Chapter 4377: Oh, Shit III

Noah looked down at this terrifying monstrosity of a being...someone who could probably erase entire Folds with a sneeze.

Someone who carried terrifying power, who had reached heights that should have been impossible...and saw nothing but absolute reverence and joy.

"Ancestor, you look the same as all those years ago..." Kael said again, his voice breaking with emotion.

"We have been waiting for so long. Isolated for billions of years, cut off from everything, but I always knew. I always believed that one day, you would call for us."

His form shook with barely contained feeling.

"That you would remember we existed. That you hadn’t forgotten your Civilization, sealed away in that bubble you created. I told them...all of them, every generation...I told them the Ancestor would return. That we were not abandoned. That this isolation was purpose, not punishment."

WAA!

He looked up, his deep blue eyes blazing with tears and power simultaneously.

"And now you have called us. After all these years, you have finally acknowledged our existence. I am... I am immensely happy, Ancestor. More than words can convey."

Noah’s smile softened slightly, carrying warmth he rarely displayed.

"I would never forget," he said simply.

The words were quiet, but they carried absolute certainty!

And in that grand moment, as Kael trembled with joy and the blue mana still cascaded outward painting existence in Noah’s authority...

"Uncle Kael, is this really the Ancestor? He seems a bit weak."

...!

A skeptical voice cut through the profound atmosphere like a blade through ceremony.

Kael’s face transformed instantly, joy vanishing, replaced by horror and fury. He spun around, his blue-winged form blazing with sudden anger that made the surrounding space crack.

"Riya!" His voice thundered with disapproval. "I told you to watch your mouth! You weren’t even supposed to come, but you never listen! This is The Ancestor, the Architect of Mana himself! I know you can sense it...I know you feel his authority resonating with everything we are, so stop playing these games and pay your respects!"

HUUM!

Existence shook at Kael’s anger, the raw power in his voice enough to unmake Folds!

Behind him, a young woman rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," she said.

She floated forward, and Noah’s perception focused on her with interest.

She looked young, early twenties if judged by physical appearance.

Short spiky dark blue hair framed a face that was unfathomably beautiful, features that suggested someone had taken the concept of rebellious perfection and given it form.

Radiant jewel-blue eyes regarded Noah with open assessment, no deference in her gaze whatsoever.

She wore a blue cropped jacket over a matching cropped shirt, practical clothing designed for mobility rather than ceremony.

Blue bloomer shorts revealed slender white legs that shone with thousands of Mana Glyphs etched directly into her skin.

She moved with the kind of confidence that came from beings who’d never met something they couldn’t handle, approaching Noah without kneeling, without bowing, without any of the reverence Kael had displayed.

Noah’s eyes sharpened as prompts materialized.

|CIVILIZATION MEMBER DETECTED|

|IDENTITY: Riyannara (Prefers: Riya)|

|CLASSIFICATION: Second Generation, Prodigy of the Civilization|

|COMPLEXITY: 61 Quintillion|

|PURITY: 61 Quintillion|

|MANA GLYPHS FORGED: 61,000|

|MANA ARCANA GLYPHS FORGED: 73|

|DISTINCTIONS:|

|—Daughter of Council Member Voltrax|

|—Breaker of the Complexity Cap|

|—Most Attuned to the Way|

|—The Unbound Prodigy|

|—Chaos Element of Perfect Order|

|TITLES:|

|—She Who Exceeded Limits|

|—The Strongest of the Civilization|

|—Voice of Irreverence|

|—The Unchained Talent|

|CURRENT STATE: Curious about external existence, mildly disappointed in Ancestor’s apparent power level. Rebellious, sarcastic, refuses limitations. Secrety reverant and shocked as out of all members of her Civilization, she can more closely sense the immensity of Infinite Mana.|

...!

HUUM!

’Sheesh.’

Noah’s mind buzzed with the assessment.

Sixty-one Quintillion. She had exceeded Kael, the ancient leader of their Civilization, the one who’d guided development by a substantial margin.

And she’d done it while apparently being such a discipline problem that even beings of Kael’s power level struggled to control her.

Her outward thoughts were clear even as inwardly, she actually felt different!

She floated directly in front of Noah, looking him up and down with open assessment that bordered on rude.

Her jewel-blue eyes tracked across his form, evaluating, measuring, and apparently finding the results somewhat lacking based on her expression.

"Hello, O Great Ancestor," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I am Riyannara, though I prefer you call me Riya. I have answered your call alongside Uncle Kael here, and I’m reporting for glorious, magisterial fucking duty."

She snapped off a mock salute, standing straight with theatrical precision while a smile played across her features.

Noah looked at her...this terrifying being whose power exceeded most of his own current instances, who carried enough authority to reshape Folds, who’d apparently been such a problem child that an entire Civilization had struggled to contain her...and said nothing.

Just observed, his tyrannical gaze steady and assessing.

Kael appeared beside Riya with movement too fast to track, his expression carrying profound apology mixed with frustration.

"Ancestor, I... I apologize for this." He gestured at Riya with obvious exasperation.

"This is Riyannara, and she is... she has been a headache for our Civilization of Mana since the moment she achieved sufficient power to ignore the Council’s authority."

He paused, organizing his thoughts.

"She is the daughter of Voltrax, one of the Original Seed Members, one of your initial forty-seven. He sits on the Council of Mana as one of our primary strategists. And his daughter..." Kael’s expression suggested he was choosing words carefully.

"She showed more talent than any of us. More natural affinity for the Way. More instinctive understanding of Mana manipulation."

His voice carried both pride and concern.

"Years ago, the Council instituted a rule. A complexity cap of 50 Quintillion. We sensed potential dangers from exceeding that threshold, felt like crossing it might make our isolated pocket detectable to... whatever threats existed outside. We all agreed to stop our advancement at that level."

...!

He looked at Riya with an expression somewhere between fondness and frustration.

"After she was born, she ignored the rule completely. Just... kept advancing, because telling Riya she can’t do something is apparently the best way to ensure she will do it. She exceeded 50 Quintillion not too long ago and is now our strongest by significant margin."

He paused.

"We may have been lucky she came along later in our development. By the time she broke the cap, the dangers of detection had become minimal. But the principle stands...she doesn’t follow rules, doesn’t respect limitations, and has never once listened to Council authority. So please, do not be offended by her disrespect."

...!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.