NOVPUBAs promised, this chapter will open with a truncated summary of what Zhen Liu told his vaunted ancestor, but with a few details added....and a lot removed.
...
What is [Chaos]?
In most dictionaries, chaos is simply another word for disorder, confusion and lack of structure.
In some mythologies, Chaos refers to the formless void that came before the dawn of creation, something that the creator deities would call forth light, life and the universe as a whole.
It’s also part of the namesake for a popular theory in math, the name used for various factions and characters across multiple media franchises(universes?), and even functions as just simply "the name of this thing or place".
But there’s a bit more to [Chaos] than that.
...
Aside from being an actual location outside the realms of reality, [Chaos] is also a type of primordial energy that has the ability to mimic the properties of all other types of energy in the known multiverse, and in some very rare cases, become those types of energy.
The reason being is that it’s fundamentally, the energy of...randomness.
...
I could argue that its the energy of change, but changes tend to have a predictable start and end.
Potential energy changes into kinetic or thermal.
Caterpillar changes into a butterfly.
Children change into adults.
The thing about [Chaos] though is that it goes beyond that.
With [Chaos], caterpillar become cats...made of pillars, children can turn into mechs with parental issues and potential energy turns into nothingness and a guy named "Gary".
If I had to explain what [Chaos] is...its the power to change A to B, into A to infinity with a twist.
Not even the most ardent practitioners of this energy knows if there’s a limit to what [Chaos] can actually do.
...
Practical applications for [Chaos] though is its ability to nullify energy-based defenses by distorting their inherent structures, and negate attacks by that same principal.
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Its due to this randomness that [Chaos] is capable of doing something aether cultivators, anima wielders even divine law holders are unable to do: make life out of nothing.
Because there is nothing more chaotic than a living soul.
...
While many warriors over the millennium have tried and failed to comprehend the means to controlling [Chaos], almost all of them failed to do so.
However, there was one thing that seemed to be able to control [Chaos] to an extent at least: desire.
There’s something about mortal [desire] that seemed to spur [Chaos] to move on certain ways.
Nobody knows why though...
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<<...and that’s the gist of it. I hope that it was informative.>>
’Because I honestly have no idea what the fuck I just info dumped.’
<Oh no worries milord, that was just a comprehensive novice guide to [Chaos] and what it’s capable.>
<<Huh...>>
As Zhen Liu sat there in the hot springs, unsure of whether or not he correctly conveyed the information that Logos and Pathos had essentially spoonfed him, an uncharacteristically contemplative look had formed on Zhen Xun Tian’s face.
<<Hmmm...>>
A moment of silence descended over the hot springs as Zhen Liu’s great ancestor did her best to comprehend everything Zhen Liu had told her.
So far the results were not what either were expecting.
<<Well then...I can safely say that while I understand at half of what you were telling me, the other half was more or less a garbled mess of a language I could barely understand. What language even was that?>>
<<Huh?>>
Zhen Liu was fairly certain he was talking in perfectly understandable Tide Tongue, at least that’s what it sounded like in his head. But, if his ancestor, Zhen Xun Tian, said otherwise...then he had questions of his own that he needed to address.
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’Guys, super quickly, but that information dump you gave me to tell her...that was in Tide Tongue, right? Like it wasn’t actually in French or something?’
=No milord,we did give it in Tide Tongue.=
’Oh good.’
<It’s just that when we gave you this particular set of information, it came with being laced with [Chaos]!,> Pathos gleefully added.
’Wait, what? What do you mean akced with [Chaos]?’
=The thing about [Chaos] is that in order to fully convey the meaning behind such energy and concept, [Chaos] needs to be infused into the explanation to bring out it’s full power. This also makes it so that only those with the innate talent and/or those already infused with [Chaos] can truly understand you.= 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
’So when my great great grandauntie here said I sounded like I was speaking another language...she meant it?’
<Kind of, yeah.>
’I...dare I ask what, on Valresta and beyond,I sounded like?’
