CHAPTER 557: PARADOXICAL EXISTENCE

"Such blatant disregard!!!"

The Primordial Phoenix let out a devastating cry in outrage. A blinding flash of lightning cut across the skies, followed by a loud thunderclap.

"What the hell is their problem?!"

Behind Alexander, Julia and Ross crossed their arms over their faces, seemingly struggling against the speeding winds and raging storm.

Meanwhile, Cassandra remained rooted to her spot. Unlike the two Immortals, she was in a different space and time, her current presence only a put-up front.

"Looks like they don’t take too kindly to feeling disrespected or disregarded." The redhead pointed out the obvious, his eyes glued to the primordials.

A proud smile graced his features when he shifted his gaze to the broad back of his best friend, ’What a journey, Alex. From a nobody to someone standing before primordial entities.’

Putting aside his feelings of inadequacy, Ross understood that Alexander took what was given and made it something greater.

This was a feat no other Veilwalker could replicate, a testament to Alexander’s character and will to overcome the impossible.

"That’s their problem! Why come after Alex?!"

Ross glanced at Julia and inwardly chuckled. ’Still the same as ever, huh?’

"Your actions have left all of reality wounded, and this is what you have to say?!"

The Primordial Leviathan demanded in a heavy tone, his addition making things worse.

Their combined presence and overwhelmingly loud voices wreaked havoc on the very space they created, causing mountains to crumble and bodies of water to vaporise.

"You will put back what you took, child." The Empyrean Primordial added, his divine aura intensifying. "This is not a request."

Silently bearing the bulk of their righteous fury, Alexander looked on. He saw the lingering ache in their existential frameworks and souls, and understood how they felt.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t do that." He stood his ground. "You’ll have to bear with it for a while."

It pained him just as much to see so many lives lost. But what they were asking... no, what they were demanding wouldn’t work.

He had first forced his way back into this reality, reversed all of temporal flow to bring back his universe, and finally claimed said universe.

The consequences were not just from the separation of the universe; it was the culmination of all those actions and the incompleteness of the Omnisoul itself.

Had it only been temporal reversion, things would have been fine, mostly. But that Cosmic Entity had made a move that worsened the Omnisoul’s crippled state.

The Omnisoul and Alexander no longer utilised the same essence. Using his essence to fix what was broken wouldn’t work — the Omnisoul had to do it itself.

BOOM...!!!

The ground beneath Alexander shattered under the tyrannical waves of pressure. And yet, Alexander remained rooted in place, unmoved and unperturbed.

KREE...!!!

ROAR...!!!

The three primordials, however, had had enough. Alexander was going to put that insignificant universe back, whether he liked it or not.

The skies above Alexander collapsed with a deafening boom, parting to unveil the descent of a giant, golden sword radiating divine cleansing light aimed at him.

As the sword cut through the atmosphere at unbelievable speeds, the surrounding space shattered, scattering like broken glass fragments.

Simultaneously, the Primordial Leviathan shot a deadly breath of destructive energies at him, while the Primordial Phoenix flapped its mighty wings, unleashing a wave of golden flames that blanketed the world.

Three attacks from primordial entities that had existed since the beginning of creation were directed at the tiny existence of Alexander.

Compared to the larger-than-life sizes of the three primordials, Alexander resembled a tiny ant before a mountain — the difference was staggering.

’I still can’t make sense of why they created this plane.’

Amidst the descent of the three attacks, Alexander remained calm and collected, even going as far as thinking about the world around him.

Mountains were reduced to rubble, blown away by the raging winds and whipping past him and his friends.

Any debris that made it too close to them was reduced to dust, flying past them in trajectories that defied the laws of creation.

BOOM...!!!

Alexander made no moves till the very end. The three attacks were a cataclysmic disaster when they landed.

First was the Judgement Sword of the Empyrean, the rain of golden flames of the Phoenix and finally, the destructive energies of the Leviathan.

The land for trillions of kilometres was incinerated on impact, the atmosphere devoured until the true void was exposed once more.

The chiefs looked on in silence as the devastation raged on and the shockwaves whipped past them.

Many had tense expressions, clearly uneasy about the actions of the primordials. While only these three appeared, the other primordials watched the show through their senses.

