Chapter 4656: Paradox and Chaos

The sea of Paradox had never been more resplendent.

It stretched across dimensions that defied conventional measurement. Its depths contained contradictions so profound that reality itself folded in on itself when attempting to observe them.

This was the heart of THE Loom’s paradoxical domain, and it had grown stronger than ever before.

The concentrated authority here would have unmade any entity below THE Fundamental Depth of Absolute Sovereignty in an instant. Not through violence or destruction, but through the simple impossibility of existing in a space where existence itself was contradicted at every possible angle.

Toward the very depths of this impossible sea, a figure floated with absolute sovereignty.

THE Living Paradox.

His humanoid form could barely be observed through the countless flames of paradox that surrounded him.

What could be glimpsed hinted at immensity beyond comprehension.

He was currently overseeing many things.

The preparations for what was to come. The positioning of pieces across a board that spanned all of Observable Existence. The final calibrations of mechanisms set in motion eons ago!

Five Seconds to Midnight.

In his perspective, this timing was minuscule. What appeared as seconds to existential observation might as well be actual days or hours from his vantage point. The countdown was real, but it was also relative.

He was getting ready.

And at such a time...

|Haha, Paradox, big guy! It seems like you’re finally getting things ready? Not even a heads up to an old friend? I had to find out from the endless chaos?|

...!

A shocking voice filled with The First Tongue echoed through the sea of paradox. This was a voice that had existed before concepts had names, before reality had settled into its current patterns.

A humanoid figure manifested in the paradoxical depths.

Massive beyond conventional scale, surrounded by murky shadows that devoured light and meaning simultaneously. The shadows writhed with a life of their own, constantly shifting and reforming in patterns that hinted at intelligence. Or perhaps something worse than intelligence.

It was hard to say whether this being was inside THE Loom or simply chose to manifest within it at this moment while originally existing outside of it entirely. The distinction may not have mattered to something of this nature.

THE Living Paradox frowned, his expression visible for just a moment through the flames that surrounded him.

"Chaos," he said in an acknowledgment without welcome. "Why are you here? You still have enough power to do this with your current suppression?"

THE Primordial Chaos laughed.

The sound was mischievous at first, almost playful in its irreverence. But then it shifted, becoming cold and imposing as it echoed through dimensions that shouldn’t have been able to hold sound.

"Aren’t you curious as to what caused all these changes?" Chaos asked. The murky shadows around him pulsed with each word. "You asked me eons ago in the Infinite Unfurling what had happened between Temporal, THE Creature, and I in that incident in Ginnungagap. That Incident that was the cause of many things. I didn’t tell you then, but I could tell you now since we are about to delve into grander pastures."

...!

The words were heavy and filled with mystery that stretched back to the earliest moments of Existence itself.

But THE Living Paradox remained calm.

"What happened has happened," he replied. His voice was measured despite the weight of the topic. "The past is fixed, even for beings such as ourselves. Knowing history now wouldn’t aid me too much in what I must accomplish. The battle ahead requires focus on the present and future, not excavation of ancient incidents that have already shaped everything they were meant to shape."

THE Primordial Chaos laughed again.

"That’s where you’re wrong, old friend," Chaos said. His tone was grand and imposing. "Knowing history even now would especially help, because history and time for some... is malleable. The past you consider fixed? For certain existences, it’s merely another canvas to be painted upon. Another variable to be adjusted. Another paradox to be embraced."

...!

At such words, Paradox was silent. Because he also knew this too well!

The flames around his form flickered with something that might have been contemplation.

Moments later, he waved his hand.

Obsidian-gold light coalesced before him, forming an image with perfect clarity despite the contradictory nature of everything surrounding it.

The image showed a figure in flowing robes, a floating crown hovering above his head. His posture was imperious. His presence radiated authority that challenged the very fabric of reality. Eyes that held depths of power and cunning beyond what any singular existence should possess.

This was how Noah had appeared when he entered the region of collapse. Before he decimated Agents of The Fallout. Before he crushed Schrodinger.

THE Living Paradox studied the conjured image with intensity that made the surrounding paradoxical flames burn brighter.

"It is him, isn’t it?" he said. His voice held certainty rather than question. "I care not for coincidences, and I locked onto him right away. The moment I sensed the anomalies in the fabric of Existence, I knew something unprecedented was occurring. And all threads led back to this singular being."

...!

Boisterous laughter erupted from THE Primordial Chaos.

The murky shadows around him writhed with apparent delight as his massive form shook with mirth that echoed across dimensions.

"Look at you already knowing!" Chaos exclaimed. Genuine amusement colored his words. "Haha, yes. Him. Just like I remember him in Ginnungagap. He slipped right past my fingers then, and I haven’t been able to grab him ever since, even though he’s appeared in the Infinite Unfurling and The Earliest Folds multiple times... as well as existing here in this era."

The laughter faded into something more predatory.

