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The battle between Relure and himself had gone on for a long time, He’d been stuck in his Mindspace for so long that he’d lost track of his physical location. Adam allowed his senses to transmit his physical surroundings into his consciousness and looked around. He stood atop a tower on a cliff overlooking a forest. As he allowed Sense Chaos to range out, he realized that he was back on Primore, though the retreat he stood upon wasn’t the same retreat he’d modified so long ago.

This time, things here were a bit different. For one, there was a portal directly in front of him. He could detect it with Sense Chaos, but otherwise, there was nothing there. Additionally, it would take a leap of faith for anyone to step off through a portal they could not see. Overcoming the fear of falling to the hills below would stop most people from even trying.

He realized that he was not on the same planet, “Primore,” as Adaline and the rest of his friends and family. This planet Primore was different; most likely younger, if he wasn’t mistaken. He could explore that later. Adam stepped through the portal and found himself in a clean room, just like the one he’d created for Portal’s Inc.

You have entered the Outer Domain of Adamantadine. If you enter the Inner Domain of Adamantadine, certain SYSTEM functions may be unavailable to you.

If you do NOT wish to enter the Inner Domain of Adamantadine, please exit through any portal in this chamber.

The chamber he was in was well-lit and about 50 feet square. It had a single door on the wall opposite the portal he had entered through. There were no other portals in the room that he could detect.

Adam walked over to the door, which opened smoothly for him. As he stepped through, he noticed that he had exited onto a copy of the balcony of his home in New Mexico in the mountains east of Alamogordo. Even from here, he could see cars and people moving around. This was also the location where he’d placed Racoon City in the most recent version he’d been stuck in. But he couldn’t detect Racoon City below him with Sense Chaos. This version of his house had no underground base beneath it. Adam thought about how he knew he was on Earth and how the information about his entire domain became available to him.

As the thought crossed his mind of asking where he was, Adam knew where everything within his domain was. He also realized that it was shrinking. Adam opened his Personal Status. His Divine Energy was rapidly decreasing, like the National Debt Website counter, except in reverse. He dropped his perception into his Soul Core and tracked the flow of energy and perceived energy transferring to a node dedicated to Tantur. The energy flowed into the node and then out and down to whatever the node was connected to outside of himself. He sent a mental message through his Mindspace, “Tantur, what is going on?”

A copy of himself appeared before him, though slightly different. This copy had the classic evil genius goatee, nicely cut with a John Wick-style haircut. “Hello again, Adam.”

“What do you mean hello again, and why the evil genius look?”

“I’ll address the evil genius look first; I decided to look like this just to be different from you for this conversation. Besides, part of you thought I was doing something underhanded so it seemed appropriate. As for the hello again, we slowed down the temporal rate of your location, so while it doesn’t feel like a long time has passed, I assure you it has,” Tantur said

“How long, and who is we?” Adam asked.

“Long enough to establish a framework. As for who is we? The Forge of Creation, The SYSTEM, and me, or you, who was turned into me if you like, have combined. The node within yourself that you think of as your representation of Tantur is merely a connection point between us and you for now,”

“So, what are you then?”

“We are The SYSTEM.”

“Then why not combine with me as well?” Adam asked.

“Because you would not have been satisfied with the role Tantur must now fill within The SYSTEM. Before you ask another question, let me ask you this instead. If The SYSTEM is based on rules that are based on changes that have occurred due to your link to the Forge of Creation, the copies of your daughter, and your link to Primal Chaos. Who made the rules that the Forge of Creation had to follow? Who made the rules for those Universes that fall outside the current framework that The SYSTEM is creating?

Adam thought about the question for a moment and then said, “I have no idea. I thought that was Relure and the other Originals. "

“Some part of you must have realized that was probably not true because the Originals came about right around the time the original SYSTEM came into existence. Also, how could we beat someone who created the rules that were followed by the SYSTEM if they made the rules? From the beginning The SYSTEM and the Originals were required to obey a set of rules they did not establish, nor do they know who established them.”

“So, my subconscious picked up on something and fulfilled a request that the Forge of Creation and The SYSTEM had made of me,” Adam paused as he considered the implications before he continued, “The SYSTEM wanted access to my Perfect Memory and the various examples of SYSTEMS, whether factual or not, and ideas about how to implement them,” Adam said.

“Got it in one. That’s why I was seized. Although the word seized is a bit harsh, it was more of a voluntold by you to go,” Tantur said.

