Ascension!
This was not the first time the higher-ups had heard the word, but when it truly came time to take that step, everyone present felt an indescribable tremor—delight, worry, and fanaticism.
This faction had struggled up from the mire and data wreckage of the Cyber Test Grounds, stepping over the corpses of enemies and comrades alike to reach where it stood today. At last... was it going to touch that legendary realm?
One step to heaven, one step to hell.
That realization weighed heavily on everyone's heart.
They knew all too well how much the words "ascension" carried.
They meant a complete transformation in the form of life and the level of civilization.
Even the lowest-level ascended civilization would automatically gain a seat in the Cosmic Civilization Council. When it came to voting on proposals concerning the fate of the universe, it would stand as an equal with those unfathomable Level Nine civilizations that had been passed down for billions of years—after all, one of the most basic rules of the Cosmic Civilization Council was: "One civilization, one vote."
This was recognition of status, a "coronation" by the laws of the universe acknowledging that a form of life had reached a certain limit.
By comparison, no matter how glorious or vicious a Level Three civilization was—even one at the Calamity level, whose name inspired terror—it was nothing more than a somewhat stronger ant in the eyes of a true ascended civilization, an ant that could be crushed whenever they pleased.
This was a dimensional gap, a chasm between an ant and a dragon. Before such an absolute difference in civilizational rank, all ferocity had to be restrained, and all ambition had to yield.
For a moment, the higher-ups looked at one another. Even the most radical among them, those