projectsephira

[projectsephira]

INGCROSS - A Nation's Worst Nightmare

INGCROSS.

Better known as the English Cross, is a religious governance party that was formed in what was once the United States of America. It is one of the three major powers that have been created as a result of the Great Fracture, the name given to what is basically the second civil war. They seek to gain control over all of America by uniting it under the banner of "the Cross."

History & Foundation.

After Francis Heisenberg lost all power he acquired, the fighting between the Corporate Coalition and various rebel forces resulted in wide spread destruction, with major population centers like New York City and Washington D.C being bombed at one point with casualties nearly reaching 2 million. As this war continued, another group of Hill-inspired groups, with the remainder of some of the Corporate Coalition began to make concerted attacks elsewhere in a operation called OPERATION_CALAMITY.

Elsewhere, this group began a concerted effort to begin the arrest of history itself, in hopes to claim more stable power for themselves. Hackers would begin an assault on the Internet in the country, purging as much records of anything prior to 2023 as possible, eventually going forward to make the internet inaccessible to anyone in the country. Physical documents and media were scavanged and destroyed, sometimes with extreme force, and through undetermined means, they would render specific pieces of modern technology in America such as computers and phones, save for the ones owned by the founders of the party.

At some point after Heisenberg was killed, the Purifiers and their allies launched a coordinated raid on various Ratatoskr Foundation facilities in the United States, stealing their equipment, a massive collection of amnestic drugs, and even a few anomalous items that were in Ratatoskr's containment. They would then distribute Amnestics across the country in the form of a pathogenic gas to virtually wipe the memories of nearly all persons in the areas the amnestics were distributed upon.

This had virtually allowed there to be a clean slate and a chance to alter history as they saw fit, as all remaining forms of documentation and media pieces were destroyed, leaving no record of what the country, and even their lives were like. This would be where INGCROSS would rise, where they would cement their control and consolidate power.

Structure and Principles

As the name would imply, it is founded upon the religion of the cross with some aspects of Hillisim ideology as it mirrors that of other totalitarian regimes, even though it is much weaker and ill-equipped than the previous iterations of the United States. At the time it appears to be a fully formed system of governance, the US Federal Government had long since collapsed, effectively making the United States of America no longer exist as a nation, with it now being listed as the American Territories.

The Party maintains a foothold in the former states of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, New Mexico, parts of Florida and rural areas of Ohio and Arkansas. These areas are no longer seen as states and are effectively called Holy Oceania. Although Texas seems to be their largest territory, the Party does not appear to have a capital.

Much like other totalitarian states, the INGCROSS Party inflicts suffering and commits atrocities for a singular cause: the cause of the Cross, of God, and The Father, John Hill. John Hill, is viewed upon the people of Holy Oceania as a messianic figure in the same manner the Son of God is, having died in service to "God" against the forces of "darkness" and the "Heretics of Gandstadt."

The Party is structured in a form of pyramid hierarchy which goes as follows:

The Upper Party

The elite of INGCROSS. They hold the most power and influence within the party. They are distinguished by their finer clothes, access to resources and equipment and even the finer quality of food and drink. Members of the Upper Party are namely Pastors, Business and Land Owners, engineers, and neurologists. Despite their position on the hierarchy, they are still vulnerable to the paranoia and attacks by the Party. The founders and leaders of the Purifiers were all arrested by the Holy Police and executed for their "defiance" against the Great Father, leaving even the party's own founders and leaders treated just like those they oppress.

The Middle Party

Generally the worker class of INGCROSS. They work most of the menial and administrative work within the Party, as they are the ones that the Upper Party rely on to keep their society functioning. The Middle Party is the one who is often subject to the Party's tight control and manipulation on them, and are especially subject to the Party's attacks, with constant monitoring through specialized Telescreens in their homes and workplace. they are kept in line by whipping them into a frenzy of hatred towards foreign enemies. Middle Party members can be found as teachers, office workers and record production workers. An especially favored or well off Middle Party member may own a servant, though that is a privilege that is especially reserved to the Upper Party most of the time.

The Lower Party

The impoverished, destitute, and abused of the INGCROSS pyramid, they are the lowest of the chain, which comprise much of the population. They have either lost their homes in the war and have been amnestisized to the point of losing their identity, or were people that were captured by either the Neo Crusaders, or Merryweather Security and brought into Holy Oceania. to even former "enemies of the lord". In either case, the Lower Party is herded into camps where they are put to work such as pulling crops and cleaning lands. Some are also known to work on the lands of Higher Party members as servants, though they are shown to be treated less like human beings and more like property and the owners have full reign to punish their servants in any manner they deem fit. What is especially horrendous about the treatment of the Lower Party, is that even children are not free from the harsh environment. Children as young as 7 are shown to be performing the same menial tasks as their adult counterparts with the same amount of expectations placed upon them, with punishment for failure being no meal for them for that particular day.

