Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4997: Research I

Noah felt like he was stumbling through boundless Paradox.

Golden weavings wrapped around his existence as he moved through space that was not space, traveling across distances that should have required eons to traverse. The Paradox carried him with contradictory logic that permitted what should have been impossible, moving him somewhere while simultaneously keeping him nowhere, existing in transit while never truly being in transit at all.

Then the golden gave way to blue.

Paradox transformed into Infinity the further he went, the weavings shifting from borrowed authority to native authority as his own endless nature reasserted itself. He was no longer riding contradiction. He was riding sequence, progression, the simple forward momentum of something that extended without termination.

And when the Infinity finally released him, when he emerged from that endless glimmer of blue into coherent space once more, Noah found himself unfathomable distances away from where THE Primordial Architect had been.

THE Wastes were gone.

The crimson ring of fire was gone.

Beowulf and his dozens of massive bodies were gone.

Noah stood now in a place that defied description.

THE Wandering Territories.

That was how far an instant of Infinity had taken him.

Multicolored weavings flowed all around his position like rivers of liquid light moving through substanceless void. Reality here existed in layers that overlapped without truly touching, planes of existence stacked upon each other.

Colors that had no names pulsed through the environment, bleeding into each other and separating again.

Impossibilities drifted past him like debris carried on invisible currents. Fragments of space folded in on themselves, creating pocket dimensions that existed for moments before collapsing back into the chaotic flow. Light bent around objects that were not there, casting shadows from sources that could not be identified.

Everything seemed to exist at multiple scales simultaneously.

The Wandering Territories were where lost things gathered, where broken pieces of existence accumulated, where the boundaries between what was and what was not became suggestions rather than laws.

And Noah stood at the center of it all, looking not at the chaos around him but at himself.

His blue-gold robes were no longer so showy.

The blazing radiance that had characterized his appearance since his advancement into Absolute had dimmed to something softer, something less externally impressive. His existence did not seem as heavy and grand as before, did not press against reality with the weight of what he carried in the way that had defined him for so long.

To an outside observer, he might have seemed diminished.

But what he could do now was ridiculously marvelous.

A finite being that was unleashed. He had basically stopped standing in his own way, no longer limiting Infinity with his finite nature. He had only arrived here, only achieved this impossible transit across Observable Existence in a single instant, because he had finally been truthful with himself about his own fears.

He was without Fear and Doubt.

And yet he still had fear.

How paradoxical.

Noah looked at his hands that had pulled genuine Paradox from the endless sea.

Could he... do the same for Chaos and Existence?

The genuine Aspects of those weavings, the authorities that beings like THE Primordial Chaos and THE Creature wielded as native expressions of their nature, could he direct those as well?

He had many questions.

But there was the matter of the voice that had led him to admit his own finite nature.

Noah breathed out slowly.

When he wanted to ground himself in this new state of his existence, when he sought an anchor that would keep his finite identity coherent amid the infinite forces he now conducted rather than contained, he found his...

DUM!

His heartbeat.

He found his heartbeat helped him greatly. It was the last thing he had heard before admitting his finite nature, that heavy rhythm that had reminded him of his mother and his son and his women and everything that made him who he was. And it was the first thing he had heard after his admission, the simple mundane beat of a mortal heart.

His heartbeat was the anchor.

His heartbeat was what kept Noah Osmont coherent while wielding authorities that should have scattered his consciousness across infinite perspectives.

He focused on that rhythm while speaking aloud.

"Thank you for the words that forced me to admit something about myself."

His voice carried across the chaotic flows of the Wandering Territories, pressing against the multicolored weavings with weight that belonged to THE First Tongue.

"Who... are you?"

The voice that had rung out with frustration during his confrontation with Beowulf. The voice that had called him maddening to watch. The voice that had asked why he kept channeling an endless sea through a straw before departing with disgust.

Was it another Primordial Architect? Something at THE Second Scale?

Or something even more unique?

Noah waited for response.

Nothing replied to him.

The Wandering Territories continued their chaotic flow around his position, multicolored weavings drifting past without acknowledgment of his question. Lost things tumbled through void that was not void.

Silence.

Noah kept his hand on his chest, feeling that finite heartbeat beneath his palm. He was getting ready to search infinitely, to extend his awareness across the endless sea he now conducted rather than contained, to find whoever had spoken to him during that critical moment.

And then...

"What...do you understand about Infinity?"

The voice boomed across existence with depth and majesty that exceeded anything Noah had heard before.

It was not loud in the conventional sense. Volume was irrelevant to what he perceived. The words simply existed with weight that pressed against his awareness from every direction simultaneously.

It was Deep and ancient and patient in ways that made THE Primordial Architects seem hasty. Composed in ways that made Absolutes seem emotional.

Noah smiled at the question.

"I’m just someone who was finally able to admit that I am not the ocean."

His words emerged with certainty.

"I’m the one who tells the ocean where to flow."

He paused.

"What do you know about Infinity?"

