Everyone immediately began the process of analyzing this magical formula. The room was spacious, but everyone felt it was not enough. So, some people asked C-137 if they could return to their rooms and use their equipment to better analyze the formula.
A vote was made, and people agreed they could leave the area as long as they did not leave the citadel. Furthermore, they must return before the allocated time for this test.
Meanwhile, the nine main variants at the center of the stadium remained, each using its own method to analyze the situation.
Edward soon analyzed many things from the formula.
‘The core of this formula is Wang Craft, Divine Runes, Ancient Runes, and Dragon Language–although only the basic one.’
‘It seems that most of your variants did the same bloodline experiments on dragons,’ commented Morgana.
‘Yes, and the difference is whether they awakened a normal Dragon or a king. I guess many of them might have died in the process after whatever restrictions they used failed.’
‘One of your greatest strengths is your cautious nature, but one of your greatest weaknesses is also your pride and overconfidence.’
‘My pride and arrogance are inherited from my reincarnation, so they should all have it. However, my cautiousness is a learned trait after certain experiences. So, not all of them have it,’ commented Edward.
“If that’s true, we can exploit their weakness.’
Edward agreed with her. ‘Let’s get back to work. What do you think?’
‘The formula should not be hard to decipher. The only issue is the Divine Runes. We need to test them out and find their functions.’
‘In that case, let’s divide the work,’ said Edward as he assigned Morgana some of the runes and focused on the others. He closed his eyes to access his Soul Dimension, using his soul to study and analyze these Divine Runes.
Time passed, and the variants kept working. The Divine Runes was their main issue but not the main one. C-137’s formula was very complex, and only a few variants have already figured out it’s a formula involving Space-Time Magic.
‘Done,’ said Morgana.
‘I’m finished too,’ nodded Edward. ‘Put it together.’
The little elf nodded, and in a few seconds, she had an answer: ’Got it. It’s a formula to open the Gate to the Astral Realm. However, it’s incomplete.’
‘So, C-137 has discovered the Astral Realm and other planes,’ commented Edward. During his stay in the council to gather information, he discovered most of his variants did not spend much time in the universe because of God’s control over the universe.
Most of them spend their time navigating the Multiverse, so their knowledge about certain things–like other planes–is lacking or nonexistent.
‘Do you think C-137 is the only one who discovered the other planes?’ asked Morgana.
‘Unlikely, but he might be the only one with the technology to do so–as of this meeting–besides that God over there.’
‘True,’ nodded Morgana as she remembered the Emperor Factions should now be facing Guzznad, and most have learned information about other planes. So, unless their timelines deviated too much and Guzznad never appears, they should be knowledgeable about such a topic.
‘What about that God? Will he be a problem?’
‘Gods have a natural ability to manipulate space, so he should have discovered the Astral Realm. However, if you ask him to teach others how to do it, the best he can do is give them a blessing and pass on his ability. He should not be a problem.’
‘He’s still you, wouldn’t he be different?’
‘Don’t you see the incense corroding his soul? By now, he has already lost the essence that is me.’
‘You are enjoying yourself too much,’ said Morgana.
‘Your entire demeanor is I am the one and only [Prime], and such arrogance is exuding from your body,’ replied the purple elf with a sneer.
‘That’s because I am the prime,’ replied Edward smugly. ‘Haven’t you noticed that our technology outclasses everyone here? What do you think that is?’
‘Because you’re the prime?’ asked Morgan, rolling her eyes.
‘No, it’s because I’m the only one who discovered that tear in the void, leading to developing Omniversal Travel. However, that’s not what I’m referring to,’ replied Edward. ‘The closest variants to me are the Empire Factions who created an Arcane Empire. However, even though these people are similar to me, haven’t you noticed none of these variants have knowledge from other universes?’
Morgana immediately caught the crux of what he was trying to say. Edward’s first voyage in the Omniverse was when he was Tier 3. After his return, new timelines of different variants who made the same voyage should have appeared. However, none of these variants appeared.
‘Are you saying our timeline is unique, and there are no variants of yourself who have traveled to other universes?’
‘Correct,’ replied Edward. ‘I have tested it. Many of the other Arcane Emperors have created the Arcane Rune Magic System, but it’s not based on the runes from the Full-Metal Alchemy Universe but based on Lemurian Civilization’s magic.’
The Lumerian was the percussion to Wizard’s Civilization and even developed interstellar civilization. Unfortunately, Herpo’s ascension to Godhood wiped them out.
‘So, our timeline is unique and even protected,’ summarized Morgana. ‘That’s probably the work of Merlin.’
Edward agreed with this conclusion. Someone of Merlin’s level can observe all the variants of Edward from every timeline they exist in, then choose one of them as his apprentice.
But, in the end, he chose G-003. So, Edward concluded that even if he was not the original Prime Edward, the first one to be reincarnated from Primordial Earth and make the first decision that led to a new timeline, after discovering that portal and creating the first Omniversal Ship, Merlin chose him and he became the [Prime].
‘So, you’re just a lucky bastard,’ sneered Morgana.
‘Luck is also a part of strength,’ countered Edward. An infinite amount of himself, yet he’s the only one who discovered that tear in the void. Furthermore, that tear was the only remaining one in the Multiverse, and it was rapidly closing.
‘Yes, for a person like Merlin, innate luck might be more important than talent and ability,’ nodded Morgana. ‘So, what is the plan? Do you want to take the stage now?’
‘Not yet,” replied Edward. ‘Something else is in my mind.’
‘What is it this time?’
‘According to our information, the Cosmic Faith Plane is the only plane with a Multiverse, hence why everybody wants to occupy it.’
‘So, what will happen when my variants enter other planes? Better yet, what about the variants of the other Gods who have conquered multiple planes? Did they meet? Did they confront each other? Or is there something else going on?’
Morgana paused after hearing this. If other planes had a Multiverse, then these variants would have just accessed one of the infinite timelines and not meet their other variants unless they met in the Astral Realm while traveling to these foreign planes.
However, if the planes do not have a Multiverse, the issue becomes a much bigger problem.
‘Our theory could be wrong. Maybe these places have a Multiverse, but something is different about them, preventing individuals from reaching Tier 11. Or, there might be a bigger secret behind this problem.’
‘After this meeting, we must investigate the truth,’ replied Edward with great seriousness. Morgana agreed, and then the two chatted until the allocated time.