Ash stood at the front, floating casually in the air. He took a slow, deliberate breath through his nose, as if savoring the current state of the realm.
A small, amused smile gradually formed on his face.
"Well, Well, Well..." he said, his voice carrying a hint of genuine surprise. "I expected things to be a lot more chaotic by now."
Nia hovered beside him, her black eyes sweeping over the distant cracks splintering across the Prime Expanse.
"So... this is what all our antics led to, huh?" she mused.
"But youâre rightâitâs oddly quiet. I expected to see thresholds collapsing left and right, cultivators running around in chaos."
Elysia cast a thoughtful glance around before speaking.
"It feels like the deterioration is slowing... but itâs still not the rulers of these Thresholds causing it."
Even though it was the first time any of them in this group had set foot in the Prime Expanse, it was clear that if Ash was all-knowing, they werenât far behind.
Ouroborus folded her arms, sharp eyes narrowing at the fractured horizon.
"So, itâs that Mother and Father," she said.
"Still, that doesnât explain why it feels like most of them are just... going about their business like nothingâs wrong."
Ash gave a low chuckle, reddish-purple eyes glinting with quiet amusement.
"Because they donât actually know whatâs going on," he replied. "Also, the Mother and Father are busy with a few creations right now... so the lower beings have no clue."
The three women turned their gazes toward him.
Nia tilted her head.
"What could they possibly be creating?"
Ash kept his gaze on the distant cracks as he answered.
"Hmm, at the moment they are trying to stabilize the Prime Expanse with two Primordial Oceans. Essentially two oceans that will carry everything that the Lower Framework stood for."
He went on to fill in their gray areas.
As mentioned, he was fully omniscient, requiring no activations or special powers.
His knowledge was truly limitless.
However, his wives and the others would need to tap into the Greater Narrative to fully express their own omniscienceâsomething they didnât really feel like doing.
Even though the Mother and Father had been working to keep things steady, only a year had passed since they startedâa mere blink of an eye for beings like them.
Still, the Prime Expanse was clearly unraveling.
The collapse had slowed, but anyone could see it happening with their own eyes.
At best, the most powerful entities in the realm realized the Lower Framework was gone and felt the unsettling ripples through their abilities and the very fabric of the world.
Yet none of them grasp the true cause behind Ashâs actions.
At this point, anyone who tried to look too deeply into him wouldnât just failâtheyâd be destroyed by the very thought.
"So... without that context of whatâs actually being affected, theyâre probably assuming itâs just some natural change or fallout from the ongoing war.
They might notice the Lower Framework is gone, but not grasp whatâs coming in just a year," Ash concluded.
Elysia smiled as he finished, because unlike everyone else, she knew the details perfectly and then some.
"Right... theyâre basically just reacting to the symptoms of a foreign sickness."
"Exactly," Ash agreed.
Ouroboros nodded, clearly amused by the unfolding situation.
"So, while the higher-ups are still trying to piece together whatâs happening, weâre already several steps ahead," she remarked with a chuckle.
"Thatâs pretty typical of the Pantheon."
Nia looked over at him, her expression curious.
"So? Who are we checking in on first?"
Ash was quiet for a moment before answering. Recently, heâd spent more time with his Daughters and hadnât really kept up with his sons.
âHmm, most of them are in Pantheos at the moment.â He thought as Drake was currently in the midst of creating his own existence.
While the others were simply relaxing in their own ways. However, Riyan and Rye both were within the Prime Expanse.... well, to be exact the two of them were within the battlefield.
"We will go spend some time with the triplets... and Aliya."
Nia smiled with a nod. As much as she loved Ash, any of their children were close seconds.
Well, maybe not close but they were definitely next in line. And other than Ash, she had missed them the most.
"Good, Iâve missed those Brats.... I may have to go see each of them individually."
"Well, letâs go." Ash said and with a simple blink the five of them were gone.
The moment the original group vanished, another figure materialized in the exact same spot they had just left.
It wasnât a clone or a projection â it was Ash himself.
This version of Ash let out a long, tired yawn as he rolled his shoulders. His usual lazy expression was on full display as he muttered under his breath.
"Ugh... I really hate doing this shit."
After all this time, it was well known that Ash had never been fond of using clones.
This, however, wasnât a clone at allâit was the manifestation of his infinity.
With the level of power he had attained, much like the Wardens, Sentinels, and other forces stationed throughout the Prime Expanse, it was no longer about the specific abilities he possessed.
It came down to the scope of his thoughts, the reach of his imagination.
So even though such methods werenât his preference, the situation demanded their use, if only for a short while.
Like he mentioned before, he had every intention of setting a few things in motion to make his time in the Prime Expanse far more entertaining.
He knew the timeline the Mother and Father had laid out for their grand schemeâthe bounty, the release of their sealed creationsâbut when had Ash ever been the type to dance to someone elseâs rhythm?
And he certainly wasnât about to spend the next two trillion years being hunted.
So instead, he decided to give everyone a little push forwardânot in terms of power, but by nudging along the plans that were already in place.
Ash eyes drifted toward the far horizon, where the colossal
Wall of Death
stood in the distance â the ancient barrier that separated the realms of Existence and Nonexistence.
Even from here, he could feel the faint tremors running through it.
Ash clicked his tongue.
"Time to get things moving."
Without another word, he shot forward, his figure blurring as he flew directly toward the Wall of Death at high speed.