Chapter 4408: Palisades I

Existence felt cleaner, as if some fundamental contamination had been scrubbed away, leaving atmosphere crisp and breathable once more.

A moment of relief washed through the space where catastrophe had loomed just heartbeats before, where THE Living Paradox had pressed down with authority that made resistance seem laughable!

That oppressive weight had lifted with the entity’s departure, and existence carried no trace of its presence beyond lingering memory.

Yet Noah’s eyes remained those of caution and analytical focus as he took everything in, processing the aftermath as he refused to mistake reprieve for victory.

His posture stayed ready, coiled spring waiting to determine whether release was genuine or merely prelude to greater compression.

Beside him, the figure of Riya finally seemed to be breathing without conscious effort, her shoulders loosening from tension that had locked them rigid throughout the encounter.

Her voice emerged with sheer incredulity.

"Holy fuck... who was that scary fucker? THE Living Paradox? Why did such a ridiculous thing appear here? Fuck!"

Her words and unfiltered language seemed to be her mechanism for processing trauma, for expelling terror through crude expression.

The profanity held relief mixed with lingering shock.

At this moment, Noah was working through understanding everything that had just transpired, sorting events into comprehensible sequences.

The instant THE Living Paradox felt whatever terrifying level of suppression descend upon it, suppression so profound that even Noah’s enhanced perception couldn’t identify its source..the entity had moved with immediate decisiveness.

As if it knew exactly what was happening.

And the first action it had taken after that realization was the displacement and removal of the two Living Schrodinger bodies, Concept and Quantum, pulling them away to safety with priority.

Which meant THE Living Paradox remained intimately connected with Schrodinger’s vessels, considered them important enough to protect even while facing forced withdrawal.

Not merely convenient tools but somehow essential to its continued manifestation outside THE Loom.

Noah’s eyes flashed sharply.

Based on how THE Living Paradox acted when suppression descended... is this not precisely when its vessels are most vulnerable?

The thought bloomed with terrible potential.

When the entity was being suppressed by unknown force, when its very will manifesting in these weavings of existence was being actively constrained...was this not the only genuine opportunity Noah would have to exploit a weakness of something that otherwise operated beyond his capacity to influence?

Because THE Living Paradox’s parting words had been unfathomably clear: I’ll be in touch.

Not "if I return" or "perhaps we’ll meet again."

Absolute certainty of future encounter!

Having THE Living Paradox active at this point while being intermittently suppressed was akin to possessing a nuclear device beside one’s home that could detonate at any moment it woke from forced slumber.

The threat didn’t disappear simply because current circumstances prevented immediate explosion.

But if I use this opportunity, while that weapon is forced into dormancy to systematically destroy its vessels...

If he could collapse or completely devour the bodies of Schrodinger, eliminate every anchor through which THE Living Paradox could manifest presence outside THE Loom, he could effectively neutralize the terrifying power that had nearly tortured them moments ago.

The entity would still exist, still possess unfathomable might within its home domain.

But it would be contained, unable to reach across distances to impose its will on Noah’s developing Civilization.

And he had to accomplish this while still preparing for survival against the moment THE Loom itself erupted.

"..."

It was a heavy ordeal, layers of impossible challenges stacking atop each other like weights designed to crush ambition before it could bear fruit.

Could they not let him fucking breathe?

But... he would pursue it regardless.

First things first.

BOOM!

Noah’s body erupted with incandescent light...not the blue-gold of Primus Mana or obsidian-crimson of Hunger, but something else entirely.

A pure and warm glow that seemed to radiate satisfaction and completion, the unmistakable signature of Perpetual Harvest activating to claim rewards for extraordinary effort.

Prompts materialized before his vision with ceremonial grandeur.

|Against all reasonable odds, you have survived an encounter with an entity completely eclipsing you in power, complexity, and purity.|

|The effort required to maintain composure and cognitive faculties during this ordeal represents glorious achievement worthy of equally glorious reward.|

|The Harvest of this entire encounter is budding within your existence, awaiting directive on form and timing of receipt.|

|OPTIONS:|

|—Immediate Harvest: Receive accumulated benefits now at standard rate|

|—Delayed Harvest: Allow rewards to mature over time for enhanced yield|

|—Targeted Harvest: Direct benefits toward specific area of development|

|Surviving direct attention of THE Living Paradox qualifies as unprecedented achievement for you. Rewards will reflect this magnitude.|

...!

