“ Yourself of course. Transcendence is the ultimate state of oneself. At that point you care not for the Universe and the Universe cares not for you. Hence I said before that I can neither bend nor fuse with the Universe to use or borrow its Power. You mana users have no need of it but I am sure you guys can achieve it but what benefit or detriment it would bring you I have no idea. ” I explained. “ I still don't recommend it for you. Qi users on the other hand can but will never want to achieve it as it would lead them astray of their ultimate goal to become the embodiment of the Universe or something like that. Since I have yet to meet them I will leave it at that. ”

 

“ That hardly explains anything but since I like to stick with facts I will leave it at that. ” Said Marcus. “ From what I am hearing it's hard to achieve that state. Is that not so? ”

“ Yes, right now I know of only one way to achieve it and it's the way I did it. ” I told him. “ And I must say that the requirements to do it are quite… umm hard to achieve and among them is a large amount of Life Essence. ” I said while telling him only the obvious. “ The true problem is that even if you can get all the required things, the process is quite deadly. ”

“ In fact I theorise that 99% of those attempting to do it my way will die and just blow themselves and their surroundings up. ” I said while thinking back to that day I had attempted it. It was a narrow escape for myself as blending the three required resonances of the Soul, the Body and Life Essence into one is a pure gamble that should not be attempted. 

The moment I recovered from that thought Marcus spoke. “ Seeing that faraway look you must have been reminiscing about that point in your life. ” Nodding to him I could only wonder at the possibilities of how a Human brain functions. Even though I have control of my brain and I can even increase the speed at which my thoughts process information it's still easy to lose oneself in thoughts and memories.

“ Yea, anyway since my way is almost impossible I need a different approach or at the very least narrow the possibility of death down. ” I told him. “ Ever since I did the act I had a few ideas and during my travels and with the discoveries of the Angel/Demon Soul variants my ideas flourished but. ” I raised the Soul with the first Circle inscribed onto it to Marcus to show him what I meant. “ It's you guys that gave me true inspiration. ”

Marcus sighed as he heard my declaration. “ You don't have to worry that much. It is the idea of inscribing the Soul that is important to me as everything else is kind of useless. ” I said but a second later corrected myself. “ Ok, maybe not useless but I will need your help to analyze the insides of an inscribed Soul. ”

“ Insides? ” With a true surprised voice Marcus realized what I meant. “ You mean to tell me you can analyze the inside of the Soul. ” Nodding I raised my left hand beside the right one holding the Soul in question. On it I showed a slightly opaque ball which had the same inscription as the Soul but with its insides visible.

“ By Merlin's balls that changes everything. ” Still stupified by my declaration he observed the projection I made for him. 

“ So I assume you guys have no idea how the inside of your Souls look? ” I asked.

“ Technically NO we dont. It has been tried and the best we can do is a theoretical model of one.  A bit absently he replied. “ If I can observe the changes as they happen while engraving and even better when they fail I could improve and revolutionize the system altogether. ” The moment he said that part Marcus found his reason. “ No, no matter how tempting that is we first need to talk about your Goals. If I consider everything that you have told me, you have Transcended the limits of Life Essence and achieved a new type of Power. That Power is very strong due to the various restrictions in achieving it and your plan is to spread that Power to the whole World. Is that not so? ” 

“ Yes basically but I can see where your thought is leading. ” With a nod alongside my explanation I went on. “ I don't want to spread Auril, that's what I have come to call it, to World as it is. I plan to separate it into six major categories with various applications and restrictions alongside five ranks of Power with Transcendence being the end. The categories part and the subsequent way to increase in Power is already done in theory and the only thing that is missing is the core that will carry out everything. ”

“ Good. ” Nodded Marcus. “ For a second I thought I would have to kill you to prevent its spread. There are enough power hungry fools as is and just giving them Power of that degree. Just thinking about it gives me the shivers. ”

“ And you would hate to lose this opportunity, won't you? ” I added and Marcus nodded but a second later he made a question. “ So what kind of core are you talking about and how do you think of bridging the harsh requirements of your Power? ” 

“ One that is similar to yours, I guess. ” I said. “ The first time someone will acquire a Power core it will be striped down to the barest of anything and after that they will need to build it up from the ground. Auril can be separated into six categories in the way its power is influencing everything but as anything else in the World it's only when all six are used in conjunction that its true Power is unlocked. For that reason I will make it so that every person that receives a core will also receive the first category for free, or something like that. For the others they will need to work for, hence I said 5 ranks of power. ”

“ Oh, that is interesting. ” With an intrigued look he spoke. “ Indeed it's a good idea. By going through ranks they will travel towards completion with Transcendence being the end. Tell me more if you can. ”

“ I don't mind since all of it is still in theory only. ” I told him. “ The first category they receive will depend on their psychic evaluation and similar other parameters but the subsequent ones they will be free to choose from. I plan to make the inherent way Auril works for a category to provide bonuses for the individual with the best bonuses being only available to the one that was chosen to represent that individual at the start while all the subsequent ones will provide less. It will be like that until they reach Transcendence. ”

 

