Elara paused, consciousness flickering as damaged code continued causing intermittent errors in her processing.

The information settled into Rose's consciousness like pieces of a puzzle revealing a picture far larger and more complex than she'd anticipated.

The revelation that individual advancement had ceilings, that true power came from entering a Civilization rather than merely growing stronger…

It recontextualized everything.

Foldless Ones.

The Civilization of Life.

And the Nar'Thyss…were akin to a grand group of thugs in the overall scheme of things!

"Haha…" Rose couldn't help but laugh at such a thing.

Her emerald eyes blazed with cold calculation as she processed everything.

"And these Foldless Ones that rule your Folded Narrative Expanse…how many of them are there? What's their hierarchy? Who specifically should I be concerned about if I continue operating in this region?"

Elara's consciousness recoiled at the casual way Rose spoke about "operating in this region" as if the territory controlled by beings with Civilizational backing was simply another location to be navigated rather than avoided at all costs.

But she answered, because the alternative was having her existence systematically dismantled by an entity who could edit reality's genetic code with little effort.

"There are seven Foldless Ones who directly govern the Folded Narrative Expanse…and we have only interactef with them once." Elara said, her voice holding exhaustion alongside fear.

"They cultivate calmly in their Grand Abodes as we go to them if we seek guidance on Existence, they never come down themselves."

…!

She paused, and when she continued, her words held the weight of warning born from genuine concern that Rose might do something catastrophically stupid.

"If you've drawn their attention, if they've taken notice of you or your... your man... then nothing you can do at the Pre-Civilizational Scale will save you. The Nar'Thyss are merely tools they use to maintain their Civilization of Life. To make sure that life is prospering and not dying at large scales. We guide narratives because they allow us to, because our activities serve purposes that align with life…somewhat anyways."

Elara's massive form shuddered again, wings trembling with the memory of what happened to those who defied Civilizational authority.

"Entities who challenge the Foldless Ones don't merely die. They're erased, collapsed- removed from existence so completely that even records of them having existed are scrubbed from reality. No memories of them even having existed!"

The warning hung in the Void between them,

This wasn't posturing or exaggeration…it was statement of fact!

Rose floated in silence for long moments, processing everything she'd learned.

When she finally spoke, her voice held the same confidence that had characterized the entire interrogation…as if learning about entities whose power could erase entire lineages from existence was merely interesting information rather than cause for existential terror.

"So…one either needs to forge their own Civilization…or become members of a Civilization."

…!

"You..." Elara's voice carried disbelief mixed with dawning horror. "You can't just enter a Civilization! It is even more impossible to forge as such things…they're beyond anything individual entities can achieve no matter how powerful they become!"

Rose's smile didn't waver.

"We'll see," she said simply, and the two words carried more threat than entire speeches could have managed.

After all, she had her Little Fatty.

She knew he was exceptional in a way others could never even imagine.

Why wouldn't he be able to forge a Civilization?

…!

—

Achilles floated in the absolute darkness of the Void, his consciousness expanded across the emptiness like an ocean that had forgotten it needed shores to contain it.

Before him, two massive butterfly entities hung suspended in space…each one the size of small worlds, their wings inscribed with stellar patterns that should have been beautiful but now only conveyed desperation.

Terror radiated from them in waves profound enough to make the surrounding Void ripple.

The chains binding them were Achilles's own creation…hundreds upon hundreds of silvery constraints wrapped around every aspect of their existence.

He'd spent the last several minutes systematically building limitations into their beings, essentially doing to them what Existence had done to Rose before he'd broken her free.

It was elegant work, if he allowed himself the satisfaction of acknowledging it.

Each chain restricted specific capabilities…their ability to manifest narrative authority, their capacity to move through space, their power to communicate across distances, even their simple capacity for motion had been constrained until they hung in the darkness like insects preserved in amber.

The two Tier 1 Level Zero Scale Nar'Thyss could only stare at him with eyes that had witnessed their complete subjugation. They couldn't flee. Couldn't fight. Couldn't even call for help.

All they could do was wait to discover whether he intended to kill them or simply leave them here to eventually starve in isolation so complete that even their deaths would go unnoticed.

Achilles felt Rose's interrogation of Elara through their connection…sensed the flow of information being extracted, the revelations about larger structures of power that recontextualized everything they'd been operating under. The Folded Narrative Expanse. The Foldless Ones. The Civilization of Life.

Pre-Civilizational versus Civilizational scales of existence.

It was fascinating in the way that discovering you'd been playing a children's game while others were engaged in warfare would be fascinating.

He turned his full attention to the two bound Nar'Thyss before him, and they flinched despite being unable to move. His purple-gold eyes blazed with authority that made the chains around them pulse in sympathetic resonance.

"I just came across some information about..." Achilles paused deliberately, letting anticipation build. "A Civilization of Life. What can you two tell me about this?"

The question hung in the Void like an executioner's blade.

"And the terms 'Way of Existence'?" he continued, his voice carrying curiosity that somehow made the threat more pronounced. "The one who provides the most critical information gets to live."

...!

The effect was immediate.

Both massive butterfly entities began speaking simultaneously, their voices overlapping in desperate competition as they scrambled to provide answers that might purchase their survival.

Fear and horror blazed in their countless eyes, the look of beings who had suddenly realized that their continued existence depended entirely on their usefulness to someone who could unmake them with casual effort.

"We know little!" One's voice carried desperate honesty. "We are merely servants, tools used by those far greater! But we know that a Civilization is something pristine…"

"…something unified!" The other interrupted, trying to provide information faster. "Those within a Civilization follow a single Way of Existence, a unified path that grants them collective capability beyond individual limitation!"

…!

More information flowed!

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