This is the growth in power of a Divine from the First to Seventh Enlightenment. Whenever a Divine gets to a new Enlightenment Stage, they gain perks based on their Divine Attributions.
Enlightenment is calculated in percentage, eg; a First Enlightenment Divine can be at 84%. This means that they have only 16% for them to reach the Second Enlightenment. Each Enlightenment stage has their own reward as one ascends to the next Enlightenment stage. For instance, The Second Enlightenment Stage does not have the same rewards compared to The Third Enlightenment.
In Spheraphase, there are two ways of advancing to a new Enlightenment Stage.
One is through discovery and training of self. This takes decades to finally reach the Seventh Enlightenment. It is mostly used by immortals.
The second is the fastest way. It is for Divines to go to the Islands of Inexpelcae where the Hydroborn Kingdom is. It is made of six Goddesses called the Aquatic Goddesses. However, after the death of the Aquatic Goddesses and the loss of Divinity across the world, this method vanished.
In each Enlightenment Stage, a Divine's power increases. However, there are some characteristics that all Divines share when they reach a certain Enlightenment Stage.
The First Enlightenment gives the characteristics of being a Divine. It increases their physical capabilities, increases their senses and gives them the Divine Core. This is a core that stores Divine Energy, which Divines and Gods use. It also gives them access to using Divine Energy.
But the most important thing about the First Enlightenment is the Tether Integration.
When a Third Phase Ascender becomes a Divine, their Pinnacle Tether will become a Major Divinity. The Base Tethers will remain to be Base Tethers. Divines will NEVER use their Pinnacle Tethers like they used to. This means that they will also never use their Essentia and Ascender Forms of their Pinnacle Tethers at all because they will be integrated to their Divinities.
For instance, if a mage's Pinnacle Tether is Fire, it will be converted to the Divinity of Fire. The Essentia and Ascender form of the Pinnacle Tether will become part of the Fire Divinity.
However, Splits don't have this issue. Their Pinnacle Tethers will never become part of their Divinities at all, even if they look similar. This makes them even more powerful than before hence why Splits are extremely powerful.
This was the norm but when Divinity vanished, those Divines who lost their own Divinity managed to get their Pinnacle and Base Tethers back in exchange.
The Second Enlightenment only gives improved reaction time and speed.
Third Enlightenment: Base Tether The Law Of Divinity: This enables them to make a Law for themselves that will adhere to their Divinity. In this, they will enable a Law for themselves. However, a lot of Divines use this in their Overwrites for more power.
Fourth Enlightenment: Divine Presence: This is the aura of spiritual mass and authority that a Divine exerts naturally as they ascend Enlightenment Levels. This can be used in battle to strike fear. Within its range, it can rend an opponent weaker.
Fifth Enlightenment: Overwrites: An Overwrite is a personal domain. It is an area of altered reality governed by the user's Divinity and their Fables, which are the legendary feats that solidify their identity.
A Fable is a public, spiritual record of a Divine's greatest feat like killing a god-beast. Each Fable reinforces their divine identity and strengthens their Overwrite, increasing its radius, duration and authority. It makes Divine Pressure more overwhelming, especially against those who know the Fables.
Example: A Fable may include The Trial of the Eternal Thief or The Silence of the Thousand Blades, and those stories would form the narrative law inside an Overwrite.
There are two types of Overwrites:
1. World Overwrites.
It creates a self-contained divine reality, known as a Miniature World, where the laws of combat, physics and even morality bend according to the Divine's chosen script. They are separated to Open and Closed World Overwrites.
Function: Alters environment, restricts enemy actions and enhances divine abilities.
Energy Cost: Immense; typically only lasts a few seconds to minutes depending on amount of Divine Energy used.
2. Enhancement Overwrites.
Instead of changing the outside world, the Divine temporarily rewrites their own internal laws, enhancing all aspects of themselves fivefold. Combine this with Divine Pressure and it becomes extremely powerful. It also has a short duration but gets stronger depending on how many Fables one has.
Sixth Enlightenment: The God Core: Their Divine Cores (and if someone has a pseudo-core) turn into a God Core. This core enables a Sixth Enlightenment Divine to use their Divinities 50% close to what a Deity can do. As the percentage of the Divine increases, so does the percentage of the core.
At the Seventh Enlightenment, the Godly Core reaches at 75% and after the Seventh Enlightenment Divine reaches the Minor God Rank, it will be at 100%.
Seventh Enlightenment: Superimpose: They are now a pseudo-god, ranging between a Minor God and a Divine. They have a transformation called the Superimpose Transformation. This predates and consumes the Divine Transformation. When one transitions to a god, this will be their most powerful transformation because once they become a God, their ordinary form will be the God Form.