Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse-Chapter 4987: Loyalty I

Noah was swimming through the weavings of Infinite Undifferentiated Fate.

Golden threads stretched in every direction around his consciousness, each one a connection to something across Observable Existence, each one a potential path toward targets and conflicts and opportunities. His Countable Infinities extended his perception in sequential progressions that allowed him to feel the vast web of his influence spreading outward from this point in THE Wastes, touching territories and beings and events he had never consciously directed his attention toward.

He was looking at the next nearest thing that would be connected to him.

The approach was deliberate. He felt like a gardener clearing away weeds closest to his core weavings, eliminating threats that could spread if left unchecked while avoiding the exhaustion of stretching himself too thin across Observable Existence. The Tetras Apeiron stood ready behind him, four hundred Absolutes awaiting direction toward whatever enemy he selected. Skoll circled nearby with loyal patience that asked no questions about methodology or purpose.

He felt a few weavings here and there that were pulling at his awareness.

One was another Undivided One drifting through a region of THE Wastes not far from his current position. Another was a lone Formless Terror that had emerged from THE Prima Indifferentia and was currently consuming whatever crossed its path. A third was something that his perception could not fully identify, but that definitely held enough authority to warrant attention.

He planned to go on a systematic hunt, one target after another, collecting loot to empower himself and his army while eliminating threats that could complicate his preparations.

The Tetras Apeiron was only four hundred Absolutes. Soon there would be thousands under his command, each one elevated through mass production and Sacred Herb cultivation, each one carrying Bounded Countable Infinity that made conventional forces seem obsolete by comparison.

But just as he was about to make a decision on one particular weaving, something changed.

"Huh?"

Noah blinked.

He frowned as he felt extremely distant weavings relating to him and connected to him, but these weavings seemed different from the others. They seemed closed off, as if they did not want to be found. As if they did not want him to even turn his gaze in their direction. The threads that connected those distant weavings to his awareness were muted and obscured, deliberately hidden through methods that his initial perception could not immediately penetrate. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Something that was connected to him, and yet it did not want him to know it existed?

That made no sense.

His Infinities spread across Observable Existence through Seals and corrupted proto-matter and direct investment. Anything connected to those Infinities should welcome his attention, should benefit from his awareness, should have no reason to hide from the source of the authority they carried.

Unless whatever was happening in those distant weavings was something that connection alone could not protect.

Noah became more serious.

He focused all his Countable Infinities on tracking down the obscured connection, Infinite Undifferentiated Fate burning around his fingers with intensity that pressed against THE Wastes themselves. Golden light spread outward from his position, saturating the entire region with the color of fate being read and destiny being perceived. The corrupted proto-matter in the surroundings served as medium for his perception, the Infinite Seals scattered throughout THE Wastes amplifying his ability to trace connections that did not wish to be traced.

The Tetras Apeiron stood in perfect stillness as their master worked.

Skoll ceased his circling, the loyal companion sensing that something important was occurring.

Moments later, Noah’s expression changed drastically.

The golden light around him intensified as information began flowing through the connection he had forced open. The weavings he was reading related to someone he had not thought about in some time, someone who had parted ways with him.

The Peacemaker.

Alexander Asmodeus.

Someone from his home Wheel of Existence who had chosen his own path rather than remaining under Noah’s protection.

The more his weavings of Infinite Undifferentiated Fate uncovered regarding the fate and choices of this being, the heavier Noah’s expression became. The information arrived in fragments that his perception assembled into coherent narrative, each fragment darker than the last, each piece of the picture more disturbing than what had come before.

