Disclaimer/ Author's note: The following information is me trying to fit all future powers under a single concept to give me peace of mind. After a bout of introspection thanks to me being high out of my mind, I realized that there's technically no need to break down how or why powers work. I guess it was just a personal dissatisfaction that kept growing the more I read anything. I always liked to understand how or why things worked, even if only in theory, and I projected that in this novel. Not that I care. More than you readers, I want to be happy/satisfied with what I write, at least for my first story. So yeah, if the system ends up making sense, well that's just a plus and something I will use for the future otherwise, I will try to plug any holes (HA!) left as the story advances. Without further ado, enjoy!

Olivia let the pause continue. Watching Adam mentally squirm was satisfying, like watching a puppy trying to stay still for a treat. Satisfied, she continues "Mana is everything. Even calling it mana is not right, more a relic of the past. Once I reached this level of existence, I, and the others at my level, gained an awareness of how the Omniverse functions. How it works and exists. You need to understand that whatever I try to explain to you isn't something easily put in words. You can only feel it, perceive it and understand it once you reach a certain level." She pauses to give Adam some time.

"Before grade 8, we believed mana, or whatever other worlds called it, to be the pinnacle, or rather the only thing around. Only once we broke past through grade 8 did we gain a basic understanding of the world and the universe around it. At grade 9 is when we really saw mana for what it was. Using your memories to make you understand, you can call mana or anything else for that matter, energy. Just energy." Adam gobsmacked and slightly disbelieving was about to cut her off, but held back or rather was held back, courtesy of a gag and ropes.

Ignoring him she continued "We discovered energy had different tiers. Each tier had its job to do. At lower-tier, it does not mean it's weaker, it only means that its 'authority' for a lack of better words, is lower. When I mentioned pure mana earlier, it was only energy that is technically used on a grander scale. The energy present in and responsible for the omniverse can be categorized as Order. The reason for this distinction is what we discovered once we reached tier 9. We discovered that our Omniverse is constantly growing, by consuming or bringing 'Order' to the beyond. To put it in words you can understand, the outside would be entropy, or disorder, while our omniverse would be its opposite, negentropy. They aren't against each other, they both seek each other, like magnets, one seeks order while the other seeks to bring in order. The reason energy seeks and prioritizes high-tier lifeforms is that our existence allows it to spread faster. Hmmm...faster is not the right word, we give it more mass? It would be like how shallow water in a bathtub rises when you enter it but on a cosmic scale. Our existence raises the water level, which in this case is energy, that is used to expand faster. That is the closest analogy I can use that is accurate enough. Again, even that is barely touching it, and I'm still considered young in the grand scheme of things. This knowledge is not something I earned or discovered, it's only something I gained awareness of once I tuned myself to existence itself so to speak." she pauses once she sees Adam zoning out, processing what she said.

A few minutes later, once sure Adam is back she continues " The reason I called energy Order is because of the tiers of energy I mentioned earlier. I will repeat myself, energy is not sentient. We don't know how, or when, but when the first life was created, it kick-started everything. Even the first life itself, we don't know what it was or how it appeared. This is information we received from others at our level. How they got it is unknown. Personally, I think this is all conjecture, but there's no better explanation so we stuck to it. So yeah, first life, brought chaos into order. What I mean is the way energy started moving. Universes were created, with myriad lifeforms. The goal is what we now believe to nurture high-level existences. But energy has no sentience, or rather it seems to avoid it, why we don't know but we're happy as long as it stays that way, otherwise, we all go poof!" She explains with a small gesture of her hands. Ignoring the disbelieving gaze of her guest she continues,

