Luchel remained in a meditative state for an unknown number of years. The duration was impossible to gauge—no one could tell whether it had been long or short. All existence, all universes, and the fundamental charges of reality, everything that depended on the infinite domains of Creation, the Gray Realm, and the Little Gray Realm, had been utterly destroyed. In practical terms, nothing remained except Luchel. Even Rachel and Luther, once distinct beings, had effectively ceased to exist. Their controlling consciousnesses had merged completely into Luchel, becoming inseparable from its essence.
With nothing left to compare or contrast against, time itself became meaningless. Of course, even before the annihilation of everything, infinities like the Creation had existed outside the bounds of normal temporal dimensions. Thus, in practice, the obliteration of all else didn't fundamentally alter the nature of time. However, this isolation heightened the reality that time, unanchored by the rhythms of the finite, held no relevance.
In any case, if other infinities truly exist, time might still hold sway over them. Therefore, the destruction of all universes, charges of reality, and countless creatures ultimately had no impact on the larger picture. These events, catastrophic from a finite perspective, were insignificant in the vast, timeless expanse of the infinite.
What is life? What are humans, demons, or angels? In the grand scheme of things, these entities are nothing at all. Compared to infinities such as the Creation and the Gray Realm, no individual or group can ever be deemed truly important. A planet's significance to the universe is no greater than that of a microbe to a planet. Whether a microbe lives or dies, the planet remains utterly unaffected. Similarly, people inhabiting that planet may believe their lives, deaths, nations, and conflicts are of great consequence. However, even their entire world, when measured against the greater cosmos, is utterly negligible.
There may have been countless civilizations inhabited by intelligent beings that were wiped out in an instant—by asteroid impacts, pandemics, or other cataclysms. From their perspective, these events were epochal. But from the vantage point of existence itself, such occurrences are mere flickers, insignificant against the backdrop of infinity. Their wars, triumphs, and tragedies might feel monumental to them, but to the larger universe, they are laughably unimportant.
The disparity grows more staggering as we scale upward. A planet compared to the universe is nearly nothing. However, a universe compared to infinity is not merely "nearly" nothing—it is absolutely nothing. In the presence of infinity, everything finite is rendered an illusion, a shadow of something that never truly mattered.
Countless lives were lost due to the universal mergers, and to those individuals, their lives were immeasurably precious. But to Luchel, these lives were like words in forgotten books, scattered and irrelevant. If Luchel were to advance to the fabled rank of 15, it might choose to rebuild existence according to the narratives within those ancient books—or it might decide to create something entirely new. The weight of such decisions rests entirely with Luchel, untethered by the considerations of mortal or even immortal beings.
On a smaller scale, life is indeed invaluable. For individuals, families, and communities, each moment carries immense significance. Yet as one ascends to broader perspectives, the value of individual lives diminishes. Leaders of nations routinely make decisions that result in the deaths of many. Immortals, with lifespans stretching into eternity, scarcely consider mortals in their plans. And Luchel, now a proper quasi-rank-15 entity, stands far beyond such concerns. To Luchel, the lives of mortals—and even immortals—carry no weight in its considerations.
The moment Rachel and Luther decided to merge their beings, they sealed the fate of countless individuals. From the lofty vantage of quasi-rank-15, the highest point attainable short of true invincibility, the lives of mortals and immortals alike were utterly irrelevant. For entities like Rachel, Luther, and now Luchel, existence itself had become a canvas where the fleeting concerns of the finite were no more than strokes in an ever-evolving masterpiece.
...
Years passed—though the concept of "years" was meaningless in the void—and finally, one day, Luchel opened its eyes.
"The Infinity Seed… has been repaired," it thought, its expression as blank and empty as the void surrounding it. As a being forged from the merger of two ancient entities, Rachel and Luther, Luchel lacked all emotion. Despite standing on the precipice of rank 15, a milestone of unimaginable power, it felt no happiness, no excitement, nor any sense of triumph.
"It should mature soon," Luchel mused, its thoughts calm and unhurried. With that conclusion, it closed its eyes once more. There was no purpose in action, no reason to exert effort beyond what was necessary. Simply sitting in the void, waiting for the seed to mature, was the most logical and efficient course. Lacking emotions, Luchel was utterly incapable of boredom or impatience.
...
An unfathomable span of time drifted by. But in the vast nothingness, time itself was an abstraction. Time only carries meaning when anchored by events, changes, or other entities to perceive its flow. For Luchel, the sole surviving being in existence, time was irrelevant. Whether moments passed or stood still made no difference; they were indistinguishable in the void.
Of course, there might still be other infinities—other domains beyond Luchel's comprehension. But if they existed, Luchel neither knew their locations nor had any way to confirm their reality. In essence, their existence or absence was irrelevant. The void held no answers, and Luchel, untouched by curiosity, did not care to seek them.
Eventually, the Infinity Seed completed its maturation. This event marked the culmination of a journey that transcended mortal understanding. The seed, a concept rather than a physical object, bore its fruit. Yet even in its ripened state, there was nothing tangible to see or hold. The fruit of the Infinity Seed was an abstract phenomenon, a reality-defining principle rather than a physical manifestation.
Luchel, unblinking and serene, simply acknowledged the seed's completion with the same detached thoughtfulness it applied to all things. It did not celebrate, for such a response was beyond its nature. The process had succeeded, and that was all.