|Weaving Analysis: Alexander Asmodeus, THE Peacemaker|

|Status: Branded with the Mark of Horus. Existence burning continuously since branding occurred. Forced cultivation elevating his Depth toward Absolute through methods that consume his foundations rather than strengthening them properly.|

|Recent Events: Due to his historical connection with you, at a point immediately preceding your weavings connecting with weavings of Paradox, another entity was led toward THE Peacemaker’s location. This entity followed trails of corrupted Infinity that you had spread across THE Wastes, trails that led to beings who had been associated with your authority.|

|Entity Classification: Unknown designation. Aura signature suggests Primordial Architect classification. However, recorded authority levels from brief observation exceed known weavings of existence at THE First Scale. Theoretical assessment: This entity operates at THE Second Scale of Existence.|

|Interaction Record: The entity offered salvation to THE Peacemaker in exchange for information regarding your connection and origin as the one who holds the Infinities spreading across Observable Existence. The entity sought knowledge of your location, your nature, your vulnerabilities.|

|THE Peacemaker’s Response: Denied the offer. Did not provide information. Did not give you up.|

|Consequence: THE Peacemaker has been suffering since then. Duration of suffering unknown but estimated at significant dilated temporal span. Means of power at THE Second Scale that cannot be understood currently.|

...!

BOOM!

Noah’s eyes were heavy as they looked at these prompts.

The Peacemaker.

Alexander, who had faced Adversity that seemed ridiculously above what any reasonable assessment would have predicted for someone at his level of development.

And when he had the chance to clear that Adversity by giving Noah up, by providing information that would redirect the Primordial Architect’s attention toward its actual target, by saving himself through the simple act of betrayal...

He did not do so.

The one responsible for Alexander’s current suffering was something hunting for Noah specifically. A Primordial Architect theorized to operate at THE Second Scale of Existence, following trails of corrupted Infinity that Noah had spread across Observable Existence, seeking the source of the authority that had drawn its attention.

One of the worst possible variables that Noah had only just begun preparing for, one of the threats that had motivated the creation of the Tetras Apeiron in the first place.

An enemy at THE Second Scale.

And yet, when the question came whether Noah should put himself in danger to save THE Peacemaker who had not given him up, it was not even a question.

He began to move right away.

The Tetras Apeiron shifted into travel formation behind him, four hundred Absolutes responding to their master’s decision without hesitation or inquiry. Protos moved to Noah’s side. Skoll followed with loyal certainty that asked no questions about destination or purpose.

As they moved, Noah began to speak.

His voice carried across THE Wastes with weight that made the corrupted proto-matter seem to still, the words emerging with cadence that spoke of prophecy rather than mere statement. The legion of Absolutes around him began to repeat his words, their combined voices creating chorus that pressed against existence itself.

"The adversity that breaks all others shall forge him."

Four hundred voices echoed the declaration.

"The hardship that ends all paths shall begin his."

The words spread outward in waves that carried meaning beyond mere sound.

"The Scales demand what the Scales demand, and he shall pay in currencies that have not yet been minted."

Noah continued speaking as they traveled, his voice steady despite the weight of what he was walking toward.

"Three times shall he face the mirror of undoing. Three times shall he choose between becoming and unbecoming. Three times shall the answer be the same, and three times shall the answer be different."

The Tetras Apeiron repeated each line with precision that made the Echo feel like inevitability rather than possibility.

"This is what shall come to pass, for it has already passed, and it shall pass again."

Noah paused.

"The wheel turns. The river flows. The question echoes."

The final words hung in the air as the legion fell silent, their repetition complete.

Noah thought about the echo as he sighed and uttered out again.

"Right. The wheel turns. The river flows."

He had Adversity in THE Entity, that unified horror that had claimed THE Primordial Chaos and threatened everything he was building. He had Adversity in the Primordial Architects awakening across THE Prima Indifferentia, ancient beings whose power approached or exceeded THE Second Scale.

He had Adversity in the simple fact that existence was vast and filled with terrors that did not care about his ambitions or his preparations or his Infinite nature.

But for the sake of someone who had defended him when defense cost everything, he would do the same.

Alexander had not given him up.

Noah would not abandon someone who had demonstrated such conviction.

This in itself was a choice that rational assessment might question. No one sane would put themselves in front of an entity at an entirely higher Scale of Existence. No one calculating would risk everything they had built to save a single being who had chosen to walk away from their protection.

No one focused purely on advancement would divert from systematic hunting to confront a threat they were not yet prepared to defeat.

But sometimes, ones had to do what they had to do.

The Tetras Apeiron followed their master toward confrontation with something that operated at THE Second Scale, four hundred Absolutes with Bounded Countable Infinity marching toward battle that conventional wisdom said they could not win.

Oh.

Oh.