Chapter 28.West

Angie had figured out how true circuits worked by the time her avatars were finished filling out. It took her over a month, but she managed to write one. She'd long since advanced in proficiency enough that regular circuits were beyond easy. She could effortlessly write fourth level circuits, though she had difficulty with composite ones. Now having access to true circuits, her battle potential went through the roof.

While she was doing that, I spent my time learning how composite runes worked. It was the most difficult process I'd ever needed to understand, as the principles behind how it worked and why were hidden behind much more advanced circuitry.

I had to build an eighth level class two circuit before I finally started to see flaws emerge in how the structure was put together. Finally having leaks, I was able to see how the flaws were generated. Every circle was a reflection of the state of the core rune, having the same number of faces aligned in the same orientation. Essentially, every circle was a composite rune of the core rune. The problem was the empty space, meaning every successive circle was causing greater pressure on the last, resulting in the breakage of the first circle by the time the eighth was built. It was the same reason why human circuits couldn't go over the fourth level or class, as their circles were actual circles and as such had less stability. Mine were better, but I was still only using a fourth of the total area of the circle to build circuits.

I'd tried filling in the rest before, but those had all exploded. Now I knew why, being able to see the continued stability of the first circle where there were runes proved that it was a matter of weight. Each rune was an explosive force that was strongest in the center while each circle was an implosive force that strengthened with each layer, meaning it needed balance. If the balance was perfect, the true circuit wouldn't need to get larger as every circle would compress the circuit while the runes would maintain the shape. The greatest stability was the shape that conformed most to the core rune. Using the shape of composites, it was easy to create the correct shape to make sure each circle had the same shape.

Armed with this knowledge, I was finally able to advance my mana true circuits. I could also alter my will-core circuit, but I still remembered almost dying due to lack of mana and will. I needed all the mana and will I could get before I advanced myself to the next level.

I had to be careful, though. Circuits exploding was one thing, but if one of my mana true circuits exploded the force would be enough to obliterate a city. Ten times over. I started with the weakest ones, making sure each was a large distance from the next. I had long since planned out the runes I wanted, so it didn't take long for the first to have gained its second circle. To maintain balance, I had to write composites onto each rune. The structure stable, I advanced another level and class. This time, though, there were hints of leaks. It wasn't surprising, the levels of mana active in altering one of my mana-cores were so far removed from mere spell-craft that it was ridiculous. My solution was the next twenty faces of the circuit were given runes.

Stable once again, I advanced another class and level. It remained stable, but the amount of mana I'd need to advance again was too high. Instead, I started advancing with my other mana-core true circuits and each nexus.

The nexus circuits seemed less stable than the mana-cores at second level and class, but that issue was resolved by quickly advancing to the third.

Once all of those were advanced to equal the fist, I started up again. The quantity of mana each level three class three core produced exceeded what I'd gotten from all of them before. Digging my experimental core deeper, I advanced it to the fourth without incident. Advancing to the fifth was a little different. The end result was stable, but tenuous. I added the next twenty faces, but that destabilized the structure. Before I could build the sixth circle to regain stability, the whole thing exploded.

The force of the explosion was astounding. Had I thrown it at the chicken, it would have been reduced to dust. The movement of mana was so violent that my will was shredded so horrendously it took me three days to collect the shattered remains. Luckily, it was an explosion under the earth. It wasn't even discernable from the surface, though the cavity was so massive a hundred cities could be built within. The most shocking part of the aftermath to me, though, was that the earth seemed to have no interest in taking it back. I waited another two days, but the cavity remained exactly the same as it had been. I decided to check back every once in a while as I started advancing the next one.

Six seemed to be an unlucky number, as my attempt to build the sixth circle and then add the next twenty runes resulted in another explosion. On the next attempt I did both at the same time and the result was stable, though the cost in mana was so massive I had to stop and replicate the process on all the rest of them before I could advance to the seventh. Each nexus was unstable on the fourth instead of the fifth, but I had enough mana that it wasn't hard to build the runes simultaneously with the circle. I realized then that the feel had been identical to the second for each nexus instead of the stability that the mana-cores had.

