Chapter 4927: Ganging Up On Bazuman! I
Chapter 4927: Ganging Up On Bazuman! I
In THE Agora of Primordial Judgment, the air itself had grown heavy with anticipation.
Noah stood beside THE Primordial Paradox, his existence burning with blue-gold Infinities that pressed outward against the corrupted proto-matter flooding through the crack above.
The ancient stones beneath his feet thrummed with vibrations he could feel through his soles, the entire structure of THE Agora responding to the presence that had emerged from THE Prima Indifferentia.
Behind them, the four Strategoi had arranged themselves in positions of readiness for combat!
Glossikos stood with her linguistic authority coiling around her form. Khaotikos shifted between states of matter and energy with increasing instability. Ontikos emanated the calm weight of Existence itself. And Paradoxos displayed both fear and determination across his dual faces!
Before them all stood Bazuman.
THE Undivided One had emerged fully from the crack now, its round chthonian form settling upon the ancient stones with weight that made one’s teeth ache from the pressure.
Countless crimson eyes arranged in spiraling patterns across its spherical mass gazed outward in every direction, each one burning with hunger.
Innumerable tentacles extended from its form, each tipped with mouths that held teeth made of crystallized memories. Its entire surface churned constantly, revealing glimpses of faces and forms beneath, the remnants of beings who had ceased to exist everywhere except within Bazuman’s infinite memory.
The Immensity it carried pressed against Noah’s perception like a physical weight settling upon his shoulders, like heavy hands pushing down on his chest with every breath he took!
This wasn’t the same as the winged lion that Emotive had just bonded to in Alfheimr. That creature had been powerful, yes, capable of devastating most Absolutes in direct conflict. But Bazuman existed in an entirely different classification.
It was like comparing that pathetic floundering embarrassment known as THE Living Elemental to beings like THE Living Paradox or THE Primordial Chaos.
They were legitimately leagues apart.
And at this moment, this thing was keeping its gaze locked onto Noah. Every single one of those countless crimson eyes had oriented toward him specifically, tracking his movements with attention that felt uncomfortably personal.
The weight of that collective focus pressed against his skin like heat from a forge held too close. The tentacles that extended from its form seemed to reach in his direction even when they weren’t actively moving, drawn by magnetism that operated on levels beyond physical attraction.
Noah couldn’t help but look toward it and ask the question that had been forming since he first felt its attention.
"Am I wrong to think that you are obsessed with me, Bazuman?"
...!
Bazuman’s many eyes smiled.
The expression shouldn’t have been possible. Monstrous eyes couldn’t smile, couldn’t convey emotion through shape alone!
And yet every single crimson orb across its churning surface curved upward at the edges, creating an impression of brutal amusement.
When it spoke, its voice emerged from a thousand mouths simultaneously, a deep resonance of undifferentiation that seemed to vibrate inside Noah’s chest rather than reach him through the air.
"I tasted you."
The words pressed against reality itself!
"You tasted of unique endless undifferentiation. And I let you slip past me."
Its tentacles writhed with increased intensity.
"And right now, with this corrupted paradoxical spread of proto-matter..."
Its eyes blazed brighter.
"I feel like I have tasted yet another portion of you inside me."
The mouths across its surface all curved into expressions of hunger.
"I want more."
Every eye focused on Noah with intensity.
"I... want you."
BOOM!
The words were horrid for Noah to hear, and he felt his existence recoiling with distaste. It felt like this Undivided One was confessing in the worst way possible!
But the words were heavy in other ways as well.
They caused THE Primordial Paradox to frown, his obsidian-gold flames flickering with attention that had shifted from casual observation to serious concern. He kept his calm gaze on THE Undivided One, but Noah could feel the weight of his perception turning partially toward him as he asked a question that demanded honest answer.
"Youngest, what is he talking about? Your authority is spreading alongside my disciple’s corruption?"
THE Primordial Paradox asked this with an inquisitive gaze, and Noah could see this being already looking at the surrounding influx of corrupted paradoxical proto-matter with eyes that were breaking down everything. Those ancient perceptions were analyzing the composition of the corruption, identifying the blue-gold threads of Infinity woven through its structure, tracing their origins back to the source that had inserted them.
So Noah replied honestly.
"Since your disciple was spreading corruption to affect all of Observable Existence, I added a little of myself onto that train."
His voice held no apology.
"I’m just going along for the ride and benefiting from it."
He met THE Primordial Paradox’s gaze directly.
"And yes, I know of the potential dangers that may come from this. It seems like I’m looking at one right now."
...!
THE Primordial Paradox frowned momentarily, his obsidian-gold flames burning. He looked at Noah silently for a moment that stretched longer than it should have.
Then he spoke with a voice that held warning beneath its calmness.
"You know, but you also don’t know."
His gaze shifted to Bazuman.
"There’s a reason why after you disappeared in that crack of Observable Existence in THE Prima Indifferentia and I was staring straight at the one responsible for making this happen... I was still unable to collapse Bazuman at that time."
His flames flickered.
"Amongst Undivided Ones, the level of undifferentiation from Bazuman is immensely high. And part of the reason, which I now understand, was you."
His eyes returned to Noah.
"He had a bit of you eons ago. Even if briefly, Bazuman had ingested you. He had ingested Infinity."
"And now, you have given him a glimpse of more."
...!
Noah listened to these words quietly and with calmness that he maintained through force of will. He knew the dangers of what he’d done with the process that THE Living Paradox had initiated.
He’d known from the moment THE Infiniverse scattered his Seals through the corrupted proto-matter. He’d declared that he would face whatever arose from his choice and take care of it himself, even proclaiming that he would take on the responsibility to stop THE Living Paradox if needed.
But it seemed that right now, he would get a glimpse of exactly what would be required of him.
Because not long after THE Primordial Paradox finished his words...
Bazuman laughed.
The sound emerged from a thousand mouths simultaneously, brutal amusement that made the ancient stones of THE Agora crack beneath its resonance.
Every crimson eye across its churning surface blazed with light that exceeded their previous intensity, and its horrid body pulsed!
BOOM!
Its many eyes released a terrifying sense of pressure that exceeded anything that many here had never felt from an individual entity before!