Chapter 478: The Source of Creation
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'The future has changed once again,' Neji thought as he shot across the sky, running from a woman who had been chasing him for the last few days.
When he received the Level 10,000 quest, it mentioned the Northern Demon King, which meant he should have been alive till that time. But, now, he was dead.
'Is this a change big enough to matter?' he wondered even as his speed increased.
"Hey, slow down!"
He decided to discard these thoughts and focus on running. The voice that called for his name sped up too, grunting slightly.
Activating his Jogan, he saw his pursuer one more time.
It was an alien woman of a dark purple, humanoid shape. She was a being made out of pure mana and from her head, radiated a stream of glowing bright pink energy which resembled hair. She didn't have any externally visible ears, nose, or lips, nor did she wear any clothing. She only had two sharp white spots in place of her eyes.
[Anodi the 27th – Anodite – Peak Class 4]
Yeah, he wasn't going to hear her out.
She had approached him out of nowhere when he was eating noodles in a higher-realm cultivation world. She said his name, "Prima", even though he was wearing a disguise, and asked him to come with her for a talk.
Neji fled the scene instead.
He didn't know anyone here to make them approach him, not out of goodwill anyway. He had killed many strong beings in the last year, so he had only made enemies out of those being's family and friends.
Although he didn't remember picking a fight with anyone of her kind, he couldn't take the risk.
"Ugh, dammit," she yelled as she closed up the gap. "What is up with those wings of yours, they're too fast!"
Indeed he was fast, each clap of his wings took him through a dozen universes. His surroundings were a blur of light, with the only company being the alien behind him.
His stats were all-time high, as he stood at Level 25,690 now. Along with that, all his Voidmancer and Lumpmancer powers have increased too. Although the number of skills hasn't increased, their powers sure have.
He had also never stopped earning small or big Divinities every 500 Levels, so he had been growing stronger by a lot.
"Haah, I was told to not reveal this unless necessary, but," she was panting now. Neji himself wasn't in very good shape, but he was surely faster than her — at least now that he had spammed Boost a lot of times. "The Godmother sent me! I'm here to help! Slow down and let me help you, dammit!"
Neji stopped in his tracks, turning to her, as she crashed into his chest.
Normally, a collision at this speed would leave nearby universes exploding, but the "range" of his Nigh Omnipotence had been going up all this time. So he stopped the aftermath with a thought.
Neji grabbed her by the shoulders, not threateningly, and looked into her pure white eyes. She was quite small, about 5", so he looked like a bear holding her. [Are you sure you're not lying?]
"Y-yes?" The woman cleared her throat, withdrawing her face backward as he was too close. "First, let me go. Tell me where you want to go, and I'll take you there."
* * *
Although Neji already knew her name thanks to Observe, she had the courtesy to introduce her anyway. Anodi the 27th, the number part of her name was thanks to her royal heritage, as she let Neji know.
She's the Queen of Anodites, she claimed at least, and despite being one of the oldest races in the Omniverse, she was only the 27th ruler. The Anodites were a race of powerful immortal beings, so there was rarely a need to change rulers.
Their ruling system was flexible too, they didn't follow the idea of a kingdom in the traditional sense. They were beings of pure energy, Mana, who didn't need anything to stay alive. The casual kingdom systems were of no use to them. So as the Queen, she barely had any responsibilities and could come out anytime like this.
"Yes, that's Planet Anodyne," she said as she pointed at a red planet the size of a few standard universes together. "Nothing but my fancy little prison."
Responsibilities. While she had almost none of them, there was one prominent one. The Queen was to remain within the planet all the time, to keep it safe. For the ruler of a race of beings dubbed to be "Free", it was a big curse. Anodi hated it.
"Thanks to you, I finally got a chance to come out," she said. "You really must be something since Mother called for me just to guide you. Then again, it's not as if the place you're going to is very safe."
They've been traveling for a month now, and only now did they reach Anodyne. The Omniverse was big, it took time to move around for beings who weren't the highest of the food chain.
Plus, it was already two months since the war between the two Omniverses, and the local transportations were slowed down for the sake of the war. In the last month of the traveling, Neji and his escort had come across some big fights themselves, some of which Neji avoided, and some of which he slipped in to devour rewards.
Finally, they were close to the Temple. She had said that it was near her home planet, so it couldn't be that far.
[When's the last time you were out?] Neji asked.
"I don't know, a few dozen million years ago?" she said and he almost choked. "Yep, before Mother got bored of ruling and passed me the Queendom."
[Damn,] he rubbed the back of his head, [You're kinda short for human standards and also talk casually, so I thought you'd be younger. Do you have children? If so, how many?]
"Well, we rarely reproduce," she said with a shrug. With the conversation ongoing, they began to move once more, blurring past stars as he followed behind her. "For example, unlike you, I lack flesh, so I lack the lust your kind have. I'm bored enough as it is managing the Queendom, I can't be bothered to have children. Anyways, let's quicken the pace."
She sped up, and Neji followed.
He wondered… had he met her in the First Possibility? How would things have gone between him and her in that possible variation? He had never heard about her in his life before returning to the past, so that made him wonder—in the first possibility, had she just returned to her planet after helping him reach the Temple? Or did they share any intimacy? If so… why didn't he hear about her in the future? Did she die? Or what happened?
This wasn't the first time Neji had these types of thoughts, and she wasn't the first person he had them toward. He wondered each time he came across someone for a prolonged period of time. Just what were the changes he was making?
