Infinite Mana in the Apocalypse - Chapter 3645

To have a local when entering a new place.

These were Noah’s thoughts as he had this body take on the majority of the weavings of the True Source of the Singed and prepared to have this Source pulled into this place and locked down there if need be, as the Great Beyonder uttered.

Because under the umbrella of the Absolute Complex True Source that was the Wheel of Existence, Noah felt that even a sliver of the True Source of Existence would be enough, and he had all of it.

The True Source of Existence- something he had only just begun to grasp. Jumping from a Pathway straight into a True Source, or exerting its brilliance on Matter, Dark Matter, and Anti-Matter was just the tip of the iceberg.

It had even allowed him to begin thinking of the final Source he would design for his True Source Atlas of Existence- one that would encompass all three states of existence!

So, while the True Source of the Singed neared the musings of the Infinite Ravines, the True Source of Existence...

"Oh?"

The body of Noah, burning with the white-gold flames of the Singed, turned and gazed toward a certain direction extremely far from where he stood.

There...

"Found you."

A Dead Thing had been discovered.

The game of hide-and-seek was ending.

—

In the Prime Frequency of the Abyss.

There were many Prime Frequencies out there, but this one held the fewest number of existences by a staggering margin.

It didn’t have countless quintillions of beings stretched across the Megalos and Expanse.

No Pantheons, Omniverses, or Dreadlands bursting with life.

Across the entire Prime Frequency of the Abyss, there were approximately 10,000 entities.

That’s it.

Each one a was unique being that had managed to survive and thrive in an environment defined by manic, desolate weavings of existence. All 10,000 were Pioneers of Existence or Source Complexity entities.

In this place, vibrations of existence shredded perception and sanity. Reality bent and twisted, drifting outside of linear time and Euclidean space.

Violet-dark strings of existence threaded with spinning spikes stretched across vast, unfathomable regions. Some of these maddening strings clustered into massive structures that embodied both horror and wonder.

Simply existing here, standing still, could unravel, bend, or deform your very being unless your Source or Pathway protected you.

And if your existence could protect you, something strange would begin to happen.

Echoes.

Echoes of your own existence would glimmer in and out of space and time- phantom versions of yourself flickering with possible futures and probable pasts.

Echoes of Existence.

They were a reminder of just how terrifying and powerfully unique this frequency was. Aside from Hell Terra Firma, no other frequency matched its blend of isolation and complexity.

At this moment.

Upon a massive, naturally formed structure known by locals as the Spiral Dissonant Lexicon.

A winding staircase-like monument that extended across the Megalos and into the Expanse, looping endlessly, stretching from the top to the very bottom of the Prime Frequency of the Abyss…

Entirely violet in color, pulsing with tendrils of Entropy, Chaos, and Destruction.

Bob sat on one of its stairs- stairs that alone extended for light-years.

And as he sat, two Echoes of Bob manifested- violet, illusory versions of himself standing, flying, or moving elsewhere.

Every few seconds, more Echoes appeared in different positions, showing him taking other possible actions.

This happened to every entity who survived the unraveling weavings of this frequency.

Bob’s bold figure overlooked storming violet-black weavings of existence, the air tinged with violet lightning and flames that coasted across light-years.

"In my Wheel of Existence, I had a frequency just like this. I was born in it. Its weavings were stronger, heavier, and much more dreadful than even here. Only a hundred of us survived and thrived in that entire frequency. Can you imagine that? A hundred complex beings in a whole frequency of existence? The loneliness, the desolation, the level of power, and the potential of such beings. In such a place, to find companionship, to have a family...you would be unfathomably lucky."

Bob’s voice was tinged with melancholy.

From the gaps of existence not far away, Noah had arrived at some unknown time.

His gaze was cold and filled with interminable brilliance as he examined the uniqueness of this Prime Frequency. Around him, violet-purple Echoes of himself already began to manifest.

One Echo looked back with tyranny in his eyes. Another floated toward Bob, roaring before dispersing, replaced by more phantom selves.

Noah looked at the massive winding staircases larger than countless Omniverses stacked together. He and Bob stood on a single spiral of a structure simmering with lightning and flame- a representation of chaos and destruction itself.

He walked calmly as Bob continued.

"I find it unique that the same, or similar frequencies appear across different Wheels. It shows that, in the end, everything stems from the same Source. That we’re all connected through something larger we don’t yet understand."

Bob’s voice turned philosophical, his thoughts drifting to times long gone.

Echoes of himself appeared and disappeared, while Noah’s body was now surrounded by the scintillating stellar black radiance of the True Source of Existence. He finally spoke, turning away from Bob, staring at the violent beauty of this place.

"You sent your Dead Things after my son. And my people. You and I have been clashing since before then as everything was fine. That action...disappointed me deeply."

…!

"I sensed something closing in. Something narrowing my possibilities into a single, inevitable confrontation. So I tried to buy time. Gain more leverage if I could. Their lives wouldn’t have been in true danger. I would’ve kept them in my Wheel until I achieved my goal."

He spoke calmly. Almost as if talking to an old friend or colleague.

Bob nodded with understanding, even smiled.

"I sensed something closing in. Something narrowing my possibilities into a single, inevitable confrontation. So I tried to buy time. Gain more leverage if I could. Their lives wouldn’t have been in true danger. I would’ve kept them in my Wheel until I achieved my goal."

Dreadful words.

Noah’s eyes flashed coldly.

Echoes around him erupted with obsidian flame and then vanished.

Leverage.

That’s all Bob considered his son and his people.

Sensing Noah’s rising fury, Bob shook his head and looked away, gazing at his tentacled limbed hands.

"You wouldn’t understand where I come from. Why I do what I do. Every creature across existence has its own reason to move, to act. I don’t feel the need to explain mine. All you need to know is that I must reach the core of this Wheel of Existence. Not to taint or destroy it. I’ve tried that. I failed. I carry quintillions of souls because of such an action as they are screaming in my ears every second for the past eons."

…!

"I’ve learned. I won’t subject more beings to death and pain. I only need access to the core- a possible pathway to something neither you nor I could comprehend. Some Wheels don’t even have that pathway. But this one might. Its vibrant complexity could hold a clue to what innervates the Wheels themselves. The Great Usurper must have told you about that, right?"

HUUM!

Bob’s dreadful words hung heavy in the air. Noah gave a slight nod, his body glowing brighter with stellar black light as he turned his gaze back toward Bob who continued.

"I don’t need a fight. I don’t want anything else. I just need direction. I need to access the True Frequencies that began pulsing after you opened the True Frequency of the Singed. I need time. Nobody, and I repeat- nobody…has to get hurt."

…!

No one has to get hurt.

Bob said it like a cold plea, but Noah’s eyes turned colder than ever. Echoes of himself appeared every few seconds, most laced with raw tyranny.

And he asked, voice sharp as a blade:

"Who are you planning to hurt? If things don’t go your way, what leverage do you already have?"

…!

If Bob saw Noah’s son and people as leverage once...what else might he be hiding?

Bob nodded lightly.

"I hold with me the musings of multiple Nodes of Existence tied to frequencies. If we remain here, just talk, everything remains intact. But if we go primitive, if we fight, those frequencies will crumble. Countless lives will be lost. And neither of us wants that. Especially not you, friend"

…!