Existence was a wondrous, fantastical thing, and Existence was also a terrifying thing.
Noah always looked forward to Existence and what was unfolding with great interest as it was hard to explain, but he sometimes felt like a participant and other times an observer.
Things happened and continued happening across Observable Existence as he only heard of them or observed them from a distance. Wars broke out. Civilizations rose and fell. Absolutes schemed against each other in games that had been playing out since the Infinite Unfurling.
As for when it came to himself and his path, he actively walked and participated in it.
Regardless of what he came across, he still kept his view that Existence was grand, and he wanted to understand all he could about it. To uncover all its wonders. To perceive what others could not perceive. To grasp what others could not grasp.
So regardless of the enemy that had appeared who had such a terrifying power to be capable of defeating an Absolute on the level of entities like THE Living Temporal or even approaching one of THE Four, he still looked forward to understanding Existence, what this enemy entailed, and how he could overcome it.
Regardless of the cost, and no matter what.
But he did have to make sure that in this battle, his people were not among the cost.
He had to.
He...
"That is a lonely gaze, Little Anomaly. You have changed a lot."
...!
The voice of Ains, THE Fisherman, echoed out as he let go of the hairy shoulder of Ul’moreth and even kneeled down to play with Skoll!
Noah’s gaze shifted to take in the figure of Ains fully.
THE Fisherman looked much the same as he always had. A straw hat sat atop his head, weathered and worn from countless eons of use. A fishing rod rested behind his back, its line extending into dimensions that normal perception could not follow. His clothes were simple, rough-spun fabrics that seemed entirely out of place on someone who stood at Half-Step Absolute Depth.
He looked like a vagrant who had wandered in from some backwater realm.
And yet when Noah looked at him, he felt the weight of someone who had given up everything for the sake of a stranger. Someone who had sacrificed his position, his standing, to ensure that Noah could continue on his path.
That was not something that could be repaid easily.
They were currently in a region of The Wastes of THE Fallout as they had reached Ains and were reunited, but Noah was thinking of too many things that Ains even managed to read his gaze somewhat.
The corruption of The Wastes swirled around them, but it could not touch beings of their caliber. The twisted landscapes stretched in all directions, remnants of what THE Living Paradox had done to Observable Existence.
Noah looked at this being that had sacrificed much for him as Ains now stood at Half-Step Absolute.
And at the same time, the meditative Ul’moreth also opened his eyes as if he could sense the wrongness.
His countless hairs shifted with agitation as he asked with weight that demanded honest answers.
"What made you send us away from that place? From THE Secretive Eon?"
Ul’moreth got to the root of the issue.
Noah looked at this hairy teacher of his and said with heaviness.
"THE Secretive Eon has already been collapsed as something else wears its face."
His voice carried weight that made the air itself grow still.
"Something capable of infecting anything and anyone without them even knowing it."
He paused.
"They tried to infect me, and you all."
His eyes grew darker.
"Our consciousness would likely be wiped out as if it had happened to me, I would be walking and talking with you, and you would think I am me without knowing something else replaced me."
He shook his head.
"It is a difficult enemy, and there are currently no solutions as it cannot even be pinpointed."
...!
BOOM!
His words were heavy as they caused Ul’moreth and Ains to frown while Skoll sat like a good boy and watched them with eyes that held understanding beyond what a normal dog should possess!
"Existence is vast, and there are countless possibilities."
"THE Living Paradox and THE Creature played so many games, something horrific was bound to happen sooner or later."
"But being part of a Civilization means that you do not have to go through it alone."
"You have others."
"And you have your Teacher."
"Teachers should never be helpless before their students."

"My student is facing problems he should not face alone."

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