“There has to be a way…” Jame muttered to himself as he stared at the rows of formulas written on the whiteboard in front of him. For years now, he and his team had been studying the primordial relics in an attempt to automate the ascension process. This was the longest project that he had ever worked on, and yet he was still no closer to succeeding.

In light of the fact that there was a required build-up period between creating the divine spirit and divine body, he had planned to separate the process into two different machines. Yet, even that was met with constant failures. There were simply too many variables that had to be considered, and the process of taking control of one’s divine spark was exponentially harder than merely controlling mana or ki.

To properly prepare them for this task, the current Keeper had even provided them with a number of primordial relics for them to use for their studies. The worst part was that this only made their challenge all the more difficult. Each of the relics seemed to release an entirely different spectrum of energy, leaving no common source for them to draw from.

“At this point, it would be easier to mass produce the relics themselves, instead of trying to replicate their effects.” Treisha grunted from her desk, looking over her own data sets again in the hopes of finding something that James may have missed.

Sadly, James had considered that approach as well. In fact, they had the technology to do so with their void manipulation, so long as they created a buffer environment. In order to create materials through the void, one had to artificially simulate the environment in which those materials would form.

With the primordial relics, this meant that they had to simulate the first moments of a universe, when all of creation was merely a massive clump of superdense matter at the heart of everything. And then, with one explosive release, it scattered into a truly countless number of pieces. Among those pieces, there would be billions of larger ones that became that universe’s primordial relics, while the rest would inevitably turn into cosmic dust, coming together to form stars, planets, and entire galaxies.

The problem with this method was that the explosive force of the universe’s birth would have to be simulated as well to create these relics. This explosive force itself was easily enough to destroy an entire galaxy, as well as any neighboring ones in less than a trillionth of a second. For rather obvious reasons, this experiment could not be conducted in any populated realm.

In order to safely conduct this test, the entire process had to occur within the void itself, with no physical links to any occupied world active. If the explosive force could be contained, they could then gather up all of the released relics and be happy with their work. If it couldn’t, they would lose their entire testing environment, and any life in that universe.

“It’s easy enough to copy the physical structure.” James said with a shake of his head. “However, the physical structure is only a carrier for the energy within. You would need a far greater level of power than what a divine entity can release in order to create that specific energy.”

Treisha glanced over curiously, knowing that James would never say random things like that without a reason. However, it was also the first time that she had heard of a god’s power being ‘not enough’. “Is there a level beyond gods?”

“Maybe… my old friends used to say something about it… but they never told me the specifics.” He sighed, shaking his head again. “It’s not something that we’ll be able to achieve any time soon. For now, we need to focus on what we can do. Using void engineering to create the relics is out of the question, and we can’t replicate the three steps of divinity with our current technology. Each body is far too different from each other by the time they are ready for divinity.”

Thessa nodded from where she was sitting with her twin, both of them having long since given up on this approach. “We tried crunching the numbers, but even if we made people go through the perfection process it doesn’t work. There would still be too much variation in each person’s levels to accurately create a program that would let their divine spark safely convert their soul.”

After they had created the Perfection Chamber, they each thought that it was only a matter of time before they realized the technology to automate godhood in the same way. Never did they expect that the two would be as different as the sun and the moon. “We need a new approach… are there any other ways to obtain divinity that you know of?”

When Nora posed this question, James let out a somewhat frustrated groan. “Not in detail. The three steps are the most fundamental method used by everyone I know. There is the cultivation method, but that only works on Lorek and Spica. Furthermore, it requires the candidate’s own understanding of their path, so automating the energy collection process has little value.”

“There are other methods, but I don’t know how to go about achieving them. For instance, there is one that I heard about that is referred to as ‘lighting the divine flame’. All I know from that is that you are somehow meant to treat your divine spark as an actual spark, turning it into a roaring flame and igniting it all at once. Once you do so, theoretically, it will shatter your body from the inside, remolding you into a god.”

The kitsune twins shuddered at that, Chel leaning back in her seat. “Yeah, I think I could give that one a try.” She said with a faint nod, everyone immediately looking over at her. “What?”

“No, absolutely not.” James said in a firm tone, Chel jumping up from her seat and flicking him on the forehead.

“Did you forget that this body is just a temporary vessel?” Chel reminded him in a reprimanding tone. “All I’ve gotta do if I fail is get a new one over in Spica, and I’ll be back this time next year. Come on, James, we’ve been at this so long, we’re never going to make any progress if nobody steps forward. And out of all of us, I’m easily the most expendable. Well, maybe not expendable, but at least renewable?”

James hesitated for a moment, but still shook his head. “There’s another way to do this. Once we understand the methods involved, then you can be the big damn hero and test it yourself. Until then… please, just wait. I’d really rather not lose you again…”

Chel’s eyes softened for a moment, a smile coming over her face. “Alright, you big doof. Then what is your plan for learning those methods without any proper testing? We don’t have the data available to run the simulations, and we can’t get that data without experimenting.”

“Easy… phone a friend.” James said with a small smile, walking back to his desk and activating his console. He did not have a direct line to the Keeper, but he knew who did.

Chel… simply stared at him for a long moment, grumbling as she jumped over to land on his desk in front of him. “So… you’re going to call Tsubaki… so that she can call the Keeper and ask for a favor?” She asked, forcing James to look up at her incredulous expression.

“Well, yes-- I’m an idiot.” James blinked, shaking his head and chuckling when he realized the problem with this plan. Well, problems… first, Tsubaki was always loath to request a favor from ‘her Keeper’. Secondly, Chel had no such hesitation, and was in an even more convenient place to make such a request. “Can I leave it to you, then?”

