Beast-Tamer: Limitless Evolution-Chapter 218: The Inconsistency of His Existence

The Inconsistency of His Existence

On the way back, everything was mostly silent. Osho had Gale back on his lap, and the bird relaxed in his grasp as Osho idly stroked his feathers.

After a while, though, Osho addressed Gale through their bond.

’What did you notice?’

When Belle brought out the map piece (he decided to call it a piece as he couldn’t fathom paper being called a fragment), he noticed that Gale had a strange reaction through their bond.

If there was one thing Osho had come to learn after his recent endeavors in making the bird stronger, it was that he shouldn’t doubt his eyesight no matter what, as Gale’s perception was simply uncanny now.

Gale was silent for a moment, then he spoke.

’That thing. It’s heavy.’ Hearing this, Osho frowned behind his mask briefly before he relaxed. He was about to ask how that made sense, seeing as he carried it with no difficulty.

However, he remembered that it was a unique item, and the weight Gale referred to was probably more metaphorical.

’No, more conceptual.’ Gale read his thoughts and shook his head. This made Osho raise a brow.

’Could you elaborate?’

’Well, how do I put this?’ Gale tilted his head.

’Okay, you know how sometimes, air pressure is different, making some pockets of air heavier and others lighter? Well, it’s sort of like that. If the surrounding concepts are a flat piece of paper, then this thing is like a heavy ball making it bend inward.’ Osho blinked. There was probably a more important question to be drawn from that statement, but he asked the first thing that came to mind.

’You can see concepts?’ Osho asked incredulously.

’Eh. Not quite. More like I can see the space they occupy. I think you said something similar works with black holes or whatever. You can’t actually see them, but you know they are there due to their surroundings. It’s like that with concepts. To me, anyway.’ Gale shrugged, as if being able to perceive the things that acted as the world’s foundation wasn’t much to write home about.

Osho was about to make a snarky comment, but he caught himself.

’... So what’s the significance?’ He asked curiously.

’No clue. What I do know is that the concepts behind the paper are far more complex than they have any right to be.’ Gale explained.

’So it’s multiple concepts?’

’That or one incredibly complex one.’ Gale shrugged.

’... I’m not at any risk or anything, right?’ Osho asked, suddenly a bit worried.

If he were being honest, his comprehension of concepts was okay at best and sad at worst.

It couldn’t be helped, people only started to properly comprehend concepts after they reached the Elite Rank, which is when their will could affect the world around them, and for that to happen, they needed to understand the concepts that made up the world around them, but being Eliye also allowed them to do it with far more ease than someone at Osho’s rank.

Gale was just a monster in that regard. If he could see, or at least perceive concepts, there was a chance that he could interact with them as well. Not that he hadn’t been doing that for a while now.

However, when Gale heard Osho’s question, the bird couldn’t help but snort audibly, making the taxi driver briefly glance back at them before refocusing on his task.

’Funny. That’s like saying a worrying a cloud could affect the sky.’ This made Osho blink.

’What does that mean?’

Gale tilted his head back and looked up at Osho.

’It means that if I were to compare the two of you, it’d be like comparing a cloud with the sky.’ Osho’s eyes twitched.

’Why?’ He pressed.

’Because that’s what you are compared to it.’ Gale seemed to struggle to find the right words for a moment.

’I said the map is heavy in a conceptual sense. In your case, the idea of weight simply doesn’t apply to you. You don’t just press down the surrounding concepts, they actively avoid you.’ This alarmed Osho.

’So... what? I can’t use concepts?’ He asked carefully, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

’No,’ Gale shook his head. ’It’s more like... the concepts... ugh, this is hard to explain.’ Gale huffed and flicked one wing with irritation.

’Okay, so you know how concepts make up the structure of the world? Things like heat, gravity, life, death, time, space, all that?’

’Yeah?’ Osho nodded. This was basic information.

’Great. Now, imagine all of them like the threads in a giant... web.’ He said carefully.

’I thought you likened them to a flat plain, though.’ Osho pointed out.

