Will of chaos-Chapter 1654: Cap 1652: Ship of Theseus Paradox

Pov Tarzor:

I stand in Zenos’ shadow watching the explosions, energy beams and silhouettes seen across the sky, my senses were now being more strongly restricted by having interfered more directly with this universe, he noticed my presence more strongly.

"(I should have waited longer...)" (me)

"Can’t you at least do it one more time?" (Freya)

"No, if the rejection of this universe increases more than this, then we may be sent out of the universe with Zenos being dragged along." (me)

"I’m not as restricted as you, I can see what’s happening out there and the situation isn’t good at all." (Freya)

"They can’t hold much longer." (Freya)

"I know, but my claws are tied." (me)

I was in doubt about what to do next, but there was nothing left but to wait, the magic circles inside me had already been used, leaving nothing else for me to use.

I could use my skills, techniques and magic once if necessary, but I was afraid of affecting this universe too much and being expelled anyway, taking Zenos with me, putting us in a difficult situation.

"Stop worrying so much, it’s been a while, Zenos shouldn’t take much longer to finish." (Freya)

"They’re barely able to hold off the Anomalous Dragons, they’re clearly stronger individually and know how to coordinate with each other, if it weren’t for Akatosh and the woman called Lolth, we would have already lost." (me)

In the distance it was easy to see the two great Dragons fighting, even though they were far from the planet their colossal size was apparent and their enemies were not weak at the same time that they were also in greater numbers, the two are clearly also facing difficult times.

"Zenos, you need to wake up now!" (me)

I look at Zenos, the magic in his clothes and the Power of Reality that I am using around him are vibrating trying to protect him from the universe that has increased its resistance against us, but his Aura is also in turbulence all the time.

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Pov Zenos:

When I opened my eyes I was in the middle of a strange place, it took me a while to understand what was around me, it was a place with many columns made of metal covered in diagrams that I don’t understand and there was no ceiling, above there was only a sky covered in cracks where masses of energy seemed to flow like multicolored rivers in the sky.

This space had a floor made of metal as well as the columns around it, the floor had diagrams that resembled magic circles arranged as if it were some kind of circuit board.

There were also cylinder-like glass chambers in various places filled with masses of energy, there were crystal spheres floating above empty wells and in one place right in the middle of it all, there was a sphere of liquid metal that moved as if there was something inside it trying to break free, a strange Aura emerging from its interior to the point that I understood exactly what it was and at the same time understood what this entire space was.

"Anomalous Power... this is the place that represents its core." (me)

"You really are a thorn in my side." (Arsan)

"Are you Arsan...?" (me)

The one who approached me was a human, his skin was pale white to the point that I wasn’t sure if he had ever felt the sun beating down on his body.

His entire body was thin, his hair was disheveled reaching his shoulders and with an uncut brown beard like his hair, his eyes were slightly greenish while a scar runs down the side of his face down his throat to lower, his clothes almost look like those of a scientist, normal clothes of dark long pants, black shoes and a beige shirt with a long white coat going almost to the floor.

His appearance vaguely matches the humanoid form I saw on top of the ruined buildings earlier, I would have a hard time associating this person with Arsan if this wasn’t his Soul.

"No more resistance?" (me)

"There’s no need, there’s nothing more you can do against me." (Arsan)

"..." (me)

I felt the certainty in his statement and looked around, I tried to corrupt this place, but I wasn’t able to, it wasn’t a question of power, Will or anything like that, it was a simple impossibility, this place was already in constant change, this was no longer just his Soul, this place was at the center of his Soul and I finally understood where I was.

"I see... this place is your existence, the spark that represents your whole contained within your Soul." (me)

"Yes, you can’t do anything here, not even you as the Bringer of Chaos can transform something that is perpetually in a state of transformation." (Arsan)

I understand this, I have learned many things to date and I understand a little more about Souls than most, mainly through the study of my own Soul.

