Chapter 4384: The Civilization of Mana! V

Noah turned to face this anomaly fully, his perception focusing on her with renewed intensity.

She was much more complex than how she presented herself.

The sarcasm, the attitude...all of it masked something else.

He looked out at the vast Civilization spread below them, the floating structures and towers and millions of beings all carrying his Way of Existence.

"I thought of many possibilities that could arise from this Civilization," he said quietly. "Mutations. Changes in approach. Refinements of Glyphs, new Glyphs..."

His gaze returned to Riya.

"I did not expect an anomaly at your level."

She smiled at these words and nodded.

Then she sighed, her expression becoming more serious.

"I did say I was taking you to a place designed for your advancement," she said softly. "But really... you’re looking at it. You’re looking at her."

...!

As she spoke those words, her body pulsed with sudden brilliance.

Around her form, the aura of glorious Principles bloomed into existence...and it was three distinct signatures of authority!

And each one blazed with concentrated essence of pure Mana.

Noah’s gaze sharpened immediately.

Riya stood slowly, her form radiating power as she gestured at the first Principle...a light that shone blue-gold, pulsing with rhythmic intensity.

"Principle exist in nature. We don’t make them, we don’t design them. We discover them, and we can maybe at most tweak them. Inside a Civilization built around Mana, I was able to discover, gain access to, and nurture Principles without having met the heavy requirements of The Way of The Mana Architect. I’m that fucking good, Ancestor."

HUUM!

"This one," she said, "I call the Principle of Primus Ascension."

The blue-gold light intensified in response to her attention.

"When in an active state, this Principle enhances the flow, density, and potency of Mana by transforming it into Primus Mana...an elevated form that carries approximately 10 times the effectiveness of normal Mana in all applications."

Her jewel-blue eyes gleamed.

"Keeping this Principle active costs Mana continuously. For most beings, even those with vast reserves, maintaining it long-term would be prohibitively expensive. But for the legendary Ancestor who has Infinite Mana..."

She smiled knowingly.

"You’ll simply get an all-around improvement with zero cost. Every technique, every Glyph, every application of your authority...all of it operating at 10x effectiveness permanently."

She paused, her expression becoming more serious.

"This Principle sits above Grand Principles in the hierarchy. Only I have access to it, with a single exception clause built into its fundamental nature: someone who possesses more Mana than me could theoretically claim it. Which was... impossible this whole time, right?"

Her smile turned mischievous.

"Until you arrived, Little Ancestor, with your Infinite Mana."

Noah stared at the blue-gold light.

’A Principle that elevates Mana to a superior form. It sits slightly below Perpetual Harvest in weight...’

He speculated as he gave it a thorough look, RUIN/EDEN’s prompts already flashing in the background as she began to analyze everything.

He was looking at the one who was able to nurture such a wonder by herself.

His fascination must have shown on his face, because Riya’s smile widened before she gestured at the second Principle.

This one shone blue-purple, its light carrying a quality of dominance that made the surrounding mana instinctively orient itself toward the glow.

"This one," Riya said, her voice taking on almost reverent tones, "I call the Principle of Mana Supremacy."

The blue-purple light pulsed with authority.

"Its function is straightforward but profound: the supremacy of Mana over all other weavings of Existence. It allows for the transformation of any authority...any concept, any power, any fundamental force...into Mana-based variations."

She gestured, and illusory examples bloomed around them.

"Living Existential Authority becomes Living Existential Mana Authority. Living Paradoxical Authority becomes Living Paradoxical Mana Authority. Living Quantum becomes Living Quantum Mana. Living Spirit becomes Living Spirit Mana."

Her eyes blazed with the weight of what she was describing.

"All variations of authority...every fundamental force, every conceptual framework, every power structure...transformed under the banner of Mana. The most grand depiction of supremacy and purity that Mana can achieve."

She paused.

"This Principle sits above all other Grand Principles in terms of transformative capability, but it’s still designated as such because key members of our Civilization could potentially obtain it. It’s not singular like some others...it can be held by multiple beings, though the transformation it provides scales with the wielder’s Existence."

...!

Noah’s mind pulsed with implications!

A Principle to alter everything under the banner of Mana!

Oh!

The thought cascaded through his consciousness.

’My core concepts...Veritarch, Quintessence, Tyranny, Cheats, Protagonist... what would they become if reborn with Mana at their fundamental core?’

’Tyrannical Mana Authority. Quintessential Mana Essence...’

The possibilities were endless!

Before he could fully process these implications, Riya continued, gesturing at the third Principle.

This one’s light was different...pure blue.

