A few minutes earlier, far beyond Earth and the barrier surrounding it, the cosmos remained as silent as it had for countless years.
Countless stars burned throughout the darkness, separated by distances that would take ordinary civilizations generations to cross. Yet around one seemingly insignificant blue planet, existences older and greater than entire civilizations continued to linger.
The invisible barrier surrounding Earth remained firmly in place, separating the world within from the horrors of the cosmos. Outside it, ancient beings waited patiently for the barrier to weaken, occasionally searching for cracks through which their influence might seep.
Among them was the Mother Goddess of Depravity, who occupied the moon, while farther away, the Mother Tree of Desire remained rooted within the depths of the cosmos, Her influence spreading through unseen layers of reality.
Other terrifying existences lingered in different regions surrounding the planet, each drawn toward Earth by the Sefirot and characteristics sealed within it.
To mortals, merely perceiving one of these existences would have been enough to destroy both mind and soul.
To the beings themselves, however, waiting outside Earth's barrier had long since become routine. They had already waited for countless years. Waiting a little longer for the approaching apocalypse meant little to them.
Far beyond the dimensions in which most of these beings manifested, another existence silently watched them.
The High-Dimensional Overseer.
"He" did not occupy the cosmos in the same manner as the other Great Old Ones. An untouchable shadow lingered behind layer upon layer of overlapping dimensional curtains, never completely descending into the reality beneath them. Through those folds, only a pair of clear and indifferent eyes could occasionally be perceived.
Those eyes contained little emotion, yet looking deeply into them gave the impression of staring into an entire universe.
The High-Dimensional Overseer quietly observed several Great Old Ones lingering near Earth's barrier. Some searched patiently for opportunities to exert their influence, while others simply waited for the inevitable weakening of the barrier.
"They have surrounded the same barrier for countless years, probing it whenever the opportunity appears, only to withdraw and repeat the same thing again," the Overseer remarked after watching them for some time.
His indifferent gaze swept across the distant figures before He added, "If persistence without progress can be considered admirable, then perhaps there is something admirable about it."
Before He could continue observing, the surrounding dimensions trembled slightly.
An enormous presence was approaching.
What initially resembled a distant cluster of stars gradually became clearer. Countless suns burned within the enormous form, some white, others crimson, blue, or gold. Each possessed enough destructive power to devastate ordinary worlds, yet together they represented only part of the existence approaching Him.
The Supernova Dominator.
Even after reducing His manifestation enough to exist within this region of the cosmos, the Great Old One remained unimaginably vast. His true body was comparable to an entire star system, composed of countless explosive suns gathered together as parts of a greater existence.
Supernova Dominator's attention settled upon the dimensional curtains concealing the Overseer.
"Heh~ Oi, turtle. Hiding behind your curtains while stalking the others again?" He mocked.
High-Dimensional Overseer's gaze shifted toward the oversized buffoon. Even among the Great Old Ones, Supernova Dominator's enormous form was difficult to overlook, but the Overseer regarded Him with the same indifference He showed almost everything else.
"I prefer the word observing."
"Then you have been 'observing' for quite some time," Supernova Dominator replied. "And yet you spend yours watching the others struggle against a barrier you have made no attempt to approach yourself."
"Time is hardly scarce to either of us," the Overseer answered calmly.
"That doesn't answer what I asked."
High-Dimensional Overseer remained silent.
It wasn't because He lacked an answer. He had simply lost interest in giving one.
His clear eyes wandered away from Supernova Dominator and toward an entirely unrelated corner of the cosmos. After several moments of silence, He spoke with the same calm tone as before.
"What pleasant weather we're having today. Somewhere, an ant is hiding beneath the shadow of a giant and has mistaken the darkness for safety." He paused briefly before adding, "And I also won a lottery, how lucky."
Supernova Dominator's stars flickered.
There was no weather in the surrounding void. The ant had nothing to do with anything they had been discussing, and Supernova Dominator had no idea what lottery the Overseer was supposedly talking about.
After several seconds, He finally asked, "Oi... are you speaking nonsense?"
High-Dimensional Overseer's gaze returned to Him.
"I cannot understand the words of plankton," He replied calmly. "Still, I find the ant's situation considerably more interesting than this conversation."
The surrounding starfield trembled.
Supernova Dominator now understood perfectly well what was happening. The Overseer wasn't confused, nor had He somehow failed to understand the conversation. He simply considered annoying Him more worthwhile than answering properly.
"You remain as intolerable as ever."
