Dream could see it.
Luna and Saboth, and the cocoon of succession.
And Iris’ short battle with Pronoia.
Of course he could see it, because a part of his existence was within both of them.
But it was also a problem.
They didn’t rid themselves of the bond. It was quite flattering, but that meant that their powers would clash.
A simple problem that had been with them since the beginning. But now, their clash would mean the end of their ego.
Then, the power of those concepts would roam free, free to be taken by their enemy and used against them.
Dream naturally didn’t want that.
But there also wasn’t anything he could do.
He had the power of Khroia, an impossible energy that stood between Dust and Ash. This energy allowed him to kill gods and take their concepts. It allowed him to to contain a world inside of him, one that was a part of him, yet also a part of the universe!
But it wasn’t a power that could surpass Order and Chaos.
No matter how much Dream tried, no matter how expansive his power became, there was one truth that couldn’t be broken.
The infinity of ascension.
There were only two instances of true ascension in the universe.
The rise to the concepts, also known as the evolution to become a class 6 being.
That evolution prompted a response from the concepts themselves, and if you were chosen by those infinite powers, then you could also surpass that infinity of ascension.
But not even Dream had surpassed that barrier by his own power. All denizens of the universe were reached out toward. It was always another source that came to them and pulled them across.
Dust and Ash, two energies that existed within every being, coming to them at the first moment of their existence. It was something the laws of the universe determined, a seed that, should the host become worthy, would become the catalyst for their ascension.
And the second instance of true ascension…
Order and Chaos.
Saboth and Pronoia were the first, and the only reason the thieves of the universe were able to take that power was because an unknown existence had allowed them to.
And even now, Luna and Iris were to ascend through the remnant power of Saboth and Pronoia.
Nothing happened through one’s own power, only by the power of something already there.
It was a cruel reality, but one nobody could do anything about. To attain infinite power was not done so lightly. There were not many who could, and even less who had the chance.
And so, Dream found himself at an impasse.
What could he do if there was nothing to be done?
How could he ascend?
And…
“What gives you confidence, my lord?”
Aegis asked from the side, as Dream sat atop a metal planet.
Aegis knew everything there was to know. Aegis was now a god, one forged by Dream’s hand and materials comprised of several concepts.
He understood that Dream was in a position of plight. He stood between the highest concepts, and the very foundation of his existence was at risk.
If this failed, then he would lose.
Yet he didn’t seem to care.
Aegis wondered why.
“...I can’t know the answer to what might allow me to ascend. But I do know that I have a chance.”
Dream responded after pondering a moment.
“The only way to attain something that is equal to or greater than Order and Chaos is to bring the two together. So perhaps Luna and Iris will give me the chance. Maybe, for just a moment, I’ll be allowed to touch the impossible. And that’s all I need.”
“I see. And now we wait?”
“Well…”
Dream smiled before looking to his side.
He saw a woman, one who was wonderfully familiar.
Alice smiled back at him.
“Finally. I found you.”
“It took you a while. Were my words in Nothing that confusing? Well, I guess you made the right choice since I was allowed to come back. But why take so long to find me? I’ve been lonely.”
Dream seemed to cry with sadness, but Alice only rolled her eyes.
“You dork. I took this long because you haven’t actually existed up until now.”
“Oh? You know that? I thought only Order and Chaos did.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Well…”
Alice grinned and gaze to the side.
Dream also saw the new arrivals.
Luna and Iris.
Dream suddenly nodded.
“Ah, I suppose if you’re now Order and Chaos.”
[But not even that was enough. When will you stop playing dumb?]
Then, Dream heard someone all to familiar. He brightened in joy.
“Oh, how I’ve missed that voice in my head! Every since you left it’s been so empty inside.”
[I believe it.]
Sophia chuckled, and Dream looked around.
Luna and Iris, who were in an odd state of existence where they were both Order and Chaos, and themselves.
But they weren’t destroying each other, which only meant one thing.
“So, are we in a pocket of Time, or something like that?”
[Another universe, one that was accidentally born when Iris ate me.]
“Hehe.”
[It was generated to preserve my ego, and it created an alternate reality, another Earth even, since Earth is one of my anchors of existence. Anyway, the laws are different here. Annihilation, Creation, Life, and Death are managed by different systems. I actually reincarnated within a baby girl at the time. Gave her a little token as an apology, but regardless, this is a temporary timeline that we can exist on, but even then only for an instant.]