Lower Party members are often forced into mandatory classes so that they may be further indoctrinated into the cult that is INGCROSS, and becoming believers of their doctrine. They are often told that they must earn the right to live in God's land and is to conform to the standards of the Great Father, and that if they work very hard, they will be granted salvation when Great Father leads them to the Fifth Heaven. They are told that he does not accept failure, and failure, will mean starvation and severe punishment from the Holy Police, who may be called upon to Unperson an individual.

Propaganda & Manipulation

The goal of the Party is to micromanage each aspect of a person's life, down to what they wear or eat. How they keep people supporting them is relatively simple; they antagonize everyone else. They claim that their enemies are the definition of tyranny and heresy. They claim that they slaughtered thousands of innocent people and that Holy Oceania and The Party are the only thing between the people and utter annihilation by the pagan enemies. At the same time, it's impossible to dive into who these enemies are or piece together anything as who the enemies are fluctuates every so often.

One time, they will claim to be enemies of the Eternal Anarchists, a collection of gangs that have taken control of other states in the American Territories, while they will claim that the distant land of Gandstadt and their Devil's Covenant were former allies but then became their most sworn enemy yet. Holy Oceanians are controlled through a perpetuation of fear and hatred of enemies and beings from distant lands. They claim to be at war with the Eternal Anarchists, Gandstadt, and an unknown third rebel group, though most of the fighting may be fabricated.

Planes said to be from Gandstadt drop bombs on towns regularly within Holy Oceania, however in reality, these are stolen Foundation aircraft used by the Party to bomb their own camps and gathering centers, all to perpetuate a wartime atmosphere and a frenzy of fear and hatred against enemies of god. Likewise, they wage territorial wars against the other sub-powers throughout the American Territories with the use of PMCs and their own "military" called the Neo Crusaders looking to capture enemies for the Party's propaganda machine.

Public Executions of "war criminals" are held once a week, where they will be shown and broadcasted to the masses, where they are either hung, shot or bisected, instilling further hatred of these enemies within the hearts of the masses. In some other cases, if an Esper/Mutant is set for public execution, they are branded as a demonic existence and is tortured in front of the furious masses before brutally ending their life. The people of Holy Oceania is stirred into a frenzy of rage and hatred toward supposed enemies of the state, without any critical thought or reasoning. They are made to love Great Father and hate his enemies, even if they are unsure of who these enemies are.

Alterthink

Alterthink is a mechanism which controls the language, called Godspeak, that people are allowed to use, erasing some concepts and promoting others favorable to the Party. It is the act of holding, simultaneously, two opposite, individually exclusive ideas or opinions and believing in both simultaneously and absolutely. Alterthink requires using logic against logic or suspending disbelief in the contradiction. Brain damage brought about by Amnestic poisoning has made it easier to condition the minds of the people to learn Alterthink and Godspeak. By training people to accept contradictory ideas, the Party can manipulate reality, warp the truth, and make individuals susceptible to its propaganda.

Examples of Alterthink can be found in the Party's own slogans.

War is Peace: The Party perpetuates a state of perpetual war, yet citizens are taught to believe that this war brings them peace and security. The concept of "War is Peace" exemplifies the manipulation of language and the distortion of reality.

Freedom is Death: Citizens are led to believe that their servitude to the Party equates to survival, while true personal freedom is portrayed as a path to death.

Ignorance is Strength: The Party encourages ignorance and censorship, arguing that the less people know, the stronger the state. This inversion of traditional wisdom serves to further the Party's control.

Alterthink is not just a linguistic tool; it's a mechanism of control. It keeps the citizens of Holy Oceania in a perpetual state of confusion and psychological manipulation. By accepting contradictory beliefs, individuals have lost their ability to reason, question, or rebel against the Party. They have become trapped in a cycle of cognitive dissonance, where reality is whatever the Party dictates it to be.

Monasteries

INGCROSS keeps control of its citizens via the five main monasteries; The Monastery of Truth, the Monastery of Hope, the Monastery of Plenty, the Monastery of Wellness and the Monastery of Peace.

Monastery of Truth

This institution concerns itself with the rewriting of history and the wiping of "unpersons" from any records. For example, when a man was arrested by the Holy Police for possible signs of heresy, he was taken to prison and shortly after a team of workers wiped every record of his existence off the face of the planet. If a news article mentioned him, it was burned and edited so any archives claimed it was somebody else who was mentioned. All his belongings were most likely destroyed and his job would have been quickly replaced by someone else. Anyone who did know him would be convinced that he simply never existed and that they were going mad. Another example of what the Monastery of Truth does is with the fluctuating enemies in war. If a newspaper from last week claimed that a Gandstadian rocket bomb struck Texas, all copies would be burned and it would be reissued claiming that it was an Anarchist rocket bomb that struck instead. Its grip on media and thought as a whole is so tight that any changes made, however obvious and ridiculous, are considered true by most. They claim that two plus two makes five and it is blindly accepted.

