Chapter 4506: The Infinite Unfurling! III

Noah looked at the entity in front of him as he rapidly analyzed the situation. It could be considered extremely perilous or fortuitous depending on how he handled the next few moments.

No, when truly considered on the spectrum of danger versus opportunity, if he ever had to meet an existence at the next scale of power, this entity would be among those that would be the most ideal to come across.

So his eyes shone brightly with calculated brilliance as he spoke carefully.

"What your senses detect can be considered a form of your Hunger," Noah said with measured words. "But it emerges eons down the line from this moment."

...!

At these words, the entity in front of him smiled with genuine interest before he came just a bit closer towards Noah. His skin truly looked like a night sky filled with dying stars, and with his dark flowing hair and eyes that held the depth of black holes, it was like staring into the gaze of one of the most apex predators in existence.

"Eons down the line, huh?" the entity said with contemplative curiosity. "That would explain why you do not belong here, why your existence feels displaced. But even then, the purity of this Hunger I sense would be something that could only come from me directly... well, or from someone that has a similar authority to mine."

He leaned in slightly.

"Who shared this Hunger with you, Outsider?"

Noah looked at him calmly as he said with simple honesty, "Khor."

...!

The name caused the eyes of this being, of Tor, to open wide with shock!

His face went through a range of emotions in rapid succession. Surprise bloomed first, then morphed into worry, then shifted to caution before it ultimately settled into calm acceptance.

He looked at Noah silently for a long moment before he sighed deeply and gazed out at the surrounding landscape of inverted mountains and flowing light.

"That little runt? She wouldn’t be able to share my Hunger with another unless something significant happened to her," he said quietly. "Is she okay? Tell me truly."

Noah replied with calm certainty, "She is okay."

At these words, this terrifyingly powerful entity simply nodded with visible relief.

"Then there is more than enough," he said, his tension easing. "Since you do exhibit the same Hunger within your existence, you can be considered a junior of mine in the Way."

His analytical gaze swept over Noah again.

"Why are you playing with temporal weavings of existence and coming to a place where many things could collapse you in the span of an instant? Even more than that, how did you get the flames of an Elemental sovereignty to be burning your existence?"

He tilted his head with curiosity.

"Did you meet someone here before me? But they would have simply collapsed you and eaten you up as I don’t see the reason for them to torture you like this. Oh, were you branded with this flame where you come from?"

...!

Noah’s eyes opened wider as he felt his existence buzzing. He nodded as he said, "A brand was given to me by a fiery pathetic fucker who can’t even appear in front of me directly."

...!

Tor laughed at his words with genuine amusement.

"Outsider, you are so quick to insult beings who could squash you if they were here in person," he said with entertained approval. "Oh well, I am sure that it is no fun to have that blazing around your existence constantly."

He paused thoughtfully.

"I could move to erase that right now with minimal effort. But would it not be better, would you not feel more satisfied, if you took care of it yourself?"

...!

Noah’s eyes shined with understanding at such words. He looked at this being who was smiling with encouragement and asked the critical question.

"How would I gain the power to erase the flames of an entity with THE designation?" Noah asked. "Only THE Civilizational Authority can go against THE Civilizational Authority."

...!

His eyes pulsed with immensity as he said this fundamental truth.

Tor nodded with approval as he responded, "Yeah, that’s accurate. And although you can be considered far from THE currently, I can see that you have begun developing something with such a designation within your existence."

He gestured to Noah’s form analytically.

"It may be the only reason that you can stand in a place like this which could kill you in so many different ways. It means that you have taken a step on the path, and taking a step is already halfway to reaching the destination."

His smile widened.

"As my junior walking on the Way of Hunger, I can definitely give you some guidance on how to reach THE and eliminate those flames yourself. Or, you can tell me to simply take these flames away right now, and we can part ways right here."

...!

The disposition of this being seemed to be unique and genuine. Noah could see how he operated with clear observation, so the answer came as a calm declaration.

"I’ll take care of it myself."

