Chapter 4116: The Arrival of Unity! I

They were powerful beyond measure but used that power with restraint that suggested wisdom earned through experience.

"Were you moved to speechlessness?"

Vex’thul’s voice came from behind him, the massive creature having approached with silence that defied his size. His crystalline face carried a knowing smile.

"This is how the Verdant Eternia Tribe is," he continued, his tone becoming serious despite the smile remaining. "We help each other. Existence is vast and immeasurable...we’re all trying to understand it and how to better exist within it."

He settled his massive form nearby, the ground accepting his weight with the resignation of matter that knew it had no choice.

"Many things require effort and can involve great danger. Hunting the creatures we eat, defending against those like Gilgamesh who would change what we’ve built, even simple survival in the First Folds where everything can kill everything else."

His eyes...crystals containing crystals in infinite recursion focused on Noah with warmth.

"But elevating and helping other Early Creatures? That’s an act that costs us nothing yet could mean everything to them. You’re weak by our standards- this is simple fact. We could have sent you to sort waste, had you perform menial tasks that matched your power level. Instead, we gave you a chance to show us something new."

He gestured toward the other Early Creatures still discussing their meal.

"And you did. The cost to us was nothing- some meat we would have eaten anyway. But you’ve given us experience, novelty, a new way to appreciate something we had taken for granted. That’s how civilization should work...not zero-sum competition where one must lose for another to win, but mutual elevation where everyone rises together."

The philosophy was simple yet profound, especially coming from beings who could have easily chosen might over right!

They had power to take everything, yet chose to give. Strength to dominate, yet decided to collaborate.

Noah felt something shift in his understanding of what the First Folds represented. Not just an era of raw power and primitive existence, but perhaps the first attempt at something greater...beings learning that existence could be more than survival, that power could be used for more than dominance.

The question that lingered was what had changed between then and now. What had transformed some of these philosophical, helpful creatures into the nightmares that haunted the stories of his era?

Perhaps, Noah thought as he watched the Early Creatures continue their animated discussions about food they had just discovered could taste good, perhaps the answer lay not in what they became but in what existence did to them over the eons that followed.

Time had a way of wearing down even the strongest principles, and countless epochs and eons was a very long time to maintain goodness in the face of existence’s tendency toward entropy.

But for now, in this moment, in this village that shouldn’t exist populated by beings that defied comprehension, there was genuine community. And Noah had found his place in it not through power but through providing something no one knew they needed!

Creature Vex’thul looked toward Noah with renewed interest, his crystalline features reflecting anticipation. "Os, Ozy, do your little existences still have the capability to continue? We can go out to hunt some genuinely good game here for an even larger feast-"

HUUUM!

The words died unfinished as Vex’thul’s eyes suddenly blazed with alarm.

His massive head snapped upward, and around them, every Early Creature in the vicinity mirrored the motion with expressions that had shifted from contentment to concern.

Up.

They all looked up.

Because there, in the skies above the vast Verdant Eternia Tribe that extended for light-years in every direction, dozens of massive forms had materialized.

Early Creatures of various configurations...some humanoid with perfect proportions that made beauty seem inadequate, others bestial with features that predated the separation of predator and prey, still others that were pure concepts given form or elements that had achieved consciousness.

But they all shared something that made the Verdant Eternia natives tense- they didn’t bear the verdant teardrop marking of the tribe.

Noah’s eyes flashed cold with immediate understanding. Just when his journey had been proceeding with unexpected smoothness, reality had remembered it was supposed to be dangerous.

He complained internally about the timing while knowing this was exactly why the First Folds carried a 99% mortality rate.

|The Weavings of the Protagonist comfort you with honesty:|

|This is the core of your existence- conflict and growth|

|Tremendous gifts obtained in sequence was suspicious|

|Frankly, we’re surprised the peace lasted this long|

|The trumpets of adventure and trials now ring as Failure or death: Highly probable|

|Rebirth and transformation: Possible if you survive|

|Recommended strategy: Retreat remains viable option|

...!

His weavings buzzed as his Atlas shone brightly!

Noah observed the newly arrived Early Creatures with eyes that catalogued every detail.

Waves of power radiated from them that made the air itself genuflect. On their foreheads blazed a marking distinctly different from the verdant teardrop- a symbol that seemed to be fire given geometric form, angular lines that suggested both power and war, conquest made into signature.

More disturbing was how the marking appeared superimposed, as if it had been placed over something else. The edges showed signs of covering previous tribal marks, like a flag planted over conquered territory.

Their clothing marked them as something beyond typical Early Creatures.

While the Verdant Eternia tribe wore practical garments or went without, these beings were adorned in what could only be called simple regalia. Furs that gleamed with inner light, jewelry carved from concepts themselves!

But most distinctive was the garment they all shared...chitons of stellar gold that draped their forms with classical elegance.

Chitons!

The garments fell from one shoulder, leaving the other bare, secured at the waist with belts that looked forged from compressed starlight.

The fabric itself seemed alive, moving with winds that existed in other dimensions, each fold catching light that hadn’t been invented yet.

These weren’t random raiders or wandering Early Creatures. This was an army in uniform, beings who had surrendered individual identity for collective purpose.

From among them, one figure descended with the particular grace of someone who knew others would make way. Larger than his companions, his fair skin gleamed like polished boulder, each muscle carved with precision that suggested existence itself had been his sculptor.

His jaw could have been used to demonstrate the concept of determination, his entire form radiating strength that seemed hundreds of times grander than any Dukes in Noahs current era!

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