Chapter 4300: Anomaly! IV

The name was unique, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand forgotten philosophies!

Anaximander bowed, a gesture of polite, scholarly respect.

"I apologize for intruding on your experiment," he said. "I just appeared here after testing something of my own."

He then continued, his eyes, which held a light of pure, unadulterated curiosity, fixed on Noah. "But, are you truly trying to learn about The Ways of Existence too? I have also embarked on this journey and made some progress!"

...!

Noah replied to Anaximander, his voice a calm, even current in the frigid air of the First Folds.

"Yes, I am learning about The Way of Existence, but..."

He did not finish his words. His gaze swept over Anaximander, from the simple, archaic cut of his robes to the brilliant, almost naive, curiosity in his eyes.

This being had introduced himself, had given a name, but he remained an anomaly, a variable in an equation that did not compute! In a realm where power was the very air one breathed, where Complexity and Purity were the fundamental metrics of being, this man claimed to have none.

Yet he stood here, in a place that should have unmade him in a nanosecond, as if he were taking a leisurely stroll through a park.

The temperatures seemed to sway around him as if...they weren’t supposed to touch him!

Beside him, the crimson-blue holographic figure of RUIN/EDEN materialized, her form a stark, beautiful contrast to the pristine white of the snow. Her voice was a cold, clinical whisper in the quiet of his mind.

|I did not sense him appear in my previous scans, Master. He had to have just arrived here moments ago, but even then, even I could not detect his arrival. He is a ghost Existence, a blind spot in reality itself.|

HUUM!

At her silent, communicated words and Noah’s own heavy silence, Anaximander blinked.

A brilliant light of pure, unadulterated intellect flashed in his eyes. "Ah," he said, a warm, almost apologetic smile spreading across his face. "Let me introduce myself properly. You must have some reservations on seeing me here..."

He gestured to himself, a simple, disarming motion. "I have come across many unique beings since I began this journey, and many of them have seemed just as confused and distrustful as you currently are. From their perspective, they were seeing someone who did not have an ounce of power... appearing before them in places where they shouldn’t be."

He began to pace, his steps leaving no prints in the sparkling snow.

"I have met colossal, sentient mountains that have tried to crush me for the audacity of my presence. I have conversed with beings of pure, chaotic energy who have tried to devour me for the novelty of it. Most, however, either attacked me on sight or fled in terror. It seems a being with no discernible authority is a profound anomaly, and anomalies tend to make the powerful... uncomfortable. I have found that a clear and honest introduction can sometimes mitigate the... misunderstandings."

He stopped, his gaze open and sincere. "So, please, treat me like a harmless explorer, because that is who I am. Just someone seeking to understand Existence. As for your other questions, yes, my existence does not contain any authority...which seems to be the biggest issue for many of those I have met. But I simply do not need authority. That is... my Way. My nature... or what I have discovered of it so far. I am still doing my best to learn and understand. Because not too long ago, I was introduced to all of this by entities I have been searching for since they appeared before me... THE Weavers."

...!

THE Weavers!

Noah’s eyes became exceedingly grave. The name was a detonation in the silent chambers of his mind. THE.

A distinction of the highest, most terrifying order.

This Fold Dweller, this seemingly powerless anomaly, had been in contact with a Level One Scale existence? Or multiple? And they had guided him?

THE Weavers...who the fuck were they?!

WAA!

This entire situation had just transitioned from a curious anomaly to a potentially catastrophic variable. His Early Atlas of the Folds buzzed, a silent, ready hum, the pathway for an emergency Temporal Traversal already primed!

His careful, assessing gaze was observed by Anaximander.

"Oh," he said, his own eyes lighting up with a new, excited curiosity. "Based on your reaction, do you know something of them? I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to many knowledgeable beings about them. In fact, part of the reason why I appeared here... I closed my eyes and told my very being... to send me somewhere where I could potentially gain answers or satisfy my scientific curiosity even more, and I appeared here!"

...!

His words were heavy, each one adding another layer of mystery to his already impossible presence. Noah looked at him closely, his gaze a scalpel dissecting every word.

"You say THE Weavers introduced all of this to you? Your Way of Existence? What did they say?"

At such words, the eyes of Anaximander brightened up. "Yes! This may be able to help you as well. When it comes to the Way, I will try to do it similarly to how they did it with me. Haha, I haven’t been able to get this far with anyone to replicate it, so let’s see!"

He took a step back, his posture shifting, becoming less a fellow explorer and more a guide, a teacher.

His voice took on a new, profound weight, a resonant, multi-tonal quality that was an eerie echo of voices!

"They asked me," Anaximander began, his eyes looking past Noah, as if seeing a memory playing out in the swirling snow, "’Every night you reach out to the stars. Why do you not simply take a step and see them with your own two eyes?’"

He paused, a faint, almost nostalgic smile on his lips. "Of course, I explained the scientific impossibilities. The vacuum. The radiation. The cold. All the reasons why such an act would be suicide. And they listened, with a patience that was both a comfort and a profound, unnerving thing. And then they asked, ’Have you ever tried? How do you know you cannot, if you don’t try?’"

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