The words buzzed between them.
Noah continued staring at the tree ahead, his expression thoughtful as he processed everything she'd said.
Then, he smiled with genuine curiosity.
"What is wrong with all of us becoming The Dead?" he asked.
"We could all survive being collapsed and return again a day later. Sounds like elegant solution to surviving The Fallout, doesn't it?" Elyndra blinked, her expression cycling through confusion before settling into sothing resembling disbelief.
She studied his features, trying to determine if he was joking or if he genuinely didn't know.
"You do know," she said slowly, carefully, as if explaining fundantal truth to soone who sohow missed it, "that the Curse of The Dead, and anything to do with THE Creature, ans that all Dead Existences are completely cut off from ever reaching the next Scale of Existence, right?"
Her voice grew more emphatic.
"That was the cost for such a terrifying capability. THE Creature granted The Dead the ability to return from collapse, to survive what should be absolute ending, to persist through conditions that would unmake Living Existences. But in exchange, they can never advance beyond their current Scale. They are trapped, forever, at whatever level they possessed when they crossed The Veil."
She paused, making sure he absorbed the information.
"Becoming The Dead isn't just transformation...it's permanent limitation. A ceiling that can never be exceeded. An end to all potential growth in exchange for impossible survival."
...!
Noah's eyes turned imnsely sharp at this revelation.
He looked at Elyndra up and down.
But her expression carried no deception...just certainty born from knowledge that she considered fundantal truth of existence.
The Dead couldn't reach the next Scale of Existence.
They were trapped, forever, at whatever level they'd achieved before crossing The Veil.
Which ant that if he beca Dead, if he crossed to the other side, if he chose survival through that thod...
He would never reach THE.
Never advance beyond his current Scale, no matter how much power he accumulated, no matter how many Principles he integrated, no matter what achievents his Way produced.
It would be ceiling disguised as salvation, trap baited with immortality, permanent limitation masquerading as ultimate survival technique.
What of his Arch Lich though? Did his type of Death align with THE Creature's Curse? Or was he purer?
Noah simply stared out toward the tree silently, his thoughts racing through implications!
So that probability stream RUINEDEN had shown him...the one where THE Dead Order captured him and turned him into battery for her Civilization, wasn't just horrifying because of the loss of freedom.
It was catastrophic because it would permanently cap his advancent. Would lock him into current Scale of Existence forever, removing any possibility of reaching heights he was apparently already walking toward.
The Dead couldn't reach THE.
Which ant THE Dead Order couldn't either, despite her imnse power. She wasnt fully...THE...Unless she unified with Sigrid!
She was trapped on that side of The Veil, unable to cross over or advance further, limited by the very thod that had allowed her to survive when THE Living Order had collapsed.
Once soone crossed The Veil and beca Dead, they were no longer competition. They were permanently locked out of ever challenging THE Living Existences' positions.
Was that why Khor and others were potentially collapsed?
Elyndra took his silence as confirmation that he'd been joking, her expression relaxing slightly as she sighed.
"So," she said, returning to her earlier question, "do you think a collaboration is possible? With your Perpetual Harvest, cultivating what even father could not bloom, we could accomplish goals that many outside THE Loom seek to accomplish."
She paused, her blue eyes finding his with intensity that carried genuine hope mixed with determination.
"As I said before," she continued, her voice softening, "I would like to
be your friend."
...!
Noah looked at the figure of Elyndra...at her astonishing beauty, her nine converging Principles, her genuine desire for collaboration mixed with hidden agenda he suspected but couldn't confirm.
Then his gaze shifted to the distant figure of The First Farr, who was gazing at groups of countless beings in his sanctuary with expression that seed calm and benevolent.
Finally, Noah smiled.
"Collaboration is possible," he said simply, his voice carrying certainty. "And I would like to see the weapons of The First Farr. If we're going to work together, I should understand what resources are
available."
Elyndra's smile blazed brilliant enough to make existence in the entire area seem a shade brighter, her blue eyes shining with joy.
She stretched out her hand toward Noah, her thumb and two fingers
raised in gesture he didn't recognize.
Noah raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing?"
Elyndra blinked, then turned her head slightly, confusion flickering
across her features.
"Oh," she said, realization dawning. "You don't know the Farr's Greeting? It's a gesture- three fingers waved at a distance, or connecting like a handshake when up close."
She smiled, moving closer.
"It's akin to blessing and wishing a good harvest and prosperity to the
other party. Here, let show you."
She motioned to Noah's hands, and he brought his thumb, index finger, and middle finger forward as she'd demonstrated.
Their fingertips touched...three points of contact forming triangle of connection between them.
Elyndra's smile beca radiant, her blue eyes shining brilliantly with
genuine warmth.
In that mont, she seed to have forgotten the heavy task laid upon her by her father, forgotten the conflict between duty and principle, forgotten everything except the simple joy of teaching soone about her culture's traditions.
"There you go," she said, her voice carrying delight. "Your first Farr's Greeting. I wish you boundless harvest and prosperity, Friend."
Noah looked at this astonishingly gorgeous being, at her vibrant
presence, her genuine warmth...and calmly smiled.
"And a boundless harvest to you as well," he said coolly. Their fingers remained connected for mont longer than strictly necessary, the gesture lingering in space between them. Then they separated, the mont passing as Elyndra began explaining details about the Sanctuary's weapons and resources with enthusiasm.
Noah's consciousness shifted, pulling away from the Wandering Territories, from the golden tree and Elyndra's complicated presence, returning to his Early Veiled Shore where sothing magnificent was reaching completion.
He stood on the golden sands, his form perfectly still as he observed the final stages of construction happening in spaces that existed simultaneously within and beyond normal reality.
The Incarnaut Sanctis.
The Early Chamber of Blood.
The space where genesis of new Early Creatures would occur, where
beings of sufficient potential could undergo transformation that would elevate them to tier of existence that current reality insisted
was closed.
He thought about his interaction with Elyndra, about the
collaboration she proposed.
In his mind, RUIN/EDEN's voice erged with tones that carried amusent mixed with professional assessnt.
"The Daughter of The First Farr might pounce on you before you
pounce on her. Master's charms are unbeaten as always." Noah shook his head at such words.
"Stop playing around," he said, his voice carrying command wrapped
in fondness. "Finish Incarnaut Sanctis, the Chamber of Blood. Let us
bring the newest Mana-Born Early Creatures to fruition."
He paused, his eyes blazing with tyrannical light.
"Let us usher in...The Glorious Evolution."
HUUM!
RUINEDEN's response was singular, her voice carrying certainty that
transcended artificial origin.
"Yes, Master."
And on the golden sands of the Early Veiled Shore, the Chamber
completed its formation with pulse of authority that announced to existence itself that sothing new and impossible had just achieved
manifestation.
The genesis was ready to begin!
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