Chapter 4407: Ormordnes V

How did one occupy the attention of a psychopath with unfathomable power before they turned toward torture?

The question burned through Noah’s mind, devoid of panic but weighted with absolute necessity.

He had to accomplish this task while simultaneously searching for other avenues of escape, other plans that might bear fruit where direct confrontation would only hasten collapse.

An idea was rising in his thoughts...something related to THE Dead Order.

He did not know enough secrets of the Earliest Folds, could not claim comprehensive understanding of how catastrophic events had truly unfolded in that era.

But he did know, through stories and fragments of truth, that the death of THE Dead Order came at the hands of THE Living Paradox.

This ridiculous being standing before him had supposedly faced down all the other THE Living Existences before he was imprisoned, and a consequence of thst battle was the collapse of THE Living Order.

But all of this was in the stories.

And one could never verify the veracity and truth of such tales when Schrodinger himself was known as a storyteller, when the distributions of historical accounts might contain more fiction than fact.

Were the narratives of the Earliest Folds holding any level of genuine truth, or were they elaborate constructions designed to serve purposes he couldn’t yet perceive?

Either way, the other side of The Veil, where THE Dead Order maintained her domain of imposed structure...represented a possibility if these beings sufficiently hated each other.

The only caveat being that he was now caught between both such entities, and he lacked power to handle even one.

Especially when he knew THE Dead Order’s plans involved using him as a battery to empower her own Civilization, draining his infinite reserves to fuel her armies of Order.

So this avenue was not entirely viable, though it remained on the table as desperate measure if he could put the two against each other.

While his mind burned through possibilities with accelerating speed, Noah opened his mouth to speak.

If one wanted to buy time against a psychopath, conventional wisdom said...confusion as optimal strategy.

"I was always curious," Noah said, "how your Little Weavers found Anaximander in the first place. Since you seem so talkative, so willing to share philosophical insights, could you tell me exactly how you used Anaximander against THE Creature?"

...!

BOOM!

The moment his words echoed across the restructured space, the crimson-gold eyes of the Corpse of Schrodinger pulsed with terrible light that made the surrounding atmosphere tremble.

A malevolent smile bloomed across those borrowed features, stretching too wide, carrying depths of cruelty that far, far exceeded simple amusement.

"My goodness," THE Living Paradox said, voice layered with surprise mixed with something darker, "how do you know about that, Little Osmont? Have you been peeking around at places where you shouldn’t? Accessing knowledge that weren’t meant for Early Creatures to witness?"

WAA!

At that moment, Noah looked around and realized that all the Civilizational Chains of the Festival of Paradox around him had disappeared...consumed entirely by his Hunger, leaving him with nothing more to devour in his immediate vicinity.

The only chains that remained wrapped around Leonore Rureaux and the two Living Schrodingers, who hung suspended like specimens preserved for later examination.

And yet the sense of suffocation and concentrated power emanating from THE Living Paradox began growing heavier, as if the entity was compensating for lost constraints by simply increasing the raw pressure of its presence.

Noah looked at this being with eyes that calculated even while speaking, measuring the weight pressing down against him, assessing how long he could withstand direct attention.

"You didn’t really answer my question," he said.

"How about we trade questions and answers? You ask something, I respond. I ask something, you respond. Fair exchange between beings discussing matters of mutual interest."

As Noah proposed this trade, simultaneously...another instance of his existence, another body of his appeared at a distant location in an entirely different Transcendent Fold.

He stood before a Tear of Existence in the Transcendent Origin Folds, the shimmering boundary that separated Living from Dead.

In his hands, he manipulated a bundle of concentrated authority containing his voice, compressed into deliverable message that could be thrown across The Veil.

It would detail how at this moment, the Remnant Will of THE Living Paradox had appeared in the Lands of the Living.

If THE Dead Order was capable of moving from one side to the other, she would have already done so. But it seemed she was not.

But she possessed terrifically powerful armies that she could dispatch whenever necessary, forces that had been refined through her implementation of True Order.

If he informed such a being that the enemy responsible for her death had manifested on this side...would she not mobilize every resource at her disposal to do something about it?

All of it was conjecture and possibility, untested theory built on limited information.

But it was yet another plan Noah stood ready to implement if circumstances devolved to irreversible catastrophe.

For now, he waited.

His eyes flickered with enhanced brilliance back in the Quantum Folds as he looked toward the figure of THE Living Paradox, whose eerie smile had become resplendent at his proposal.

The entity drifted closer, and when it spoke, the voice carried philosophical weight that made existence itself seem to lean in and listen.

"In all of existence, across every scale of power and complexity, only those who stand on the same stage are truly capable of exchanging words back and forth. A question and an answer, as you said...this implies equivalence of position, mutual respect between parties with comparable standing."

The crimson-gold eyes blazed with terrible certainty. "But you and I, my little friend, are not on the same stage. Not even in the same theater, if we’re being honest. You are a candle flame arguing philosophy with the sun. And I wholly do not respect you."

The smile widened impossibly further.

"So since it seems you are merely wasting time, attempting to delay inevitable outcomes through clever conversation, let us proceed to something more productive. Existential Torturing, I think. Yes, that should work nicely. I find that most entities become remarkably talkative right after experiencing the first few sessions. The clarity it provides is quite remarkable, really...strips away all pretense and leaves only honest desperation."

HUUM!

Noah’s gaze became grave as beside him, Khor and Riya shifted into defensive stances...as if their considerable power could possibly help in this situation, as if Quintillions of accumulated might meant anything against an entity with THE distinction.

In this terrifying moment, Noah’s attention flickered to the distant figures of the distraught Leonore Rureaux and the two Schrodingers.

Their gazes carried blank horror and disbelief, as if even they could not fully believe what was unfolding before them.

