[Name: Julie]

[Level: 300]

[Rank: SS]

[Species: Demi-God]

[Class: Saintess]

[Status: Fragmentation]

[Health: 400/400]

[Mana: 12,000/12,000]

[Strength: 3]

[Stamina: 4]

[Agility: 2]

[Intelligence: 1200]

[Skills (5/35): Hive Mind (SSS), Energy Distribution (SS), Machine Link (S), Override (A), Remote Repair (B)]

[Unique Skill: Lord Of Machines (Transcendent)]

[Type: Passive/Active]

[Cost: Continuous Mana Drain]

[Description: Spreads the user's consciousness to selected mechanical entities within range. Grants absolute command over machines, ability to perceive through their sensors, and process information through distributed computing.]

[Note: Prolonged spread of consciousness causes the user's consciousness to fragment across the network. Extended connection may result in loss of individual identity as the mind merges with the machine collective. Current Fragmentation: 80%.]

Cipher observed the appraisal report from his room. There was no way they could talk to her like this. He sighed. Still, he had confirmed that she was related to a god and solved the mystery of how the robots were alive.

They appeared alive because they literally were - they all had a piece of her consciousness.

"That's strange. So just consciousness alone counts something as alive?" he asked. But saying it aloud, he felt it somewhat made sense. After all, being conscious was the closest definition to being alive that he could give.

[Well, yeah,] the Heavenly Demon responded.

[There are three aspects that make up someone: body, mind, and soul. One starts out with just a body and a mind. As their mind grows, it develops the soul, which is like an alternative form of the body. When you die, mostly it's your body that dies. And your mind, which is dependent on your body, is unable to survive long and thus follows, and you fully die. But if you have a high enough mind realm and create a soul - which is like an alternate body - your mind can be housed in such a body and either recreate a body or possess an already existent one.]

"Then doesn't that mean that the soul is the sole determining factor then?" he asked.

[Not necessarily. It's just a pseudo body housing the mind. If you are hit by a special attack that affects consciousness and your mind collapses, your soul will still exist - either as a ghost or just enter the reincarnation cycle before being reincarnated as another person. While one could argue that that's still you, I don't believe it's the case. It's just like calling a possessed body still you. It's the same for this - just a possessed soul. So yeah, you truly die when your consciousness is destroyed,] she said.

[That being said, this is all just a theory so take it with a grain of salt,] she added.

"Wait, just a theory?" he asked.

[That's right. This is the theory I developed to breakthrough the limit of my strength and enter the Rebirth realm. Since it worked, it could be seen that it's somewhat right, but I can't say definitively as no one else has managed to replicate this.]

"Theory to breakthrough?" he asked.

[At some point, understanding is much more important than gaining strength. It's similar to how you unlocked the Grandmaster's body without increasing your base strength. Now that I think about it, this system is quite impressive. Although it restricts external strength gain, that's just at the surface. Since you can gain skills, it could be seen that advancing through knowledge still works. This is actually quite good, especially for you. This is mostly because realistically, how much can you increase your physical strength? In the later stages, except for people with special physiques, it mostly relies on just understanding more sophisticated qi manipulation methods. That being said, I still don't like it.]

Cipher nodded. He didn't understand much, but he supposed it was a good thing.

He then returned his attention back to the Saintess's stats. "Demi-God," he thought. It was the second time he was seeing this species. The first time was with Elara. He wondered what was the difference between a Demi-God Saintess and a normal Saintess like Elaine.

He clicked to view the intrinsic skill.

[Intrinsic Skill: Divine Fragment]

[Type: Passive]

[Description: You possess a fragment of a god's divinity, marking you as a candidate for divine succession. This fragment grants you access to a portion of the god's domain and authority. Your potential is no longer bound by mortal limits - you may one day inherit the full mantle of godhood.]

[Note: The divine fragment within you will grow stronger as you deepen your understanding of your patron god's domain. Should the god perish or willingly pass on their divinity, you are a candidate to ascend and claim their throne.]

…

"Fragment..." So Elara really had the god of death's fragment.

