Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4556: When Fortune Falters! II

Misunderstandings.

They were phenomena that were incredibly easy to prevent with minimal effort, and yet they were also some of the most frustrating events in existence.

If someone simply uttered a few additional words and made a slightly different choice in how they communicated, there would absolutely be no misunderstandings. Communication would be immensely easy and clear.

And yet misunderstandings almost always occurred in existence regardless. And they remained infuriatingly persistent despite their preventable nature.

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In a region of the Infinite Unfurling where space folded in complex patterns, THE Living Origin was moving through existence with purposeful direction.

The way she viewed and observed the surrounding atmosphere was fundamentally different from how entities of lesser power perceived reality.

An entity weaker than her would see the vibrant landscape of the Infinite Unfurling normally. The colors of mountains, the textures of unique regions, the spatial relationships between objects.

But in her eyes, and in the perception of many entities at THE level, all of existence appeared as endlessly interacting wavelengths and strings of fundamental Civilizational energy.

They saw reality differently than others. Space itself, mountains, entire landscapes...all of them simply held different variations of vibrating strings and oscillating wavelengths of Civilizational Authority that they could seamlessly and easily manipulate with their elevated power.

They could interact with these wavelengths and strings through an innate ability that only entities of THE Civilizational Scale possessed. This capability made manipulating existence unfathomably easier than for those operating at lower levels.

They could meld with the surrounding existence so seamlessly that weaker entities could pass directly by them without even knowing they were present. Or they could alter and control every aspect of countless Gigaparsecs worth of wavelengths to fall under their absolute dominion.

It was power that defied conventional understanding.

At THE level, fundamental particles were no longer perceived as zero-dimensional points but as one-dimensional strings and waves that vibrated with specific frequencies. Different vibration patterns corresponded to different manifestations of authority and matter!

These entities could perceive and manipulate the extra spatial dimensions that were curled up at scales too small for normal observation. They could interact with reality at the Planck length where conventional weavings ceased to apply!

They understood that what appeared as distinct forces and concepts were actually unified expressions of the same underlying weavings vibrating in different patterns. Gravity, elemental authority, temporal manipulation...all of it was simply variations in how fundamental strings of Civilizational Authority moved and interacted.

This was the true power of THE, or at least a glimpse of what such beings could accomplish.

But as THE Living Origin moved across existence in this elevated manner of perception, her thoughts returned to the temporal anomaly she had recently left behind in the Unstable Genesis Domains.

Her mind drifted back to her failed plans of studying the Origin of Time through THE Time Surfer. She had hoped to better understand and prepare countermeasures for THE Living Temporal through such research.

She shook her head at this reflection. Sometimes one succeeded in their carefully laid plans, and other times circumstances caused them to fail despite best efforts.

She wondered idly how THE Time Surfer had fared while facing the savage weavings of Hunger that had been moving with the anomaly when she departed.

In the next moment as she was contemplating these matters, her expression changed dramatically. Her gaze snapped to focus toward a certain direction where she felt a significant burst in the flow of countless waves and strings.

POP!

Existence itself flickered and squeezed as space compressed violently. The figure of none other than Tor appeared near THE Living Origin’s position with sudden dramatic entrance.

Tor, THE First Hunger himself!

THE Living Origin looked at this being with immediate heightened awareness. His gaze was currently filled with a light of vibrant brutality and barely contained violence.

In his hands, the half-eaten corpse of THE Time Surfer could be clearly seen. Endless streams of purple rivers of temporal authority were leaking from her body and being systematically devoured into Tor’s existence.

And even though she was categorized as a corpse, her eyes and core existence continued to flicker with her terrifying Sovereignty. Time itself was continuously trying to reverse and restore her to the state she had been before her defeat.

And yet Tor continued to devour everything about her Sovereignty with relentless efficiency. The corpse felt more like a perpetual battery that was feeding him endless power rather than a defeated enemy.

With such a terrifying entrance and the power radiating from Tor feeling grander than ever before, he opened his jaws wide to take another savage bite of THE Time Surfer’s remaining essence.

He looked at THE Living Origin with wild intensity burning in his eyes and spoke with directness.

"I did not expect for one of the followers of this time bitch to actually be a monster veiled in disguise," he said while chewing. "I almost missed detecting you entirely. But I was following the weavings of my junior’s path, since I had to hurry in taking care of a few persistent pests."

He paused to take another bite.

"Because I sensed another Sovereignty wrap around my junior and even veil their presence completely. I now cannot sense where they are located. So tell me plainly: what did you do with my junior?"

As soon as he finished speaking his question, he continued to brutally bite and devour what remained of THE Surface Depth of Absolute Sovereignty entity in his hands.

And here came a critical inflection point in their interaction.

He had asked a simple and straightforward question. THE Living Origin could have given a simple and complete answer.

And yet at this moment, THE Living Origin thought carefully about the terrifying temporal anomaly who had far too many complex issues and connections already attached to his existence.

She first needed to further understand his relationship to this brutal entity before revealing sensitive information. The anomaly held a semblance of her Origin within him, and he also held a semblance of this savage entity’s Hunger?

She wanted to comprehend how all of these connections fit together properly. So at this critical moment, she simply made the choice to say minimal information.

"He is fine and safe," she said with deliberate vagueness.

And toward such insufficient words, Tor’s expression shifted.

"That is not what I fucking asked for though," he said with irritation building in his tone. "Where specifically is my junior located?"

An exchange of just a few words between two powerful beings.

If different words had been chosen, if additional clarifying information had been given, then perhaps what happened next would not have occurred at all.

And yet THE Living Origin simply shook her head with refusal. She did not wish to reveal where she had left the anomaly, viewing that information as sensitive.

In consequence of this withholding, Tor laughed with dark amusement before shaking his head with resigned acceptance.

"Guess another bitch needs to be collapsed today," he said with casual finality. "Alrighty then."

With such declaration of intent, he opened his jaws impossibly wide and completely devoured the remaining body of THE Time Surfer in a single bite. The corpse that had been spilling out seas of temporal Sovereignty vanished entirely into his Hunger.

His power began radiating a terrifically concentrated obsidian-crimson glow as he looked directly at THE Living Origin and spoke with predatory anticipation.

"Scrawny thing, are you ready?" he asked with savage smile.

Choices.

Both entities had made the choice to say certain words while deliberately not saying other words. What it led to was a fundamental misunderstanding between two beings who operated at THE level.

An infuriating outcome that could have been easily prevented, and yet it occurred nonetheless despite their intelligence.

And from this miscommunication born of incomplete information and deliberate withholding, a terrifying battle between two THE entities was about to bloom.

All because a few additional words were not spoken!