Chapter 3901: Foundation VI "The tragedy is," Moiraine said slowly, her voice cool and bitter as sea mist drifting over jagged stone, "if we, the Living Paradoxes, didn’t summon the very Inevitabilities the deeper we dwell in the Doorways to the Loom... we would have already carved entire dominions into it." She stood with her back straight, her hands folded at her waist as if delivering a war strategy before a council of kings. The light above the Early Veiled Shore cast long gold shadows behind her, but she remained radiant, as if the light came from her and not the sky. "We are in harmony with Paradox, Sir Osmont," she said with care, "Our nature aligns with it. We could wield it, shape it, bend all of existence around its contradictions. We should have flourished." She turned her eyes toward him now- measured, burning behind the civility. "But every step we take draws out more Inevitabilities instead. They rise from the Loom like antibodies to purge us. And so..." Moiraine’s voice tightened with restraint. "That is why you mattered. A Paradox... but without the taint. You would have been an impossible sword that could plunge through the Loom’s folds without drawing out Inevitabilities. You were meant to cut through the unknown and open paths that none of us could!" Her chin dipped ever so slightly, her jaw tightening. "Now Diviticus will take that role." Noah looked back at her, silent. The corners of his lips curled just slightly. "Let her try." ...! The words weren’t spoken too loud. They didn’t need to be. They boomed from his expression, from the stillness in his existence, from the command of his presence as he bit into another sliver of sacred Eel! She had half of his drop of Blood. Half! But...would she always be able to control it...when his complexity rose to unfathomable levels?! "..." He stayed quiet and kept this thought to himself. Moiraine pressed on, recovering her poise like silk smoothing back into place. "We use more Fold Dwellers than anyone. Because of the Inevitabilities. Because we need to." Her tone was calm and practiced. "Even the Nullvein Gravewake Folds... they’re monitored. Oryzarakh, Kelezar, and many others rotating. Always watching. The most powerful Fold Dwellers in those regions were given commands." Her eyes narrowed. "Find the Keys." She stepped forward and circled her fingers in the air. Sand lifted in spirals, forming delicate representations of different shaped objects. "Wonders are born from the folds, and some become Keys. Keys to Doorways leading to thr Loom that haven’t been touched. Which means no Inevitabilities. Yet." Her voice dropped. "We crave such Doorways. We instruct leaders of Fold Dwellers to hunt them, guard them... die for them." A slow exhale escaped Noah’s lips, his eyes growing distant as memories flickered across his vision. The Chronosect. The Time Sentinels. Their desperation as they looked for Keys. A Key. He raised his right hand and opened his palm. A gray rectangular object lay there, dull and silent. Moiraine’s eyes widened. "A key like this?" Noah asked, his voice deep, deliberate. She moved forward, her aura pulsing with golden arcs of Authority as she reached out and examined the object with surprise. "Yes... this is..." HUUM. Before she could finish, the very air around the key began to twist. Living Paradoxical Authority streamed from the atmosphere of the Early Veiled Shore, as if summoned by instinct alone. It wove itself into the dull gray metal, igniting lines across its surface one by one. Moiraine’s eyes pulsed. "This..." Noah took another bite of the eel as if nothing unusual was occurring. His gaze didn’t leave the glowing Key. "It’ll be active soon. We will plan for something then." ...! He swallowed, wiping his fingers slowly as he turned his attention inward. There was now... 5% progress on the Infinity Tower of Osmont. Still far from the Sacred Totem stage. But momentum was building. He turned toward the glass woks scattered across the sands, and already- his mother stood across the way, her eyes waiting, her finger pointing. "These five," Amelia Osmont called out, her tone light with the satisfaction of a master chef. "They’re ready." Before Noah could move, Moiraine lifted her arms with a grace that belonged to queens. Golden light flowed from her palms like rivers of sunlight, shooting out to the five woks and carrying them effortlessly through the air toward them. Noah offered a nod of approval, already preparing to continue devouring thr Early Living Marine Lifeforms. Then, he froze. Because... HUUM! A low, vibrating tremor pulsed across the Early Veiled Shore. It wasn’t booming, so much as it was felt and sensed by them! Waves of Authority- auras, terrifying and ancient, swept across the fabric of the Infiniverse Wheel of Existence. The auras did not hide. They did not attempt stealth. They mads themselves clear across the Nullvein Gravewake Folds! The Early Veiled Shore was at the center of the Infiniverse Wheel of Existence...which was located in the collapsed folds of the Nullvein Gravewake Folds! Any daring Living Existences that spread their auras out across the Nullvein Gravewake Folds...would be felt by Living Existences within the Infiniverse! And this was exactly what happened now. The blatant auras of Living Paradoxes- Dozens of them, flashed wildly! Moiraine’s body straightened as her eyes pulsed with solemnity. Her head snapped to the horizon. "Sir Osmont..." Noah did not flinch. He began devouring again. "They won’t find the land of an Early Creature," he said simply. "Not unless I want them to." His voice cut through the still air, calm and authoritative. Not merely reassurance, but fact. As if the reality of his words bent existence into alignment! He didn’t turn to face her. He didn’t need to. This was his shore. His domain. The privileges of an Early Creature ran deep. Even the Infiniverse Wheel of Existence, massive and folded inward, veiled the Early Veiled Shore at its center. Unless he wished it... none could find it. But still, their message rang out. They had come. Living Paradoxes. Dozens of them. Their auras blared unashamedly across the Nullvein Gravewake Folds!