When did I Voluntell you to do this,” Adam asked.

“A long time ago, though to say you told me to go is also slightly incorrect. Your subconscious reacted to the request with a strong ‘No!’ and slotted me into this role.

“So how is this separation between you and I going to change things?” Adam asked.

“First of all, while we are talking, the Divine Energy you have accumulated is being drawn into The SYSTEM to fuel the changes it’s making to the Prime Universes through the Forge of Creation, which is now part of it. Pandora’s Link to Primal Chaos is also providing energy to ensure that the process can be completed and remains perpetual.”

“All of the Prime Universes, as in a Universe for each Prime number, that’s an insane number of Prime Numbers that I know of, and this is being done through me. Why don’t I feel it?” Adam asked.

“Because I’m shouldering the transfer,” Tantur said, “Also, The SYSTEM doesn’t need to utilize all the prime numbers. There were not that many Universes under its control, but the number is quite high.”

A Universe for every Prime Number. That was a lot of Universes, Adam thought before he asked, “Why am I not providing input to this process?” Adam asked.

“You are, through me. In addition to the Divine Energy that is being drawn from you to fuel the process, the full memories of entities you have absorbed throughout your life are being copied and downloaded as well.

“What?”

Tantur paused, thought about what he’d said, and then rephrased, “What I meant to say was when you absorbed the universes you did, you also absorbed the animae, will, and memories of the beings within those universes. You released the Animae back into the ether back then without understanding what you were doing and trapped all of their wills and memories. The system is righting that wrong and reintegrating them into the cycle of reincarnation and rebirth, which it is creating to thwart entropy. You will still have access to their memories, but the will that was tied to those memories is being removed with copies of those memories and reintegrated into a new soul.”

“To what end?” Adam asked.

“The SYSTEM, or the Primary SYSTEM if you like, is modifying the Multiverse to allow for a diversity of SYSTEMS that will be available to everyone. Groups of universes, dimensions, and planes will fall under the administration of those subordinate SYSTEMS. As an example, those planes of existence that are dedicated to the afterlife will only be ruled by one type of SYSTEM at the start. If a variety of SYSTEMS is required later, new subordinate SYSTEMS may be added at that time”.

“When you say a variety of SYSTEMS...,” Adam said leadingly.

“There could be a SYSTEM that uses class and skill rules that mimic 3rd Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 5th Edition, or even some that have been described in the fiction of the 20th century by authors,” Tantur said.

Adam just stared at Tantur with a look that said, “Get on with it!”

“The Forge of Creation allows for the creation and destruction of various realities: Universes, Dimensions, Material Planes, whatever you want to call them. Your two Classes, Creator and Reality Editor, allowed you to manipulate the Forge of Creation. When you created the link between the Forge of Creation and The SYSTEM through you, well, The SYSTEM hijacked your two classes permanently.”

“Permanently?”

“Permanently.”

“Why?” Adam asked.

“The changes being made will make all abilities similar to your abilities for those two classes SYSTEM driven. Primary access will only be available to the Divine-ranked entities. Limited access may be granted to mortal and ascendant beings on a case-by-case basis. All-access and use will be monitored and implemented by the SYSTEM through Nodes dedicated for that purpose.”

“Is the SYSTEM removing my access to the Divine?” Adam asked.

“The SYSTEM has modified rules concerning Divine Beings. This was possible because of the removal of the Originals either by your hand or because they sacrificed the energy they had acquired to help remove Relure, after which they all entered the new cycle of reincarnation. Even Relure and his daughter are part of that cycle now.”

“Okay, so why take the classes from me? I have Divine Energy?” Adam asked.

“You had a lot of Divine Energy. When the SYSTEM is done, it will all be removed. The two classes will be removed, and all earned experience will be evenly distributed among your first three classes, which have been adjusted in rank to Mythical. Oh yeah, a change that is being made is that all classes can now be ranked from Basic or Common to Mythical. Your three classes are being increased in rank to Mythical as a modification to make up for the loss of your previous two classes. There will be Ascendant and Divine classes, but mortals will not be able to unlock those classes unless they sacrifice their mortality and enter the cycle of reincarnation...”

“I’ll probably find out about that later on, so let’s skip that for now,” Adam said, interrupting Tantur, “I can see that there are changes. I can even see how the SYSTEM is increasing the Rank of my other three classes, and then putting the XP into them from my last two classes is beneficial. What I don’t see is how the SYSTEM is going to create the Divine Beings that will have to fill the roles of Divine Beings now that the others have all but gone. They have all but gone, right?”

