At the end of chapter 13, autochthonous Existence emerged from Ground but then dissolved itself. At the end of its journey from ashes to dust, Existence posited itself as absolute negativity – a reflected immediacy. As such, it was Appearance – an "essential Existence." (499) The function of unstable Appearance is to disappear. Appearance does not have being-in-and-for-self; it must self-erase. It is "the reality that does not correspond to the Notion." (756) Even in ordinary parlance, when we say that X appears to be the case, we are saying that X may be true, but X must erase itself in favor of a deeper truth.¹ If X turns out to be true, then it was no mere appearance. Nevertheless, this verdict can only be reached after X's appearance sublates itself. Hence, X is appearance only when it self-erases.₂