I scanned the text and identified all character names and terms from the glossary. This is a chapter from a cosmic horror novel featuring an entity exploring different realms.
The Book of the Outer God, Chronicles of World Destruction - (8)
Whoosh—
When I sent the grimoire to the Inner Plane to ascend to the Upper Realm, I felt a violent trembling.
For beings with divinity rather than mortals, crossing to the Inner Plane through their own power and creating their own space would be natural, but...
The Inner Plane of this dimension—this place called the Upper Realm—seemed somewhat different.
Perhaps it's because of the mysterious power called spiritual energy that dwells in nature; in such a space, even gods would find it difficult to move around.
Could it be because of the formless flow of upward ascension that permeates the entire space?
Crossing from the Lower Realm to the Upper Realm might be possible for a cultivator who has reached the Origin Spirit stage with thorough preparation. However, the reverse seemed quite difficult.
—!
Is this where the most traces have been left?
Seems like I'm arriving.
After breaking through all the gaps in the space covered with colorful lights, the scenery of the mortal world gradually began to appear.
Blue sky. Air that mortals could breathe. And a massive platform...?
"Welcome. You are a monk who has ascended from... Hmm?! A book?"
The surrounding landscape artificially created by someone. A male monk waiting in front.
Speaking to me with familiarity... I see. Is there also a guide for monks who have come to the Upper Realm for the first time?
The grimoire emerged in a space resembling a massive altar or training ground.
Is this somewhere in the corner of a medieval East Asian castle?
It seems they've artificially twisted the spatial rift slightly to connect it here. It appears to have the touch of a star system-level divinity.
"What a strange occurrence! Instead of a monk ascending from the Lower Realm, only a book-type sacred treasure popped out..."
[Is this the Upper Realm?]
"Oh my! It can even send its will so clearly. This must be quite a precious sacred treasure indeed!"
The man examining the grimoire with curious eyes approached.
Grab.
"I thought I'd have to do the boring job of guiding newly ascended novices, but what a harvest this is."
Unaware that his lifeline had nearly been severed just now, the male monk picked up the grimoire.
The monk explored the inside of the grimoire with the energy called spiritual power.
[Don't ignore me and just answer. Is this the Upper Realm?]
"From the Lower Realm's perspective, yes. But this place is called the Middle Boundary. To ascend to the true Upper Realm, one must reach the Great Ascension stage."
He answers readily despite being addressed by a suspicious floating book.
I know his intentions, but it's pointless anyway, so I'll let it slide. So there's a separate true Upper Realm, and this is the Middle Boundary...
[Great Ascension stage? In the Lower Realm, the Origin Spirit stage was the final level, but this place is different.]
"Are you curious about the cultivation stages of the Middle Boundary monks? Unlike the Lower Realm, the stages here are simple. In the Lower Realm, one can only reach the Origin Spirit stage, but here, beyond that, there are the Avatar stage, Connection stage, Unity stage, and Great Ascension stage. To reach beyond that... to reach the True Immortal stage, one must ascend to the Upper Realm."
[What stage are you?]
This man before me seems to possess power equivalent to a Planetary God.
However, he's far from a deity who can identify with a planet or withstand the power of stars with just the seed of divinity.
Compared to ordinary mortals, he would be eternal, but he clearly has a defined lifespan and limits to his power.
Perhaps the only thing comparable to a true Planetary God is the magnitude of his power.
"Heh. I am a Grand Master of the Connection stage. A sufficient level to become your master, so rest assured."
If the Connection stage is equivalent to a Planetary God... then the Avatar stage would be comparable to the lowest divine rank.
The Unity stage would be equivalent to a System God who rules over a star system, and the Great Ascension stage would be the pinnacle of System Gods? Perhaps even a Galaxy God.
If the Great Ascension stage is equivalent to a Galaxy God, we might be able to communicate somewhat.
By the way, "master," huh? He's finally revealing his intentions.
Well, it's because his spiritual energy has almost eroded the grimoire.
[You want to become the master of this grimoire? That's impossible.]
"...Why aren't you being assimilated?!"
[Ah. And I am not what you mortals call a spirit residing in a sacred treasure. I'm simply controlling this grimoire from afar.]
He probably answered my questions to buy time to take control of the grimoire.
But a grimoire directly controlled by me doesn't waver from the power of a mere Planetary God.
[So stop with your useless greed and answer my questions.]
"...What? Seeing that my spiritual energy has some effect, it seems to be a sacred treasure created by a Lower Realm cultivator with unusual talents. Acknowledge me as your master obediently!"