Nodding as I explained Marcus truly looked intrigued. When he was done contemplating his thoughts. “ It truly is interesting. If you are able to make it, that type of system will provide incredible flexibility and since your type of Power is focused more on imagination and thoughts, the amount of ways it could be utilized will be staggering if you consider the types of personalities people have. But that kind of flexibility does have weaknesses. ” 

“ I know. ” Nodding to his conclusion I gave him my thoughts. “ To handle all those permutations I would need a self evolving core which could handle everything from the beginning and that only increases the difficulty, but here me out first. What if I delegate all that outside and leave the core as simple as possible? ”

“ Oh, you mean your Realm. ” Seeing my point Marcus went into a thinking spree again. “ Hmm, there is a problem though. If my interpretation of your plan is correct then your plan is to spread your Power over as many people as possible and with the power vacuum being left open for you to take the… numbers would be staggering at the very least. ” Was his conclusion? “ There is no way you will be able to handle all the workload, soo how do you plan to get around that bottleneck? ” 

 

Hearing his realization I plucked Mobius from my neck and showed him to Marcus. Once Mobius was visible to him I spoke. “ Mobius, please introduce yourself. ”

~ Yes, Master. It is my pleasure to meet you Mr. Vyllt. I am Mobius, Aspect of Knowledge and Ethernet and I must say that I am truly happy that the first Human I meet is someone of your standing. ~

 

As Mobius introduced himself Marcus had a bit of a stunned expression. He probably never expected a situation like this. He looked at me for a second and I knew he wanted me to confirm his thoughts. “ Yes, Mobius is an independent entity that I have made. Now he may be independent of thoughts but as I am its creator and right now the only provider of Auril in the World he can not live without me. ”

 

Hearing my explanation he looked at the core housing Mobius and thought. In an unconscious habit I saw his right hand scratch his beardless chin before he spoke out. “ Before you said that Aspects are in a similar existence as Spirits, right? ” Seeing me nod he continued. “ So by saying his Aspect is Knowledge and Ethernet you defined its existence and purpose for yourself, right? ” Again I nodded. “ If I remember correctly Ethernet is an old word for the Internet that is used in the mundane right now. I dont think it's a good idea to have one creature be in control of such a vast amount of information and infrastructure. ”

“ I know what you're thinking but I made sure to rectify that point. ” I said. “ Mobius and the other Aspects that I will create will be the center pieces of the system I intend to create. ”

 

“ You know, after you have told me all this I can finally understand how all that was possible. ” With that said he pointed at the picture prophesying a future. 

“ True, but I think you misinterpreted when I said system. ” Not quite understanding what I meant, I asked him a simple question. “ Considering all the marvel innovations that the people of the mundane as you call them have created, have you ever played their games? I don't mean the table games, I mean the real electronic stuff with RPG elements? ”

“ Indeed I have. ” Answered Marcus. “ They are quite fun for the occasional vacation. It's interesting to see how they are developing even if both us and them use a similar interpretation of the World. It has even spawned new branches of Magic dealing with electronics and the digital World. ”

“ Really? ” I asked. 

“ Yes, but due to the rapid development of it all on the side of the mundane people it's still in its infancy. ” He confirmed but frowned a second later. “ Considering what you're saying to me and everything else that happened, I am not wrong in considering that… you want to recruit me, am I? Since I specialize in Dimensional stuff you practically need all the help on this front you can get if you want to achieve a Globalization, am I right? ”

“ Yes and here is the final sales pitch. ” I said. “ Since I am planning on making a System encompassing the whole World and everything in it I plan to include the other Power system into it too. If you and I combine our knowledge and Powers we can truly make something that will change the World on multiple scales and lets not forget that with my help you will be able to revamp your Circle system from scratch. ”

“ Does that include the Heaven/Hell faction? ” He asked in return. 

 

“ Not exactly. I will be honest with you on this. ” I explained my thoughts on the topic with a light hesitance. “ The Heaven and Hell concept is far too ingrained in the current World. I can't get rid of it even if I want to and let's not mention the dichotomy of Human behavior as that one is obvious. It's just not a good idea to truly get rid of it but at the same time I simply don't like how the current situation is either. The true problem is that even if I am able to get rid of them right this moment as Life Essence and Auril are introduced into the World and since it's heavily influenced by thoughts at some point a version of it would appear on its own. ”

“ And without my input I could only guess at how it would turn out. ” I said as I took the Angel/Demon Souls out. Looking at them for a second and at Marcus the other I spoke. “ For that reason I plan to include them on some level but first they would have to be destroyed and restructured. ”

“ And do you have any ideas on how they should be restructured? ” Asked Marcus and I nodded.