"Oh?" High-Dimensional Overseer replied. "I feel I have remained remarkably consistent."
One of the suns composing Supernova Dominator suddenly brightened beyond reason.
The star erupted.
Terrifying force tore across the surrounding cosmos and crashed into the dimensional curtains behind which the Overseer existed. Space twisted beneath the impact, light distorted, and several layers of reality trembled violently.
Yet when the disturbance faded, High-Dimensional Overseer remained exactly where He had been.
Untouched.
The attack had never reached the dimension He actually occupied.
The Overseer's clear eyes regarded Supernova Dominator for several seconds, as though looking at an idiot.
"It seems someone is still suffering from the Lord of the Mysteries' Foolishness," He finally remarked. "What do you say, Supernova Dominator?"
The countless suns composing Supernova Dominator's body rumbled violently.
For a moment, He genuinely wanted to bombard this disgusting fellow into oblivion. Yet attacking again would only make it appear as though the Overseer's words were true—that He really had been affected by the Foolishness of that other disgeustingly shameless Pillar.
So He restrained Himself.
But that didn't improve His mood.
Supernova Dominator had always found High-Dimensional Overseer particularly disgusting to fight. An existence could possess enough destructive power to annihilate worlds, but that meant little when the target simply observed from a dimension the attack couldn't reach.
Among the existences Supernova Dominator knew, there was only one He found even more troublesome and disgusting to deal with than this guy.
Hell, he even wanted to be as far away from that guy as possible so he could not suffer total humiliation.
Lord of the Mysteries.
That shameless Pillar's authority over Space-Time, Fooling, Error, Door, deception, replication, and countless bizarre methods made dealing with Him an entirely different kind of torment. That even a Great Old One wanted little to with him.
High-Dimensional Overseer wasn't at that level, but His ability to hide Himself within higher dimensions made Him irritating enough to earn a place immediately beneath Lord of the Mysteries in Supernova Dominator's mind.
"Humph~ You may continue entertaining yourself," Supernova Dominator finally said. "I have better uses for my attention."
High-Dimensional Overseer offered no response as the enormous cluster of suns turned away and gradually disappeared deeper into the cosmos.
Only after Supernova Dominator's presence had grown distant did the Overseer return His attention toward Earth.
Finally, the oversized buffoon was gone, and peace returned to the surrounding dimensions.
For a while, nothing changed.
Then High-Dimensional Overseer's eyes suddenly shifted.
The indifference within them disappeared.
Something had appeared.
Not within the physical world, but in the Spirit World.
The aura lasted for only an instant, yet it was enough to immediately seize His attention. The dimensional curtains surrounding the Overseer shifted as His perception crossed through layers of reality and entered the chaotic depths of the Spirit World.
Countless strange creatures drifted there. Colors without physical equivalents overlapped one another while information and symbolism mixed together in ways ordinary minds could never comprehend.
High-Dimensional Overseer ignored all of it.
His gaze settled upon one particular region.
Several Spirit World creatures were nearby, along with an insignificant human spiritual body caught between different forces. None of them interested Him.
What captured His complete attention was something else.
A portal.
Its surface resembled a kaleidoscope composed of innumerable fragments of light and color. Blue folded into violet, violet broke apart into gold, and gold separated into colors that couldn't be described by ordinary language.
Every time the portal appeared to form a stable pattern, the image shattered and rearranged itself into something entirely different.
High-Dimensional Overseer stared at it intently.
Then something changed.
For the first time in an immeasurably long period, a powerful desire rose within Him.
It wasn't simple curiosity, nor was it the ordinary instinct of convergence shared by Beyonder characteristics.
It was something deeper.
The Overseer focused more closely on the portal, attempting to perceive whatever existed beyond it. Yet even His gaze couldn't penetrate its depths.
Still, He could feel something.
Compatibility.
Whatever existed beyond that portal possessed an extraordinary degree of compatibility with Him.
The realization caused even High-Dimensional Overseer to become completely still.
If He entered that portal and obtained whatever existed beyond it...
If He could accommodate or absorb it...
His existence would change.
Not merely become stronger, nor simply gain another Authority. His very level of existence could be elevated.
The Overseer's normally indifferent eyes widened in genuine shock.
He could feel it with terrifying certainty.
Whatever lay beyond that portal could potentially elevate Him beyond His current state as a Great Old One, allowing Him to approach the level once occupied by the Mother Goddess of Depravity at Her peak, God Almighty, the Lord of the Mysteries—or perhaps even something beyond them.
