novelraw Chapter 256: The Paradox
Chapter 256: The Paradox
Chapter 256: The Paradox The words spread across the meadow, sending ripples of wind through the grass and flowers. As Soren stood there, watching over his younger self with keen eyes, only a single thought plagued his mind:
Is he more shameless than me?
No, we’re practically the same person—I must be that shameless too… In the eyes of others.
Shaking his head inwardly, Soren crossed his arms and smiled.
“What are your conditions?”
The child with extremely long hair pointed behind him. Soren instantly interpreted the meaning—the strange flaming pillar encompassing his Runic Existence.
“I will prevent its corruption from growing. In exchange, I wish for my freedom and the opportunity to witness… this vast world. I swear upon my existence that I will not harm you—the original Soren Andersen—or attempt to get in your way, even if it costs me my life. I will also never lie to you or hide information I know.” Figment said robotically, as if it had rehearsed the proclamation a thousand times before.
Hearing this, Soren remained silent for a few moments then laughed, stunning even his cloned apparition. “Fine. I agree to those terms.”
“What?” The seven year old tilted his head sideways.
“I said I agree,” Soren reiterated with a nod.
“That fast?”
“That fast.”
“.....”
Neither of them spoke for the next few seconds, letting the silence carry over. Eventually, he heard Figment sigh.
“You made the right choice.”
“I know I did,” Soren nodded. “You didn’t really leave me with a choice. I realized it the moment that flame’s enchantment began to cloud my mind. At the time, I was able to utilize my control over the subspace to force my body to stop—otherwise, I might have truly jumped into the light’s embrace…
“But I quickly realized that this was only a temporary solution. After a few more days, my willpower will likely be drained completely, leaving me defenseless against its allure.”
It was as if his intrusive thoughts were overpowering even his composure—compelling him to turn around and look at the vibrant flame. But his instincts caused by that new Shade of Self were acting as a counterbalance against its encroachment. Even if his curiosity was being externally fueled, Soren was able to go against his own nature, stopping himself before it was too late.
He knew, however, this wasn’t going to last for long…
Figment remained silent as he walked past him toward the flame. Without turning around, Soren used his control over the subspace to watch his movements closely. Step after step merged into a single monotonous motion, until finally, he arrived beneath the ancient marble canopy.
The younger Soren looked up at the vibrant light—his amber eyes shining brightly. After what felt like an eternity, his body levitated on its own. He reached his arm toward the light’s embrace.
Soren squinted his eyes. He didn’t expect him to touch the flame, but he didn’t stop him either. It was clear that the Figment of his Imagination knew what it was doing.
Just as he had assumed, nothing happened to his cloned apparition. The flame began to flicker unevenly, as if possessed by something. The childish body created from Paper Fold Resurrection and [Fictionalization] persisted, however.
After another few seconds, Soren heard Figment’s voice in his mind, similar to how it always used to converse with him:
“As you can see, nothing happened to me.”
Soren nodded with a chuckle. “That’s to be expected. Otherwise, bringing you back wouldn’t serve much of a purpose.”
The flame, this time, didn’t flicker. He instead saw his cloned apparition shift slightly to look back at him. With a sigh, it spoke solemnly:
“Indeed. As I had assumed, your progress in managing this subspace has been substantial. Even if you didn’t have me, after a month or two, completing many of the tasks I used to be responsible for would not pose any issue to you.”
It glanced up at the vast library floating above the ancient space. “I had already organized the library in the best possible way. Even if you have trouble locating entries at first, it would only be a minor annoyance after you get used to it. Similarly, adding new entries would be even easier, since the structure is already organized enough for you to infer where to place new ones. Divinations and other minor tasks were already handled by you before, so those wouldn’t even register as a problem.
“However, there was one thing you couldn’t solve on your own: the paradox of your existence. That… That was what I bet my existence on.”
Soren turned around, glancing directly at the brilliant flame shining like a beacon amidst the dark and lonely space. This time, there was no longer an allure or a strange emotion compelling him to move forward. The feeling had completely disappeared, but his instincts were still aware of its slumbering presence…
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With a sigh, he walked forward, reaching the familiar marble canopy. After settling in his usual seat, he glanced at the child-like body Figment possessed and smiled.
“It seems the issue really is resolved. For now, at least.”
After another brief pause, he chuckled and said, “I think this is the perfect time for you to explain everything. How did you know about my second Affinity before I even merged with Cantor’s Crown? You seem to also possess a 2nd Circle spell for it… Also, how and why are you able to prevent the Pillar of Light’s corruption from growing?
“Last but not least, how long have you been planning this for?”
As he stared silently into its eyes, Soren noticed a few peculiarities. For one, although its humanoid form was extremely realistic, it was still made out of paper. Occasionally, he could spot the dividing line between the pages that make up its form.
Secondly, the childish body it possessed was simply a puppet. Its true existence was currently inhabiting the flame itself.
After a few more seconds of silence, he saw the colossal bonfire flicker and dim slightly. The younger Soren levitated away from the flame, sitting opposite of where he was at the round table.
“Let us start with your last question. This plan… I have been finalizing its details ever since we obtained Cantor’s Crown from the Blossom Sword Flower. Its presence clearly corrupted your Runic Existence, allowing me to obtain information directly from it.
