I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 643: True Hardship I

Achilles felt the memories of The Groundskeeper flowing through him like rivers of ancient knowledge seeking new shores.

The history of the Seas of Tian unfolded before his consciousness with clarity that exceeded what he had gleaned from any previous consumption. He saw the information of the Nine Seas across eons beyond counting. He witnessed The Groundskeeper guiding THE entities toward paths they would never have found alone. He observed the careful maintenance of balance that had allowed Tian to function as the sole functioning Primordial Realm in their stunted Observable Existence.

And he saw memories about THE Resplendent Paradox.

He turned his head up in surprise as he looked at this woman who floated above the First Sea with contradictory features that refused to settle into singular configuration.

The memories revealed her history with weight that demanded contemplation.

She had successfully laid a Claim on Paradox itself, becoming the only entity in their Observable Existence to fully embody one of the Four Aspects of the Oldest Paradox. But in doing so, she had gravely injured her Existence. In The Groundskeeper’s memories, she could not maintain a hold on the stage of Absolute, her injury from her Claim to Paradox somehow limiting what she could achieve rather than elevating her to heights beyond measure.

But as he looked at her now, Achilles shook his head internally.

How paradoxical was it to lay a Claim on something and also be greatly limited by this action?

This in itself was paradoxical.

He didn’t think she was wounded at all. The apparent limitation was itself a contradiction, and contradictions were the very essence of what she embodied. She may genuinely possess a body at the level of an Absolute while simultaneously appearing to be restricted to Fundamental Depth.

Paradox claiming Paradox through paradoxical means.

Outside of her, in their Observable Existence, she should actually be the only Absolute. Their Observable Existence was so stunted before the release of Chaos that Achilles affirmed from the memories of The Groundskeeper that truly, only one Absolute existed in their reality.

One.

In an entire Observable Existence that should have birthed hundreds or more across the eons since differentiation.

There were other lifeforms The Groundskeeper had discovered, like the Malformed Collapsed Existences or other entities that possessed malformations or corruptions. It seemed that due to the stunted weavings of Existence before Chaos spread, during the emergence of this Observable Existence, the Primordial Realm Tian had barely managed to form. Other Primordial Realms did not form or were malformed beyond recognition. Any astounding creatures that may have arisen from the wonders and differentiation of the Four Aspects of the Oldest Paradox of Existence never truly came into being.

What a sad thing this was.

An entire Observable Existence crippled before it even had the chance to flourish.

As he thought all of this, Achilles saw THE Resplendent Paradox was about to move. Her lips parted to speak to him, perhaps to comment on what he had just done or admonish or to offer perspective that only someone who had existed since before the Age of Collapse could provide.

But before she could utter a single word...

BOOM!

A terrifying aura crashed down from above with weight that exceeded anything Achilles had ever felt. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Space tore apart as a figure appeared above them, his form radiating authority that made The Groundskeeper’s Fundamental Depth seem insignificant by comparison. His gaze was stern and heavy, and yet he smiled brightly as he looked at all of them with interest that a scholar might show toward particularly fascinating specimens.

He was adorned in obsidian garments that shimmered with light from Shattered Folds, and on his hands and wrists were broken clasps and chains.

The aura he radiated was so terrifying that THE Corpse Hierophant, who had been watching from the far distance with horror at what Achilles had done to The Groundskeeper, had his empty eye sockets roll backward as he lost consciousness entirely. THE Endless Dream, despite her ancient nature and restored Depth, collapsed where she floated as her awareness simply could not withstand the pressure being exerted. THE Slumbering Genesis and THE Sovereign Catalyst and every other Surface Depth entity within perceivable range fell unconscious simultaneously!

Only those Achilles, Rose, and THE Resplendent Paradox remained aware!

And even they struggled.

Achilles became unfathomably serious as genuine shock flooded his transformed features. The memories of The Groundskeeper had just told him there should only be one Absolute in their Existence.

How was there now a second?

He looked over at THE Resplendent Paradox, and even she showed genuine shock and incredulity. Her contradictory features actually settled into singular expression for the first time since her arrival, disbelief that what they were seeing couldn’t possibly be real.

And before they could even do anything, before they could process the impossibility of what had just occurred...

HUUM!

Another aura descended.

Then another.

Then a third.

One after another, three more auras of Absolutes crashed down upon this Sea as beside the first, three other Absolutes appeared with presence that made the golden waters of Abzu evaporate entirely. They all looked adorned in similar obsidian garments, broken clasps and chains on their hands marking them as prisoners who had somehow escaped whatever had contained them.

With the appearance of each one, all those here paled further and further.

Four Absolutes now floated above the First Sea.

Four beings at a stage that their entire Observable Existence had only ever produced one of.

After they arrived, they began talking amongst each other while looking at Achilles and THE Resplendent Paradox as if they were ants worthy of mild curiosity rather than genuine concern.

"Truly, this Observable Existence is empty!"

One of them laughed with voice that shook the foundations of Abzu itself.

"Undeveloped beyond what I thought possible! Barely any Civilizations worth noting!"

Another gestured toward THE Resplendent Paradox with expression of amused interest.

"Even the Keys of Civilizations remain unclaimed in their entirety! Even the Four Aspects of the Oldest Paradox have not been fully taken!"

The first one who had arrived smiled with satisfaction that promised nothing good for anyone present.

"Haha! Existence smiles upon us! Existence smiles upon the master! This is beyond our wildest dreams!"

...!

BOOM!

The moment these words echoed out across the shattered remains of the First Sea, Achilles felt something cold settle into his transformed existence.

Rose’s obsidian features paled.

THE Resplendent Paradox, the only native Absolute of their Observable Existence, looked at the four foreign Absolutes with expression that held genuine fear for the first time in eons.

Things had gone very, very wrong.

Hardship and adversity was finally arriving.

And it was far worse than anything they could have anticipated!