"Huh? Su Mo, what did you say to Shakya? It's the first time I've ever seen him look so lost."
Inside the Thousand Eyes headquarters, Shiroyasha blinked in surprise as she watched the World-Honored One's retreating figure.
That Buddha might seem peaceful, but to those who knew him, he had always been the type to forge ahead with fierce determination. She had known him for a long time, and this was the first time she had ever seen him look so utterly bewildered.
Could a Buddha even feel lost?
"I just broke through an intellectual barrier that was constructed by the very nature of divinity itself," Su Mo explained casually.
According to the Buddhist cosmology, a truly enlightened being wouldn't be a god. The World-Honored One before them was essentially the deification of the concept of an enlightened one.
However, most other pantheons were in a similar situation, including the original God or the Son of God Divinities he now held. In comparison, the World-Honored One's attachments were relatively minor.
"...Can you say that again in a language I can understand?" Shiroyasha deadpanned.
"The gods of the Little Garden should all be thanking me right about now," Su Mo changed the subject.
"Why?" Shiroyasha blinked, confused.
"I saved them from a great disaster, possibly on the scale of a Divine Spirit Last Embryo..." Su Mo paused, then shook his head. "But in exchange, they now have to face the Human Last Embryo head-on. In terms of its deicidal properties, that one might be even more dangerous for them."
The deicidal nature of the Human Last Embryo was always extremely potent.
Ever since the Dystopia Demon Lord, that trait had been maxed out. If they were allowed to kill freely, all the pantheons of the Little Garden combined might not be a match for them.
In comparison, the World-Honored One's plan was quite gentle. To even allow five pantheons to survive... he was truly generous.
"I have no idea what you're talking about... But Christianity is yours now, and the mastermind behind the scenes has been eliminated. The upcoming Human Last Embryo shouldn't be a problem now, right?" Shiroyasha said with great optimism, summarizing the gains of the past few days.
Her initial reason for inviting Su Mo to the Little Garden was to solve the mastermind problem. Now that it was resolved, shouldn't human history also get back on the right track?
"That will be up to Arcadia," Su Mo said, glancing at Canary beside him. "Even without a pantheon pulling the strings, this last Demon Lord won't be so easy to deal with."
In the original story, Kasukabe Kōmei lost his human factor at the most critical moment and failed to defeat the Human Last Embryo.
While it's possible there was interference from a pantheon, who's to say it wasn't a matter of historical inevitability?
After all, to overcome the Eschatology, the most important thing wasn't something as superficial as the military force to defeat Absolute Evil.
It was something deeper: the need to reveal a new possibility for humanity's future development.
And in that regard, humanity's method of mastering the Third Perpetual Motion Machine would be key.
"Rest assured, Lord Su Mo!" Canary puffed out her chest with pride. "We of Arcadia will not disappoint you!"
With Su Mo backing them, their community was standing tall and proud.
After her boast, she blinked her eyes and added in a fawning tone, "Of course, if by some chance an accident occurs, we implore you to come to our rescue!"
With such a powerful backer, it would be foolish not to rely on him. Canary had no unnecessary reservations in that regard.
"No problem."
Su Mo naturally wouldn't refuse her request. Not only had Canary been helpful before, but even setting that aside, the future Absolute Evil was a crucial piece of the puzzle for him to complete his Zoroastrian cosmology and master the dualism of good and evil.
He would certainly not be absent when the time came.
"When the time comes, if you need me, just have Shiroyasha contact me," Su Mo added.
"Eh?"
Canary blinked, surprised. "Lord Su Mo, are you planning to leave the Little Garden?"
Shiroyasha was also taken aback, a hint of reluctance in her voice. "No way, you're leaving so soon?"
"My business here is mostly finished. There's no need for me to stay," Su Mo explained, shaking his head. "Besides, after this battle, I've had some new inspiration that I'd like to test out."
Hearing this, Canary was still a bit confused, not understanding what "new inspiration" Su Mo was talking about.
Shiroyasha, however, gasped. "N-No way?!"
She had heard the others in the Chat Group talk about Su Mo's so-called "inspirations" and had even witnessed him successfully create a Celestial Star Spirit with his own hands. Every time Su Mo gained new inspiration, his power took a quantum leap.
And now...
"You've already reached Tier 7, and you have more inspiration? Is-is-is that even allowed?!" she exclaimed, her face a mask of disbelief.
Shiroyasha knew, of course, that the Sun Sovereignties Su Mo had handed over were all replicas he had made himself. Therefore, he hadn't actually lost his Kalki Divinity as a Full-Authority Domain; he had just hidden it.
