"You're holding back."
Wei's voice cut through the simulation chamber. Lin stood at center of combat scenario, blue astronaut suit unmarked despite seventeen thousand simultaneous attacks from all angles. The sealed helmet reflected cascading threats that dissolved before touching him.
"Yes," Lin admitted. "I'm operating at point-zero-zero-one percent capacity. Using more would make training meaningless. Need to learn precision at minimal power, not overwhelming force at maximum output."
"Point out the contradiction in that statement." Wei adjusted simulation parameters. "You're ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS. You don't have percentages. Your power doesn't scale down. It just IS. Pretending to use 'less' is just choosing not to solve problems. That's not training. That's self-deception."
Lin paused. Wei was right. ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS didn't have power levels. Had only choice—use capability or don't. Binary. No middle ground. No percentage scaling. He was either solving problems or pretending not to.
"Observation accepted," he said. "New approach required. How do I train precision when power application is binary choice?"
"Change the victory conditions," Yuki interjected from control booth. "Don't train to use less power. Train to use power with more precision. Problem isn't capacity. It's accuracy. Can you solve seventeen thousand problems simultaneously while causing zero collateral damage to environment? That's precision. That's refinement. That's OMEGA-ABSOLUTE development."
Lin considered. "Demonstrate."
Yuki activated modified simulation. Seventeen thousand attacks continued. But now environment contained fragile elements—dimensional structures that would shatter from excess force, narrative threads that would snap from imprecise intervention, probability streams that would collapse from crude manipulation.
"Victory condition: Neutralize all threats while preserving all fragile elements. No collateral damage permitted. Perfect precision required. Use full ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS power—but with surgical accuracy instead of overwhelming force."
Lin engaged. Perceived seventeen thousand attack vectors simultaneously. Perceived fragile elements scattered throughout environment. Calculated optimal intervention for each threat that preserved each fragile element.
First attempt: Failed. Neutralized all threats but shattered forty-seven fragile elements through imprecise force application. Close to perfect. Not perfect enough.
"Again," Yuki said.
Second attempt: Failed. All threats neutralized. Nineteen fragile elements damaged. Better. Still insufficient.
"Again."
Third attempt: Failed. Three fragile elements compromised.
"Again."
Fourth attempt: Failed. One narrative thread snapped.
"Again."
Fifth attempt: Success. Seventeen thousand threats neutralized. Zero fragile elements damaged. Perfect precision. Surgical accuracy. ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS power applied with infinite care.
"That's training," Wei said. "That's refinement. Not using less power. Using full power more carefully. That's path to OMEGA-ABSOLUTE. That's how you fight The Final Reader while staying sealed—not through restraint of capacity, but through precision of application."
"Understood." Lin felt the difference. Wasn't becoming weaker. Was becoming more controlled. More refined. More precise. Same power. Better wielding. That was progress. That was growth.
"Next scenario," Yuki activated new simulation. "The Final Reader attacks helmet directly. You must defend seal without unsealing. Without increasing power. Without compromising restraint. Defend limitation while fighting equal-tier entity. Maintain sealed state under absolute pressure."
The simulation manifested hostile entity at ABSOLUTE tier. Not BOUNDLESS—that would be unfair training scenario. But close enough to pressure Lin's defenses. Close enough to threaten helmet seal. Close enough to test whether restraint was sustainable under genuine assault.
"Engaging," Lin said. The simulated entity attacked helmet seal directly. Tried to force it open. Tried to compromise containment. Tried to break limitation.
Lin defended. Not with overwhelming counterattack. With precise protection. Reality-level defense that reinforced seal without increasing overall power. Absolute commitment to staying sealed regardless of pressure.
The entity adapted. Changed attack vectors. Targeted seal from multiple angles. Attempted forced unsealing through probability manipulation, causality reversal, narrative rewriting, conceptual assault.
Lin defended against all approaches. Maintained seal perfectly. Helmet stayed closed despite maximum pressure. Restraint held despite impossible strain.
Victory. But exhausting victory. Mental strain significant despite infinite power. Because fighting to NOT use power was harder than fighting to use it. Because restraint required more effort than release. Because choosing limitation despite unlimited option was fundamentally difficult.