Unlike the Soul itself, which serves as a container, existence is something in constant change, simply by existing it is already changing and when it stops changing it is because it no longer exists, that is, it has been destroyed or consumed by something.

It exists or it does not exist, as long as it exists it will always be in infinite change, this is the core of each existence.

"If that is true, then there was no reason for you to be so against my progress thus far." (me)

"Just having you inside my Soul is already an insult to everything I am, having you here is humiliating to say the least." (Arsan)

"You seem very calm for someone humiliated." (me)

Something was wrong, he was very calm and it did not seem like what I expected, something was definitely wrong.

I looked around and noticed something, besides what was clearly his Anomalous core, there was nothing that seemed like his Existence other than...

"You are not him... who are you?" (me)

"I am Arsan, there is no mistake here." (Arsan)

"No, you are different, your presence and even your personality are different." (me)

"..." (Arsan)

He smiles as if I had told a joke, but I knew he was right, his presence is similar, but clearly different, there was no primal hunger or the ever-present murderous intent that I felt before with Arsan, he was calm and his eyes were focused as if trying to understand me, these are the eyes of a scholar who always seeks to understand everything within his reach, I have seen many like this in my old life as well as in this life.

These are not the eyes of the ancient hunter who sees himself at the top of the food chain, there are many small inconsistencies that I can only notice because I have traveled through his Soul, but I am certain that he is not Arsan.

"Who are you and where are we!?" (me)

"I told you, I am Arsan and this is the place of my central existence, that was not a lie." (Arsan)

"..." (me)

I look around, but I can’t see where the representation of his Existence would be, I also couldn’t corrupt anything here no matter how much I kept trying.

"I am existence itself, you don’t have to look too hard, no matter how much it is constantly changing the base is always the same." (Arsan)

"Perhaps it would be better to say that I am the core of Arsan and the only constant left of him." (Arsan)

"What are you saying?" (me)

"Do you know the concept of changing something so much until nothing of the original is left?" (Arsan)

"For example, a house made of bricks, if I keep changing all the bricks in the house, one at a time over days, weeks, months and years until not a single brick remains of the original house, it still looks the same, it’s in the same place and it feels exactly the same, but it’s still the same house?" (Arsan)

"..." (me)

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"The paradox of the ship of Theseus..." (me)

"Ohh... you understand what a Paradox is..." (Arsan)

"Yes, a Paradox, something that doesn’t look different and yet is different." (Arsan)

"You’ve seen my Soul this far, so you must understand." (Arsan)

"..." (me)

I remember what I saw until I got here, Arsan’s Soul is powerful, abnormally powerful to the point that if it weren’t for my Will it would be impossible for this plan to work since my Soul is much weaker than his.

But I also saw it, his Soul is in constant decay, his power destroys his soul and he uses the Souls of those he consumed to heal his Soul, a constant state of destruction and healing.

If this continued throughout his life, then by now there would be nothing left of the original Soul, but if there was nothing left of his Soul, then this one in front of me.

"I see, you are the original." (me)

"Not exactly, I am also him, as I said before, I am constantly changing, but I do not stop being what I once was, but my Soul has already discarded everything it was until only the Hunter you face now remains." (Arsan)

"That’s why he wanted to stop me, he didn’t want me to see you." (me)

"No, he didn’t want to admit his own weakness, as I said before, it is humiliating that you are here." (Arsan)

"But I am grateful, because you are here I have the ability to express myself in a different way by the counterpoint of having a second entity in contact." (Arsan)

"Speaking, communicating, moving, are concepts that exist here only while you are here, this and the other spaces are created as representations by your presence, when you leave they will cease to exist again just as I will return only to exist." (Arsan)

"You want something." (me)

"Yes, I do, but you have already accomplished it." (Arsan)

He points upwards, the crack in the sky emits a presence different from his, that was not Arsan, that was something else.

"My self lost the true key, but now it has achieved it thanks to you, unfortunately your goal of controlling me would never succeed." (Arsan)

"I do not obey anyone!" (Arsan)