In THE Agora of Primordial Judgment, the air itself had grown heavy with anticipation.
Noah stood beside THE Primordial Paradox, his existence burning with blue-gold Infinities that pressed outward against the corrupted proto-matter flooding through the crack above.
The ancient stones beneath his feet thrummed with vibrations he could feel through his soles, the entire structure of THE Agora responding to the presence that had emerged from THE Prima Indifferentia.
Behind them, the four Strategoi had arranged themselves in positions of readiness for combat!
Glossikos stood with her linguistic authority coiling around her form. Khaotikos shifted between states of matter and energy with increasing instability. Ontikos emanated the calm weight of Existence itself. And Paradoxos displayed both fear and determination across his dual faces!
Before them all stood Bazuman.
THE Undivided One had emerged fully from the crack now, its round chthonian form settling upon the ancient stones with weight that made one’s teeth ache from the pressure.
Countless crimson eyes arranged in spiraling patterns across its spherical mass gazed outward in every direction, each one burning with hunger.
Innumerable tentacles extended from its form, each tipped with mouths that held teeth made of crystallized memories. Its entire surface churned constantly, revealing glimpses of faces and forms beneath, the remnants of beings who had ceased to exist everywhere except within Bazuman’s infinite memory.
The Immensity it carried pressed against Noah’s perception like a physical weight settling upon his shoulders, like heavy hands pushing down on his chest with every breath he took!
This wasn’t the same as the winged lion that Emotive had just bonded to in Alfheimr. That creature had been powerful, yes, capable of devastating most Absolutes in direct conflict. But Bazuman existed in an entirely different classification.
It was like comparing that pathetic floundering embarrassment known as THE Living Elemental to beings like THE Living Paradox or THE Primordial Chaos.
They were legitimately leagues apart.
And at this moment, this thing was keeping its gaze locked onto Noah. Every single one of those countless crimson eyes had oriented toward him specifically, tracking his movements with attention that felt uncomfortably personal.
The weight of that collective focus pressed against his skin like heat from a forge held too close. The tentacles that extended from its form seemed to reach in his direction even when they weren’t actively moving, drawn by magnetism that operated on levels beyond physical attraction.
Noah couldn’t help but look toward it and ask the question that had been forming since he first felt its attention.
"Am I wrong to think that you are obsessed with me, Bazuman?"
...!
Bazuman’s many eyes smiled.
The expression shouldn’t have been possible. Monstrous eyes couldn’t smile, couldn’t convey emotion through shape alone!
And yet every single crimson orb across its churning surface curved upward at the edges, creating an impression of brutal amusement.
When it spoke, its voice emerged from a thousand mouths simultaneously, a deep resonance of undifferentiation that seemed to vibrate inside Noah’s chest rather than reach him through the air.
"I tasted you."
The words pressed against reality itself!
"You tasted of unique endless undifferentiation. And I let you slip past me."
Its tentacles writhed with increased intensity.
"And right now, with this corrupted paradoxical spread of proto-matter..."
Its eyes blazed brighter.
"I feel like I have tasted yet another portion of you inside me."
The mouths across its surface all curved into expressions of hunger.
"I want more."
Every eye focused on Noah with intensity.
"I... want you."
BOOM!

"Youngest, what is he talking about? Your authority is spreading alongside my disciple’s corruption?"

"Since your disciple was spreading corruption to affect all of Observable Existence, I added a little of myself onto that train."
"I’m just going along for the ride and benefiting from it."
"And yes, I know of the potential dangers that may come from this. It seems like I’m looking at one right now."
"You know, but you also don’t know."
VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse