Chapter 1232 Paradox of Existence
Chapter 1232 Paradox of Existence
“…Woah.”
Just a few moments before their eventual encounter, Ataraxia entered the Forge of Beginnings with both awe and interest in his eyes.
After all, he’d been waiting for the shop to open for quite some time now. Aside from that, he still had to wait around an hour or so before he was actually able to enter it.
Pondering over the reason as to why the wait to enter the Forge of Beginnings was so long, the young man did not take long to obtain his answer as various items entered his view.
From potions that boasted far stronger effects than the other ones he’d come across, to weapons and pieces of armor that boasted stats far greater than even the ones worn by those he came across in the outskirts, Ataraxia immediately knew…
That he’d come to the right place to spend his money.
‘What should I get…?’ Asking this question to himself, the young man briefly looked at the money he had in his pocket before perusing around the shop to look at some of the items that were on display.
Considering that there were a lot of players roaming around the shop aside from him, Ataraxia found it more than simple to obtain information on the items, with many of the other players casting [Analysis] and other similar identification skills on them.
Though, just as he’d roamed around the shop for long enough to figure out what he wanted to buy, he soon began to feel like someone was staring at him, causing him to feel like a strong laser was being pointed at his head.
Wondering who was staring at him to make him feel such a sensation, Ataraxia turned his head to look back at the person, only to find out not long after that the one staring at him was none other than Valyr.
‘That’s the unique NPC!’ screamed the young man inwardly, his expression that of immense excitement as he knew what it meant when he was staring at a player.
‘With his attention focused on me, as long as I buy an item from the shop, I’ll be able to add him to my friend list!’ thought Ataraxia to himself with a slight grin as he stole glances at Valyr from time to time.
However, as more and more time passed, the more the young man caught himself looking at Valyr for far longer durations.
Surprisingly, it looked like the same went the other way as well.
Feeling as if all the other thoughts in his mind had been placed far into the background of his mind, Ataraxia gradually moved closer to where Valyr was, getting the innate urge that something special would happen if he were to do so.
Fortunately, Valyr looked to be moving in his direction as well, allowing the two of them to look at one another from up close as they stood at a certain part of the shop.
Ignoring the stares the other players were giving the two of them at that very moment, both Ataraxia and Valyr looked at each other with blank expressions, the thoughts in their minds differing from one another.
Then again, even if their thoughts were different, the two of them still ended up doing the same thing in the end, extending both of their arms outward for a handshake.
Clap!
At the very moment he shook hands with Valyr, a whirlwind of thoughts and memories soon began to surface within Ataraxia’s mind.
Although these thoughts and memories were entirely foreign to him at first, they gradually felt more and more familiar to him as more time passed as he went through them as best as he could.
Because of that, even though it seemed like an instant had passed since they shook hands, the young man now understood why the two of them moved towards one another, looking at Valyr with shock written all over his face.
“You…” Continuing to feel immense shock from the information he’d obtained, Ataraxia was about to ask Valyr a question for the sake of confirmation.
Unfortunately, before he could even begin his question, a strong feeling of death enveloped the entirety of his body at that moment, rendering him unconscious in less than an instant.
Then again, it was not like he was the only one who went through that…
Since Valyr experienced that very same feeling at that moment as well.
…
Eng! Eng! Eng!
Beyond the far-flung reaches of the vast space making up Greater Beyond’s universe, a large metal structure could be seen floating in the void, spanning over a thousand kilometers in both diameter and height.
Within a part of this large metal structure was a quaint room where a young woman could be found going through a book in a relaxed fashion.
Eng! Eng! Eng!
Though, as the noise she’d been hearing earlier continued to echo from outside the room, the young woman eventually put the book aside with a slight frown, wondering what was causing the sound she’d been hearing.
Whoosh!
Disappearing from her room in just a snap of her fingers, the young woman soon appeared within a far larger room that contained all sorts of machines and devices, their screens all showing various characters that would be incomprehensible to the normal person.
Looking at these characters in great detail, the frown on the young woman’s face deepened as she shifted her gaze to the young man that was already there.
“What’s going on, Three?” asked the young woman as she glanced at the machines in front of them. “The alarm system wouldn’t go off for no reason.”
“Someone breached the 5th Primordial Edict,” replied Three, instantly making the young woman’s eyes widen in shock. “To be more specific, someone broke the laws of time paradox in the universe.”
“Have you found out who broke it?” asked the young woman in return, to which the young man swiftly nodded in response.
“Already did,” said Three, bringing up a large screen in front of him. “I was able to pinpoint it down to a planet within the Zetaris Galaxy. Veldanyr, if I remember correctly.”
“Zetaris Galaxy? Veldanyr?” Hearing these names at first, the young woman looked at the young man in front of her with slight confusion.
Though, as more time passed, a look of realization soon appeared on her face.
“Don’t tell me…”
“If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then you’d be correct, Five,” said Three as he let out a low sigh. “The one who broke the laws of time paradox…”
“…Would be none other than the inheritor of the Sagacious One’s will.”
With Three’s words acting as confirmation, Five felt as if her entire world was crumbling at that very moment, briefly wondering whether she was hearing correctly.
Fortunately, after going over her thoughts for a while, she was eventually able to calm herself down, letting out a long exhale before looking back at the young man with both curiosity and confusion.
“How did he break the laws of time paradox exactly, Three?” asked the young woman. “I know he’s a soul from the other universe’s future that reincarnated into our own universe, but that wouldn’t set off the alarm due to time paradox.”
“It wouldn’t.” Three nodded his head in agreement. “However, what if I told you that the fact that he reincarnated into our own universe is the exact reason why he broke the laws of time paradox?”
Whoosh!
Just as Five was still in the midst of wrapping her head around what Three said, the young man changed the image on the screen in front of them.
Zooming far closer into the planet of Veldanyr, the two soon found themselves looking at two guys who were in the middle of exchanging a handshake, their appearances a fair contrast from one another.
However, if one were to look closer at the screen, one would eventually notice a small dot forming between the guys’ hands, giving off a feeling of palpable emptiness and desolation that made both Three and Five to take a few steps back the moment they took note of it.
Swoosh!
Returning the focus of the screen to what it was before, the two soon looked at each other with solemn expressions on their faces, with Five eventually letting out a long sigh a few seconds later.
“To think the laws of time paradox would be broken that way,” said the young woman as she shook her head. “Because the future self regressed into another universe rather than its own universe, the past self in the other universe ends up continuing to exist, even though the future self would’ve most likely taken its place if it didn’t happen.”
“It would’ve been fine if both the past and the future self continued to exist in the same timeline, given the condition that the two of them would come across one another,” said Three with a faint sigh. “But since they did come across one another in the end…”
“The laws of time paradox ended up being broken,” replied Five as she continued where the young man left off.
“…”
“…”
For a while after that, the two of them looked at each other in silence, the gears in their minds whirring as they wondered what they would do next.
“Are we gonna let them cancel their existences out?” asked Three, returning the screen’s focus back to Valyr and Ataraxia before slowing down the flow of time there to its utmost limit. “Or do you have another idea in mind?”
“You already know what I’d do in this situation, Three,” replied Five after closing her eyes for a bit. “After all, it’s been a long time since a being who inherited one of the Grand Progenitors’ wills has come to existence.”
“Adding on the fact that he’s connected to that person, and the fact that he’s a key part to that project, we’d lose more than we’d gain if we were to let it happen.”
“So, that means you’re going with that route, then?” asked Three in response, to which Five nodded in agreement.
“Pretty much. Either way, since the past and the future self themselves eventually met up in the end…”
“Then it’s only makes sense to combine them to bring about the present, no?”