Pathways (2024)

A Pathway (途径, Tújìng), or Path of the Divine (神之途径, Shén zhī tújìng), corresponds to a series of 10 named potion formulas that give access to supernatural and mystical powers. Once a being has drunk a potion, they become a Beyonder of that pathway. Each pathway belongs to a group containing one or more neighboring pathways, which a Beyonder can safely switch within at High-Sequence. At the end of each pathway, only one Beyonder can attain divinity and become the True God of that pathway.

On Earth, there are 22 Standard Pathways, that each possess 10 Sequence levels from the lowest Sequence 9 to the highest Sequence 0. Each Sequence contains its own abilities, and each pathway has its own authorities. The abilities within a Pathway expand in scope and variety as one advance in Sequence. Different pathways can do very different things, ranging from utility abilities such as divination or equipment crafting to a powerful offense such as weather or spirit control.

History[]

The 22 Standard Pathways and 9 Sefirot were established by the awakening of The Original Creator in the Pre-Epoch. When The Original Creator awakened, "He" shattered again into Beyonder Characteristics and Sefirot. This convergence and divergence tore apart the Sefirot and the Characteristics related to the Outer Deities that were directly nurtured and created from The Original Creator to Earth: the Mother Goddess of Depravity, the Mother Tree of Desire, and the Son of Chaos. Among the 22 Standard Pathways and 9 Sefirot, 16 Pathways and 6 Sefirot came directly from The Original Creator, and the remaining 6 Pathways and 3 Sefirot originated from the 3 Outer Deities.^[1]

When the The Primordial One perished in the First Epoch, "His" corpse formed the First Blasphemy Slate, on which recorded the knowledge and potion formulas of the 22 Standard Pathways. Until the rise of the Ancient Sun God, this Slate was not released from the Chaos Sea.^[2]

In the Second Epoch, before the potion system was discovered, Beyonders could only proceed by trial and error, frequently consuming Beyonder characteristics of non-adjacent groups. Only a few could survive this process, and they were half-mad (e.g., Demonic Wolf Flegrea). Such an attempt had a one in a thousand chance of success, or even a one in ten thousand chance.^[2] Those lucky enough to survive could use their instinct to mate with all kinds of living beings, giving birth to all kinds of descendants. Through this process, by a chance, the conflicting Beyonder characteristics would be purged.^[3]

With the rise of the Ancient Sun God at the end of the Second Epoch, the First Blasphemy Slate made its appearance to the world.^[4] It established the term Sequence and the potion system to the whole world aside from the Western Continent.^[4] This system allows Beyonders to advance along the Pathways in a safer and easier manner. Because of their power, the potion formulas are very valuable and tightly guarded secrets. Higher Sequence potion formulas require relationships with families or organizations that hold knowledge of the corresponding pathways. After the potion system was established, no one was willing to take the great risk of consuming the Beyonder Characteristics directly.^[2] The potion system was then used everywhere on Earth, except on the Western Continent.

The formulas of Above the Sequence groups came from the Ancient Sun God's research, and were recorded alongside the 22 Standard Pathways' potion names (some renamed) on the Second Blasphemy Slate at "His" death at the end of the Third Epoch.^[5]

In the Fifth Epoch, Emperor Roselle saw the Second Blasphemy Slate and created the 22 Cards of Blasphemy. Each Card of Blasphemy recorded all Sequence names, potion formulas and advancement rituals of the corresponding Standard Pathway.

As The Apocalypse draws near in the Fifth Epoch, Non-standard Pathways belonging to Outer Deities began emerging on Earth. These Pathways exist outside the standard 22 Pathways written on the Blasphemy Slates, but is still classified into Sequence 9 to Sequence 0 for convenience. In a way, the division into Sequences follows the bottom-layered rules of the world.^[6]

In the Western Continent[]

Advancement[]

There are two ways to advance to a higher Sequence in a Pathway: advancing by consuming Beyonder Characteristics, and advancing by praying to an existence for a Boon.

Advancement by Beyonder Characteristics[]

A Beyonder can use Beyonder Characteristic to advance to a higher sequence. Since Beyonder Characteristics usually have the mental imprints of previous owners, as well as the godhood of The Original Creator, consuming them directly is considered very dangerous and can easily cause the Beyonder to lose control. Theoretically, it is possible to directly become a High Sequence Beyonder by consuming the corresponding characteristic (such as in the case of Sea God Kalvetua), but this is very rare and usually have latent dangers.