Sophia’s tone lowered.
[Dream, through the powers of Luna and Iris, I have finally reverse engineered the universe through Time. It only took an instant, but now here we stand, in an instant of Time, at the moment of truth.]
“We could all vanish in but another moment.”
Luna spoke this time, her soft voice soothing Dream’s mind.
She sounded worried. The her that was not yet warped by Order didn’t want them all to be destroyed. There was still much she wanted to do.
Iris was no different. As much as she didn’t fear death, she also wasn’t one to resign herself so easily.
If they failed here, they would cease to exist not just now, but in the past.
Every trace of their journey until this moment would be wiped. Every causal change since the beginning of the universe that led to their conception would be altered, and not even in Nothing would they have a place to be.
It would be the End.
But like with Aegis, Dream didn’t seem so concerned.
“It’s alright, my wonderful wives.”
“Is it?”
“It is.”
Dream responded seriously, looking each of them in the eye.
And then, he looked beyond, in the seeming distance where he could see a lone figure.
“The only way this was going to work was if I was given just a single chance. Just one moment where Order and Chaos were brought together, one opportunity to attain that which was above them. With you all here, it has happened. This is my chance.”
Dream raised his hand, bringing it down next to him.
His finger landed on a head of hair. Sophia was surprised as she found herself in her own form outside of Dream’s mind.
“Wait for me here.”
And he walked off, to the figure in the distance that only he could see.
……
…
“You know, you’ve visited me several times throughout my journey.
“During my time on the other world, like in the capital city of the Mountain where I saw you on a rooftop.
“Or just before Luna and Iris’ class 4 advancement.
“Just before I went through the portal to the inner universe...
“At the outbreak of the universal war…
“Before every pivotal moment in my life, you seemed to visit me. Watching me from the shadows. I never knew who you were, at least not until I had touched the concepts.
“To think you were I.”
Dream stood within his own vast expanse of darkness.
After watching the figure in front of him for a while, he walked over and waved his hand.
Two chairs and a small table between them. He sat in one.
And the figure turned around.
It was him, who also sat down.
Two perfectly identical men, not the slightest difference between them. They both stared at the other, wondering.
“So how do we determine who starts first?”
“So how do we determine who starts first?”
“Perhaps we should just say what’s on our minds. Maybe a variation will expose itself then.”
“Perhaps we should just say what’s on our minds. Maybe a variation will expose itself then.”
“In that case…”
“In that case…”
“Do you want this?”
“Do you want this?”
They both continued to speak with the exact same words, but that didn’t deter them.
“We both know that the concepts work in ways that warp our ego.”
“We both know that the concepts work in ways that warp our ego.”
“Luna and Iris are a prime example of this.”
“Luna and Iris are a prime example of this.”
“But we also know the more pressing concern is the difference in our realms of existence.”
“But we also know the more pressing concern is the difference in our realms of existence.”
“This ascension will turn you into me.”
“This ascension will turn me into you.”
They smiled.
“There it is.”
“There it is.”
“Forever can be just as much of a curse as an End.”
“What’s beyond the Totality of the concepts?”
“I suppose you could say anything.”
“Forever is a complexity. After all, things have value due to their finite nature.”
“To be finite is mortal.”
“Beyond Reality is anything I might wish it to be. There is nothing outside of everything.”
“The relationship with our wives does not hinge on the finite.”
“But anything might become boring, or a chain.
“Then again, what is boredom to that without an ego? What is a chain to such a being?”
“And the paradox of such an existence negates its own issues.”
“So we might ask.”
“So we might ask.”
“Does it matter?”
“Does it matter?”
They stared at each other for a long while.
Then, they sighed.
“No.”
“No.”
“The one Title we always held.”
“The one Title we always held.”
“We are the Origin Seeker.”
“We are the Origin Seeker.”
“Set on a path that only we, and simultaneously anyone, could walk.”
“Set on a path that only we, and simultaneously anyone, could walk.”
“Because somebody had to.”
“Because somebody had to.”
“So…”
“So…”
They stood from their seats, and with their hands, reached across the gap.
And shook.
“Finish what we started.”
“Finish what we started.”
“And do so with the wives that were always meant for us.”
“And do so with the wives that were always meant for us.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
They barely held back a laugh.
“Nice suit. Hahaha!”
“Nice suit. Hahaha!”