Many of these tears that rip through the void are imbued with unique variations of laws not in other memories. However, collectively, they are all present in the ripples I absorbed and assimilated with in the present day.
I begin subconsciously sorting through the countless memories, and watch the change in both Ember's aura and the sword within my hand throughout their lives.
With every new interaction, they build upon each other. While it seems every other living being is a blank canvas with no inherent memories of the laws. Even the echoes of souls I feel within the wielder, or those that look like shadows of Maria, or Abby, or many other high ranking system users. None of them retain this essence beyond the system like the golden dragon and soul artifact do.
The more I focus on this discovery, the more patterns I see. Then, begin moving all of these memories into a mental grid and placing them in chronological order. At first, many memories seem to be missing, like there are large chunks of iterations that do not align. Yet, entirely new packets of information come floating up from the void to fill the gaps.
This comes with an even more daunting realization.
It is the fact that there are far too many memories for me to count. This is not a matter of billions, or trillions, or even ten digits higher. It is continuously expanding at an exponential rate.
Whenever I believe I've finally grasped the full number of memories encompassed in this legacy, a miniscule gap within two memories opens up to release a wave of more images than every past memory inherited combined.
It feels like there is no end. Yet with every new discovery, I feel as though my mind unlocks new capabilities of perception to process and understand more. This experience of looking deeper and deeper is granting me a glimpse into the true meaning of infinity.
At the same time, I watch the membrane of countless systems torn open to reveal the universe outside.
Some of them open up to reveal a vast expanse, with hundreds of billions of galaxies outside holding life of their own.
Others are torn open to reveal vast realms, with no stars or planets at all, just a single plane of existence.
Many reveal chaotic energy, of newly birthed universes that have not yet expanded. The membrane holding all of the life inside was the only thing protecting them.
There are even memories of gigantic membranes holding multiple galaxies inside them, revealing enormous galaxy-sized monsters dwelling beyond, taking bites out of superclusters and continuing eternal wars.
Some memories even consist of races made purely of the stars, and live within voids without direction from the day they are born. The laws of nature do not act the same as they do now. There are many laws that have not yet been introduced and compounded yet, like in current times.
The further back I peer into the past, the more abstract and unpredictable some of the realities within and outside the membrane become.
At first, I believed that beyond this membrane, there would be others within this universe. If there is a framework for the use of energy within one galaxy, there must be others beyond. Yet, there are far too many memories bursting into my consciousness for this to all be within one universe.
My vision returns to the current reality, and the golden glyphs floating up from Ember's soul have almost entirely covered his eyes. There is hardly any crimson remaining.
There are even symbols of gold shining through the silver sea in my blade as the dragon's voice echoes into my mind again.
"We have been in this state many times before, but I must say, this was one of the hardest cycles. Would you like to do the honors?"
This wave of telepathy pulses with another sharp splash of laws, breaking me out even further from what feels like a mental haze I didn't even know was limiting me. I can feel the direction Ember's gaze is looking, and it is one that I have not yet tried to pierce through yet. The moment I follow the pathways of thought he's laid out for me, everything flows extremely smooth with no resistance.
Instantly, my perception penetrates deep into the folds of the void.
Where there were once excess stores of silver threads, now my raw aura flows right through, and even seeps further. New tiny pockets of space start to appear in my mind, as I start to feel the outside layer of the membrane in its entirety.
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Author's Note:
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