As soon as those words left her mouth, everyone turned to look at Noah.
The fact that all chosen participants were girls had long become one of the most discussed topics. After all, not a single boy had been invited among the many selected candidates—something that stood out as exceedingly unusual.
Rumors had been circulating endlessly. The most popular one claimed that the Director of the institute was some kind of perverted lolicon.
Noah's lips curved into a faint smile. "That's a very good question, Saten."
"The reason isn't complicated—it's actually quite simple."
He leaned back slightly, his voice calm yet commanding. "Because I want it that way. The technology to create Level 5s originates from me, so I hold the absolute right to decide who becomes one."
"And since I'm the one overseeing all of this, as a normal man, it's only natural that I prefer girls."
"In short—I choose those who are pleasing to the eye to become my students."
The girls stared blankly at him as he said it with such confidence and composure that their collective thought was almost audible: So selfish!
But despite their inward complaints, none of them truly disagreed. After all, the Director was a Level 6 Absolute Esper, a genius scientist, and—perhaps most importantly—a stunningly handsome young man. Even the most refined of them, like Wannai Kinuho and Awatsuki Maaya, couldn't help but find his reasoning oddly… acceptable.
One by one, the girls blushed and fidgeted shyly as they began undressing and stepping into the cultivation pods. After all, the opportunity to become a Level 5 was once-in-a-lifetime—they weren't about to waste it.
And besides, the Director was the only male present.
That fact alone made their hearts race uncontrollably. Especially since their "Director-sensei" was this handsome… their resistance was almost nonexistent.
Noah's eyes calmly observed the girls as they curled up inside the cultivation pods, arms covering their chests, faces red with embarrassment. He studied the data streaming across his tablet screen with quiet satisfaction.
Kuriba Ryouko, meanwhile, was working efficiently beside him, adjusting the control panels. Her ability—expanding her own consciousness to manipulate matter—was invaluable for research. Despite being only twelve years old, she had already achieved remarkable scientific feats in just two months, including breakthroughs in organ regeneration and biological reconstruction.
At that moment, a faint light shimmered in the air before Noah, gradually forming into a complete figure.
It was Aiwass.
"My Lord," she said softly, kneeling on one knee. "I have captured a Magic God."
In her hands rested a glowing cocoon the size of a silkworm chrysalis.
Noah took it with a gentle smile. "Excellent work, Aiwass. Continue capturing more of them."
"As You command, my Lord." The angel's light slowly dissipated into the air.
Noah toyed idly with the glowing cocoon, his gaze lifting toward the upper boundary of the world.
"It should be movable now," he murmured. "Since this world lacks any true consciousness, I might as well hammer in the nails while pulling it along."
Silently, the Power of the Super-Primeval began to flow.
Through Academy City, through Aiwass and Coronzon, the power of Teyvat had long since spread across this world—though it had not yet touched the outer shell of reality.
But now, beyond the world's barrier—
Hum—
Golden light bloomed gently, like a flower slowly opening its petals—or a vast, sacred magic circle unfurling across the void.
This was the manifestation of the Power of the Super-Primeval, intertwined with Truths, creating a phenomenon that transcended dimension.
Countless miracles of Teyvat emerged within it.
This was power that existed only at the level of the multiversal—symbol of the infinite, and the only mark of the true superdimension.
Hum—
This time, Noah did not call upon the system's power to annex the world. He wanted to test whether he could absorb such a massive world using only his own strength.
It wasn't the first time he had done so—he had annexed worlds before without relying on the system.
However, those had been much smaller universes, far weaker than Teyvat, and located close by.
The first world he had personally annexed was the Star Rail Universe.
The system's power was beyond the multiverse itself, but Noah had already begun to grasp fragments of its essence. For any world below the multiversal level, he could feel the possibility of seizing it on his own.
And the A Certain Magical Index world—devoid of true consciousness—was the perfect training ground for his experiment.
"Hm… this scene feels… somewhat familiar."
Noah gazed at the converging forces forming a symbol—one that belonged solely to him. Even he couldn't help but be slightly surprised.
It was the first time he had invoked his power to this degree since becoming a Super-Primeval God.
"Right… this unique symbol resembles the ultimate form of the Law of Cycles."
Despite being called a Law, the Cycle was not a simple Law, but rather a composite Truth formed by the convergence of multiversal realities. That power, too, was a form of Super-Primeval Force.