“Aye aye, captain!” Chel grinned, before her eyes seemed to lose just a touch of focus.

Aurivy, Accalia, and myself were all watching a movie in the Admin Room. Well, we were watching a projection of the movie being displayed on a theater from Deckan over our television. Shortly after the movie started, Udona and Irena came out to join us, wanting in on the fun themselves.

Naturally, Irena leaned against me on the side, having stolen Aurivy’s previous seat and making her sit elsewhere. Udona simply sat with Accalia, the two having conjured a bucket of popcorn to share between themselves.

Roughly halfway through the movie, just as it was getting into a new fight scene, I heard a voice calling out from the hall. “Daaaaale! I need a favor! It’s a bit of an expensive one!”

I blinked, not used to hearing Chel in the Admin Room for quite some time. Looking in the direction of the hall, I saw her running out in her mechanic uniform, overalls tucked up over her shoulders. “An expensive favor?” I asked with a raised brow, reaching over to pause the movie… and by extension the entire world.

“Yeah!” She nodded her head quickly. “We’ve hit a roadblock with our automated divinity research. It’s not feasible to automate the three steps method, as there are simply too many variables that we can’t account for. Instead, we’d like you to buy the knowledge for another ascension method, that way we can focus on automating that instead.”

“Are you sure that you’ll be able to do it if I buy the method?” I asked, finding that rather hard to believe. And sure enough…

“Nope!” Her answer came just as I suspected. “However, it will give us a chance. Also, if you have another ascension method that doesn’t overlap with the ones you use, you’ll finally be able to obtain your third domain. It’s a win-win for you, and all you have to do is spend some points. Act fast, and we’ll even throw in this one-time picture of Tsubaki relaxing at the beach as a special offer!” She lifted a hand, showing a picture of Tsubaki laid out on a beach chair, seemingly soaking in the sun.

“...You made that up.” While I could applaud her effort in the sales pitch, I knew fully well that Tsubaki wouldn’t do something like that.

Chel clicked her tongue at that. “Maybe I did, but still! It’s really a no-lose situation. Besides, at your rank, don’t you have plenty of points to spend for a purchase like this? I don’t think you’ve actually bought anything for a while, have you? It’s all been manually created by your gods since pretty much your last invasion.”

She had a point there. The last time I actually spent points to buy something was the trade that hasn’t been completed yet, and before that it was the basic knowledge about divinity types. “Okay, then… which ascension method are you wanting to know about?” I asked with a faint sigh.

“I dunno.” She shrugged her shoulders with a mischievous smile. “Why don’t you ask one of your friends for a method that won’t conflict with your current divinity, that way you can make sure that you’re getting what you paid for?”

I gave a small nod at that. It wouldn’t be hard for me to call up Sarah to ask, since she would doubtlessly know a good method. Thus, I sent a request to chat to her, waiting a few minutes before the chat window opened.

EverLasting: Hey Dale, what’s up? In the market for a new game world?

EarthForceOne: Maybe soon, but not this time. I was wanting to ask you a question, actually. A bit of advice before I make a purchase.

EverLasting: Always read the fine print, never trust female salesmen that don’t have their suits fully buttoned, and make sure you understand the warranty. I’m kidding, what are you wanting to know?

EarthForceOne: Okay… anyways, I’m looking to buy the method for a new type of ascension. One that won’t conflict with the three step method, or ascending through a cultivation technique.

EverLasting: Eh? You already hit Rank 3, and your people haven’t found alternative methods yet? Oh, right, you’re a game guy, people in game worlds tend to stick more with what they know works and is approved by the system.

EverLasting: Let’s see… something that wouldn’t conflict with the three steps, or cultivation. Just to confirm, is this cultivation one where you just have to gather energy, or does it require understanding ‘profound truths’ as well?

EarthForceOne: Profound truths, though energy does also have to be gathered.

EverLasting: I figured as much. Anyways, the best fit for you would probably be… wait, are you wanting this purely to give an existing god a new domain, or for mortals to ascend, as well?

EarthForceOne: I’m aiming for one that works for both, if it’s possible.

EverLasting: Okay, so ‘body as a temple’ is out. You’ll need one of the uncommon methods if you want something that doesn’t conflict with your established types. Some of those differ between worlds, but a good universal one is Divine Vow. You basically gather up a bunch of different materials related to the domain you want, infusing your divinity into them one by one. Once you’ve done that, you use your divinity and promise to become an existence which embodies the domain you want to receive.

EverLasting: For a new god doing this, their life force will be extinguished, and they’ll completely transfer their mind and soul into their divine spark, making them about the size of a flea. Existing gods don’t have to worry about that, and will just get the new domain.

EarthForceOne: …Is there anything else? I’m fine with it taking a bit longer to achieve.

EverLasting: Ah, if you’re fine with it taking a while, then just go with the Divine Forge method. For a new god, they bring their divine spark out of their body, tempering it like one would metal in a forge. You need specific materials again, and energy combinations to work the spark. Once it’s refined, though, it can be returned back to the body.

EverLasting: Once the spark has been returned, it will gradually begin to remodel the host body, upgrading them over the course of a year or two until their divinity has been fully realized. Once that process hits 100%, they will obtain a domain related to their training, just like the three step method.

EverLasting: For an existing god, they have to do the same, just with a piece of their full divinity. The formula is also different, since it has to remove the existing domains. However, once that’s done and the divinity has been forged, the process for an existing god to get a new domain only takes about a week.

EarthForceOne: That sounds much more like what I want, thanks!