"So yeah, the only way for a lifeform or race to spread, is for it to imprint its existence in creation (i.e energy) itself. How does that happen? we're unsure, but we believe many factors contribute. One guaranteed way is for said race to produce a powerhouse at tier 7 minimum. Anything lower, and you will only sporadically see them throughout the omniverse, but the higher the tier the more you will see them. Things such as humans and their variants, dragons, phoenixes, gods (the race not the faith guzzlers), angels, devils, etc, you will see them the more you travel throughout the omniverse. That's where the Order part we believe comes in, once a race has imprinted or proven its value on the cosmic scale, it will be spread throughout the omniverse without any outside help. Energy will ensure their creation. Why do I say lifeforms brought chaos? it is simply because the creative aspect of energy has never stopped, like a gambler. If not in the way of various lifeforms, then in the way of various weird worlds and planets. If that doesn't work, then it mixes them up in a random universe or multiverse even. There's no observable pattern, hence chaos. There's no actual goal to speak of except getting high-tiers, since again, no sapience, so yeah just chaos. As for those creatures, who proclaim themselves creators? hmph, they only have access to the highest tier energy available, which is used to create. The so-called creator only starts the process, energy itself creates what the existence wishes. If it was created once in the omniverse, it can be created more easily if you have the authority (if you're a high-tier existence). This is where the term Akashic record or tree of consciousness comes from. If you're high enough in the existential scale of the omniverse, you can instinctively know of everything created, not like actual knowledge, more like you feel every possibility available to you. The only creator is energy itself and even then it's stretching it. More like a gambler with great success stories." She snickers to herself. Adam on the other hand is having an existential crisis. Not by panicking, but by trying to disprove her, while conveniently forgetting her age and power.

"Humans as a race, while a success story, are quite pitiful. I don't know how or when, but whoever managed to reach tier 7 first is a champ or maybe we would've spread regardless? who knows" She shrugs and continues "We are basically the bacteria of the sapient world. We're not the only ones at that level, but other similar races include goblins and the like so not something to be proud of for sure. The one good thing we have is our minds. Even our so-called adaptability is more a sign of our weakness than a sign of strength. A strong lifeform does not adapt to its environment, the environment adapts to it. We managed to reach such levels with the help of our minds, our wit, a bacterias road to glory" Still snickering, she continues "Of course, as a weaker lifeform, we, or in this case you, have nowhere to go but up in the cosmic scale. A weak lifeform, in the right conditions, has more options to the top. Of course, it stays within reason. A stronger born lifeform, has a....how to explain....a heavier weight? eh close enough. Conceptually speaking, they are heavier than a mere human." She pauses, trying to formulate her thoughts. Adam is guessing that the current 'Olivia' he is speaking with is not the main body but a persona. She still referred to herself as a human during the conversation, something he believes the main body stopped doing, instinctually.

Gathering her thoughts she starts again "What I am about to explain or try at least, is how I perceive existence and energy itself. Every being at a certain level perceives things their own way. None is wrong, they either know more or less but at that level none of them is wrong. To understand how everything works, we have to first start with the key component of a lifeforms path to power: Souls. Every lifeform, small or large, has souls, of varying sizes depending on their roles in the grand scale of things. Low-tier humanoid races, being the most widespread, are used as the baseline of sapients to judge a soul's size. It is sapience that unfortunately prevents most lifeforms from ascending. A soul is considered the most successful creation of energy. It is what allows lifeforms to come in contact with the wider cosmos. It's composed of two aspects, how you see those aspects is up to the eyes of the beholder. There's the core, which outside of a body, does not last long, then there's the ego. People see ego as if oil and the core is water, while some see it as an outer shell enveloping the core. Everyone has their own views. To get to my point, a soul in its natural state, in my own perception, is in constant resonance with existence itself. The ego blocks such resonance, or rather, it muffles it. As you ascend, your ego slowly merges with the core, allowing you to sense existence and everything in it more clearly. One key component to consider oneself ascended, is for the ego and soul core to be one and the same. Once a person dies, their souls dissipate, if they've merged, may last long enough to save, depending on the degree of merging, but they will slowly dissipate, merge back with energy. Basically, an unmerged soul's ego is useless without the core, of course except for faith gods *ahem, leeches ahem* who gather the ego to use as faith producers in the divine domains. Even then it will not last for long, its ego slowly dissipating unless the God helps them get back in the land of the living. Of course, there are exceptions to everything, I am not omniscient after all, but barring exceptions, this is how things typically are."

