I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 589: Glory! II
The memories he obtained were glorious ones that painted an immensely unique picture!
They also expanded what Achilles knew a tremendously as at this moment, he felt like he uniquely understood things that the vast majority of entities in these shattered folds did not!
Knowledge that THE entities hoarded jealously, understanding that separated existential significance from mere power.
And at this moment, Achilles opened his eyes.
When he observed the surrounding reality of the Sacred Holy Land of Alchemy, he experienced something that made his breath catch in his transformed chest.
He had an illusion...no, not an illusion but actual perception, as if he was seeing reality composed of waves and strings just like a THE entity would perceive it.
It had to be an illusion right? Because he knew that he had definitely not reached that stage.
The fallen citadel around him wasn’t solid metal and ancient stone anymore. It was patterns of vibrating frequencies that his enhanced consciousness could identify and categorize. The rivers of Alchemical authority flowing through the space appeared as harmonics in a greater symphony, and the defensive formations that had once seemed so formidable now looked like simple arrangements of predictable wavelengths.
And when he looked up at the surroundings with this transformed perception...
His eyes pulsed with immensity that made his previous vision seem like viewing the world through foggy glass.
He could identify...Principles.
Principles relating to death hung in the ambient authority like notes waiting to be played, residue from THE Corpse Hierophant’s manifestation that had been consumed but left traces in local reality. Principles relating to life pulsed faintly from Rose’s approaching form and from the deeper structures of this Sacred Holy Land.
Principles of dreams shimmered around THE Endless Dream’s manifestation in patterns that matched what he now carried within himself. And Principles of Alchemy saturated everything in this citadel, fundamental truths about transformation and transmutation just waiting for him to pull upon their power and use it.
They were all there. All accessible. All within reach of his expanded understanding.
As he processed this revolutionary shift in perception, prompts bloomed before his awareness with details about what his desperate actions had actually accomplished.
|EXISTENTIAL RESET COMPLETE|
|You have forcefully Assimilated Existential Corruption and its resultant state of corruption, the Malformed Abomination.|
|This action should have been impossible. Corruption is consequence, not resource. The Malformed Abomination was symptom of failure, not material for consumption. And yet your Way of Assimilation recognized no such distinction.|
|Due to this unprecedented integration, your existence has undergone a full reset.|
|New Capability Unlocked: Existential Corruption Resistance|
|Current Resistance Percentage: 10%|
|This resistance will reduce the rate at which future Assimilations contribute to Existence Corruption Value, allowing for more aggressive consumption without triggering catastrophic transformation.|
|Additional Capability Evolution Detected|
|From Assimilating the Malformed Abomination itself, your method of Assimilation has fundamentally changed.|
|Assimilation is now possible with anything within a 10-meter proximity.|
|The requirement of physical touch has been eliminated.|
|You can now consume authority, matter, and existence within your range without establishing direct contact.|
...!
Achilles watched these prompts cascade down his vision as his eyes still blazed with memory and power that hadn’t fully settled into stable configuration. The implications of what he’d just gained were heavy...no longer needing to touch targets meant he could Assimilate at range, could consume multiple entities simultaneously, could threaten beings who thought maintaining distance would keep them safe.
Rose rushed toward his side with desperate relief flooding her features, her transformed body closing the distance between them with speed that spoke to how terrified she’d been while watching his corrupted form rampage.
Her hands reached for him, needing to confirm he was actually present and conscious rather than hollow shell driven by mindless hunger.
"Little Fatty?"
He reassured her gently, but his eyes flashed with cold focus as they looked past her toward the distant figure of THE Sovereign Catalyst.
The collapsed leader of Alchemy had maintained cautious distance throughout the Malformed Abomination’s rampage, and he continued that caution now as he observed the impossible recovery that had just occurred. His liquid-metal features showed calculation and growing concern as he assessed the small humanoid figure that had emerged from consuming its own corruption.
Something had changed.
And THE Sovereign Catalyst was intelligent enough to recognize threat even when he couldn’t fully understand its nature.
At this moment, Achilles’s hands moved with deliberate intent.
He wanted to see if he could grasp the Principles of Existence that his transformed perception now revealed, wanted to test whether his new capability to Assimilate without touch could actually threaten a manifestation of THE.
The Principles of Existence relating to Alchemy saturating this Sacred Holy Land responded to his will with eagerness that surprised him, fundamental truths about transformation and transmutation orienting toward his consciousness like iron filings drawn to magnet. He could feel them, could almost taste them, could sense how they connected to the authority that THE Sovereign Catalyst wielded.
And ten meters wasn’t nearly enough range to reach the distant collapsed leader directly.
But it was enough to begin pulling on the ambient Principles themselves, enough to start drawing the fundamental truths of Alchemy toward his position rather than allowing them to remain dispersed throughout the citadel.
THE Sovereign Catalyst’s copper-green eyes widened as he sensed what was happening, felt the Principles of Existence nearby suddenly straining toward the small figure floating in purple-gold radiance.
"What are you doing?!"
The question emerged with genuine alarm rather than mere anger, because what Achilles was attempting shouldn’t have been possible for any being below THE distinction.
Principles responded to THE entites differently. Someone lesser should not be able to do what was being done!
And yet the fundamental truths of Principles of Existence nearby, which consisted a great deal relating to Alchemy, continued drifting toward Achilles’s position with acceleration that suggested they recognized his transformed perception as legitimate claim on their attention.
His hands continued moving, pulling, gathering Principles toward himself while THE Sovereign Catalyst watched with expression shifting towards more caution!
And Achilles began to see waves of glory.
|You have begun to temporarily access and use multiple Grand Principles relating to the Concept of Alchemy that make up nearby Existence.|
Temporarily.
Achilles’s eyes flashed as when he looked at these mathematical equations that made up existence, these Principles of Existence...he found himself wondering...why not just Assimilate them too?
"..."
No, really. Why not?
