I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 605: Primordial Realm! II

THE Primordial Realm, Tian.

Achilles found himself thinking deeply about this name and place. Outside of this fantastic realm, he had already told THE Endless Dream to stop searching as he had found what he was looking for, and asked her if she had ever heard anything about Tian before.

But there was nothing extra there. Even a fully restored THE entity who had existed since before the Age of Collapse had no knowledge of this place. Whatever Tian was, whatever secrets it contained, THE Resplendent Paradox had kept its nature hidden from everyone she left behind.

So he was on his own in this region of potentially very dangerous and wondrous weavings.

One of the more pressing things demanding his attention was the pervasive rivers and clouds and atmosphere of white-gold all around him. Everything emanated a very pure and sweet aroma of THE Civilizational Authority that made his Way of Assimilation ache with hunger. He badly wanted to drink it all up, to consume the abundant power surrounding him and integrate it into his existence with the same efficiency he had demonstrated throughout his rapid advancement.

But he held himself back purely based on intuition.

Now, he was only slightly paranoid as a person under normal circumstances. But at this moment, even though he observed gravitating mountains that moved surrounded by golden rivers like stellar bodies drifting through cosmic sea, even though he sensed nothing nearby that registered as immediate threat, his senses were tingling with warning that he couldn’t ignore.

Where the fuck was THE Corpse Hierophant and the others?

They had disappeared so thoroughly that right now even the Principles seemed to be silent, as if they were shuddering from a weight that even he could not currently perceive. The fundamental truths of Existence that had been so responsive to his will outside of Tian now felt muted, reluctant, almost fearful in ways that Principles should not be capable of experiencing.

If there was a danger here, then it uniquely did not kill the THE entities who had entered before him. He could still feel the vibrancy of the Civilizational Authorities of Necrocracy, Life, and Alchemy through his connections to those budding Ways. They were alive, their foundations strengthening rather than collapsing.

So what had happened to them?

All of this caused him to move with caution and care as he delved further into Tian, intent on getting past this initial region to see what secrets this Primordial Realm was hiding. His eyes remained sharp, his senses stretched to their limits, his Way of Assimilation held in careful check despite its desperate hunger.

But moments later...

"Another one comes in after a large group. At least you seem to have a more put together Civilization. What...do you want, Little Guy?"

HUUM!

A booming voice echoed out across the golden landscape as Achilles froze mid-movement.

He couldn’t find the source.

He spread his senses out in all directions and looked around with perception that should have detected anything within vast distances, but he found nothing. His expression became heavy with mixture of wariness and genuine concern as he realized that something was observing him without his ability to observe it in return.

An instant later...

WAP!

A golden river that had been flowing with lazy majesty became utterly still, its currents freezing in place as if time itself had paused for that particular waterway. And upon its now-solid surface, an entity manifested.

No, not truly manifested. They simply became visible to his perception, as if they had been there the entire time and only now chose to allow themselves to be seen.

The being before him had golden crystallized skin that seemed to be made from the same substance as Tian itself, as if he had been born from this realm or had become so attuned to its nature that the distinction no longer mattered. His form was humanoid but carried weight that exceeded anything Achilles had ever encountered, Depth so profound that his newly achieved THE Surface Depth felt like shallow puddle compared to bottomless ocean!

This being looked at Achilles up and down with gaze that seemed to pierce through every layer of his existence!

Then he yawned with casual dismissiveness that seemed entirely inappropriate given the weight of his presence.

"It’s not a trick question nor is it something you cannot answer. What do you want here? Why did you enter?"

What did he want here?

This being who gave off a tremendous sense of suffocation asked this question again as Achilles felt every ounce of his existence buzzing with danger. His very Way of Assimilation was telling him with absolute certainty that the moment he made any intention to even try Assimilating the entity ahead, he would be collapsed. Not defeated. Not injured. Collapsed entirely, his Civilization and his existence and everything he had built erased as thoroughly as if he had never existed.

And such an entity was asking him such a simple question.

What did he want? Why did he enter Tian?

He felt like if he answered it wrong, it would be it for him. This was not test that allowed for multiple attempts or partial credit. This was judgment that would determine whether he left this encounter alive or not.

As he was taking long to answer, his mind racing through possibilities and calculations and potential responses that might satisfy whatever criteria this being was evaluating him against...

The entity ahead shook his head with disappointment that seemed genuine rather than theatrical.

"Indecisive. Lack of conviction. Unfit to enter Tian." He waved his hand with dismissive gesture. "You can go back where you came fr-"

"Existence."

BOOM!

Achilles’s voice rang out grandly across the golden landscape, cutting off the entity’s dismissal with conviction that surprised even himself.

He had asked himself what he wanted the most since he gained power, had contemplated this question during quiet moments between desperate battles and impossible consumptions. And he dreamt of one singular thing that exceeded all other ambitions.

At this moment, without fear, he said it out loud.

"I dream of and I want Existence itself." His purple-gold eyes blazed with hunger that he no longer bothered to suppress. "I want to Assimilate Existence itself!"

HUUM!

His words were heavy and resonant, carrying the weight of his achieved Depth and the conviction of someone who had clawed his way from insignificance to significance through methods that defied all conventional understanding!

The eyes of that mysterious entity opened wide with surprise that suggested he had not expected such an answer. For long moments he simply stared at Achilles with expression that shifted through emotions too complex to read.

Eventually a smile formed on his mouth and reached his eyes. He crossed his legs with casual grace that seemed dangerous in ways Achilles couldn’t fully articulate, his hand rising to hold his chin as he looked down at the small figure who had just declared intention to consume reality itself.

"Mmm, maybe. Maybe!"

"Okay, your boldness has you pass for now. Let me see if anything will come from you." He tilted his head with thoughtful expression. "The last successful result was that girl, THE Resplendent Paradox. It’s been shit after shit since then, endless streams of creatures with small dreams and smaller convictions." He waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, no matter. Come."

...!

A blinding light descended around Achilles before he could respond or question what was happening. The entire region in this place became suffused with gold so bright that even his enhanced perception couldn’t penetrate it, and everything around him disappeared into radiance that seemed to contain the weight of Tian itself.

Golden rivers and rotating mountains were left behind as he was transported elsewhere within this Primordial Realm, carried by authority that he couldn’t resist even if he wanted to!