My attributes are increasing infinitely Chapter 430: Planning for the battle
Previously on My attributes are increasing infinitely...
Ethan completed the last phase of his setup and remained motionless, permitting the hush to descend.
This marked the instant.
The instant preceding combat where one's very life hung in the balance.
Defeat simply wasn't possible.
Ethan positioned himself in the heart of his secluded room. The atmosphere nearby flickered subtly, warped by the lingering warmth and force from his earlier efforts.
He breathed out gradually.
For a figure of his present strength, demise seldom proved permanent. Forms could be swapped. Essences could be rebuilt. Awareness could be revived from shards preserved outside of eras.
Yet this circumstance stood apart.
Should this duplicate perish, a far graver forfeiture would occur.
His capacity for joy would vanish alongside it.
Ethan grasped this reality with chilling precision. If this form fell to a flawless Absolute Continuum entity, he would forfeit the power to experience delight eternally. It wouldn't revive upon rebirth. It wouldn't recover through training.
That sense of emotion would be wiped away.
The very idea of such a loss proved intolerable to consider. This went beyond mere ruin of a shell. It represented a profound disconnection from bliss on a spiritual level.
The duplicate embodied his delight and contentment.
If it were snuffed out by an entity transcending eras and dimensions, that fragment of his essence would be removed from the weave of reality, resulting in a mere empty persistence.
Ethan tightened his grip.
"Yumiko," he murmured softly, his tone firm amid the immense pressure bearing upon him. "Prepare an unbreakable getaway strategy."
He raised his sight, gaze keen and intent.
"I won't enter this without foresight. Strength by itself falls short. I require an exit if disaster strikes. What steps should I take? Any ideas?"
[Master, consider using a substitute doll?]
Ethan's brow furrowed.
His thoughts swiftly scanned myriad options. Relics from antiquity. Essence-tied creations. Fate-connected illusions. Items capable of absorbing fatal blows on his behalf.
"I've considered that," he responded. "Would it hold up against such a foe?"
It represented a timeless tactic. A method as ancient as the practice of cultivation. Advanced practitioners and sorcerers depended on stand-ins as their ultimate safeguard. Upon the arrival of doom, another entity absorbed the impact.
However, this adversary was far from typical.
They confronted a flawless Absolute Continuum entity.
At such a height, existence wasn't governed by rules. It bent to will. Outcomes and origins yielded. Chronology became a vista viewed from afar.
The awareness of such a presence could unravel the threads of destiny.
A simple effigy or essence-twin would appear as a blatant ruse. Evident. Bordering on mockery.
Facing an entity attuned to the Absolute, trickery didn't obscure. It exposed.
He worried a stand-in would glow like a flame amid utter void.
[You're right, master,] Yumiko answered, her inflection altering as myriad factors were analyzed simultaneously.
[Still, you're overlooking a key element.]
Ethan paid close attention.
[Two flawed Absolute Continuum entities wander this region. We can draw those fiends into the fray.]
His gaze sharpened.
[They form the dual foundational pillars of this dual-realm framework. Though inferior to flawless Absolute Continuum entities from the neutral realm, they endure eternally here. Destruction eludes them.]
Ethan fell quiet.
The notion started to take form.
The Executioners.
The entities charged with upholding equilibrium across the realms. They transcended simple protectors. They served as foundational braces.
They reigned as supreme hunters in their territory. Inapproachable by nearly all. Dreaded universally.
By ensnaring them in the turmoil, his retreat wouldn't depend on illusion.
It would hinge on certainty.
He wouldn't evade the assault. He would divert it.
Yumiko relayed broad outlines. Dimensional anchoring ideas. Fate-luring devices. Harmony links that could compel reciprocal aggression.
She couldn't outline the complete strategy yet. The uncertainties around a flawless Absolute entity proved too turbulent. Too definitive.
But this sufficed.
Ethan could build upon it.
He could polish the details. Hone the reasoning. Transform a partial idea into a deadly backup.
"You're brilliant," Ethan whispered, a tired yet sincere grin gracing his mouth. "Have you always been this clever, or did this advancement enhance you?"
[I have no idea what you're implying, master! I've always been this clever!]
Pride colored her words. Nearly offense.
Ethan laughed softly.
Even on the edge of oblivion, Yumiko stayed true to form.