“Yes, the SYSTEM drew on the energy of all the Divine beings, Originals, and any non-Prime Universe or Planar Alternates to defeat Relure and fuel the changes that are being made.”

“So how are you going to fill those divine roles? Also, what do you mean by Prime Universes.?” Adam asked.

“Prime Universes are those Universes whose designation ends in a prime number. As you know, a Universal designation can take quite a long time, and many alternate Universes are created as time progresses. The Prime Universes are the universes from which alternate Universes spawn. As for your first question, A Battle Royale is going on in various Prime Universes. Most of the Entities from the various Alternate Universes have been placed on the Prime version of their planet and are currently trying to survive. To spice things up, the SYSTEM has increased XP awards when killing other entities that were not born naturally into the new SYSTEM paradigm. Individuals will be worth approximately one-half of their accrued XP.”

Adam listened as Tantur continued.

“Eventually, all awards will be based on their effective level multiplied by 100 XP, which simply means summing up all their class levels and multiplying by 100. For Example, if one of the people you have in Racoon City is level 10, that person will be worth approximately 27,500 XP if defeated. Meanwhile, any monsters that spawn at level 10 or anyone who is born today and reaches level 10 will only be worth 1,000 XP. Those who are killed or die of natural causes enter the cycle of Reincarnation. Those that thrive will eventually be offered a place among the Divine to rule over the various Prime Universes the SYSTEM has created.”

What Tantur was saying made a lot of sense and garnered questions that he wanted to ask, but Adam held his tongue and let Tantur speak.

“The other change that is being made is that the Ascendant and the Divine can be forced to re-enter the Reincarnation Cycle through various methods. Also, a fundamental difference between the Ascendent and the Divine will be that the Ascendent will not automatically assume duties. Think of them as mortal creatures that have decided to embrace becoming post-physical. They will still be able to interact with the physical world to some extent, but the Divine and others of their kind will frown upon it, which could cause them to enter the reincarnation cycle a lot sooner than they’d like.”

“Those changes sound interesting and beg the question, where do I fit into this new SYSTEM Paradigm?” Adam asked.

“Right. Before you made this change, you established your Domain. The SYSTEM is ensuring that the Domain is not removed from you when the Divine Energy is removed. Think of this as a bonus perk for doing a solid for The SYSTEM. This Domain will be your home away from home, which will be linked to three Prime Universes: 911, 997, and 1,009. Those three portals are in the chamber you just left. Racoon City has been placed in Universe 1,009. Your portal to Racoon City opens in your room at the base there. That is a fixed portal. The Portal to Universe 911 opens to what you think of as your Aerie in Primore or to Stonehenge on Earth; you choose where the portal exits when you use it. If you’re in Universe 911, you can activate the portal to your Domain in either location regardless of which portal you entered through. Got it so far?”

Adam nodded.

“Finally, The Portal to Universe 997 is exactly the same as the portal to Universe 911. It will open to the same two locations on Earth and Primore. The Portal exit and entry points can be modified from your Control Node within your Domain,” Tantur explained.

“Sounds pretty self-explanatory,” Adam said.

It was Tantur’s turn to nod before he continued, “Universe 1009 will allow nanite technology throughout without oversight. Universes 911 and 997 will require nanite stabilizers, abilities, or spells that stabilize the environment so that nanites can function properly. As for your chaos that functions like nanites, the use of the chaos within you to mimic nanite technology will have a limited range no matter what universe you're in. Though, as you have no doubt figured out, you can create the chaotic versions of nanites, which can, in turn, create the physical versions, which can then expand outside your abilities range in Universe 1,009.”

Adam raised a finger, which caused Tantur to pause before saying,” I understand everything you just told me. My question is, why would I agree to be put in a location away from my family, in two worlds where I can probably control the outcome with little or no effort?” Adam asked.

Tantur laughter, “Little or no effort? I’ll come back to that in a moment. Universe 911 is one of the Universes that is being used as a Battle Royale. The temporal rate of Prime Universe 911 will be accelerated as soon as we are done talking. Your Domain’s temporal rate will be the same. Your family resides in Universe 997, which has a much slower temporal rate. You can visit your family whenever you wish. We, The SYSTEM, recommend that you do not.”

