An ancient citadel dominated one region of this brutal realm.
The Citadel of Churning Eternities.
It was carved from a glacier that had been frozen since before ti learned to count. Its walls were black ice infused with threads of Chaos that made them stronger than any mundane material. Spires rose toward the lightning-filled sky like accusations against the heavens.
Chaos Giants moved across its battlents and through its halls, their massive forms sohow fitting within architecture that seed too small to contain them.
Inside that grand citadel, elevated above everything else, sat a temple.
The Temple of Temporal Observation.
Its construction defied normal understanding. Parts of it existed in multiple tifras simultaneously. Its walls showed scenes from past, present, and futures that might or might not occur. The floor was made from crystallized monts, each tile a frozen instant of history.
It was forged specifically for one being!
Inside the temple...
Three figures sat around a bonfire.
But the bonfire was not re fla.
It was a Fragnt of an Axiom.
Burning with authority that transcended normal fire, it cast shadows that moved independently of the light source. It crackled with power that made the air heavy with potential.
Around the three figures, beautiful Chaos Giants moved to serve them.
These were not the brutal warriors of the citadel’s exterior. These were refined, elegant beings whose chaos had been shaped into grace. They carried Sacred Drinks in vessels carved from frozen lightning. They offered Sacred Panaceas on platters made from solidified ti.
Out of the three being served here, the most powerful was an entity shrouded by dancing purple flas of ti.
THE Living Temporal.
His face was ancient beyond ancient. Lines of accumulated eons carved into features that had witnessed the birth and death of countless civilizations. His eyes were not eyes at all, but windows into the Rivers of Ti themselves, purple depths that showed currents flowing in all directions simultaneously.
His hair was silver-white, flowing like temporal streams around a face that held wisdom and cruelty in equal asure. He was neither young nor old, but both and neither, his age existing in superposition.
The aura of an Absolute around him was so heavy that one might mistake him as one of THE Four.
He was not.
But he was close enough that the distinction barely mattered.
When a fucker could ss with ti so much, the potential to beco powerful was insane.
And the other two near him also radiated auras of Absolutes.
One shone with the multicolored glow of prismatic light. Her eyes burned like prisms, refracting everything she looked at into component spectrums.
THE Living Quantum!
The other had silver brilliance surrounding him completely, making his entire body hazy. He existed in multiple locations simultaneously, his form never quite settling into a single position!
THE Living Dinsional.
At this mont, their heads were raised high.
They looked at the imposing pillar of obsidian-gold light that tore across the skies of Jotunheim.
As Absolutes, they had already discerned what that sign ant.
Who was killed.
And who had done the killing.
And they were silent because...
"Well..."
THE Living Dinsional was the first to speak.
His voice ca deep and resonant, slightly echoing as if arriving from multiple directions at once. His bald head glead in the light of the Fragnt Axiom bonfire. His thick beard was silver like the rest of him, braided with threads of dinsional energy.
"We set up shop in Jotunheim because you told us that in a possible future tiline, Osmont passes here, Temporal."
He turned toward THE Living Temporal with eyes that held calculated concern.
"But now the question is... do we want to be here when he passes if this freak has already begun killing Absolutes?"
BOOM!
The words landed with weight that made the Sacred Drinks ripple in their vessels!
THE Living Temporal turned to look at Dinsional with eyes that contained rivers flowing through them.
"We do not know the nature of how things unfolded."
His voice ca asured and calm.
"At this ti, THE Youngest of THE Four has not yet reached the stage of an Absolute. It would be part of the reasons why he is killing without understanding anything."
...!
THE Living Quantum put down her cup.
She tasted the Sacred liquid on her lips, her prismatic eyes dancing with colors that shouldn’t exist in normal spectrums.
"And what an entrance this being is making."
Her smile held appreciation.
"Not even an Absolute, and yet, he has taken down an Absolute."
She tilted her head with genuine curiosity.
"Could any of you have done that before you beca Absolutes?"
She was calm as she asked this question.
The two beside her did not reply for a mont.
Because the answer was obvious.
No.
None of them could have.
Maybe THE Creature and THE Primordial Chaos. Definitely THE Living Paradox.
An instant later, THE Living Temporal raised his gaze.
Rivers of Ti and Wheels of Ti passed through his eyes with imnsity and glory. Purple flas danced higher around his form as if responding to his focus.
"In Observable Existence, countless geniuses, anomalies, and trendous beings have always risen and fallen over ti."
His voice ca with the weight of soone who had seen it all.
"THE Primordial Paradox was an unfathomable genius. A trendous anomaly of an existence."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"And he had everything that he built devoured alongside his Claim by THE Living Paradox. A peasant."
His eyes t those of his companions.
"Existence is grand and unfathomable. And the Rivers of Ti are relentless in nature."
He took a Sacred Drink from a serving Chaos Giant, sipping it with the unhurried grace of soone who had all the ti in Existence.
"When their churning waters cool, who knows who will still be breathing with their heads raised high?"
He set the drink down.
"And who knows who will be lying at the bottom of the bottomless Rivers of Ti?"
His smile was thin and knowing.
"Even Absolutes have no guarantee."
He leaned back, the purple flas of ti dancing around him like loyal servants.
"Whatever you two decide, I will stay here."
His eyes turned toward the fading pillar of obsidian-gold light.
"Waiting for Osmont."
...!
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