Chapter 4729: All Things Live And Die III

And facing THE Living Concept was a Half-Step Absolute Depth Muspeli Lifeform whose entire body blazed with neon flames that seemed to burn hotter than the sun folds and brighter than any star folds.

This Protector stood as tall as THE Living Concept, his form humanoid but clearly inhuman, muscles wrapped in fire. His eyes were wells of neon light that contained depths suggesting intelligence and power accumulated over eons beyond counting. His voice, when he spoke, carried Phonemes that made the air itself restructure around his words.

Four Fundamental Depth Muspeli Lifeforms fought alongside him, their forms varied and magnificent, each one a testament to the diversity that existed within their kind.

They pressed against three Fundamental Depth Early Creatures who served THE Living Concept, and despite being outnumbered, The Early Creatures were clearly on the losing side as the Muspeli Lifeforms fought with coordination born of shared heritage and rejuvenated purpose.

Because they could hear the Bells of Muspelheim ringing from afar.

The sound had reached even here, even this distant corner of the primordial realm. They knew what those bells meant!

And they would not let invaders distract them from this moment of destiny!

Among the Fundamental Depth Muspeli Lifeforms fighting in the chaos below the clash of titans, one was particularly unique in appearance.

He was small, standing perhaps a fourth of normal human height, his diminutive stature a stark contrast to the giants that characterized most of his kind. But what he lacked in size he made up for in presence, his form burning with neon flames that seemed disproportionately intense for his tiny body.

He was furry and humanoid, a mammalian biped whose features resembled something close to hamster, with large expressive ears that twitched with every shift in the battlefield’s dynamics and whiskers that seemed to sense the flow of Mana itself.

His fur was golden beneath the neon flames that wreathed him, and his eyes sparkled with intelligence and curiosity that seemed almost childlike despite the ancient power that lurked behind them.

His name was Galileo, and despite his appearance, he was one of the most respected Fundamental Depth entities in this entire domain cluster!

Near him, fighting with coordinated ferocity that spoke of long partnership, was what looked to be a dog.

But this was no ordinary canine.

The Dog stood twice Galileo’s height, which still made him small compared to most combatants on this battlefield, but his presence more than compensated for his physical stature. He resembled a golden retriever of the most idealized variety, his fur gleaming with health and vitality even as neon flames danced across his coat. His build was muscular beneath that gorgeous fur.

His eyes burned with neon light that held depths of intelligence and loyalty, and when he moved, he moved with grace that made other Fundamental Depth entities seem clumsy by comparison.

The Dog pulsed with THE Intermediate Depth power, his Way somehow perfectly complementing his master’s despite the apparent disparity in their Depths.

Together, they had just finished dispatching an Early Creature that had made the mistake of thinking Galileo’s size meant weakness, its conceptual form dissolving into fragments that scattered across the neon-lit battlefield.

At this time, a voice echoed out directly into Galileo’s consciousness, bypassing the chaos of battle to deliver its message with perfect clarity.

|Galileo, follow the Bells of Muspelheim and ensure the safety of The One Who Laid The Claim.|

The voice belonged to the Half-Step Absolute Depth Muspeli Lifeform fighting above, the Protector of this sanctuary whose power had kept THE Living Concept at bay despite the invader’s own Half-Step authority.

|They are not strong like THE Creature or Chaos. THE Creature had The Alfs of Alfheimr backing him when he rose to power. Chaos had Jotunheim. We have to do our job.|

|Expend as much power as you can to ensure we can perform our role. I will take care of things here.|

...!

Galileo heard the voice and felt his small face buzz with ferocity that made his whiskers stand on end and his ears flatten against his skull.

He nodded once, a sharp motion that carried finality.

Then he reached out with one tiny hand and patted the flank of the Dog that stood twice his size, his fingers finding the familiar warmth of the Dog’s fur beneath the neon flames that danced across it.

"Let’s go, Duke."

His voice was surprisingly deep for his small frame, carrying waves that spoke of Phonemes mastered over eons of careful study.

Duke barked in response, a sound that was less animal vocalization and more declaration of intent, and waves of extremely pure Mana erupted from his golden form with intensity that made nearby combatants stumble and stare.

The bark carried joy and eagerness and absolute loyalty!

And at speeds that made even THE Living Concept glance over from his battle with the Protector, his countless conceptual eyes tracking something that had just moved faster than anything at Intermediate Depth should have been capable of moving...

WAP!

Duke and Galileo disappeared.

Not even a glimmer of their light could be seen as they vanished from the battlefield, their trajectory carrying them toward the distant region where the Bells of Muspelheim originated!

THE Living Concept’s eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, the Protector pressed his attack with renewed ferocity, demanding his full attention and preventing any pursuit!

---

Strength!

Strength came in different forms.

This was a truth that many entities failed to understand, too focused on personal power to recognize the broader weavings of force that wove through existence. They measured strength in Depth and immensity, in the weight of one’s Way and the authority of one’s Declarations, and they dismissed anything that did not fit neatly into these categories as irrelevant.

But strength was more complex than simple personal cultivation.

Sometimes, inheritance of forces aligned with one’s Way was also a form of strength, a form of power that could not be measured by examining an individual in isolation.

THE Creature had not risen to prominence alone. Others had backed him during his ascent.

THE Primordial Chaos had benefited similarly from another place- Jotunheim, the realm of Chaos Giants providing him with backing that transformed personal potential into actualized power.

Even THE Living Paradox, for all his individual might, had drawn upon forces beyond himself.

No entity reached the peak alone.

No entity could.

Existence was too vast, too dangerous, too filled with those who would destroy rising powers before they could threaten established hierarchies. Personal strength was necessary but insufficient. What separated those who achieved the heights from those who fell along the way was often not individual capability but the web of support and alliance and inherited force that surrounded them!

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