Chapter 4001: The 10 Living Existences! I

Life could change so rapidly that one found themselves in places they never imagined they would be just days or months ago.

The whims of existence possessed a particularly cruel sense of humor...one could be a grand teacher of existential philosophy one day, revered across multiple Wheels and Dwellings for their wisdom, and find themselves shaking their body for cash at a seedy establishment the next, simply because existence had decided to restructure itself overnight!

The mighty could fall, the fallen could rise, and sometimes, if existence was feeling particularly creative, both could happen simultaneously to the same being.

Existence could truly change too fast!

---

In a certain Law Fold, removed from the chaos of the Nullvein Gravewake Folds, such rapid change had become the defining characteristic of one particular being’s recent experiences.

Bob... who had managed to lock away Thauron, the Null Monarch, inside an Inevitability...walked through corridors of crystallized authority with movements that suggested he was still adjusting to his transformed state!

His form had evolved into an obsidian-white humanoid figure with skin that seemed to shift between solid and liquid states, crowned by a perfectly round, bald head that gleamed under the ambient light of Law itself.

He was now...a glorious Living Origin!

He followed in the wake of two beings whose presence made the very air taste of structured power. Altheon moved ahead with the distracted air of someone whose mind wrestled with problems far removed from their current location, his luminous form occasionally flickering as if his consciousness kept trying to be elsewhere.

Beside him bounced...there was no other word for her manner of movement- a Prime Living Law whose very existence seemed to radiate barely contained enthusiasm.

Her pink hair defied gravity, while her matching pink eyes sparkled with the kind of vivacious energy that made others simultaneously exhausted and energized just from proximity!

She wore robes that should have been formal, authoritative, befitting her status as a Prime Living Law, but somehow she made them look like party attire through sheer force of personality.

Living Law Authority wrapped around them in spiraling patterns, the silver-white energy creating tunnels through space that compressed distance into meaningless concepts. When the authority finally scattered, releasing them at their destination, the Prime Living Law threw her arms wide with theatrical flair.

"Welcome," she announced with a smile that could have powered small civilizations, "to the Juridical Sanctum of Law Litigation!"

HUUM!

The name boomed in the air with all the warmth of a death sentence delivered with a smile.

Bob’s enhanced perception took in their surroundings, and what he saw was glorious!

Seas of white banners and scales stretched in every direction, each one carved from what appeared to be crystallized justice itself. Between these scales, shrines dotted the landscape like monuments to crimes committed and sentences served.

"Isn’t it magnificent?" the Prime Living Law continued, practically vibrating with enthusiasm. "Here we house all types of Living Existences who broke Living Laws in some manner or another. Some are locked away for a mere dozen years...barely a slap on the wrist, really. Others..." Her smile grew sharper, "Others have been here for millions of years, and they’ll be here for millions more."

She began walking, or rather bouncing, forward, gesturing at various features with the pride of a homeowner showing off renovations. "We have sections organized by type of violation, severity of offense, and my personal favorite...likelihood of repeat offense. You’ll find many, many Living Paradoxes here, actually. They have such trouble following rules, the poor dears."

Her eyes twinkled with something that might have been sympathy if it hadn’t been accompanied by such obvious glee.

She spun to face Bob, her pink hair creating a halo effect that somehow made her look both angelic and slightly unhinged.

"The Royal Law Tristesse can have you stay here for, oh, what was your name again?" She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Bobby?"

Bob’s entire form went rigid, his obsidian-white skin rippling with barely contained emotions.

Bobby. He fucking hated that name!

His voice, when it emerged, carried the weight of someone who had fought for far too long.

"Bob," he said with deliberate precision. "My name is Bob."

The Prime Living Law’s smile never wavered, though something in her eyes suggested she was filing away his reaction for future reference. "Of course! Bob it is. Well, Bob, the Royal Law Tristesse has reached a consensus with other interested parties. Nothing born from those special Nullvein Gravewake Folds is to be released into general circulation just yet...too many variables, too many unknowns. So instead, you get to temporarily learn how to be an Origin here!"

She gestured toward Altheon with a flourish. "With your assigned babysitter, the ever-boring Altheon, to guide you through the process!"

Her attention shifted to the Prime Living Origin, and her expression grew slightly more serious, though the effect was somewhat undermined by the way she was still bouncing on her toes. "Though you seem rather preoccupied, old friend. Some thoughts? Existential crisis?"

WAA!

Altheon seemed to surface from whatever depths his consciousness had been exploring, his ancient eyes focusing on the present with visible effort. He shook his head with the patient exhaustion of someone who had too many things in his mind- after all, his other body was with the Young Miss and the now seemingly terrifting Noah Osmont in a Doorway!

