Asher had previously spent about five million faith points to create Vishnu. That was incomparable to before, when he had created the five heroes of transcendent rank. Moreover, Vishnu's strength was already at the mystical rank, making him, aside from Asher himself, the strongest being in the dwarf galaxy.
"Wait! Did I really create such a powerful being without even realizing it? I thought my limit in creation was at legendary-rank beings."
Asher was still in shock when Renas began his explanation, dispelling Asher's doubts.
"Negative. You have already advanced so far in mastering the laws that you were able to create a being capable of applying the laws of reality as well, thus possessing the strength of the mystical rank."
He continued indifferently: "Furthermore, creating such an existence seems to have stimulated your own potential and became a success that granted you enough faith points to ascend. You are now able to break through into the Realm of God."
Asher quickly processed all the information and consulted with Renas. In doing so, he learned another interesting fact.
Renas explained: "Master, you should know that once you ascend to the rank of a Realm God, the rank after the God-rank, the barrier that protects the galaxy from external influences will disappear. Then it will be possible for the creators of other galaxies and their subordinates to invade your galaxy, but conversely, you will also be able to visit other galaxies of the universe."
The barrier of the galaxy. It was a kind of protective system that always arose whenever a new creator god appeared in a galaxy, separating it from the others in the universe. This gave the newborn creator god the opportunity to build up his galaxy in peace, gather a certain degree of strength, and not be harassed or even attacked by the schemes of other creators.
Of course, Asher already knew of this barrier, but through Renas' reminder it became clear that it would vanish once he reached the rank of Realm God.
The barrier, according to Renas' words, would only dissolve once the creator had largely developed his galaxy and attained a certain rank—the rank of Realm God—thus being able to stand on his own among other creators.
Newborn creator gods thus had a proper period of preparation before they came into contact with other creators and were exposed to possible invasions.
"I see. I had already wondered when I would clash with the other gods," Asher murmured to himself. At least now I have a certain idea of how much time remains for me.
He was by no means discouraged or alarmed. Since he had not yet even ascended to God, it would still be a while before reaching Realm God. In that sense, Asher could postpone the next ascension if necessary, buying himself time in case he was not yet prepared for the unknown vastness of the universe.
Besides, he was actually quite curious about other galaxies and how their creators ruled over them. Would they differ much from my own way…?
But those were questions for later.
"Well then, I suppose I should begin the ascension," Asher declared. "But first, I should take care of the visitors of the Hall…"
Asher added a function to the system that granted constellations and selected individuals access to the Hall of Knowledge.
But that alone was not enough, since the hall was still rather empty and required clever minds to fill its shelves.
Thus he came up with the idea of creating keys that would specifically search for a worthy bearer to grant access to the hall. But that was not all—for these keys could travel through space and time, even choosing individuals from the past to enter the hall.
That included humans from Earth. This was possible because the Hall of Knowledge was imbued with the law of omnipresence, enabling it to exist in every timeline of the galaxy or establish a connection to any of them, much like a wormhole.
Once that was settled, Asher could finally devote himself to the ascension with a clear conscience.
[You have collected the maximum number of faith points. Do you wish to ascend from the rank of "Supreme Deity" to the rank of "God"?]
Asher did not hesitate long, nodded in agreement, and began the process of ascension.
Suddenly, his divinity burst forth on its own, uncontrollably enveloping his entire body.
The divinity materialized so deeply that it took the form of a cocoon, within which Asher underwent his ascension.
Inside the cocoon, Asher was refined by the energy of countless laws of reality, as though bathing in them. At the same time, an overwhelming wave of information poured into his mind.
It was like the first time, when he had received the basic information as a creator. But this time it was a hundred—no, a thousand times more intense and exhausting. It was as though he were living multiple lives simultaneously, dying, being reborn, dying again, and so on endlessly.
Eventually he entered a meditative state akin to a coma.
He experienced nearly simultaneously the most diverse lives of all kinds of beings, intelligent and unintelligent, human and animal, and more.
Through the ascension, he was granted the deepest understanding of reality and its laws. Among them were the knowledge of creation, of death, but also things like space and time—fundamental to the existence of life itself.
If his previous ascension had been specialized in creation and death, now it was space and time that took center stage.
Asher gained insight after insight and continued to evolve, almost as if becoming a new form of life.
It took several years before the ascension even neared its end.
In the galaxy, time flowed on, worlds developed, civilizations rose and fell. Everything followed its cycle.
One day at last, the golden-shimmering cocoon of manifested divinity split in two and crumbled into nothingness, like ash carried away by the wind.