“ It's simple in theory at least. ” Immediately I showed him a representation of the Idea. “ Not sure if you know but Humans have reviewed their behavioral pattern and summarized it into this. ” On my right hand I displayed the Moral Alignment chart that I already implemented into the Dreamscape. ” This chart will be at the core of the System. It will categorize people by their behavioral pattern of choices into these categories and group them. Like that over time they will become the representation of the true Good and Evil alongside the Neutral ones. ”

“ You mentioned a choice? Wait is that the reason you want to destroy them? ” He asked but one second later the answer came to him. “ Oh, is it because the current Heaven represents indoctrination and Hell freedom. ”

“ Yes. ” I confirmed for him. “ Good and Evil both stem from choices. If they are forced then they are not what they represent but something else. For that reason the core that I will design for all this will not influence the individual's actions in any case but what it will do is measure one's actions along a scale of Karma. Good Karma will represent the Good people do and the Evil Karma the Evil that they do. To further cement this fact I have already color coded my Realm and for another factor all the abilities an individual will have will follow that color arrangement too so they will not be able to hide their alignment. After all that is set in place the only thing I will have to do is wait. Soo, think about it for a second. ”

 

Stopping there I had laid out my thoughts and plans. Now all that was left was to wait for Marcus's decision but deep down I knew he would accept my offer. As I watched Marcus lost in thought I sent my thoughts to Mobius. Of course since it was a thought conversation it speed was much faster so I had no need to get derailed from Marcus.

“ Tell me Mobius, do you think he will accept it or not? ” I asked him.

~ Master, I know too little of him and his motivations to be certain but I believe that your offer already provides plenty of benefits for him to agree. Everything else should be a personal retrospection of himself. ~ Answered Mobius. 

 

Oh, looks like he's getting better at interpreting Human behavior. ~ Master,may I ask a question? ~

“Sure, go ahead. ” 

~ I am not aware of the happenings before you started talking to Mr.Vyllt and through your conversations I have learned much. So my question is, when will I be integrated into the Realm you have fashioned? ~

“ Oh, about that. I am a bit hesitant about it. ” I said. “ When I made you and defined your Aspects I had no idea I was able to make something like a Realm. I had thoughts about it but that was for much, much later when I had Potential Chaos to fiddle with on a larger scale. When I made you my idea was that you'd be integrated with the information network that already exists and just grow there slowly only to take over it, or something similar. ”

~ I understand, Master. Does this mean I am not as compatible with your new Realm? ~

“ Umm, no Mobius. I think the problem will be that you will have to give up one of your Aspects if you want to integrate with the Dreamscape and it's probably gonna be Ethernet Aspect. Either that or we will have to redefine it somewhat. ”

“ I have thought about it. ” Marcus interrupted my conversation with Mobius. Still I sent one last thought to him before I dealt with him. “ Think about it just in case. ”

~ Yes. Master. ~ Came the reply.

 

“ I can already tell that you have agreed to join but from your face I can see you have conditions. ” I said to him. “ What are they? ”

“ Nothing big, I am sure we can accommodate them but I want to ask something else. ” He said. “ Considering what you are trying to build I can assume you'll be the one with ultimate control over the System, right? ”

“ Yes, I will not allow anybody else to handle the controls. ” Was my declaration.

“ Thought so. I have minor conditions that are easy to fulfil but one thing I will not allow and that is to leave my People's powers to anybody else, especially one that does not belong to our community. So either you agree that I will be the deciding factor for how the system interacts with Magic in all its forms or I will not help you at all. In fact I will become your enemy. ” Declared Marcus back at me with a firm voice to show that he would not accept anything less.

 

Hearing it it wasn't a hard decision for me to make but one thing stood out for me. “ You do realize that as the System appears and starts growing in influence and power there will be a lot of enemies on both our sides and lets not even mention that it will take a long time for it to truly grow. In the event that you die what will happen? Will the System receive your legacy or will you designate a successor. Ultimately, what I want to ask is this; are you prepared to actually give that kind of Power to your successor as I remember from your explanation about Magic that it certainly does not give your increased Lifespan, so at some point you will have to decide ”

 

“ What about you? Certainly if you can say that about me, it should also apply to you? ” Replied Marcus in return. 

“ It's simple. ” I said to him. “ I simply won't die and on the off chance I do kick the crap I have somebody in mind that will act as my successor. ”

“ Then my reply is the same: I simply won't die. ” Replied Marcus with a smile. “ One more thing I have a friend that I want to bring into the fold. She is a Cultivator and I want to offer her the same deal. ”

Hearing that last condition I looked at him seriously and considered it. “ How trustworthy is she? You do know that this has to stay a secret for quite some time. ”

“ Since you have trusted me so far I want you to trust in my friend making skills too. So how about it? ” He asked.

“ I… will think about it, is the best I can give you without meeting your friend. ” I replied. As it's a she there is a big chance that it's a lover.

“ Ok, that is fair. So do we have a Deal on this and are we making a Contract to settle it. ” Asked Marcus.

 

Shaking my head I replied. “ No Contract as we will be going into this with faith in each other's character. As for the actual System privileges that will be under Contract but it can also be left for later. ” With that said, I provided my hand for the old style of Deal making.

 

“ DEAL. ” I said to him.

“ DEAL: ” Grabbing my hand and shaking it he replied in return. 

 

“ Good. Welcome to the club then. First let's finish this little Soul project we started and explore it for a bit. Once my body has finished healing properly we can go visit your friend. ” 

 

` With an unexpected accomplice to brave the future my Dream already looks closer than imagined at first. `