[For anyone who was asking, Edward finally increases his tier in less than five chapters.]
Fate Edward took the first gem and said: "This is the last Primordial Runes from Odin."
"Something tells me it was not easy to acquire."
"You're right. That bastard is cunning, and I had to pay a lot to get it. Did you know he wanted me to marry into his family?"
"Does he even have a daughter?"
"Many, all illegitimate."
"That makes sense," nodded Edward. Fate Edward took out the second gem, "This one contains a deeper analysis of the Fate's Magecraft and other magics. I figured it might help make slight improvements to our Arcane Rune Magic."
"I had this thought."
"This one is for the Divine Word Magic. I figure you would be interested."
"Oh, so were my conjectures correct?"
"Yes; it can be used for divine energy and mana."
"Did it help create a vessel that perfectly contains Divine Energy and Mana?" This project has been going on for a while, and the highest achievement was sealing these two opposite energies in the body and unsealing one when needed to change. They could not be used together, let alone fuse.
"I didn't get to it yet," replied Fate Edward with a deep sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"This experiment is why I will die tomorrow."
"I thought it was because the gods were dissatisfied with how humans were becoming."
"That's true, but they were willing to tolerate my existence because they knew how much they would have to pay to eliminate me and the Empire," explained Fate Edward. "But everything changed while I experimented with Divine Energy. These gods knew this energy was perfectly suited to them and wanted it. I refuse, but this was the catalyst to band together and eliminate me at all costs."
"No matter how evolved and powerful a creature is, it cannot escape its basic instinct, like greed or desire," sighed Edward.
"A sad truth."
"The good news is everything they did was for nothing."
Fate Edward sneered after hearing these words. As his counterpart said, he would die before allowing these gods to get his hands on his research. He already had to kill a few people close to him who betrayed him because of the promises and seduction of these gods.
"Let's not mention this," said Fate Edward. "This gem is about Soul Divinity."
"Oh, you succeeded?"
"Yes, and it solves so many of our issues."
"The Soul Limit?" asked Edward.
"That's right. Your thinking was in the wrong direction. You thought that increasing the connection between the Flame and the Soul could nourish the [Knowledge Ring] and break the limit, but you needed to fuse them."
[Read Chapter 546 for a refresher on Soul Limit Experiments.]
"I never thought about fusion because the gods will separate their flame and use it to revive. I thought if they fuse, we would lose on another method of immortality," explained Edward.
"I thought the same until I chose to experiment," said Fate Edward. "They will fuse, but another Soul Flame will condense due to the correlation between the flame and the soul. Then, to achieve Divinity, you must repeat the process, but add Willpower and the nourishment of the Rules."
"So, our theory was correct! Higher Tier will require that our Soul Dimension create Laws/Rules/Authority instead of relying on the outside universe and Willpower—just like in many cultivation novels."
Edward cannot use his Rules in the Void unless they are stored in an artifact, and if he entered a world whose Willpower Requirement was 10, he would face the same issue. However, he theorized this would change at higher Tiers.
"Exactly." Talking to another version of himself was very satisfying because of how in sync they were. Edward held the gem in his hand and sighed. He now had a universal method of breaking the Soul Limit, meaning he could increase his strength and reach Tier 10 as soon as possible. Then, he only needs to complete his research on Tier 11 before reaching that level.
"By the way, you will need a lot of Soul Energy to achieve Soul Divinity," Fate Edward warned.
"I know what to do," nodded Edward. Then, for the next few hours, they talked about magic, which was interesting.
"It's time," said Fate Edward, looking in the distance.
"You're too calm for what's about to happen." Edward was not afraid of death, but he did not think he could easily accept watching everything he had built crumble in one day.
"I have my way of coping?" replied Fate.
"Do I even want to know?"
"You don't," he said with a smile. Then, he calmly left the room. He watched the final battle of his favorite variant, and the experience was hard to describe. Watching how these gods destroyed the Arcane Empire was like seeing a warning of his future. He will face the same fate in his universe if things go wrong for him.
A ruthless light flashed in his eyes as he thought, 'This will not be my fate. All these gods will either die at my hands or kneel before me, and the first one will be Cosmus.'
He disappeared from this world, returning to the city in the Void. In another timeline, Tohsaka sensed something and took out the gem. As she saw it change color, a new power and knowledge entered her mind, but she couldn't care less. Tears started to flow down from her eyes before she started bawling. Sakura heard her sister and rushed, asking what was wrong.
"He's gone," she said, and Sakura immediately understood.
Void:
Edward received his clone and fused with it, inheriting all his experiences, memories, and knowledge. He smiled because he realized how much work he had to do.
Firstly, the knowledge about the Sixth True Magic was useful for updating Morgana's core. Additionally, the avatar brought information about a material called Photonic Crystals, which were used to create the Moon Cell. After being magically enhanced, they would be perfect materials for a few parts in the upgrade, reducing the time and money used.
Afterward, he needed to learn Divine Words Magic, upgrade the Arcane Rune System, break his soul limit and achieve Soul Divinity, reach Tier 10, and make Ea and Chains of Heavens.
"A lot of work to do," muttered Edward.
"Do you want to stay or leave now?" asked Morgana.
"We are temporarily safe, so let me learn everything I need to so we can immediately start building once we reach the MCU." Edward then spent some time absorbing all the avatar's knowledge and the things he did not have a chance to learn. Finally, the city flew to its next destination.
Bang! Bang!
"What now?" asked Edward with an ugly expression while trying to keep his balance.
"An unknown shockwave hit our ship, disturbing our flight."
'It's official,' thought Edward. There has been an accident ever since he started this voyage. Now, he can say for sure his luck had run out after using the Luck Potion too often.
"What's the situation?"
"We will use an emergency landing. We're lucky that we upgraded the Navigation System, or we would be in serious trouble. Be prepared, as things could get rough." Morgana executed all the necessary protocols to ensure they arrived at their destination as soon as possible.
"Phew, we've arrived…No."
The ship started to shake violently again.
"What is it now?"
"We've landed, but it seems to be in an area where two entities are fighting. Energy recording has indicated levels beyond the theoretically calculated Tier 11." Edward or the Empire had never encountered a Tier 11 Entity – besides Cronai. So, they had no measurement and could only predict certain things.
Edward resisted the urge to curse. "What's the plan?"
"The ship has already suffered damage and won't last long. So, we will usethe Emergency Exit Plan."
"Fine, but don't forget Albion." Despite everything, he would not let something happen to that stupid dragon.
"Ready?" asked Morgana, "Go."
A Void Energy Shield surrounded Edward, and he flew away from the floating city. Something hit his shield, and he immediately passed out. Edward found himself in a fog, trying to navigate and leave. Finally, he succeeded, and his eyes opened.
"Where am I?" He checked his body, which was perfectly intact — the same for his mana, aura, and soul., except his mind was a little foggy. He looked around, and everything was bright.
"Is this a lab room?" he said, looking at the room. He was not restrained, but the table he was on was a medical table he often used when he was young.
"You're awake."
Edward looked in the direction of the voice.
