Only those who know true hardship are worthy of progressing across the Scales of Existence.
THE Primordial Paradox said such words as he made it clear he would not be lending a hand after all that he had done!
And he had truly done a lot.
He had cleaved an Absolute in half with nothing but words. He had negated the defenses of a being that had existed since before THE Infinite Unfurling. He had presented a very dangerous al on a silver platter with Apophasis specifically designed to allow The First Tongue to collapse what remained.
At this mont, Noah had to do his part to get to the finish line.
THE Primordial Paradox looked at him from his throne, those obsidian eyes holding patient observation as Noah struggled against the weight of an Absolute crashing into his existence.
"An Apophasis is difficult."
His voice remained asured despite the violence of authority that was currently attempting to overwhelm his guest.
"It is not sothing that every single Absolute can utilise. This is why many are comfortable with Embodints. To say what you are and what you can do is easier. Far easier."
He paused, his obsidian crown spinning slowly above his head.
"I imagine that in the future, very few will continue to utilise Apophasis. Embodints will beco mainstream. Assertions, Impositions, and Declarations will beco mainstream. Dogma, Thesis..."
A hint of sothing like regret touched his features.
"Ah, if only there were exceptional beings continuing to be born throughout the ages."
His gaze sharpened on Noah.
"But for you, as one with a Claim, especially to The First Tongue, it should be possible."
...!
THE Primordial Paradox said such words as Noah looked internally within himself.
He felt his overflowing Imnsity, the weight of foundations that approached what THE Creature and THE Primordial Chaos had built across eons. He felt the infinity behind his power, the boundless potential that defined his unique path through Existence.
And he felt the remaining Depth of an Absolute that threatened to overco him.
The authority of Impundulu continued to crash against his existence like waves against a shore that was slowly eroding. Each mont brought more pressure. Each heartbeat demanded more resistance. The Rite of Paradoxical Inheritance was not gentle, and the weight of THE Storm That Hungers was not kind!
Noah pulled on another Absolute Everything.
The resource he had accumulated through cleansing The Interstices flowed into his foundations, reinforcing what was already there, providing fuel for what he was about to attempt. His heart billowed in defiance as he began to speak.
Every syllable felt unfathomably heavy.
He had done multiple Embodints before. Multiple partial Embodints. With the utilization of an Absolute Everything, those expressions of power had beco even easier, his authority imposing definitions upon reality with weight that few could match.
But simply speaking the more ancient form of expression felt like utilizing vocal cords that weren’t there.
Apophasis demanded sothing different.
Sothing that worked through absence rather than presence. Through negation rather than assertion. Through removing what was rather than declaring what would be.
His first attempts produced nothing.
The words ford in his mind but couldn’t find purchase in reality. The negations he tried to speak simply dissolved before they could take effect, his existence too accustod to positive declaration to easily embrace its opposite.
It was only when he integrated the nine core Phones that he had created...
The additional Phones beyond the eighteen that were accessible at this mont in ti to everyone else. The linguistic foundations that existed in his era but not in this one. The authority of a Clair who had expanded The First Tongue beyond what anyone here knew was possible.
Only then did heavy words erge from his mouth.
"I...am not limited by the weight that crashes against ."
The words ca slow and grinding, each one a battle.
"My existence is not incapable of bearing that which seeks to overwhelm it."
HUUM!
"I am not collapsible under the Imnsity of what I have claid."
BOOM!
The Apophasis settled over Noah’s existence like armor forged from absence.
He had not declared himself strong enough to bear the weight. He had not asserted that he could withstand the pressure. He had simply negated the limitations that would have prevented him from doing so.
The crushing authority of Impundulu continued to flow into him, but now it flowed into sothing that was not limited by its pressure. Sothing that was not incapable of bearing it. Sothing that was not collapsible under its weight!
The negations didn’t make him stronger, not really!
They simply... removed the weaknesses that would have made him fail.
...!
THE Primordial Paradox raised his brows.
He looked on with genuine surprise, as if he hadn’t expected what he had just witnessed. His obsidian features shifted from patient observation to sothing that held actual interest.
"There are many different types of Apophasis you could make."
His voice carried weight that spoke of ancient knowledge.
"Those directed at the self, negating sothing of the self, are the hardest. Especially those whose effects will continue passively, without you doing anything else in the future."
He studied Noah with new appreciation.
"Not bad, Youngest. Not bad at all."
...!
After he said these words, THE Primordial Paradox tapped his feet on the ship below them once more.
Naglfar responded instantly.
The vessel of Helheim’s backbone turned into a streak of obsidian light, heading toward the horizon of the river Gjöll with speed that made their previous travel seem leisurely by comparison. The frozen banks blurred past them. The skeletal trees beca nothing but mory. The rushing waters of finality fell behind as they approached sothing that Noah couldn’t quite perceive.
And then Noah didn’t even see what THE Primordial Paradox did.
He simply felt the ship vibrate with a transition that transcended normal spatial movent. One mont they were in Helheim, sailing across the realm of endings. The next mont, the frozen landscape was gone.
They had entered The Interstices.
...!
User Comments
0 comments from readers