The transformation did not stop after the skies changed.
The universe itself had rules for power, development and evolution. Those rules were not created by Supreme Entities, nor by Deities, nor even by Spheraphase itself. They were older than worlds, civilizations and the concepts of gods and mortals.
They were the Universal Laws.
The Universal Laws were reality's own method of preventing disorder. Physics itself was one of these laws. Gravity, energy conversion, the limits of growth, spiritual boundaries and the hierarchy of power all fell under their governance. No matter how talented one was, there were thresholds that had to be crossed properly.
Nothing in existence advanced without cost. Nothing skipped development. Nothing cheated growth, especially not Divines. The Enlightenment system itself was part of those Laws.
At the Sixth Enlightenment, a Divine's Divine Core evolved into something far greater called the God Core.
A God Core is not merely an enhanced energy source but the foundation of pseudo-divinity itself. Once formed, it enables a Divine to begin touching the domain of Deities, allowing their Divinities to operate at nearly fifty percent of what a true Deity can achieve. It is the first step toward stepping outside ordinary Divinity and approaching godhood.
As one advances further within the Sixth Enlightenment, the God Core evolves alongside them, increasing efficiency, compatibility and conceptual authority over their Divinities.
Then comes the Seventh Enlightenment. The realm is feared and worshipped by Divines. This is the realm where one stopped being merely Divine and becomes something dangerously close to godhood.
The Seventh Enlightenment is called Superimpose.
At this stage, the God Core reaches seventy-five percent synchronization with godhood itself, making the user a pseudo-deity who stands between Divines and Minor Gods. Their existence fundamentally shifts.
The Divine Transformation— the very form most Divines spent entire lives perfecting—would be consumed by the Superimpose Transformation.
Unlike Divine Transformations which amplifies one's power externally, Superimpose rewrote the very structure of one's being. It is final transition before true godhood. Once someone becomes a Minor God, the Superimpose Transformation ceased being a transformation entirely, because their ordinary existence naturally became their God Form.
It is the last true metamorphosis of divinity and reaching it is supposed to take time. For ordinary Fifth Enlightenment Divines with World Overwrites, the Universal Laws imposed a mandatory condition of two hundred years.
Even if one completed the required understandings early, even if they mastered their Overwrite faster than expected, even if their talent eclipsed every genius in history, they still had to wait. The reason was simple.
World Overwrites were too dangerous.
They represented complete dominion over territory. They are literally individualized realities capable of rewriting circumstances according to their laws. A Fifth Enlightenment Divine with a completed Overwrite was already catastrophic. Allowing immediate ascension without sufficient time risked destabilizing reality itself.
So the Universal Laws enforced patience: a century to master the Divinity and a century to understand the Overwrite. Then and only then would ascension become permissible yet the universe occasionally encountered anomalies whose development moved too quickly for restriction to make sense. For those rare individuals, The Universal Laws makes exceptions.
Veneri was one of those exceptions.
He had reached the Fifth Enlightenment in merely fifteen years. Then, within those years, he had done what even monsters failed to accomplish in millennia.
He sacrificed nearly all his Magecraft foundations and bypassed the Tenth Star entirely to become a First Stellar Mage, a feat so impossible that the Universal Laws themselves had rewarded him rather than punishing his recklessness.
He created Nepenthes, a fully functioning Runic Language crafted from nothing. Its symbols, meanings, invocations, and mystical integration belonged solely to him. Even among Stellar Mages, such a thing bordered on insanity.
Then came the Understandings, which are the three pillars necessary to progress his Protection Divinity.
The first came through love and the desire to protect others.
The second came through sacrifice, endurance.and suffering for the sake of protecting others.
The third— the one born from battle— was the realization that protecting oneself was equally important. Even his Overwrite.was already understood and strengthened through years of suffering and reconstruction.
The merit stacked so endlessly that the Universal Laws finally stopped resisting and accepted him. The sapphire energy around him formed cocoon formed around his body once again. Unlike the previous cocoon formed during his Fifth Enlightenment ascension, this one was even bigger and more powerful.
Melody laughed softly to herself despite the blood still staining her lips. The absurd child she spent forty-five years training had bypassed yet another impossible wall.
She had watched him become a First Stellar Mage. She had watched him destroy Final Cadenza and now, she was watching him enter the Seventh Enlightenment before even reaching two hundred years of existence.
For the first time in Spheraphasian history, the strongest mage she had ever known, was not Dilasyus or herself.
The nebula storm above Regnum Musicae continued to spiral across the heavens while the sapphire cocoon remained suspended in the sky. The young girl covered in stars looked up at the cocoon briefly before turning toward Melody. Her body shimmered faintly. Small galaxies emerged beneath her skin. Despite her childlike appearance, something about her felt ancient.
"You do not have much time, Melody."
Her voice was so strange s though countless echoes from different moments existed beneath every word.
"Fate will eventually take you away. This reincarnation of yours cannot remain for long."
Melody crossed her arms.
"So the Universal Laws actually came down personally for this?"
The girl nodded once.
"You helped a Split of Time."
"That brat really is absurd."
The girl continued.
"As compensation for assisting him, a reward has been granted."
"Oh?"
"You will receive one final reincarnation. However, Melody will cease to exist. The next life will belong to another with memories of your time here or any recollection of him."
The ocean waves crashed softly against the ruined shores below. Cosmic dust drifted around them. Melody stood silently for several moments and scoffed.
"That's surprisingly generous. Did the Universal Laws suddenly become charitable?"
The girl shook her head.
"This reward originates from the Primordial of Time."
Melody froze briefly.
"Thyrexxa. So she still remembered me after all this time, huh?"
The girl nodded.
"She approved this herself."
Melody exhaled softly and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Well, after ten thousand years, I guess one more normal life sounds nice. And my debt to Vasreveilder is finally paid."
The relief in her tone was impossible to miss. Ten thousand years and thousands of reincarnations waiting and preparing for him. Now, it was over.
"So where am I going?"
The nebula child stepped closer and quietly whispered the answer. A soft laugh escaped her lips.
"That place? That's actually perfect."
There was peace in her expression now. She looked toward the cocoon again.
"Can you give me some time? I want to leave him one last message before I disappear."
A pause followed.
"Because if I wait too long… you're the one who doesn't have much time. I doubt you're meant to exist here."