He understood the candidate status, but what was this domain thing? Did it grant a special ability? It didn't give a description for what ability it granted and he also doubted it was the unique skill as Elaine also had it despite being just a normal saintess.

If it really did grant a special ability, he needed to be careful around the Saintesses, especially those with the Demi-God designation, as he didn't completely understand them.

"Wait... didn't you have an ability called Sword Domain?" Cipher asked.

[Yeah. It's similar to what I was talking about. How I said in higher realms people rely on understanding rather than pure power - a domain is such an ability. My Sword Domain ability, for example, means I'm unmatched when holding a sword.]

Cipher didn't really get it.

[Basically, a domain creates an area in which one can exert their authority. The size of the area usually scales with spiritual sea size and the level of the domain,] she explained.

"Your Sword Domain... how far can you use it and what's its strongest feat?" he asked.

[With my spiritual sea and it being an absolute level domain, I should at least be able to cover a large-sized planet. As for power, the greatest feat is matching the Demon God, but it's hard to put that into words. How about this... with a swing, I should be able to split this planet in two.]

Cipher froze for a second. He thought it was just a unique ability, but this was too dangerous to ignore. What was the use in him saving the world when he had people with such abilities walking around the planet? With such power, one didn't even need the final apocalypse to end the world.

He got up and moved towards Iris's lab. He needed to confirm something.

He pushed the door to Iris's lab open and Elara came rushing at him as if she was waiting.

"Cipher..." she called out as she hugged him.

Thankfully, he had detected her on the opposite side of the door before coming in. Otherwise, he'd have been surprised. Wait, he still was. How did she even know he was coming?

He noticed Elaine across the room. "Where is Iris?" he asked.

"She went out," she said.

Iris going out? "Did something happen?" he asked.

"No idea." Elaine shrugged.

Cipher sighed. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you two something," he said as he walked towards Elaine with Elara holding on to his hand.

"What did you want to ask?" Elaine asked.

"Have you ever heard of a domain?" he asked.

"Domain? Can't say that I have," Elaine said.

"What about you?" he asked Elara.

She looked at him, then began gesturing with her hands in a circular motion. "World," she said.

"Yes, domain is like a world. Your own small world. Do you have something similar?" he asked.

She looked at him, then shook her head violently.

He understood for Elaine since she wasn't a Demi-God, but Elara too? He wondered if it could be because she didn't understand the concept well. Or maybe she had it and didn't recognize it as a domain.

"Do you have any special ability?" he asked.

She looked at him, then pointed at him.

"Me?" he asked in confusion, and she began nodding.

"He wasn't asking about a special person, but if you have any special abilities yourself," Elaine clarified.

Elara looked confused before pointing at him again and shouting, "Brother Cipher, special!" Then she gestured a circle with her hands.

He scratched his head.

[Maybe she thinks you have special abilities,] the Heavenly Demon said.

"I do have some special abilities, but I'm curious about you. Do you have any special abilities?" he tried to explain.

"Brother Cipher!" she shouted in frustration.

Cipher smiled nervously, unsure what to say. Elaine was also confused.

Elara closed her eyes and pushed him with both hands. "Where. Move. Cipher," she said.

"Are you telling me to move?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Alright," he said and began backing away slowly. But she tracked him with her head despite having her eyes closed, then pointed at him as he moved.

"Are you saying you can see with your eyes closed?" he asked.

She shook her head. She then moved to the wall, facing it, and began pointing at Cipher.

"Mana detection?" Elaine asked.

She shook her head.

"Clairvoyance?" he asked.

She shook her head, turning from the wall, seeming even more frustrated.

"I really don't get it," Cipher said with a sigh.

"Is it tracking movement?" Elaine asked.

"Tracking?" Elara asked. She seemed in thought and then nodded. "Yes, tracking," she said.

"Oh, tracking movement. I guess that's interesting," he said, walking back closer.

Elara shook her head. "No. No movement," she said.

"No movement. So just tracking. That's even better. You can track people and items?" he asked as he reached her.

She shook her head. "No people, no item." She then held his hand. "Cipher. Just Cipher..." she said.

"You mean you can track me?" he asked.

She nodded.

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