I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 617: Peaceful Advancement II
In Observable Existence, there is a phenomenon called the Grateful Collapse.
It occurs when a THE entity, having defeated a rival, chooses to spare them rather than consume their Civilization entirely. The victor believes they are being magnanimous. They believe they are showing strength through restraint, demonstrating that they are above the need for total annihilation. They walk away with their pride intact, certain they have proven themselves the better being.
And the spared entity remembers.
They remember the taste of dirt beneath their face. They remember the weight of authority pressing them into submission. They remember the choice their enemy made, the condescension dressed as kindness. And in the eons that follow, while they rebuild what was nearly destroyed, that memory becomes the foundation upon which all future actions are constructed.
The ancient records write of this pattern repeating across ages.
They tell of THE entities who showed mercy to fallen rivals, who believed that defeated foes would be grateful for their survival. Who believed that kindness would inspire loyalty, that restraint would demonstrate virtue, that leaving an enemy alive was somehow nobler than finishing what had been started.
True mercy requires the wisdom to know when survival is genuinely a gift and when it is merely delayed execution wearing benevolent clothing.
Most cannot tell the difference.
They see an enemy brought low and feel the pull of compassion without asking whether that compassion will be repaid with gratitude or with vengeance nursed across centuries. They believe that their mercy speaks to their character when in truth it speaks only to their inability to see beyond the immediate moment.
An enemy left alive with their pride in ruins will spend eternity finding ways to reclaim what was taken from them.
—
Achilles had no mercy when the tables were switched.
Instead of him being hunted by the Malformed Collapsed Existences, prowling through absolute darkness while desperately trying to sense threats before they could impale him through the chest, he now hunted them with predatory efficiency that left no room for escape.
He could see across The Blind Depths as if the oppressive darkness was nothing more than mild shade. His perception stretched for miles in every direction, mapping the positions of creatures that had once seemed like apex predators but now revealed themselves as nothing more than prey that had not yet accepted their fate.
With how heavy his Depth had become through continuous consumption, none of them gave him any problems. They remained Surface Depth entities, their immensity impressive by conventional standards but utterly insignificant compared to the compressed weight he had accumulated!
So for the next few hours, he scoured The Blind Depths with methodical thoroughness that left nothing alive in his wake. Even when the Malformed Collapsed Existences began to run from him, sensing through their predatory instincts that something far more dangerous than themselves now stalked these lightless reaches, he Assimilated them mercilessly.
He did not give them the chance to flee.
He did not offer terms or conditions.
He simply consumed them, one after another, adding their accumulated Depth to his own foundation with efficiency that would have seemed impossible during those first desperate hours when a single creature had nearly killed him.
Today, there would be no mercy from him.
And now he looked at what should be the last Malformed Collapsed Existence in the First Region of The Blind Depths.
The creature was larger than the others he had consumed, its bestial form suggesting it had fed upon its weaker kin for eons before his arrival disrupted the hierarchy of this place. Its Surface Depth pressed heavily against the surrounding atmosphere with weight that would have been terrifying to anything at his initial level of power, multiple limbs ending in fractal impossibilities.
Half-formed faces emerged from its obsidian mass at random angles, mouths opening and closing in silent screams that would never be heard in this place of absolute quiet. Its eyes, dozens of them scattered across its writhing form, blazed with intelligence that exceeded the mindless hunger of lesser Malformed.
And it was whining.
It was asking for mercy, begging for survival, communicating through the only method available in a realm where sound could not travel.
Achilles looked upon this creature that had likely consumed countless entities who had attempted to cross The Blind Depths before him, this predator that had grown fat on the failures of those seeking to lay claims on the Oldest Paradox.
"Come," he said, his words forced into existence through an Assertion that carved meaning into reality despite the absence of sound. "And maybe you shall live."
...! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
The Malformed Collapsed Existence heard these words and something shifted in its countless eyes. The whining ceased. The pleading vibrations transformed into something harder, more desperate, more final.
It roared with maddening grandeur that shook the solidified atmosphere, and it charged toward him with every fragment of its accumulated power condensed into a single assault.
Malformed Assertions erupted from its being as it approached, twisted declarations that sought to impose its corrupted truth upon the surrounding reality. The atmosphere warped around these Assertions, darkness deepening to absolute void, pressure intensifying to levels that would have crushed anything below THE distinction.
Achilles withstood them with his body alone.
The Malformed Assertions broke against his existence like waves against cliffs that had endured since before time learned to count. His Surface Depth, compressed to density that defied the category it technically occupied, simply refused to acknowledge the creature’s attempts to impose its will upon him.
The creature reached him with physical form following where Assertions had failed, its massive clawed hand descending with force meant to tear him apart through sheer weight and violence. Fractal impossibilities at the end of its limb twisted toward configurations designed to rend existence itself.
Achilles stopped the blow with a single finger!
BOOM!
The impact should have shattered reality. The force should have overwhelmed any defense. But his finger simply met the descending claw and held it in place with casual ease that spoke of difference in power so vast that comparison seemed meaningless.
He grabbed hold of the limb with his full hand.
The creature thrashed with desperation that made its previous assault seem tame. It pulled and twisted and tried to tear itself free from his grip, willing to sacrifice the limb entirely if it meant escape from what was coming. Its other appendages struck at him from every angle, fractal impossibilities scraping against his existence without leaving any mark.
Regardless of what it did, it could not escape.
Achilles looked at it silently for a moment, observing the terror in its countless eyes, the recognition that all its accumulated power meant nothing against something that had consumed everything this region had to offer.
"Assimilate."
BOOM!
Instantly, the thing before him disappeared.
At this stage, a single utterance of his Assimilation was enough to consume even the strongest Malformed Collapsed Existence in The Blind Depths. His Way recognized the creature’s entire being as material to be integrated and simply did so, no resistance capable of delaying the process even momentarily.
As he absorbed everything about this final creature, prompts bloomed before his awareness with comprehensive summary of what he had accomplished.
|First Region Complete: The Blind Depths Cleared|
...!
