How could he describe the feeling of going through the Cycles of Katharsis?
The Pool of Lethe worked all around him, its scorching waters penetrating into every layer of his existence. It sought out the inefficiencies that had calcified over ti. The assumptions that had beco limitations. The patterns that served no purpose but had settled into his foundation simply because they had been there long enough to feel permanent.
And Kronos’s Crystallized Mont acted like a hamr and fire to cleanse his existence.
It was not gentle or particularly pleasant.
It felt like his very being was being lted down and reforged. Like every Seal of Absolute Tongue within him was being pulled apart, examined for flaws, and reconstructed with precision that transcended mortal craftsmanship. His muscles trembled not from exertion but from fundantal reconstruction. His bones humd with frequencies that spoke of foundations being compressed into denser, more perfect forms.
Prima Katharsis burned away the surface impurities.
It was like shedding a skin he hadn’t realized was dead. Like exhaling breath he had been holding for eons without knowing. His Weight at the Surface Depth solidified into sothing harder, sharper, more absolute than it had been monts before.
Deutera Katharsis went deeper.
It compressed scattered authority into denser forms. The twenty-seven Seals within him, already impossibly heavy, grew heavier still. They pressed against the boundaries of his existence with weight that would have crushed lesser beings into paste. But Noah was not a lesser being. He was THE Genesis Monarch. And his foundations welcod the compression like starving wolves welcoming at.
|KATHARSIS PROGRESSION CONFIRD|
|Prima Katharsis: COMPLETE|
|Initial cleansing of foundational impurities achieved.|
|Weight increase at current Depth: 10%|
|Deutera Katharsis: 50% PROGRESS|
|Compression of scattered authority into denser forms: ONGOING|
|Estimated completion upon consumption of additional treasures.|
|The Weight of your Surface Depth and Interdiate Depth continue to elevate alongside your elevating foundation.|
|Current Surface Depth Weight: 192/100th of baseline Absolute paraters (previously 175/100th)|
|Current Interdiate Depth Weight: 220/100th of baseline Absolute paraters (previously 200/100th)|
|Your foundations are approaching theoretical limits.|
|THE Grimoire of Infinite Lexicons confirms: Pages remain blank. Ceiling not found. Continue building.|
...!
As all of this occurred, Noah kept his eyes on Glossikos.
This terrifying entity maintained her calm smile throughout his transformation. Those obsidian-blue eyes watched him with the patient attention of soone who had witnessed countless beings attempt what he was doing now.
As big as he talked, he also knew Absolutes were unpredictable.
She could have done sothing crazy regardless of his warnings. She could have decided that eating him was worth the risk of rejection from The First Tongue. She could have simply overwheld him with Depth and Weight that no Thesis could fully counter.
But against Absolutes, he had gotten the act of bullshitting down to an art.
If one simply talked big, especially in his position with the standing he had, things were a lot better this way. Confidence bred hesitation in opponents. Certainty made enemies second-guess themselves.
What did they say?
Fake it until you made it?
Even though he wasn’t an Absolute, he simply needed to continue throwing his weight around until he was one.
Even though his power did not match the title, the distinction of The One Who Laid The Claim to The First Tongue gave him his own unique power. It contributed to his Formless Depth, making him unable to be placed into any single classification. Neither Surface nor Interdiate nor Fundantal could fully contain what he was becoming.
He existed between categories.
And in that liminal space, he found advantages that conventional power could never provide.
As he was thinking all this...
Glossikos spoke.
"You contributed 9 brand new letters to The First Tongue."
Her voice ca asured and contemplative, eyes still fixed on him with that unreadable smile.
"In THE Villa Dei Boscoreale, not even THE Creature would be blessed as much as you."
She tilted her head slightly.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if you do get more Kronos’s Crystallized Monts. And if you don’t complete all the Cycles of Katharsis after receiving such treasures..."
Her smile sharpened.
"You would truly be a useless bum."
As she said this, she leaned back on the Pool of Lethe and began to float fully once more. Her body subrged slowly, the obsidian-gold waters swallowing her form inch by inch until only her face remained free, staring up at the artificial sky with the lazy contentnt of soone who had all the ti in existence.
Noah looked at her.
Then he asked what he had been wondering since learning of the Absolutes bound to this place.
"You and the other Absolutes here... just what is going on?"
His voice ca direct and probing.
"THE Creature, THE Primordial Chaos, and THE Living Paradox ca here and left. You are Absolutes just like them. Why are you bound to this realm?"
His eyes narrowed with calculation.
"Are you feeling particularly talkative to share anything about this?"
...!
What secret did THE Corrupted Vault of Ginnungagap truly hold?
What kept four Absolutes imprisoned in a domain they could not leave?
What price had been paid, and by whom?
Glossikos smiled while staring at the artificial sky.
And ridiculously, as if to punctuate the absurdity of this conversation, another Kronos’s Crystallized Mont began to float down toward Noah.
A second Mythical-tier treasure.
Descending to him because his contribution warranted it.
Glossikos watched it fall with eyes that held ancient exhaustion.
"As long as one is not an Absolute, they do not understand the vastness of Existence."
Her voice ca different now. Heavier. Laden with weight that spoke of secrets carried for far too long.
"Or the results of choices that many beings make across it."
She paused.
"The results of the actions of THE Creature when he made his Belly of Existence. The results of the actions of THE Living Paradox when he ushered THE Fallout."
Her laugh was bitter.
"You would think they would learn. You would think they would stop."
The second Kronos’s Crystallized Mont continued its descent.
"They never do."
...!
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