Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 3885: What was once lost! III

Tens of thousands.

That number should not feel small, but in the vision, it hadn’t felt like a number at all.

It had felt like an ocean. A storm of hearts breaking at once, singing one last song of flames into her.

Sigrid.

The sea of Living Origin Authority churned around her as tens of thousands of Living White Origins fell into themselves, their beginnings unraveling like silk, burning as white fire. Sacrifices turned into tributaries flowing into one vessel.

Her.

In the distance of that day, beyond the veil of tears and purpose, other Lineages of Living Origins watched.

They had not stepped forward. They had not interfered.

They simply bore witness.

Only a few Prime Living Origins and those of Honored rank or above from other Lineages were permitted to know. The moment was far too grave for the rest. It could not spread. It was not meant to spread.

But among those watchers... were eyes.

Eyes glowing with the hue of regal purple and gold.

The Living Royal Origins.

The architects behind it all.

They watched in silence as something ancient and terrifying was born again.

A pulse.

A whisper.

Living! Order!

—

The vision bled away like a receding tide, retreating into the corners of Noah’s mind as his senses returned to the present.

The white-gold dome was quiet.

And across from him, Sigrid watched.

Her eyes shimmered, but not with power. With sorrow.

"I despise them," she whispered, "all those who came up with the idea. The Royal Origins most of all."

Her voice was firm, but it cracked at the edges.

"But in the end... my entire lineage chose to do it. None of them were forced. Right?"

Noah didn’t answer right away.

He studied her quietly. The way her hands trembled even while she floated perfectly still. The way her voice held conviction, and yet, behind her eyes, there was only ache.

She was dangerous. A living bundle of existential purpose forged in agony. But in that moment, she looked so small. So... human.

Noah’s voice came calmly, its tone laced with an unexpected warmth.

"Little Bundle," he said, "come here."

...!

She froze.

The name hit her like the echo of a thunderclap. Her gaze wavered. Her body jolted as if struck.

Those words...

She hadn’t heard them in eons.

"Little Bundle..."

The voice of her father, full of warmth and love.

Back then, it had meant safety. Back then, it had meant family.

She floated forward slowly, her arms wrapping around Noah in a quiet, reverent motion.

He let her in.

She buried her face into his chest as her trembling fingers grasped onto the moment like it was the last one left.

Behind her closed eyelids bloomed the memory of her father’s smile.

Of her twin sister’s trembling lips.

Of the look that said, "I’m sorry," without words.

Sigrid remembered it all.

And when she pulled away from Noah, her eyes were different.

Harder.

She looked him in the eye.

"There’s still time," she said. "You can still walk away. Whatever you are... whatever it is that let you awaken me... you don’t have to stay entangled. What’s ahead... it’s not something small. It’s not something kind. And you won’t be able to leave once you go deeper."

Noah raised a brow, almost amused.

Then he reached out and brushed a hand over her head with a deliberate gentleness.

"I’m staying," he said.

"You feel it too, don’t you? That bond? It is something that even you will not understand."

The bond of an Early Creature!𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He had bound her to him as whether she knew it or not, she was his!

Her eyes stung.

She pressed her forehead into his chest again and held him tighter.

"I’ll share more," she murmured. "I’ll tell you more. But I still need time. I’m still... remembering. Still understanding what they turned me into."

She closed her eyes.

"Just a little more time."

The white-gold dome faded.

The domain reappeared.

Above them floated the small Labyrinth Guider and Altheon, who had remained motionless, respectful- barely.

Sigrid turned slowly, her gaze like frost.

She swept her eyes across the chamber. It was still. Empty. No influx of Living Origins had arrived.

A faint nod of approval came from her.

"You didn’t lie," she said. "I had to be sure."

Altheon’s posture stiffened.

"If I had stepped out and found others here, I would have done the unthinkable."

WAA!

Altheon nodded slowly. "..."

"I’ll finish this Labyrinth," she continued. "Once I’m done, then you may speak of my return."

Altheon looked stunned. "Miss..."

"I said what I said."

He quickly lowered his head. "Yes. Of course."

And with that, he vanished, the Labyrinth Guider disappearing alongside him.

On the far end of the square domain, a massive doorway shimmered, white and clear, its surface humming with lines of ancient runes.

Sigrid turned to it.

Then to Noah.

"I want to finish this," she said softly. "The Labyrinth. Just a little more time to pretend... before everything crashes in again."

Noah’s eyes remained steady.

"Then let’s go."

He hovered beside her.

"On the way," he added, "tell me more. More about you. More about... the Earliest Folds."

Her lips tugged upward in something between a smile and a sigh.

"Mmm."

Her voice was small, uncertain.

But she nodded.

Together, they glided toward the shining arch.

—

Above the Labyrinth, a white-gold sea shimmered with quiet waves.

It was within this sea that Altheon and the Labyrinth Guider reappeared. Altheon’s face was a mask of solemnity, his wings folded behind him like still blades of judgment.

He turned sharply to the Guider.𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Close all complex pathways of the Labyrinth. Converge all routes. The Inevitabilities. The Fold Dwellers. Everyone."

The Guider blinked, startled. "All of them? That will cause extreme overlap. The difficulty-"

"Do it."

His voice brooked no argument.

"I am honoring her command not to alert others immediately. But I will limit this outing. The one with her..."

He paused.

His jaw clenched, his purple-gold eyes narrowing.

"That Fold Dweller is far too close. Far too dangerous. The Young Miss... she must not be corrupted."

He turned back to the shimmering sea.

"She is the spark of Order."

His eyes gleamed with unspoken resolve.

"Someone that is perhaps even more important than the Paradox that does not produce Inevitabilities."

...!