There are certain methods or factors that can reduce the risk of losing control:

• At each Sequence, the Beyonder can use the Acting Method to digest the corresponding potion before attempting to advance to the next Sequence.
• When advancing, the Beyonder can concoct a Potion by combining the Beyonder Characteristic with other supplementary ingredients, following the correct Potion formula.
• Starting from Sequence 5, the Beyonder needs to carry out an Advancement Ritual to advance to the next Sequence.
• At High Sequence, the mental imprints of the previous owner of the Beyonder Characteristics will be very powerful. If the Soul Body of the advancing Beyonder is sufficiently similar to the mental imprints of the previous owner of the characteristic, it can effectively decrease the difficulty of advancements. As an example, a descendant that looks similar to their High Sequence ancestor will be considered as having talents and will have an easier time to advance. However, in this case, one will likely unknowingly suffer an identity dissociation, and they would slowly transform into a monster stitched at the soul level. It’s just like that High-Sequence Beyonder who resurrected on his body.^[3]
• At High Sequences (usually Angel-level, but can be Saint-level for some Pathways), the godhood inside the Beyonder Characteristic starts becoming a serious concern. This issue cannot be solved by the Acting Method; instead, the Beyonder will need to have Anchor to fight against the corruption of the godhood and reach an intricate balance.

Switching Pathways[]

Usually, for a Beyonder, drinking potions of a different Pathway is akin to taking poison, where the best outcome is a half-mad state. However, according to the Law of Similar Sequence Beyonder Characteristic, at High Sequence, a Beyonder can switch to a Neighboring/Adjacent Pathway in the same Above the Sequence group without the danger of losing control, or the accumulation of madness^[7]. In theory, it's also possible to switch at a lower Sequence, but the risk of losing control is much higher. But if successful, it might not result in half-crazed madness or loss of control after the switch.^[8][9]

If a Beyonder successfully switches pathways, they keep all of their lower Sequence powers. These old, previous pathway powers will then be fused together with the powers provided by their current, new pathway potion. It creates a certain level of mutation, creating unique and bizarre powers. This makes them more troublesome to deal with, making it very hard for enemies to be prepared.^[10][11]

Under usual circ*mstances, sticking to a single pathway until the end was generally the better choice than switching to a neighboring pathway. This is because the acting acquired in the earlier Sequences were deeply ingrained in that pathway, making it easier and safer to advance in the same pathway.^[11]

After switching Pathway, the Beyonder will still be affected by the God of the old Pathway, but the degree will decrease significantly.^[8]

Advancement by Boons[]

Gods can bestow Boons (the gift of Beyonder powers) to a Recipient without the need for a potion. However, the higher the number of Boon receivers, the greater the burden to the bestower, to the point of affecting the God's state.^[12]

Accepting a Boon comes with both benefits and drawbacks. While the Boon Recipient gains Beyonder abilities, they will also become closer to the corresponding God in mind, body, and spirit.^[12] This is because if the power bestowed doesn’t contain the bestower’s will, it will be challenging for the bestowed to control it, and it will quickly dissipate.^[13]

On the Recipient, the Boon’s effects concentrate on the body and mind. It can cause one’s personality to shift, and the more Boons a person takes, the more severe the change will be, especially if they can’t handle it. If the Recipient's body cannot handle the Boon, they would either turn into a monster, become a puppet of an unknown entity, or transform into someone else who’d treat things they cherished in the past with indifference.^[14]

Additionally, as these powers are a gift from a superior being, "They" can take it back at any time unless the Recipient possesses the unique power of certain Pathways and secretly complete a certain level of stealing while still having the gift.^[12]

Interactions between Boons and Beyonder Characteristics[]

Beyonders with Beyonder Characteristics could receive Boons, although the process carries various complications.^[15] This is because the Boon will transform the Beyonder's body to match that of the bestower, but since the Beyonder's body has already adapted to their existing Beyonder Characteristics, there will be a conflict until they find a new balance. However, this conflict won’t affect their mind or spirit, so they won’t lose control unless they're on the brink of collapse, but there could be physical changes. If the power bestowed on the Beyonder don't last for a long time, or the corresponding level is not very high, the little changes in the body can be ignored. If the Boon is from the same or a neighboring pathway, it won’t cause any conflict, but there could still be physical changes.^[13]

Boon Recipients can also acquire additional abilities by consuming Potions on top of their Boon. However, they must choose the appropriate potion or a suitable alternative.^[15]

Beyonders can attain additional boon, and Boon Recipients can consume additional potions. In these processes, certain Boons are compatible with certain Beyonder Characteristics and will reduce the chance of losing control.

Note that it is still possible for one to have incompatible Boons and Beyonder Characteristics. For example, Lumian Lee is a Dual-Pathway Beyonder of Red Priest Pathway through Beyonder Characteristics and Dancer Pathway through Boons, which are not compatible.