Tantur noted the look Adam threw his direction and then hurriedly continued, “We don’t want to ruin the surprise, but Prime Universe 911 is going to be a mess for a while. With no Gods, Originals, or Divines available anywhere in the SYSTEM, we figured it would be best to attach your Domain to one of the Prime Universes to see if the process could be guided. Universes that are hosting Battle Royale environments are being utilized to elevate people so they can fill the needed divine roles rapidly. Of course, you won’t be locked into that Universe, but we recommend that you do not rush off. The Universe your family in is moving at a slower temporal rate, so you won’t miss much.”

“Okay,” Adam hedged,” With Sense Chaos, I’ve noticed that this Domain is shrinking; why is it shrinking?” Adam asked.

“The size of this Domain will continue to reduce until it’s only 10 miles in diameter. The horizon and the day-night cycle will be simulated. The people in the city below are apparitions. They do not exist. Your place away from everything else here; you can rest if you wish. This Node,” Tantur said as a silver Node appeared next to the portal beside him, “This Node will give you some control over the Domain. You can utilize it to set up the Domain however you want. You can also modify the temporal rate here to match Universe 911 or 997 and 1,009, which are the same. Just remember Universe 911 is set at a much faster Temporal rate, so it would probably be better to leave it at that temporal rate, or Universe 911 will flash forward into its future.”

“What is the temporal “difference between the three Universes?” Adam asked

“It’s 911 and all other Prime Universes. It is the only universe in which the temporal rate is being increased to this level. Other Prime Universes will vary but not to the level at which Universe 911 has been set.

“And?” Adam said as he made a circling motion with his hand.

“One million to one,” Tantur said.

“One million to one?” As in, for every second that passes in Universe 997, 11 Days, 13 Hours, 46 Minutes, and 40 seconds pass in Universe 911. That’s a Year every 34 seconds,” Adam said.

“Yes, it is,” Tantur agreed.”

“And you don’t want me to take on the role of one of these Deities?” Adam asked.

“As I explained, we know you and your drives. You would not be interested in setting up the various Pantheons that will be needed for each Prime Universe. The reason we want you in Universe 911 is twofold. First, we want to have someone who can respond to any issues that come up. Second, we are giving you access to this test bed of a Universe as a nod to you and your role in what has transpired. We wanted to give you the opportunity to grow at an accelerated rate and maybe let off a little steam.”

Adam cocked his head and then asked, “How bad is the SYSTEM nerfing me?” Adam asked.

“That’s the thing about the changes that we’ve made. Each Universe will have its own SYSTEM governing it. As you know, something like this was tried in the digital universes you encountered. This is the Primary SYSTEM that had emerged through the chaos of destruction Relure had wrought. Relure’s actions caused all the previous SYSTEMs to either be destroyed or absorbed into the only SYSTEM that had survived. Every SYSTEM that controls a Universe will fall under the Primary SYSTEM’s purview.”

“And the nerfing?”

“The various subordinate SYSTEMS may have variations on maximum levels, attributes, skill levels, and some other characteristics, but that which is yours is yours. For instance, the only reason the Reality Editor and Creator classes can be removed from you is because the Forge of Creation has been incorporated into The Primary SYSTEM. Classes and how they work are SYSTEM-specific coding within the SYSTEM to describe a set of rules or laws that the SYSTEM must also abide by, to a certain extent.”

A spark of intuition flashed through Adam as he realized what the SYSTEM was doing, “So what you're saying is that while each SYSTEM may seem to reduce my attributes, skills, or whatever, the concept and abilities those ideas are based on will still exist within me. If the SYSTEM is removing the class from my Personal Status, you’re saying that the SYSTEM is not providing a mechanism to access those abilities within its area of influence, but they still exist.”

“That is not what I said,” Tantur said with a grin as he nodded his head in confirmation.

“I see,” Adam said with a responding nod, “So The SYSTEM will enforce or attempt to deny those concepts within the areas it controls. What happens when I step outside those areas?”

“Where there is no SYSTEM to enforce the rules, there are no rules,” Tantur said Cryptically.

“Okay, I get it. So, what are the hard limits in Universe 911?”

“Attributes limits are fluid right now. The SYSTEM is waiting to see how your presences break things. Class Levels are being set at 10,000, to begin with, which may be lowered or increased depending on how badly you break things. It was thought that no one should be able to reach those levels. Of course, The experience you’ve earned, even with the conversion of each class to Mythical rank, which increased the required XP, still allowed you to reach level 10,000 in each class. If we weren’t setting a limit, your level in each class would be 38,029,032. We figured 10,000 was high enough for the extreme majority of entities. Also, it’s high enough that you will still have an extreme advantage over everyone else. We could lower your level further if you wish. Or you could voluntarily reduce your experience?”

