Truth be told, Ash had been in need of some serious optimization for quite some time.
At one point in his journey, he carried far too many laws, skills, and other abilities, which often led to many of his powers being forgotten or lost over the years.
Everything changed when he created Elysiaâshe practically pushed him to refine himself into the perfect being he was today.
And while Ash, like every other Unus, might appear to be the pinnacle of perfection to an outsider, he knew deep down that, at this moment, he was far from his ideal state.
This time, it wasnât an overload of skills holding him back, but rather a sense of stagnation settling in.
Ash sat cross-legged in the void between universes, with Nia pressed against his left side and Elysia resting against his right.
The three of them remained silent for a moment until Elysia finally spoke, her voice calm but carrying a clear sense of purpose.
"Before you even think about building the next road toward the Sixth Wall," she began, "there are two things you need to handle first."
Ash turned his head slightly to look at her, listening.
Elysia continued, her golden eyes fixed intently.
"First, you need to reach your true optimal state."
As she had mentioned before, his progress had been stagnating for quite some time.
This was crucial, as it played a significant role in determining the results of his evolutions.
If he wasnât in his most optimal state before evolving, nothing disastrous would occur, but it would still be a missed opportunity.
The evolution he achieved wouldnât be nearly as powerful or effective as it could be if he were operating at his absolute peak.
And in this moment, he has four uniquely overpowered essences inside him â the Originâs Essence, Isness, something akin to the First Absence, and that unnamed essence that was born from within his own verse, Pantheos.
"That last one is unique to Pantheos. If you want to move forward cleanly, you need to properly integrate and balance them. Otherwise, youâre carrying unnecessary weight."
Nia, who had been quietly listening with her head on Ashâs shoulder, lifted her gaze slightly at the mention of the essences but didnât interrupt.
Elysia then glanced at Ash with a more serious expression.
"Second... you need to finally give Primordia the attention she deserves."
This time, Nia reacted.
She lifted her head, meeting Elysiaâs gaze with a hint of surprise in her eyes.
"Primordia?" she echoed.
"Youâre talking about that sentient weapon of his?"
Elysia gave a small nod.
"Sheâs been left on her own for far too long... what she needs now is a real body, true evolution, and a proper upgrade."
Being connected to Ash, Primordia evolved alongside him, but she had reached a standstill long before his optimization.
It all started the moment she became half-sentient, as no other sentient weapon existed anywhere in Pantheos.
That was also part of why she hadnât changedâthere was no system of power or ranks for weapons to keep ascending beyond their current peak.
In the end, it was all Ashâs fault.
He stayed silent for a few moments, letting her words sink in, before a small, genuine smile slowly spread across his face.
His eyes shifted between Nia and Elysia, both watching him intently.
"...Youâre right," he said at last. "Iâve been lazy about this for far too long."
Nia studied his expression for a moment before resting her head back against his shoulder with a satisfied hum.
"Good," she said. "Then stop stalling and start already."
Ash chuckled softly. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, his smile deepening as he began to focus his will.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Letâs begin."
----
As Elysia had mentioned, he started with himself, but before reaching those four essences, he felt the need to alter somethingâthough it was more of an enhancement than a change.
By this point, not only Ash, but every member of the Ineffable Pantheon had maxed out their Codex Powersâor more accurately, their Divine Powers.
From the moment they were introduced, these abilities were intended to be utterly broken and overwhelmingly powerful.
And while Pantheos had been steadily expanding, the tiers of Divine Power had only been recalibrated, never increased, with the maximum still fixed at twenty-one for now.
This meant Ashâs mastery over Art and Quantumâhis two Divine Powersâwere already on par with, if not surpassing, his own strength.
Yet, he wanted to take things even further.
For the longest time, his quantum powers and his eyes, Oculus Unus, had been one and the same. Now, his goal was to add something just as powerful as Quantumâmaybe even stronger.
âJust what could possibly surpass something that practically makes me invincible?â he wondered, closing his eyes even more.
Ash expanded his perception, scouring through the endless layers of knowledge that existed within Pantheos and outside.
For the longest time, Ash could gather all the information he needed from a new realm once Elysia either copied or linked to its core.
But when they ascended beyond the highest known infinity, one of the many perks that came with it was making Ash, in particular, completely omniscient.
He moved past the structures of Pantheos, beyond the Prime Expanse, and into the deeper, more primordial layers of existence.
Then, he saw them.
Far within the
Primordial Expanse
, where Existence and Nonexistence met at the boundary of the First Absence, Ash witnessed something he had never encountered before.
There were countless threads of varying colors â some radiant gold, others deep void-black, some shifting between shades of crimson, silver, and colors that didnât belong to any known spectrum â stretched across the Primordial Expanse.
They moved with purpose, tunneling and weaving directly into the thin, neutral bubble that was the First Absence.
Ashâs awareness settled on them.
The instant his mind touched these threads, clarity burst forth.
They werenât laws, concepts, or even ideasâhell, they werenât powers in any usual sense at all.
They were
Fundamental Permissions
.