What am I missing Whispered to himself The understanding of time was valuable but already his mind shifted back to the problem of the Shallah Several bits of insights fell into the hole in his understanding trying to fit Yet none filled the gap and Randidly felt frustrated Although his energy had become increasingly powerful and valuable his Nether translucent and an increasing amount of his Aether liquid it did not appear to be approaching any sort of grand fusion he would have expected from the precipitation of a Shallah
Randidly remembered the horrible visions that had stricken him on the Glimpse of the Shallah Path He had seen the two wrong Paths Aether and Nether individual pushed to their extreme Aether solid and unmoving a massive crystal mountain range Nether concentrated to the point that it devoured everything else a substance that took but did not give The horrible ends reached in the Nexus due to ElhumeÆs clumsy attempts At the time Randidly turned around and glimpsed the truth of the Shallah albeit vaguely
He had thought he was taking that path Yet now it seemed obvious he had somehow gone down a third Path One that took him to power but perhaps not to Hallohym the ancestral eden of the Shallah
Randidly rubbed his forehead But he also felt a bit of clarity he understood a few weapons he needed to gather from the Alpha Cosmos to fight specifically against Laplace He felt confident about those choices And his MuseÆs Reverie points might be tight but he should have enough to ask a few questions about the Shallah And about Eternities
His awareness filtered down into his Soulspace From there he proceeded to PanguÆs Asymptote the tool that made the impossible acceleration of his Nether Core possible which had allowed him to escape LaplaceÆs technique earlier As she had been earlier Nyx floated there regarding him with worry
Randidly considered trying this with the Codex Hexahedron but suspected the amount of information contained within an Eternity would not be small Instead after a bit of hesitation he reached out and touched the Keystone of the First Ghasthund He extended an invitation for a conversation with a foreign Eternity
Nyx accepted
The corners of RandidlyÆs mouth turned down as he felt not one but two points of MuseÆs Reverie being taken to facilitate the experience This better be worth it
Chapter 2414
The surface of PanguÆs Asymptote rippled as the invitation from Randidly was accepted They stood opposite one another separated by the reflected barrier but the rest of existence fell away The surroundings softened into a dark misty space Nyx had ceased to mouth warnings at Randidly warped by LaplaceÆs time shenanigans Now she simply looked sad The barrier between them glittered and then everything fell away
While within the sway of RandidlyÆs Reverie they seemed to be the only two people in the world At the same time their auras spread out and pressed against one another RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed his significance and powerful images remained potent but he could also feel the raw chaotic power of the Eternity in front of her NyxÆs was a softer power than Laplace of darkness and chaos but he still sense this was another foe he would have a difficult time fighting
Staring at her Randidly Ghosthound swore to himself that he would not make the same deal Elhume did He could not invite Nyx into the Nexus in order to balance out the presence of Eternities
Otherwise he really would just be knocking aside the previous tyrant and installing himself at the top
Randidly cleared his throat unwilling to waste any time after needing to use two points of MuseÆs Reverie He cut right to the chase What makes you different than Laplace Why should I trust your assistance
Nyx nodded with a serene expression You ask the right questions nephew You see to the crux of the issue immediately Allow me to provide some context Among those of us whose hubris grasps for Eternity there are two methods of expression Those who grasp the cycle and reach Eternity to create a Momento or those who instead seek to become the cycle I am the former while Laplace is the latter Our choices make us incompatible with each other
Why incompatible Randidly asked rather skeptically Definitely Nyx had supported him But just from the vibration of the word incompatible the divide was deeper than that
Nyx blinked as though considering Her eyes were completely black without sclera iris or pupil but small bits of glittering stars seemed to be embedded in that deep darkness There are infinite worlds but when an Eternity becomes the cycle they create a Samsara An inescapable cycle designed by the Eternity to perpetuate themselves for well until the last bit of chaos vanishes and Stasis becomes all Just as the Pinnacle focuses on a choice in a moment the Nether equivalent fixates on shapeÆ Meanwhile for those Eternities that externalize the shape through a Momento well if existence becomes a series of Samsaras we will have no freedom to advance down on own Path
Randidly frowned at that both starting to understand the basis of the rivalry while also still understanding the assistance Nyx gave him felt a little heavy But he switched topics What is the choice given to those who reach the Pinnacle
Ah Nephew You have already seen the effects of both you just didnÆt understand you saw different results Nyx hummed and offered him a kind smile Randidly expected to feel rather annoyed at her tone but the genuine warmth felt nice Which simultaneously made him trust her less and more At the Pinnacle you have a moment of absolute influence However it is better to think of that moment as passing across a threshold At that moment you have a choice become the threshold or open the door to everyone
RandidlyÆs skin prickled finally seeing it Whether you host a powerful truth and strengthen your vessel or you create a new dimension
Indeed Randidly Ghosthound there is one more truth worth noting we speak of Eternities and Pinnacles but the only truly absolute of existence is that your Path is only limited by the steps you take Not all truths and universes all Mementos and Samsaras are created equal Finally committing to the process of a Pinnacle or an Eternity is akin to cashing in all the potential you have earned on your journey
The Path goes ever onward Now it was RandidlyÆs turn to blink The way Nyx spoke reminded him so much of the common refrain he had heard from his days of moving through Paths Was this a coincidence a sign of this philosophy being spread in the wider multiverse or a sign NyxÆs touch on the Nexus was deeper than Randidly suspected
NyxÆs smile stretched wider her expression becoming almost sinful Which is why although Elhume at first managed to use Pine to create such a stable Nexus capable of supporting so many Hierarchies his later attempts at the Pinnacle accomplished little His truths were wan expressions with poor nutrition His own legs barely carried him forward
RandidlyÆs mind raced as he extrapolated out the meaning of her words Based on what Nyx had said although the Nether King probably wouldnÆt be able to condense a genuine Shallah through his methods he probably would be able to create a stable universe for his people So long as both the Aether and Nether possessed the requisite power
Perhaps sensing his hesitance Nyx offered him a cool smile You do not need to embrace the Truth And if you do not use it in your methods I will not hold you to this promise
To that Randidly rolled his eyes We both know that simply hearing a Truth can change everything
Which begs the question Nyx folded her hands in front of her body Once again they seemed to be drifting closer Which do you fear more my truth or my assistance
Randidly didnÆt like the amount that Nyx appeared to understand him But in the end he supposed he was also a being that gave birth to three Moiraes He didnÆt like to consider it but perhaps they shared more of the same base DNA than Randidly would like to admit His eyes flicked to the floating truth
Randidly reached out and took it The Truth sank into his hand light and insubstantial But when it arrived in his Soulspace it crashed down like a meteor capable of exterminating all life RandidlyÆs powerful Willpower wrapped around it keeping the reverberations small Yet from just a touch he could immediately sense two things first this truth was a deeper and sharper one than any he possessed In terms of specificity it had been reduced down to an articulable phrase much in contrast to the vague images and certainties that Randidly had gathered