Chapter 45
Everything was triggered by a mere wisp of the tainted presence of Ishikarakarta.
As a result, the universe reacted, spontaneously creating the Ximanthur Law—an emergency rule designed to restrain madness, to prevent Ishikarakarta from unraveling the meaning of reality from its perspective.
Even though Ximanthur could shackle it like a guarded dog, merely to prevent harm, Ishikarakarta did not fully submit.
Aleph-Null, the countable infinity forming the foundation of all finite dimensions, and Aleph-One, the wilder king of uncountable spaces—both, along with all that was higher, over and over, fell in defeat that was equally absolute.
The order of the cosmos, surpassing all discrete infinities, shattered.
The highest mathematical fortresses—starting from the Inaccessible Castle, the Measurable Bridge, the Supercompact Tower, to the Rank-into-Rank Labyrinth entangling logic—were utterly wrecked.
Continuing on, various unnamed cardinal hierarchies collapsed.
Not even the mighty Berkeley cardinal was spared.
And the universe, once neatly arranged within countable spacetime, now exploded, erupting uncontrollably, surpassing all logical limits and venturing into regions beyond any cosmic map.
From a world where the cosmos could be counted on fingers, it extended into dimensions, territories where the concept of 'magnitude' itself lost all meaning.
No system remained—even those involving the Berkeley cardinal, which could have imprisoned it.
The only certainty: boundaries had vanished, and that which was void was itself devoured, continuously consumed by a higher Nothingness.
"Almost done.
What is felt is but a dream, the creation of the final shadow before the core essence is truly at stake.
Why? Could it be the end? Or is that where reality itself is inscribed?"
The sky surrounding the castle plunged, gradually collapsing above Ophistu, leaving fragments of raw light that shattered into shards of darkness.
Through the cosmic mist, breathing in a rhythm unhuman, appeared the figure of Nebetu'u, slowly reforming itself.
The two cloned twins had vanished into the original body, merging silently but generating tremors that pierced the very depths of space.
The pressure was overwhelming in every direction, making the remaining air around Ophistu feel dense, heavy, almost solid like thick liquid.
The ground below glimmered with unnatural cracks of light, as though the reality beneath the castle had begun a process of peeling away.
With every step Nebetu'u took, the laws of the cosmos echoed faintly, recalling the ruins of mathematical fortresses that once stood tall, now shattered into meaningless fragments.
Ophistu did not see the full face, yet could feel, could interpret the piercing gaze—deeper than any blade, stripping every layer of consciousness bare.
Invisible vibrations spread, delightfully creeping through overlapping dimensions, like fragile webs forced to bear infinite weight.
Amid the silent hisses, a shapeless voice could be heard—not a sound created by air, but a pure pulse, emerging from the encroaching Nothingness, like a deadly tide ready to swallow the last shores of Ophistu's existence.
Every inch of space felt narrower, yet simultaneously broader.
Colors unknown to human eyes began to seep in, carving blurred silhouettes of Nebetu'u stepping forward.
Shadows did not obey the laws of light, moving freely as if possessing intention, winding around Ophistu like invisible delicate chains.
Only felt.
Time began to unravel, allowing seconds to fall out of sequence, creating a chasm between breaths and heartbeats.
Ophistu wished to retreat, yet the castle's ceramic below resembled a fragile mirror surface. It cracked under touch, and within the fissures yawned a nameless abyss, exuding a coldness beyond all comprehension.
Ophistu stood rigid, his Olyspharta pulsing, beating in a rhythm no longer synchronized with his body.
Nebetu'u drew nearer, and the separating distance now felt like a thin line between dream and the end of all things.
Nebetu'u stood with an almost terrifying calm, aware that the transfer process was nearing its peak.
Time continued pressing every second there, and he would waste not a single moment.
His eyes sharply fixed on the back of Ophistu, without a shred of hesitation or mercy.
In the suffocating silence, Ophistu, already powerless to resist, felt something beyond a mere physical threat.
His soul and Olyspharta, the innermost essence, interpreted the presence of being, forcibly pulled repeatedly from behind, as if by invisible ropes, slowly binding and drawing him in.
Certainly toward the void.
"Do not hope for mercy.
Not only your body, but all remnants of belief and hope shall be grasped.
Leave only sorrow, the pain of your name's final passing."
Haaaaah!
"And do not… struggle in vain."
Panic began to seep in, not from ordinary fear, but from the collapse of profound conviction—where every foundation of faith in his grasp now trembled and nearly crumbled.
In the midst of the suffocating emptiness, a woman appeared in a faint shadow.
She stood with a presence that shook, holding a pendulum, though not a pendulum, merely gleaming in her grasp like a secret weapon.
She was the companion of Nebetu'u's leader, the figure who had always lurked behind the powerful man, now manifesting a brighter, dedicated strength.
Unceasingly, her hands and body moved, acting in a rhythm incomprehensible to reason, drawing and siphoning energy with terrifying intensity.
Every pull was merciless fury, taking without offering a chance to defend.
Before such power, space and time clearly vanished, leaving a gaping void consuming everything Ophistu had once known.
The energy absorbed was not limited to the physical, but also the soul and light—the embodiment of faith represented in Olyspharta, linked to every breath Ophistu took.
The woman, with her passionate movements, seemingly uncontrolled, became an instrument of subtle but certain destruction.
A transfer process appeared sacred, yet shrouded in unparalleled terror—devouring every remaining fragment.
The world around felt like a slow ruin, where the previously comprehensible world below gradually disintegrated into fragments incapable of reconstruction.
Nebetu'u remained standing in the vortex, an unshakable figure, while Ophistu, pitiful, was merely a shadow of increasingly tangible defeat.
As Ophistu's gaze trembled and his breath caught, he realized that the power faced nearly equaled the rank of the Singular Cursed as per hierarchy.
The presence of the woman and the transfer process were not just a ritual, but a devouring of fate, consuming without remainder.
And amid the void, Ophistu felt ever more submerged in a whirlpool of fear and loss, like a soul dragged by a fierce current toward a point where all hope and strength turned to ash.
"Too far, whatever this is, it surpasses all limits, Nebetu'u!
Even for a balancer, this is not the way!!"
Wusssshhh!!
"Inspiration has been obtained, knowledge to eradicate your most recent vile existence.
Of course, the Master who has been served will not interfere, intending only to halt what is to be executed."
"What… is being spoken? You boldly drag His name as if a mortal?
Answer!!"
"You've questioned actions right here, asking if this goes too far…"
Wussssh!
"… And the answer is silence.
Silence that means approval."
"Liar, wild deceiver of all space.
You, Nebetu'u—who are you truly?!!"
The dimness hanging in the air was no longer a mere shadow, but a heavy blanket, an overbearing weight pressing on every inch of space.
To be continued…