"Is that the case?" he remarked.
He skipped further jesting. Moments were invaluable.
He refocused on the retreat scheme, envisioning it afresh. Not as a warzone, but as intertwined layers in orchestrated disorder.
He would serve as the lure.
And upon collision, he would exchange positions with one of the flawed pillars.
The flawless entity wouldn't target him.
It would assail the principles of the enclosure itself.
Ethan extended his hand and seized the Sword of Infinity.
As his digits closed around the grip, a fierce rush of might surged up his limb, shattering every limitation he had imposed.
Existence responded without delay.
His being ascended.
Absolute Continuum.
The shift wasn't mere amplification of force. It constituted a fundamental alteration.
His aura grew denser, yet curiously unburdened. He sensed himself dwelling within chronology and utterly detached from it. As though he had escaped the script, entering the realm of the author.
It proved exhilarating.
And alarming.
Still, Ethan recognized one certainty.
He lacked full awareness of his true might.
Beyond Absolute Continuum, the path of advancement ceased. No stages. No levels. No classifications.
Henceforth, strength knew no bounds.
Not in measure, but in essence.
It transcended ascent. It concerned the degree to which one manifested the Absolute.
Absolute Continuum wasn't an enhancement.
It was a transcendence.
The gap between an illustration and the grasp wielding the brush.
Ethan perceived a disturbing insight. Even reaching Infinite Erebus, a stature that would render him invincible mere days prior, he couldn't overcome this iteration of himself armed with the Sword of Infinity.
The blade acted as the trigger.
Yet now, he unsheathed it not for self-assessment.
He unsheathed it to gauge the limit.
He required knowledge of the pinnacle occupant before wagering all.
Thus, he reached his choice.
He would confront the One Above All.
Prior to encountering the enigmatic invader from the neutral realm.
It demanded audacity. Perhaps recklessness unto death.
Yet the rationale held firm.
Should he engage the paramount overseer of the positive realm and endure, absorbing his strength, his odds against the foreigner would soar.
No stages surpassed it.
And the Sword of Infinity elevated its bearer to superior combat dominion.
Thus, with battle skill akin to the One Above All, wielding the sword once more would propel him beyond that stature.
Such was the hypothesis.
Should it succeed, no barrier would remain.
"Yumiko," Ethan inquired, his eyes shimmering with subtle silver radiance. "Do you now possess every detail within this enclosure? The strength hierarchy post-Absolute Continuum?"
[Yes, master. Following this advancement, nothing in the enclosure evades my sight.]
Her awareness had broadened to include each particle, each notion, each ripple inside the confines.
[Yet, I can't disclose it all immediately. That would breach the enclosure's edicts and rouse the architects. We must stay concealed.]
Ethan inclined his head. Knowledge equaled might. Yet it also signaled.
"But I can share the strength hierarchy," Yumiko went on. "That's permitted."
"Then reveal it," Ethan urged. "Where do I rank?"
[I can't juxtapose you with others directly. That ventures into Omniscience.]
Thus, he called forth the display.
Illumination bloomed in the atmosphere.
[Status Panel]
[Master: Ethan Hunt
Realm: Eternal Sovereign
Physique: 4096 Erebus
Spirit: 4096 Erebus
Talent: Infinite Comprehension
Ability: Creation of All Things
Bloodline: Infinite Bloodline
Combat Power: Grade 1 Absolute Continuum]
Ethan fixed his stare on the concluding entry.
"Grades?" he questioned. "I believed Absolute Continuum implied boundless progression."
[Five grades exist within the enclosure, master. Progressing past Grade 5 demands breaking the enclosure.]
Each grade wasn't a progression.
It formed a vast divide.
Myriad Grade 1 entities couldn't overcome one Grade 2.
Quality of being, not volume.
Ethan sensed the burden take hold.
He occupied Grade 1.
The base of the peak.
"What of the One Above All?" he whispered.
[Grade 1.]
"And the intruder?"
[Grade 2.]
A wave of ease coursed through him.
Not security.
But potential.
He could battle the One Above All, confident in his survival.
Then, a day hence, he would attain battle might matching a Grade 1 Absolute Continuum entity, and with the sword grasped, he would rival Grade 2, equaling the intruder.
Ethan's gaze steeled.
"One Above All," he muttered. "Come to me."
He cleaved the void before him.