Dana, or rather the avatar of her that she created to join the Keeper and the others on their trip to Sanctum to visit the Terra twins, looked at Chel as the pair returned to the lab in Deckan. “So, what do we do now? If you know what method I need to do to ascend, I assume you know how to help me through that method?”

“Yup!” Chelsea nodded her head with a wide smile. “It’s actually pretty easy. Okay, that’s a lie. It’s probably one of the most difficult ways to manipulate the void that this body is capable of. But it’s easy for you to do your part.” As she said that, she walked over to her desk, grabbing a blank piece of paper.

“You see, void scripts are capable of so many things. Even just in the realm of memes, you have so many possibilities. I can make you jump on one foot while clucking like a chicken, or I can even turn you into a chicken, or just a mass of disgusting flesh with no purpose beyond spreading your filth to all that you find.”

“I suspect that, at a high enough level, void scripts could even be used to create entire worlds. You’d be twisting the power of the void to write a complete set of physical laws, but it should be possible. What we’re doing here, however, is small by comparison.”

“An Ascendancy Script is a void script that creates an intricate link between the reader and the void, and then shapes that link over time.” As Chel said that, her eyes went black, and she began to open a dark portal above the paper. “Are you fine with the Darkness domain? Sorry, it just seems to fit your whole concept.”

Dana shrugged her shoulders at that, but nodded her head. “So, you just have to write a script, and it will turn my main body into a Fallen God?”

“Yes and no.” Chel said as black power began to flow down onto the page. “If you read this script every day for… I’d say a month in your situation, then you will fully convert. I’ve just got to be careful to establish the channel, define the parameters, and also set up protections to prevent it from mutating. The last thing you want is for you to be a Fallen Mutate. We’d have to put you down before you turned into a world devouring monster.”

Dana blinked, nodding her head again slowly. “Yeah, that sounds bad…”

“Oh, very! But yeah, this is a slow acting script. Just make sure that you’re the only one reading it, or else someone might end up going pop in the Citadel. They’re all gods, after all.”

“Anyways, once the connection with the void is established, the hardest part of the script is to write in your domain. I essentially have to write it in such a way that it convinces both the void and yourself that you have the domain of Darkness.” As she said that, the black energy gathered on her finger, and she used it to slowly, carefully write a message on the paper.

“And… what will happen if this all goes wrong?” Dana asked in concern.

“You’ll either get the domain of Peaches, or you’ll become a being of pure shadow seeking to devour every source of light in the universe.” She said as a matter of fact. “We got confirmation from Terra, though, so this should work. I can’t think of anyone else that qualifies as the Tyrant Queen of Shadows.”

Before Dana could say anything else, Chel spoke up. “So, listen, once your main body starts practicing this script, it will be too late to stop. I’m going to give you a crash course on how to play the part of a Fallen God before you get thrust into the deep end. Make sure all of this information gets sent back to your main self.”

Dana’s gaze immediately focused, and she nodded once, causing Chel to smile. “I’ve said this Gods know how many times, but the void is information. That’s all it is. Raw, unfiltered information. Every event that could ever occur, any event that can never be, all of it is born in the void.”

“The process of creating a world warps that information into a tangible form, creating a barrier containing matter and laws. It is only within those barriers that life can flourish. Once you become a Fallen, you are embracing life outside the bubble. While you can continue to live within it, your true power will grow out in the void.”

“To use that power, you must manipulate the information. Everyone treats it differently. You can think of it like running a program on your terminal, performing a practiced technique, or issuing orders to subordinates.”

“This is where Fallen begin to differ from Gods. A God activates their power by simply focusing on the effect they want, and using their words as a mnemonic device to help them channel that power. In exchange for the ease of use, a God supplies their power themselves, having to gather it from the recognition of the masses.”

“On the other hand, a Fallen gathers their power from the infinite void. Like druids, they will not truly run out of energy as they use their abilities. Instead, they have to clearly define their abilities before they can be put to proper use. I, personally, refer to these abilities as Lines. It’s how I helped train those two that recently got sent off.”

“By writing a line with the void, you etch that ability into yourself. The first line any Fallen masters is being able to create and summon their Sanctuary. After that, they start practicing techniques, twisting the power of their domain with the void to find special abilities that work for them. Once they have established an ability that they like, they record it down like a spell in a grimoire. That is your line.”

“Now, don’t get me wrong, it is possible to make abilities on the fly like a God does, but that is considerably more advanced and risky. Since the power you are harnessing is external, and you are merely acting as a channel for it, messing up while improvising a power could damage your very existence.”

“If you can synchronize your mind with the void, and properly adjust your line of thinking, you will be able to master a large number of abilities related to your domain in a short amount of time.” As she said that, she lifted her hand off the page, the black portal snapping shut. “If you need any advice beyond that, I’d suggest going to the Starry Night church. We’re about to be busy around here with construction of the new void barriers, so I won’t have any time to give training.”

After saying so, she lifted the paper up and handed it to Dana, making sure to not look at it herself. Dana furrowed her brow, looking down at the paper in her hands. “You spent all that time drawing a circle? The void script inside was that difficult to make you spend so much time?”

“Again, yes and no.” Chelsea chuckled. “Don’t stare at it too long, that’s for your main body. Every day, you need to look at that circle and stare at it. The longer you do, the more filled in the circle will become. You have to keep staring at it until the circle is fully filled in. Once you have finished your training, the entire page itself will turn black in your eyes. That’s how you’ll know when you have broken through.”

