Chapter 552: The Truth of Power, The End of the Stairway
"Tell me, how many steps are there in total from a human to a god?"
Knight Girl didn't answer Kaito Shirogane's question directly, but instead asked this.
Because of the existence of the [Transcendent Helix], Kaito Shirogane's absorption and application of information inherently exceeded ordinary people.
He naturally understood Knight Girl's meaning.
"Do you mean that the so-called [Stairway] is the process from human to god?"
He further deduced that the [God] here absolutely didn't mean the [Deities] in most worldviews.
Because in the various derivative worldviews the Infinite Dimensional Space faced, the so-called [Deities] weren't that rare.
[Deities] are ultimately just a special race with slight advantages in lifespan and power compared to [Humans]. In other words, they are actually closer to the concept of [Aliens].
It's just that when mortals were weak, they added many elements of mysterious worship to these existences.
Even in certain specific worldviews, [Deities] weren't necessarily that powerful.
Just like Kaito Shirogane's current combat power, if he returned to the [Demon Slayer] derivative world and called himself a [Deity], who could refute it?
Completely unkillable, undefeatable. The force generated by flicking a finger once would be enough to blast and kill almost all enemies.
If he descended upon the world, he could end disasters that lasted for thousands of years, and would naturally be enshrined by people as a [Deity].
The [God] in Knight Girl's mouth was perhaps closer to the [God] in the Space's power system.
Based on Kaito Shirogane's current understanding;
[Paper] corresponds to the physical strength of most ordinary humans. Apart from a very few extraordinarily talented anomalies, almost all real-world Reincarnators start at this level.
They have almost no supernatural powers, fighting entirely relying on weapons and techniques. Only when they get modern weapons do they possess the power to fight most enemies.
As the literal meaning suggests, as frail as a piece of "blank paper."
[Parallel]. The strength of Reincarnators at this stage has already broken through the limitations of ordinary people. Placed in the world of ordinary people, they are absolute anomalies. Those super-heavyweight boxing champions, soldier kings proficient in assassination, and people from ancient martial arts hidden families of unknown existence probably belong to this tier.
They can easily instantly kill ordinary people, but still cannot be exempt from the gap of firearms. They are Reincarnators in the transition stage from ordinary biological creatures to supernatural biological creatures.
[Strong]. Completely breaking through the first ladder, transcending the shackles of the physical body, becoming transcendent and free from vulgarity. On the physical level, they begin to truly surpass ordinary people, becoming a completely different existence from ordinary humans.
They begin to control energy, can release energy, and execute various terrifying abilities. Reincarnators at this stage begin to gradually break free from the restrictions of real-world firearms.
One man forming an army. In a small country like Myanmar, they begin to roam unrivaled. In a single-entity sense, they can begin to be called "powerhouses."
[Fierce]. A sudden spike in power intensity within the Reincarnator hierarchy. The number of Reincarnators reaching this level also drops precipitously.
Reincarnators who can enter this tier are still the extreme minority in the Infinite Dimensional Space at this stage. Placed in most derivative worlds, this is a power stage that can become a local hegemon.
A single person destroying a city, breaking a mountain with one strike. Completely ignoring the threat of modern firearms, almost completely unable to be restricted. A [Strong] tier Reincarnator facing the [Fierce] tier has almost no resistance capability. Unless they have excellent affinity or possess super-high-tier abilities and items, there is no possibility of besieging and killing them.
After activating the 4x Kaioken, Kaito Shirogane could enter this destructive power tier. He felt that in that state, relying on pure strength and speed, he could easily kill the vast majority of [Strong] tier Reincarnators.
Even the Reincarnators in the upper echelons of the [Strong] tier like Moon Demon and Flame Demon when he first met them could be easily defeated.
Of course, Kaito Shirogane considered himself stronger than ordinary Reincarnators and story characters who had just entered the [Fierce] tier. His high-level abilities and power systems were quite rich.
And when it came to the [Crazy] tier, Kaito Shirogane's mind flashed with the scene of the fierce battle between [Tornado of Terror] and [Evil Lord of the Spirit World · Kageyama Shigeo] in the B711 world.