Tor smiled broadly and clapped his hands together with satisfaction.

"Good! A strong quality for those who walk on the Way of Hunger is to eat up everything with their own effort and strength."

He straightened to his full imposing height and spoke with formal gravity.

"I am Tor, THE First Hunger," he said simply. "What is your name, Outsider?"

Noah nodded as he replied, "Osmont. Noah Osmont."

Tor nodded with acknowledgment as he said, "Alright Osmont, what do you know about THE?"

...!

What did he know about THE?

He felt his existence buzzing at such a fundamental question as he answered honestly, "Not much."

Tor nodded with understanding as he said, "Okay. Then the best way for you to learn about THE and what it truly means... is to experience it directly. Come on."

As he said this, he moved to place his hand on Noah’s shoulder.

The crimson-gold flames of the curse of THE Living Elemental roared violently as if they were seeking to allow their contagion to spread onto this new target as well.

But Tor only raised a single eyebrow as if he was warning these flames of their presumption.

A moment later, the flames actually receded from Noah’s shoulder where Tor placed his hand, leaving that small area untouched!

...!

Noah watched such a scene with shining eyes filled with wonder at the casual display of authority.

In the next moment, crimson-obsidian stellar waves of light wrapped around both of their bodies like protective cocoons. They began to float away from the mountain peak they had been standing on.

Their figures seemingly melted into the surrounding existence, entering its folds and layers to such an extent that one could not even perceive them anymore. They became part of the fabric of reality itself.

Tor explained as they began to fly across the landscape of The Infinite Unfurling with smooth motion.

"You are currently within The Infinite Unfurling, a place and time of immense glory, power, and danger," he said with grand calm.

He gestured to the inverted mountains and flowing rivers of light.

"Here, potential still exceeds actuality. Here, what will be has not yet defeated what could be. This is when THE entities emerge, and where entities with the potential to become THE are eaten up for lunch. It is when many learn what it means to hold authority over fundamental aspects of existence."

They passed through a cloud of mist that sang with harmonic frequencies.

"The first thing you need to understand about THE," Tor continued with teaching intensity, "is that it is not about power in the way you currently understand it."

He looked at Noah with piercing focus.

"THE is about Sovereignty. About claiming dominion over existence itself and making that claim absolute. I am THE First Hunger because I have Sovereign Authority over the concept of Hunger itself. Not just physical appetite, but existential consumption, the fundamental drive to take in and make part of oneself."

They flew past a mountain peak where crystalline structures pulsed with ancient light.

"When two THE entities clash," Tor said seriously, "it’s not about who has more power. It’s about whose Sovereignty is more complete, whose claim is more absolute, whose authority runs deeper into the fabric of Existence."

He smiled at Noah.

"The flames burning you come from THE Living Elemental, right? A worm who has Sovereign Authority over Elemental interactions. That’s why they persist despite your resistance. That’s why numerical weavings like Complexity and Purity don’t matter against them. you could be as complex and as pure as you want, but if you have nothing to go against The Sovereignty of Elemental... none of that will matter."

Noah absorbed this information with analytical intensity.

"But you said I could learn to eliminate them myself," Noah said carefully.

Tor nodded with approval at the question.

"Yes, because you’re developing your own path to THE. Your existence should be attempting to claim its own Sovereignty. Once it matures enough, once your claim becomes strong enough..."

He grinned with predatory satisfaction.

"Then you can tell those flames to fuck off, and they’ll have to listen."

...!

"Oh, but don’t have any expectations of you attaining THE anytime soon. Your existence still feels a bit off. And that bit off could be years or eons depending on your existence. Or it could be months if you are in the Infinite Unfurling long enough, who knows? But I should be able to get you far enough that those weak flames would be something you can take care of."

WAA!

The landscape shifted around them as they flew deeper into The Infinite Unfurling, and Noah felt his existence drinking in the ancient atmosphere with desperate thirst as the flames causing excrutiating pain all around him...seemed to dim in comparison!

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