Clearing her throat, she goes on " As your understanding, and control of the world grows, your ego merges with your soul, allowing you to sense and control more. The only requirement is to have your ego connected to your inner core. It is rare to find a whole world where that connection is missing. Typically, the connection is either so faint one is unable to use it, or they have a lack of understanding and belief in the greater whole of existence, believing what they see is all there is to it, consequently strengthening their ego, dimming the soul core's resonance. That's one thing those damn cultivators have right, meditation and becoming one with the world is helpful at lower tiers. As your existence elevates itself, you naturally understand more with time, but if you aren't careful, you might exhaust your lifespan before advancing, so active meditation and research is recommended. At least until lifespan isn't an issue. This is where mana or energy tiers come into play. The energy available in the world is different than the energy used to create it. Similarly, the energy used in the creation of the world is different than the energy available in space and used in the creation of a universe. The highest tier of energy is the one used to create a universe. The multiverse and omniverse are just a gathering of universes, they are not considered an entity in and of themselves. Energy is found in two states, passive and active. Active is when it is in use, passive is when it is idle, simply present. The omniverse expanding is active energy, a magus controlling the elements is active energy. Unless an outside factor or variable affects it, energy is in a passive state most of the time. The creation of different universes occurs when energy processes or brings order to entropy; it is basically a result of their interaction. The creation of a world is when physical matter collides creating a reaction. For the creation of lifeforms, it happens naturally depending on the world created. This is where we spoke about order and chaos aspect of energy earlier. The blueprint of life, depending on the planet or world, will always have lifeforms already previously created, humans, in our case, or it could be dragons or maybe elementals. Point is, there is a cosmic blueprint that energy constantly follows, and then there is its R&D department where it just throws a bunch of things together to see what sticks. If it sticks? in the blueprint it goes." She pauses to allow her guest to process everything.

Once he seemed back in the game she continues " At lower tiers, in our world specifically, we focus on understanding and controlling the world around us. From the lowest level, controlling and understanding the basic elements, to the mid-level, understanding their more complicated states, which allows them to access a small part of world creation tier energy. Keep in mind that every world's energy interacts with its denizens differently, that is where chaos comes into play. Some worlds are lucky, where their path to ascendance is more accessible whereas in others, said path may not even be available. The cosmos isn't fair, consider yourself lucky to have found this world. You may have ended up in a world where the peak is tier 3. Back to what I was saying, tier 8, while we don't control universal creation, we come in contact with the energy that constitutes it. Only in tier 9, where we integrate with the rules, laws, concepts, or whatever you want to call it, that we can start controlling said energy tier. Excluding karma; fate, space, time, life, and death constitute the basic foundations needed to create a universe. Fate in this case can be seen as a mix of order and creation, how things should and will be. Karma on the other hand is a result of sentient life. Of course, Fate for the cosmos and Fate for sentient life are two separate things. We consider the latter a shallow and erroneous understanding of what Fate is meant to be in the cosmic scale of creation. Chaos has no concept, or rather it is pointless to ponder on it because a sapient has no use of it. Chaos is not an esoteric type of energy, it is basically something useful as entertainment only. Uncontrollable matter creation is useless. The chances of gaining something useful are astronomically low. So not many will focus on Chaos unless they go through an 'I am a Creator' phase. Of course in tier 9, while we can create a universe, we would have to give up our identity, our sapience. Because what will be used to create the universe will be our 'bodies' so to speak. The energy generator, combined with the integrated concepts, will kick-start universal creation. Like the big bang, your previous world has theorized. Getting to tier 9 is also considered a beginning of sorts. Like the previously mentioned resonance, at tier 9, it is the same, only at a higher stage. Resonance, in this case, means understanding how everything functions relative to each other and being able to tap into it, depending on how far your 'ripples' reach. The more time passes, the more you understand naturally, so most tier 9's focus on the concepts given birth by the congruence of sentient minds. Things like Karma, for instance, things that while natural, originated from sentients rather than energy itself. Karma is useless on the omniversal level, but it is useful in the multiversal and universal level, to understand how life interacts with each other. There are other concepts, unique to certain multiverses, that can be considered useful to understand if you live there. But the aforementioned five (fate, space and time, life and death) are the building blocks. You can derive further from those concepts, things like void and infinity, which by the way are just variations of spacetime, one is a lack of both while the other is an abundance or an extension of them, but the foundations are important to understand the more complicated stuff."

