The assimilation of his own pain changed the system's base code. The Sanctuary had not only stabilized, it had begun to expand, weaving connections toward servers and realities beyond Aincrad. Jonathan, still within the Central Nexus, observed the multiversal data streams now unfolding before him like constellations.
He had understood a fundamental truth: the architecture of the mind was not enough if the avatar containing it was limited by ordinary human parameters.
JARVIS projected a three-dimensional map of the multiverse in front of him. Red zones blinked along the outer edges.
"Malrik's influence is expanding into adjacent realities," the AI reported. "He is searching for systems with more malleable physical laws and high energy indexes to create avatars of massive power. If he manages to dominate those worlds, his corrupted code will overload our Nexus."
Jonathan nodded slowly. His current power level barely touched the superhuman. He was a strategist, a designer, but in the worlds waiting beyond the threshold, pure strategy would be crushed by brute force, divine speed, and destructive energies. He needed to evolve. Not by hacking the system to grant himself undeserved power, but by learning its foundations, mastering every discipline from the ground up until they became one.
"JARVIS," Jonathan said, his voice resonating with a new determination. "Begin the design of the Primordial Resonance Compiler."
"Explaining required parameters," the AI replied.
"In the outer worlds there are different energy languages: Ki, Chakra, Nen, Hamon, Magic, Falna. They are variables of the same source code," Jonathan explained as his hands manipulated the nodes of light before him. "I won't learn them as separate systems. I will create an internal engine that translates them all into a single unified energy type. But for the compiler to work, I need to feed the system with empirical experience. I need to train."
Jonathan deployed the Multiversal Reincarnation Panel.
"One body would take eons to master hand-to-hand combat, sword techniques, breathing stances, and the control of pure energy. So I won't send one." Jonathan lifted his gaze. "Initiate the Fractal Protocol."
The Central Nexus trembled. Jonathan's avatar began to glow with blinding intensity.
"Warning," JARVIS intoned. "Dividing consciousness into independent entities will generate severe neurological stress. Each avatar will develop its own personality, forge its own bonds, and face its own hardships. The risk of divergence is high."
"Keep them anchored to the core memory," Jonathan ordered, clenching his teeth as the pain of fragmentation tore through his being. "They will synchronize periodically. They will share progress, pain, and the skills they learn. They will be individuals, but they will all still be me. They will become the foundations of our new architecture."
With a silent thunder that shook the foundations of the code, Jonathan's consciousness fractured into four pillars of light, shooting through the multiversal network toward worlds of ascending difficulty.
In a rocky wasteland beneath a vast sky, gravity seemed to multiply. The first avatar, Alpha, opened his eyes. The air was heavy, charged with a latent and aggressive energy. This was a world where physical power and spiritual energy—Ki—dictated survival.
Alpha looked at his hands. His body was weak under the pressure of terrestrial gravity, but his mind was sharp. His mission here was clear: push the human body beyond its organic limits, learn the foundations of pure combat and the manipulation of destructive and protective energy. The training would be infernal, but it would lay the foundations of his endurance.
Millions of data units away, before imposing traditional wooden gates, the avatar Beta materialized. A sign above read: Ryozanpaku.
Beta adjusted his stance. He had no destructive energy and no swords, only his fists and an unbreakable determination. His goal in this world was not to unleash bursts of power, but to reach perfection in martial arts. Here, through blood, sweat, and the training of monstrous masters, he would learn to read the flow of combat, assimilating styles that could shatter rocks and divert water with bare hands. His personality already felt more stoic, focused on the absolute discipline of flesh and technique.
In a dense forest where snow fell in sepulchral silence, the avatar Gamma unsheathed a standard steel sword. The icy air burned his lungs, but he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.
This world was an amalgam of deadly dangers lurking in the shadows. Gamma had to master the art of the sword and breathing methods that carried oxygen to every cell, altering blood flow to reach superhuman physical capabilities. His path would be filled with swift duels to the death, where a millimeter of error meant the end. The sword would be his voice, and breathing his code.
Finally, in the center of a bustling city, beneath the shadow of a colossal tower piercing the sky, the avatar Delta took his first step into Orario.
Delta watched adventurers pass by, armed and surrounded by companions. His mission in this world was the development of potential through the Falna and the exploration of the dungeon. Here he would learn about the structured growth of the soul, teamwork, and leadership. By interacting with the deities and factions, Delta would develop a more empathetic and diplomatic personality, forming deep bonds and alliances. He knew that the connections he forged here—and the women who would eventually cross his path, drawn by his unusual nature—would be essential to anchoring his humanity.
Back in the Central Nexus, the main projection of Jonathan, now a silent conduit, opened his eyes. He was connected to the four realities. He could feel the wind in the wasteland, the wood of the dojo, the snow on the blade, and the bustle of Orario simultaneously.
The pain was immense, but the architecture of unified energy had begun to write itself.
The design phase was over.
The forging phase had begun.