Primarch Eluriah Veilnox, a Time Sentinel of the Chronosect of Threadbound Folds. Noah uncovered such a distinction in the middle of an unfathomably serious moment, his weavings moving rapidly. Chronosect of Threadbound Folds. Was it a living cluster of beings, like the Hollow Concord of Nullity filled with Dead Things? But their weavings were so disconnected that even Melodrass and the other Mawbearers didn't seem to recognize her. And if she was looking for a Key… Noah's expression tightened as he looked at the figure of the Witness who was locked in a perilous position. He deemed it perilous because the eruption of Existential Dimensional Lattices from Primarch Eluriah was frighteningly precise, unlike Primarch Vaethrava, the Withering Sealroot, who spread hers across entire Frequencies. Primarch Eluriah worked with surgical precision. She nullified every aspect of power the Witness held. In her hands now, he couldn't even deploy a single thread of the True Source of Continuity. It was like a human holding a fly or an ant. They could kill them with a pinch at any moment. And the blind eyes of the Witness...seemed to somehow be gazing at Noah in silence. Arthur, the Sea of Ash, looked stricken as he prepared to speak, until Noah grasped his shoulder and stepped forward instead. This Primarch was deadly. And things had only grown more complex with her arrival. He spoke up. "You're about to extinguish the weavings of our old friend there. Do not do this, and maybe you'll still get what you want." …! The life of the Witness was in her hands. And Noah couldn't bypass these weavings, even as he felt an unfathomable Paradox Genesis beginning to bloom inside him. A synthesis of Living True Sources of Existence. But the more he read the weavings of the entity before him, the more serious he became. Because… "You all really think I'm fucking around." BZZT. Her voice was cold, layered with instability. "What I need is time-sensitive. I know, with certainty, that one of the Living Things here has it. Again, with certainty. I know this. And since I've said it, that person knows this too. Just unveil yourself, and you can prevent the destruction of everyone else here. In the next few nanoseconds…" Her eyes gleamed with danger. And Noah...he took the span of an instant and stretched it into seconds within himself. He thought. He looked at the weavings of the Protagonist. He could say nothing. Or, he could say he had the Key. The latter would entangle him in a weaving of complexity tied to a power he didn't yet understand. And it would mean… his own power would rise, faster and more gloriously than before. So… "Okay." WAA. Let things turn wild. Let things unfold in a way that let him clash with yet another powerful force- they would only become fuel for his strength! He said it as he labeled them an enemy. As he labeled her, this Primarch, an enemy. Even as he stepped forward and said the words. "I have the Key." HUUM. …! Even as he said it, the entire room reeled with shock. What fucking key?! Even as Primarch Eluriah Veilnox locked her gaze on him, her eyes glittering with satisfaction from hearing what she wanted… CRUNCH. Her hand twisted the neck of the Witness as if he were nothing more than an animal. Yes. Noah had already seen it- the murderous light in her eyes. She wanted to kill. No matter what was done. The crumpled body of the Witness trembled as Arthur and the other Legends howled, their True Sources flaring. But the terrifying weavings of Primarch Eluriah didn't stop there. The Witness's body began transforming rapidly. Until… it took on the same visage as Primarch Eluriah. Noah's weavings of existence recognized it instantly. Her True Source. Eidrynthal- the embodiment of ordered transcendence. A force that recalibrated the purity of other True Sources, rewriting their existence in real time to match her own. In a single moment, from the decimated weavings of the Witness, another Eluriah emerged. Her neck released, her gaze ice-cold, and now both bodies turned their eyes on Noah. "I had to kill the first one to retrieve the memories I needed. Most of them were erased by this old man, as if he knew what I was going to do. But you… you seem to be the one. Noah Osmont, is it? This fucker left only your name behind. Give me the Key." …! Noah closed his eyes briefly. The Witness, in that perilous moment where the Wheel danced between life and death- he crossed it. Unwittingly. Unluckily. His weavings were erased, and yet he didn't die. Instead, they were rewritten entirely. His current form displayed the power of a Resplendent Monad far beyond what he had ever reached. With a snap of her fingers, Primarch Eluriah conjured yet another version of herself from the existing weavings of another. That power… was just beneath her own. And Noah could sense it- it was nearing the level of Melodrass, who had not even ascended to Primarch. He exhaled as behind him, the Eldritch Expanse exploded, streaks of black and white tearing into every Legend around. Arthur, the Sea of Ash, included. "I can't force you, but if you stay, you'll die. Without question. I offer you the chance to retreat and fight another day." The Witness had already died. The others would follow. Even Noah couldn't scale fast enough now to topple a true Primarch- especially when he was still beneath Melodrass in terms of Complexity. His only advantage was the uniqueness of his True Sources- and now, what was blooming within his Autognosis Living Engine. The True Source of Eldritch Expanse pulsed. The Harmonized Sourcebound Icons and Nascent Source-Bearer Legends were pulled back, their faces etched with sorrow and rage. The Holder of the True Source of Asche shook his head with regret, vanishing into the death-stained Wheel of Existence. Only Noah remained. Against a Primarch and her second body. Against Dead Things stirring in the distance. "The Key." Primarch Eluriah extended her hand. A pale, regal hand. Golden strands of hair shimmered with life, her weavings undeniable. Noah looked at that hand… and calmly placed something into her palm. Her eyes sparked. She didn't even need to look to know. Noah had placed a handful of gray ash. "Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust." His voice was weighted as he looked at the Primarch, preparing. Her eyes twitched in fury as the ash, imbued with the True Source of Eldritch Expanse, burst with violet light, transforming instantly. Her voice rang out, filled with awe as her very existence began to beat to a new rhythm. "You don't know me." DUM! "But know this." DUM! "I'm going to enjoy rewriting every trace of your existence. Okay?" …! BOOM! Her hands lashed out like serpents, aiming to grab Noah as she had the Witness. But… |The Living True Sources of the Singed and Infinity have undergone a temporary union in the Autognosis Living Engine.| At that moment, something clicked. And Noah raised his hands!