Chapter 5106: Dream! II
Chapter 5106: Dream! II
THE Beholder gazed into the vastness of THE Infiniverse.
He had existed since before THE First Cause learned to cause, had observed the emergence of Observable Existence from the endless potential that preceded it, had witnessed eons unfold in configurations that most current beings couldn’t comprehend. He had seen many things across spans that defied measurement.
He had never seen anything like this.
The Three Thousand Realms swirled before his perception, infinitely expanding territories that grew grander with each passing moment. Multicolored radiance stretched in every direction, painted by the rain of THE Pluvial Epoch of Existential Infinity that fell without pause.
Seas of Infinity and Observable Force churned where golden sands should have been.
All of this existed within a single being’s internal reality.
"You hid something that even I, with my long knowledge, did not know about."
His voice emerged deep and resonant, pressing against the platform of crimson gold flames they stood upon. Muspelheim’s fire supported them as they observed what THE Infiniverse was becoming.
"This is something grand. But also, this is unfathomably dangerous. Do you know that?"
Beside him, Osmont stood with calm that seemed inappropriate for someone being warned by a Singular Cognizance. THE Beholder studied this being who had achieved impossibilities in spans that most considered insignificant. Multicolored hair shifted through hues that had no names. Golden light pressed outward through fair skin. Pupils shone like singularities of an unfathomable Cause.
This was what THE Youngest looked like now.
This was what had emerged from a battle against a Calymmian Proterozoic Scale entity that should have unmade him entirely.
Osmont didn’t respond to his question, so THE Beholder continued.
"One can consider Observable Existence as something with many layers and pockets. The vast majority of the population thinks of the folds, or what used to be the Infinite Unfurling, or the Wandering Territories, as the last things and only things they would ever experience. Their entire existence unfolds within those regions without ever touching what lies beyond."
He gestured toward the swirling realms before them.
"Fewer know about or experience the vastness of the Primordial Realms. The intricate weavings of the Oldest Paradox in existence and all the variants of Civilizations that stemmed from these. The Claimers of the Oldest Paradox, which you are among, distinguish themselves as entities with limitless potential."
His attention fixed on Osmont’s profile.
"And even if you include Prima Indifferentia, filled with Undivided Ones and Formless Terrors. Even if you include THE Wyld where Primordial Architects call home. Even if you include all of that in your knowledge, you have only truly grasped a small portion of Observable Existence."
THE Beholder’s form flickered with ancient light.
"Because within Observable Existence, there is also the Unobservable. And nobody should be mistaken to think that when someone says Unobservable, they mean external. Within the bounds of our Observable Existence, there are intricate parts that are unobservable to you and me and many others. All those things that are unobservable are still, in large part, Observable Existence."
He paused, letting this settle.
"A great many say the sentance that...existence is vast. Even they don’t fully comprehend the vastness, even though they say it constantly. But we see what we see because we are supposed to see it. We do not see what we do not see because we are not supposed to see."
The rain of THE Pluvial Epoch continued falling around them.
"You beginning to emulate and build your own Observable Existence is blasphemous enough. I won’t even begin to theorize if you are doing more than that."
His voice grew heavier.
"And I say blasphemous because among the things we are not supposed to see, the things we should not see, they have a status quo. The way that things are. With you doing everything you’re doing..."
THE Beholder turned to face Osmont directly.
"Can I presume that you know or have knowledge of THE Gilded Ones?"
HUUM!
The question pressed against everything nearby.
Osmont didn’t flinch and didn’t react with surprise or confusion or the appropriate gravity that such a term demanded. He simply gave a light nod, as if THE Beholder had asked about something mundane rather than something that should shake the foundations of any Bounded being’s understanding.
THE Beholder gave a deep sigh.
The nonchalance. The lack of grand response!
Oh!
As if he didn’t care much for such a term, as if knowledge of THE Gilded was simply another piece of information he had acquired along his impossible journey rather than a revelation that should terrify him.
"As a Singular Cognizance, I was there at the time of endless potential that some wish to go back to."
THE Beholder’s voice carried weight that came from direct experience rather than secondhand knowledge.
"That wish alone is a foolish dream. The Splintering of Existence is an impossibility. The splintering of some parts of existence, maybe, but not everything. And even then, you could never truly go back to the endless potential that was back then."
