All existence viewed themselves as the protagonists of their own story.
The things happening around them naturally revolved around their perspective and their journey. If they found themselves in a world of cultivation, they would believe themselves to be heaven-defying geniuses destined to develop the highest tier dao bone and stand triumphantly above everyone else.
But more often than not, realistically speaking, they would likely become mere sacrifices for pill refining. Fuel for someone else’s advancement.
If another entity found themselves in a grand epic filled with intricate musings of order and chaos, they might genuinely believe themselves to be the chosen one prophesied to lead countless others out of darkness and into salvation.
Often times even this heartfelt belief was fundamentally untrue. There was no chosen one selected by fate or destiny. There was only existence itself flowing according to its own incomprehensible patterns.
And existence did not choose anyone to be grander or more significant than another. One had to make this choice for themselves through deliberate action and unwavering will.
Noah knew with absolute clarity that he was originally a nobody.
So he had systematically forged his own concepts and actively altered existence to transform himself into somebody worth acknowledging. He had purposefully given himself the distinction of The Weaver of Existence and The Weaver of Extremity through deliberate cultivation.
And he had cultivated the concepts of Cheats and Protagonist so he could actively forge himself into whatever entity he needed to become to survive and thrive.
Because of his weavings of The Protagonist, he had inadvertently positioned himself at the center of unfolding flows of existence. Not because he was inherently some chosen being blessed by cosmic forces, but simply because he had learned how to manipulate existence in specific ways that placed him in this advantageous position.
At this moment in time, he was not successfully tangling with terrifically powerful entities in existence like THE Living Paradox, or THE Living Origin, or THE First Hunger, or even THE Creature himself because he was anyone particularly special or unique.
He did not delude himself with comfortable lies to believe that he possessed some sort of hidden inheritance or innate power that would naturally make him stand out against these terrifying monsters who literally had existence itself at their fingertips.
All he fundamentally had was himself and his determination. He knew with brutal honesty that if he slipped or made a critical mistake even once, that would simply be the end for him. Complete collapse.
So he endlessly forged his existence and his foundation to be genuinely capable of standing up against such overwhelmingly powerful beings. And the main and only real weapon that he possessed for this impossible task was something he had cultivated even before he forged the concepts of Cheats or Protagonist.
It was always Mana.
Oh, Mana!
And even this particular energy could not truly be considered something uniquely special to him alone. Countless creatures throughout existence utilized and had access to various forms of energy.
What was genuinely astounding for him was his systematic cultivation to make Mana infinite within his existence. What was truly glorious for him was forging his entire being behind this single concept as he walked the very Way of Mana itself and was building his entire Civilization around it as foundational principle.
He had taken what countless other trillions upon Decillions of creatures throughout existence also possessed and systematically elevated it to a point where it became utterly undeniable.
He was laying his claim across all of Existence with a simple but profound declaration: that energy, that pure Mana specifically, had to be behind absolutely everything.
So he smiled with satisfaction as he looked around at the terrifying region surrounding his position in Ginnungagap.
"Mana is behind everything," he said aloud with a voice carrying conviction. "So is its distinction even more critically important in Ginnungagap specifically? For it to not be suppressed by this domain, it has to be considered genuinely native to this place. And even Hunger did not receive the distinction of something native here!"
The theory was becoming increasingly clear in his analytical mind. What he needed to do now was systematically explore to better understand the implications.

DUM! DUM!
He felt the powerful beat of his heart resonating through his chest. He felt THE Organ of Civilization spinning rapidly within his mind with concentrated purpose.
"Run free, Mana," he said with a voice carrying absolute authority.

HUUM!
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