CHAPTER 559: A BROKEN REALITY

When Alexander and his companions returned to the Universal Accord Commission, Cassandra excused herself, returning to her private quarters.

In all honesty, what he was offering the catwoman was beyond her. Even Veilwalkers weren’t capable of what Alex was saying.

From Alexander’s own words, "envision what you want, and whatever that is, I’ll make it happen."

These words continuously resonated within her, as though she could not process the reality of what she had heard.

Although she had realised Alex had ascended to become an independent system, she never thought his abilities would be beyond what she had imagined.

Meanwhile, Ross and Julia waited for Alexander to give them the full details of what they had witnessed with the horrendous entity and with the primordials.

Julia, of course, was content with sticking close to Alexander after the scare she got earlier from his temporary disappearance at the hands of the corrupted Enforcers.

They had no further need for their cloaks and armour to maintain appearances, and as such, the trio quickly changed into their regular clothing before taking a seat.

Gathered in a private lounge meant for only them, Ross sat directly opposite his best friend, while Julia stuck close to Alex, taking her rightful place on his right side.

The redhead, ignoring Julia’s closeness to Alex, focused on his best friend, sitting forward with his hands clasped together.

"Alright, Alex, you should start talking." Ross urged impatiently. "Too much has happened that it almost feels overwhelming."

They had just returned, but none of them needed rest. And although the series of events that had taken place unfolded in quick succession, not much time had passed.

He had seen enough to understand that the dynamics of power had forever changed in their reality. At this point, he didn’t know where his best friend stood.

Looking at Julia resting her head on Alex’s shoulders with her eyes closed, Ross wondered if she was as curious as he was.

However, as quickly as that thought flashed through his head, he dismissed it. Julia was someone who would be satisfied as long as Alex was with her.

"I’ve become an independent entity." Alex replied.

"Yeah, that much is obvious." Ross scoffed. "What I want to know is how you survived that abyss of nothingness; I want to know how things led to that point."

With a knowing smile, Alexander narrated the events that transpired in the universe he was cleansing.

From his battle with the void creatures, the alert he got from his field around their universe, to the attack that helplessly sent him out through the tear in the veil of reality.

Describing that as an abyss was not technically correct. With Alexander’s newfound knowledge and understanding of everything, there was just nothingness.

There was nothingness before reality came to be, not the other way around. He further went on to describe his experience outside reality.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Ross raised a hand to stop Alex’s narration. "You’re not making a lot of sense. What do you mean by ’an existence without definition’?"

"But that’s just it, Ross. It’s difficult to comprehend what I’ve become without being one yourself. I’m literally a walking paradox." Alexander added.

Even with supporting the universe himself, he could not make the sentient beings in it understand what he was; they were incapable of grasping his existence.

"Hah, whatever."

Ross leaned back in his seat, a hand gently rubbing the side of his head. A moment later, he added, "So you’ve transcended reality itself to become an absolute, huh?"

"Yeah, that’s the gist of it."

"Just how insane is this?!" Ross suddenly exclaimed, abruptly sitting back up, his expression pale. "You’re no longer human!"

"Haha, I can say the same about you, Ross." Alexander laughed at his friend’s expression. "You’re an Immortal and far from being human. You’re basically a walking mass of energy."

"Aren’t we all walking masses of condensed energy?" Ross shot back, his head tilted.

"Essentially, yes." Alex chuckled. "But a human has no control over their make-up, while beings like you do."

"Just give it a rest, Ross." Julia finally chipped in, lazily opening her eyes and glancing at the redhead. "Alex is still Alex, and that is all that matters."

Ross was rendered speechless, taken aback by how carefree Julia was about the whole thing.

In his own words, he was an Existential Absolute. That in itself was still too elusive for him to grasp.

But thinking a bit deeper, the redhead realised what Julia meant. The person they had always known as Alex was still the same person; nothing had changed... much.

