[Assessing parameters… complete.]
[Updating variable standards…]
[Calibrating system… complete.]
{[Name: Sylvain Grace]
[Titles: Pillar of Grace | Paradigmatic Paradox]
[Body: 0th Grade]
[Soul: 0th Grade]
[Mind: Neutral Impetus]
[Divinity: Dormant Embryo]
[Divine Constructs: Paradox Throne | Aletheian Engine]
[Aspects: Eyes of Existence (Sealed)]}
Sylvain carefully inspected his status. This was a comprehensive analysis of his Source of Existence through the powers of Ciel and the Aletheian Engine. The old versions of this status window contained other things like strength, dexterity, intelligence, etc. However, after several iterations throughout the course of multiple cycles, he had settled for this more concise list. This status was entirely customised by himself to fit his own unique path to power. After all, not once had he ever followed the same path as others who progressed through several levels of power as though climbing a metaphorical staircase. His paths have always been strange.
To put it simply, rather than climbing a staircase, all of Sylvain's incarnations grew the core of their beings, their Source to become big enough to reach the top of the staircase without climbing a single step. And from there, they continued to grow, expanding the breadth of their existence to encompass the very essence of their powers. And in the process, they even create treasures that share and expand their authorities to another level. These are the Divine Constructs and other treasures that remain preserved within the palace at the core of the Aletheian Engine.
The Aletheian Engine, it was a Divine Construct once known as the Engine of Omniscience created by an incarnation of Sylvain. It recorded all the Truths of Existence, allowing its master to interface with it directly, manipulating even the most fragile and ethereal concepts of Existence by merely plucking its strings like a lyre. Unfortunately, no matter how powerful it is, its limit was a single System of Existence. And Sylvain had used it to record and preserve his entire System of Existence before they were completely destroyed toward the end of the Ruin Era. What Earth is now was only a small fragment of the salvaged records recreated by Sylvain before he last died in an attempt to establish a foothold for the resurgence of his System of Existence. Where they were now was an entirely different System of Existence, but not one that was unfamiliar to Sylvain himself.
All this to say that the Aletheian Engine was already working at full capacity by sustaining the records of an entire System of Existence and cannot aid Sylvain in interfacing with this new System of Existence. If not for this, then he would not have the slightest bit of difficulties at this early stage, and he would be able to use the Divine Construct to unleash more of his powers, perhaps even reignite his spark of Divinity. But since that was not the case, he would have to do things in a fundamentally different way than what he had been doing all this time. Since the problem lay with him being contained within a specific System of Existence, his solution was to simply transform himself into a being on the level of Systems of Existence, allowing himself to finally break free of their influence.
The step-by-step plan was detailed in Project Existential Evolution, but it can be summarised to just the name of the path: Dimensional Ascension. This path will take him through several levels of dimensional existence. He would no longer remain a human or an astel, not that it ever mattered to him. However, the requirements to begin on this particular path was not entirely certain. They knew that he had to have a bit more power than what his status was showing currently, but it also cannot be too much lest he loses the opportunity to split off into an entirely new path completely. What he needed was a state of flux with enough power to jumpstart his evolution into a dimensional entity. But that was only the first problem. The next one was to decide on his evolution path.
Dimensional Ascension has clear stages, going from 0th Dimension all the way to the 10th Dimension. This may seem reminiscent of the Superstring Theory, but it is not. Superstring Theory states that there are nine dimensions of space and one dimension of time. However, Sylvain's understanding of Existence was entirely different. From 0th to 10th, they are Nexus, Vector, Space, Time, Essence, Reality, Source, Imaginary, Paradigm, and Paradox. Each one has a very distinct characteristic that defines them, but Sylvain's current focus was on the 0th Dimension––Nexus.
As the name suggests, the Nexus is a point where more than one connection meets and interacts, becoming a focal point for a particular part of the system. The 'point' is perhaps the most significant part of the System of Existence because everything that exists is made up of at least one point and occupies at least one point in space and one point in time. Without this 'point', something could not even be plotted within Existence. It could not be observed and therefore could not exist. Considering this, it was understandable why evolving into a 0th dimensional existence was a dilemma for Sylvain. He would literally be regressing, turning himself into a singular point of concentrated power. He may be powerful, but what could he do if his entire existence was just a singular point amidst countless other points?
Therefore he definitely cannot allow his entire Source to evolve into a 0th dimensional existence. Now, he had to decide which of his three fundamental aspects of existence he would push toward that evolution. However, as much as he hated it, the decision came quickly. He cannot let his Body evolve into the 0th dimension for the same reason as his Source. His Soul might have been feasible if not for the fact that, unlike most other people, he could literally feel his soul, its substance and its ethereal mass. He did not know what would happen if his soul became a singular point. The soul was the most intrinsic vital aspect of existence. Experimenting with it without knowing the possible effects it may have on the rest of one's aspects of existence is not a great way to die. And that left only one option.
The Mind was perhaps the most fitting aspect to undergo this 0th dimensional evolution. It had no mass whatsoever. It was more like a network of data contained within a closed loop, only receiving more data from external stimuli. In a sense, if not for the cognition of its existence, one could even say that the mind does not exist. But what if that hive of data was condensed into a singular point and given its own mass? What if it did not need to rely on the body and the soul to receive external stimuli to grow? What if it could directly interface with all the other points in Existence, tap into the breadth of knowledge and Truths contained within each of them and even effect change outward?
This all sounds amazing, and it truly is. It was simply beyond imagination. But no matter how much Sylvain and Ciel simulated it, they cannot get an accurate result. The closest they got was 87% success rate with his Mind becoming something similar to a Cephalon. But that 13% was worrying. A major part of the problem was the potential effects of the Mind gaining its own mass, taking it out of the closed loop of the Body and Soul. It was essentially like taking out the core processor of a computer, but perhaps there was a way to connect them, even temporarily. After all, at some point, Sylvain would need to bring all three aspects together, combine them and evolve them at the same time to fully evolve his Source. And the answer might be the very same thing currently helping him with this whole dilemma. As he finalised his thoughts, Sylvain sighed with a hint of relief. Then he looked at Ciel who was busy with preparations.
"Ciel, how long do we have until the Emergence?"