Chapter 4688: The Cursed And The Blessed III
Chapter 4688: The Cursed And The Blessed III
Moments later, Ambessa found they were arriving at their location as she sensed other entities entering a crystalline bejeweled crimson-blue domain filled with water and fire. The elements here were even more intense, more primal, as if approaching the source of all elemental authority.
Within it, the overpowering aura of THE Living Elemental and THE Living Emotive could be felt pressing down on everyone present.
THE Living Elemental radiated waves of pure elemental might that made the fire and water bow in reverence. Their presence was a mountain made of storms, an ocean made of flames, an existence that had claimed dominion over the fundamental building blocks of reality itself.
And THE Living Emotive, that entity pulsed with emotions so vast and contradictory that merely being near them made Ambessa want to laugh and cry and scream all at once. Joy and sorrow, rage and peace, love and hatred, all swirling together in a maelstrom of feeling that threatened to overwhelm anyone without sufficient mental fortitude.
Ambessa sighed while going in as she wanted to get this shit over with.
THE Loom had erupted as those within it benefitted, and when the dust settled, they would go out from different Shelters to reap the altered Existence.
She just really hoped she wouldn’t come across Osmont again, and even hoped she would stop being included in the hunting teams formed for him just because she was among the first to come in contact with him.
But deep down, she knew better.
Existence had a sick sense of humor.
And somehow, someway, she would probably end up dying to Noah Osmont again.
It was just her fucking luck.
—
In the depths of that domain where Ambessa and others were being drawn into.
The domain of water and fire stretched endlessly in all directions, a realm where the two opposing elements had been forced into coexistence by the sheer authority of THE Living Elemental. Rivers of molten flame cascaded upward while waterfalls of crystalline blue flowed sideways, each element weaving around the other in patterns that should have been impossible but existed nonetheless.
At the very heart of this domain, where the concentration of elemental authority reached its peak, a single massive elemental throne existed. It was forged from solidified fire and frozen water, crimson and azure intertwining in a seat of power that radiated waves of primal might. The throne pulsed with the heartbeat of elements themselves, each pulse sending ripples of fire and water across the surrounding space.
Currently, the languid figure of THE Living Emotive was lying horizontally on this throne in a laid-back manner, her legs dangling over one armrest while her head rested on the other. She looked utterly at ease despite the apocalypse raging outside THE Loom, as if the destruction of Observable Existence was merely background noise to whatever tune played inside her mind.
In front of her, THE Living Elemental was surrounded by blazing crimson flames that danced with fury and frustration. Eighteen Phonemes of The First Tongue surrounded him in a rotating formation, each one flickering with instability that had not been there before THE Fallout began.
His gaze was fiery and troubled at this time as he spoke with barely contained agitation.
"Are you really so carefree?" he demanded. "The First Tongue no longer feels the same, and this is not a result of THE Fallout. Something has changed at its fundamental level. Something has been added that should not exist."
...!
His words went to Emotive who seemed to barely be listening as she whistled and hummed to herself, her fingers tracing lazy patterns in the air.
"THE Loom has bloomed and existence will spin,
The fun begins where the chaos sets in,
Round and round the pieces will go,
Where they land, only Paradox knows..."
As she finished this little melody, Elemental looked at her with an almost angry gaze. Before he could say anything, she cut him off with a dismissive wave.
"Don’t fucking worry so much, big guy," Emotive said with a yawn. "The fun is just now beginning. Paradox has so much work to do that he designed THE Loom into different components that would scatter across Existence. You and I are in one Shelter. Which, you should be fucking ecstatic about as you get to have my presence here. But as the dust settles, we can really get to have our fun. Because I know some things..."
Oh?
Elemental raised his brows as he focused on her, his flames calming slightly with curiosity.
Emotive smiled devilishly as she waved her hand and conjured an illusory image that materialized between them. It was the image of Noah Osmont, rendered in perfect detail with his blue-gold authority radiating even through the illusion.
The image that Elemental flared up to immediately.
This was the one who had encroached upon his Civilization. This was the one who had humiliated him. This was the one who had taken what was his.
"This big guy here is apparently centermost for all you guys," Emotive said with manic delight, sitting up slightly to better observe Elemental’s reaction. "You want him, Paradox wants him, even THE Primordial Chaos talked about him. Apparently, he is the one to have laid a claim to The First Tongue. So it makes sense what he was able to do against you. But man, look at him."
She leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with something between fascination and hunger.
"He looks like he has that presence, doesn’t he? That je ne sais quoi. He almost reminds me of...THE Creature."
...!
Her words were manic and taunting as she gazed toward the image of Noah in a fervent light. Elemental frowned heavily, his flames darkening with barely suppressed rage.
He looked over at Noah’s illusory figure silently, studying the entity who had become such a thorn in his existence. Meanwhile, Emotive twirled around the throne casually before she sighed with theatrical disappointment.
"Out of all those that have made the claim on The Oldest Paradox of Existence, he is the youngest," she mused. "The most ripe. If I can get my hands on him and keep him away from Paradox and others, that would be ideal."
Elemental’s reply came cold and absolute.
"The only fate for him is collapse," he declared, his voice carrying the weight of elemental authority. "All the others will go for him, and after THE Fallout settles, I will also go for him. I do not underestimate any of those making a claim on The Oldest Paradox of Existence. If one has begun to encroach on my Civilization, even more so. He took from me. He will return what he took with interest, and then he will cease to exist."
...!