"Hah, I guess so." Ross spared himself any more headaches. "What about our universe?"

"I’ve hidden it in a place no one will ever find." Alexander answered, his expression taking a serious turn. "The actions of that entity and those of the primordials left me no choice."

"Yeah, they mentioned something about being wounded and you putting our universe back in place." Julia looked at her beloved, a bit of confusion in her eyes.

"That entity cut the connection our universe had with the Omnisoul, and in doing so, left reality wounded. It’s like something biting a chunk of your flesh away."

"I see..." Ross muttered, finally understanding what was happening. "And I’m guessing the damage done is not something that can be healed so easily."

"Exactly." Alexander nodded. "And putting our universe back won’t make it better. My essence is now different from the essence of the Omnisoul."

"So the primordials only came to put on a show?" Ross couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the primordials’ actions.

"I can’t say I blame them," Alex muttered with downcast eyes, catching the attention of his friends. "They’re all enduring crippling pain as we speak. And unless the Omnisoul is whole again, that ache won’t be going anywhere."

"..."

Ross was at a loss for words. The actions of the primordials no longer seemed as amusing as it was before. They understood what he meant by ’all’.

After a while of harrowing silence, Ross looked at Alex and asked, "So what now? With your current strength, you can pretty much overwhelm that Cosmic Entity. You can finally bring an end to this... this madness."

"You’re right." Alexander nodded, but his expression told the redhead there was more to his reply.

"Is there something else?" Ross inquired.

"Yeah... There was something I noticed about that ghastly entity." Alexander replied thoughtfully. "No, more like I discovered after my transcendence.

"The Cosmic Horror and its void creatures are a part of the Omnisoul’s reality. They should not have been able to use the essence of nothingness."

"What are you talking about?" Julia looked confused, mirroring the expression on Ross’s face.

Focusing his gaze on the redhead and Julia, Alex continued, "The piece of the Omnisoul that the Cosmic Horror devoured is gone, forever."

Knowing what he said wasn’t enough to clear the confusion in their eyes, Alexander added. "Defeating that monstrosity will not make reality whole again."

"!!"

The expressions of the two Immortals widened in horror and shock. They were quick to understand the implications of what Alexander meant.

"So... so you’re saying they won’t be free of their crippling pain?" Julia gulped in horror, sitting up from her cosy spot.

"Yeah..." Alex admitted. "The reason those corrupted Enforcers were able to use that essence was because that monstrosity’s will descended into them."

The greater the corruption they carried, the more likely Cthulhu’s will would descend into their existence.

It was why the Hulmite was only corrupted in the essence of his personality, lacking the trait of nothingness.

"Was reality this broken?" Ross muttered in a daze.

Although a lot of things still eluded him, he could more or less imagine what that meant for reality’s multiverse.

After all, it was the actions of that entity that broke all veils across the multiverse. Everything that had transpired since then was done in an effort to restore things to how they once were.

But now...

’Then what is the point of defeating that creature if things would never return to normal?’ Ross could not see a way forward. ’This is an absolute mess!’

"The-There has to be something you can do, right?" Julia looked at her beloved hopefully.

In their understanding, their universe was still part of the Omnisoul, simply hidden from sight.

Explaining the paradoxical nature of his existence and their universe to them would leave them more confused than they already were.

And honestly, what was happening to the Omnisoul’s reality was no longer their concern. But Alexander was not one to abandon a reality he once called home.

"I still intend to destroy that thing. The problem is what to do after that." Alexander replied, inwardly adding to himself. ’And there’s the contingency of the Omnisoul itself.’

"What about us?" Ross asked after careful thought and consideration. "You don’t expect us to sit here while you take care of everything, do you?"

"I’m glad you asked." Alexander smiled knowingly. "Because you guys are no longer bound by restrictions from the Omnisoul’s reality."

Ross felt excitement bubble up within. He didn’t know what Alex meant by that, but he knew their wait was over.