"And this one," Riya said, her voice dropping to become almost solemn, "I call the Principle of Arcana Infinitum."

The pure blue light pulsed, and Noah felt appetite radiating from it. The desire to transform, to convert, to break down and rebuild according to specific parameters.

Riya’s expression became intense as she explained.

"This Principle is meant to allow you to break down and devour anything for the sake of Mana advancement. Not just beings or resources...anything. Creatures that are 5 Quintillion Complexity and Purity below you? Normally they’d give you nothing meaningful. With this Principle, they can be burned as fuel to power your Way."

She gestured broadly.

"All for the sake of smoothing out any hardships on this path. Forming more and more Glyphs gets exponentially harder after the first 10,000, yes? Even with the Ancestor’s Infinite Mana, there’s a complexity ceiling where each new Glyph requires more time."

Her jewel-blue eyes blazed.

"This Principle becomes the solution. Use everything around you as fuel that will be directly applied to overcome that hardship of progression. Whether it be Existences, Resources, or even Folds themselves...all of it can be consumed and converted into advancement toward your next Glyph, your next breakthrough."

She took a breath.

"Mana Arcana Glyphs are hard to design in an overpowered way?This Principle acts as the knife to cut through those hardships, allowing you to forge whatever complex and terrifying Mana Arcana Glyph you want by consuming resources that provide the necessary understanding directly."

Her voice took on desperate weight.

"It’s meant to be a knife to cut through any obstacle you might encounter on the path to sufficient power. To ensure that no limitation...not complexity ceilings, not Glyph formation difficulties, not theoretical understanding gaps...can slow your advancement when time is the one resource we lack."

She paused, and something shifted in her expression.

"This Principle is Singular. Only one entity may hold it at any given time. It’s... it’s mine currently, woven into my fundamental existence."

Tears began forming in her jewel-blue eyes, blue mana crystallizing into liquid that spilled down her cheeks.

"But I will give it up to you, Ancestor. After hearing all the legends about you from Uncle Kael, after spending hundreds of thousands of years refining this specifically for the moment you would return..."

Her voice broke.

"This is what I prepared for you. Please. Please, use it to save us all."

...!

The tears flowed freely now, blue mana streaming down her face as her form trembled with emotion.

"Please!" she said again, her voice carrying the weight of nearly a million years of desperate hope!

HUUM!

She continued through her crying, words tumbling out.

"Ancestor, I don’t want to lose my family. I don’t want to lose my father, Uncle Kael, everyone who’s been with me for hundreds of thousands of years. Please, take all that you need and... guide us to the other side. Guide us through whatever catastrophe is coming. I’ll give up anything...power, principles, my own advancement...just please don’t let them disappear."

...!

At such a pivotal moment, Noah moved.

He crossed the distance between them in a single step, his hand reaching out to hold her head gently.

Due to their relative sizes, her head fit within his palm, and she grabbed his hand instinctively as she looked up at him through tear-blurred vision.

She felt the immense warmth emanating from him.

The weight of what he was washed over her like a tide of endless potential. His Infinite Mana radiated through the contact, and it felt like being embraced by the ocean itself!

She trembled, then jumped into his full embrace, holding him tightly as that endless warmth surrounded her completely.

And yet tears still fell from her eyes silently, blue Mana streaming down to disappear into the flowing currents around them.

"Ancestor," she said quietly against his chest, "I have a deep connection with Mana. My sensitivity allows me to sense its brilliance not just in the current time, but before and afterwards."

Her grip tightened.

"Mana has been bright in my gaze this whole time...brilliant, endless, growing stronger with each passing year as our Civilization refined your Way. But..."

She trembled.

"I have felt the brilliance of Mana being dwindled and stifled in the future. It terrified me. It affirmed that the catastrophe is very real, that The Collapse is coming and will be devastating enough to extinguish even Mana’s light."

...!

At this moment, in his embrace, Riya raised her head to look directly into his eyes.

Tears continued streaming down her face as she looked heartbroken and desperate.

"So I was waiting for you with eagerness and dread. Eager to finally meet the legendary Ancestor. Dreading that your arrival would confirm the catastrophe’s proximity. But I hoped...desperately hoped, that after your appearance, the light of Mana would continue to shine bright in my future perception. That your presence would change our fates."

Her voice cracked.

"After showing you our Civilization. After presenting the Bastion of Mana. After offering you these Principles that I’ve refined specifically to ensure your survival, your advancement, your capability to save us all..."

BOOM!

Her next words were unfathomably heavy!

"Even now, I still sense the brightness of Mana flickering and dimming in the future!"

...!

BOOM!

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