He asked such a question as sparkling star-like dots of Infinity filled everything nearby, responding to his attention with eagerness that had not existed before his admission. The endless sea was there, waiting for his direction, ready to flow wherever he commanded it to go.

And through that Infinity, through the connections that now extended from his finite awareness to every point where his authority had ever touched, Noah felt like he could see unfathomably vast.

He turned his gaze toward a certain direction.

He looked across the veils of existence and power and immensity, perception extending through layers of reality that should have been opaque to anything at THE First Scale. He saw through the Wandering Territories themselves. He saw through the boundaries that separated regions of Observable Existence. He saw through classifications and all the hierarchies that beings used to organize their understanding of what was.

And he saw a wonder that was looking at him.

...!

From the glimmers of Infinity all arouund...he received a name. A name that was told to infinity by this being, and now he learned it!

THE Beholder.

That was the only name that fit what Noah perceived, though he had no way of knowing if it was accurate.

The entity appeared as a floating eye like brilliance encased in a protective shell that seemed to be made of crystallized existence itself. At its center was a glowing spherical core that served as the actual eye, a luminous multicolored orb that could blink and look around just like a human’s might, tracking movement and focusing perception with organic fluidity that contrasted sharply with its geometric housing.

Surrounding this core were several sharp, geometric fragments that hovered in place without actually touching the center. They maintained perfect position relative to the eye despite having no visible connection, no support structure, no reason to remain where they were except that they chose to remain there. These outer pieces formed a star-like or diamond shape depending on the angle of observation, protective architecture that shielded the awareness within while permitting it to observe everything outside.

And its size constantly changed.

One moment it appeared to be a few inches across, something Noah could have held in his palm if such an action were possible. The next moment it expanded to span several gigaparsecs, becoming so vast that Wheels of Existence seemed small by comparison. Then it contracted again, then expanded differently, then existed at multiple scales simultaneously in ways that made the Wandering Territories’ shifting perspectives seem stable by comparison.

It stared at him.

He stared at it.

A moment of mutual observation that extended across distances that should have prevented any observation at all.

Then THE Beholder spoke.

"In the age before Primordial Architects learned to call themselves ancient, before the first differentiation produced the first distinction between what was and what was not, there existed only potential."

The words emerged with calculated precision.

"This potential was not Infinity as current beings understand the term. It was not sequence extending without termination. It was not density approaching limits that could not be reached. It was simply the absence of limitation itself, the state of existence before existence learned that boundaries were possible."

THE Beholder’s eye focused more intently upon Noah.

"I emerged during that age. I gained cognizance when cognizance was the only thing that could be gained, when there was nothing to observe except the observation itself. Billions upon billions of eons passed in that state of pure potential, spans of duration so vast that the entirety of what beings now call Observable Existence represents merely a fraction of what came before."

Oh!

Noah’s eyes shone brightly!

"When THE First Cause occurred, when differentiation and undifferentiation emerged to produce what would eventually become Primordial Architects and Absolutes and all the classifications of complex life, Infinity was present."

THE Beholder’s geometric shell contracted slightly, the eye within becoming more prominent.

"The Oldest Paradox of Existence, as later beings came to call it. Four Aspects: Chaos, Existence, Paradox, and THE First Tongue. The foundational authorities from which all other authorities derived. The Keys that unlocked advancement to Civilization."

A pause that communicated something approaching contemplation.

"I... reject this classification."

BOOM!

What?

What???!

The words emerged with coolly polite superiority that nonetheless carried absolute conviction!

"The accepted wisdom states that Infinity is best expressed through THE First Tongue, that the linguistic nature of Observable Existence makes THE First Tongue the most suitable vehicle for Infinite expression. This wisdom is not incorrect. But it is incomplete in ways that those who repeat it fail to understand."

THE Beholder’s voice took on qualities that approached something like intensity, though the serene composure never wavered.

"Infinity was present during THE First Cause alongside all other weavings. Chaos was present. Existence was present. Paradox was present. THE First Tongue was present. But consider: THE First Tongue is the language through which reality expresses itself. It is the medium of expression. Infinity is not a medium. Infinity is a state. A condition. A nature that exists independent of how it is communicated."

The geometric fragments rotated slowly around the central eye.

"On THE Second Scale of Existence, where most Primordial Architects operate and where you have just demonstrated the impossible, what do you imagine those ancient beings seek? What authority do they pursue across eons of existence? What would make them capture and dissect a being like yourself rather than simply destroying you?"

The question hung in the multicolored chaos of the Wandering Territories.

"They seek Infinity."

It was a statement, not answer. Fact, not speculation!

"Is Infinity merely something expressed through one Aspect of the Oldest Paradox of Existence? Or is Infinity its own grand separate authority, something that predates, something that exists alongside Existence? Was Infinity...not one of the ingredients of THE First Cause?"

...!

BOOM!

Noah’s mind buzzed with unfathomable waves of wonder and possibility as at this time, the beat of his heart...felt oh so heavy!