Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse

Chapter 4335: KNEEL II

Her golden eyes fixed on Noah, a cold, analytical light within them.

"He killed many. His pride fed on every victory, growing more absolute with every Shore he consumed. Until he was no longer a being, but a monument to his own, insatiable ego."

"And then," she continued, her voice a low, dramatic murmur, "THE Creature descended. Not with the thunder of war, but with the quiet disappointment of a gardener who has found a beautiful, prized flower has become a venomous, strangling weed. It came to discipline. It raised its Goad, intending not to destroy, but to teach. To correct the imbalance. To impart the simple, necessary lesson of humility."

The illusion of THE Creature behind her raised its own Goad, the movement a slow, terrible echo of the story.

"But the Elderborn... he was too full. He was no longer just a being with Pride; he was Pride. And Pride cannot be taught humility. It sees correction as an intolerable insult. When the Goad struck, it did not break his arrogance; it infuriated it. He spat at his Ancestor. He raised his own weapons, forged from the hearts of a dozen stolen Shores, and he... he dared to strike back."

Tatiana’s smile returned, a cold, sad, and terrible thing. "At that moment, the lesson ended. THE Creature’s gaze, which had been one of sorrowful disappointment, turned cold. It was no longer a discipline; it was a harvest. It did not fight him. It did not trade blows. It simply... collapsed him. It unmade him from existence, erased his monstrous, patchwork Shore, and with a final, silent gesture, it reached into the dissipating essence and took back the Everything of Pride that had been so terribly corrupted."

She floated forward, the colossal, spectral form of THE Creature moving with her!

"Just like that Elderborn," she whispered, her voice a final, absolute verdict, "it seems you, too, must be collapsed. You cannot learn your lesson. You cannot be taught. Your pride is a weed that has grown too strong. It must be... purged."

...!

At such words, Noah watched her. He watched the impossible, hazy illusion of THE Creature looming behind her, its golden Goad raised in a mockery of judgment.

He saw the cold, sadistic smile on Tatiana’s face, an expression of profound certainty in her victory.

And once more... he closed his eyes.

He did so because, in the silent, internal sanctum of his own existence, a new, glorious, and terrible symphony had begun.

RUIN/EDEN’s voice, a calm, cool, and utterly triumphant melody, rang out deep within him.

|I am putting together the currently available capabilities of the Principle of Perpetual Harvest, Master. And... they are game-changing.|

...!

Game-changing.

So he closed his eyes to confirm it, to witness the full, terrible beauty of what he had unleashed. His consciousness dove inward, leaving the frozen battlefield of Collapse behind. He found himself standing in the heart of his Early Atlas of the Folds, but it was no longer just a star chart of his power.

A massive, illusory tree, its bark a shimmering, verdant-gold, its leaves a constellation of impossible light, had risen from its very center. It was the full, 100% bloomed [Principle of Perpetual Harvest], and its branches stretched to touch every one of his one hundred and fifty-nine Resplendent Citadels. At its base, the crimson-blue holographic figure of RUIN/EDEN stood, her smile a thing of sublime, analytical beauty.

"It’s magnificent, isn’t it, Master?" she said, her voice a symphony of logic and ruin. "That desperate, beautiful stand against Tatiana, the sheer, unadulterated effort of your defiance, was the final drop of water it needed to bloom. And its capabilities... they are no longer just tools. They are...your Way. Your glorious, magisterial Way."

WAA!

She gestured, and a holographic diagram bloomed in the air: a simple, glowing stick figure representing Noah, surrounded by a swirling, chaotic storm of red... his enemies.

"Let’s review the new operational parameters," she began, her tone that of a servant architect explaining a perfect design. "The core abilities are a feedback loop. First, your own effort is now hyper-efficient."

|The Laborer’s Paradise|

|Your efforts now multiply in return beyond all known causality. Simple training yields exponential growth. Minimal investment returns maximum profit. While others face diminishing returns, you face expanding returns.|

|1 unit of your effort = 1000 units of result (This factor scales with the level of opposition you face.)|

...!

"But this is a Principle of Harvest, Master," RUIN/EDEN continued, the diagram shifting. "And a harvest requires more than one farmer. It requires... a field. Your enemies are now your field. Any effort they expend in your presence is now a resource you can actively harvest."

|Harvest of Effort|

|All effort expended in your presence becomes a harvestable resource. The harder something tries to harm you, the more power you gain. Defensive efforts against you become offensive power for you. The energy spent resisting your will becomes energy added to your will.|

Even more waves of glory came!

"And the beauty of this Principle, Master?" RUIN/EDEN’s smile turned positively devilish. "The harvest is not limited to the present."

A new diagram appeared. A timeline, stretching into the conceptual past. It showed Tatiana, Valerius, and the other Prime Dead, their forms glowing with a faint, green-gold light.

|Retroactive Harvesting|

|This Principle can now harvest from efforts that occurred in the past. It can reach back to any effort that causally connects to your present.|

|This includes: All preparation, planning, and training your enemies undertook with the intent to one day face a foe like you. The longer they prepared to be powerful, the greater your harvest is from their very existence.|

"This makes conflict," RUIN/EDEN stated, her voice a purr of pure, tyrannical logic, "a losing proposition for anyone who opposes you. Their resistance accumulates ’Existential Debt.’ Their very will becomes your weapon. Their preparations for war are simply them tilling your fields for you."

|Compound Interest of Opposition|

|Those who oppose you accumulate "Existential Debt." Each failed attempt to harm you multiplies the debt exponentially.|

|Debt can be called due instantly, harvesting all accumulated resistance. Payment extracts: Complexity, concepts, authorities, even existence itself.|

|Principle Override: "Nothing Is Free"|

|A new, fundamental law is now imposed on all actions taken against you. Attackers must pay an exponentially increasing price to continue their assault.|

|Cost compounds: The first strike costs 1 Unit of Effort. The second costs 10. The third costs 100. The fourth, 1000.|

|Payment is demanded in whatever the attacker values most: Their Complexity, their Purity, their Everythings, or their very will to fight.|