Chapter 4229: The Way III

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Noah’s lips. The system prompts were becoming vivid and full of life again!

In the Earliest Folds when he held the power of a Young Early Creature, they had been so. He considered it a nice change of pace.

|Solution 1: Halting the Catalyst.|

|Problem Assessment: The identity and location of the trigger are unknown. Prime suspects, based on available lore and the testimony of asset ’Khor,’ are THE Living Paradox and/or THE Living Emotive.|

|Strategic Analysis: This is akin to finding a single, specific needle in a haystack the size of a Fold, with the added complications that the needle is likely sentient, actively hiding, and may unmake you if you find it. Direct confrontation is ill-advised without comprehensive intelligence.|

|Suggested First Steps:|

| - Deploy Asset ’Malphas’ for deep-cover surveillance of all Folds His unique nature makes him ideal for this task.|

| - Leverage the... ’unconventional’ relationship and animosity with Asset ’Schrodinger.’ His knowledge is a critical, if unreliable, resource.|

|Success Probability: Extremely Low. This is a plan contingent on finding an answer to a question no one has been able to solve for eons. It’s like trying to defuse a bomb you can’t see, hear, or touch, which may have already gone off.|

...!

Noah processed the grim but accurate assessment. He had already set Malphas on this path. It was a long shot, but one that had to be taken!

|Solution 2: Unsanctioned Entry Protocol – THE Loom.|

|Problem Assessment: THE Loom is a trans-dimensional fortification constructed by Level 1 Scale entities to be impenetrable to all external forces. Its perimeter is shielded by layers of paradoxical authority and populated by a theorized infinite number of Inevitabilities.|

|Strategic Analysis: Essentially, you are planning a heist on a fortified, impenetrable panic room. The security system was designed by the architects of Existence itself. A direct assault is not just suicidal; it is conceptually absurd.|

|Suggested First Steps:|

| - The Mimicry Protocol: Your ’Inevitability Ranch Sanctuary’ is a promising, if primitive, starting point. A sufficient number of loyal, high-complexity Inevitabilities under your command could theoretically be used to confuse the perimeter defenses, creating a momentary weakness. This is the ’hiding a tree in a forest’ approach, on an existential scale.|

| - The Key Protocol: Asset ’Leonore Rureaux,’ a known associate of THE Living Paradox, is now in play. She may possess knowledge of a design flaw, a backdoor, or a conceptual key. Asset ’Schrodinger’s’ interest and rescue of her is a critical variable.|

|Success Probability: Abysmally Low. Akin to a single microbe attempting to break into a hermetically sealed laboratory. However, it should be noted that your entire existence is a case study in things that ’shouldn’t be possible.’|

"..."

Noah frowned.

Another dead end, another sliver of impossible hope. He turned his thoughts to the third path!

|Solution 3: Diplomatic Overture – The Wandering Territories.|

|Problem Assessment: The First Farmer is a reclusive, powerful entity whose true capabilities and current disposition are unknown. His Sanctuary is a hidden domain, and its inhabitants have shown a mixture of pragmatic cooperation and ideological superiority.|

|Strategic Analysis: You are seeking aid from a legendary isolationist who created a new dimension specifically to get away from the political and existential squabbles of beings like, well, everyone.|

|Suggested First Steps:|

| - This initiative is already in progress. Your secondary body is en route with the Fold Dweller delegation, which includes Asset ’Khor.’ This is your most promising avenue for direct intelligence and a potential alliance.|

| - Leverage your connection to [The Principle of Perpetual Harvest]. A shared philosophy is a more potent diplomatic tool than any show of force.|

|Success Probability: Low, but currently the highest of the actionable options. You have an ’in’ with the locals, so to speak. Recommendation: Do not mess it up.|

Finally, the system turned its analytical gaze upon Noah himself.

|Solution 4: Project Zenith|

|Problem Assessment: The goal is to personally achieve the Level 1 Scale of Existence. THE. The precise path is unknown, and the power gap is astronomical.|

|Strategic Analysis: This is the ’brute force’ solution. Simple in concept, impossible in practice. You have just crossed the 1 Quadrillion threshold; Level 1 beings likely operate on scales where Quadrillions are used as rounding errors.|

|Suggested First Steps:|

| - Aggressive Harvesting: Continue and escalate the hunting of high-value targets (The Dead, Early Creatures in the First Folds). The current situation in the Origin Folds is, from a resource perspective, a gift. Seek more like it|

| - Principle Cultivation: Prioritize the forging of a [Blank Template Seed of a Principle] by advancing your Towers of Osmont. Owning a Principle is good. Creating one is a statement.|

| - Mastery of Artifice: Continue to explore and master the system of Existential Artifice. It provides the most efficient conversion of your raw power into tangible, existence-altering effects.|

|Success Probability: Theoretically Possible, Temporally Implausible. The primary obstacle is time. Based on Khor’s testimony, you likely do not possess the requisite eons for this to be your primary strategy. It should be treated as a background process, not the main plan.|

...!

Noah stood in the quiet of his Shore, the weight of the analysis settling upon him. The probabilities were a chorus of doom, a statistical certainty of failure. Fear would have been a rational response. Doubt would have been a logical conclusion. But he had neither!

All he had was a cold, burning, tyrannical resolve.

He looked at the paths laid out before him, at the infinitesimally small chances of success, and he made his decision.

He would not choose one. He would walk all of them. Simultaneously!

HUUM!

His other body would forge an alliance in the Wandering Territories. Malphas would be his eyes and ears in all Folds.

He would begin cultivating his own version of THE Loom right here, in his own Shore. And he, himself, would continue his relentless, desperate, glorious climb toward a power that could look an ending in the eye and tell it to wait its turn.

It was the most tyrannical, the most greedy, and the only path that made any sense!

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