious against such adversity and hardship, his existence would be grand beyond measure.

The Vakochev Scales demanded hardship for progression, and what greater hardship could there be than fighting against Existence itself?

At the same time, THE Creature seemed to understand this arrangement.

THE Living Paradox knew there were instances where THE Creature could have chosen to do many different things and didn’t, allowing for events to unfold how they unfolded purely because he also wanted adversity. THE Creature was also seeking to progress along the Vakochev Scales. THE Creature also needed genuine hardship to fuel his advancement.

So they warred.

Not because they hated each other, though hatred certainly existed.

Not because their goals were fundamentally incompatible, though they certainly were.

But because the war itself was the point. The adversity was the treasure. The impossibility was the fuel that would either elevate them both or destroy them both.

The Vakochev Scales of Existence demanded adversity.

And who in Observable Existence bore the weight that THE Living Paradox had taken on?

No one.

No one else had dared to challenge THE Creature directly while simultaneously managing THE Loom’s expansion while simultaneously dealing with the emergence of THE Youngest while simultaneously maintaining control over his usurped Claim.

But THE Creature was so grand that even when one of his helpers was killed by THE Youngest, even when THE Weavers were killed by Noah Osmont, THE Living Paradox actually didn’t have the capacity to mobilize another body to take care of this nuisance.

Because THE Creature kept him that busy.

Every moment of every hour was consumed by the war. Every resource was allocated to the conflict. Every thought was devoted to staying one step ahead of an opponent who embodied the very concept of being.

THE Youngest had been a thorn that THE Living Paradox simply couldn’t spare the attention to remove.

But...

THE Living Paradox smiled as he pointed toward the Crack of Observable Existence floating above his paradoxical mountain. His Axioms began to shine brilliantly. They drew upon the authority of THE Loom itself, upon THE Fallout that had gained a tremendous amount of fuel and Immensity after spreading across Observable Existence.

All of that accumulated authority was now being directed toward a singular purpose.

It pointed and aimed itself toward THE Prima Indifferentia.

"You want Adversity?"

His voice was calm, almost conversational, as if he was discussing philosophy rather than preparing an attack that could reshape the nature of reality itself.

"I will provide Adversity for all of us. To the extent that none of us will be able to breathe."

His smile widened.

"Until all of us feel that same suffocation."

HUUM!