The journey to Mount Everest unfolded in silence. Aboard Arsh's modified military aircraft, each member of the team was lost in their own thoughts. Within the stillness, it was Von who broke the quiet.
"Chloe... who exactly is H.P. Lovecraft?" he asked softly, as though afraid to speak the name too loudly.
Chloe stared straight ahead, her tone flat and unwavering. "Before we talk about Lovecraft, there's something far more important you need to understand. A concept that will help you grasp why his existence is so terrifying."
The others turned their attention toward her. Yoru shut down the navigation console while Aria closed her journal. Chloe stepped into the center of the aisle.
"We're going to talk about the Quantum Foam," she said calmly. "You might think of it as the substructure of reality, but it's far more than that."
All eyes fixed on her.
"Quantum foam isn't just a fundamental element. It transcends the entire architecture of reality—it exists beyond the framework of all Von Neumann universes. It surpasses being itself, piercing the limits of any system known to the human mind."
"Its existence cannot be quantified. It cannot be compressed into lower-order logical units. It isn't a product of smaller components, but a totality of reality that stands outside of 'existence' altogether."
She looked at them, one by one, her gaze steady.
"If we imagine every universe operating under a shared foundational system, the quantum foam lies outside of all of them—subject to a far higher order of principle. At that level, there exists what is called the Transcendence Toward the End, distinct from the transcendence that emerges from ordinary existence."
"This concept of transcendence defies measurement. Even set theory, algebra, or the entirety of mathematical structures cannot touch its essence. True transcendence refuses to be understood, to be weighed, or even to be classified."
Chloe paused, turning toward the aircraft window that framed a distant, starless sky.
"Any attempt to express it through language turns into a flawed imitation. Because transcendence is beyond logic. It is something that cannot even be said to 'exist'. It utterly surpasses the framework of existence. It... sees existence the way we see dust."
Yoru bit her lip. Aria swallowed hard. Von was still struggling to comprehend.
"And... Lovecraft," Chloe continued, her voice lower, heavier, "is not merely part of that transcendence—he is the darkness of that transcendence itself. He does not come from beneath existence... He comes from a place where even the concept of 'beneath' no longer applies."
Suddenly, a sharp alarm blared from the cockpit. Red emergency lights flooded the cabin.
An ambush struck the aircraft without warning.
From the sky descended a revolting creature—a titanic slithering beast, its body wrapped in glowing green slime, coalescing into a grotesque form that defied all biological structure. Its countless eyes blinked out of sync, like gateways to oblivion.
Immediately, Arsh shouted, "Activate combat mode!"
The aircraft transformed. Wings folded in, panels slid open, and automated weapons emerged from its flanks. Chloe stepped beside Arsh without hesitation.
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" Arsh asked quickly.
Chloe nodded. "They're the guardians of reality's boundary. Lovecraft is starting to move."
Von dropped into the gunner's seat. "Alright then... let's give them a warm welcome!"
And so, the sky became a battlefield.
To be continued...