I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 641: Glory II
Achilles had no issue with The Groundskeeper, not really.
As unfortunate as it was that this being had been trying to obtain Chaos for eons beyond counting, Achilles had no regrets with how things unfolded. Rose had experimented. Apatheia had opened. Chaos had chosen them rather than the one who had been waiting patiently for circumstances to align.
But sadly, The Groundskeeper attacked him to kill and collapse.
And if he learned anything at all about Existence, it was that one had to be ruthless.
If an enemy wanted to literally collapse your Existence, well, at the very least you had to collapse them first.
So...
Achilles looked at The Groundskeeper while his body began to glimmer with multicolored brilliance that pulsed from his Inner Dominion. His expression held something approaching sympathy as he spoke.
"Sometimes, in Existence, one can do all they want with all the best intentions. They can sacrifice eons of their life toward a singular goal. They can maintain what others neglect and guide what others ignore and wait with patience that lesser beings could never comprehend."
His voice carried weight that pressed against the obsidian sky.
"But sometimes, despite all of that dedication, it simply does not work out. The harvest you cultivated for centuries gets claimed by someone who arrived at the right moment rather than the right time. The woman you chased for years chooses another who simply happened to be there when circumstances aligned."
He took a breath that seemed to pull authority from dimensions beyond perception.
"When things do not work out, it is sometimes good to let go. To accept that existence does not owe you anything regardless of how much you have given it. To understand that obsession over what should have been yours can blind you to what could still become yours through different paths."
His multicolored radiance intensified.
"Because if you become obsessed with what was taken rather than what remains available, it could very well cost you your Existence. Obsession narrows vision. Obsession breeds desperation. Obsession makes you attack someone who held no animosity toward you simply because they received what you believed was yours by right."
He looked at The Groundskeeper with eyes that held genuine appreciation beneath the weight of what was about to occur.
"I had no qualms with you. I even feel thankful for you. You guided me toward The Cavern of Existence. You explained the Oldest Paradox when you could have remained silent. You provided opportunity when you could have denied access."
His expression hardened.
"But if you move to kill, so shall I."
BOOM!
The Groundskeeper’s fury at such words exceeded anything he had displayed previously. His obsidian form blazed with Chaos that answered to eons of connection rather than recent Claims. His jaws opened wide as authority gathered in concentrations that dwarfed his previous breath attack.
"YOU...DARE LECTURE ME ABOUT LETTING GO?"
His voice shook the foundations of Abzu itself!
"I WILL SHOW YOU!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
...!
Declaration layered upon Declaration as he prepared his grandest attack yet. The obsidian sky cracked with pressure that made THE entities across the Sea of Abzu fall to their knees. Reality itself seemed to hold its breath as The Groundskeeper gathered everything he possessed for a single devastating strike!
Achilles shook his head as if it was a pity.
And he tapped out with a single finger.
In the next moment, the massive body of The Groundskeeper... disappeared.
WAP!
The massive serpent eating its own tail, miles of obsidian coils that had dominated the sky above the First Sea, simply ceased to be present.
...!
He wasn’t teleported or displaced or moved away.
Anyone perceptive enough here would feel that he simply ceased to exist.
One moment there was a Fundamental Depth entity preparing an attack that would have reshaped the geography of Abzu. The next moment there was nothing but empty space where that entity had been.
They watched as someone with the Fundamental Depth of Absolute Sovereignty was made to cease from Existence by the mere tap of an entity at the Intermediate Depth of Absolute Sovereignty!
It was unbelievable.
It was surreal!
It was so astonishing that after he did it, there was an immense silence permeating all around. No one moved. No one spoke. No one seemed capable of processing what they had just witnessed.
THE Resplendent Paradox opened her mouth as if she was going to speak.
But she closed it and remained silent soon after.
In the far distance, the figures of THE Corpse Hierophant and others had become ashen and horrified as they looked at this eerie scene of power. Their earlier glee at watching Achilles face The Groundskeeper had transformed into terror that made their previous fear seem mild by comparison.
If he could do that to a Fundamental Depth entity...
What could he do to them?!
Even THE Endless Dream had a gaze of incredulity and disbelief as she looked over from the distant position she shared with Rose. Her silver-gold features held shock that she couldn’t suppress despite her ancient nature.
The only person looking at this as if it was expected was none other than the calm Rose.
Her obsidian eyes held expression of pity as she spoke softly.
"Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust."
Because even she felt that it was a shame that The Groundskeeper had to die.
But he had attacked her Little Fatty with intent to kill.
And that was something that could not be forgiven!
At the center of all of this, the figure of Achilles looked at the area where The Groundskeeper had disappeared. With a simple tap, he had Assimilated this entire being through Defined and Undefined Assimilation.
He had understood The Groundskeeper’s scope and nature and boundaries.
And understanding was all he needed to consume, regardless of power.
It literally was not that long ago when he had first met this being. Even the idea of trying to Assimilate The Groundskeeper had allowed him to feel a sense of death, his instincts screaming that such an attempt would result in his own immediate collapse.
But now, all he felt was a bitter taste in his mouth as everything that represented The Groundskeeper was becoming integrated into his Existence. Memories and authority and Depth...all of it flowing into his foundations.
But as all of this happened, he found himself thinking and asking a question that seemed almost absurd given what had just occurred.
Was this... the hardship and adversity that Existence had promised with the spread of Chaos?
Because... it really was not much.
---
Existence was vast and unfathomable, with the large percentage of it actually being unknown and not even visited by the most powerful existences. Especially because this Observable Existence was a stunted Observable Existence where advancement had been crippled and exploration had been limited.
But at this moment it was stunted no longer.
The last aspect of the Oldest Paradox of Existence permeated all around, Chaos spreading through regions that had never known its touch since the moments of differentiation. And in this permeation, in this moment of utter change and wonder, something occurred between that which was Observable and Unobservable.
Normally, it was nearly impossible for something differently defined or undefined to chance upon the unique differentiation and frequency of a unique Observable Existence. The barriers between what was Observable and what was not had been established since before differentiation itself, and those barriers had held for eons without meaningful breach as it was truly an absolute impossibility for something foreign to slip in.
Normally.
But things were not normal for an Observable Existence that didn’t have Chaos widespread and was now suddenly saturated with it. The sudden influx of Civilizational Authority created fluctuations in the barriers that separated Observable and Unobservable. The rules that had governed interaction between Observable and Unobservable shifted as Chaos introduced possibility where certainty had once reigned.
BOOM!
Between the gaps of differentiation and Undifferentiation, between the gaps of what was Observable and Unobservable, something managed to slip in at this moment because of the unfolding changes and eruption of Chaos.
A large crack formed between the gaps of what was defined and undefined.
It was a crack that promised immeasurable hardship!
A stunted Observable Existence had finally gotten back on track.
And the track led toward challenges and terrifying adversity!