"I don’t have time to be a babysitter," he said, his voice carrying notes of genuine regret mixed with impatience. His gaze settled on Bob with something that might have been sympathy.

"Just bear with it and stay here for a bit. After things cool down...you’ll be allowed to enter the Transcendent Origin Folds properly."

...!

Before Bob could formulate a response, before he could ask any of the thousand questions burning in his consciousness, Altheon simply... ceased.

One moment he stood there, luminous and present, and the next, only the faint afterimage of his authority remained, already fading like smoke in wind.

The Prime Living Law harrumphed with the exaggerated disappointment of a performer who’d lost half their audience!

She shook her head, pink hair swaying with the motion, before turning back to Bob with renewed enthusiasm.

"Well then, Bobby...sorry, Bob, looks like it’s just you and me! Would you like the grand tour? I especially enjoy visiting the sections where we keep the little Paradoxes who’ve been locked away for eons. They get so wonderfully bitter after the first few millennia." Her eyes gleamed with an excitement that bordered on disturbing. "And if you’re interested, if you really want to test yourself, you can even battle against them! Kill them if you achieve victory...it’s perfectly fine here. They’re prisoners, after all, and rehabilitation through combat is an accepted form of correction."

...!

Bob’s eyes blazed with sudden intensity at these words. The prospect of combat, of devouring beings of significant power, struck a chord deep within his transformed existence.

In the depths of his consciousness, an image burned bright and constant...his daughter, his light, the one pure thing he had managed to create in his existence of conflict and struggle.

He would do whatever it took to gain enough power to see her again. If that meant fighting imprisoned Paradoxes in this realm of crystallized justice, if it meant learning to be an Origin through methods that others might find distasteful, then so be it!

He had already crossed lines that most beings wouldn’t even approach. What were a few more in service of a goal that transcended his own existence?

Bob looked at the Prime Living Law, and when he spoke, his voice burned with glory!

"Let’s go see these vile Paradoxes."

...!

---

In Aeternitas Concordia, at the junction where the ambitious stalls of Originus Venerant Fold Dwellers gave way to the towering establishments of Living Existences, another of Noah’s bodies maintained his merchant persona with practiced ease.

The Glass Woks floated before him like captured stars, their contents sending waves of intoxicating aroma across the golden plaza. Stacks of golden bowls waited beside his purple throne, ready to be filled with treasures that would make even Honored existences weep with envy.

He was in the midst of examining a peculiar object...something that resembled a crystallized moment of time that a Living Concept had retrieved from a particularly treacherous Doorway, when reality suddenly compressed around him.

HUUM!

Nine figures materialized from thin air.

They appeared on the golden path in formation, their combined presence creating waves of pressure that made nearby Fold Dwellers stumble backward in instinctive recognition of overwhelming power.

The figure at their forefront commanded immediate attention. Golden hair that seemed to capture and reflect every photon of light in the plaza, features carved with the kind of perfection that transcended natural beauty, and an aura that made even the other Honored Living Existences seem diminished by comparison!

This was a Royal Living Existence!

Yet when he looked at Noah, his expression carried the kind of difficulty that suggested he was dealing with variables beyond his comfort zone.

"Sir," the Royal Living Existence said dubiously, "the Lady invites you for a discussion of utmost importance."

WAA!

The plaza erupted in barely contained chaos.

Whispers flew faster than thought itself as hundreds of consciousnesses tried to process what they were witnessing. Nine Honored Living Existences and a Royal had come to formally invite a supposed Fold Dweller to meet with ’the Lady’....

Many did not know, but this was a title that could only refer to Duke Gwendolyn herself!

Noah raised his head slowly, his eyes sharp as they took in the careful positioning of his escorts.

Nine Honored beings for a simple invitation was not courtesy....it was preparation. Duke Gwendolyn and the other Living Existences no longer knew how to accurately categorize him after his display in the Temporal Folds.

To them, he was an enigma who had somehow eliminated a Duke-level Dead Existence through means they couldn’t comprehend.

They were probing, testing, trying to gauge whether he would come willingly or require... persuasion.

Part of him wanted to decline. The merchant business had been surprisingly profitable, and there were still treasures from the Doorways he wanted to acquire here...

But the matter of Living Paradoxes seeking their seat at the table, the reshaping of power structures that was undoubtedly occurring in the wake of recent events...these things demanded his attention.

Noah rose from his throne with deliberate grace, each movement calculated to project confidence without threat.

The throne, woks, and bowls vanished into his spatial storage with practiced ease. His voice carried across the plaza with clear authority as he addressed the gathered crowd.

"I will return to continue our business in a little while."

Then, turning to the Royal Living Existence with a slight nod that acknowledged rank without surrendering dignity, he spoke two words that set events in motion.

"Let’s go."

...!

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