Olivia thinks for a moment then explains "The number of tiers by the way are something used only to make things more understandable and because our world used them as such. Some places may have more or less, depending on their circumstances. Keep this in mind while you travel the cosmos in the future. Anyways, that should be enough. The rest can be discovered as you explore yourself. I will allow you, hmmm, two questions. I'm feeling generous. Make them count."

Adam still processing everything, takes a few minutes to compose himself and then realizes the ropes and gag is gone. He thinks about what he wants to know. He already understands that he gained more than he could ever ask for, anything more is just a gift.

"Why did you give up your body? If energy is as miraculous as you said, surely you don't need to live as a brain and spine?" Stunned by the question, Olivia did not think one of his questions would be aesthetic in nature "We did not give up our body, it's more accurate to say we don't need it. The body you saw me create earlier is as real as my previous one. If you're asking if a full body is useless on the path to ascendance, then there is no definite answer. Humans, on the cosmic scale, are born with weak bodies. What we do have as an advantage, is our mind, or our brains. Although our bodies can't make full use of it, something your chip is helping you with, it is the organ with the most potential in our possession. Trying to enhance our bodies to that level is a waste of time when we can simply recreate it. A body created with my powers is above a human in capabilities. At what level would it be? I can't accurately say since our world does not focus on such things and different worlds have different classifications. What I can say is reaching our capabilities by way of your body is nigh impossible. The amount of energy required to physically perform what I can with my mind is ludicrous and they might not even be able to do it in the end. It is after all easier to destroy than create. Someone physically powerful could theoretically punch through space or dimensions. The amount of energy needed, compared to me who can simply step through it, is ridiculous and the idea is inefficient. Of course, as I said earlier, I am not omniscient. I would not be surprised if there were exceptions. But why would I need to run through time, or punch/cut space to travel, when I can accomplish all this with my mind only. As for why you found me in my main body only, I guess you could say it feels more natural? less cumbersome? Like walking naked in your own house. Not necessary, but freeing nonetheless. Keep in mind, that you may find tier 8 and 9s with strong bodies, but their bodies aren't as important as their understanding of the cosmos. A tier 9 dragon for example will not be formidable because he is a dragon, no he will be formidable because of his understanding of reality and its components. Bodies only matter for the lower tiers. At higher tiers, you essentially become closer to a physical embodiment of energy. Things such as bodies, bloodlines, and whatnot become relics of your past. Only useful to experience creation in all its glory. Of course, you might find useful races to create bodies from. Some races, with their bodies only, could be considered pseudo-tier 9s. What that means is they move through space and dimensions as if walking on land, but they do not know how or rather they do not bother figuring out. The reason they are considered pseudo-tier 9s is due to one reason. Unlike genuine ascended, they do not generate their own energy. They may be in constant resonance with the omniverse at different levels, but outside of it, they are like fish out of water. Whereas we, if we step in the beyond, outside even entropy, we will be okay. Bored, but okay. And don't ask me what is beyond, even I do not know, all I know is that it poses no danger to us and that is enough. Of course, I could create a body that uses the full scope of my powers, but it would be useless. What I could perform physically, I can already perform now. The essence is the same, only the shape is different. Technically, I don't need to be in the shape you saw me in earlier, but it's what feels natural. Now for your last question?"