The reason your spiritual energy has some effect is because when creating the grimoire, I made it so that lower beings could use it easily...
Whoosh—
He infuses his energy while glancing around cautiously.
All this talk of sacred treasures and spirits—indeed, beings below Galaxy Gods don't communicate properly.
There's nothing more to learn here. I need to ascend to the true Upper Realm.
My mind was firmly made up.
Power manifested through the grimoire in another dimension.
CRACK!!!
"...What? A spatial rift?! Wait...!"
Once again, I tore open a spatial rift and crossed into the Inner Plane.
As long as I don't disturb the fundamental laws, it won't change easily...
Rather than learning about that world one by one, it would be better to negotiate with beings above Galaxy Gods.
Like the world with the Foundation that managed anomalies, there's a high probability that someone is keeping fragments of my memory.
I should retrieve them, and while I'm at it, change the laws of this tedious world of monks.
I need to find the administrator—the strongest being of that place.
"Ascending to the Upper Realm?! What, what is that thing? Quickly, contact the Seongju!"
"Monk Jeong! You were the first to witness it! Do you know anything about it?"
"I don't know either! It's a book that suddenly appeared from the ascension platform connected to the Lower Realm..."
—!!!
The voices of the mortals chattering below gradually diminished.
The Inner Plane leading to the so-called Upper Realm was somewhat different. Planets. Planetary systems. Clusters of stars...
Everything gradually receded, and I felt the dimensions changing.
Like the dimension where the Foundation existed, I saw stars that blinked like eyes. Star systems that drifted leisurely through space passed by.
There were even transcendents throwing nebulae at each other.
At that moment, I instinctively realized.
In the space called the Upper Realm here, there would be beings with whom I could somewhat communicate.
* * *
What I saw while "ascending" here wasn't the scenery of the Upper Realm, but of the Middle Boundary.
The deeper one goes into the Inner Plane, the stronger the beings that exist in that world. If the Middle Boundary, not even the Upper Realm, is filled with system-level deities...
The reaction I would receive here in the Upper Realm where I had now arrived was predetermined.
Unlike the Lower Realm or Middle Boundary, someone who discovered the grimoire drifting in space.
Someone who sent a clump of dark matter in the form of an apostle to convey their words spoke to me.
"...You are truly unfathomable. Though you take the form of a book, your essence connected to it must surely be a great being. Not a True Immortal like us..."
[Finally, someone I can somewhat communicate with.]
As expected. I knew there would be beings comparable to Galaxy Gods.
To be precise, not a complete Galaxy God, but a being that seemed to have power equivalent to one.
And the size and rank of its main body were different too.
The avatar of the tense Galaxy God-like being spoke to me once more.
"Could it be... are you a Great Transcendent? What business do you have with me..."
I can sense the lifeforms living in that being's main body. I thought the Upper Realm was inhabited only by beings above Galaxy Gods.
But not a single one truly touched divinity.
They were no longer mortals, but they hadn't essentially shed their mortal nature.
Except for one.
The owner of the will looking at me with interest from above.
You've recognized me too.
You couldn't possibly ignore me.
"...Hmm. Can you not speak to me?"
The black space—the universe itself—split open, and a being appeared.
Male? Female? A small figure with an indiscernible appearance and mysterious aura.
With a gesture from that figure, the being comparable to a Galaxy God who had been speaking to me disappeared somewhere.
The surrounding scenery changed instantly, and a massive throne appeared in the middle of the universe.
But I wasn't surprised at all.
[Despite being born as the most lowly being in the world, I found those existing above to be trivial.]
[Rather than a quiet and static world, I believed that infinite struggle and battle were the essence.]
[I believed that the purpose of trivial beings' existence was solely to provide amusement.]
[As I ascended higher and higher, these thoughts became more firm.]
[And I thought that someday, I would meet you.]
Because that being was one of my lost memories, just like in the world where anomalies existed.
Beyond Galaxy Gods... far surpassing even Shub-Niggurath or Yog-Sothoth...
Yes. "A slightly larger fragment" would be appropriate. Simply put, it could be considered to have reached the rank of an Outer God.
It opened its mouth toward my main body existing beyond the Dimensional Wall, not the grimoire.
And I was quietly listening to the words my memory was uttering.
What would it say to me?
Displaying a somewhat awkwardly crafted smile, it spoke.
[Finally found you. The lost memory of this sovereign.]
But my memory is talking nonsense.
Did it go mad in the process of gaining self-awareness?