Chapter 4965: That One Percent IV

Of all the pivotal events that ushered in THE First Age of Infinity, none proved more consequential than a conversation between a young one and an old one in the twilight reaches of Alfheimr.

What followed was inevitable. Chaos, in its pride, went forth to confront Unity.

From that confrontation, an unfathomable darkness bloomed. It spread across Observable Existence with weight that made THE Infinite Unfurling seem a gentle awakening.

But darkness, no matter how unfathomable, exists only to give way to brilliance.

And the brilliance that emerged from those depths exceeded anything that came before. It had to. For that is the nature of Adversity. That is the purpose of struggle. That is why the young one allowed the old one to walk toward a fate that could have been avoided.

Some lessons cannot be taught. They must be lived.

Some brilliance cannot emerge without darkness to precede it.

—THE Grimoire of Infinite Lexicons

Entry VII: On the Collision of Fundamentals,

Recorded by THE Genesis Monarch

—

In THE Agora of Primordial Judgment.

Noah’s Absolute body of Infinite Hunger stood with stellar crimson brilliance that painted the ancient forum in shades of blood and conquest. His form was adorned in a crimson-blue emperor’s robe that flowed with patterns suggesting appetite given visual form, the fabric shifting between colors as if it couldn’t decide whether to consume or command.

This was the body that held his Derivative Civilization of Infinite Hunger at Absolute Depth.

This was the body that burned with appetites that finite existence could never satisfy.

Beside him stood THE Primordial Paradox, surrounded by obsidian-gold Paradoxes that flickered between states of being and not-being simultaneously. His brilliant features held none of their usual intellectual detachment. His gaze was cold as he looked at THE Secretive Eon and the four Strategoi standing behind her.

Glossikos. Khaotikos. Ontikos. Paradoxos.

The four Strategoi who had once represented the pillars of THE Agora’s authority now stood in synchronized formation behind the slender woman who had claimed them. Their eyes held the calm of beings who no longer questioned their purpose. Their postures held the readiness of those who knew exactly what was coming.

Noah’s gaze flickered at this time.

He looked up.

As if he could see something coming that nobody else could perceive. His crimson eyes fixed on a point in the sky above THE Agora with intensity that exceeded casual observation.

THE Secretive Eon noticed his upward gaze but did not follow it. Instead, she spoke with voice that carried the warmth of someone genuinely confused by the hostility she faced.

"We truly don’t seek an antagonistic relationship."

Her words settled across THE Agora with weight that pressed against everyone present.

"Even you, after all you have done against us, after you have taken away Temporal from us when he was so close to salvation... we don’t really hate you."

Her expression held something that might have been sadness. Something that might have been pity.

"We just wonder how we can help you see."

She looked toward Noah as she said this, and seeing his gaze still fixed upward as if he was looking for something, she only continued!

"We know Civilization has at its core, working together. One day, in the near future, I hope for you all to remember this. That whatever may come, the ultimate goal is to work together."

Her voice grew softer.

"Even you, THE Youngest of THE Five. You could understand all of this right now if you so choose."

She took a step toward him.

"You have your Infinities that make you immune, yes? Take my hand. Let me just show you how the rest of us feel when we have countless Civilizations connected. Your Infinities will still protect you, yes?"

Her hand extended toward Noah with gesture that seemed genuinely inviting.

"So just give me your hand to show you. It would make things so, so clear."

...!

THE Secretive Eon stretched her hand out toward Noah.

And Noah did not even look down to see it.

His crimson eyes remained fixed on the sky above THE Agora, on the point where something vast was approaching with speed that exceeded comprehension. When he spoke, his voice carried weight they could not fully grasp.

"All actions are choices. There is no going back if you do this. It will be... all out war."

HUUM!

Whatever could he be referring to with these words?

Even THE Primordial Paradox frowned as he looked toward Noah, wondering what he was missing. His brilliant mind raced through possibilities, calculating scenarios, attempting to determine what THE Youngest had perceived that he himself could not.