Adam wants to keep the last question for later but doesn't know if he'll get such an opportunity later so he decides to ask her something for the sake of curiosity " physically speaking, can quantity eventually match quality? in terms of energy I mean." Olivia taking some time to think eventually answers "Yes it can, but multiple factors are needed for that to happen. First, can the physical container survive such an amount, if it can, what is their level of control? Second, how will they gather such an amount? The amount needed is incomprehensible for lower-tiers. A race or lifeform able to contain such an amount of energy would be better off refining its existence to ascend instead of focusing on furthering its physical power. It would be pointless in every sense of the word."

Adam cocks an eyebrow "Pointless? why? if someone can reach such levels, couldn't they technically punch you out of existence?" Olivia looks at him in disdain "Can energy obliterate energy? No, only transform it. To be able to erase me, let alone the avatars spread throughout the cosmos out of reach, just my main body would be practically impossible. Such a lifeform would not control universal energies otherwise they would not need to amass such an amount of energy in the first place, so using such an immense amount of lower-tier energy, to harm me, who is an embodiment of higher tier energy is like trying to use a small icicle to freeze an ocean. The icicle will simply dissolve in the water. The same thing goes for that entity, while they're using their physical power not energy, the only thing that will happen is them displacing me through physical force, like a push, rather than damaging me in any sort of way. That is if I'm manifesting myself in the first place, otherwise, they won't be able to touch me, I will simply be considered part of the environment itself. Being a physical embodiment of energy means I don't have to stay in a physical state if I don't wish to. I can integrate myself into my surroundings, at every level of existence." Adam satisfied is ready to get back to his body only for Olivia to talk to him again "I don't know how your chip functions exactly, but I recommend sealing some of your memories regarding energy. It will be detrimental to your understanding of the world. You will subconsciously seek the higher tier of energy, instead of what's present in the world, making your progress so slow it would be almost stagnant. The lower-tier energies are necessary to understand and refine to prepare yourself for higher tiers. So having this knowledge may make you unconsciously dismiss them. If you can't seal them I can do it for you, of course, you can disregard my warning and try but I don't recommend it."

Adam, understanding the basic principle of chewing more than you can swallow, agrees "I would appreciate it, my chip can only erase the whole, I can't selectively choose." Olivia waves his gratitude away "I'll seal them in your consciousness, it's the best way to ensure you get them when you are ready. Your body is not as trustworthy as your mind." He nods waiting only to find himself back in his body all of a sudden. Puzzled he looks at her "Is it done? why didn't I feel any-......" Trying to think of what was sealed, he can't recall anything. He remembers the sealing itself, but not what was sealed. Recalling all that he knows, he remembers how to reach tiers 8 and 9, he remembers how big the omniverse is, even how it functions but not what enables it to function the way it does. He assumes that's what he's missing. Olivia tells him "The sealed information will unlock itself when you reach tier 7. To you, tier 7 may be useless, if you can find a way to make your nanomachines interact with mana. But I still recommend you go for a domain, it will be instrumental for your soul, it helps it reach out to the world more easily. Your soul by itself is enough to understand the world, but the domain makes it a more streamlined process. The domain once solidified is essentially a link between your mind and soul. Very useful. You'll understand once you get there. Before I send you away, keep the information to yourself, the Council is currently rewriting our curriculum. The terms of magus and such are outdated and useless. We've only kept them because that's what we started as and the other worlds know us as such. We are in the process of rewriting our whole educational knowledge, hoping to make ascension easier for our world." She sighs "Too many people fail, even we don't understand what the issue is, we only hope that the more people try to break through, the more we can observe what causes possible failures."

