I Can Assimilate Everything Chapter 716: WHO?! II

Mansa D’Kuku appeared at the location where Mansa Nguna had previously stood.

The ruined remnants of THE Gilded Laboratory Outpost #32 offered him nothing but fractured surfaces and the complete absence of everything that had defined this space throughout eons of his daughter’s devoted labor.

Her collected specimens were vanished. Her employed instruments were missing. The lustrous golden floor, the levitating platforms, and the lifeless bodies she had probed with such unyielding curiosity across prolonged lifetimes of knowledge acquisition were gone along with all else, dissolved into the very same torrents that had stripped her away from existence.

He let out a cry.

The sound that emanated from a weeping Gilded One was not one of typical sorrow. It was a force that pressed against the very fabric of reality with the same inherent authority as his being, an Observable Force responding to his profound emotional state much like the weather reacts to atmospheric pressure. The surrounding existence registered his profound loss as a structural disruption rather than merely a personal tragedy.

Reality itself fractured.

Streams of Observable Force joined his sorrow, golden currents surging from the nearby landscape and flowing through the devastated space with the aimless quality of something that had lost its guiding principle.

Rivers of Infinity then followed, azure torrents pouring through the fissures his grief had carved into the spatial architecture, the fundamental forces of structured reality mourning in whatever manner fundamental forces could express grief when the very being who commanded them had been shattered by unbearable loss.

Subsequently, his expression grew grave and resolute.

He directed his gaze towards the direction Achilles had vanished, his eyes transitioning from profound sadness to something far colder and more determined. This shift was swift, characteristic of the rapid transitions from devastating agony to unwavering resolve found in beings who have cultivated sufficiently to understand that direct action is the sole form of grief that yields tangible results.

He lifted his hands.

And he commenced his incantation.

"That which has been grasped, that which has been comprehended, that which has drawn breath within the framework of Observable Force and imprinted its essence upon the currents of Infinity that permeate all structured reality."

His voice resounded with a rhythm that was both ancient and exact, employing words structured not for aesthetic appeal but for functional efficacy, each syllable meticulously placed with the precision of a technique honed over countless ages of cultivation.

"I invoke the Unceasing Quest. I invoke the truth that nothing which has existed within the Observable Force can ever truly depart from it, that Infinity retains memory of what it has encountered, that the currents which flowed through a living entity carry the distinct signature of that existence forward through time and space with an immutable fidelity."

Observable Force began to coalesce around his hands, achieving concentrations that bathed the immediate surroundings in an ethereal luminescence.

"By the very Pulse of THE Eternal Pursuit, locate that which I seek. Locate that which encountered my daughter. Locate that which extinguished her existence. Infinity, pursue it. Observable Force, track it. Reality itself, return it to my grasp."

BOOM!

The Pulse was unleashed with a power that caused the shattered remnants of the laboratory to vanish completely. Blazing rivers of Infinity and Observable Force surged outward from Mansa D’Kuku’s position in all directions simultaneously, advancing with the relentless momentum of a force that perceives no obstacles as significant impediments to its passage through open space. They sought the unique signature of Mansa Nguna within whatever existence had absorbed her, meticulously tracing the precise configuration of her foundational essence through the integrated remnants she had left within her annihilator.

The rivers blazed onward.

And Mansa D’Kuku followed in their wake.

---

Achilles was traversing through spatial discontinuities of Observable Existence with every ounce of his being, utilizing all the memories he had acquired from Mansa Nguna to discover pathways inaccessible to conventional pursuit. He navigated through the interstitial spaces between structured realities with the desperate efficiency of someone acutely aware of their diminishing time.

The urgency he felt was profound and absolute.

Should he attempt to traverse the Silver Philotimo Observable Existence, he would be apprehended within mere seconds by a Gilded One whose grief had fully transformed into the potent fuel of a father relentlessly hunting the entity responsible for his daughter’s demise. The Silver Philotimo was, in every conceivable aspect, Mansa D’Kuku’s dominion—a reality where his authority would extend through the Observable Force currents he commanded with the effortless familiarity of a native.

If he were to retreat to his own Observable Existence, it would undoubtedly expose everything. His identity as THE Vilicus, the officially appointed representative of Mansa Zulu, would be revealed as the very being responsible for the assimilation of a Superbius Gilded One. No one would credit a mere Bounded Lifeform with the capability to inflict harm upon a Gilded One, leading to a conclusion far more dire than mere inconvenience.

The only viable path appeared to be allowing this current form to perish right here.

Yet, even this grim outcome would come at a steep price. This was, after all, the primary vessel he had utilized to Assimilate Mansa Nguna, embodying the most complete integration of her entire being. His other avatars within his Observable Existence were still immersed in their own metamorphosis, the influx of power and alterations propagating through his dispersed consciousness to ensure uniformity, but this intricate process remained incomplete.

It was a truly perplexing predicament.

He was still examining his choices when the flow of existence abruptly denied him further deliberation.

BOOM!

The Rivers of Infinity and Observable Force erupted behind him, coiling like sentient serpents, as the Pulse of THE Unending Pursuit locked onto his unique signature via the assimilated remnants of Mansa Nguna within his core. An intimidating aura emanated from behind the rivers, imbued with a despair that had fully transformed into unbridled fury. Mansa D’Kuku was rapidly closing the distance, moving at speeds that rendered the intervening space utterly meaningless.

A sigh escaped Achilles.

He was on the verge of complete disintegration of this body when everything suddenly halted.

BZZT!

Frozen, instantaneously and utterly, as though the very dimension of time had arrested its forward momentum for every iota of existence within the immediate vicinity of the newly activated phenomenon. Achilles himself became immobile along with everything else, suspended mid-decision, caught in the precise moment of his intended action. The frustration was palpable, akin to being interrupted at the most critical juncture.

BZZT!

Amidst the arrested temporal flow, a woman materialized, moving with the effortless grace of one for whom the stilled moment was not an obstacle but a navigable medium.

Her crimson hair defied the frozen reality, exhibiting a subtle undulation and catching errant light that logically should not have been present. Her eyes, a striking crimson-gold, blazed with an intense luminescence that conveyed both sharp intellect and keen observation. A smile graced her lips, possessing a peculiar quality – a hint of amusement rather than urgency at the unfolding situation.

She radiated no discernible power.

This very lack of outward power sent a chilling premonition through Achilles, a feeling of danger more profound than any he had experienced since the emergence of Mansa Zulu from the infinite obsidian brilliance. For beings whose power remained contained, unexpressed, it suggested a mastery that required no outward validation.

Her gaze, those piercing crimson-gold eyes, fixed upon him. She exhaled slowly, the sigh of someone engaged in a prolonged and taxing endeavor.

She then stretched languidly, as if weary.

"Man, time-related chaos is the absolute worst, but a job’s a job, right?"

...!

"Hey there! Achilles, I presume? Achilles Adrastia?"

She tilted her head slightly, a gesture of confirmation for information already possessed.

"You’ve certainly stirred up quite a storm in the future to necessitate our intervention across time. But fear not, your savior has arrived!"

Her smile broadened, its brilliance undimmed by the frozen temporal state.

"However, nothing comes without a price. I actually have a task for you, something that requires your unique set of abilities."

...!