novelraw Chapter 685: The Great Flood! II
Chapter 685: The Great Flood! II
When existence gives you adversity, you make the best you can from it.
Right now, Achilles could not change anything about this terrifying Mansa Zulu. He could not stop the Miniature Cause that was washing across Observable Existence. He could not protect the half of all lifeforms who would not survive the selection that had been imposed upon them without consent or warning.
So he would make the best that he could of it.
The flood was one such thing. These white waves crashing through his existence carried authority from one of THE Greatest Causes in all of reality. They were designed to force evolution, to elevate those capable of persevering while eliminating those who could not adapt quickly enough.
Most beings would simply experience the effects.
Achilles would Assimilate them.
After the word emerged from his throat as the white waters flooded through every aspect of his being...his Inner Dominion trembled as the Archean waves penetrated territories that had never experienced anything of this magnitude. His foundations shuddered as forces designed to restructure reality itself began integrating into his existence!
This was painful!
It was actually painful in ways that surprised him. He had consumed Absolutes and Primordial treasures and even the memory of a failed Cause without experiencing anything approaching this level of agony. But assimilating the Floods of a Miniature Cause while simultaneously assimilating the remains of a Second Scale being was something else entirely.
His existence screamed with contradiction.
Lamashtu’s obsidian authority flowed into him from below, the broken remnants of THE Prisoner’s Civilization integrating with his own foundations. The Archean Flood crashed into him from every direction, white waves carrying evolutionary pressure that demanded immediate adaptation. The two forces met within his Inner Dominion and produced friction that made his consciousness want to shatter!
Oh!
But he did not stop as he could not stop!
|Assimilation In Progress: Waters of THE Great Archean Flood.|
|Classification: Miniature Cause, Evolutionary Catalyst.|
|Origin: Named after THE Archean Cause, one of THE Greatest Causes in Existence. THE Archean Cause shaped the foundational principles of advancement across countless Observable Existences during the earliest ages of differentiation.|
|Function: Induces rapid advancement and Archean Evolution. Forces all lifeforms to either Persevere through accelerated adaptation or perish through failure to meet evolutionary thresholds.|
|Note: Archean Evolution is a type of Evolution that Vakochev himself deemed unique. It does not merely strengthen existing foundations. It restructures them according to principles that optimize advancement potential across all Scales of Existence.|
...!
The prompts continued flooding his awareness as the white waters integrated deeper.
|Passive Capability Gained: Archean Adaptation.|
|Description: Your existence will continuously adapt to overcome obstacles and threats. When facing adversity that exceeds your current capabilities, your foundations will restructure themselves to meet the challenge. The greater the adversity, the more profound the adaptation. This process occurs automatically and does not require conscious activation.|
|Passive Capability Gained: Evolutionary Pressure Emission.|
|Description: You can emit waves of Archean evolutionary pressure toward targets within range. Affected beings will experience forced advancement if capable of Persevering, or existential collapse if unable to meet the evolutionary threshold. The intensity of pressure can be modulated based on intent.|
|Passive Capability Gained: Archean Resonance.|
|Description: Your existence now resonates with the principles of THE Archean Cause. You can perceive the evolutionary potential of all beings you observe, identifying those capable of advancement and those destined for stagnation. This perception extends across all Scales of Existence.|
...!
The capabilities integrated into his being with weight that made his existence groan.
Unlike others who would only feel the effects of the flood, who would either Persevere or perish based on their inherent potential, Achilles was assimilating and integrating the waters themselves. He was not merely a subject of the Miniature Cause! Oh, he was not!
He was gaining the capability of the Cause itself.
|Integration Deepening: Core Principles of THE Great Archean Flood.|
|Your foundations are being restructured according to Archean principles.|
|Current First Scale limitations are being dissolved.|
|Sublime foundation forming. Peak of THE First Scale becoming attainable.|
|Pathway to THE Second Scale clarifying. Advancement trajectory optimizing.|
|Assessment: Upon complete integration, advancement to THE Second Scale will require effort rather than impossibility. The qualitative barrier between Scales is being reduced to a quantitative challenge.|
...!
Achilles felt the changes echoing through his body with sensations he could barely comprehend.
His Heart of a Primordial Architect pulsed with rhythms that felt more natural than they ever had before. The archaic crimson tattoos of undifferentiation across his skin blazed brighter as they resonated with the Archean principles flooding through him. His purple-gold hair regained not just its previous luster but something beyond, colors deepening toward shades he had never possessed!
His foundations were becoming sublime. Quite fucking literally, sublime!
The word felt accurate in ways he could not fully articulate. Before the flood, his existence had been powerful but rough, capabilities accumulated through consumption rather than refined through proper cultivation. Now those rough edges were smoothing. Those accumulated powers were integrating properly. Everything was becoming optimized.
The peak of THE First Scale was becoming attainable.
Not eventually. Not after eons of cultivation!
The pathway was clarifying with each moment that passed, each wave of Archean water that integrated into his being. He could perceive the steps required to reach heights that had seemed impossibly distant before Mansa Zulu’s arrival, and he was actively heading there now.
And beyond the peak, THE Second Scale itself.
The barrier between Scales had always been qualitative rather than quantitative. It did not matter how much power one accumulated at THE First Scale. The jump to THE Second Scale required something fundamentally different, a transformation of existence itself rather than simple strengthening of what already existed.
The Archean Flood was reducing that barrier.
Not eliminating it. But reducing it from an impossible leap to a challenging climb. What would have required circumstances he could not predict now required effort he could provide. What would have demanded luck beyond calculation now demanded determination he possessed in abundance.
|Assimilation Continuing: Remains of Lamashtu, The Oldest Sovereign of Binding Flames.|
|Second Scale authority integrating with Archean-enhanced foundations.|
|Compatibility increasing due to sublime foundation formation.|
|Unbound Existence Civilization fragments being absorbed.|
...!
The pain continued, but it was becoming growth.
Achilles opened his eyes to see the white flood still spreading in every direction, washing through The Existential Lattice, passing beyond its boundaries toward the rest of Observable Existence. Half of all lifeforms would perish in its wake.
But those who Persevered would emerge stronger than they had ever been, and he would emerge strongest of all!