"Simulation complete," Yuki announced. "Helmet seal maintained under absolute pressure. But you struggled. Mental strain evident. That's concern. If training scenario causes strain, actual battle with The Final Reader will be exhausting. Need to make restraint effortless. Need sealed state to be default comfort, not constant effort."
"How?" Lin asked. "How do I make restraint effortless when every instinct says unseal and overwhelm opponent?"
"Practice until instinct changes," Maya said, entering simulation chamber. "Practice until staying sealed is automatic response. Until opening helmet becomes unthinkable option rather than tempting alternative. Practice until you forget unsealing is even possible. That's OMEGA-ABSOLUTE. Not just can stay sealed. Must stay sealed. Won't even consider unsealing. Sealed state becomes identity, not limitation."
"That's psychological training," Marcus observed. "Not power training. You're trying to rewire Lin's instincts. Make him forget he has nuclear option. Make restraint so deeply internalized that unsealing becomes impossible choice despite being possible action."
"Exactly." Maya approached Lin. "Five months of practicing restraint until restraint is only option you see. Five months of defending helmet until defending becomes automatic. Five months of choosing sealed state so consistently that unsealed state becomes foreign concept. That's path to OMEGA-ABSOLUTE. Psychological refinement. Mental optimization. Instinct transformation."
"That's possible?" Lin asked.
"For normal person? No. For ABSOLUTE BOUNDLESS entity? Unknown. But you're both. You're person AND power. Human part can develop new instincts. Can rewire responses. Can internalize restraint until it's effortless. That's training goal. Make sealed state so natural that unsealing becomes literally unthinkable."
"Then we train that," Lin decided. "Five months of psychological refinement. Five months of instinct transformation. Five months until staying sealed is automatic reflex rather than conscious choice. Until OMEGA-ABSOLUTE means person who can't conceive of unsealing despite having capability."
"That's dangerous training," Wei warned. "If you make unsealing unthinkable, you lose last resort option. If The Final Reader wins despite your sealed state, you won't be able to unseal as emergency measure. You'll have psychologically blocked yourself from nuclear option. That's risky."
"That's commitment," Lin corrected. "That's accepting that unsealing destroys everything therefore unsealing is never option. That's choosing to lose rather than pyrrhic victory. That's very human. Very Lin. Very stupid and very necessary. I'd rather die sealed than live unsealed knowing I destroyed reality. So yes. Make unsealing unthinkable. Make restraint instinct. Make sealed state identity. That's OMEGA-ABSOLUTE. That's who I become."
"Four months, twenty-nine days remaining," Yuki announced. "Shall we continue training?"
"Yes." Lin returned to ready position. "Next scenario. Maximum pressure. Defend helmet seal while maintaining zero collateral damage while fighting multiple equal-tier opponents simultaneously. Make it impossible. Make me struggle. Make me want to unseal. Then make me not unseal anyway. That's training. That's refinement. That's path to OMEGA-ABSOLUTE."
The simulation activated. Hell difficulty. Impossible scenario. Perfect training for entity that needed to learn restraint under absolute pressure.
Lin engaged. Struggled. Held. Maintained seal despite overwhelming temptation to release. Chose restraint despite instinct screaming for unleashing.
And slowly, gradually, imperceptibly—instinct changed. Restraint became easier. Sealed state became comfortable. Unsealing became less tempting. Not eliminated. Not yet. But reduced. Diminished. Moving toward unthinkable.
That was progress. That was growth. That was path to OMEGA-ABSOLUTE.
Four months, twenty-nine days remaining.
He would make it. Would achieve impossible refinement. Would become entity for whom restraint was effortless and unsealing was unthinkable.
Or die trying. Sealed. Human. Lin.
That was acceptable outcome. Better than living unsealed. Better than destroying everything. Better than pyrrhic victory.
Death with dignity over life with devastation.
Very human choice. Very Lin choice. Very stupid choice that was somehow wise.
That's what OMEGA-ABSOLUTE meant. That's who he was becoming. That's who he'd be when The Final Reader arrived.
Entity that couldn't conceive of unsealing. Entity that would die sealed rather than live unsealed. Entity that chose meaning over supremacy. Entity that stayed Lin despite becoming god.
Four months, twenty-nine days.
Countdown to impossible refinement. Countdown to psychological transformation. Countdown to becoming person who couldn't save reality by destroying it because destroying it was unthinkable despite being possible.
