Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4580: The Chicken Or The Egg? I

Existence was paradoxical by nature.

There were countless such paradoxes woven throughout the fabric of reality, and the one entity standing tall and paradoxical above all others was unique even among the extraordinary.

Inside THE Loom, in that paradoxical region filled with incomprehensible wonder, THE Living Paradox floated with deep contemplation as his eyes perceived far too many things simultaneously.

Many misunderstood him. Many misunderstood his fundamental nature and his true ambitions. Even those within THE Loom itself, even the tiny False THE and Pre-THE entities who served his purposes, Even THE...only a select few knew his actual goals. And no others, not even Emotive who stood closest to his confidence, knew his true, TRUE ambitions that lay beneath even those surface objectives.

THE Loom was a grand construct of staggering complexity. Few entities across existence knew that it was actually a weapon, not merely a domain or territory. A weapon directed against The Belly of Existence itself, aimed squarely at THE Creature with calculated precision.

It was an attack and weapon that spanned from The Earliest Folds and even slightly before that primordial era, extending all the way to the current time period. And even that description barely scratched the surface of intricacies that others could not begin to fathom. Some even thought they were its Architects when they were merely led to it!

His enemy was THE Creature, after all, so he had to prepare extensively and with meticulous care. One single slip up, one moment of carelessness, and he would be utterly destroyed without possibility of recovery.

Which was precisely why he had left behind so many layered countermeasures across existence. At the mere sign of a possibility, at even the potential of a countermeasure being triggered as an alarm bell, he would immediately follow up to investigate and respond.

And now, he had to follow up on something unexpected.

When it came to the events unfolding outside of THE Loom in the collapsed former Transcendent Paradoxical Folds, he had so far been relaxing, enjoying the spectacle, and playing around with indirect influence. But might it be time to get genuinely serious about intervention?

A profound silence spread through the paradoxical sea like ripples across still water.

And Paradox, who had been relaxing in languid repose on a throne of endless seas of paradox that lay above existence itself, shifted his body with deliberate motion.

He moved from being laid back in casual observation, and sat upright with focused attention.

He merely sat upright.

But this simple action alone should terrify even THE Fundamental Depth of Absolute Sovereignty entities if they could perceive it occurring.

Because when Paradox decided to sit up and pay attention, existence itself trembled!

Oh!

---

In The Infinite Unfurling, deep within Ginnungagap’s ancient territory on the shores of The Primordial Genesis Shore, Noah floated downward with tremendous sense of exuberance after speaking his first ever Phoneme.

His first true letter of The First Tongue.

His entire existence felt utterly ecstatic at this moment as an array of prompts flashed before his enhanced vision with detailed information.

|Phoneme Learned: Fire (Primordial Combustion)|

|Current Mastery Level: Novice Speaker (1st Tier)|

|Mastery Progression: Novice Speaker, Fluent Speaker, Perfect Speaker|

|At Novice Speaker: Can speak Phoneme with basic accuracy, drawing upon Grand Principles|

|At Fluent Speaker: Can speak Phoneme with refined accuracy, potentially drawing upon a nearby Singularity Principles|

|At Perfect Speaker: Can speak Phoneme with flawless accuracy, potentially drawing upon a nearby Genesis Principle|

...!

|THE Organ of Civilization is advancing|

|The Parenchyma within THE Organ of Civilization are now being forged.|

|The Parenchyma represents the functional tissue of THE Organ, the essential matter that performs the primary work of processing and integrating civilizational complexity. Like biological parenchyma forms the working substance of organs, this structure will form the working substance of your civilizational authority.|

|Function: Processes incoming knowledge, refines understanding, converts raw information into usable advancement.|

|Current Status: Initial formation at 23% Organ development.|

|OVERALL ORGAN DEVELOPMENT: 23%|

|Advancement rate: Dramatically increased through First Tongue comprehension.|

...!

Noah observed all of these grand prompts with analytical interest, but instead of focusing entirely on his advancement metrics, he looked down toward the figures of Ul’moreth and THE Fisherman standing on the shore below.

He floated downward gradually as he could feel the hairy figure of Ul’moreth smiling at him beneath all that obscuring hair. But he had also picked up something concerning with his enhanced perception during the earlier conversation.

He landed softly on the obsidian surface and spoke with cautious inquiry.

|I heard mentions of dangers? References to The Others? What exactly is this referring to?|

His Mana perception had been extraordinarily acute during the moment of his breakthrough, catching fragments of the conversation between the two ancient beings.

Ains sighed deeply at his direct question, his six arms shifting position with body language suggesting reluctance to discuss this topic.

Ul’moreth’s body vibrated with acknowledgment before he began his explanation with characteristic thoroughness.

|The Others refer to creatures who are anomalous in their own right and were born just as early as us Ginnu Lifeforms in the primordial eras of existence. Most of them do not sit still peacefully, nor are they free to be like us, simply enjoying existence as it naturally unfolds. They seem to be imprisoned by an incapability of just sitting still and observing. They are always seeking something with desperate intensity.|

|They are like you in that particular regard, Little Anomaly. Always advancing, always cultivating, always pushing boundaries. But on a scale that dwarfs conventional ambition. They seek to impose their weavings over everything. Over Existence itself. Over The First Tongue. Over every concept and principle and law. Everything must bend to their vision.|

His obsidian gold hair flowed with emphasis.

|The Others are entities you may or may not already know by reputation, but the main ones who concern us most are THE Creature, THE Primordial Chaos, THE Living Paradox, THE Secretive Eon, among several others of similar caliber. Each one represents a fundamental approach to existence, a different answer to how reality should be structured and governed.|

...!

|You, Little Anomaly, with what your unique nature managed to accomplish with The First Tongue, can actually be considered one of The Others now. You have achieved something that places you in their category, whether you desired that classification or not. You are no longer merely a cultivator or an exceptional entity. You are now a potential candidate for reshaping existence itself according to your vision.|

|But to understand why there exists such conflict and this desperate need for supremacy among The Others, why they cannot simply coexist peacefully, you have to ask yourself a fundamental question.|

He paused for dramatic effect.

|What came first, Little Anomaly? The chicken, or the egg?|