Chapter 4168: Heavy Weight! III

In the Transcendent Temporal Folds, beneath the sprawling canopy of the Tree of Unity that now stretched across dimensional boundaries, Noah stood in contemplation.

The verdant-gold leaves above cast shifting shadows that moved independently of any wind, creating patterns that suggested meaning just beyond comprehension.

What the Tree represented was indeed grand...forced cooperation through mutual destruction, unity achieved through the promise of shared annihilation.

But if one truly stopped to think about it, the weight of such a solution pressed against consciousness with disturbing implications.

As these thoughts wove through his mind, movement in his peripheral vision drew his attention.

He turned his gaze toward a specific direction, and what he saw sent ripples of interest through his carefully maintained calm.

The subject of considerable intrigue and mystery, Schrodinger himself, was floating away from his section and moving directly toward Noah’s position.

The beggar-paradox wore his usual calm smile, the three-pronged leaf of Unity glowing above his head like a crown that mocked the very concept of alliance.

But he wasn’t the only one approaching. Sigrid tugged gently on Noah’s hand, her touch carrying urgency as she directed his attention toward another approaching figure.

There, the terrifyingly massive body of a Spirit Beast- Fluffy, whose complexity exceeded one quadrillion, was being pulled along by Beast Shepherdess Miki.

She floated toward them with a vibrant smile that suggested she found the entire situation delightfully entertaining.

Multiple beings converging on his position simultaneously should have created a question of who would arrive first.

But paradox had its own rules about such things!

In the next moment, with timing that transcended normal causality, Schrödinger simply was there, his voice echoing with amusement that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"Friend," he said, the word carrying layers of meaning that made it both greeting and test.

"Is it possible for us to have a little discussion over tea? I find you absolutely fascinating compared to many others here. I wanted to get to know you a little bit."

He paused, his smile widening as he pointed to the three-pronged leaf shining above him.

"And hey, look at this...with this in place, I cannot harm you, and you cannot harm me. Effectively making us allies in these complex weavings of existence."

The casual dismissal of the Living Mark of Unity as merely preventing harm rather than creating genuine alliance wasn’t lost on anyone present.

Khor materialized beside Noah with her characteristic curiosity, both of them studying Schrodinger with the careful attention one might give to a potentially venomous creature that hadn’t yet decided whether to strike.

Noah’s response came with calm tyranny, his gaze sweeping the amphitheater before returning to the paradox before him.

"Was this one of your aims when you came here? To obtain a form of distinction where the Living Paradoxes would be allies of all other Living Existences? Was that one of the goals you had for this Concordat?"

His eyes blazed with sharp interest as he posed the question, and Schrodinger’s eyes opened wider with what appeared to be genuine delight.

He actually nodded, the gesture somehow both admission and deflection.

"See? I knew I was right to come and discuss existence with you. You’re also straightforward, like a few other existences I know." He gestured vaguely at the space around them.

"Can we sit down and ponder upon existence together? Before those Fold Dwellers above begin to steer things in whatever direction they wish anyway."

Every word, every gesture, every breath screamed for caution.

Moiraine and Sigrid had already begun moving toward Noah, positioning themselves as shields against whatever machinations this being might be planning.

But Noah raised his hand, the simple gesture stopping them and all others in their tracks.

He turned toward Sigrid with an expression that mixed amusement with calculation.

"See what the terrifying little being with the pitbull wants," he said, his tone deliberately casual. "I... will ponder existence with this harmless beggar here."

The descriptor ’harmless’ applied to Schrodinger was so absurd that several beings actually blinked in confusion.

Not far from their position, the Living Origins still floated nearby. Origin Ama Gias and Duke Gwendolyn watched this scene with eyes that burned with interest and concern in equal measure.

Noah floated to a region of his section in the amphitheater, creating distance from the main gathering.

The only one who followed was Khor...who simply ignored his implicit instruction to stay back, while Duke Whisker and all others remained behind with Sigrid.

They stood watching as Beast Shepherdess Miki arrived, waving enthusiastically while pulling her quadrillion-complexity pet behind her like a balloon on a string.

In the air above the thrones, in their isolated bubble of space, Schrodinger waved his hand with theatrical casualness.

A simple white table materialized, complete with empty cups and a steaming teapot that shouldn’t have been able to exist in this space but did anyway.

He looked toward Khor with interest that seemed genuine, then smiled at Noah.

"What makes your companion here so unique that others may stand back, but she is able to simply follow in our discussion?"

Noah floated opposite Schrodinger, Khor beside him like a guardian that didn’t need weapons to be threatening. He reached out and patted Khor’s head with deliberate condescension that would have been insulting if applied to anyone else.

"She’s my emotional support animal. Don’t worry about her."

The words caused Khor to raise her eyebrows and blink with an expression that suggested she was filing this away for future discussion.

Schrodinger’s smile widened as he waved his hands, causing tea to pour itself with the precision of ritual.

"This tea," he said conversationally, "supposedly stems from a tribe of Early Creatures. Though I don’t know how authentic and true that claim is. So much gets lost in translation across the eons."

Three cups filled with sparkling stellar white tea that seemed to contain crushed stars in liquid form.

Then Schrodinger proceeded to smack his head with exaggerated realization, as if he’d forgotten something crucial.

From nowhere..or perhaps from everywhere simultaneously, he pulled out a simple white leaf!

A Leaf!

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