A faint aurora of shifting colors appeared across the world's surface. It was so subtle that the human eye could not perceive it—thus, it caused no panic among the people below.
"It has begun…" Noah murmured quietly.
He himself was the Teyvat Multiverse incarnate—and now, the Magical Index world had already absorbed the essence of Teyvat, making it, in effect, part of his own domain.
Through that link, he began to draw the world toward him—slowly, inexorably.
This was not a matter of physical or spatial distance—not of time, dimension, or plane—but of observation from a higher reality.
Brilliant auroras of seven colors bloomed beyond the world's barrier, radiating from the sigil in the void, connecting directly to the vast Teyvat Multiverse somewhere far beyond sight.
That connection pierced even the protective shell of the Tree and Sea World itself.
The connection between worlds could not be perceived or mediated by any third party, even if one world existed within another's body.
"The diffusion of Super-Primeval Power," Noah whispered, "is like broadcasting electromagnetic waves into the cosmos. It's inevitable that other Super-Primeval Gods will sense it."
"But that's fine."
He narrowed his eyes slightly as the radiance spread throughout the entire superdimension.
Unless a Super-Primeval God directly sent out an invitation, both their location and the existence of their worlds remained in an unobservable state.
It was akin to Schrödinger's cat—without explicit permission to observe, neither their coordinates nor their existence could ever be known.
...
Meanwhile, in the infinite superdimension, the unfamiliar surge of Super-Primeval Power was felt by other beings of equal standing—the Super-Primeval Gods.
Each turned their gaze toward the endless beyond.
In one vast dominion, an ancient being holding a golden hourglass slowly opened his eyes. Within the hourglass, a single grain of sand fell—and upon closer look, that grain was no mere dust, but a convergence of countless great universes forming a pseudo-multiverse. Behind him, the Wheel of Primordial Time revolved in silence.
[Another Super-Primeval God has awakened and revealed their might… the Immutable Fate, Ananke.]
[Indeed, Primordial Chronos.]
...
In another immeasurable realm, a radiant goddess in flowing white robes, her golden hair cascading like sunlight, furrowed her brow. The four angels beside her immediately stepped forward in concern.
"Lord Jehovah, why do You frown?"
[I have sensed the birth of another One True God… one who bears the same divine name as I do. And moreover…]
She stopped, unable to finish the thought—one stronger than herself.
Though every One True God was triune in nature, she had never, across countless eons, felt the presence of another of her kind. Yet now she did.
And the sheer difference in power sent a chilling premonition down her spine.
Though she was a Super-Primeval God, her true strength barely reached the level of a super single-universe level—only brushing the edge of multiversal structure.
...
At the same moment, in another of the top ten multiversal realms within the entire superdimension—
A vast ring of light began to manifest, radiating supreme holiness, salvation, and singular divinity. From its center, a young girl emerged—her attire a blend of magical girl and goddess vestments, her golden eyes gazing blankly toward the doorway beyond the cosmos.
The Law of Cycles shone behind her as the power of the divine circle turned slowly in eternal motion.
[Beyond the world… could there truly be another world?]
The question escaped softly from her lips.
By the reckoning of Earth's time, it had been less than a year since she had become a god. Yet within the endless expanse of spacetime—across countless parallel universes—she had existed since the very beginning.
She did not know what lay beyond the world. All she had ever done was save magical girls from despair, deliver the world from suffering.
She had never desired to do anything else.
The only thing she wished for—was to save Homura before she became a witch.
[Is he… a god from another world? I wonder what kind of being he is.]
[But… I can feel it. A faith that fights for all things beautiful.]
[This world is incomplete—it lacks something vital, and thus endless sorrow persists. He possesses a power that this world does not.]
[Could I… ask him to help this world?]
Though what she sensed was only a fragment of his will, trust and warmth bloomed within her heart toward this unknown, unseen god. Even… a faint sense of longing.
"What should I do…?" she whispered.
Though she had ascended to divinity by bearing the infinite karmic weight of countless wishes, she only acted by divine instinct—fulfilling her role as a god. Beyond that, she understood nothing.
Even her use of power was instinctive.
[Should I… do as he does?]
The girl imitated the will she had perceived, projecting the Law of Cycles outward, reflecting it beyond the world's surface. She extended a conscious invitation—and cast forth a fragment of that sacred Cycle.