It vanished as easily as if it had never existed, a mere illusion—an event unnoticed by any living being in the galaxy.
The newly awakened figure of Asher stepped forth from the disintegrating cocoon.
For a moment, his eyes were completely white, as if his pupils had receded into his skull. But that changed quickly, for with a blink, his pupils reappeared, brimming with wisdom.
Asher radiated an incomparable light, and his eyes had gained a depth none dared to fathom. His entire presence had changed, as though he had matured and now held life and death in his hands. It was the image of a true supreme being—if only not for the everyday clothes he wore, which hardly suited his majesty.
"Congratulations, Master. You have successfully endured the breakthrough to God," Renas congratulated in an emotionless tone.
"Haah~" Asher let out a deep sigh, as though carrying the weight of the galaxy. "Damn, that was really exhausting. It feels like I was tortured in hell for millennia, killed over and over again, only to be reborn and die once more!"
The first thing Asher did after his ascension was collapse into an armchair, trying to forget the weight of the process and find a moment's rest.
Although he had become stronger through the increase of divinity, and it was indeed a wonderful feeling to sense such power, the ascension had brought mostly pain and effort—especially mental.
It was not something an ordinary human could ever withstand.
Renas approached him and asked: "Master, now that you have reached the rank of God, would you not grant your galaxy the name it deserves?"
"As you know, the previous creator of the dwarf galaxy named it, but now that you are its creator god, should you not bestow upon it a name fitting to yourself?"
"Hm?" Asher pondered for a moment.
The name of a galaxy was no trivial matter. It bore a deep connection to both the galaxy and the one who named it.
"Well then…" He seemed to reflect for a moment on an appropriate name, but soon found the answer:
"I will name this galaxy Ashen!" His proud voice resounded through all the worlds of the galaxy, leaving the living beings who heard it in awe.
A moment of silence stretched through the vastness of space and all the worlds of the World Tree, until—
[Congratulations, you have named your galaxy. The potential of the galaxy and its lifeforms rises, and you are granted the title: "Emperor of Ashen."]
So declared the voice of the world—Asher.
"Oh… even a message from the voice of the world," Asher marveled briefly as he listened to the proclamation echo in his ears.
Asher fell silent.
Not because there was nothing to say, but because, in that moment, nothing seemed to matter anymore.
The name Ashen still echoed within him, while his divinity carried its resonance into every corner of the galaxy.
Millions of beings had heard it.
But within himself, there was only silence.
Slowly, he raised his hand and laid it on his chest.
A pulse of his divinity throbbed beneath his fingers—yet there was no warmth in it, no pride, no triumph.
Only a muted pull from deep within.
"I have given it a name… but what have I set in stone with it?"
Had it truly been a beginning?
Or had he sealed a path from which there was no return?
His gaze wandered into the vastness of the divine heavens.
Beyond the halls, between light and haze, the branches of the World Tree stretched into the void.
Like veins carrying a foreign power through the cosmos.
No real doubt stirred in him. Not truly.
But a quiet unease crept through his core.
A thought he could not bring himself to utter aloud.
"I create, I guide, I name, I direct… But do I still live?"
He knew there was no one who could answer that question for him.
And perhaps that was the very nature of divinity—
to be alone,
even among billions of voices.
Asher turned away from the window.
He felt his thoughts fade again.
Then he slowly sank back into the armchair.
He had not expected that giving his galaxy a name would have such profound effects. Yet it was true—he now felt a deeper connection to his galaxy than ever before.
It is as though I can perceive everything at once, sense all that transpires within my galaxy, within Ashen.
The wonder did not last long, for Asher lazily reclined back in his chair once more.
A pleasant idea came to him, and a cigar appeared in his hand. To celebrate the day, I'll light one up.
Asher was not really a smoker, but he had felt the urge for once, and aside from reading, there were not many things left he could enjoy now that he had become a god.
It was as though his desires and emotions were slowly dulling, numbed, making it significantly harder to enjoy anything—aside from the occasional surge of power.
Huu~ After a deep drag, the smoke drifted from Asher's lips, rising into the void as he sat there tiredly, half-lidded eyes staring into emptiness.
Yes, this is something one can indulge in from time to time~
While Asher sat there, enjoying puff after puff, he cast a glance toward the divine heavens and immediately noticed some changes.
During the years he had been immersed in his ascension, the first archangel besides Michael had already gained the qualifications to become the second of the twelve archangels, having reached the legendary rank.
