Chapter 2111: Chapter 52: The Tree of Endless Shattering
[Similarly, when we still need the process of sleep to restore the body and soothe the spirit, we never think about the question âwhy do we need to sleep?â]
[This is because our bodies are frail, our souls easily perishable. To extend the absolute usable time of the body and soul, we must sleep, wandering in darkness and dreams.]
[Thus, we follow human instincts and sleep in dreams.]
The Duke of Steep Ridge calmly expressed his thoughts. He raised his hand, gazed at his already rusted body, and sighed: [If thereâs a need, then do it.]
[If thereâs a desire, then act.]
[If thereâs no need, then donât do it.]
[This is humans.]
[Whether itâs eating, mating, or sleeping, I no longer need any of them, so I donât do them.]
[If this is the case, it cannot be considered human... such a narrow definition, surely the mistake is yours.]
"But youâre wrong."
The Heart of Terra said: "Itâs not about the trivial matter of the definition of humansâyour mistake lies in that you havenât successfully âunifiedâ."
"Or rather, your âoneâ is too vast, your self is âscatteredâ."
"The infinite energy and essence transcending space-time of the Star God lineage rely on the immortality to permeate all parallel universes where âselfâ, all of âmeâ are âmeâ, even if located in different parallel universes, different timelines, thereâs a consensus among âmeâ, all being one, so it can borrow power infinitely, forming an infinite loop."
"But youâre different. Boka, you donât have âimmortalityâ, there is no âconsensusâ between all the âDuke of Steep Ridgeâ, in other words, your self, in essence, is really just a series of independent yet similar existences."
"However, you are truly a geniusâeven without immortality, âyouâ, in realizing the inability to identify with âyourselfâ in other parallel universes as âyourselfâ, chose the most inconceivable step."
Even the Heart of Terraâs tone at this moment was almost emotional: "A part of the Duke of Steep Ridge in infinite parallel universes shattered his self using the True Aether Furnace, dividing it into infinite portions and sent them to other new space-times."
"That part of the Duke of Steep Ridge in infinite parallel universes did the same â hence, all the Dukes of Steep Ridge who shattered themselves still remain a complete âDuke of Steep Ridgeâ."
"A mirror complete although made of countless mirror fragments. A person infinitely fragmented yet infinitely whole."
Everything, the involvement of infinity becomes inconceivable.
The Dukes of Steep Ridge who chose to shatter the self in infinite parallel universes are actually very few.
But even if they are very few, in infinity, they are still infinite.
Thus, after splitting himself, the Duke of Steep Ridge divided out 99.99...% infinite looping of himself, also receiving the 99.99...% infinite looping self sent by other infinite parallel universes.
He turned himself into an âinfinitesimalâ, and then, again became âoneâ.
In this way, even without immortality, there are âinfinite Dukes of Steep Ridgeâ in agreement with each otherâbecause they are âthe one in the set of Dukes of Steep Ridge who infinitely split themselvesâ!
But here lies the problem.
Such reciprocal sharing, rather than âborrowing powerâ loops, are too difficult to construct into a true âperpetual motion machineâ.
Infinite numbers of infinitesimals are certainly not necessarily infinitesimally small, but neither are they infinitely large. The simplest example is, when N approaches infinity, the sum of Nâs Nth part is 1.
This precisely describes the current state of the Duke of Steep Ridge: although he penetrated infinite parallel universes with the peculiar essence of the True Aether Furnace, due to lacking immortality, lacking the consensus transcending space-time, his true strength remains below the Fifth Energy Level, dependent on the Apocalypse Armament.
He took the wrong path, unable to become a true Star God.
He is even lost within himself, unsure of what he has becomeâhe believes he is still human, but cannot determine his state, whether heâs alive or dead, complete or fragmented.
This is why, knowing better than anyone that Ian is on the right path, the Duke of Steep Ridge yearns so much for Ianâs answers.
[What exactly should I do?]
With a bitter smile, the Duke of Steep Ridge self-mocked: [Even Inega II has no solution, he granted me the Inheritance of the Terra Dragon, hoping to unify the countless versions of me using the essence of the âDragon Soulâ.]
[This method doesnât work, because I am already an infinitely complete âoneâ, I am already a âwhole transcending space-timeâ.]
[Itâs just that this âwholeâ of mine cannot think. Now I am like a brain existing simultaneously in infinite parallel universes, already a whole, but each neuron is segmented into different space-times.]
[Compared to my whole, that is, the âRealm of the Star Godsâ that Ian Silverpeak once achieved, I am essentially a brain-dead imbecile who is mentally split to the extreme, but the wisdom of the Star Gods is so profound, even one of their most extreme imbeciles can grant me wisdom beyond ordinary humans, allowing me to communicate with you.]
"If a âStar Godâ is an âinfinitely looping ringâ, then your current state is more akin to an âinfinitely extending treeâ."
The Heart of Terra evaluated succinctly: "Indeed, you possess an infinite body extending throughout infinite parallel universes, which is the set of âDukes of Steep Ridge who infinitely split themselvesâ. But in a specific timeline, universe, you are just âa leafâ on this infinitely grand tree."
"You are independent of your branches and trunk, unable to leverage the power of the trunk and branches, leaves are at the mercy of the wind."
"A loop can infinitely expand, eventually becoming a true âGreat Aether Circulationâ transcending the set of infinite parallel universes. But a tree cannot. It can only infinitely extend until..."
[Until what?]The Heart of Terra elongated the tone, while the Duke of Steep Ridge asked without hesitation.
"Until âThe Endâ."
"Or perhaps âThe Originâ."
The Heart of Terra revealed the final answer: "Only at the end of the universe, or its demise, can the infinitely fragmented you possibly unify as one."
"Duke of Steep Ridge, Bokang Elster, this is why I have come here."
"Because Father believes your current form of life has similarities with the great enemy of the Star Gods, the terror sealed on Dragon Island, and the warden outside the Cradle."
"An existence named âThe Endâ, perhaps exactly opposite to you, spreading from the âEnd of the Universeâ, infinitely proliferating, infinitely splitting âfragmentsâ."
"The difference is that compared to your infinitely splitting â1â, âThe Endâ might have been âinfiniteâ from the start, so even fragments hold an incomprehensible essence."
"However, the principle is the same, which may also be why âThe Endâ lacks an identity."
"In summary, from you, perhaps Father and I can find the true essence of âThe Endâ."