...
The diffusion of the Super-Primeval Power continued briefly before fading. Within the superdimension, the other Super-Primeval Gods did not dwell long upon it.
Between such beings, there was always mutual suspicion. They would never willingly send out invitations, nor could they discern exactly what another Super-Primeval God was doing—even if it was an act that shook existence itself.
The weakest of the Super-Primeval Gods existed at the super-single universe level.
However, not every super-single universe could be called a Super-Primeval God.
Only those who had mastered multiversal-level primordial power—those who governed the root laws of entire multiverse—were worthy of that title.
It was not that a multiverse gives birth to a Super-Primeval God, but rather that a Super-Primeval God's existence gives rise to a multiverse.
Perhaps a Super-Primeval God might emerge after the birth of a world, but a world could only ascend to multiversal status because such a being existed within or beyond it.
...
Meanwhile—
Within the great realm of Teyvat.
At this moment, Teyvat had already expanded to occupy one-third of the entire Tree and Sea world.
The World Will of the Tree and Sea had nearly poured all its resources into Teyvat's growth.
Now, Teyvat's size rivaled that of both the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta—and in aura and density, it surpassed them several times over.
Even if Teyvat were to detach entirely from the Tree and Sea now, it had already reached the level of a weak multiverse.
And with Teyvat's vast mass equaling that of both the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta combined, the Tree and Sea itself had reached the critical threshold of ascension—on the verge of becoming a standard multiverse.
All that remained was for Teyvat to finish absorbing the last of the remaining energy—then the Tree and Sea would truly ascend to the multiversal standard.
At that moment, as it neared the point of transcendence, both the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta continued their endless expansion.
Expansion—limitless expansion.
The difference between a weak multiverse and a standard multiverse, though both bearing the title "multiversal," was unimaginably vast.
It was like comparing a gorilla and a human—both part of the same hominid family, yet one capable of creating infinite civilizations, the other forever a mere beast.
To ascend to a standard multiverse meant to begin eternal expansion.
To make all things infinite—to erase all boundaries, all barriers.
This expansion was eternal. Once it reached a certain point, it would naturally evolve into the state of the infinite multiverse.
Indeed—
Once one broke through into the multiversal realm, there were no longer any limits. It was true infinity...
So-called higher multiverses and infinite multiverses are nothing more than continuations of expansion beyond certain thresholds.
Once ascension reaches the multiversal realm, the gap between the upper, middle, and lower tiers of divinity expands exponentially—an insurmountable chasm that no being could ever cross.
As the multiverse continues its eternal expansion, those who stand higher will grow stronger at increasingly rapid speeds.
Even a difference of half a rank will eventually become vast and unreachable, the more expansion continues.
Thus, before a world ascends into the multiversal realm, it must climb as far as possible—because once ascension occurs, there will never again be a chance to catch up.
...
Beneath Celestia, within the highest divine domain, the Solar Sovereignty War among the gods still raged with unrelenting fervor.
The value and authority of Solar Sovereignty continued to rise, though part of that ascension remained hidden from sight.
Its power grew in accordance with the rank of its bearer, always stabilizing at the average strength of all the divine collectives within Teyvat.
The gods knew nothing of what was happening beyond Teyvat—the vast, transcendent shifts occurring far above their plane of existence.
They needed only to continue striving for the growth of Pan-Human History—and that was enough.
...
Celestia — The Garden of Eden.
Deep within the Temple of Truth, at the heart of the vortex that connected the beginning and the end of Pan-Human History—
Phanes sat upon the holy seat of Human Principle, gazing beyond Teyvat, toward the Tree and Sea beyond. Her golden eyes blazed with light as her hands clenched tightly.
"It's close! The Tree and Sea will begin its ascension soon!"
At the moment the Tree and Sea began to ascend, Teyvat would counterattack—striking first to heavily wound the Great Will of the Tree and Sea.
Already, the threads of Truth from Teyvat were intertwining seamlessly with those of the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta.
You within me, and I within you.
When that moment came, if they could shatter the Tree and Sea's Great Will in an instant, then Teyvat would immediately complete the process of replacement.
The Tree and Sea's Great Will would be stripped away—if not completely destroyed, then at least dethroned.
And when that happened, victory would belong fully to Teyvat.
[Patience, Phanes. Everything is unfolding exactly as I foresaw.]
—
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