Noah paused at the threshold of the Primordial Early Excavation Depths, his hand resting against the archway of impossible stone.
He could feel his complexity hovering at levels that, while still formidable, felt depleted after the massive expenditures of forging three Seed Glyphs. But...
He had two more Early Living Existential Seed Glyphs pulsing with unused potential...one on each palm. And each one could grant a Harvest Festival Endowment once per day.
"Why leave power unused?" he murmured, raising his right hand to observe the Glyph that gleamed there like a verdant star. "Upon myself, the second Harvest Festival Endowment shall bloom."
HUUM!
The response was immediate. Green-gold leaves materialized from his right palm, spiraling around him with purpose that suggested they knew exactly what effort needed rewarding.
These leaves seemed different from the first set...more knowing, as if they could see the effort of restraint, the work of not using power immediately, the patience that was its own form of labor!
|Second Harvest Festival Endowment activated|
|Target: Self|
|Measuring accumulated efforts since last harvest...|
|Note: Effort to forge multiple Glyphs recognized|
|Note: Effort to lead others recognized|
|Note: Effort of restraint recognized|
|Complexity gained: +21,000,000,000|
|Purity gained: +21,000,000,000|
HUUM!
The influx washed through him like a tide of validation. His complexity surged back toward comfortable levels, but he wasnβt finished. His left palm blazed with its own eager light.
"Upon myself, the third Harvest Festival Endowment shall bloom!"
BOOM!
This time the leaves that emerged carried a different quality...they recognized not past effort but ongoing work.
The effort of maintaining multiple bodies across reality. The effort of holding a Shore together through will alone. The effort of being what others needed him to be.
|Third Harvest Festival Endowment activated|
|Target: Self|
|Recognizing continuous ongoing efforts|
|Note: Simultaneous existence maintenance quantified|
|Note: Leadership burden acknowledged|
|Note: Reality anchor role measured|
|Complexity gained: +19,000,000,000|
|Purity gained: +19,000,000,000|
|Current Total Complexity: 41,847,293,152|
|Current Total Purity: 41,847,293,152|
Noah breathed deep, feeling power settle into his bones with the satisfaction of a well-fitted garment. This was better...not overwhelming, but sufficient.
He waved his hand, and the Goad flew across the Shore into his grip with the eagerness of a tool recognizing its moment had come. The simple stick hummed with potential, its ability to educate through contact ready to meet whatever ignorance the depths might contain.
WAA!
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse