"The World Ascension Hypothesis?"
Luo Shu frowned upon hearing this term for the first time.
He understood its literal meaning, but he was curious why the intelligence experts behind Meer had made such a conjecture.
Just then, Meer leaned against the stone table, propping her chin with one hand as she tilted her head to look at Luo Shu:
"Shu-kun probably doesn't know this yet, but so-called sorcerers only began to emerge in this world thirty years ago."
"Before that, there were some people with special abilities or exceptionally strong martial artists, but according to the semi-public ranking system of the SDS today, those individuals could at most be considered Excellent Rank."
"The first person to truly reach Hero Rank or above should be the one referred to as 'Zero,' who appeared thirty years ago."
"'Zero'?" Luo Shu had never heard this title before and couldn't help but feel surprised.
"That can't be a name, right?"
"Indeed, it's not a name."
Meer nodded, then casually swiped her hand through the air. A transparent panel with a yellow background and white text materialised out of nowhere:
"Hmm, the test function is here after all. In that case, photos, photos... ah, got it."
As she spoke, a blurry image suddenly projected itself before Luo Shu.
The scene depicted a devastated, unfamiliar street where even the traffic lights hung broken on the ground.
And in the centre of the street stood a figure—a woman with silver-white hair, her face indistinct, draped in a tattered white robe.
Luo Shu studied the blurred visage of the woman and frowned:
"That's Zero?"
"Yes." Meer nodded and explained, "She appeared suddenly, vanished just as abruptly, and in between, caused the Great Manhattan Devastation—resulting in 300,000 deaths and 420,000 disappearances."
"Due to the unprecedented scale of destruction and the suddenness of the event, she was designated as Lifeform Zero."
"She is currently the earliest known high-ranking Abyss Lifeform to have entered this world."
"Of course, since there was no evaluation system at the time, the United Nations generally referred to her as Zero, the Transcendent Lifeform."
"Based on the information we have now, this Zero was likely at least Demigod Rank or higher."
"Yet from her appearance to the moment of mass destruction, the entire incident lasted only eight seconds. The most intact record left at the scene was this single photo from a street café's security camera. So, details about Zero remain unknown."
"However, shortly after Zero's appearance, the first Taoist priest capable of being rated as Hero Rank by today's standards emerged within China's Religious Association."
"Thus, it's generally accepted that Zero's appearance marked the turning point of this world."
"After Zero, the frequency of Abyss invasions, the emergence of Abyss Artefacts, sorcerers surpassing ordinary humans, and extraordinary lifeforms all accelerated. Various organisations also formed new transcendent hierarchies during that period, building upon existing structures."
"Roughly 30 to 25 years ago, the frequency of Abyss outbreaks was so high that even the Five Great Powers nearly lost control of the situation."
"Between 25 to 20 years ago, the frequency of Abyss outbreaks decreased to only five or six incidents annually, all of minimal scale."
"However, this pattern began gradually increasing again from 20 to 10 years ago, and has been steadily rising from 10 years ago to the present."
"According to Dr. Tabane Shinonono's data-less conclusion, roughly thirty years ago marked the first large-scale outbreak period of the Abyss, which consequently brought forth numerous supernatural races and powerful Abyss Artefacts into our world."
"Almost all secret organisations today completed their initial accumulation during that time."
"Five years after the Abyss outbreak, the frequency suddenly peaked before plummeting to its lowest point, then began gradually climbing again until recently, when activity started increasing once more."
As Meer spoke, she swiped the panel, causing a document to pop up before Luo Shu:
"Based on Dr. Verde's speculation."
"Aside from the initial peak outbreak period, our world has actually been passively undergoing a certain evolution in response to the Abyss's invasion."
"The result of this evolution is the increase in supernatural individuals and the strengthening of supernatural powers."
"From when Common Rank was rare and Excellent Rank could be counted on one hand, we've reached the current situation where every nation maintains numerous Hero Rank experts wielding terrifying Abyss Artefacts."
"This change occurred in just twenty to thirty years. Yet according to Verde's hypothesis, this progression will continue escalating over the coming decades until it reaches the frequency of the first large-scale Abyss invasion. It's as if our world is continuously growing, capable of accommodating stronger existences."
"So this is the so-called World Ascension Hypothesis?" Luo Shu murmured to himself, feeling somewhat peculiar.
Because the so-called Zero - that silver-haired girl whose face he couldn't see - seemed remarkably similar in appearance to the Mio Takamiya he'd once encountered.
'Same silver hair, same tattered white robe, appearing and disappearing abruptly...'
'Heh... How could she not disappear? She'd been crippled by the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System and bound deep within it, hanging upside down like a marionette...'
'So the reason Mio Takamiya, aka Zero, appeared and vanished suddenly was because of me?'
Realising this, Luo Shu felt thoroughly unsettled.
'If that were truly the case, then the system's origins... Could they also be related to the Abyss?'
'During the Abyss's early, most chaotic five years, was it a special high-ranking Abyss Artefact that brought me from another world?'
As Luo Shu's thoughts wandered, Lacus, Meer and even Kirika Tachibana noticed his distraction.
Yet none of them called him out on it, tacitly allowing his absent-mindedness.
Only Meer pouted slightly in dissatisfaction before quietly explaining:
"According to Verde's World Ascension Hypothesis,"
"Our world should initially have been able to accommodate only Excellent Rank existences. Then, thirty years ago, it suddenly ascended to Hero Rank, subsequently producing numerous Hero Rank individuals in rapid succession."
"But at that time, there were no existences far surpassing Hero Rank. It wasn't until five years ago that figures capable of overwhelmingly suppressing other Heroes emerged."
After saying this, Meer suddenly continued in a melancholic tone:
"And recently, the world has likely reached a level where it can accommodate Demigods."
At this point, all three girls turned their gazes towards Luo Shu.
Because currently, there was only one person officially confirmed by the SDS as the sole Demigod!
—Nightmare Kurumi Tokisaki!
And the three of them clearly knew that Kurumi Tokisaki's advancement was due to Luo Shu recruiting her into his Familia.
In other words, one could say Luo Shu created the first Demigod.
Under such intense scrutiny from three people, even if Luo Shu were foolish, he could guess their thoughts. However, he himself wasn't clear about the situation and didn't know how to explain. Lacus and the others didn't press further either.
After all, everyone was aware of a certain deity's identity and suspected that the world's advancement might be connected to Luo Shu. But without evidence or concrete details, mentioning it would be pointless—better to pretend it didn't exist.
At this moment, Kirika Tachibana all but spelt it out:
"Our certainty that this world can accommodate Demigods stems from Miss Kurumi Tokisaki's emergence, but others might not know this."
Hearing this, Luo Shu's expression turned slightly complicated as he said:
"So you're saying Abe no Seimei's resurrection this time might be a test by certain forces to see if the world can accommodate Demigods?"
"A probe to determine whether the world has advanced?"
Thinking this, Luo Shu's lips twitched.
He just wanted to advance to Hero Rank—why were things getting increasingly complicated?
This made no sense!!
Why did such troublesome matters keep appearing around him?
Although he was a Calamity Bringer, he didn't want to become a disaster magnet, damn it!