Achilles and Rose floated before THE Watcher after the platinum singularity had shown them what Lamashtu was doing.
The ritual. The Hearts of Civilization burning in that obsidian circle. The calling upon forces that should not be called upon.
Achilles’s expression was grave as he processed everything he had witnessed.
"Even knowing all of this, we don’t really have the power to stop Lamashtu right now."
His voice erged heavy with practical assessnt rather than despair.
"What can we do when he is so much more powerful? On another Scale entirely? I have grown trendously since entering The Existential Lattice. I have consud Absolutes and treasures and ford the Heart of a Primordial Architect. But THE Second Scale is not sothing that can be bridged through that easily. The gap between us...remains insurmountable."
The golden lotus petals around THE Watcher contracted slightly before expanding again.
"There is no magic solution to cross the Scales."
The singular awareness pressed against them with truth that could not be denied.
"Power accumulated at THE First Scale, no matter how vast, cannot directly challenge power wielded at THE Second Scale. This is fundantal to the nature of Civilizational advancent. The Scales exist as qualitative boundaries, not rely quantitative ones."
The platinum singularity pulsed with light that seed contemplative.
"But there is potential feasibility in one area. Sothing only those at THE Second Scale can normally do. Sothing that can affect soone of that stage aningfully, regardless of the wielder’s own Scale."
Rose looked toward THE Watcher with dubious expression, her flaming green eyes narrowing with suspicion that had not diminished since this strange entity first appeared.
"Glowing orb cognizance, we are not of THE Second Scale."
Her voice carried edge that matched her Chaos.
"How can what you are saying apply to us? You speak of things that only beings at that stage can accomplish, then suggest we sohow utilize them anyway. That contradiction does not inspire confidence."
THE Watcher’s golden lotus petals stilled entirely.
"In this, you will have to do sothing that exceeds your Scale."
The words pressed against reality with gravity that demanded attention.
"You will have to grasp sothing that even the weakest Second Scale beings struggle to grasp. Sothing that typically requires eons of cultivation at Proterozoic heights before it can even be perceived, let alone wielded."
The platinum singularity blazed brighter.
"You will have to grasp a Pulse of The Scales."
...!
A Pulse of The Scales?
What the hell was that?
Achilles and Rose exchanged glances that communicated shared confusion. Neither had encountered this concept in any of their advancent, any of the knowledge they had consud, any of the mories extracted from Fundantal Depth Masters or Absolutes.
THE Watcher perceived their ignorance and continued.
"The Pulses of The Scales are capabilities that exist beyond conventional Civilizational authority. They are not techniques that can be learned through practice or powers that can be accumulated through consumption. They are resonances with the fundantal nature of existence itself, flowe that only beco audible to those who have advanced far enough along THE Second Scale to hear them."
The golden lotus petals began rotating slowly around the platinum center.
"When beings reach sufficient heights within THE Second Scale, when they have grasped enough of Infinity and beco attuned to the forces governing Observable Existence, they begin perceiving these Pulses. Each Pulse represents a different aspect of how existence functions at its deepest levels. Each one grants capabilities that transcend normal authority."
THE Watcher paused as if gathering thought.
"One such Pulse is known as THE Primordial Severance."
The words landed with impact that made the surrounding golden waters tremble.
"This Pulse deals directly with the fundantal forces of differentiation and undifferentiation, the very processes that would have given birth to Primordial Architects and shaped Observable Existence during its formation. Those who grasp THE Primordial Severance can sever the connection between a target and the differentiation that defines their existence."
The platinum singularity pulsed with each word.
"All complex life exists because differentiation occurred, because the interplay of differentiation and undifferentiation produced beings capable of independent existence. THE Primordial Severance allows one to cut that connection temporarily, to isolate a target from the very forces that permit their complexity to persist."
THE Watcher’s awareness pressed against them with teaching that felt ancient.
"A being struck by THE Primordial Severance experiences montary disconnection from differentiation itself. Their existence does not know how to remain complex. Their Civilizational authority does not rember how to function. Their foundations do not understand how to maintain cohesion. For the duration of the severance, they beco vulnerable in ways that their Scale cannot protect against."
The golden lotus petals accelerated their rotation.
"This Pulse is feasible for you because it requires sothing you possess. The lineage of a lifeform of a Primordial Architect, born from the union of differentiation and undifferentiation. Your transformation has granted you connection to these fundantal forces that most beings at THE First Scale could never achieve."
THE Watcher’s awareness seed to focus more intently.
"You have beco sothing that resonates with the very nature of how existence learned to differentiate. This resonance is the key. Through it, you may be able to perceive the workings and utility of THE Primordial Severance and learn to wield it despite lacking THE Second Scale."
The platinum singularity dimd slightly.
"It will not be easy. It may not even be possible. Those at THE Second Scale spend centuries learning to grasp their first Pulse after achieving the perceptual requirents. You would be attempting sothing that should be beyond your capability entirely."
...!
Achilles and Rose looked at each other after THE Watcher finished explaining.
Her flaming green eyes held uncertainty beneath the fierce determination that always burned there. His purple-gold clusters of differentiation and undifferentiation swirled with thoughts he could not fully articulate.
Would such a thing even be possible?
Grasping a capability ant for beings far beyond their current Scale? Learning to wield forces that typically required eons just to perceive?
The gap between where they stood and what THE Watcher described seed almost as vast as the gap between them and Lamashtu himself.
And yet.
If they did not try, THE Prisoner would complete his ritual. The Unobservable would answer his call. Observable Existence would change in ways that even THE Watcher could not predict.
Achilles looked back toward the platinum singularity as he sighed and said...
"How... do we even begin?"
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