’They might not be Veilwalkers, but these three are as strong as chiefs.’ Drakmor thought to himself, his core thumping with anxiety.

Their might was nothing like the gods in Universe Prime, and while the primordials were gods themselves, their power did not come from faith — they were in a league of their own.

Unfortunately, their flaws were many. But what stood out the most was their pride and indifference to everything around them.

’...’

As the devastation began to clear, the primordials and chiefs spotted the figures of Alexander and his company.

Just as many of the chiefs had feared, the attacks of the primordials weren’t going to cut it. That essence of his was a cheat beyond reason.

In the void of the receding waves of destructive energies and fragmented pieces of land, Alexander remained in the exact same spot, showing no signs of injuries on his person.

"I’ll say it again." Instead of retaliating as many feared, Alexander chose to address them. "I can’t do what you’re requesting."

The primordials could not offer a response, taken aback by the boy’s indifferent attitude to their universe-ending attacks.

"What are you...?"

After what felt like an eternity of nerve-wracking silence, the Primordial Phoenix asked the question they should have asked from the very start.

Now that they were looking at the boy, they noticed the things they had failed to see earlier. His very presence was elusive to their senses.

They could perceive him, but they couldn’t sense him. He stood right there, and yet, he wasn’t. It made no sense.

From the depths of their being, they felt that Alexander existed differently from what they were used to, and that, too, made no sense to them.

’How did we miss this earlier?’ The Phoenix asked her companions.

Naturally, they knew the answer, but were too self-centred and self-absorbed in their magnificence to admit it.

"Isn’t it a little too late to ask?" The boy answered, the tone of his voice remaining neutral. If he was angry, he didn’t show it.

"We’re asking now." The Empyrean said.

"An Absolute."

"..."

Everyone stared at him like his answer was supposed to clear all their confusion. What the heck was an absolute?

’Is that what the kids meant by an Independent system?’ The Leviathan thought back to what they were told. ’Interesting...’

Within the shifting mass of light and darkness, a sharp glint flickered in the eyes of the primordial as it stared at Alexander.

Even with what they had witnessed, Alexander’s existence eluded them, and that piqued their interest in a way that hadn’t been done in aeons.

"That doesn’t tell us much, child. You’ll have to say more than a simple word." The feminine voice of the Phoenix echoed once again. "Perhaps, you’ll be willing to come with us?"

"That won’t be happening."

The reply came, displeasing the primordials. However, before they pushed further for their request, Alexander explained.

"Your confusion about my existence is not something ’cutting me open to study’ will help with."

"!!!"

"The phenomenon behind your confusion stems from beholding my very existence," he continued. "I am a paradoxical entity you simply cannot understand just because you want to.

"I am a form of existence that exists in and of itself; an existence that is and is not. I exist, yet I don’t."

"..."

No one could make sense of what Alexander was spewing. It eluded their understanding of creation, of reality.

"But you have no reason to worry." The primordials swiftly recovered from their confused state, staring at Alexander. "I intend to correct what has been broken; I’ll set things right."

Right before their eyes, Alexander’s figure flickered and disappeared, his friends vanishing with him.

Almost immediately, the primordials and chiefs unleashed the full extent of their senses, scanning all directions of the void.

They found no traces, but they didn’t give up.

Tapping into the senses of the other chiefs and Veilwalkers across all of reality, they expanded their search, covering an unimaginable distance.

"He’s gone..."

Unbeknownst to them, Alexander went nowhere. He simply shifted his focus into his being, erasing all traces of his existence from reality.

He was there, and at the same time not — a paradoxical existence.

Alexander could exist within his existence like any other being. With his former universe a piece of his cosmos, he was home.

"Find him."

The primordials were not used to being left hollow and wanting. They wanted answers, and they were going to get them.

"Search every nook and cranny of the observable void. He couldn’t have gotten far."

With those orders, the primordials melded with the void, returning to Universe Prime.

They still felt the dull ache in their being. But for beings like them, it was bearable.

"Hah, this is crazy." An Enforcer couldn’t help but share in exasperation. "Just how far are we going to push the boy before he snaps?"