Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 3973: The Second Land Lifeform! V

The words dropped into the space between them like stones into still water, creating ripples of shock that spread outward through every consciousness present!

Even Moiraine, who had been listening with the careful attention of one trying to absorb knowledge far beyond her usual scope, felt her existence pulse with disbelief.

Noah’s eyes widened with genuine astonishment. ”You killed an Early Creature?”

”Indeed,” Yoshinami confirmed, her voice carrying the cold satisfaction of absolute certainty. ”It was a being who called itself the Harvester of Delights, one who took pleasure in collecting the screams of the dying. It had come to the Wandering Territories seeking new forms of entertainment, and it chose poorly when it decided to make sport of those under my protection.”

She paused, her expression growing distant as she accessed memories carved in blood and shadow.

”The battle lasted for what you might consider years, though time itself became meaningless within the scope of our conflict. Reality warped and twisted around us as we fought, entire regions of the Wandering Territories reshaped.”

Noah found himself leaning forward, drawn by the magnitude of what she was describing.

”In the end,” Yoshinami continued, ”I bound it in threads spun from its own hubris, weaving its destruction from the very arrogance that had brought it to my domain. Its death scream echoed across Folds, warning others of its kind that the Wandering Territories were not undefended playgrounds...for there were many like me, and some even more radiant than me.”

HUUM!

The silence that followed her words was heavy with the weight of impossible achievement.

To kill an Early Creature...was something that should have been beyond possibility!

”What happened to your power from then?” Noah asked, his voice carrying gentle curiosity.

Yoshinami’s smile took on a different quality, touched now with something that might have been regret.

”This, Master, I cannot say. Not because I choose to withhold the information, but because it was carved from my memory by forces I no longer recall. I know that I was once far more than I am now, but the details of my diminishment have been sealed away by methods that transcend my understanding.”

...!

She touched her temple with one pale finger, her expression growing contemplative.

”There are gaps in my consciousness, spaces where knowledge and power once resided. I suspect that my reduction from true Kleos status to Quasi-Kleos was the price paid for survival, though I cannot recall the circumstances that necessitated such sacrifice.”

...!

Noah nodded, understanding the frustration that such enforced ignorance must bring to a being of her intelligence and power.𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

”Not all Early Creatures are the same,” Yoshinami continued, ”The Harvester of Delights was a creature of pure malice, but there was another...”

Her expression softened almost imperceptibly, coldness giving way to something that might have been fondness, though it remained wrapped in layers of protective ice.

”She called herself the Architect of Sanctuaries, and she was everything the Harvester was not. Where he brought destruction, she offered protection. Where he sought to dominate, she chose to nurture.”

Yoshinami’s crimson eyes grew distant as she accessed memories that clearly held deep significance.

”When the Harvester’s death brought retribution from others of his kind, when Early Creatures descended upon the Wandering Territories seeking vengeance for their fallen peer, she intervened. The Architect appeared, placing herself between us and destruction.”

Her voice carried reverence at this moment!

”She was injured saving us...grievously wounded by forces that should have been beyond resistance. Yet even diminished, even bleeding essence that could have reformed entire Folds, she opened her Early Veiled Shore to us. Land Lifeforms, Living Existences, refugees from across the Folds and Wandering Territories...all of us found sanctuary within her domain. And her Shore...was gloriously vast!”

HUUM!

The picture she painted was one of impossible nobility, an Early Creature who had chosen protection over power.

”For years that felt like eons, we dwelt within her Shore while others of her kind pressed against its boundaries like storms seeking entry. They could not breach her defenses, but they could make the attempts costly. Each attack weakened her further, each defense drained reserves that could never be fully replenished.”

Yoshinami’s expression grew solemn.

”In the end, she made a choice that I still do not fully understand. She sent us away. She returned us to the Wandering Territories with blessings that protected us from immediate retribution, and then... she was gone. Just...gone.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Unbearably so!

Noah absorbed this information with the careful attention.

The idea of an Early Creature who chose sacrifice over dominance, protection over power, challenged many of the assumptions he had formed about beings of such magnitude.

”Why,” he asked, his curiosity driving him to seek understanding of every detail, ”is your distinction Quasi-Kleos rather than true Kleos?”

Yoshinami’s smile returned, though it carried rueful acknowledgment.

”Kleos designation requires not just power, Master, but completeness. My forced memory loss, the gaps in my consciousness...these diminishments prevent me from achieving the perfect unity that true Kleos status demands. I am powerful, yes, but I am also incomplete.”

She gestured to herself with elegant precision.

”Think of it as a masterwork sculpture with crucial pieces missing. The overall form remains beautiful and functional, but the perfection that would elevate it to true artistry has been compromised by forces beyond the artist’s control.”

Noah found the words both illuminating and tragic as he nodded and moved on to something else.

”What do you know about Lost Forgotten Principles?” he pressed, his hunger for knowledge driving him to explore every avenue of understanding.

Yoshinami’s expression grew sharp with interest

”Ahhn...” she said, her voice carrying dangerous excitement. ”Lost Forgotten Principles were the ultimate tools that Early Creatures cultivated within their Shores...seeds of impossibility that they nurtured until they bloomed into forces capable of cutting down any enemy. My Power...may potentially stem from such a Principle. ”

...!

She began to pace again, her movements carrying the rhythm of someone lost in memories of incredible significance.

”These Principles were not mere powers or authorities, Master. They were fundamental alterations to the very structure of Existence itself. Each one represented a pathway to victory that transcended normal conflict...ways of ensuring that battles were won before they were even fought.”

”Early Creatures would plant these seeds within the soil of their domains, nurturing them with the essence of conquered enemies, the blood of fallen Creatures, Inevitabilitie, Living Existences, the crystallized screams of dying Folds. They required patience measured in eons and resources that could erase entire Folds, but the results... the results were weapons that could unmake the very concept of defeat.”