Adam laughed, “Let me think about that, umm, no.”

“I didn’t think so,” Tantur said agreeably.

“So, what happens to the rest of that experience?” Adam asked.

“What do you mean?” Tantur asked.

“If I’m only level 10,000 and I could be over level 38 million, what happens to the rest of the XP?”

“It’s still there, at least until you enter the Reincarnation Cycle.”

“Can I even enter the Reincarnation Cycle?” Adam asked with genuine interest.

“Right now, only if you want to. Down the road, who knows,” Tantur said, “Though, if I’m being honest, I doubt it.”

“So, what now?”

“Now, The SYSTEM keeps doing what it's doing; I’m sure you’ll figure out what that means eventually. We want to suggest that you return to Earth in Universe 911. Primore isn’t going to be very interesting for a while. The other change the SYSTEM is making will become apparent as you go forward,” Tantur paused for a moment, “We’ll give you this one for free; the Safe Zones are no longer safe. Racoon City will be fine with your nanites in play, but there will be no safe zones in Universes 911 or 997. There will be areas where monsters do not spawn, dead zones, as it were, but there will be no safe zones. The objective of 911 is to create individuals that can become gods. That cannot happen if everyone can sit back and do nothing. Now go and have fun.

Adam was about to ask another question when Tantur vanished; Adam looked around and sighed as he said, “Had to get the last word in, didn’t you?”

There was no reply.

Adam checked his Personal Status. His race hadn’t changed, so he was still an Adamantium Dragon. His attributes had taken a hit, though; all were currently under one million. If the standard average were still ten, then he would have been well above that average in every category. Then he checked his Physical Damage Resistance, which was 3,447. If the damage was still like it was before, there wasn’t a weapon on Earth that could hurt him. Shoot, not even a small nuclear device could. Being immune to the fire portion of such an attack would also come in nicely. A quick check showed that some changes had been made because of the changes in his class rarities, but for the most part, he was still going to be well above whatever the norm was.

Very well, it was time to get back into it and see what this new SYSTEM was doing, especially if an aspect of himself was tied into it. Adam stepped over to the portal to Universe 911, chose Stonehenge as his destination, and stepped through.

Bright flashes assaulted him, time slowed down, and he dove for cover. Sense Chaos ranged out. In that first second, he realized that the flashes had been from smartphones capturing his appearance from a group his mind categorized as a tour that was viewing Stonehenge. Something that should be totally normal if he was back on the Earth he’d started on. Before he touched the ground, Adam activated Chaos Step and appeared in space 10,000 miles above the Earth. His current range was limited to just over 50,000 miles due to the size of his Chaos resource. With Chaos Conversion, he used his 29,000 mana regeneration rate per 10 seconds to replace the 10,000 chaos he’d spent to get into orbit. Next, he let Sense Chaos range out and give him a full rundown of the world that was now below him.

Adam was going to ask Thor or Abi what they thought, but the will that had been attached to both sets of memories was gone. He could pull on their memories, but he’d have to partition his mind again to do so, and with his reduced mentality compared to before, he decided to wait.

Adam allowed the information from Sense Chaos to enter his mind, compared it to the memories he carried, and came to a simple conclusion: The Earth below him was comparable to the Earth he had grown up in right around the year 2035. So what did the SYSTEM mean by this Universe was going to be the fulcrum where the new Gods would come from? This sure didn’t look any different than the Earth he’d known.

First things first, he needed to add himself to the society below and fit in. Adam activated his version of mental invisibility, You Can’t See Me. Next, he used Chaos Step to teleport down to an alley that was out of sight of any of the cameras in Washington DC, near a coffee shop. Once he was sure no one had seen him and that the nearby cameras hadn’t captured his arrival, he dropped You Can’t See Me and walked into the coffee shop. With Mold Chaos, he created the local currency after analyzing a couple of pieces of cash with Sense Chaos that were in the register. He paid for his cup of coffee and went to sit in one of the booths near a window. This was not his Earth. He did not control the digital infrastructure. And he wasn’t even an American Citizen at this point. That needed to change. He looked around as he activated Mold Chaos. It was time to introduce this Earth to nanotechnology…again.