"He is one anomalous fucker," Chaos continued. His voice dropped to something between admiration and hunger. "Man, do I want to get my hands on him."

...!

THE Living Paradox’s frown deepened.

"Will you play games or be straight with me regarding his anomalous nature?" he asked. His tone held the weight of one supreme being addressing another. "I know his history here in this era and have come across him personally. His usage of The First Tongue surprised me when I observed it. Is that the source of his anomalous existence?"

...!

The words hung heavy in the paradoxical waters.

THE Primordial Chaos moved closer. His murky shadows reached toward the manifested image of Noah as if yearning to touch it.

"In our Existence," Chaos began. His voice took on the weight of primordial truth. "The Oldest Paradox of Existence has always remained unanswered. How did everything begin? In that question, Paradox was claimed as one component. Existence was claimed as another. And Chaos was claimed as well. These three have always been the contenders for the ultimate truth."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle.

"But now... The First Tongue is being claimed. This glorious fucker of a being here... haha, I won’t say much, but I will say that another competitor of our dearest Observable Existence is just now budding, and he is doing so across time itself!"

The murky shadows pulsed with excitement.

"If one of us were to swallow him up, let’s say... would one not have two components of The Oldest Paradox of Existence? Imagine it... imagine it!"

...!

The words were heavy with implication that stretched across eons and possibilities.

THE Living Paradox turned fully to look toward THE Primordial Chaos.

His eyes were visible for just a moment through the paradoxical flames. They showed immense distrust and annoyance. But they also shined with something else. Possibility. Calculation. The recognition of an opportunity.

"You’re trying to fuck with me," Paradox said. His voice was low and dangerous. "Knowing I am at the precipice of my battle with THE Creature, you want me to divide my attention to this anomaly. Do you even know much about him apart from what you have said?"

He gestured dismissively at the manifested image.

"I have much to do against THE Creature. Unless I have every ounce of information at this moment, I won’t move against another specifically. I will wait for the chaos of The Fallout to take care of many things. Because in the aftermath of THE Fallout, even the life of someone at THE Fundamental Depth of Absolute Sovereignty is not guaranteed."

His voice became harder, more resolute.

"At that time, I can move more freely against THE Creature and others. But now... I need focus. Complete, undivided focus on the enemy before me."

...!

THE Primordial Chaos’s expression became extremely ominous.

The murky shadows around him stopped their constant writhing and became still. A stillness that was somehow more terrifying than their movement had been.

He moved toward the manifested figure of Noah. His massive form cast impossible darkness across the obsidian-gold light.

"Oh... I know him," Chaos said. His voice dropped to something between whisper and thunder. "Chaos whispers his name. Malformed Ginnu Lifeforms whisper his name. Inevitabilities whisper his name. The First Tongue... I have begun to hear whispers of his name in The First Tongue itself."

He reached out, his shadow-wrapped hand passing through the image as if trying to grasp something that existed beyond mere representation.

"The Scale Breaker. THE Anomaly. THE Genesis Monarch. Another variable that makes things even more chaotic. A variable that has been present in Ginnungagap, in The Earliest Folds, in this era, and now... it seems he will also be there after The Fallout."

The ominous expression deepened.

"Oh yes, I know of him. I just came to you to murky the waters even more. To make things even more chaotic."

...!

THE Primordial Chaos began to fade, his form dissolving back into the murky shadows from which he’d manifested.

But before he disappeared entirely, his voice echoed one final time.

"Ultimately, it may not be Existence that claims the win of The Oldest Paradox of Existence. It may not be Paradox. It may not be The First Tongue. Just like in the beginning, when everything was formless and uncertain... it may just be Chaos. Just Chaos."

His laughter followed him into oblivion.

"Haha!"

...!

And then he was gone.

THE Living Paradox gazed at the metaphorical Clock counting to Midnight.

The flames of paradox around him burned with contemplative intensity as he processed everything he’d just learned. With this new information, he might as well turn the clock ever closer toward Midnight. Accelerate his plans. Move against multiple targets simultaneously.

But...

He didn’t like to be reactionary.

Especially when it came to Chaos.

Any choice someone found themselves making after meeting Chaos was likely not their own willing choice. It was more than likely something influenced by Chaos itself, nudged in directions that served Chaos’s unknowable ends.

And Paradox had always done his best not to be steered by Chaos.

Because even now, he stood against an enemy that even THE Primordial Chaos did not go head to head against. He stood against THE Creature. And he had to do everything to make sure he didn’t slip.

Against THE Creature, a single slip meant collapse.

But now, learning more about THE Anomaly, about Osmont...

|Hmm...|

THE Living Paradox thought more deeply about this being. His intuition had been accurate as always. From the first moment he’d sensed those anomalies in the fabric of Existence, he’d known something unprecedented was occurring.

But for that entity to lay their claim on The First Tongue...

|Interesting. Very interesting.|

...!

The sea of paradox continued to churn around him, contradictions folding into contradictions as the countdown toward Midnight continued its inexorable progression!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.