Chapter 4125 That One Second! II Noah paid close attention to the warning, but he had to continue! Above him, branched on a tree over ten thousand miles tall, an obsidian pocket dimension hung like rotten fruit. The Primordial Stone Ape slumbered within, unaware that its eons of existence were about to end. At such a moment...he felt his existence buzz on edge. WARNING: Predator Detected! JAn Early Creature has locked onto your signature] Distance: 47 Fold Light Years and closing Estimated arrival: 13 seconds at current approach speed It's also tracking 6 other fleeing tribe members You're just one stop on its murder tour Urgency flooded through Noah's system like liquid lightning. With a bellow that carried tyrannical defiance, he exploded with the borrowed power of an Early Creature- one quadrillion in complexity made manifest through will and desperation. The Goad materialized in his grip, and reality shifted into slow motion as if existence itself wanted to properly witness what was about to occur. Noah locked onto the pocket dimension above, his perception penetrating through dimensional walls to see the sleeping ape within. Then, with motion that seemed both instantaneous and eternal, he struck. The Goad transformed as it moved. What had been a simple stick became a monument to violence- twenty thousand miles of crystallized authority, twice as massive as the ancient tree it targeted. Trillions of golden-white lightning arcs danced across its surface, each one carrying enough power to rewrite and educate existence! In the space of a single second that felt like a lifetime, the cosmic weapon connected with the pocket dimension. But this wasn't mere physical impact... the Goad imposed an existential truth upon reality. Existential education being imposed Truth being imposed: "What lies within must emerge to die"] Reality's resistance: Negligible] Pocket dimension integrity: Compromised Contents: About to have a very bad day HUUM! The pocket dimension split like overripe fruit, and the Primordial Stone Ape materialized in regular space-time. Its fur gleamed stellar white, each strand containing enough complexity to birth civilizations. Its eyes...ancient beyond measure, opened in shock that something had dared disturb its slumber. Those eyes had exactly 0.0001 seconds to process the situation before the Goad completed its arc. EXISTENTIAL TRUTH ESTABLISHED The Primordial Stone Ape will be taught instant death Lesson duration: Instantaneous Retention rate: Not applicable (student soon to be deceased)| Grade: A+ for execution, F for survival] WAA! The massive form bisected perfectly, the Goad having cut through existence itself rather than mere flesh. The two halves of the ape hung in space for a moment, its complexity, nearly one quadrillion...decimated in an instant by borrowed power wielded with desperate precision. BOOM! The sound arrived after the fact, reality catching up to what had already occurred. MONUMENTAL HUNT ACHIEVEMENT [Target eliminated: 780 Trillion Complexity entity Method: Overwhelming force + existential education Time elapsed: 1.3 seconds from arrival to kill Efficiency rating: "Disgustingly effective"] Effort recognized by Perpetual Harvest Even with borrowed power, this required tremendous effort Principle maturation accelerated] Seed of Perpetual Harvest: 2.1% > 3% A glorious set of prompts and achievements! Before Noah could process these achievements, new warnings blazed across his vision: CRITICAL THREAT UPDATE That Early Creature hunting you has changed its course. Previous arrival estimate: useless Updated arrival estimate: 1 second It may be time to initiate Temporal Traversal.| BOOM! An aura blared in a far, far distance. Noah's defiant glare swept across the bisected corpse floating above. Moving with desperate efficiency, he swung the Goad again, this time to claim his prize. The weapon's impact sent the upper half of the ape into his storage, the impossible mass somehow fitting into space that shouldn't accommodate it. His Early Atlas blazed to life, towers lighting in sequence as Temporal Traversal began its initialization. But time...that resource he'd been spending so freely, had run out. One Fold Light Year away, space tore open like paper before flame. An Early Creature emerged with the characteristic golden chiton of Lysander's forces. Its obsidian hair writhed like living snakes, each strand a separate predator seeking prey. Eyes deeper than abyss focused on Noah with interest that transcended the hunt...this was curiosity mixed with annoyance. Noah saw it in his peripheral vision and roared defiance that made local space reconsider its structural integrity. His Goad desperately swung toward the lower half of the ape, trying to make contact with it! But... If you don't leave NOW, you won't leave at all! The approaching Early Creature is already arriving! Your obituary will read: "He tried to loot too much"| Sometimes you must accept partial victory!] Noah's eyes pulsed with Tyranny as he turned to face the approaching death, his goad still swinging as at this moment, everything felt unbearably slow. He... would not reach it. He knew this! So, he tugged on his Atlas! And... With the wild power of one quadrillion complexity, he bellowed toward the Early Creature...not words but pure defiance, a declaration that even if he fled, it wasn't surrender. In that same instant... WAP! Existence folded around him like reality accepting a correction. He vanished not through space but through time, leaving behind only disturbed air and confusion. BOOM! The Early Creature materialized where Noah had stood, its hands grasping air that had held significance moments before. Only now did time resume normal flow. Only now did the thunder of Noah's attack properly propagate through space. Only now did the remaining half of the ape come crashing down through dimensions. The Early Creature observed this with cold calculation, its serpentine hair writhing with frustrated interest. Its head twisted at angles that shouldn't exist, trying to trace where its prey had gone. "What was that?" it muttered, voice carrying frequencies that made nearby trees wither. "That was... temporal? But the destination is not...these folds? How unique." It gazed at the remaining half of the Primordial Stone Ape with casual disinterest, then turned away. "The First Leader will want to know of this detail..." it decided, taking a step that carried it three Fold Light Years toward its next target. The hunt continued, but one particular prey had escaped in a way that warranted report. Back through time, through impossible distance, Noah's main body completed its traversal after less than four complete hours in the First Folds. He had gained power, knowledge, and half a corpse that would fuel unfathomable gains. But he had another body still in play! Ozymandias, The Purest Hunger, remained in the First Folds, following his own path of consumption and survival. How would pure hunger fare when hunted by those who had been hungry far longer than it?!