Adam nods "I understand, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, while I know it might not mean much to you, what you've done means more to me than you may know." Olivia smirks "Oohh so formal, you're gonna make me feel butterflies, just tell my baby girl to visit more often, and I'll be happy. I also have a feeling you'll soon (time is relative) reach our ranks. A feeling from an Ascended is practically a prophecy for lower-tier beings, so consider it a favor to be cashed in. Now, get out of my room, staying alone in a room with a young lady is uncouth behavior, out." She waves and Adam finds himself in the 'Lady boss' office again, facing 'granny' (Old lady avatar) and Fay. Granny smirks "Alright darling, looks like your lost puppy has been found. Don't forget to visit, I'm all over the world, you don't have any excuse. Now go, I want to talk to my baby daughter as an equal in the future stop wasting time." Fay sighs to herself 'Isn't it considered wasting time if I spend time visiting you?'. Granny as if sensing her thoughts, glares at her "Don't play smart with me young lady or I'll spank you".

Fay startled, quickly thanks her mother and brings Adam outside the tavern. Adam, the whole time, was replaying the conversations in his mind, ensuring that zero had everything on record. Zero is a physical construct, it wasn't available in Olivia's mindscape. So busy focusing, that he did not notice himself on the elevator in the tower. Startled he looks at Fay, who was busy fiddling with a crystal card. Sensing him looking at her, she looks at him for a second then smiles "Looks like my mother left you a little gift." Adam, unsure of her meaning simply gestures for her to continue "Originally, you had to spend time in the time chamber to make sure your body was attuned to this world's mana. While your soul is fine, your body is not from this world, making it almost impossible for you to control mana. She sped the process for you. It seems she like you" She smirks at him. Remembering the old lady speaking about her lovers, he shivers. Fay chuckles at this sight "Anyways, I'm a little busy, I have to leave. I hope you gained what you were looking for?" Gathering himself he nods "That and more. Thank you, lady Fay. I promise to repay you if the chance presents itself in the future." Satisfied, she reminds him of a few more things, regarding his status as her sponsee and walks away. Adam back in his room, speaks to zero 'Did you record the conversation I replayed?' 'Yes sir, all the information is stored and ready to be cataloged.' 'Perfect, take any information pertinent to the tiers of this world, from tier 1 to tier 9, and put them under a folder named path to power (A/N: wink, wink). Leave any blanks you find as is. The information will present itself later.' 'Acknowledged, any further instructions?' 'No that will be all.'
Closing his eyes, he falls into his first natural sleep in a long time. Excited for what the future holds.

Author's note: Put your lighters in the air, cuz Lazy's back! How you doin' peeps. I'm great, thanks for asking. Anyways, this chapter basically set the tone for how I will look at the different worlds in the future. Every world will have their own way of empowering themselves, but no matter how diverse it all falls under one umbrella: energy. Runes, cultivation mantras, and all the other stuff belong to their respective worlds, universes, etc. Basically, unless you become a high-tier energy manipulator, everything else only works in their own space, whether that space is a multiverse, universe or world depends on the users and the way energy works for that particular place. So knowledge will only be useful as a reference and bloodlines and the like will be dependent on the mc himself. Can he recreate them? yes, will he? depends. Anyways, I've left some things unexplained, because one, I want to explain them as the Mc encounters said things, and two, I might've not thought of them. The only thing I avoided explaining is Faith and how gods harvest it. The reason is that I want the mc to discover it himself. I will go into more detail as mc himself reaches those levels. Why are some universes copies of each other? Why are the same gods spread throughout the omniverse? What kind of creatures are those concepts given form? questions like that are left for the mc to discover....on his path to power (HA! title drop again).
Anyways I hope you enjoyed. I'm personally proud of myself.

P.s The multiverses of systems and The Company, will also be part of my omniverse.

Reviews, comments, likes, yada yada. Y'all ready know. Lazy out. Peace!