Luchel gazed at the fruit suspended in the void before it. The fruit, in its current form, resembled an ordinary orange—round, bright, and entirely unremarkable. There was nothing about its appearance to suggest the immense power it contained, nothing to hint at its cosmic significance.
However, the fruit's true nature was formless. The orange was merely a façade, shaped by Luchel's memories. As a fusion of Rachel and Luther, Luchel inherited fragments of their thoughts and pasts. Rachel, when she was human, had been fond of oranges. That preference, buried in her consciousness, had unconsciously influenced the fruit's shape.
Taking the fruit in one hand, Luchel examined it closely. From any perspective, it was an ordinary orange, utterly indistinguishable from the kind found in any mundane market. Had it been presented to a mortal, they would have seen nothing unusual or extraordinary. It was this simplicity that masked its profound nature.
"There should be no problem," Luchel thought. With that, it lifted the orange to its lips and placed it into its mouth. Though the fruit appeared massive, far larger than the mouth consuming it, it slipped inside effortlessly. The moment the orange crossed Luchel's lips, it vanished entirely, dissolving into nothingness.
Instantly, Luchel felt its mind whirl. The sensation was disorienting, as though the entire fabric of reality had shifted. At that moment, the Creation, the Gray Realm, and the Little Gray Realm—all the infinite domains of existence—were obliterated without a trace. Everything dissolved into nothingness. Only Luchel remained.
Closing its eyes, Luchel reached out with its awareness, sensing the boundless domain now under its complete control. The fragmented infinities that once coexisted had unified into a single, ultimate domain. It was flawless, limitless, and absolute, encompassing everything with no gaps or vulnerabilities.
"Rachel's worry was unfounded," Luchel thought. "There is no one else attempting to reach rank 15." With its ascent to this ultimate rank, Luchel had become truly omniscient. Knowledge of all things, spanning infinite pasts and infinite futures, flowed seamlessly into its consciousness. Every secret, every possibility, every truth was now laid bare before it.
Luchel opened its eyes, and the void around it transformed. A blue planet materialized in its view—a world rich with life and beauty. This was Rachel's home planet, the birthplace of the Infinity Seed. The sight stirred a faint echo of recognition from the memories Luchel had absorbed.
"Rachel's home… quite beautiful. This is the origin of the Infinity Seed," it mused silently.
With a blink, the scene shifted again. Now, Luchel stood before a solitary grave. It was a simple site, marked by a weathered stone bearing the picture of an old woman etched onto its surface. This was Rachel's grave, a final resting place far removed from the grandeur of the cosmos she had once influenced.
"Rachel's grave… quite depressing," Luchel thought, the emotionless observation passing through its mind.
The vision changed once more. A rank-10 world now stretched out before Luchel. This was Luther's home, a place vibrant and teeming with life. It was here that Luther had been born, where his journey had begun before he rose to unimaginable heights.
"This is where Luther was born… quite lively," Luchel noted, its thoughts calm and detached.
Another blink, and Luchel stood in front of a sprawling structure—a grand mage academy. The building shimmered with a green hue, marking it as the Green Academy, one of the legendary Seven Color Academies. This academy had been central to Luther's life, the place where he had both lived and died.
"This is the Green Academy… where Luther lived and met his end," Luchel thought, staring at the imposing structure with a distant curiosity.
With another blink, Luchel appeared in front of a grand house. It was the estate of a mortal count, an unassuming place by cosmic standards but of great significance to Luchel. This was where Luther had been born, a simple beginning for a being who would later influence the course of infinity itself.
"So many paradoxes…" Luchel murmured, its voice devoid of emotion. "Luther was born long after Rachel, yet he was the one who sealed her and claimed control of most of the Infinity Seed."
This contradiction was only one of many that had permeated the fabric of the previous reality. The more Luchel contemplated, the more it uncovered layers of inconsistencies, each more baffling than the last. One glaring paradox stood out: Rachel had lived and died entirely on the blue planet. She had never transmigrated to another realm, and yet, she was the one who first obtained the Infinity Seed.
"Rachel lived and died on her home planet," Luchel thought, shaking its head slowly. "And yet, she became the bearer of the Infinity Seed. There is no timeline, no parallel world where she obtained it… and yet, that is what happened."
Luchel sighed, a gesture born more of habit than true emotion. As a being of rank 15, such paradoxes no longer troubled it. They were not accidents or mysteries; they were the consequences of its own existence. Luchel understood the truth with absolute clarity.
"The seed, the Creation, the worlds, all of it… they turned out this way because I wanted them to," Luchel concluded, nodding to itself. As a rank 15 entity, Luchel was the embodiment of past, present, and future. Nothing could ever occur without its will allowing it. Every paradox, every impossibility, every event that seemed inexplicable—each was merely a reflection of Luchel's influence. The moment Luchel broke through to rank 15, it became the ultimate ruler of all that had ever existed or would exist. Logic and rationality no longer applied; such things were beneath its level of being. At rank 15, reality itself bent to Luchel's whims.
"Some changes are long overdue," Luchel thought.
With a single blink, the scene before its eyes shifted. The count's house, the land around it, and the very concept of the past dissolved into nothingness, replaced by something new.