Soren's brain began to overclock its processing power as the Codex began delved into the depths of his stored memories while his mind sifted through them with impossible speed.
Then he found it!
It was from one of his memories of his life as a White Oak Tree.
'Buried within the rough leaves of a globe artichoke is the sweet and tender "heart."'
The answer surface within his mind.
"An artichoke." He answered with concealed glee.
"Indeed.
Now, ponder this; a statement says, 'I am lying.' Is the statement true or false?"
This time, Soren's expression contorted into a frown.
He analyzed the statement and realized that if the claimed the statement was true, then he must be lying, which in turn would make the statement false.
Then again, if he said it was false, it would mean he isn't lying, potentially making the statement true.
Furthermore, he noticed that both answers created a continuous loop where the statement cannot be conclusively true or false without leading to a contradiction.
At that moment, Ryujin was hit by a stone of enlightenment, causing a light bulb of insight to light up within his mind.
'Dao of Transformation!' He blurted subconsciously.
'Of-course, there are some statements that are beyond the scope of traditional true/false evaluation.'
With that thought, Soren concluded that the statement was a paradox with an unsolvable loop, a statement that defies the binary true/false dichotomy and instead exists as a thought-provoking puzzle.
'Not all questions necessarily have an answer.' He added, resting his chin on the webbing of his thumb and index finger.
"If the statement is true, then the speaker is lying, which makes it false.
But if it's false, then the speaker is not lying, which means it could be true.
The paradox is an unsolvable loop." He replied.
"Impressive Ryujin Soren.
If you shoot an arrow, before it can reach its target, it must get halfway there.
Before it can get halfway, it must reach a quarter of the way, and so on.
So, how can it ever reach the target?"
This time, the Codex surfaced his memories as an Imperial Scholar, as 9th Generation Soren began shewing forth its prowess, brooding in utter tranquility.
Firstly, he highlighted the question as a paradox; after all, it is insinuating that motion is impossible because it involves an infinite number of steps to reach a destination.
Secondly was mixing-in the Concept of Infinity, which focused on how dividing the path of the arrow into an infinite number of segments doesn't prevent motion but rather describes it in a way that seems counterintuitive.
Thirdly were his insights on the Continuum of Motion.
He could easily recall that motion is a continuum; and this meant that, despite the theoretical division of space into smaller and smaller parts, the arrow moves through space-time as a whole entity instead.
With all that coming together, Soren arrived at an assertive conclusion that; the arrow does indeed reach its target because it moves through space as a whole, not in infinite increments.
"Motion is a continuum, and the division of space into infinite segments is a mental construct.
The arrow does reach the target because it moves through space as a whole, not in infinite increments." He answered.
"Splendid.
Solve the Omnipotent Paradox: Can an omnipotent being create a stone so heavy that even they cannot lift it?"
Here, Soren had to take a moment to consider the definition of omnipotence.
'Omnipotence... That should be one's ability to do anything that is logically possible.'
However, Soren also realized that the paradox of the question was designed to challenge the very definition of omnipotence by presenting a task that seems impossible for the being.
'Creating a stone so heavy that the omnipotent being itself cannot lift it...' His thoughts trailed off for a moment.
Then after what simultaneously felt like hours, minutes and seconds, Soren answered, "No."
Then he added; "The very nature of omnipotence means that the being would be able to both create the stone and lift it, defying the paradox." He answered with a sigh of mental fatigue.
"You show wisdom.
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears.
I have no body, but I come alive within all elements but flames.
What am I?"
This time it was a question that triggered responses from all of Soren's previous lives.
As a White Oak Tree and Golden Orchid, he felt; "The whistling of the wind."
As an Immortal Jellyfish & Orca, he perceived; "An underwater sonar."
As a Gold Eagle, he heard; "The thunder of a lightning strike"
As a Jaguar, Tiger and Turtle, he felt; "The seismic vibration of the earth."
Then finally, as a Imperial Scholar, he answered, "An Echo; deadly to flames."
"Immaculate. Now let's finish this with another paradox.
What happens when an Unstoppable Force meets and Immovable Object?"
This time, both Soren and the Codex sank deep into his memories, excavating every form of wisdom, knowledge, insight and intuition left within.
He had managed to do excellently well so far, and this was the final question.
Not only had it progressively increased in difficulty, but the sheer randomness of their contexts compounded the difficulty even further, and the fact that he might really miss one of them had kept him on his tippy toes.
Though, there was a possibility he might not need to answer every riddle correctly, and might be graded percentagewise, Soren was unwilling to depend on it; he had already zeroed his mind to struggle and suffer for his rewards.
He had seen the kernels of truths behind the three school of thoughts, and if he needed to answer every question correctly, then this question would decide whether he obtained the Medallion of Awakening.
Multiple ideas streamlined themselves within his mind creating several trains of thoughts.
'This is obviously a paradox meant to test the limits of two absolute powers.