Training continued. Instinct transformed. Restraint internalized. Sealed state became identity.
OMEGA-ABSOLUTE approached. Not through power increase. Through psychological evolution. Through becoming person who couldn't conceive of unsealing.
That was goal. That was path. That was victory condition.
Become so committed to restraint that unleashing became impossible choice.
Four months, twenty-nine days to achieve it.
Starting now.
TWO WEEKS LATER
"You're improving."
Elena reviewed psychological scans. Lin sat in diagnostic field, sealed helmet reflecting monitoring equipment. The hat perched perfectly despite examination procedures.
"Instinct transformation is progressing. Initial assessment: Unsealing was tempting option you consciously resisted. Current assessment: Unsealing is unappealing option you barely consider. Progress significant. But insufficient for OMEGA-ABSOLUTE. Need to reach state where unsealing literally doesn't occur to you as possibility. Where concept is so foreign your mind rejects it automatically."
"How close am I?" Lin asked.
"Sixty percent to goal. Unsealing temptation reduced from constant background thought to occasional fleeting consideration. Need to eliminate that final forty percent. Need to make unsealing so psychologically distant it never crosses your mind even under maximum pressure."
"Four months, fifteen days remaining," Wei reported. "On pace but not ahead of pace. Need acceleration."
"Increase training intensity," Lin decided. "More impossible scenarios. More helmet pressure. More temptation to unseal. Force me to resist so consistently that resistance becomes automatic. That's acceleration method. That's refinement path."
"That's psychological torture," Maya said quietly. "You're forcing yourself to face unsealing temptation constantly to learn to reject it automatically. That's brutal training method."
"That's necessary training method. The Final Reader will provide brutal pressure. Training must match or exceed actual combat pressure. Otherwise training fails to prepare." Lin stood. "Continue. Increase intensity. Make me want to unseal desperately then make me not unseal anyway. Break me down psychologically then rebuild as person who can't conceive of unsealing. That's OMEGA-ABSOLUTE development. That's path forward."
"You'll suffer," Marcus warned.
"I'll endure." Lin's certainty was absolute. "Suffering during training prevents dying during combat. Psychological torture now prevents reality destruction later. That's acceptable trade. That's very Lin. Self-sacrifice to protect everyone else. Same pattern. Different scale. Same choice. Suffer so others don't have to."
He returned to simulation chamber. Prepared for psychological hell. Prepared for constant temptation to unseal. Prepared to resist until resistance became reflex.
Four months, fifteen days. Enough time if training intensity maximized. Not enough time if training remained comfortable.
So comfort ended. Hell began. Psychological refinement through constant pressure. Instinct transformation through brutal resistance training. OMEGA-ABSOLUTE development through suffering that built invincible restraint.
Lin engaged training. Suffered. Resisted. Held. Maintained seal despite screaming instinct to release. Chose restraint despite psychological torture making unsealing seem merciful.
And slowly, gradually, painfully—temptation faded. Unsealing became less appealing. Sealed state became more natural. Restraint became reflex.
Sixty percent to goal. Then sixty-five. Then seventy. Then seventy-five.
Progress through suffering. Refinement through torture. OMEGA-ABSOLUTE through hell.
Four months, fifteen days remaining.
He would make it. Would achieve impossible psychological state. Would become person who couldn't conceive of unsealing.
Or break trying. Either outcome acceptable. Either result better than opening helmet. Either path preferable to destroying reality.
Training continued. Suffering intensified. Resistance strengthened. Instinct transformed.
OMEGA-ABSOLUTE approached through psychological crucible that would forge person from god.
Four months, fifteen days.
Countdown to impossible refinement. Countdown to unthinkable unsealing. Countdown to staying Lin despite everything.
The path was clear. The method was brutal. The goal was necessary. The outcome was uncertain.
But he'd try anyway. Because that's what Lin did. Try the impossible. Endure the unbearable. Refuse to quit despite every reason to stop.
Very human. Very stupid. Very him.
OMEGA-ABSOLUTE through suffering. Victory through restraint. Salvation through staying sealed.
That was path. That was goal. That was Lin.
Forever sealed. Forever restrained. Forever human despite godhood.
Four months, fifteen days until The Final Reader learned what that meant.