The seventh advance went without a hitch. Advancing to the eighth required me to stabilize the structure with the next twenty faces and catch up with the rest. The nexus circuit started breaking down at that point, so I added the last sixteen of their runes and stopped their advancement. In the process, I realized that all the space I'd left in their circuits for the next two levels of composite work had been erased. With the pressure coming from outside, the circuit couldn't maintain the space. The ninth was easy, but required everything else to catch up again due to the cost in mana.

The tenth circle and class was different from any that came before it. Not only did it fill out all of the space I'd given it when I designed it in the first place, I recognized the feeling from the nexus cores. This was the limit of the rune itself. Giving it the last twenty faces managed to make it stable, but there was a feeling of tension and fragility. I was sure that if I tried to make an eleventh circle it would collapse. Given the scale of destruction a fifth level and class core had wrought, I was too fearful of the consequences to test what the destruction would look like.

With the power I had access to now, I felt confident that I could advance my will-core circuit to the next level. I had exponentially more will than I'd had when I wrote the circuit the first time and I had enough mana to build it again infinitely.

While I wasn't nervous about the threat of my own destruction due to what I was about to attempt, the fact that I wasn't nervous caused me to be slightly nervous. The excitement and euphoria that was rushing through me was so powerful that all I could muster was a little bit of apprehension about potentially destroying myself. I'd expended my restraint in making sure I understood every level and class of circuit before I advanced myself at all, and now that excuse was gone. The mana rune had one hundred faces, the same as the will rune. Given the fact that each nexus was based on a sixty four faced rune and maxed out at the same eighth level and class, it stood to reason to believe the will rune would work similarly to the mana rune. Each of my cores was stable, if so packed full of energy and power that it seemed horrendously fragile.

Finally banishing my doubts, I started building the second circle of my circuit. This time, I wasn't surprised as my will was devoured by the circuit. The mana cost was negligible, but I made sure to keep an eye on my will. I had a limit to how much will I could expend.

I wasn't frantic this time, so I could appreciate what I was doing. Each line was precise and purposeful, nothing was out of my control. I already knew I couldn't write any duplicated runes in my own circuit, so I didn't make the mistake I had last time of wasting will on runes that would be consumed by others. While the rune was the same on the second circle as the first, the composites didn't have to be, allowing me to manipulate the results by quite a lot.

Given the expenditure, I was confident as I finished the second and started the third circle. As I finished with the third, the expected instability was evident. Now, I knew enough runes to fill the next twenty faces without hesitating. The cost in will was higher than expected, though, and by the time I'd finished I had less than was ideal.

Since I had plenty of mana this time, I immediately felt the difference as my new circuitry activated. I may have less will than I did before I started, but I was far more powerful. I barely had enough will to retain all of my bodies in each army, but I was now third class and level. Not only was I more powerful as an entity, but my capacity was increased. Everything I could do before, I could now do better. I was also generating will in usable quantities. I'd been mostly reliant on eating the wills of others to gain more, but now I generated more on my own that I got from a person every second.

Angie seemed to have a preternatural sense of what I was doing, as she closed in yet another circle in her orbit of myself right as I finished modifying myself. With her advancement, I could see that the new will had come with her, clouding the next layer outside of my will-core. This confirmed that it wasn't hers, but rather a reflection of will that was mine that worshippers of sufficient devotion could access. Since it was different from any personal form of will, I decided it needed its own name and dubbed it faith.

I decided to be generous with my devoted worshippers. I started advancing the circuits in every will-core that orbited mine. I needed names for the tiers, so I decided to do that as well. The cloudy proponents would gain the perfect, if basic, will circuit adapted for their specific limitations. The solidified zealots would get the second class and level. The priests that generated my new will were given fourth class circuits. My worshippers had acted like devotion to me was a measure of their power, so why not make that a reality? The few that had advanced to the next stage and became cardinals, they'd get avatars with true circuit bodies along with the sixth level and class will circuit. It would be a long time before I got a pope and advanced them to the eighth class and level, while the angel phase was still unknown if it was a real phase but if anyone achieved it they'd get a tenth class and level will circuit.