Compatible Pathways[]

Standard Pathways[]

Among the 22 Standard Pathways, Beyonders of the Pathways belonging to Outer Deities don't need to worry about The Original Creator awakening in their bodies since the corresponding Beyonder Characteristics didn’t directly come from "Him", which led to no corresponding mental imprint. In the early stages of history, this is an advantage to them because they didn't need to divert a large part of energy to resist the will of the Original Creator; and back then, the barrier around Earth was still strong enough to prevent the Outer Deities from exerting too much influence. But as time passes, this advantage gradually became a problem. As the barrier became weaker, the Outer Deities' intrusion on reality and their corresponding Pathways on Earth deepened, making it easier for Beyonders of these Pathways to be corrupted.^[16] Among the 6 Pathways originated from Outer Deities, the Justiciar Pathway and Black Emperor Pathway are relatively better since the corresponding Outer Deity - the Son of Chaos - had gone silent, as though “He” had disappeared.^[17]

Technically, the Gods of these Standard Pathways can also give Boon^[13]. For example, when the Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace created the Underworld in the Second Epoch, "She" bestowed a small amount of the Death Pathway's authority to all Sequence 5: Gatekeepers. This made Beyonders of this Sequence receive an enhancement in strength.^[18] After the Third Epoch, even though the Orthodox Gods had the ability to give Boon, these blessings of the Orthodox Gods in this aspect are basically temporary and limited to a certain extent. This is because giving the Boon can be a burden to "Them", and also that the Boon can negatively affect "Their" believers.^[12] Similarly, the 7 semi-active Sefirot in the Western Continent can also grant supernatural powers to the prayers.^[19]

Towards the end of the Fifth Epoch, as The Apocalypse approaches, advancing has become easier due to the weakening of The Original Creator's will.^[1] This is the reasons why Gods and Kings of Angels start taking concrete actions towards aiming for Above the Sequence. In the year 1358 of the Fifth Epoch, at Sequence 9 and Sequence 8, consuming the Beyonder Characteristics directly is only about 20 to 30% more dangerous than concocting a potion.^[20]

List of Standard Pathway Groups[]

Note: Due to the existence of the Fourth Pillar, both the Eternal Darkness and Calamity of Destruction groups are exchangeable. However, doing so leaves one unable to ascend to a Great Old One safely, unless one separates the previous pathways' characteristics.

Lord of Mysteries

God Almighty

Eternal Darkness

Calamity of Destruction

Demon of Knowledge

Key of Light

Goddess of Origin

Father of Devils

The Anarchy

Chart of Standard Sequences[]

Note: Lord of Mysteries did not have all the Sequences written down, therefore, the author Cuttlefish That Loves Diving posted the rest in a QQ blog post.^[21] Circle of Inevitability later confirmed most of these Sequences.

Non-Standard Pathways[]

Beyonders of these Pathways do not advance via Potions, but by praying to Outer Deities. As their powers are bestowed as a Boon, these Beyonders do not actually have Beyonder Characteristics.

• Note that this is not necessarily the case for Beyonders in the Cosmos, where one could still advance normally via Beyonder Characteristics. However, because the Above the Sequence position has already been occupied by the corresponding Outer Deity, it can be inferred that Beyonders of these Pathways cannot advance above Sequence 1 using Beyonder Characteristic.
• Currently, the only known Beyonder Characteristic of these non-standard Pathways on Earth belongs to Amon who consumed a Sequence 1 Angel of Redemption characteristic of Termiboros.^[22]

In the year 1358 of the Fifth Epoch, among the Outer Deities, only three can bestow godhood without much difficulty: the Mother Goddess of Depravity, the Mother Tree of Desire, and the Indefinable Mist. As for the other beings, if they wish to grant godhood, they have to perform a very complex ritual that would easily be discovered and destroyed.^[23]

List of Non-Standard Pathway Bestowers[]

Circle of Inevitability

Mother Goddess of Depravity

Mother Tree of Desire

Son of Chaos

Primordial Hunger

Supernova Dominator

Inextinguishable Ravings

Monarch of Decay

High-Dimensional Overseer

Goddess of Fate

Chart of Non-Standard Sequences[]

Unknown Pathways or Sequences[]

• The Pathway of the Monarch of Decay. The Sequence 9 is named Patient (Unofficial translation), with 2 abilities:^[24]
  • Spread diseases through contact.
  • Sputum of Disease.^[25]

Common Physical Changes of the Standard Pathways[]

Each of the 22 standard pathways have slight, but common, physical changes upon its Beyonders.

Gender Transition[]

At certain Sequences of some pathways, the Beyonder's gender will be forced to become the corresponding gender, regardless of their original gender. This effect can be caused by either Beyonder Characteristics or Boons.

Trivia[]

• The term "Pathways" most likely references the 22 paths of Tree of life - a fundamental symbol and concept in Jewish mysticism. It is a diagrammatic representation of the divine structure of the universe and the path to spiritual enlightenment. The Tree of Life consists of ten interconnected spheres, called Sefirot, which represent different aspects of the divine and the human psyche. These spheres are connected by 22 paths, each corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
• There is a pathway taken by the author, but so far it is not canonical: Teacher Pathway.
• There are also 22 Days Trivia, 22 fun fact countdown to the release of Circle of Inevitability on March 4th, 2023.

See Also[]

• 22 Days Trivia
• Cards of Blasphemy
• Blasphemy Slate
• Tarot Card
  • Star Phantom Tarot

References

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