[MA] 414. Not Entropy (Patreon)

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The world was laid bare to Shen. He was fundamentally different from almost everything else and, thus, saw things differently. It wasn't quite like a 3D person could see everything in a 2D drawing, but not that far off, either.

He understood how people were so sure Reality had three Aspects. He could see them. Each was simultaneously the other. Each was both an endless plane and an infinitesimally small point repeated infinite times.

Will was everywhere, but sentient beings were like beacons of Will. Change was everywhere, but some elements changed more. Space was everywhere, but he could see the space in between Space itself; it was "filled with Void," as absurd as that description was.

Reality was simultaneously an indivisible whole and separate parts, much like himself.

Shen felt like a veil had been removed from his eyes. He could see Concepts, Laws, and Axioms. He could see Expressions and Aspects. He could see like never before.

He couldn't identify the Heavens, though, which was telling: his Allvision of his, as he dubbed it, wasn't perfect. Still, it was enough for him to look at Reality's Laws—especially the Laws belonging to his Path—in a brand new way.

Shen got hints of Extremity right away from the Extremes he could see wherever he looked. Not everything was about the Spear, but he could bring very few insights from one Extreme to the Spear. In fact, he could almost detect some sort of underlying quantum interlaying of similar Laws, though he also thought it was just an impression. If a deeper Truth was hiding there, it was beyond his ability to touch.

Stream was also easy to understand when he could see it working so clearly. In fact, the way Time—the Expression of Space and Change—organized itself was very similar to Water's Stream. There was an obvious link there, though his mind hurt whenever he tried to think about it.

Conductivity was similar in how it was everywhere, but also different. The Axioms of Reality were intertwined in a way that showed they had pushed each other where the other was the weakest. Conductivity was in those places where Axioms found the path of least resistance to affect each other.  It ended with a tapestry of perfect counter-balanced Axioms holding Reality together. Other than that, however, Conductivity was almost exclusively only found in Lightning.

True Boundlessness came almost on its own to him once he put his mind into cultivating. He could see how everything in Reality was limited-yet-not-really. According to E'vania, True Boundlessness was an Anti-Law about boundaries, and boundaries—and the lack thereof—were everywhere.

Shen didn't drink from it as much as he drowned in its knowledge.

Shaft was the opposite. Shen found it in each of the three Aspects. They were like the solid foundations of Reality. Stable. Strong. Holding everything in a way only they could. Multiple Weapon Axioms also had their own Shaft. They inspired him. Shen's understanding of the Spear's Shaft grew.

Gentle Breeze was exclusive to the Axioms of Wind. There were some similarities here and there in other Axioms, but not much. The Law didn't grow as much as the others, but it also didn't lag too much behind. Its being almost exclusive to a single Axiom made it much simpler to understand.

Finally, Killing Weapon was the Law he felt the most comfortable with. Shen himself was poised to kill Reality one day and replace it with his One Self. Seeing animals and insects killing each other with his Allvision was also very enlightening.

Shen basked in the mysteries of Reality and learned from it.

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"It works," Shen said as he pushed his domain out of his One Self.

His existence was strained from using his domain but didn't crack. Every part of him, which was not separate yet was, supported every other. His Domain of Infinite Improvement expanded for nine miles before his unmastered Laws became too weak to support it, and it halted.

After a cultivation session of 13 days, Shen's understanding of Gentle Breeze, his worst Law, was 70%. Killing Weapon, the Law closest to mastery, sat at 81%.

That improvement was absurd to him. It showed how impressive his new existence was and made him a bit prideful. More importantly, he felt his willpower improve as he unlocked secrets of Reality without his domain's assistance. So, he decided not to use his domain to improve unless he was in a pinch and needed the power boost. It would be his secret weapon of sorts.

Now, he was attempting to deploy his domain without allowing it to affect him, and it worked. He could, however, use it against his enemies.

Shen willed it, and every living being in his domain became subject to deterioration, the opposite of improvement. They worsened. Ants forgot how to walk. Birds fell as they unlearned how to fly. E'livia—

E'livia's domain inside her blocked Shen's influence.

"Not bad for a first-timer," she comforted, failing to hide how unimpressed she was. "But your domain's Ideal is a bit too complex."

"Ideal?" Shen asked, though he could guess what she meant by the context.

"Yeah, the thought-emotion-apotheosis that you reached to become a Dominator is an Ideal. Yours about entropy or something, right? Things fall apart differently over time, so your Ideal lacks focus, making it easy to counter. You should use your domain to fight in the meta-battlefield instead. You know, make your Law stronger and your enemy's weaker. It's the most widespread application of domains for a reason."

"My domain is about improvement, not entropy."

E'livia showed slight interest in that. "Which makes your application even worse. Countering your domain like that is hard to pull, more art and instinct than skill, but it is not very useful. Instead, you could improve obstacles in your enemy's way, make the air more resistant to them, or something. It'd annoy them, I suppose."

Shen tried what she said. He focused on the air around E'livia and improving it in a specific direction—

His head hurt as if someone was nailing his brain, and he stopped.

Her voice became worried, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just some pain."

She smiled embarrassedly. "Let me guess: you can't choose how things will improve. If your domain's Idea is related to general improvement, you can only let it do its thing as it improves stuff however Reality deems fitting. A domain is supposed to be your Path, so it's yourself, but it's also connected to Reality and follows its rules. You'll need a Realization to make Reality bend in some ways."

Shen nodded and tried something different. He pushed his willpower into the hidden layer of Will that he knew was there: he used the Absolute Horizon. Then, he willed the air around E'livia to grow resistant to anything going through it, and it bent to his will.