The fact that one is 'unstoppable' and the other 'immovable' also means that they are an equally matched omnipotent entities whose reason for existing is to negate the very sources of both their omnipotence.
But, since one cannot defeat the other, doesn't that mean they will both surrender?!' Soren thought to himself as he prepared to answer.
"They will surend... no, it is unsolv... not right either!" Soren wavered as his answer stuck to his throat, evoking a slight change in the Cosmic Vagrant's expression.
"Which is it?!" It pressed for clarity, causing Soren to break out in non-existent sweat.
The question was one truly riddled with pitfalls at every angle.
Asides the difficulty of the question itself, there is also the fact that the Cosmic being hadn't asked; 'Who would win, but rather, what would happen.'
If he said they both surrender; then that would mean both entities were living beings, which is clearly wrong since the question used a 'What' and not 'Who'.
However, he could have -and did almost say- it was an unsolvable paradox; an answer which would have provided him with an easy way out of the dilemma.
But the fact that both entities were omnipotent meant that there must surely be a result, so it couldn't be an unsolvable paradox.
Also, if he claimed it was a draw, then that would contradict the very nature of their existence which is to negate one another.
Thus, with that in mind, Soren debunked the previous half-responses the Codex had come up with, deciding to go with the conclusion his heart arrived at...
"The unstoppable force destroys the immovable body... However, the immovable body also halts the unstoppable force.
So it is an encounter that results in mutual destruction." He said with a voice filled with absolute self-confidence.
"Hmm..." The Vagrant sighed as it pondered Soren's response.
Then after what simultaneously felt like seconds, minutes and even hours, it gave its verdict on Soren's answer to the paradox.
"Since time immemorial, there have always been two kinds of answers to this paradox, and both of them are usually half-hearted." It began.
"On the one hand, there were those who would claim that both entities will surrender.
While such an answer would be correct, in that it created a paradox that contradicted the omnipotence of both entities, it also happened to defile the very nature of omnipotence itself."
Soren listened attentively, knowing that another kernel of truth was about to be revealed. He had also thought about that and almost gave it as an answer.
But now that the Vagrant was calling it a half-hearted, he was glad that he had stopped himself just in the nick of time.
"There were also those who chickened out of the problem and claimed it was an unsolvable paradox.
This might have been correct since all the answer that has ever been provided to this paradox were either wrong, or these two I just mentioned."
Soren almost choked at the thought that the Vagrant had expected him to chicken out of the problem despite his extended period of rigorous thinking.
But in another sense, it does seem and sound like he was taking the easy way out, which was why he was also glad he had stopped himself from giving such an answer.
"However, you have managed to create a third scenario, and while even I can't really tell if it's true for now, I cannot also claim it to be wrong either.
The fact that you were able to think outside your limits and create an answer that both possessed the essence of omnipotence and that of a paradox, I shall dismiss the indecisive response you gave earlier."
Hearing this, Soren's eyes widened in surprise as his soul welled up with gratitude.
His eyes went blurry in stifled tears of joy.
He knew the Cosmic Being would bring up the matter, but to think it would scrape if off out of sheer kindness!
"I didn't ignore your indecisiveness on the basis of goodwill, rather, it was because your answer gave a result to the encounter of the omnipotence of both parties.
Also, there's also the fact that they both got destroyed, creating a paradox that both satisfied and debunked their omnipotence.
Upon weighing the potential significance of your answer against your indecisiveness, I decided that the former far outweigh the latter."
Hearing this, Soren finally couldn't help but give a nod of gratitude.
"A paradox within a paradox, hmm!" The Cosmic Being grunted in awed fascination.
"Ryujin Soren, your answers have revealed that you possess a mind sharpened by the stones of challenge and contemplation, and with that, I believe you are ready to create your Dao Seed and receive the Medallion of Awakening."
The Cosmic Being concluded as a ripple appeared before Soren from which a medallion attached to a necklace of some sort floated out.
It really did look like a token of achievement; a pentagonal, wooden plate with mystical runes intricately etched onto it.
At its center, a radiant gemstone gleamed with a multicolored otherworldly light, capturing the visuals of the endless cosmos.
Above and below the central gem laid two slots; each housing a transparent crystal gems that were all linked to the central gem by a vertical engraved line.
Similarly, four gems were also linked in pairs; one above, and one below the central gem, by an engraved line that separated the medallion into three pentagonal rings.
With a Gold-black color that was painted in a manner that symbolized, balance and harmony; the medallion rippled with a subtle energy that seemed to predate existence itself.
"In the grand expanse of reality, there are Tripartite Awakening Modes," the Vagrant continued its teaching, raising three stardust-woven fingers. "Three methods by which a mortal attempts to touch the Dao."
He lowered the first finger. "The first is the Induced Awakening. It is the path of the mediocre, the method used by the Ignis Tribe and countless others in the lower planes.
They build altars, they pray to lesser totems, and they use external, corrupted arrays to force their bodies to accept a fraction of ambient Qi.
It is a beggar asking the heavens for a coin."
Then he lowered the second finger.