I Can Assimilate Everything-Chapter 674: Pathways II

There were many pathways of how things could play out.

Achilles had one of them be one where he used the unique capability of his family to Assimilate, to cause the emergence of multiple Primordial Architects. Rose as a Primordial Architect. His Father. His Grandfather. All the Adrastia Emperor Kings dwelling within his Inner Dominion.

If he could form an entire group of Primordial Architects, even THE Prisoner may not be such a big deal.

Well, this was one of the possible pathways anyway.

But currently, in the vibrant First Sea of Tian, Rose had begun...wrestling with him while drinking his blood. One had to enjoy the good things in life, after all.

But just as he was about to really delve into it...

"Hello."

HUUM!

A booming voice erupted far ahead of them, the sound pressing against reality itself with authority unlike anything he had sensed before. His expression became heavy as pleasure dissolved into alertness. He came to float between the direction of that voice and Rose instantly, positioning himself as shield before she could even react.

Behind him, Rose licked his blood from her lips furiously while a fiery green dress adorned her body once more. Chaos flared around her with protective intent that matched his own positioning.

Achilles had a purple-gold robe drape over him as the two of them looked out to see what had interrupted them.

A vibrant platinum singularity floated in the golden waters ahead.

It was surrounded by golden lotus petal discs flowing and contracting around it in patterns that seemed almost meditative. The petals expanded outward before pulling back toward the center, each movement releasing waves of awareness that touched everything within perception. Light bent around the singularity in ways suggesting it existed partially outside conventional space, partially within dimensions that his Architect's Perception struggled to categorize.

This... what was this?

Achilles spread his senses out as a Primordial Architect to try and ascertain what enemy they faced. His perception reached toward the singularity with analytical precision, seeking any information that could help him understand what stood before them.

"I...have been watching countless things across Observable Existence."

The voice emerged from the singularity without mouth or mechanism, consciousness given expression through methods predating speech itself.

"I am THE Watcher, and it is in my nature to observe the weavings of time. Those who live and die. The rise and fall of Civilizations. Even this invasion, I was simply going to watch what the result would be without interfering."

The golden lotus petals contracted closer to the platinum center.

"But it seems I can no longer do that. So now, I go against my nature of merely being an observer to reach out to you."

...!

Achilles looked ahead in astonishment.

What the fuck was this?

His perception finally returned some feedback to him as prompts arose to display just what entity he was looking at.

|Entity: THE Watcher.|

|Classification: Singular Cognizance.|

|Origin: Age of Nothingness, prior to THE First Cause.|

|Nature: Pure awareness crystallized from boundless potential before differentiation and undifferentiation emerged. Exists as observation without complexity, perception without pursuit.|

|Status: Only Singular Cognizance to form within this Observable Existence.|

|Entity predates all known classification systems. Power assessment unreliable.|

Achilles processed this information with mind racing. A being from before THE First Cause. Something that had existed during that age of nothingness when only potential remained, when complexity had not yet learned to emerge.

Behind him, Rose continued to look ahead with frustration and distrust burning in her flaming green eyes. Her Chaos flared with protective aggression that made the surrounding golden waters churn.

Achilles contained himself as he asked the question that demanded asking.

"Why... did you choose to stop being an observer? And why reveal yourself to us?"

The platinum singularity pulsed with light that seemed almost contemplative.

"I have discerned the leading Invader to have grander plans than just the little he has done so far."

THE Watcher's voice carried certainty!

"The Existential Lattice is merely the beginning. The harvesting of resources, the subjugation of our Observable Existence, these are preliminary steps toward something far more ambitious. If my foresight is correct, those plans will change the landscape of Observable Existence entirely."

The golden lotus petals expanded outward.

"If he succeeds, even I may not have the freedom to simply observe. My nature as Watcher would be compromised by changes that affect the very fabric of what can be watched."

The singularity seemed to focus more intently upon them.

"Thus, I now have to do more than watch. I must act to preserve the conditions that allow observation to continue. And apart from THE Resplendent Paradox, who remains trapped within The Existential Lattice, the two of you are ideal in standing a chance against the Invader."

...!

—

<On The Nature of Existence>

Across Existence and Civilizations, few rarely break vows of their nature.

There was a story of an Undivided One who existed for billions of years in perfect rejection of differentiation. He refused to participate in the separation of complexity, refused to acknowledge the distinctions that defined the current age. His nature was absolute non-participation, complete withdrawal from the dance of differentiation and undifferentiation that shaped all other beings.

Then one day, he chose to intervene.

A being he had observed for eons faced destruction at the hands of forces that should have been beneath his notice. For reasons even he could not explain, THE Undivided One reached out and saved this insignificant creature from collapse.

In that single moment of action, he betrayed everything he was.

His existence began unraveling immediately. The foundations that had sustained him across countless ages cracked from the contradiction of an Undivided One choosing to divide his attention, to participate in the outcomes of differentiated existence. He tried to return to his nature of non-participation, but the damage was done.

Within a century, THE Undivided One ceased to exist entirely. Dissolved by internal contradiction. His nature could not survive the betrayal of itself.

This was the truth that governed beings of singular purpose. Singular Cognizances observed. Undivided Ones refused differentiation. Formless Terrors consumed without pattern. These were not choices but definitions, the very essence of what made them what they were.

To act against one's nature was to declare war upon one's own existence.

So when a Singular Cognizance who had done nothing but watch for eons before THE First Cause suddenly chose to reach out and speak to beings of the current age, when THE Watcher abandoned observation for intervention, something had to be profoundly wrong with the fabric of Existence itself.

Things had to be really, really bad.