E'livia's eyes widened in surprise as she felt it. She moved her hand, and the air barely resisted her. "Absolute Horizon?! You can use it?!"

He smiled and ordered the air to become solid. E'livia's arms could still move around. She was C-rank, and the air had become no more resistant than common dirt.

So, Shen then willed the air to become as hard as a B-tier treasure. E'livia's arm was stopped for a moment. Then, it pushed ahead anyway.

Shen fainted right after.

His willpower was lacking. He had used everything he had to make a few molecules of air as resistant as a B-tier treasure.

The look of sheer astonishment on her face was worth it, though.

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It turned out that Absolute Horizon was, as its name implied, absolute. Not even domains could resist it; only Realizations could. With enough willpower, Shen could will E'livia to die, and she would die.

Of course, he had nowhere near enough willpower for that. The higher something's tier or someone's rank, the more willpower he needed to use to counter their "essence." He was using the word "essence" liberally, though; he wasn't sure if that was it. Not even E'livia knew how it worked.

"Just remember that going against more energy and more power means a higher willpower expenditure," she explained after Shen woke up. "And tiers matter a lot. Killing E-ranks should be easy enough and consume almost no willpower. You might also be able to kill a few dozen average D-ranks before exhausting yourself."

The usefulness of willpower made Shen glad he had decided not to use his domain to improve himself.

E'livia continued, "You're the first Deviator I ever met." She paused and almost asked something but stopped herself in time.

She had likely guessed he couldn't talk about whatever she wanted to know. He wasn't sure what his reaction looked like when the Heavenly Lightning stopped him, but she had gotten the hint that he would rather she didn't even ask about it.

"Deviator?" he asked.

"It's one of those secrets you're not supposed to talk about," she said. "It's a more serious one than Anti-Paths, though. I can't talk about it with people outside the sect at all unless they are Deviators, like you. So, don't go spreading it to your friends." She showed him the tongue playfully.

Shen smiled. "I'll try not to succumb to my countless friends' endless inquiries."

"Anywho, I walk the Grand Path. The common one. Like every other, it starts with a common Path, but then it becomes a True Path, then a Realization. You do things differently." Again, she obviously wanted to ask something, likely which Path he walked, but held herself.

"Is Freedom Fighting a Deviation, then?" he asked.

"Almost. It's a Mutation. It's still the Grand Path, but with changes. T'onir still needs to find a way to walk a True Path eventually. It won't be easy. As for a Realization..." She shook her head.

"What about Anti-Paths?"

"Not even a Mutation. It's still the Grand Path, except walked slightly differently. The 'Anti-Path' name is cooler than it actually is. Some claim it could be considered a minor Mutation, but I was never convinced."

Shen nodded. He had been right in his earlier guesses about multiple Paths and their general classification.

E'livia had said something interesting, though. "Realizations are exclusive to True Paths?"

She looked confused at his conclusion about her earlier words, then giggled. "What? No! Everything starts with a Path and ends with a Realization. It's just the middle of the Path that changes; the journey, so to say. It Mutates or Deviates. That comes with some consequences. For instance, someone walking the Grand Path can't use Absolute Horizon, but some Deviators can."

Shen nodded. "I suppose there's a balance?"

E'livia smiled. "Yup. Every True Path Walker can cultivate easily; the Path ahead is as clear as day. It's the trodden Path, after all, the one Reality likes the most. Meanwhile, every Deviator cultivates in a way unique to themselves; not unique to their kind of Deviation, but their individual selves. Each one is different." She had started using the ranking system after Shen's insistence, for which Shen was thankful.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll have to figure out by yourself how you, and only you, can cultivate after you reach B-rank. I was told that's the greatest hurdle for any Deviator, and most never go beyond touching the B-rank. Only three have ever reached S-rank, and two belong to the same species: the infernals. They don't like anyone using Absolute Horizon, by the way. They are barred from the Myriad Worlds, but in case you ever leave..."

She sounded a bit upset at the prospect, but he didn't pay attention because her words unblocked some memories. He now knew who the infernals were and that they, indeed, didn't like anyone using Absolute Horizon. He also knew he had a beef with them, though not what caused it.

Shen smiled back. "That sounds like a problem for future Shen, then. Can you help me strengthen my domain?"

"It'd be a waste of time. It's much better to pay a Freedom Fighter to battle you." Contrary to her words, E'livia released her domain. It covered as far as Shen could see. "But we can train meta-battle so you don't suck too much in your next battle with the City Lord."

Shen raised an eyebrow. "I don't plan on fighting him again."

E'livia was surprised, then smiled weakly. "Oh. Sorry, then."

"For...?"

"The City Lord said he liked the spar and wants another one after you learn to use your domain outside your body. I think you pissed him off, and he wants an excuse to beat you up again."

"And I guess you accepted in my stead?"

She nodded. "Sorry. It was the easiest and fastest way to send him away, and I was worried about your safety. But maybe you can win if you take a few months to improve your stats, too?"

"Don't be sorry. You protected me. I appreciate it." His smile returned, but each of his teeth was a Killing Weapon this time. "And while I don't care about my loss, I won't let a random City Lord treat me like an easy target."

Shen grabbed Un'Re and started training with E'livia.

It took them only a few hours to figure out two neat tricks using his Absolute Domain that might just give him a tiny chance Pagarti.

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[A/N: We start the alchemy mini-arch after the next chapter. It'll be short-ish, and its end will coincide with the tribulation's end.]

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