Every one of my forty-nine Origins had reached that level, yet none had crossed the final ten percent. I had tried focusing on individual Origins, combining them through Absolute Authority, and allowing their comprehension to reinforce one another, but the result had always been the same.
I could strengthen their foundations and deepen my understanding, but the final boundary refused to yield.
I looked down at my hand, where faint fluctuations of Space, Time, Metal, and Gravity moved together without conflict.
I was stronger than I had ever been, but I was still a High Demi-God.
The realization did not frustrate me as much as it might have in the past. Three years of isolation had taught me that power alone was not always enough to cross a boundary, and the inability to advance beyond ninety percent had to mean that I was missing something fundamental. If the Origin Expanse could no longer provide the answer, then I would have to find it somewhere else.
