On Naglfar, a unique scene occurred.
Noah had jumped up like a swooping ancient bird, his transformed figure rising above the deck of the indestructible ship before descending with purpose. His feet came down like hammers of Existence itself, burning with blue-gold prismatic light of The First Tongue that painted the frozen air of Helheim in colors that shouldn’t have existed in this realm of endings.
They thundered down toward the split Absolute who had literally been served on a platter for him!
Impundulu’s defenses had already been shredded by multiple Apophasis from THE Primordial Paradox. Negations specifically designed to allow The First Tongue to be capable of collapsing this Absolute. Its resistance was not present. Its protection was not effective. Its survival was not possible.
HUUM!
His weight thundered down.
The swirling Seals on his feet exerted all the pressure within his existence, the accumulated Immensity of a Foundation that approached what THE Creature and THE Primordial Chaos had built across eons when they were at Fundamental!
He paid no heed to the desperate expression on the Impundulu, to the terror in eyes that were divided between two halves that could no longer coordinate their final moments.
There was no mercy to be given here.
There was only consumption.
BOOM!
Blue-gold light exploded across the deck of Naglfar.
THE Primordial Paradox had basically held a knife and plunged it into a heart.
And Noah had used his feet to twist it.
Immensity unfolded around him as the existence of Impundulu, THE Storm That Hungers, ceased to be. Another beam of light shot out across Helheim, crimson and crackling with the remnants of lightning that had defined the fallen Absolute. It stretched across THE Infinite Unfurling, a beacon announcing the death of another ancient being to all of Observable Existence.
|Absolute Collapse Confirmed|
|Entity terminated: Impundulu, THE Storm That Hungers|
|Classification at time of collapse: Absolute|
|Civilization: The Paradox of Consumption|
|An Absolute Existential Palace of THE Storm That Hungers will form soon|
...!
The sensation of collapsing an Absolute was always surreal, as if one had done something taboo.
The weight of it. The finality. The knowledge that something which had existed for longer than most Civilizations had simply ceased to be because Noah had decided it would. The power that flowed through his foundations was intoxicating, authority that carried the taste of lightning and hunger and paradoxical consumption!
Before Noah could fully revel in it, THE Primordial Paradox spoke from his throne.
"Existential Palaces are rather annoying, are they not?"
His voice remained measured despite everything that had just occurred.
"A collapsed Absolute does not need to be so high and mighty after they are dead. Making one traverse through doors of memories and other useless ephemera simply to claim what is rightfully theirs by conquest."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"A trick I laid down to work across Existence is a simple paradoxical statement. When uttered within the first few seconds of a collapse, it bypasses the formation of a Palace and makes things rather more expedient."
His obsidian eyes met Noah’s.
"After all, we do not have time to be meandering around Palaces at the moment."
...!
THE Primordial Paradox said such words as Noah wanted to vehemently deny and say maybe they did have time. The Absolute Existential Palace of THE Weavers had contained invaluable memories, crucial information about THE Entity and THE Living Paradox and the infection that was spreading through Observable Existence.
Perhaps the Palace of Impundulu would contain similar treasures.
But he turned over to listen and observe as even though THE Primordial Paradox showed his terrifying Immensity, below his imposing and tyrannical demeanor, Noah thought he could barely observe something else.
Tiredness.
Exhaustion that went beyond physical fatigue.
The weariness of someone fighting a war on multiple fronts, constantly putting at bay an enemy that was already halfway through consuming him. Every casual display of power, every effortless negation, every Apophasis that reshaped reality around his will...
All of it was being done while THE Primordial Paradox simultaneously resisted an infection that was eating him from within.
The reason they did not have time was simply because THE Primordial Paradox was fighting many battles at once.
So Noah nodded and listened.
THE Primordial Paradox raised one hand, and when he spoke, his words carried the weight of an ancient ritual.
"The Everythings of what was collapsed are mine and not mine. They belong to me and they do not belong to me. They must be given to me instantly and they must never be given to me at all."
BOOM!
The paradoxical statement landed with authority that made reality itself pause to process the contradiction.
Behind THE Primordial Paradox, the forming vacuum that would have become Popobawa’s Existential Palace collapsed into itself. The space where memories and doors and the accumulated legacy of an Absolute should have formed simply folded inward, crushed by a paradox that declared ownership and non-ownership simultaneously.
A brilliant obsidian singularity formed instead.
It radiated terrifying weight, and Noah felt it immediately. It was the weight of Popobawa before he was collapsed. The full Immensity of an Absolute compressed into a point of concentrated authority that pulsed with power that transcended normal comprehension.
The light smashed toward THE Primordial Paradox.
His body became surrounded by heavy swirling waves of Absolute that he broke down and accepted into his existence with the ease of someone drinking water. The authority flowed into him, adding to foundations that were already beyond anything Noah could fully perceive.
And in front of him, a physical object began to form.
It radiated a heavy light that spoke of civilizations ended and ways concluded.
"This phenomenon I designed is called the Rite of Paradoxical Inheritance."
THE Primordial Paradox’s voice held something almost like pride.
"Performing it this way bypasses the formation of a Palace whilst paradoxically offering some of the Weavings of the collapsed Absolute to Observable Existence itself. A tithe, if you will. A portion of what was consumed returned to the greater whole."
"What remains flows to you alongside the formation of what I term a Civilization’s Heart Remnant. An artifact forged from the very heart of the Civilization of the one collapsed. Their Way made manifest. Their accumulated authority given physical form."

"Your turn."
"The Everythings of what was collapsed are mine and not mine. They belong to me and they do not belong to me. They must be given to me instantly and they must never be given to me at all."
BOOM!

The Arrow of Endless Consumption.
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