Mages also use Magic to reshape their bodies, allowing them to hold more power and to absorb and command elements. The upper and lower limits of this stage vary widely, using a Warrior as an example. At the top, Void Shattering can reach immense force, while at the bottom even a plain kick weighing hundreds of tons still falls within this range.
Silver is forged with will as steel, refined into silver. This stage is a rise of spirit and intent, with little direct increase to the body, as a Warrior elevates Magic into true Battle Aura, greatly improving control and destructive power. Mages instead use Mental Power to command Magic and the elements, releasing far stronger spells and large scale rituals.
Finally, the body's Black Iron and the soul's Silver merge, reflecting the radiance of Gold. During advancement, body and soul briefly fuse into a unified The Realm, after which one can display power that breaks ordinary physical limits. Pure output can soar to the scale of millions of tons, easily shaking mountains, and Magic can form wide area bombardments that erase an entire modern City sized city.
The traits of the body can even allow absurd transformations, such as kneading oneself like rubber clay, if one truly wishes. Above these lies Laws, and once the three earlier stages reach the Hall Tier and gain unique mechanisms, most can easily overwhelm those without them. Crown Ascension then races far ahead on the path of mechanisms, where common Laws like water or fire are no longer rare at all.
Once one ascends to Crown Ascension, all comprehended Laws are consolidated into a single person and borne upon a Crown. This becomes a direct monopoly of that Authority, and only after that person's death could a second similar existence appear. After that comes the final Sanctum Domain, which, compared to founding a branch of study at Crown Ascension, is like founding an entirely new field whose Laws can form a self consistent small world.
"This stage is where I currently stand," Safas said. "Everything before this is straightforward, but what follows is the key difference between Crimson God and ordinary Orthodox God. Even now it can still be classified as Gold, but Sanctum Domain is different, to the point that it is already a prototype of a Divine Kingdom."
As he reached this point, Safas took a sip of water to moisten his throat, not from thirst but from the weight of speaking matters close to taboo. "The next step is Crimson Ascension, and there are two paths." His voice slowed, and his hands rested on the table.
"One path is to burn one's own Gold soul, letting it evaporate and refine itself in a gamble more dangerous than suicide. Once it begins, it cannot stop, until a tiny speck of red is extracted from massive soul residue." He paused before continuing, his eyes dark. "That most precious fragment becomes the foundation of godhood, a demigod stage perhaps, though I do not know the details, only that this is what those Abyss Crimson God are."
"The deviation in their path happened here," he said. "Rather than gambling by burning their own souls to attempt Crimson Ascension, they chose another option." His finger tapped the table once. "Why not try burning someone else's?"
Lilith was clearly shaken. Just from this outline, she seemed to understand how those so called Crimson God ascended. If burning one's own soul was not enough and carried enormous risk, then using others became the answer.
By killing and plundering the essence of other lives, they could burn those souls endlessly and squeeze out a filthy red fragment far darker than blood. Even reaching Gold Rank and stepping into Sanctum Domain only allowed the refinement of a trace of Crimson Ascension soul. How many lesser souls would need to be burned to reach true godhood?
Safas could tell at a glance that his sharp student had already grasped most of the truth behind the path of the Crimson God. When he himself learned it, he had felt shock and anger, thinking them inhuman enough already, only to realize that this was merely the beginning. He exhaled slowly before continuing.
"There is more," he said. "The godly Divine Kingdom formed after elevating Sanctum Domain also requires materials. I do not know the forging process, but the raw material is clearly souls as well." His brows knit together as he spoke.
"Moreover, a Divine Kingdom is fundamentally different from the Laws and domains we use. A Divine Kingdom keeps expanding, absorbing the world's common Laws into itself like a tumor drawing nutrients." His voice grew grave. "When that tumor matures, it is cut away with Rend, and those Laws are permanently removed from the world. Do you understand what that means?"
He raised one finger, and Lilith understood. It was like cancer, where an entire organ must be removed along with the tumor. What is lost never returns, and there is nothing that can be transplanted back into the world.
"If a Crimson God were to cut away concepts like water," he continued, "then water would cease to exist in the world, and even vague ideas like flow would vanish." The world's corrective force might barely fill the gap with other Laws, but over ages how many such Crimson God had arisen?
As Safas spoke, the implications grew more frightening. Each Crimson God combined plundered Laws into Authority, leaving permanent loss and drastic change behind. How different must the present world be from its original form, stitched together through endless corrections?
"Leaving aside Laws, there is also the souls they burn," he said. "Souls are made of a strange power and a most basic light like core that even I do not fully understand." He shook his head slowly.
"I do not know how Crimson God use souls exactly, but they consume that core completely, burning it into residue while memories and resentments pile up without end." His tone hardened. "This kills a person utterly, denying any chance of rebirth, and it seems tied to the foundation of the world itself. Worse still, it is not a one time process."
"Not one time?" Lilith asked. "Then is this the truth behind the Abyss invasions and the descent of Evil God on The Continent?" She understood quickly that a process needing constant fuel must consume something continuously.
"Yes," Safas replied. "Without replenishing fuel, a Crimson God weakens and may not even keep a Divine Kingdom intact." His fist clenched. "In the end, even the patched crimson souls can collapse at any time. That is the essence of Crimson God, sinners more vile than beasts that eat flesh and bone, never satisfied."
He nearly tore out his beard as he spoke, knowing full well the consequences even with his usual recklessness. One day, all souls in the world might be devoured, life would vanish, and the world itself would die from unchecked growth. As for what would happen to the Crimson God then, he had no answer.
After a brief silence, Lilith asked another question. "Then what is Abyss?" Her voice was steady, though the weight of the truth lingered.
He hesitated, as records of Abyss were scarce even in the Bronze Dragon library, but he spoke anyway. "It is said to be a place of exile from long ago, where God of Light acted as the Lord, possibly with Bahamut involved, to banish the Crimson God. What it looks like there, I do not know."
Lilith frowned and fired off more questions. "If God of Light has such means, why does Material World suffer so freely while He does nothing?" She continued without pause. "If Orthodox God differ from Crimson God, then where does their power come from? Is the current state because God of Light has weakened, and why would that be?"
"Enough," Safas said. "I do not know either. The power of these divine names may also be tied to souls, perhaps through faith, yet even now the Church of Holy Light is not truly weak. I do not understand why God of Light does not act."
These questions had troubled him for years. Long ago, when he followed a Chosen Hero to fight a Demon King, he wondered why such a powerful God of Light would not simply erase all of Demonkind. There was no rule forbidding gods from acting in the Material World, so wiping them out would have been easy, yet instead a Demon King was allowed to emerge again and again.
Leaving such a danger made no sense, especially when all of Demonkind were potential believers of the Abyssal Gods. Even harvesting faith did not justify it, as miracles would have been far more effective, and in the current state of Bahamut, He was undoubtedly the strongest god. The more he thought, the more doubts arose, including dangerous latent Abyss risks he had found across The Continent, even in places like the Northlands.
If he could notice them, how could God of Light not? Did He choose not to act, or could He no longer do so? And looking deeper, were these Orthodox God truly clean themselves? The weight of the past pressed down on him, the truth too cruel to bear.
"Let us steer the topic back to the main point," Lilith said, straightening and fixing her sharp gaze on him. "Belial, you should have known this for a long time. No matter who told you, you must have seen it. Belial also devours souls."