Coupled with the fact that he had obtained her complete power through the group's store, the current Su Mo was among the strongest of the Full-Authority Domains. In the Chat Group's ranking system, he had firmly reached Tier 7, the Single Universe level.
Such a rapid ascent was already theoretically impossible.
And now he was saying he had more inspiration?
Given his track record, didn't that mean he was on the verge of another breakthrough, toward the possibility of Tier 8?
So many people in the Little Garden had tried for so many years and failed to even touch the one-digit level, and Su Mo gets an idea after just a few days?
Even with her prior knowledge of Su Mo's genius, Shiroyasha was still utterly shocked.
"It's just an idea," Su Mo said, shaking his head calmly. "As for how far I can take it, I'll probably need help from others."
"Eh?" Shiroyasha froze again. "Our... help?"
If she wasn't mistaken, by "others," he meant the members of the Chat Group.
After Su Mo gave his permission, Shiroyasha's confusion was shared in the Chat Group, and it immediately became everyone's confusion.
Rin Tohsaka: "I don't even have time to be surprised about Lord Su Mo reaching Tier 7, Single Universe level."
Rin Tohsaka: "And next up is... the path to Tier 8, Multiverse level!"
The situation was so far removed from common sense that the twin-tailed girl wasn't even that surprised anymore, and had started making memes.
March 7th: "No, you should still be surprised!" the simple pink-haired girl retorted.
March 7th: "If I remember correctly, Lord Su Mo was Tier 6 just a few days ago, having just reached the Aeon level. Now he's already Tier 7."
March 7th: "By our standards, does that mean Lord Su Mo can beat up the Aeon of Nihility now?"
Rin Tohsaka: "What did Lord Vader do to deserve that?"
March 7th: "It's just a comparison! A comparison! And who's Lord Vader? That sounds a little weird, but also... surprisingly accurate?"
Recalling the conceptual image of the Aeon of Nihility from the databank, the Star Rail enthusiast couldn't help but admire Rin's descriptive skills.
Erica Blandelli: "At this point, are you guys still surprised by Lord Su Mo's growth rate?"
Kanae Kocho: "Yeah!"
Kanae Kocho: "Anything above Tier 3 is already pretty abstract for us normal people."
Kanae Kocho: "So this time, no matter how surprised you all are, there's not much difference between Tier 6 and Tier 7 for me."
Madoka Kaname: "I feel the same way."
For the weakest members, the levels themselves had long since lost their meaning. It was all like listening to a foreign language anyway.
However, the perspective of the powerful was different.
Jibril: "No, it's still surprising."
Shiroyasha: "This is the Multiverse level we're talking about. That's equivalent to the entire Little Garden and the outside world combined."
Shiroyasha: "I suspect that if he takes another step or two, he might even surpass the Chat Group itself!"
Power levels didn't increase indefinitely. If the Little Garden wasn't the upper limit, then the Chat Group they were using, which even the Little Garden's central hub couldn't comprehend, was, in a sense, the ceiling.
The highest level in the Chat Group was Tier 9. If Su Mo reached that stage, the Chat Group itself might no longer be a mystery to him.
Rin Tohsaka: "Hiss! Now that puts it into perspective."
Madoka Kaname: "Surpassing the Chat Group... Put like that, I get it. It's really beyond the limits of imagination."
Seeing everyone's awe and speculation, Su Mo felt the need to remind them.
Su Mo: "That's not a possibility right now. I've only found a path to Tier 8; it's not a guarantee that I can walk it."
Su Mo: "And advancing to the Multiverse domain is not like before. Even I can't complete it in just a few days."
Su Mo: "This leap in tiers might take longer than all the previous seven tiers combined!"
The gap between Tier 7 and Tier 8 was larger than the gap between Tier 0 and Tier 7. In reality, for a power of this level, time was no longer a sensitive factor. This wasn't a ladder you could climb just by grinding it out.
The key was the method of advancement and the necessary elements.
Hearing him say this gave everyone a more direct sense of the power of the Multiverse domain.
Rin Tohsaka: "So, what's the method you came up with, Lord Su Mo?"
Rin Tohsaka: "With our current power, can we really help?"
She finally asked the question on everyone's mind.
Me, help Lord Su Mo? Really?
To this, Su Mo's answer was simple.
Su Mo: "To be precise, it's the real universes that all of you are from."
Kanae Kocho: "The... universes... we're in?"