With a raise of a hand, the entire city was torn apart. Fighting with all their might, the boundary between the world and the spirit world would be broken.
Tectonic plate shifts and the destruction of countries were nothing more than one of the results of their battle.
Completely unable to be calculated by "reason," completely unable to be inferred by common sense, a "madness" surpassing rationality.
That was probably the [Crazy] tier. Probably, [Eternal Destiny], who could survive escaping from the hands of Tatsumaki in that state and fight with her, also belonged to this tier.
As for [God], Kaito Shirogane could now only think of [Saitama], who overwhelmingly surpassed everyone.
Kaito Shirogane looked at his raised right hand. The first ring of purple trait casting on his arm was so clear, but the second ring had not yet been perfected.
"I remember you saying, this is the [Stairway of God]..."
Knight Girl nodded. The Reincarnator before her had, in an extremely short cycle, already crossed stages that most Reincarnators could completely never experience.
The other party had great potential! She didn't mind spending a few more words.
Knight Girl similarly raised her right hand. The silver gauntlet turned into specks of light piece by piece and disappeared, revealing a smooth arm.
On that arm, Kaito Shirogane saw rings of [Rings] neatly arranged.
Within the purple rings, several red specks of light were dotted. The most dazzling was on that fourth incomplete ring, where a golden speck of light shone brilliantly.
Knight Girl clenched her right hand, and auras of various powers manifested. Kaito Shirogane saw a wyvern rising, also saw a flood dragon hissing, and even more, an undead knight holding a frost greatsword raising it high, the bizarre magic freezing everything.
Various auras and illusions ultimately collapsed together and returned into Knight Girl's body. At this moment, an oppressive feeling that could be called terrifying appeared.
[Crazy]!
Kaito Shirogane's muscles almost instinctively twitched once. But in the next moment, intense magical energy and battle aura almost froze the entire [Tier Management Office].
Even Kaito Shirogane's breathing stagnated for an instant.
In the next moment, everything was back to normal. Knight Girl lowered her right hand, and the gauntlet was reapplied piece by piece.
"That is the [Stairway]."
Kaito Shirogane found the name of this [Stairway] quite expressive.
As the saying goes, the success of one general costs the lives of ten thousand bones. In the Infinite Dimensional Space, the powerhouses who can reach the highest points are all forged using the corpses of even more brilliant powerhouses from various worlds and eras.
Every guy possessing rare talent, after failing and dying, will become the [Stairway] for Reincarnators to step onto a higher stage.
The light in Kaito Shirogane's eyes also slowly retracted. Looking somewhat regretful and sighing, he wished he could step into Knight Girl's realm immediately.
"Then what is the difference between the [Stairway of God] and the [Stairway of Spirit and Flesh]?"
At this time, Knight Girl had already walked right in front of Kaito Shirogane. She had a petite figure, looking up, but her imposing manner seemed to look at Kaito Shirogane on an equal level.
"Because no one knows what the end of [Power] is, nor can anyone know if [Power] has an end."
"Therefore, all of us are actually pursuing an illusory limit of [God]."
"Aimless, not knowing right from wrong, tireless."
Knight Girl looked at Kaito Shirogane, a hint of confusion seemingly flashing in her eyes. At this time, Kaito Shirogane was completely certain that these NPCs in the Space's institutions were indeed real existences.
Or rather, if an NPC could do this, having their own pursuits, their own personality and emotions, then they were no different from humans.
"The [Stairway of God] is the endless stairway upward that every aimless seeker continues on, constantly using one corpse after another as bricks, for us to endlessly go upward, and upward again!"
"Until... we become the brick for the next seeker."
"And in this process, occasionally, extremely rarely, someone will find some definite endpoints."
"Although the heights are different, those endpoints all correspond to the ultimate of a certain path."
Kaito Shirogane looked down at that illusory meridian on his hand that faintly pierced into his body.
[Stairway of Spirit and Flesh]... the endpoint of soul and body?!
(End of Chapter)
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