Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 3869: Glyph l! VI

The firelight of the Early Sacred Flames flickered low and steady beneath the Wok, casting shimmering golden hues over the pearlescent sand.

Noah sat cross-legged beside it, bare-chested and lean, the flickering glow playing across his skin as if marking him as the axis around which this entire consecrated land turned.

Each bite of the seared meat that passed his lips pulsed into his body with waves of energy so dense and clean, they seemed to rearrange the very lattice of his being.

The meat of the Crownscale Glimmer was unlike anything else. Every mouthful was a hymn of complexity, each bite rewriting something deep within him. And he had given only a sliver to Liora. Just a single, insignificant piece.

And even then... it had made her an Originus Venerant in moments.

He tilted his head as he regarded her from the corner of his gaze- still trembling faintly, her hands glowing, her figure aglow with threads of golden light. The Living Origin Tower behind her swirled and rose like a newly grown tree, pulsing gently like a second heart.

She was still recovering, eyes wide, jaw set with focus as she tried to steady herself amidst the unfamiliar power.

Her father had done this.

Noah slowly chewed his next bite as he thought of Bob.

Little Bobby! As Thauron had referred to him.

Bob, the broken father who had devoured in desperation, became bound to an Inevitability, reversed such an action to shockingly go against Thauron due to a Living Seed of Existence he gained from Noah..

He then went further and gifted away half his blooming self to resurrect a daughter who had watched him suffer for lifetimes from within a Dead Wheel.

A man consumed by his own singularity.

Now, the ripples of that obsession had shaped Liora... and echoed here.

Noah’s thoughts lingered only briefly as his gaze shifted to Ruination.

She sat with her knees drawn up, tendrils of crimson gold light laced around her figure like a spiraling cocoon. Her brows were furrowed with fierce concentration. Then, with a breath that trembled the air, her eyes opened and the Glyph shining gloriously bloomed to completion- glowing faintly on her forehead, carved of fire and ruin.

The sea breeze stilled as the prompts flashed before Noah’s eyes.

|The Living Origin, Ruination, has condensed a Basic Early Living Existential Glyph of Ruination.|

|The Basic Early Living Existential Glyph of Ruination draws upon the source concept of Total Collapse. It emanates Living Origin Ruinous Authority at all times, allowing the bearer to unravel the weavings of opposing sources, hasten the decay of Lattices, and affix minor Ruination Traits to Actions, Speech, and Movement. Weavings of Ruination are simple but absolute. Destruction. Unmaking. Collapse...all from mere words, gaze, or simple actions.|

...!

Noah let out a soft exhale as he observed her. She stood calmly after, the Glyph shimmering like molten metal on her forehead. Her presence was darker now, deeper, more settled.

”There are more avenues opening now, Master.” Ruination said without preamble, her voice quieter than before, the gleam in her eye more lethal. ”My existence is aching to enact Living Existential Affixes... but I want to confirm a few things first.”

She looked at him like a child asking for permission.

Noah gave her a simple smile and nod, a motion that carried all the weight of his attention.

”Take your time,” he said. ”Nothing here is going anywhere.”

His voice trailed off as he turned toward the Infiniverse Body.

She remained seated beside the waves, her knees resting in the sand, her hands open and glowing. Her form shifted through colors like liquid refracting starlight. Lattices blinked into and out of existence across her skin, and Noah could feel the weight of her Glyph still forming. Like him, she had too many threads. Too many sources vying for expression.

She simply needed a little more time.

And then, slowly, his gaze drifted back to Liora.

She was kneeling now, the storm of her transformation finally waning as the Tower behind her solidified into radiant, golden-white columns with shifting halos of Origin authority. Her skin shimmered with health and exhaustion, her eyes wide and watchful.

When she bowed once again, it was less rigid.

”Thank you again,” she whispered. Then, hesitating just long enough for the weight of her next words to build in her chest, she added, ”I know I’m in no position to ask this. But as a daughter, I must. I... I know what my father has done. I know how you see him. But if there is any way, any way at all that you could help him. If you could... free him from the Inevitability he is bound to. It a dreadful and horrible thing to be near!”

She faltered, her voice trailing off, her jaw tight.

Noah listened in silence. He did not blink. He simply looked at her. Then, he turned his eyes back to the Wok and casually lifted another piece of meat. His voice, when it came, was quiet and steady.

”He spent years using any means to reach you. Now that you’re saved,” he said, lifting the meat to his mouth, ”you’re trying to use any means to save him.”

A pause followed.

”What a pair of father and daughter...” he murmured.

Liora swallowed hard.

She didn’t speak. Not because she didn’t have words. But because she knew none of them could stand against what he was saying. None of them could justify what her father had become or did all these years!

Noah shook his head slowly.

”Your father doesn’t want to be saved,” he said. ”Or maybe he does... but he knows he cannot be. Not anymore. Not from the memories he shared. He bound himself to that Inevitability irreversibly.”

...!

The flames under the Wok flickered higher.

”The only way I’ve seen an Inevitability end,” he continued, voice quieter now, ”involves its collapse as because of that irreversible bond...”

He turned his head and met her eyes.

”That collapse would kill him. You...would be asking me to kill your dear father.”

HUUM!

Liora’s eyes widened. Her hands clenched around her knees. But she did not cry. She merely nodded, as if her soul had been expecting this answer, even if her heart prayed otherwise.

Noah shook his head and sighed when he looked at her.

Existence was truly never fair, and always held unfathomable disappointments if one did not take the proper steps!

As he thought this.

BZZT!

A prompt appeared.

|The number of complex lifeforms within the Budding Shore has increased.|

|With the emergence of Early Living Existential Glyphs in some lifeforms, the frequency of high-grade Early Living Marine Lifeforms being drawn to this consecrated land has increased.|

Noah raised his brows.

He then smiled, faintly.

Of course they would come.

Like moths to flame, drawn by the weavings of Primordial shores.

His eyes drifted upward toward the edge of the shore, where the mist curled tighter.

Let them come. He wanted to uncover all the secrets of this place that seemed to hold endless possibilities!