Noah knew the full scope of his power as he did not delude himself into thinking that just because he killed an Absolute, he held the power to stand against another.
He didn’t have the raw power to do that, no.
But there were always musings of Existence that made things complicated for even Absolutes to move at tis.
What he did with THE Weavers was a trick that one could say would be nigh impossible to repeat again, as all Absolutes now knew the result of trying to claim what they could not back.
No Absolute would be foolish enough to grasp his Heart after witnessing what had occurred. No Absolute would attempt to claim The First Tongue without knowing they possessed the Infinities required to bear its weight.
That particular trap had been sprung.
It would not work twice.
And also...
THE Agora of Primordial Judgnt was a domain with its own rulings, and its Absolutes could not move against him freely.
There were protocols and challenges and rights that protected those who had earned standing within this place.
So he continued moving with the sa Imnsity and grandness his entire existence emanated, even though he knew that the Absolutes here may not be as powerless as they appeared!
So he asked how he could help them.
And a voice bood out.
"You are grand."
The words ca from Paradoxos, both faces speaking in rare unison with weight that pressed against everyone present.
"By all accounts you are deserving of the standing among THE Four purely from what you did here today."
A pause that felt like it lasted an eternity.
"But you... are not fully there."
...!
The booming voice of Paradoxos echoed out grandly as Noah finally raised his head to glance at this being.
An ugly and grand fucker he was with his two faces that contradicted each other even while saying the sa words. Half obsidian, half gold, the division line between them constantly shifting as if reality itself could not decide which half should dominate.
Noah looked at this being, and then at Glossikos who stood between him and Paradoxos.
Had she finally co to a decision and stuck to it?
Because he had seen her greed for his Heart and Claim when he took it out during the battle. He had seen how she had nearly broken through the Arena’s barriers to reach for what he was offering. He had seen the hunger in those obsidian-blue eyes.
And yet here she stood, positioned between him and Paradoxos as if protecting him.
He looked between the two of them as Paradoxos continued with a voice that carried the weight of soone accustod to being obeyed.
"THE Weavers took sothing from that was not theirs. As the one to have claid their Tomb, you should have obtained it."
Four eyes fixed on Noah with intensity that would have crushed lesser beings into imdiate compliance.
"THE Axiom of Absolute Denial. I wish to have this back."
...!
Noah’s eyes shone brightly as he looked over to Paradoxos!
When he used the Lens of Civilization on this being, it returned absolutely nothing useful as this entity was genuinely at the Absolute Depth, beyond the ability of his current perception to accurately assess!
And yet even against him, Noah tilted his head with casual dismissiveness and said with a voice that held no trace of the deference one might expect when addressing an Absolute.
"Oh? So you gave THE Weavers an Axiom that wasn’t theirs before the battle just to guarantee my collapse? Whatever did I do to you to deserve that treatnt?"
He spoke casually as he rose up from where he had been playing with Skoll to et the gaze of Paradoxos, his posture radiating the confidence of soone who had just collapsed an Absolute and felt no need to bow before another!
Paradoxos looked at him calmly, four eyes unblinking, before speaking simply.
"The Axiom of Absolute Denial. The one asking for it back is not ."
HUUM!
...!
The one asking for it back wasn’t Paradoxos.
As the only one who could have the support of another Absolute like Paradoxos, the only one who could demand such things through interdiaries bound to THE Agora, the only one whose request would make a Strategos act as a ssenger...
Had to be a single being.
THE Living Paradox.
Noah smiled at the sheer idea alone that he had stolen sothing belonging to one of THE Four, sothing that THE Living Paradox had lent to THE Weavers specifically to guarantee their victory against him, and he smiled even wider as he said with cheerful defiance that bordered on mockery.
"Even if THE Creature stood where you stand and demanded such a thing from , I would still say no."
His voice moved across the ruined Palaestra with weight that made his words feel like Declarations rather than re statents.
"And regardless, Existence is so vast and filled with wonders that we should not place importance on items so much. Do not worry about a re Axiom, O Great Strategos"
He paused, letting the dismissal settle.
"And..."
He looked toward Glossikos as he said with innocent curiosity that fooled absolutely no one.
"I seem to rember that you all hate THE Four with a passion. Why would you be listening to THE Living Paradox so astutely?"
BOOM!
He said such words with calmness as both Absolutes here silently stared at him, and he could feel the distant gazes of the Strategoi of Existentialists and Chaos observing from their thrones far above.
At this mont, both sides seed to be only looking at each other with heavy tension that made the air itself grow thick with unspoken threats and calculations!
Paradoxos stood representing the interests of THE Living Paradox, seeking to reclaim what had been lost.
Glossikos stood representing... what exactly? Her own interests? The interests of The First Tongue? Or simply the desire to spite the very beings who had bound her to this place for eons?
The silence stretched.
Until ultimately...
"Hold your existence and connections steadfast."
Paradoxos spoke with a voice that held a warning wrapped in the guise of advice.
"For Existence is vast and full of terrors, and things can always change so... rapidly."
Both faces smiled with expressions that contradicted each other yet sohow conveyed the sa nace.
"Just look at THE Weavers as an example."
WAA!
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