Noah felt his existence buzz with array of concentrated brilliance, power accumulated through impossibility now ready for conversion into tangible advancement.

There was harvest to collect due to navigating this ridiculous situation with sufficient skill to emerge not merely alive but potentially strengthened.

And alongside that pending reward, there existed another consideration...the Civilizational Chains of Paradox that his Hunger had devoured throughout the encounter.

All of them were being contained in an isolated domain within his existence, a space that felt like endless and infinite stomach where consumed material waited for digestion.

He had not processed them yet, had deliberately postponed that analysis because doing so during the confrontation would have divided his attention at precisely the moment when total focus was survival prerequisite.

But now they represented another boon to consider, another potential source of advancement if he could properly parse the mechanisms through which THE Living Paradox had imposed civilizational suppression.

I can address that later. Right now, immediate concerns demand attention...

Noah turned his gaze toward the figure of Leonore Rureaux, who stood in stunned silence...her expression carrying devastation.

"It seems," Noah said, "that THE Living Paradox is currently being suppressed by unknown mechanism. Which means we have an existence with unfathomable power living on the same side of The Veil as us... and that existence is temporarily weakened."

He paused, letting those words settle.

"The only way for us to potentially eliminate such a threat is to completely eradicate the vessels through which its consciousness manifests. And that woman there..."

He gestured toward Leonore. "That woman is lover to those vessels of Schrodinger. Which means she likely possesses information regarding their locations..."

As he voiced this assessment, Riya beside him nodded with sharp understanding lighting her eyes. She took a single step...

And appeared instantly behind Leonore Rureaux, movement so swift it left afterimage in her previous position.

"Ancestor," Riya said, "are you thinking interrogation? Because I can definitely handle interrogation. I have techniques that would make even ancient entities reconsider their loyalty."

Her eyes flashed with sense of urgency and barely restrained power!

Noah’s voice emerged from the distance with calm.

"Keep her close and secure. But let’s simply talk with her first and see if she can tell us where other bodies of Schrodinger might be located, and where the bodies that were just here might have gone. Cooperation is preferable to coercion when time allows."

After he spoke those measured words...Riya saluted as if she had received an order.

"Yes, Ancestor!"

Brilliant blue-gold Primus Mana erupted from her extended hand, forming into long rope of concentrated authority that she grasped with both hands.

The construct shot forward, wrapping around the ashen Leonore Rureaux before the woman could even consider resistance.

As this occurred, Noah turned toward the desolate figure of Khor.

Her ancient eyes carried weight of self-recrimination.

"Are you okay?" Noah asked simply, without judgment or accusation.

She looked at him with those crimson eyes that had witnessed eons, and when she spoke, her voice held the cadence of someone acknowledging serious failure.

"I have not acted my part as a wise and ancient existence that has lived for countless cycles. I allowed myself to be blinded by rage, permitted emotion to override accumulated discipline."

WAA!

Her expression hardened with self-directed anger. "I do apologize for that, Outsider. Such loss of control endangered everyone present."

At such words, Noah shook his head with a gesture that dismissed need for apology.

"Mistakes are things I have made far too many of to judge others for their own," he said quietly. "What matters is learning and adapting. If you are fully returned, I have a task that requires your particular capabilities."

He pointed toward the far distance where spatial distortion still marked the trajectory of fleeing entity.

"Do you want to chase after that Justiciar? See exactly where it goes, what base of operations it reports to?"

Khor looked at him deeply for a long moment.

Ancient discipline reasserted itself, pushing aside temporary emotional turbulence in favor of practical action!

She nodded once, sharply.

And disappeared.

As for Noah...

He had boons to examine, rewards to allocate, and consumed Civilizational Chains to analyze.

Existence buzzed around him and buzzed like rough winds as he turned his gaze inward, sensing the countless possibilities in the wake of an utter disaster!

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