Chapter 4476: Pathos IV As he contemplated these implications, his existence began buzzing with intensity. Above him, the infinite seas of blue-gold began trembling and vibrating violently as even grander waves of accumulated harvest began flowing from conceptual heights. They crashed down onto Noah with tremendous force! Prompts materialized with systematic precision. |The elevated 20% harvest of Everything related to Mana and Hunger across Observable Existence has reached the set harvesting threshold and is being systematically collected through Existential Communication and Permeation.| |The substantial harvest generated by the resurgence of The Primordial Civilization of Law has been collected and processed.| |The accumulated efforts and harvest of your rapidly advancing Civilization have been consolidated.| |All collected essence flows into The Walls of Your Civilization, specifically into The Architect’s Bulwarks for systematic integration.| |CONSOLIDATION IN PROGRESS...| ...! Noah stared directly at the approaching harvest as it smashed into his existence with overwhelming force. His power began surging upward with dramatic velocity! Even without closing his eyes to perceive his manifested Civilization directly, he could feel the walls of The Architect’s Bulwarks rising, becoming substantially more fortified, more impenetrable. Additional prompts bloomed before his vision. |The Architect’s Bulwarks have undergone substantial elevation through accumulated harvest integration.| |Protection Threshold Increased: 3 Sextillion to 21 Sextillion| |Any entity wishing to harm your existence must now exceed 21 Sextillion offensive power while also being member of established Civilization.| |CRITICAL NOTATION: A fundamental component of your existence has been detected as fused with a Member of your Civilization who has undergone unique Specialization.| |The harvest flowing into the fused entity (Protos) through symbiotic connection is being amplified tremendously due to Civilization Specialization multiplicative effects.| |Protos’s Complexity and Purity after all amplifications through Civilization Specialization mechanics: Increased by 108 Sextillion from this harvest cycle.| |Updated Total for Protos: 153 Sextillion| |Your combined Complexity and Purity: 174 Sextillion| Noah absorbed these specifications as his smile widened with tyrannical satisfaction. Even though Specialists appear to gain tremendous benefits from Civilization mechanics... I will always advance further. I will always claim grander boons... Final prompts materialized with additional critical information. |The Boon of Major Mana and Hunger Bulwark has undergone substantial elevation.| |Previous Boon Value: 300 Quintillion Complexity and Purity| |Updated Boon Value: 1 Sextillion Complexity and Purity| |After applied through amplifications and elevations of Civilization Specialization mechanics, Specialists receiving this Boon are projected to gain effective power ranging from 12 Sextillion to 40+ Sextillion depending on:| |— Their Civilization Specialization Potential classification| |— How many Specialization paths they have integrated into their existence| |— Synergistic effects between multiple Specializations| |Your Civilization’s power distribution has become catastrophically elevated.| ...! After these revelations concluded... BOOM! The snuggling figure of Riya erupted with concentrated power! The surrounding existence vibrated and trembled at her sudden brilliance. Noah gazed at her with analytical focus as he perceived her Complexity and Purity had just surged dramatically. 59 Sextillion! Her hair pulsed with liquid blue-gold Mana flowing through each strand like living rivers. Her eyes shone as if releasing immense waves of concentrated brilliance that illuminated everything around them. She felt such terrifying power coursing through her framework as she stretched luxuriously and looked at Noah’s rested figure. Her smile turned devilish as she spoke with a playful challenge. "It seems I’m sufficiently energized to continue, Ancestor. Come on, don’t make me wait!" Waves of blue-gold Mana covered the region as an Ancestor was challenged directly. And he accepted that challenge with enthusiasm. His other instances moved across different aspects of existence preparing for numerous objectives. One of those being thr potential confrontation with forces from Primordial Civilizations that had been frozen across eons. And then... The Vessels of THE Living Paradox continued being searched for without success yet. His Primus Inevitabilities continued spreading across all territories. His Civilization expanded relentlessly! --- Effort and failure. Many across existence poured tremendous quantities of effort into their pursuits. They cultivated systematically. They planned meticulously. They sacrificed everything they possessed toward achieving objectives they deemed worthy. And yet regardless of what they accomplished, regardless of all accumulated effort... They seemed to progress nowhere. Failure after failure. Some proclaimed that as long as you invested sufficient effort, your results would eventually be rewarded proportionally. Which begged the fundamental question...What of the rewards for those who invested countless efforts as they now lay collapsed in endless darkness? What fruit did their effort bear if they experienced only systematic failure until their existence ceased? A question along these lines was asked...in the Earliest Folds. A particularly brilliant Fold Dweller sat beside THE Creature near modest hut inside vast shore stretching infinitely. Before them, THE Creature had summoned several Inevitabilities who were nudging their tentacles against his hand affectionately...as if they were beloved pets seeking attention. Anaximander watched this unexpected scene with genuine fascination. At such moment, Anaximander posed question that had been troubling him since he began talking to THE Creature. "If your Way is The Way of Existence itself... do the efforts of every lifeform elevate your framework? Or only the efforts that successfully bear visible fruit?" At such inquiry, THE Creature’s response emerged. "All effort bears fruit without exception. The effort that culminates in success bears fruit. The effort that results in failure also bears fruit. There isn’t a single entity across existence that invests effort... where that effort fails to produce fruit of some nature." He paused deliberately. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖 "Effort will always, unequivocally, bear fruit. Now, the specific form that fruit manifests as... is sometimes not immediately known or properly understood by those who generated the effort. But I benefit from all effort regardless of whether the one exerting it perceives success or failure." Anaximander absorbed such words with characteristic focus before nodding slowly. THE Creature continued with an expression growing more contemplative. "One of the existences who has invested the most sustained effort while facing supposed failure after failure... he is known as The First Farmer. I pitied him profoundly. And unfortunately, my pity has already made him target for those who view my compassion as weakness to be exploited." His voice carried mixture of respect and regret. "I envy the extraordinary level of effort that creature proved capable of continuing to invest... even after experiencing all his supposed failures. Failure after failure after failure, and he persisted regardless. He never surrendered. He never accepted defeat as final." THE Creature’s gaze grew distant. "Now that represents genuine effort. And that accumulated effort through endless apparent failure... I am absolutely certain it will bear its own unique reward for him eventually. Perhaps not in forms he anticipated. Perhaps not in timelines he desired. But fruit will manifest from such persistent cultivation." ...! The words carried profound weight as Anaximander simply listened. --- In the current era. In the Wandering Territories. Inside the Sanctuary of The First Farmer. The grave stood surrounded by dazzling plots of systematic cultivation, holding vibrant herbs that pulsed with concentrated life-force and Trees of Matured Principles that waved their branches gently to invisible wind. Everything remained precisely as it should be. And yet... At this moment... The silent grave of The First Farmer began shining. Radiant verdant-gold brilliance erupted from the burial site! A brilliance representing profound effort and systematic failure began blooming as heart-shaking aura started rising from the grave itself! The accumulated effort of one who had failed countless times yet never surrendered was manifesting tangibly! The moment such phenomenon commenced... CRACK! Space fractured violently above the grave as Noah’s figure materialized. He looked down at the shining grave of The First Farmer with eyes that analyzed every detail of what was occurring. Noah floated there silently, his gaze sharp as he sensed an immensity of existence erupting from this grave!