"You know, for someone who is beyond the 5th Dimension, you act a lot like a 3D creature," the girl flying in front of him said suddenly, her head facing ahead. "Not that I can read your mind. It's as if you've been a 3D creature until recently, eh? I told you how old I am, but what about you?"
[Seventeen human years,] he said without a beat and she almost stumbled in the air. [Surprising?]
"For your strength, and implied history as a previously 3rd-dimensional creature, yes," she nodded, staring at him for a few long seconds before facing ahead again. "I can't imagine any route to grow this strong in such a short time. Now it explains why Godmother wanted me to help you."
[What dimensional entity are you?] Neji asked, mostly to make conversation.
"6th," she said, and before Neji could ask, she explained further, "I should be almost Nigh-Omnipotent relative to you. Allow me to explain since you were a 3D entity not long ago. Something that's endless in one dimension can be less than endless in a higher one. For example, a Menger Sponge has infinite surface area but it only matters in a world of less than three dimensions. In the three-dimensional world of reality, it has zero mass. Not only is it not endless, it doesn't even exist."
[Um…]
"In a more layman's term, people who are classified as 'Nigh-Omnipotent' in relation to a human mortal world are considered 4th Dimensional entities. But those who can be classified as 'Omnipotent' in relation to the same mortal worlds, are considered 5th Dimensional entities." she said, "Beyond the 5th, it's a little complicated."
"For example, what if you were to compare two 5D entities? It'd be like comparing two 3D entities, two human boxers for example, except on a larger scale. This is why no definite 'Omnipotence' exists. Everything is about relativity," she said, "Relative to a 5D being, 6D beings are Omnipotent Gods. Likewise, as a being grows higher in dimensional scale relative to lower dimensional beings, they are considered 'more' Omnipotent, more 'Infinite'. As I said, all is about relativity."
[So that means I have zero chance of defeating you if we were to clash?] he asked with a frown, making her shrug.
"Well, no. The dimensional scale only works in theory, for the most part. Like how you managed to outspeed me when you were fleeing. If you were to bring a power like Toon Force, a 2-dimensional power, against someone of a higher dimension, you might win against them. It all depends on your powers, your natural state of existence isn't the final nail."
[Interesting.]
"I hope it is," she laughed. "We are close." As she said that, Neji realized the trail of light around them was growing weaker. As he traveled at a speed far beyond light behind her, the blur of universes around them began to die out.
A few minutes later, they were flying in complete darkness. [Is this… the void?]
"The pure part of it, yes," she nodded, finally stopping the flight, as did he. Her answer meant 'no' to Neji – he supposed, instead of the literal void, this must be like the gap between two galaxies. It was still 'void' but it wasn't outside the universe, this was the same.
She added, knocking a finger on the darkness in front of her, "We're currently outside all Hyperverses, if you force your eyes open, you could catch a few of their lights around us. Currently, we're floating in the Omniverse in its truest sense."
Neji said, "Boost," and focused on his Jogan. It was apparently just that one boost away from being able to see, as colors that couldn't be described by his vocabulary met his gaze. Swirling hyperverses floated in the darkness, far from each other, just like galaxies within a universe, except on a far, far larger scale.
"Oh, you can see now," she said, and looking at her, he saw the colorless wall in front of her. No, he couldn't 'see' it, he just knew there was something there.
"Normally, you'd need the Map of Infinity to unlock this door," she said, facing the wall as she spread her arms. "Luckily, you have me. Brilliant Mana Supernova."
She widened her mouth, letting out a charring breath of big-bang out of her mouth, as it rushed into the gate. An explosion of a million colors happened, and not even a nano-second passed, and Neji's surroundings changed.
The black void turned white, all the hyperverses vanished, and he was alone for a moment. Before the white bloomed to reveal a new space, with Anodi beside him.
Neji felt his mouth agape in the face of this realm untouched by the confines of earthly imagination, in front of this otherworldly spectacle. His surroundings were a canvas of cosmic artistry, where the rules of physics seemed to bend in reverence to the grandeur of creation.
Above, below, and all around him, in dimensions humans couldn't perceive, stars were not mere points of light but luminescent orbs, pulsating with life and energy. They ranged in color from the deepest blues to fiery reds, each a sun to worlds unseen, their light painting the previous void with a spectral radiance.
Nebulas, those great nurseries of stars, swirled in patterns of indigo and crimson, gold and emerald, like cosmic whirlpools of dust and gas. These celestial tapestries were in constant, slow motion, evolving and shifting in an eternal dance of creation. The light from newborn stars within them cast a heavenly glow, illuminating their surroundings with a surreal, dreamlike quality.
But all of those felt pale before the embodiments of existence, of the omniverse. Amidst this celestial majesty floated the [Celestialsapiens], beings of such power and mystery that their presence seemed almost a natural part of this cosmic realm.
They were ethereal entities, their bodies resembling the night sky – a dark canvas dotted with stars. Although their forms were humanoid, it was on a scale that defied comprehension, floating through the cosmos with a grace that belied their size as they stood with their hands spread.
Their eyes, glowing white like emerald beacons, shone with the wisdom of eons. As they drifted through the majestic space, they seemed to be in communion with the known omniverse itself.
[The Will of the Omniverse is looking at you.]
From a cosmic hut floating in the far distance, a single, familiar gaze watched him. He was at its home, after all.
"Welcome," Anodite turned to face him, smiling, "To the Forge of Creation, in the center of our Cube Omniverse."
The source of the Omniverse's greatest power, where ideas become real, and where dreams are realized. The Temple of Equilibrium was right ahead.
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