This archangel was Ethan, the former disciple of the hero Siegfried, also known as "Throne of Strength Revealed."
He was the Archangel of Strength, and once he qualified as one of the twelve archangels, the system granted him the title: "Gabriel, Archangel of Power and Devotion"—a role Asher had already prepared for in advance, in case another archangel reached legendary rank and could seamlessly take the position.
With the rise of another legendary-ranked being among the angels, they had caught up with the demons.
Both heavenly races now had two legendary-ranked beings among their ranks.
Yet these were not the only events unfolding in the divine heavens.
The angels seemed highly motivated by the fact that they had the chance to become one of the twelve archangels and thereby come closer to their god.
They had begun to interfere with the mortal worlds, asserting their influence, and promoting religion with the help of the system. They even created their own holy scripture, in which the creator of worlds and his twelve archangels were praised, while the demons of hell were branded as vile and despicable creatures. Then they bestowed this scripture upon the mortals and began to spread the faith in the creator.
It was a clever move, especially since, through mortal faith, the angels could nurture their divine spark and increase their holy power.
But were they doing this merely for their own benefit, it would not have been very angelic. Though they did enjoy the advantages, their true aim was to show mortals God's brilliance and to grant them faith and hope.
"That's remarkable. Without even realizing it, they've even helped me gather faith points," Asher remarked.
For Asher, this was a welcome development, as any faith in Ashen would benefit him, increasing his faith points and divinity. In this way, they had offered him considerable assistance.
"Hm~ But it would be boring if everything went too smoothly…" Asher smirked. "Religion requires hurdles and obstacles to grow!"
He stretched out his hand, and a book with a black cover appeared in it. The book bore the title: "The Demons of Hell: The Sins of the World."
In the next moment, however, the book vanished from his hand again.
At the same time, the very same scene occurred across several mortal worlds of the World Tree, witnessed by very few.
Countless pages fell from the sky.
Inscribed pages, originally bound into a book, drifted down from above, scattered across the mortal worlds.
Thus Asher had given the demons a chance as well to establish their own foothold in the mortal worlds, since unlike the angels, they lacked an entrance. They would surely become an obstacle to the angels spreading their religion, but at the same time, also an opportunity to strengthen that religion—provided the angels handled it correctly.
Normally, demons were unable to leave the immortal War Hell. Only high-ranking demons, such as dukes and above, could at least enter the immortal world.
But through the pages of the Book of the Demons of Hell that Asher had cast into the mortal worlds, humans now had the opportunity to contact demons. They could, through the methods described in the book, summon demons into their worlds, forge contracts or pacts with them, or borrow their powers.
"Well then, both sides now have a fair chance."
Asher took a few more drags from his cigar until it was completely smoked and finally turned to ash. He sprang up from his chair and out of habit did a few classic stretches.
It would be too boring to linger around here. Now that I've managed to forge a connection with space and time, I should deepen it.
After informing Renas, Asher vanished from the spot, deciding to spend some time further understanding and mastering the laws of space and time.
Time flowed once more in the galaxy of Ashen. Stars circled through the void, Earth around the sun, and worlds arose and fell.
Divine Heavens. Celestial Palace of the Hosts.
On a high throne, one that could only belong to the lord of this palace, sat a great, radiant figure, while several angels stood firmly before him.
The figure upon the throne was none other than the first of the twelve archangels, the Archangel of Hosts—Michael.
"Lord Michael, as commanded, the holy scripture continues to spread among the mortal worlds, and in some worlds we have already succeeded in establishing a solid foundation of religion and faith," explained the angel at the front.
"However, in two worlds we suddenly encountered resistance, and humans appeared who seemed to be allied with the demons. Though we managed to eliminate them, one person succeeded before his death in summoning a demon, which then began wreaking havoc. It took several angels to finally defeat this demon. Unfortunately, one of the mortals' cities was reduced to rubble and ashes," he reported painfully but with a firm voice.
"I see. And how progresses the exploration of that place?" Michael asked in an exalted, indifferent tone.
"We have, as commanded, dispatched several units to that place. But so far we have not yet received any reports back," the angel replied.
Michael nodded. "Still, they must take care. The branches of the World Tree remain an unknown and mysterious region—we do not know what dangers may lurk there," he warned suddenly.
The angels received their orders and, after a respectful bow, finally left the palace.
After his subordinates had departed, Michael's gaze lingered into the void for a moment, his golden-glimmering eyes seeming to perceive something unfolding far away.
Meanwhile, upon the branches of the World Tree—also known as the inter-world plane…