Infinite Mana in the Apocalypse - Chapter 3760

Chapter 3760: What is Fictional Transcendence? I
Before me, my Queens stood resplendent and vibrant, an impossible symphony of strength and beauty.

And then, one moved forward.

Barbatos.

She moved with an easy grace, her dark hair dampened by the rain but her stride unbroken, untouchable. She closed the distance between us without ceremony, reaching out to wrap her arms around mine, her lithe body pressing against me with possessive affection.

And possessive she was.

Her lips quirked in that mischievous, wicked smile that only she could wear so naturally.

She rested her cheek against my arm, voice low and sweet.

“Little Fish,” she murmured, using the name she reserved only for me, “will you be a good man and bring Necromancy to the level of a True Source for me?”

…!

I turned my gaze to her, a softness hidden beneath the tyrannical precision that usually colored my eyes.

Internally, I smiled.

My little vixen.

There was a reason why Barbatos held such a unique place among the Queens. Playful, unpredictable, but infinitely loyal and impossibly brilliant.

“For you?” I said, voice a quiet wonder of affection and promise, “Of course.”

Necromancy, as a True Source.

Not difficult.

Not impossible.

But significant.

If she desired it, then it would be so.

I raised my head slightly, letting my gaze sweep across the others.

“Any other requests?” I asked smoothly.

The reaction was immediate.

The Queens surged forward as if they had been waiting, perhaps even plotting, for this exact moment.

Athena with her calm, calculating poise; Elena, who always carried a hidden dagger behind her smile; Anna with a gentleness that veiled ruthless determination; Tiamat with a predatory grin as ancient and untamed as her name suggested; Valentina, radiant as the break of dawn; Halcyon, quiet and profound as still waters; Eowyn, fierce, unrelenting, and filled with endless dreams; Katelyn, clever, her eyes sparkling with hidden plans and mirrors; Xiaomi, a soft smile masking sharp, unerring will.

In the distance, even the figure of the genius of a woman, Sona, was making her way over as the visage of the Great Beyonder also seemed to have her curiosity piqued as even this vivaciously powerful Outerversal Morphon floated over. The latter had only just begun with me soon as she was still acclimating.

Adelaide stood close by, her presence more felt than seen, as it should be for the First.

In moments, they swarmed around me.

Feminine power wrapped around my existence, but it was not suffocating.

Adorning.

Claiming.

Only proximity, only the simple, immense act of being near.

I allowed it.

Minutes passed, silent and slow, time dilating into something luxurious as I simply… existed with them.

Rain fell.

The Crucible pulsed.

And I breathed.

A Tyrant breathing amidst his sovereign Queens.

—

Some time later…

Another part of me stood elsewhere, not far, not near.

Near the edge of the Crucible’s boundaries where the Forge still poured its impossible rain.

There, Ruination and the Infiniverse stood, not idly.

They worked.

Existential Dimensional Lattices bloomed around them, magnificent, complicated geometries of dominion and principle forming with each breath they took, each thought they had.

I observed quietly, folding my arms behind my back.

And even as I did, my mind turned inward.

Not for reflection.

For progression.

I focused.

Deep within me, the strange, unique authority that had birthed itself from my own ascension stirred.

Absolute Fictional Transcendence.

The power to express my Fable however I desired, not merely narrate it.

Shape it.

Own it.

I pushed further into it, feeling the edges blur, reality slip…

And then…

HUUM!

My mind buzzed.

Images flooded me, not visions.

Rivers.

An endless multicolored river sprawled before me, a colossal, incandescent artery stretching infinitely in every direction.

And branching from it… tributaries.

Other rivers.

Other currents.

Fables.

Thousands. Millions. Billions. Endless!

Each river told a story. A legend. A life.

But my Fable…

It pulsed in the heart of it all, what I believed to be the heart anyways, a thick, commanding current, impossible to ignore.

Yet I felt it, a faint distance.

As if my Fable had… shifted.

Grown detached from the others, and continuing to do so.

Not separated.

Elevated.

But more than my Fable…

I felt threads.

Resonances.

The entanglements of my existence with others.

One entanglement pulsed sharply.

A Fable wound tight against mine, dragging and pulling.

Curious, I turned my mind to it and focused on a single radiant lazy river.

And I saw it.

| The Fable of Eckert, the Great Usurper. |

When I focused, a prompt appeared before my consciousness.

| Would you like to utilize Absolute Fictional Transcendence to observe the Fable of the Great Usurper? |

| Due to the Complexity of Entanglement, the Cost will be relatively low. Full authority of 50 of your Current Existential Dimensional Lattices will be required as their weavings will be entirely depleted for the next 3 hours. |

…!

Fifty Lattices.

A steep price.

But one I could pay.

Eckert.

The Great Usurper.

A being stemming from the same weavings as me, but was not allowed to shine as bright as he could since he happened to be near someone like me.

I gazed at the prompt, thought for only a moment.

Fifty Lattices?

Fine.

I will simply forge more soon.

Because what was knowledge, if not a weapon?

A king did not fear the cost of spies and scouts.

I extended my hand mentally.

Confirmed.

| Confirmed. Beginning Observation of the Fable of the Great Usurper. |

| Warning: All chosen Lattices will be depleted for the next 3 hours. Absolute Fictional Transcendence will operate under limited authority during this period. |

| Initiating Fable Convergence… |

The rivers pulsed.

The currents churned.

And before me, the fabric of another tale unfolded, threads woven tight with idle paradox, ambition, devouring, and tyranny.

The Fable of the Great Usurper would soon be mine to observe.

To understand!

The Crucible trembled faintly as the veils between Fables blurred.

And I smiled.

Let’s see what the Great Usurper has to show me.

Let’s see what Fable, what fate, dares to unfold before me next!