He thought of the other instance of his existence standing ready at The Veil, prepared to deploy a plan he truly did not want to implement.

Calling THE Dead Order’s attention here would create catastrophe of different flavor but equal magnitude.

But as he watched THE Living Paradox raise its hands with slow anticipation...as if savoring the dread spreading across those it faced, as if the fear itself was delicacy to be enjoyed before the main course...Noah sighed internally and prepared to act.

Existence seemed to silence die completely, all movement ceasing as if existence itself held its breath and ready to witness utter brutality.

THE Living Paradox began gathering terrifically concentrated crimson-gold brilliance around its raised hands, power coalescing with purpose.

This would be surgical, precise, designed to inflict maximum suffering while maintaining the victim’s existence for prolonged examination.

The entity even began speaking, voice holding satisfaction that bordered on ecstasy.

"Yes, that gaze you’re wearing now...that expression of lamentation, of Ormordnes...that is such a wonderful precursor. It normally means you will be ready to talk quite freely very soon. The descent into despair opens doors that pride keeps locked, you understand. Resistance becomes exhausting, and truth flows like water finding its level..."

Terrifying crimson-gold brilliance gathered and compressed, its sense of suffocation felt Fold-wide as reality itself seemed to bend toward THE Living Paradox’s will.

Noah prepared to throw the message across The Veil, to trigger conflict between THE entities regardless of personal cost...

HUUM!

At that same instant, the gathered crimson-gold light flickered.

The dominating figure of THE Living Paradox stumbled.

...!

Noah stopped any actions he was about to take, surprise cutting through his composure.

He watched with suddenly bright eyes as THE Living Paradox blinked in confusion...genuine bewilderment crossing those borrowed features.

The terrifying power being expressed through the Corpse of Schrodinger actually seemed to be...diminishing. Flickering like candle flame in unexpected wind.

"Wowee," THE Living Paradox said, voice carrying confusion mixed with dawning realization, "that should not be the case at all. This vessel should be more than sufficient to maintain my presence here..."

...!

Noah’s eyes grew unfathomably brighter as he expanded his perception across the surroundings, searching for whatever force was causing this interference.

He sensed nothing else...no arrival of powerful ally, no spatial distortion suggesting external intervention.

And yet shockingly, impossibly, the power THE Living Paradox was expressing continued being suppressed.

As if the Corpse of Schrodinger could no longer properly channel the terrifying will of this being, as if something was actively preventing full manifestation.

As THE Living Paradox tried to gather power again, the body swayed unsteadily...movement suggesting loss of control, consciousness struggling against forced slumber.

The entity smiled and shook its head with respect mixed with annoyance.

"Oh, I see now," it said, voice carrying revelation. "Was this one of the last saving graces left behind? A final mechanism to suppress any entity carrying THE distinction from manifesting freely outside THE Loom? How thorough. How characteristic of that approach to problems."

...!

The words seemed directed not at Noah but at whatever mechanism or power was forcing its existence to flicker and fade.

And those words revealed a great deal...more than THE Living Paradox perhaps intended.

The suppression of THE.

What sort of power could possibly be responsible for such a thing? THE Creature, implementing safeguards before whatever catastrophe had limited its freedom? Anaximander, revealing capabilities that exceeded Noah’s understanding?

Whatever the source, it caused THE Living Paradox to turn around as it seemed about to lose control of the corpse entirely.

The entity tapped out toward the two Living bodies of Schrodinger with casual gesture, and both disappeared instantly as brilliant crimson-gold light wrapped around them...presumably pulling them back to wherever THE Living Paradox’s true seat of power resided.

Similar radiance began gathering around the Corpse housing the entity’s consciousness, preparing to facilitate withdrawal.

But before departing, THE Living Paradox turned toward Noah and Khor.

Its eyes shone with immense light despite eyelids growing heavy, as if fighting against forced unconsciousness.

The smile remained fixed in place...heavy and casual, as if nothing was wrong, as if this minor inconvenience was merely amusing interruption rather than genuine setback.

"Little Inevitability, Little Osmont," it said, voice maintaining that terrible serenity despite circumstances, "it seems I must figure out a few things before I can have my fun with you properly."

The crimson-gold brilliance intensified around the corpse.

"I’ll be in touch soon enough. Do keep working hard in the meantime. Keep forging your Civilizations and refining your Ways of Existence with all that earnest determination. Build yourselves into the most magnificent nutrients possible."

The smile widened one final time.

"I thank you... for your service."

...!

With such words, carrying mockery and genuine gratitude...

HUUM!

THE Living Paradox disappeared.

The unfathomably heavy sense of suffocation left alongside the entity’s departure, pressure lifting so suddenly that Noah felt his Primus Singularity brighten immediately.

His existence felt free in ways he hadn’t fully appreciated until constraint was removed, like prisoner emerging from dungeon into sunlight.

The only entities remaining in this section of the Transcendent Quantum Folds were a distraught Leonore Rureaux...her expression carrying grief and horror at what had been revealed about her companion, and Noah, Khor, Riya standing together in silence...

And in the distance, barely visible through layers of spatial distortion, a Justiciar that was scrambling away with speed.

The calmness of existence returned, carrying no scent of death but rather the clean emptiness of aftermath, of catastrophe narrowly averted.

Noah stood motionless for long moment, processing everything that had occurred, analyzing implications that cascaded through his enhanced cognition.

They had survived.

Somehow, against impossible odds, they had survived an encounter with THE Living Paradox.

But the entity’s parting words echoed with weight that exceeded simple threat: I’ll be in touch.

This was not resolution. This was merely a fucking intermission.

And whatever mechanism had suppressed THE distinction from manifesting fully...that was the real mystery demanding investigation!

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