I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 644: True Hardship II

The scene was a surreal one.

And as Achilles looked at them and heard their conversation, the reality became clear.

Their words spoke of discovery and opportunity, of finding something undeveloped and vulnerable that they could exploit for their own advancement.

The only major change recently was his action and Rose’s action of allowing Chaos to spread freely across Observable Existence.

"..."

A choice that when he made it, he could have never foreseen it leading to this.

How could it have possibly led to this? How could he have even known that releasing Primordial Chaos would do this? How could anyone have predicted that Entities from beyond their Existence would slip through those cracks at the exact moment of their greatest vulnerability?

His heart felt heavy in his chest, the weight settling behind his sternum where his Inner Dominion now resided. He continued looking up at these terrifying beings as they stopped conversing amongst themselves and turned their attention downward.

They looked at him and THE Resplendent Paradox with gazes that held mild curiosity at best. They even glanced at the distant Rose, noting her presence with the same disinterested assessment one might give to insects that had wandered into view.

From among them, a woman floated forward as the radiance on her body took center of attention.

She was adorned in the same obsidian garments as the others, broken chains dangling from wrists that had clearly known imprisonment for eons. Her figure was curvaceous and grand, the kind of form that should have commanded admiration from any who beheld it.

But her face.

Her features held a quality that was difficult to look upon for extended periods. Her hair was unkempt and wild, strands jutting in directions that suggested she had never once considered tending to it. Her eyes sat too close together above a nose that seemed uncertain which direction it wished to point. Her mouth curled in ways that made every expression she wore look like a sneer even when she might have intended otherwise. Her chin jutted forward with unfortunate prominence that drew attention to teeth that were slightly too large for her mouth.

Such a being looked at them with authority that her appearance could not diminish.

"Stand tall and grand, you meek Civilizations of Existence."

Her voice carried weight that pressed against Achilles’s transformed body, each word landing like physical impact against his chest.

"Finally, for once in existence, you have been fortunate enough that you will be guided and led by those who are truly grand. You will know what it means to advance under proper cultivation rather than floundering in this stunted waste you call reality."

She gestured toward Achilles and THE Resplendent Paradox with motion that somehow managed to be both dismissive and commanding.

"You seem to be the most powerful from among those within this Observable Existence. Pitiful as that distinction may be, it grants you purpose. You shall act to guide the others, to gather the Civilizations of this place and bring them to heel before the one who will lead this Existence to prosper and glory."

Her too-large teeth showed in smile that held no warmth.

"You will gather yourselves within the next hour and present yourself to these coordinates to pay your respects. To the one who will show you just what a Civilization means. With him, you shall climb the Vakochev Scales of Existence and stand a chance at true brilliance."

Her voice rose with fervor that bordered on religious ecstasy.

"Rejoice. Haha... rejoice! For immensity has arrived! The Master has arrived, and he awaits your respect!"

BOOM!

Every word from her felt like a hammer banging on their very Existence, pressure settling into bones and organs that shouldn’t have been affected by mere speech. Things truly went from bad to worse with each revelation!

Based on her words, they learned even more information.

These Absolutes before them actually followed someone.

Can you imagine such a thing?

Absolutes were supposed to be the grandest beings at THE Civilizational Scale of Existence. The pinnacle that all advancement aspired toward.

And if these powerful beings followed another, just how ridiculous was their situation? And they were being told to go and pay obeisance toward this unknown master?

Just hearing these words caused the faces of Achilles and Rose and THE Resplendent Paradox to shine with the light of defiance. Whether it was hidden behind careful neutrality or shown through clenched jaws and narrowed eyes, none of them accepted what was being demanded of them.

And because they all silently looked up without immediately prostrating themselves in gratitude...

The ugly Absolute who had been speaking looked at them and smiled dangerously.

The expression made her unfortunate features twist into something even more difficult to observe. Her eyes glittered with light that held memories of pain both received and inflicted.

"Defiance."

She spoke the word as if tasting something familiar on her tongue.

"I see it in your eyes. In the tension of your shoulders. In the way your hands curl into fists at your sides while you try to hide the motion. I know defiance intimately, you see. I am THE Unyielding Tempest, Embodiment of Storms That Cannot Be Contained. My entire Civilization was built upon the principle of refusing to bow before anything or anyone."

She floated closer, her presence pressing against them with weight that made Achilles’s Inner Dominion buzz in response.

"Multiple times in my existence, I stood defiant in the face of absolute power. When the Master first came to me, I refused to kneel. When he demanded tribute, I laughed in his face. When he suggested that I gather my Civilization and present them for his inspection, I told him exactly where he could place his suggestions."

Her smile faded into something colder.

"And in my defiance, I was taught a lesson that I will now share with you freely so that you do not have to learn it as I did."

She raised her chained hands, the broken clasps catching what little light remained in this devastated region of Tian.

"I was forced to go to all my progeny. All my lineage. Everyone who shared my blood across the countless generations I had produced in my billions of years of existence. To show the proper respect that I had refused to give, I had to shatter their existence with my own hands."

Her voice dropped to something approaching a whisper, but it carried across the expanse with perfect clarity.

"Dozens of my direct lineage that I had known for millions of years. I watched their faces as I collapsed their Civilizations personally. Thousands of extended family who bore my name and my authority. I felt their existences crumble between my fingers as they begged me to stop. Millions and trillions of those within my Transcendent Discfolds, the domains I had watched and nurtured across eons of careful cultivation. All of them."

Her eyes held something that might have been grief if it hadn’t been buried so deep beneath acceptance.

"To bend the knee, I had to individually collapse every single one and observe as their existence became extinguished. I learned to obey after that. I still remember their faces. I still hear their voices when the silence grows too heavy. But I paid the price because I was weak and stupid. Because I believed that defiance meant strength when in truth it only meant suffering for those I claimed to protect."

She looked directly at Achilles with gaze that held warning rather than threat.

"So I advise you all. Do not be weak and stupid like me. Learn from my mistakes and be better. Swallow your pride now while it costs you nothing but dignity. Because the Master is not a compassionate one. He does not give second chances. He does not accept excuses or explanations or promises to do better."

Her hand extended as a bundle of light formed before her, pulsing with coordinates that mapped to somewhere within their Observable Existence.

"One hour. Gather all the existences that have stepped on THE Civilizational Scale. Bring them to these coordinates."

BOOM!

The bundle of light split into three parts that pushed toward Achilles and Rose and THE Resplendent Paradox with force that could not be refused. The coordinates settled into their consciousness with weight that felt like chains being clasped around their minds.

They were being told to bend the knee to a foreign entity none of them knew.

A being so powerful that Absolutes served him willingly after being taught lessons!

It was a heavy, heavy day!