’I’m trying my best, okay?!’ The bird snapped before taking a breath.

’Just... bear with me. Everything is tangled up in that web somehow. Humans, beasts, the air, water, affinities, everything. But when I look at you...’Gale trailed off and tilted his head, his feathers puffing up slightly.

’You’re not tangled. The web doesn’t even touch you. When they move, the move around you. Like... a human shaped hole in a grand tapestry.’

Osho frowned at this. ’A hole, huh?’

’Yeah. It’s like the world recognizes that you’re there, it just... perhaps it simply refuses to define you,’ Gake explained thoughtfully, like he was discovering what he meant as he went. ’It’s not that you can’t use concepts. If that were the case, I don’t think you’d exist, literally. It’s more like they don’t own you. Creatures with will borrows power from them. Heck, even weaker creatures use them unknowingly.

All creatures use the concept of motion to move, the concept of perception to perceive something, and so on. But they are also bound by them, which is why they cannot perceive or manipulate them until much later, and that’s also why they can easily be affected by concepts. In a sense, the concepts are the framework, and most things are within them. But you? They seem to avoid binding you altogether.’

Osho didn’t feel any better from hearing that.

’But if I’m not bound by them, how can I still use them? From what you said, everyone uses concepts unconsciously in their everyday actions. I’m probably using the concept of communication, or something like that, to speak with you right now. Moreover, while I’m not bad, I sure as hell can still get injured if I’m not careful. So if I’m as anomalous as you are implying, why do I still play by the rules?’

Gale fell silent at that.

’... I suspect that it has something to do with your ability... Yeah, that must be it.’ The bird nodded to itself, as though confirming something he had been suspecting for a while.

’... How so?’ Osho narrowed his eyes, but he wasn’t particularly surprised. He already knew that this whole thing was due to his ability. The blood creature in that egg confirmed that.

Still, Osho lacked a lot of knowledge about how his ability worked. Sure, he now knew that it delved into the territory of rewriting the source codes of creatures to alter them, but...

’Wait, is that it?’ He blinked as a thought struck him.

’That’s what I was thinking, yeah,’ Gale nodded slightly. ’Whenever you evolve a beat or its egg, or mess with those conduits you talk about, the webs react.’ Osho raised a brow.

’How?’

’It sort of... gives way. Like it’s making room for whatever it is you’re doing,’ Gale explained, and the way he said it made it sound like he was coming to these conclusions in real time. ’I dont think the webs like... hate you or anything. It’s more like it just recognizes what you’re doing and kinda... let’s you pass through? Like you’re overriding some system or whatever.’

’Override?’ Osho resisted the urge to shake his head. ’That’s like saying I’m rewriting the webs themselves.’

’Not rewriting,’ Gale struggled to explain. ’More like... you’re working outside of it? Like I said, everything is bound by the threads that make up the tapestry. But at the same time, when they make use of their affinities, especially at higher levels, they started to pull at the threads to make them work according to their will. But you? Whenever you work, it’s like you’re reaching behind the weave itself.’ Osho was quiet at that.

It made sense, in a way. After all, if what he did, especially when it came to conduits, was rewriting the source code of a creature and changing the core concepts that defined it, then by all accounts, that held some degree of influence beyond reality, since one couldn’t affect things on such a level while still being bound by it.

’But it still doesn’t explain everything.’ Gale said, his face scrunched up. Osho perked up at that.

’Why not?’

’You’re still in the world. You walk, you breathe, you bleed, you peak to me, you obey gravity, you use Mana. So you aren’t fully separate from the web, more like... one leg in and one leg out. When you do your work, the web moves around you because it acknowledges that you are operating from a place you technically should be able to access. But outside of that? You’re still bound by it. That’s why you can still be hurt and possibly killed.’

’I see.’ Osho relaxed slightly.

He didn’t know why, but that made him feel a bit better.

It sounded dumb... but he wasnt sure he was ready to face the full extent of whatever it meant to fully exist outside of the framework of concepts.

’One thing at a time.’ He sighed, which was convenient, as the taxi arrived at his destination.