He began to move slowly across the platform of crimson gold flames.
"In that era of endless potential, the passage of time was far more intricate than all the history of Observable Existence that followed after the emergence of THE First Cause. If the time after THE First Cause up until now could be neatly wrapped up in the words of a single cycle, then that period of endless potential was thousands or millions of cycles."
His form flickered again, ancient memories pressing against his consciousness.
"So from THE First Cause up till now, we can actually say that THE Creature, all other Primordial Architects, and other existences that emerged after THE First Cause are fairly young lifeforms. But back in that era of endless potential, as much as every single Singular Cognizance will tell you that we were alone in observing the happenings and weavings of existence..."
He paused.
"We do not speak about that which we would occasionally see. Things that confounded even our existence. Lifeforms we could barely perceive, which seemed imaginary. Even if we did perceive them, we would only attribute it as a mirage or a dream."
THE Beholder stopped moving and faced the swirling realms.
"THE Gilded Lifeforms. We can say that they are just like you and I, and at the same time they are not. When THE First Cause emerged, I came to understand how existence was by nature not equal and not fair."
His voice grew darker.
"Because all that you would come to know, all the lifeforms, the very power of the Cause that would cause the emergence of Primordial Architects and everything else, only a percentage of about five or slightly less was actually what natural existence had designated."
He turned to Osmont.
"What I am saying now is more so what I saw and the conjectures and theories I made from it. I could be entirely wrong. But I did see."
His form blazed brighter with conviction.
"I saw THE Gilded Lifeforms, or something even grander than them, move to guide THE First Cause. That five percent that would have been utilized for the emergence of you and countless others was reduced to less than one percent. And they, whatever they can be considered as, guided the rest of the ninety-nine percent of the power of THE First Cause towards the emergence of more of them."
WAA!
The weight of this revelation pressed against the platform beneath them.
"By nature, existence already favored them. The vast majority of the power of the Cause would have gone to them regardless. But they still had sufficient power to guide even more of THE First Cause’s flow towards themselves. The rest of existence was left with scraps. Bounded. And bounded in a manner that was unfathomable to truly understand."
THE Beholder’s sigh carried eons of resignation.
"But since then, existence bloomed and thrived. Civilizations rose and fell. The portions of Observable Existence that THE Bounded had access to changed over the eons. Claimers of the Oldest Paradox arose and fell."
His attention fixed on Osmont with intensity.
"And then at a very late point of this ongoing existence, you come along. You come along. And how many years have you been actively doing this? How much time has passed since you touched authority and power and began to alter weavings of existence?"
The question hung between them.
"You come in the middle of all this brilliance, and you begin to mess around with the Cause itself. You begin to do something as ridiculous as forming the emergence of another Observable Existence within an already established Observable Existence."
THE Beholder moved closer to Osmont.
"Whatever Cause you are relying on and whatever uniqueness you are utilizing to form the emergence of this Observable Existence, I would advise you to stop and turn away so quickly."
His voice dropped to something almost pleading.
"Because should you succeed. Should an Observable Existence and the potential power of the Cause behind it truly begin to proliferate... what do you think the beings who already guided and harvested a Cause of Observable Existence cycles ago will do to you and your dream?"
He searched Osmont’s face for any sign of understanding.
"Can you hide it? Are you more powerful than them to be capable of such a thing? You are nurturing and cultivating something grand, but it is too grand. It is too grand."
THE Beholder’s form flickered!
"You dream too high. We are not meant to have such dreams. THE Bounded have to remain within their scope. Don’t do too much. Don’t try too much."
He gazed at the swirling realms around them.
"THE Second Scale is good enough. THE Third Scale is nothing but a dream. But for those like us, do we need something like that? Can we not be content with what we have?"
His voice grew heavier.
"At what point will we sit back and just say enough is enough? You have all of this already. You could stop here. Live for eons in this place with your people. You can have generations of progeny. That is also a grand dream."
THE Beholder’s gaze bore into Osmont’s calm expression.
"But the direction of your dream is past what is meant for THE Bounded. Save yourself. Save your people. Do not fly so close to the sun."
His final words emerged with weight that pressed against everything nearby.
"There is only a single result that will follow."
...!
BOOM!