Chapter 4523: Predator! I

As existence churned and trembled in the face of two entities at the level of THE expressing their Sovereignties, Tor walked deliberately in front of Noah and began to take measured steps toward THE Time Surfer.

As he moved forward with calm certainty, the expanse of space behind him turned obsidian-crimson as if his Hunger covered everything in that direction. The color spread like spilled blood across reality itself, staining the very fabric of existence.

And Noah continued to hear the voice of Tor echoing in his mind even as this being fearlessly walked toward another THE entity.

"A river that carves through stone does not succeed through strength, but through relentless focus on a single path," Tor’s voice resonated with teaching intensity. "My Hunger has been honed again and again across eons, Outsider. It has tremendous Depth."

His mental voice carried weight.

"And remember what I taught you before: Depth is how thoroughly one can alter and rewrite existence through their Sovereignty. THE Surface Depth of Absolute Sovereignty is just that, scratching the surface of what is possible. And yet many entities will only ever stop there, unable to progress further."

The obsidian-crimson light that shone behind Tor and encompassed Noah and everything else became even more intense as he continued speaking.

Opposite him, THE Time Surfer radiated vivid purple luster that also painted everything behind her with that color. The two expanding domains met in the middle, creating a boundary where obsidian-crimson clashed against purple in silent contest.

And yet Tor continued calmly inside Noah’s mind with his teachings.

"Apart from Depth, there is also Breadth," he explained with measured words. "Breadth is exactly how many Sovereignties one can claim simultaneously. When Depth becomes significant enough, when one has truly mastered their primary Way, they can proceed to claim Sovereignty over another Way if they are capable enough."

His voice carried profound meaning.

"Such a thing is only possible much further down the path, with tremendous Depth already established. And yet you, Outsider, currently hold two Ways of Existence running parallel within you. I will tell you honestly that you are way out of your depth attempting such a thing at your level."

There was approval in his tone despite the warning.

"And yet you are doing everything seamlessly somehow. You have taken a semblance of my Hunger and proceeded to do something unfathomable with it, making it walk hand in hand with Mana in the same Way and Civilization that you are forging. This makes you an anomaly among anomalies."

His voice became stern with advice.

"But make sure that you do not branch yourself out too much in the future. After all, a single blade sharpened ten thousand times will cut deeper than ten thousand blades sharpened once. Observe everything through the lens of your Civilization of Mana and Hunger as unified concepts, and you will not go wrong."

Noah absorbed these words with analytical focus as Tor’s mental voice shifted to more immediate concerns.

"For now, I wish to tell you to observe what is about to occur if you can," Tor said with slight regret. "But it seems that even this may not be a possibility for you. You would need significant time to adapt your perception just to be capable of seeing us properly when we clash at full intensity."

His voice dropped with finality.

"And it does not look like you will be given that time."

The moment after Tor said this, his physical figure disappeared from Noah’s perception entirely!

The figure of THE Time Surfer also vanished simultaneously, as if both had simply ceased to exist in observable space!

And then...

BOOM!

Instantly, Noah observed the utterly ridiculous scene of reality itself in front of him being torn open like a page in a book. A massive rift spread upward and downward for countless Gigaparsecs, splitting existence into two distinct halves.

One side shone with obsidian-crimson brilliance that represented Hunger’s domain. The other side pulsed with purple luminescence that represented Time’s authority.

And Noah felt existence trembling even more violently than before, but shockingly, he could not see either of THE entities that were supposedly fighting right in front of him!

Their forms had vanished completely from his perception.

And yet the evidence of their battle was unmistakable.

BOOM!

Another massive tear in reality spread far above them, also stretching out for Gigaparsecs in length. It gushed out a deluge of endless collapsed existence from this rending of space, pouring destruction like a waterfall.

He could not see them fighting, and yet they were clearly already engaged in combat of apocalyptic proportions!

He actually could not fully comprehend the scope of the battle unfolding before him. Even their figures were not observable to his eyes as they moved at speeds and through weavings of existence he could not even begin to perceive.

Noah’s gaze turned toward the Pre-THE entities that THE Time Surfer had brought with her, and he saw that even they seemed to be struggling. They were moving their heads around rapidly, whipping their attention from one point to another as they tried desperately to keep track of the entities fighting.

But they were unable to successfully follow the clash either!

The Living Origin stood with intense focus, her white-gold eyes narrowed. The other Pre-THE existences showed frustration mixed with awe.

Noah’s eyes pulsed with tyranny as he refused to accept such a limitation. Their power was so vastly superior that he could not even perceive them fighting properly?

At such a moment of frustrated realization, Tor’s voice echoed in his mind again.

"If you had enough time to stay here and continue to witness the clash between two opposing Ways of existence, you would have eventually adapted," Tor explained with clinical precision. "You would have eventually seen how our Sovereignties clash against each other and how I manipulate mine to systematically eat apart hers."

His mental voice carried grim news.

"But you do not have that time, unfortunately. It seems this savage opponent of mine who is proficient in temporal manipulation already knows the results of the future of this battle through her Way. She has seen her own defeat."

There was dark amusement in his tone.

"And precisely because she knows her fate, she has already called for reinforcements in the past, seconds before our battle even began. That is how utterly frustrating time manipulation and temporal fuckery can be when facing a master of it."

Noah’s mind raced to understand the implications.

"She only knew of the result of this battle after we began clashing and she saw the trajectory of events," Tor continued with a unique observation. "And yet she somehow made it so that her Way of Time retroactively called for help from her acquaintances before we even started fighting. She altered the past based on knowledge from the future."

His voice carried grudging respect.

"It may not make much logical sense when stated plainly, but essentially the situation is this: You staying here is no longer a viable option. I will not be able to fight multiple other THE entities alongside this manipulative Time Surfer while simultaneously being able to protect you adequately."

The reality of the situation became clear.

"So for now, for your safety and for me to truly enjoy this feast without being held back by defensive considerations, we will have to temporarily part ways," Tor said with finality. "You will be on your own for some time, Outsider."

...!

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