Chapter 40 - 40
Chapter 40:
In the concealed chamber of ancient stone and flickering torchlight, Noboru sat cross-legged, his eyes intently fixed on the Sage. The air was heavy with the musk of old books and the distant, untraceable scent of time itself. The Sage, a figure as ancient as the mysteries he held, began to speak in a voice that resonated with the depth of ages.
"Long before our modern realms were shaped, Noboru, there existed kingdoms of such grandeur and mystery that what we know today pales in comparison. These were not just lands but embodiments of infinity itself, each transcending the last in complexity and scope."
As the Sage's hands danced through the air, painting invisible pictures, Noboru's mind whirled with visions of these ancient kingdoms.
"The First Kingdom, Veridian, was a land of eternal forests and endless paths. Trees towered into the clouds, creating a canopy that stretched beyond horizons. Travelers in Veridian could walk for lifetimes, each turn revealing new wonders. It was a realm of endless exploration, where the journey itself was the destination."
Noboru's imagination took flight, soaring through the vast, verdant expanses of Veridian. He envisioned travelers, much like himself, wandering in awe through this endless realm.
The Sage's voice pulled him further into the depths of history. "Beyond Veridian lay Argentum, a kingdom of surreal beauty, where the laws of nature bowed to the whims of the land. Mountains reached upwards and inwards in impossible ways, and valleys folded upon themselves, creating spaces vast and intricate. It was a world that responded to the thoughts of those who walked its lands, a tapestry of reality woven from the mind's deepest desires and fears."
Noboru felt his mind bend with the surreal landscapes of Argentum, where reality was but a canvas for the extraordinary.
"Then there was Caelum, a realm so vast and complex that it made the infinities of Veridian and Argentum seem like simple child's play. Here, cities and forests existed in a network of dimensions, each a world unto itself. The sky was an ever-changing canvas of stars and colors, a true testament to the kingdom's boundless nature."
In his mind's eye, Noboru wandered through Caelum, each step a passage through different dimensions, each gaze upward a new constellation of wonder.
"But, beyond even the unimaginable expanse of Caelum, existed Elysium. It was more a concept than a place, a realm that transcended physical and metaphysical boundaries. Elysium was where questions and answers merged, a dream within a dream that existed in the hearts and minds of those who dared to dream the impossible."
Elysium, thought Noboru, was where the essence of existence was questioned and reimagined. It was a realm of philosophers and dreamers.
The Sage's tone grew somber. "And then, Noboru, there was The Void. It was not a kingdom but the absence of everything we understand. In The Void, the very fabric of existence, the layers of infinity of Elysium, and all that came before, were rendered insignificant. It was an unending, indescribable non-realm, where the potential for everything and nothing existed in tandem."
Noboru felt a chill as he envisioned The Void, an unending, indescribable non-realm where potential for everything and nothing coexisted.
"The Void which would come to be known as the Abyss of Yami was the reason these kingdoms are no more. It slowly enveloped them, absorbing their infinite complexities into its unfathomable expanse. What we know as the modern kingdoms today are but shadows, faint echoes of these once-great realms of infinity, now lost to the mists of The Void."
The Sage fell silent, his words hanging heavily in the air. Noboru sat, overwhelmed by the enormity of this revelation.
Sensing Noboru's deep curiosity, the Sage reached into his robe and produced an ancient, leather-bound tome. "This book contains the lore of those realms," he said, handing it to Noboru.
Noboru opened the book, the pages crackling with age. He began to read, his mind painting the pictures of the words he encountered:
Veridian: "In times long past, Veridian was a kingdom where paths and landscapes continuously unfolded in new and unexpected ways. Travelers spoke of a sun that never set in the same place twice, and a landscape that always changed, suggesting a journey without end. This realm was akin to walking a path that perpetually extended, embodying a type of linear or countable infinity, aligning with the concept of Aleph-0 from Wiseman Yukira Hoshizoru. It was a place of endlessness, graspable yet unfathomable."
Argentum: "Beyond the verdant expanse of Veridian, Argentum existed in defiance of normal logic and perception. Here, landscapes of gravity-defying mountains and self-folding valleys created a surreal and perplexing world. It was confirmed that the kingdom mirrored the thoughts of its travelers, confirming it was a profound, uncountable infinity, like stated in the papers of Aleph-1 thoery made by Yusha Hamui . In Argentum, the scale and complexity of infinity expanded significantly, transcending the linear expanses of its neighbor."
Caelum: "Caelum, the realm that followed, was a network of worlds within worlds. Cities and forests existed in multidimensional spaces, and the shifting sky spoke of an even more complex form of infinity. This realm is a reality where infinity encompassed not just space, but time and dimensions, akin to study of Aleph-2 Sir aron the wise thoerised. Caelum was an advanced scale of infinity, a confluence of multiple infinities, each existing within the other."
Elysium: "Elysium, the most abstract of these kingdoms, was more a feeling or notion than a physical place but existed and was accessible to some. It was likened to a dream within a dream, where the lines between questions and answers blurred. This kingdom aligned with the concept of an inaccessible cardinal, a form of infinity so vast and abstract that it lay beyond direct observation or comprehension as stated by Scholar Yui. Elysium existed more in theory and imagination, representing a level of infinity fundamentally different and larger than those that came before."
The Void: "Beyond the enigmatic reaches of Elysium, The Void stretched in its unfathomable expanse. It was not a realm but an anti-realm, where notions of space, time, and infinity became irrelevant. Here, the complexities of Elysium were mere echoes, stepping stones to an incomprehensible beyond. The Void was the absence of absence, the presence of presence, an endless paradox. It was a realm of pure potentiality, where all possibilities and impossibilities converged into an indistinguishable singularity. The Void, an ultimate enigma, stretched beyond imagination and reason, a metaphysical abyss where the foundations of reality dissolved into an endless sea of unknowable mystery."
Noboru looked up from the book, his mind swirling with images of these realms, each more wondrous and incomprehensible than the last. The Sage watched him silently, knowing that the seeds of understanding were now planted in the fertile ground of the young seeker's mind.
"Is... is there anything else i should known about. Any other Kingdoms? Realms?" Noboru asked still mind baffled at what he had read and heard.
"Yes The Lower Realms. The Lower Realms, Noboru, are a vast and intricate network of hierarchies of dimensions that transcend what we commonly understand as infinity. Imagine an immense structure, much like towers of infinite floors, where each floor represents a separate dimension. In this example, each dimension aka floor views the one below it as mere fiction, a creation of its own imagination.
This realm transcends a hierarchies of endless dimensions, each more complex and profound than the one below. However, despite their vastness and complexity, these dimensional hierachies are still nothing to the lost kingdoms we have discussed.." The sage explains.
Noboru then asks "What is the name of this realm?"
"This realm has many names to the lower realm it was known as the Higher Realms, God's home and to the people of it's world it known as Mugen Sekai to some and World of Infinities to others to symbolise the different sets of infinities and beyond this realm has in it" the sage explained.
Noboru nods taking everything in. As Noboru was thinking of this he thought about Niju Chikara and how his dark art kept him here, Suddenly Noboru came to a revaltaion.
'So this isn't a world that was made naturally it's more like a prison to hold me. Damn that Niju Chikara. I bet he doesn't understand the spell he made. It didn't send me to a place that existed but used either my power or a higher beings power to make a place outside the natural existence to contain me. That migh explain why i can't escape this without clearing the story. The realm needs me to exist and once the story is over it no longer has a reason to exist and will let me go" Noboru thought.