Dana blinked, nodding her head and folding up the paper so that she would not be tempted to look at it. “Alright. In that case, is there anything else that I’m needed for here?”

“Nope! Feel free to return to your main body now. We should be ready to get started on our end as soon as James returns from his experiment. Though, if he takes too long, I’ll have to go and drag him out myself…” Chel muttered that last part with a shake of her head. “Either way, you should be good to go.”

Dana nodded, smiling and stepping back into a shadow. She had communicated with her main body that she was ready to be picked up, so the main body had created a shadow portal for her. Once she emerged from it, she handed her main body the page while transferring her memories of the events.

The true Dana blinked, looking out at the dark sky of Fyor before unfolding the paper. “The things they get up to when I’m not around…” She muttered to herself, staring into the circle of the paper. Already, she could see it slowly starting to fill in, confirming that this was no simple circle that Chel had drawn for her.

“Lady Jafer!” One of the Rainbow-Eyed humans came over to speak, Dana creating a wall of darkness around the paper to hide it from his eyes. “I was told to inform you that construction of the underwater city has nearly been completed. We should soon have the ability to safely traverse the gate to the next layer.”

It was clear that the Rainbow-Eyes were excited to be able to undergo this step, as they had never been to a layer higher than their own. While they had gone lower, and even left Fyor entirely, they had only been to areas that were already explored, never an entirely new region.

“Is that so?” Dana asked, smiling in acceptance. “Thank you, I’ll pass that information along.”

There had been some initial debate whether they should go for an underwater city or just create a dam and clear out the area near the gate. Sadly, such a dam would itself be a massive undertaking, with no guarantees of success. If, for any reason, it failed, everyone around the portal would be crushed into nothing. There were too many variables to consider, making an underwater habitat far more realistic in this sense.

As the Rainbow-Eyed man left, Dana turned her attention back to the circle, seeing that it had returned to its previous state. “So that’s why I have to keep staring.” She muttered, staring hard into the circle again to watch it gradually fill itself in.

If this was enough to allow her to become a Fallen Goddess, she was happy to take that step. While she was by no means the weakest member of the Citadel, it did make her feel a bit less than special when she considered that she was the only one living there that wasn’t a god. Well, aside from Gerard, but she created him. “I wonder what he’s up to now…”

Gerard sat within one of the larger experiment rooms that had been created for him in a rather large mountain, focusing on the display sitting in front of him. “No matter what I try, the simulation isn’t designed to handle it.” He said with a solemn shake of his head, standing up. “Current simulations only cover up to the fourth tier of magic. If I want to push the boundaries and go beyond, I must do so myself. But how… that is the question, isn’t it?”

He closed his eyes, slowly pacing back and forth with his arms behind his back. “From the fist tier to the second, the change was overlapping multiple spell diagrams to create a single whole. From the second to the third, we introduced three-dimensional constructs, which took the place of the overlapping diagrams. In the fourth tier, we have essentially removed two-dimensional diagrams altogether, and instead have focused on overlapping three-dimensional figures.”

“Each face of a fourth-tier spell functions as a lower-tier diagram, joined together in an overarching whole. If we follow this line of reasoning, there are a few ways that we could potentially advance to the fifth tier. The first method is through macrocosmic spells, giant arrays of diagrams similar to the fourth-tier linked together. The second, microscopic, compressing the spells to an infinitesimally small scale while maintaining their power.”

“The third option is that we may need to begin tapping into the void to perform magic, accessing a dimension beyond the standard three we have access to. Finally, the final option… it may simply be impossible until the Keeper unlocks this stage of magic.”

“For the time being, we should ignore that last option and proceed under the assumption that anything is possible. This leaves us with three possibilities. Fifth-tier magic is likely to work with new sigils, but it is impossible to determine what these are until we establish the format that the spells are created through.”

“I do not have the proper void experience to conduct that test, so I shall shelve it until I have tried the other options. Between macrocosmic or microscopic, I do not have the facilities to create a macrocosmic spell. If microscopic does not show any results, I will put in a funding request for a planet on which I can test these spells.”

Having finished saying this, Gerard moved over to his seat once again, staring at his desk. “Let’s start with a simple spell, one meant to produce light when a command word is said, otherwise recharging via internal core. Standard casts of this spell at the fourth tier have its diameter measured to roughly one-point-two meters and six thousand units of mana. I will now try compressing that spell to ten centimeters without losing the definition of its patterns or quality of mana.”

Thankfully, Gerard himself was a living spell, his mind more than suited for the rapid development of these abilities. He traced the spell in his mind and projected it out onto the desk, making sure that its size did not exceed the limits he set. Once the size was properly defined, he began pushing his mana into the spell, not stopping until he had inserted exactly six thousand units.

“Spell appears to be stable.” Gerard nodded his head, his face remaining passive before speaking the command word for the spell. “Activate.”

There was a flash of light and concussive force that threw Gerard out of his seat, flinging him back until he hit the ground. His desk had cracked under the force, and Gerard himself was left blinking, staring up at the ceiling. His health bar appeared over his head, though only a sliver of his health was missing.

“Note, condensing the spell while applying the same amount of mana has resulted in the spell acting as if overcharged. In the process of the first experiment, the spell was destroyed in a minor explosion. For future experiments, measure the amount of mana required to produce the optimal effect.”

“Additional note, given the situation, macrocosmic spells will require mana orders of magnitude larger than normal while achieving minimal improvement. For the sake of future advancements, I will be maintaining the development of microscopic spells.”