There was no going back if they did this.

What was this referring to?

THE Primordial Paradox did not know.

But THE Secretive Eon and the four Strategoi behind her smiled a calm smile as if they knew exactly what Noah meant. Their expressions held no surprise. Their postures held no uncertainty. They had been waiting for this. They had been preparing for this.

Everything that had occurred since THE Secretive Eon’s arrival at THE Agora had been leading to this exact moment.

The four Strategoi moved!

They came up beside THE Secretive Eon with synchronization that spoke of unity exceeding mere coordination. Two of them, Glossikos and Khaotikos, raised their hands and placed them on her back with pressure that suggested support against immense weight.

Two others, Ontikos and Paradoxos, knelt down and held her legs as if they wanted to shoulder them against something that would press down with force beyond imagination.

Four Absolutes seemingly gave their support to THE Secretive Eon!

Their Civilizations burned with authority being channeled directly into her form. Their foundations pulsed with power being offered freely. Their existences blazed with sacrifice being made willingly for something they believed in completely.

THE Secretive Eon’s outstretched hand going toward Noah changed directions.

She instead looked up in the same direction where Noah was looking, her eyes fixing on the point in the sky that had held his attention. Her knees bent with preparation for impact. Her hands raised, both of them now, palms facing outward as if she was ready to receive something terrifying!

Her smile never wavered.

Her calm never broke.

She had been waiting for this.

And an instant later, the region above THE Agora was torn apart!

BOOM!

Raging Embodiments and Apophasis of obsidian chaos roared out from the rupture in reality, dozens of them screaming with entropy given voice. The sky split with violence that exceeded anything THE Agora had witnessed since THE First Cause. Probability itself seemed to collapse as certainty fled from the presence descending through the breach.

THE Primordial Chaos had arrived!

Abaddon descended through the torn sky like a meteor composed of endings themselves. His form was that of a human titan, massive beyond mortal scale, his proportions perfect in ways that spoke of fundamental truth given flesh. His face held utmost confidence that bordered on certainty. His features displayed no doubt, no hesitation, no concern for what awaited below.

And his eyes carried boundless Primordial Chaos.

Obsidian depths swirled with patterns that predated THE Infinite Unfurling, with currents that had existed since before differentiation learned to differentiate, with entropy that remembered when existence was merely potential waiting to become actual.

These eyes quickly glanced at Noah, THE Primordial Paradox, and all others below. And then...

This being made his descent at terrifying speed!

He was surrounded on all sides by dozens of Embodiments and Apophasis, obsidian expressions of his Chaos that screamed ahead of him like heralds announcing the end of everything. They carved through the air of THE Agora with force that made the ancient forum tremble. They painted reality in shades of entropy that spoke of things returning to formless potential.

But Abaddon himself was the true weapon.

He shot down like a missile toward THE Secretive Eon, channeling all his power and boundless Chaos through his body and into his single outstretched obsidian fist. That fist seemed like a hammer of endings. That fist contained enough force to collapse Civilizations. That fist held the concentrated authority of a being who had existed since before existence learned what it meant to exist.

Everything... seemed to play out in slow motion.

Noah observed all of this happening with crimson eyes that missed nothing. He watched Abaddon descend with impossibility made manifest. He watched THE Secretive Eon brace for impact with palms raised and smile intact. He watched the four Strategoi burn with existence being offered to support what was about to occur.

The terrifying fist of THE Primordial Chaos thundered down!

THE Secretive Eon’s raised palm met it!

The impact should have destroyed everything. The collision should have unmade THE Agora entirely. The force should have rippled across Observable Existence with consequences that would take days to fully manifest.

The Absolutes supporting her burned with righteous existence as they channeled everything they had into helping her withstand what should not have been withstandable!

And this whole time during this impact, this moment where Chaos met Unity with force that exceeded comprehension, this instant where impossibility confronted inevitability...

THE Secretive Eon and the four Strategoi...were smiling absolutely brilliantly.

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