"How can this be..."
High-Dimensional Overseer had existed for an incomprehensibly long time. At His level, opportunities capable of fundamentally elevating His existence were almost nonexistent. A Great Old One couldn't simply continue accumulating power and expect to reach the level of a Pillar.
Yet the sensation coming from beyond the portal told Him otherwise.
His thoughts immediately turned toward one existence.
The Primordial One.
The One Original Creator.
Only He, the source from which Beyonder characteristics, Authorities, Sefirot, and countless existences had ultimately originated, should possess the ability to cause such a fundamental change.
"Is it something left behind by the Primordial One?"
The portal remained open.
Nearby, the insignificant human spiritual body struggled violently, caught between the attraction of something above and the pull of the kaleidoscopic portal. Several Spirit World creatures had also begun to be dragged toward the opening.
High-Dimensional Overseer barely acknowledged them.
The human didn't matter, and the Spirit World creatures mattered even less.
Only the portal mattered.
An opportunity like this might never appear again.
The dimensional curtains surrounding the Overseer began to shift as He prepared to descend personally toward that region of the Spirit World.
Whatever risks might exist seemed worth considering if the reward was an elevation of His very existence.
Then He stopped.
The dimensional curtains became still.
Something had resisted His decision.
No external force had attacked or sealed Him. Nothing had prevented His descent.
The resistance came from within His own existence.
An instinctive warning suddenly spread throughout Him with such intensity that even High-Dimensional Overseer hesitated.
Do not approach.
Do not enter.
Whatever existed beyond that portal was something He should not touch.
The Overseer remained motionless.
His existence desired what lay beyond the opening. The compatibility was so great that merely sensing it had created a longing difficult even for Him to ignore.
Yet something deeper was rejecting it.
High-Dimensional Overseer's attention turned inward, searching for the source of that reaction.
After a few seconds, He understood.
It was the Original Creator.
More precisely, the remnant of the Original Creator existing within Him.
Everything within the known cosmos carried some connection to that primordial existence. Beyonder characteristics, Authorities, Sefirot, and the Pathways themselves all ultimately traced their origins back to the Original Creator.
Even beings who possessed their own identities and wills couldn't completely escape the ancient imprint left behind by that source.
And now that imprint was reacting.
Not with desire.
With disgust, repulsion, and rejection.
High-Dimensional Overseer slowly returned His gaze toward the kaleidoscopic portal.
His own existence felt almost perfectly compatible with whatever lay beyond it, yet the portion originating from the Original Creator treated it as something completely foreign.
Something that did not belong to Him.
That realization disturbed the Overseer more than the portal's potential power had shocked Him.
"This is..." His clear eyes narrowed as an almost impossible thought formed. "Something outside even the Primordial One?"
Even for a Great Old One, the possibility was difficult to accept.
The Original Creator was the source from which everything had separated. The very idea of something existing completely outside that origin seemed contradictory.
Yet the reaction within Him was unmistakable.
Whatever existed beyond that portal was compatible with High-Dimensional Overseer, but not with the source from which He had ultimately originated.
For several moments, He remained caught between the two instincts. One urged Him forward, while the other warned Him to remain away at any cost.
High-Dimensional Overseer continued staring at the portal, trying to understand what could possibly produce such a contradiction.
Then the kaleidoscopic opening began to collapse.
The human spiritual body was suddenly dragged backward, and several nearby Spirit World creatures were pulled along with him.
Before the Overseer could make His decision, the portal swallowed them and closed.
Everything disappeared.
The Spirit World returned to its previous state as though nothing unusual had ever happened.
High-Dimensional Overseer remained silent as His perception swept across the region, searching for the portal, its destination, or even the slightest trace left behind by its disappearance.
There was nothing.
After some time, He finally withdrew His gaze.
"What a pity."
The disappointment within His voice was faint but genuine.
Whether He had just avoided something unimaginably dangerous or lost an opportunity that might never appear again, even He couldn't know.
High-Dimensional Overseer remained there for several moments longer before His thoughts drifted toward Supernova Dominator.
Perhaps annoying that oversized buffoon again would be mildly entertaining.
The dimensional curtains folded around the Overseer, and His presence disappeared.
.....
Backlund.
Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains of Shen Akivil's bedroom as his fingers moved slightly against the blanket. A dull ache spread through his head and slowly dragged him back toward consciousness.
