The portal dissolved behind him as Jin stepped into a boundless chamber cloaked in starlight. The old man awaited him—just as he had within the Temple of the Statue Goddess—his presence timeless, like the whisper of history itself.
Jin narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?"
The old man smiled, his voice soft yet weighty, like ancient scripture being read aloud. "I am the servant of Eleanor, the Divine Matron of Cosmic Insight. I am here to clear your doubts, as promised."
Jin surprised and took a breath. "Then tell me… Who is Steve? And what is a Transcendent God?"
The old man laughed—not mockingly, but with the warmth of someone who's heard a child ask the first question of wisdom. "If you truly wish to know that," he said, "then you must first understand the truth of this world… or rather, of all worlds."
Jin didn't flinch. "I already know more than most."
"Do you?" the old man whispered with a knowing smile. "Then listen well, and I shall judge your readiness by your reaction."
Jin nodded in silence.
The old man raised his hand, and the stars around them shifted into a vast spiral—worlds rotating like beads strung on invisible threads. Then he began.
"This cosmos," he said, "is divided into two vast realms: the Vast Expansion and the Lower Expansion."
"The Vast Expansion is home to higher beings—transcendental, conceptual, beyond comprehension, beyond Language, beyond god's thinking. The Lower Expansion is where lesser beings reside—where all 'Royal' and 'Victim' cosmologies exist."
Jin listened carefully. The words felt like weighty stones dropping into a deep lake within him.
"Be warned, Jin," the old man continued. "What I'm about to say will shatter your current understanding of reality. Accept or deny it as you will… but it remains unchanging."
He turned, and suddenly countless worlds appeared in layers—some shining bright, others dim and cracked.
"The Lower Expansion… is not a singular structure. Each Royal or Victim cosmology you know of, including your own, is merely a multi-layered reality—woven like threads into a greater fabric. What you thought was the totality of existence is but one level of perception."
Jin's eyes widened slightly.
"Yes, Jin," the old man said gently, "your cosmology—your reality—is just a thread in the loom of the Lower Expansion."
Jin stood frozen. The weight of truth was heavier than divine metal. "So everything… all those gods, those wars, that pain—it was just… a layer?"
The old man nodded. "A layer… among many."
He raised his staff, and a tree of light bloomed in the sky. Its roots reached into infinite realms—its crown towered into a sky beyond perception.
"This is the World Spiral Tree," he said. "Its roots are the Lower Expansion. Its crown is the Vast Expansion."
He pointed to the golden orbs hanging from the crown.
"The Vast Expansion contains 200 sacred planets. Each one a meta-existence—housing infinite worlds with infinite timelines, alternate timelines, star system, singularity, and super dimensions you cannot yet name, River of Fate, Sea of Time."
"And above each planet is the Sacred Domain—a realm of transcendent law. There, beings exist who do not merely observe reality; they Rewrite events, Etern moment, Truth, Meta laws, Illusions, Structure of plante.
And this Sacred Domain Grants the power of Eternal Existence, Ressurection, Meta Awareness, Manifestation of Desires, Salvation, Role Transcendence.
They are the Absolute Prologue… and the Absolute Epilogue. The living Monologue of the universe."
Jin could feel his heartbeat slowing—his mind expanding in resistance and awe.
The old man finally answered, "Now… your question. The Hierarchies of True Divinity."
He raised his fingers one by one.
1. Throne Gods – "Those who conquer the Throne. But the Throne is laced with the power of corruption, bound to the law of True Heaven. Even those who rule it are not free."
2. Mythical Gods – "Those who not only master the Throne, but rise above it. They govern it without being governed. Throne cannot corrupt them. They can defie the True Heaven."
3. Genesis Gods – "Beings born within Victim Cosmologies, yet whose power pierces the boundaries of the Throne and True Heaven alike. They are also like the Transcendent Gods."
4. Transcendent Gods – "Beings who exist outside the Throne. So powerful their presence distorts the balance of their own cosmology. They are exiled—or ascend—into the Vast Expansion."
5. True Elder Gods – "Entities who reach the Sacred Domain. They may oversee the Lower Expansion. They may teach… but never interfere. For even a breath of their true power can destroy countless layers of reality within Lower Expansion."
The old man's voice faded into the silence that followed—an echo left behind after the thunder of truth.
Jin remained still, breath shallow.
He looked down at his own hands.
Was he still the same Jin Luneblood?
Or was he only beginning to grasp what he had always been destined to become?
The old man stepped closer. "But more importantly, No Lower Expansion beings are allowed to enter the Vast Expansion—only Transcendent Gods may go there, and only if granted permission."
Jin didn't answer. Not yet.
But deep inside, something ancient stirred.
And it was ready.
The old man smiled. "Don't think too much. Just forget it and come with me. There is something I want show you."
Jin nodded and followee him.