=Are you familiar with the languages of Braille, Cthuvian and Laputan?=
<Because you sounded like that to anyone without at least some mastery over [Chaos]. To anyone with [Chaos] that mess of a language gets more and more legible sounding.>
’I...wait a minute, Braille isn’t even a verbal language! They’re dots on a paper in a specific pattern. How does one even speak Braille?!’
<=Exactly.=>
’What the fuck...’
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<<Welp, I can’t blame you too much for making your explaination garbled like that,>> Zhen Xun Tian commented. <<I could sense that almost every word you were conveying with me was laced with [Chaos] as it were. Which means that whomever or whatever you learned how to use their stuff from must’ve conveyed it in a similar way, right?>>
<<More or less, yeah,>> Zhen Liu halfheartedly agreed. A part of him was thankful he was able to explain what [Chaos] was to another family member, but he also didn’t know how to feel about the fact that it couldn’t be properly conveyed without sounding like a hot mess.
That being said, at least he managed to fulfill his end of this strange bargain sooner rather than later.
<<Hmmm. Xiao Liu.>> Zhen Xun Tian said with an unusual sense of familiarity.
<<Yes, matriarch?,>> Zhen Liu replied not really picking up on this.
<<I reckon, you’re the type of person that seem to operate on deals of fairness or unfairness if you can somehow force an upperhand on someone, right?>>
<<Er...I guess...,>> Zhen Liu answered noncommittally whilst remembering all the times he played dealmaker.
<<How’d you feel about becoming an unofficial disciple of yours truly?>>
<<I-what?>>
Most people would be absolutely over the moon if an Aether Emperor offered to become their teacher in the ways of aether cultivation, even in an unofficial capacity, since that was basically a guaranteed future of success. Zhen Liu, however, couldn’t help but a little bit suspicious of his distant ancestor’s offer.
Why would she want to formerly teach his ass if he couldn’t even actually use aether without artificially enhancing himself?
Thankfully, she wasn’t the type to force a "yes or no" decision without explaining herself. Granted, her explaination was also a little weird.
<<Now, don’t get it twisted, but even I understand that it would be impossible for me to teach you everything I know due to us having incompatible attributes of aether. And the fact that you don’t have any naturally occurring aether channels makes my lessons a touch harder to convey than whatever crazy language is needed to explain [Chaos]. But from what I can tell, you can technically substitute [Chaos] for aether in most things you can do, right? Hence why those...puppets...of yours move the way they do, right?>>
Zhen Liu looked shocked that Zhen Xun Tian managed to pick up this fact. Plus, the way she seemed to say the word "puppets" implied that she might’ve realized that they weren’t really puppets at all. Either way, it was probably best to be vague on these answers.
<<Er...yeah. It’s thanks to me using [Chaos] that my puppets move so naturally and lifelike,>> Zhen Liu answered.
<<Right...,>> Zhen Xun Tian noted while suspiciously eyeing Zhen Liu before moving on. <<Anyways, while I’m fairly certain teaching you my aether arts would probably be a waste of time, I can teach you how to do something that made me the woman that I am today.>>
<<Which is->>
*Splash*
Without saying a word, Zhen Xun Tian proceeded to stand up in the hot springs in order to fully expose her torso to Zhen Liu.
’And she’s fully exposing herself to me, why?’
While at this point, he might’ve been numb to the nudity, he still had questions as to why.
<<Tattoo making.>>
<<Ah.>>
To empower her statement, Zhen Xun Tian proceeded to show every single tattoo on her torso that wasn’t just the kraken made of [Chaos] on her back.
Zhen Liu didn’t have a chance to see how powerful these tattoos really were back when he had first met Zhen Xun Tian, but now that he could...he was honestly impressed.
<<Call it a gut instinct, but I think if you make tattoos with [Chaos], you’ll end up with some pretty powerful results. Hell, even more powerful than what I got,>> Zhen Xun Tian said with a laugh. <<But I do expect a little something in return if I do teach you my ways of tattoo making.>>
<<And that would be...>>
Before answering Zhen Liu, she turned her back towards him. As she did, the image of that stylized kraken appeared once more.
<<I want you to complete the kraken tattoo on my back.>>
<<...huh?>>