“The most important aspect of this information was how that rune directly influences your True Self. Because of your direct connection to The Faerie Court, the differentiation between Mysteries and Magecraft tend to warp slightly, causing your affinities to exhibit unnatural properties more aligned with the runes you merge with. It also means your shades can only exist through these outside influences.”
Soren nodded. “I had already theorized this to a certain extent. Though, I couldn’t be completely sure… Until now.”
The younger Soren nodded with a sigh. “However, this connection also created a loophole. Because of the accord you pledged to your Epoch Star, your Soul Chain became permanently frozen, leaving me with no actual freedom over my actions. I could only follow your orders directly, or act independently when it is to your benefit. But when you obtained that second rune, its influence over your Soul Chain created a few… instabilities.
“Although I wasn’t able to act independently, the Cantor’s Crown rune itself could. And since it was obtained through Abstract Rune Synchronization, it had no qualms listening to my orders. I was able to gain partial control over the subspace through its influence.”
Hearing this, Soren couldn’t help but frown. What a sly bastard…
Figment continued, “With this limited freedom, I decided to conduct a few divinations in secret with the Cantor’s Crown rune itself being the medium and the Records of Enigma as my conduit. Since the connection was directly tied to the symbolism that rune holds, I was successful in obtaining a few independent Material Runes—all of which lead to the same obscure affinity: Ephemera. That was how I was able to deduce what your Shade of Self will look like. Of course back then, there wasn’t really a name for it—just like Mesmerism, this affinity seems to be extremely rare.”
Hearing this, Soren couldn’t help but be impressed. The logic behind each of its decisions was sound and directly influenced its next set of actions. There were no wasted choices—everything operated as discretely as possible in order to achieve its goals.
Amused, Soren decided to ask something else. “Doesn’t this mean in the future, it might be best to conduct divinations on the runes we obtain before merging with them? That way, the answers we obtain will be far more direct.”
“Indeed,” Figment nodded. “But it would still depend on the rune’s cooperation. This time, we were lucky since Cantor’s Crown was obtained through Abstract Rune Synchronization. It had no issue with helping us.”
Soren nodded, making a mental note in the process. He then redirected the conversation back to the original topic:
“So you were able to obtain information on my new affinity through the Abstract Rune itself, and with all the time you had to yourself in this space, you managed to construct a 2nd Circle spell out of the Material Runes you discovered?”
“Correct. Though, it wasn’t some happenstance. My queries through the divination were directly steered toward the kind of magecraft I desired to obtain, so the runes I discovered reflected my wishes.”
“But isn’t that too coincidental?” Soren crossed his arms. “Searching for the correct Material Runes isn’t easy. It takes a lot of trial and error. Even if you are able to command multiple personas to conduct different tests as efficiently as possible, the results should still be fairly hard to obtain. Not to mention, I would have noticed if you were being that obvious about it—hiding entries from my Soul Weapon isn’t an easy task.”
The silence grew more and more deafening, until finally, Figment answered succinctly.
“The Orbits of Fate.”
Soren’s eyes widened.
“Fate directly steered this outcome.”
The revelation left him slightly stunned. Why would fate desire this outcome?... It only became clear after a few more moments of reflection.
“My corruption!.. It didn’t want me to be corrupted!...” After all, Soren had yet to reach the mountain’s summit…
Since Soren needed Figment to resist the Pillar of Light’s enchantment, it steered the outcome in its favor. His cloned apparition knew this and took advantage of the newly acquired luck to search for the Material Runes he needed…
Adding to his shock, Figment continued, “The being that slumbers within this space… It is something even I do not understand or dare to know. However, it is likely related to the One Above All.
“Its awakening only requires one thing: your existence embracing this flame. It has already encroached upon your Runic Existence, as you can see before you. But it also desires your flesh. Your body and your fate…”
Pausing for a moment, the flame flickered again, “When we first met, I did not lie to you. I really am the paradox of your existence.
“A paradox that has somehow enabled you to survive for this long. Without my presence, you would have likely succumbed to the flame’s embrace the moment you landed here the first time.”
“.....”
Soren was left speechless, unable to understand what the truth really was.
“Why…” He glanced at the flame in confusion, “Why are you the only one able to resist the flame? Why can you stop it from consuming me?”
The answer came swiftly: “Because I am both you and aren’t you at the same time. It seems the flame assumes me to be you, but it also isn’t enough to fulfill the condition for awakening that entity.
“In essence, my existence is akin to a loophole in the system. By possessing the flame, I can allow it to focus on me instead of you, allowing you to roam freely in this space without worrying about the enchantment. And since my existence never fulfills the condition, I can perpetually exist in this state, as long as you never touch the flame directly.”
Hearing its explanation, Soren found no flaws. Everything it described mirrored what he already knew or assumed. There was also Figment’s pledge to never lie to him just moments before… He decided it was best to trust its words—at least for now.
“Wait a second.” Soren suddenly recalled something. “You said fate influenced you. Doesn’t that imply…”
“Yes,” the confirmation came swiftly, “Even though this space is isolated from fate’s machinations, my attempts at divination tap into the Records of Enigma, which still exist in Yarian. So it's more so a case of indirect influence.”