Chapter 4971: The Last Strategoi I

Noah looked at THE Primordial Paradox as the storm of blue-gold brilliance continued to rage around the ancient being’s form.

Even he questioned whether he did the right thing.

It was literally akin to giving a monstrous beast wings to be able to fly even higher. THE Primordial Paradox had already been one of the most dangerous beings in Observable Existence before this moment. His mastery of contradiction, his capacity to make the impossible inevitable, his authority over paradox that had existed since logic first learned to break itself, all of it had been formidable beyond measure.

Now he had Infinity as well.

THE Primordial Paradox seemed unshackled and unbounded as his existence filled with paradoxical Infinities that blazed through every aspect of his Civilization. The Bounded Countable Infinity that Noah had bestowed through the lotus petal was integrating with Paradox in ways that exceeded theoretical predictions. The two authorities were not merely coexisting. They were enhancing each other in configurations that neither could produce alone.

And of course, Noah also felt his own weavings of Paradox reach terrifying levels!

The connection between them, the intertwining of two Keys of Civilization, was producing resonance that flowed in both directions. Where THE Primordial Paradox gained Infinity, Noah gained deeper understanding of Paradox. Where Bounded Countable expressions spread through ancient foundations, paradoxical comprehension spread through Infinite architecture.

He felt like he could further elevate himself in a paradoxical manner.

His biggest aim right now was going from Countable to Uncountable Infinity. The transition required saturation rather than accumulation, required filling the gaps between sequential expressions with additional expressions that couldn’t be listed. It was a monumental undertaking that conventional methodology would require eons to achieve.

He...did not gave eons.

But Paradox permitted the impossible.

Paradox allowed things that shouldn’t happen to happen anyway.

Paradox could potentially compress eons of saturation into moments of breakthrough if the contradiction was framed correctly.

Noah felt like this action, this intertwining of Keys, was going to help him with that tremendously. The resonance between THE First Tongue and Paradox was opening doors that neither Key could open alone. The connection was revealing paths that had been invisible before the intertwining occurred.

He observed THE Primordial Paradox with perception that missed nothing.

The ancient being’s transformation was stabilizing now. The storm of blue-gold brilliance was settling into patterns of integration completing rather than integration occurring. The Bounded Countable Infinity had found its place within Paradox’s foundations and was no longer fighting to establish itself.

What remained was something that Observable Existence had never witnessed.

THE Primordial Paradox stood before Noah with form that had transformed entirely.

His body was titanic now, larger than it had been before, his obsidian presence expanded by the Infinity that now burned within his foundations. But the obsidian was no longer pure darkness. It was filled with blue-gold dots that scattered across his form like stars scattered across the void of space. Each dot was a point of Infinite expression. Each dot was a seed of Countable progression that would grow and expand according to Paradox’s efforts.

He looked like a canvas of infinite paradoxical space.

He looked like contradiction given form and then given Infinity to fuel that form’s expansion.

He looked like something that shouldn’t exist and yet existed anyway, which was perhaps the most paradoxical thing of all.

THE Primordial Paradox turned toward Noah with eyes that held blue-gold light swirling through their obsidian depths. His expression was one of amazement that his usual detachment could not fully conceal.

"Youngest, this is the Infinity you are playing around with?"

His voice carried weight that pressed against THE Agora itself.

"Damn."

"You almost made me doubt Paradox. Almost. But my entire existence lives and dies with Paradox, so I still kept my sanity."

He looked down at his transformed hands, at the blue-gold dots that now scattered across obsidian flesh like constellations being born.

"This will be a bigger boon than simply acting like a shield. And I actually don’t know if I’ll be returning it."

THE Primordial Paradox smiled as he said this.

And Noah smiled back.

Very few truly understood Infinity. Him included, if he was being honest. He worked with Countable expressions that extended endlessly in sequences he could observe. He pushed toward Uncountable density that would fill the gaps between those sequences. He theorized about Absolute Infinity that transcended all other Infinities while containing them simultaneously.

But true understanding remained elusive.

Infinity was not something that finite minds could grasp completely, even minds that wielded Infinity as their fundamental nature.

But when he had another entity at an extremely high level also get a glimpse of it, when THE Primordial Paradox experienced what Bounded Countable Infinity felt like from the inside rather than the outside, it felt nice.

It felt like having a companion on a journey that most beings couldn’t even perceive, let alone walk.

"Keep it or return it, it’s okay."

Noah’s voice carried warmth that exceeded his usual calculating demeanor.

"I will also benefit either way. Do be careful on your own Adversity, and if you need help, let me know."

The reason they were parting ways was simple.

Just like between Noah and THE Creature, THE Primordial Paradox had his own Adversity. His disciple was his Adversity. THE Living Paradox, the apprentice who had consumed the Aspect of Paradox from his master, the being who had used teachings of contradiction to steal what should have been unstealable, that was the obstacle standing between THE Primordial Paradox and his advancement.

To advance, naturally, he had to face it.

To reclaim what was taken, or to find resolution that transcended reclamation, or to discover some other path that his paradoxical nature would reveal to him along the way.

Noah could not help with this.

This was THE Primordial Paradox’s Adversity, not his.

Just as his own Adversities belonged to him and no one else.

They silently gazed at each other as if they could read each other’s thoughts. Two of THE Five. Two holders of Keys of Civilization. Two beings whose paths had intertwined in ways that would affect Observable Existence for eons to come.

Understanding passed between them without words.

Respect passed between them without acknowledgment.

And then THE Primordial Paradox laughed!

The sound boomed across THE Agora with weight that made the rivers of ordered Chaos tremble. It was genuine laughter, the kind that emerged from beings who found actual amusement rather than performing the motions of amusement.

He raised his hand toward Noah.

Not as a gesture of attack, but as an invitation.

A dap!

Noah raised his own hand with a smile that matched THE Primordial Paradox’s laughter.

Their hands met in a glorious dap!

BOOM!

Vibrant terrifying authorities collided with force that exceeded what such casual contact should have produced!

Blue-gold Infinity blazed outward from Noah’s palm. Obsidian-gold Paradox blazed outward from THE Primordial Paradox’s palm. The two forces met and merged and exploded outward across THE Agora of Primordial Judgment with light that blinded anything that might have been watching.

Infinities stretched across the ancient forum!

Paradoxes stretched alongside them!

The intertwining of Keys that had begun with the lotus petal now expressed itself visually, two fundamental forces declaring their connection through display that painted THE Agora in colors that shouldn’t have coexisted!

By the time the light faded, THE Primordial Paradox was gone.

Noah... was the only one left behind.

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