IdleYoungMaster
patreon
Chapter 267: Outplayed
🕑 Added 2025-04-23 12:09:38 +0000 UTC“Aleph…”
“Aleph.”
“...Aleph.”
The very moment Aleph’s consciousness woke up, he was bombarded by all sorts of murmurs. They all called out his name. Like the stars in the starry sky, a connection was made.
‘This. It’s not my Pathway.’
Aleph was used to the calls he heard from his Pathstriders. He could choose to block out the noise, only leaving the general ‘idea’ as to why it occurred. It becomes less of a hassle that way.
‘Infinity… and Error?’
He tried piercing through the layer of darkness. Each connection represented a white spot. All of them are particularly focused on a certain part of the darkness.
‘A loophole.’
Aleph was about to exert his full strength when he recalled where he was—the physical universe.
The moment he releases an Aeon’s full influence, it would result in a large-scale disturbance characterized by various destructive phenomena—supernovae and the likes. He would also face the Tree’s rejection out of its intent to maintain order.
‘Speaking of Order…’
He already met some of the older Aeons such as Qlipoth and Voracity. The only one left existing on their batch was HooH, the Aeon of Equilibrium.
With that as their main authority, they should have been the first one to greet him.
Yet, they did not.
Strange.
“Huh..? Why did I only notice it now?”
A strange feeling swept all over Aleph. He completely forgot what he was about to do. He stood still amidst the black curtain filled with several white dots.
{Notice. There are traces of suspected influence coming from the Aeon of Finality, Terminus.}
‘Perception alteration.’
{...scanning for the 56th time…}
{...scanning for the 589th time…}
{...scanning for the 1903rd time…}
…
Aleph could feel Metatron’s incredulous thoughts. While she was silently analyzing the Sanctum’s data—going back and forth between two worlds—she did not even notice this kind of anomaly.
The creepy discovery did not end there.
‘...Akivili. I chose not to investigate further after Nous’ answers.’
At first glance, Akivili and HooH are two non-intersecting lines. When seen closer, however, they might be connected.
‘The answers they gave are mostly speculatory. Nobody knows why Akivili perished.’
The information given by the game was limited.
In Aleph's previous life, it was…
“..!”
He grit his teeth. He positioned his fingers straight atop his chest. Then, they sank down. Aleph grasped something before pulling it out. It was the manifestation of a black hole.
It was none other than the authority derived from IX, Null.
“Did I underestimate it?”
Aleph’s remaining left hand swiped over it. A completely identical black hole was copied… rather, removed.
The black hole pulsated every second. It did not resemble IX’s nothingness. It was far from that.
“I see. I see. I see..!”
He shouted three times. The frustration and relief he felt could not be properly described.
All this time, his cognition was affected. What he jokingly did on Herta happened to him!
As for the reason why…
“Finality..!”
The copy of the black hole was none other than Finality. It was not meaningless, but the end of all things.
For some reason, it managed to latch onto Null like a perfect copy.
{...confirmed. The concept could be traced during your first contact with Terminus. Complex information has been purged from the database. Running a new diagnosis…}
Metatron was decisive. She threw away all of their collected data from Terminus. That included the things they saw when Aleph faced them directly.
This hidden time bomb has to be dealt with, after all.
“I should not be fully affected.”
Aleph analyzed his current state. His thinking and mindset hasn't changed. It was his subconscious and ‘inconspicuous’ decisions that were manipulated.
If Terminus could manipulate him entirely, Infinity might as well be useless.
Achievement Hunter said it itself.
Aleph is the greatest achievement throughout everything.
…
“Achievement Hunter.”
He opened Achievement Hunter and went back to one of its dialogue lines.
[Beyond the Boundary: The greatest achievement borne out of luck. That is right. It is you.]
This single line of achievement contained Aleph’s origins. It showed his time as a single soul awaiting reincarnation. Things went wrong, his reincarnation was rejected continuously, until he faced the threat of existential annihilation.
If not for his soul evolving over time, he would have been deader than dead.
Thus…
“Infinity should be able to take care of it.”
He closed Achievement Hunter for now. He saw several new achievements when he was scrolling down, but he chose to deal with the most urgent matter first.
{The unpredictability of your authority, Infinity, increases the chances of success to 81%.}
Metatron seemingly sensed his thoughts and gave out her own.
“Eighty-one is enough.” He replied. “If this works…”
{Current precautionary measures on stand-by.}
“Thanks.”
Metatron did not give out a reply. Aleph smiled at this in response.
He first placed back the Null authority inside him.
Hum-!
A layer of indescribable light emerged from Aleph. This time, he took the fake “Null” and pressed it on the light.
The moment he did so…
Patter.
…a gaze descended upon him.
*****
A test.
It is the true nature of everything that has transpired. It is nothing but a game that involves Aeons.
A decade of disappearance is nothing in their eyes; precisely it is why everything went unnoticed. Their doubts regarding the single Aeon that should have been most active during these changes went to nothing.
The most radical changes required the most drastic actions. The semi-agreement between the two was something caused by a lack of strength. Their will which deeply seeped into the karmic web of the universe could not match the end.
Arbitrary actions result in the loss of equilibrium. They are aware of its consequences. The balance must not be lost.
Albeit, how would the world remain unfazed in front of changes? In front of the opportunity that could bring infinite possibilities?
A perfect balance must be struck. Thus created the most optimal conditions.
A gamble, or so it was.
The fate of an entire world is then determined by a roll of dice.
Will the infinite possibilities prevail or its power drowned upon the waves?
That is something to watch over.
