Chapter 3931: A Duke! II
Chapter 3931: A Duke! II
After Noah’s tyrannical words, the Duke and six Honored Living Existences regarded him with expressions of cold calmness.
The temperature in the hall seemed to drop several degrees as their collective displeasure made itself known through subtle fluctuations in the ambient authority that permeated every surface.
In the silence that followed, Sigrid began to stroll around the hall with unhurried grace, her movements carrying the fluid confidence of someone entirely comfortable here!
She approached an arched window veiled with Living Existential Authority, its surface opaque to outside observers while remaining transparent to those within.
Through this one-way barrier, she could gaze out into the sprawling magnificence of Concordia without revealing her presence to the countless beings moving through its golden pathways.
"I do not plan to return to the Heart of Origin," she said with the calm finality of THE Living Order making a decision that had been long considered and carefully weighed.
The Heart of Origin.
It was a place countless weavings of distance away from their current location, nestled in the very heart of the Transcendent Origin Folds where the Royal Living Origins and the Council of Living Origin resided in splendor that defied description.
It was the seat of power for their entire hierarchy, the place where decisions were made that affected the fate of infinite weavings of Existence!
"I will not return," Sigrid continued, her voice steady as it could be.
"For the sake of fully returning to my power, and to awaken Order, I plan to go across the Battlefront Folds and experience Existence truly. I feel that if I go through existence and impose my own Order in regions of chaos, this will act like infusing blood into my Heart of Order."
Duke Gwendolyn’s expression shifted to one of deep concern as she processed these words.
"I heard Altheon mention this, but... it is dangerous. You are far too important. A single Inevitability that you cannot see, sense, or handle, and you would be dead."
The weight of that possibility buzzed.
The silence that followed was heavy!
It was at this moment that Noah moved with deliberate purpose, walking across the hall to stand behind Sigrid before openly taking her hand in his.
The action was simple, intimate, and absolutely tyrannical in its implications!
The Honored Living Existences immediately buzzed with Authority, their forms radiating displeasure at this display of familiarity between him and their precious Young Miss!
Duke Gwendolyn’s frown deepened as she observed the casual way Noah intertwined his fingers with Sigrid’s.
Noah held Sigrid’s hand as if examining its structure, his attention apparently focused on some detail that only he could perceive. When he looked up to meet Duke Gwendolyn’s gaze, his expression carried the calm gaze of a ruler that had gone through too much!
"Do you know...what Order is?" he asked with the calm precision.
Duke Gwendolyn’s response was delivered with stern authority. "Why don’t you enlighten us? I saw that you were a talker out there..."
Noah smiled and continued.
"Order is not the mere absence of chaos, nor is it the rigid imposition of arbitrary rules upon unwilling subjects. True Order is the recognition of natural hierarchies, the understanding that some beings are meant to lead while others are destined to follow. It is the wisdom to see patterns where others see randomness, to find purpose where others find confusion."
His gaze swept across the assembled Honored Living Existences before returning to fix upon Duke Gwendolyn with laser intensity.
"If Order herself, THE Living Order, tells you that she must go through existence and experience the chaos so that she can correct it, then perhaps the appropriate response is not to question her judgment but to listen with the respect her nature demands. She understands her own requirements better than any external observer ever could."
HUUM!
The weight of his words seemed to press down upon everyone present!
Heavy silence followed his declaration, broken only when Duke Gwendolyn looked between him and Sigrid with an expression that had grown profoundly serious.
"Things are not how they used to be," she said, her voice taking on the sharp cadence of someone delivering unwelcome news.
"As always, everything revolves around Paradox. Paradox has always been powerful, dangerous, unpredictable. But...just minutes ago, Paradoxical Weavings did something that reminded us all exactly why the Loom is surrounded by Paradoxical energies in the first place."
Noah and Sigrid listened with calm attention as Duke Gwendolyn continued.
"There is a place where Living Existences jointly exist within the Transcendent Temporal Folds. A unique environment called the Nexus of Living Convergence, surrounded by such chaotic temporal weavings that a cloud of Paradox appeared around it naturally over the years. In that place, for eons, the Coalition of Living Existences kept a treasure. A Treasure that had made us unfathomably powerful over the years, with only thr topmost Living Existences knowing about it!"
Her expression grew darker as she recalled the details.
"Because that place was fortified like the environment around the Loom, it had Paradoxical weavings all around it. Any Paradoxes who approached would cause Inevitabilities to bloom, preventing any progress. They would be attacked by the very forces their nature summoned, and we would detect their presence and join the assault. For countless eons, Paradoxes never made their way inside. Until... today!"
BOOM!
Noah listened with careful attention, though internally he felt a flash of surprise. Had the Paradoxes moved so quickly?
Duke Gwendolyn’s voice took on the urgent quality of majesty.
"In the last hour, that place was compromised. Suddenly, groups of Honored Living Paradoxes and Royal Living Paradoxes led a surprise assault where somehow, they passed through the weavings of Paradox without producing Inevitabilities!"𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
WAA!
The implications of that statement were staggering.
"It took all Honored Living Existences and Royal Living Existences there by surprise, and there were heavy casualties. The Living Paradoxes took away the treasure that had been protected there for eons. A treasure that has made the Coalition of Living Existences... unfathomably powerful!"
Noah remained silent as Sigrid asked with cold curiosity. "What was the treasure being protected there?"
Duke Gwendolyn’s reply came with the weight of existential significance: "A Corpse!"
...!
Noah’s eyes became sharp as understanding began to dawn. Internally, he felt a deeper chill as he asked: "Whose corpse exactly?"
Duke Gwendolyn looked at him silently for a long moment, as if weighing whether to reveal information that could reshape their understanding of everything.
Finally, she spoke with quiet finality.
"The Corpse...of an Early Creature!"
...!
Oh.
Oh!!!