Shen frowned before his eyelids gradually opened. For several seconds, he simply stared at the familiar cracked ceiling above his bed, his thoughts too sluggish to properly understand what he was seeing.
Then his memories returned.
Right.
The ritual for Sefirah Castle.
Shen's eyes widened, and he abruptly tried to sit up. A sharp pain immediately struck behind his temples.
"Urgh... damn it."
He pressed a hand against his forehead and remained still until the pain gradually weakened. Once his vision stopped swimming, Shen looked around the bedroom.
Everything seemed almost exactly as it had yesterday. The occult book remained on his desk beside the silver knife, the objects he had moved before performing the ritual were still out of place, and the four pieces of bread remained where he had arranged them.
The spirituality wall, however, was gone.
Shen leaned against the headboard and carefully sorted through his memories. He remembered performing the ritual using the Celestial Worthy's honorific name. At first, nothing happened, and he had nearly concluded that it simply didn't work for him.
Then the whispers began.
Gray fog appeared inside his room, and his consciousness was pulled into the Spirit World. High above its chaotic depths, he had seen Sefirah Castle.
Shen swallowed.
Even remembering that ancient palace surrounded by endless gray fog made his emotions complicated.
He had actually succeeded.
For a moment, he had genuinely been pulled toward Sefirah Castle.
Then everything went wrong.
His spiritual body had begun experiencing excruciating pain. The Rising Star characteristic inside him behaved strangely, resisting Sefirah Castle's attraction while something else appeared behind him.
A portal.
Shen remembered the kaleidoscopic colors clearly. More importantly, he remembered the instinctive terror that struck him the instant it appeared.
Every part of him had screamed not to enter.
His physical body in the real world.
His spirit.
His soul.
Even something deeper that he couldn't properly describe.
Yet strangely, the Rising Star characteristic had reacted in exactly the opposite way.
It wanted to enter.
Shen frowned deeply. "I tried to reach Sefirah Castle instead... and then that damned thing sucked me inside."
He remembered being dragged backward and swallowed by the portal.
Then...
Nothing.
There should have been something after that.
Shen knew there was.
A vague sensation remained, as though he had experienced something incredibly long and important, yet whenever he tried to grasp the memory, it slipped away.
It reminded him of waking from an unusually vivid dream while still knowing that only moments earlier he had remembered every detail, only for it all to disappear the instant he became fully conscious.
Shen closed his eyes.
"Kaleidoscope... then..."
Nothing.
He forced himself to concentrate harder.
For the briefest instant, something almost surfaced.
Light.
Something enormous.
A feeling of—
Pain suddenly stabbed through his head.
"Ah!"
Shen immediately stopped and pressed both hands against his temples. After several seconds, the sharp pain gradually faded back into a dull ache.
Whatever had happened beyond that portal, forcing himself to remember clearly wasn't working.
Shen looked down at his hands and flexed his fingers. His body seemed fine. His spirituality felt somewhat exhausted, but there was no obvious damage, while the Rising Star characteristic had returned to its usual quiet state.
More importantly, he didn't feel corrupted.
There were no strange voices whispering inside his head, no sudden desire to worship some unknown existence, and no extra limbs growing from places where extra limbs definitely shouldn't be growing.
Shen released a long breath.
"At least it looks like I'm still myself."
He leaned back against the headboard and glanced toward the window. Only then did he notice how bright the room had become.
"Wait..."
Shen turned toward the clock, and his expression immediately changed.
Morning was nearly over.
"What the hell? It's almost noon?"
He stared at the time in disbelief.
Yesterday, he had spent several hours practicing the spirituality wall, eaten dinner with his family, and later performed the ritual after everyone had gone to sleep. Whatever happened afterward had apparently left him unconscious for most of the night and morning.
"Was I really out for that long?"
Shen rubbed his forehead. His body still felt somewhat heavy, so it was possible the experience had exhausted him far more than he realized.
He climbed out of bed and stood carefully. His legs felt weak for the first few steps, but the sensation quickly disappeared.
Looking toward the remains of the ritual, Shen sighed.
"I wanted to sneak into Sefirah Castle for a look, and somehow I ended up getting kidnapped by some unknown portal instead. How did I even manage that?"
More importantly, he still didn't understand why his Rising Star characteristic had reacted so strongly to that portal.
Unfortunately, sitting here staring at the floor wasn't going to give him an answer.
Shen gathered himself and headed toward the washroom to freshen up. Whatever nonsense he had somehow gotten himself involved in, personal hygiene still came first.