Monastery of Hope

The primary goal of this monastery is to torture and murder anyone opposed to the party, even if that opposition only exists within their head (a practice known as Mindcorrupt in the Godspeak language). They are the base of operations for the Thought Police and it is there that the telescreens are watched and investigations on citizens are carried out. When somebody is captured and taken to the Monastery of Hope, they are tortured until they beg for death. They will ask simple questions like "What country is Holy Oceania at war with?" and claiming that Oceania was at one point at war with the nation they were currently allied with would result in high voltage electric shocks being delivered to the person. Lying does not work as they are too smart, they will torture you until the thought of being at war with Romania no longer exists and you genuinely believe Oceania was always at war with Romania.

Towards the end of your stay, you will receive good treatment as you begin to become more "orthodox", but if you slip up you will be taken to the worst place in the world; Room 101. It varies from person to person of course, but what is in Room 101 is the worst thing you can imagine. This will go on indefinitely until you give up and beg for it to be done to someone else. If you do this, they have won and you have lost your last shred of humanity. When you are fully stripped of your dignity you will be forced to make a public confession of all of your "sins" (all of which are simply made up) which gets broadcasted on Telescreens all across Oceania. Once you are finally released, you will no longer be truly human. You no longer feel love or true happiness and every day you hope that you will soon be dead. One day it will come and you will be shot and the war against yourself is won.

Monastery of Plenty

The Monastery of Plenty's goal is a lot less violent than the others, but it is still overall a bad institution. Their primary goal is to build optimism among the people of Holy Oceania by severely overstating how well the territory is doing production-wise. They will claim that year's estimations for the output of shoelaces were overfilled by 98% and that the economy is booming. In reality, they may have been no different or even less than the year before, but since nobody has a way of proving this it's not worth fighting. To build a sense of "wartime comradery" they will randomly withdraw certain things from production. These things can range from small things like razorblades to vital items like bread or other important things needed to live. They will even go as far as to destroy food supplies to intentionally starve some sections of their population.

Monastery of Wellness

This institution deals with the health and medical concerns of the Party. However, they will carry out efforts to allow disease and sickness to spread by withholding information regarding viral outbreaks, and destroying vaccines in order to weed out the weak among their population.

Monastery of Salvation

Not much else is known about this one. It can be gathered that their goal is managing the war effort and declaring a victory whenever they feel morale is low. They lack the capability to invade other countries, so they will instead make up a narrative allowing the Party to simply declare they've won the greatest victory in human history to boost morale. This is further supplemented with AI-generated footage of "war footage" of Crusader soldiers killing enemy forces in other countries, and since the footage is so realistic, the people will readily believe it.

[projectsephira]

An Autopsy of Greed & Chaos: The Absolute State of America in the Sephira Universe

America.

Called the land of the free, America, both in universe and out has been seen as the bastion of the western world, and is generally treated as the standard of such.

However, the country struggles with its own internal issues that still plagues it to this very day, and in the SEU (Sephira Expanded Universe), the country itself suffers from a combination of poor decisions, and the cold machinations of a select few, and today, we will be looking at America as it is in the Sephira Universe, and how it was already "bankrupt" long before the likes of John Hill and Francis Heisenberg came into the picture.

Much of the United States of America and its contemporary history remains relatively unchanged for the most part since its founding, however where things began to diverge somewhat is in the year 1933. This year is pretty significant, as this was the same year where a group of wealthy businessmen attempted a military coup to replace FDR with a puppet leader of which they could control, due to his New Deal which would cause a massive redistribution of wealth.

In our (as in the real world) timeline, this plot failed, the conspirators were never able to pull this off and history unfolds the way we know it. In the Sephira Universe, things happened differently.

In the Sephira Universe, the plot to replace FDR was one of the many plots carried out by the Sith Illuminati to further advance the New World Order Agenda, and though the details are scarce, the plot was actually successful, and FDR was forcibly ousted as President, with the corporate leaders installing their puppet dictator to carry out their wishes. Despite this sudden takeover of the government by corporate oligarchs, the consequences of this wouldn't be seen or felt until decades later. As a result, history plays out more or less the same as it relates to World War II and other events of that era.

However, in the interim, the "president" would on his paymasters behalf, sought to enforce and promote rampant consumerism across the country kickstarting consumer culture seven decades early,making sure not to monitor them for subliminal messaging. As the years went on, even after the puppet president was no longer in office, the advertisers would slip subtle messages into their ads knowing they would be able to control people's minds and their purchases by doing so the corporations would then become un-unionized and deregulated allowing them to monopolize them and, due to the de-regulation, inject certain views into their programming.

This would be the first major change in America's history in the main Sephira timeline as opposed to the country of other universes, due to the increase of consumer culture and subliminal messaging in advertisements the American public becomes dumber, with the general public becoming more and more controlled and swayed by corporations.

Because of this, advertisers became less and less subtle with their suggestive imagery and double meanings as well as how they try to push certain agendas in their ads or tv shows and films. It finally comes to the point were advertisers finally stop being subtle and blatantly plaster their leanings and double meanings on the product, ad,TV show or film knowing the people have become too dumb to recognize them. With Radio hosts and news anchors seemingly more self-aware, to companies with names like GetaLife and LifeInvader, it became a sign that the corporations and media no longer felt the need to manipulate the public, that the public by the 2000s were so brainwashed, that they no longer recognize it when they see it.

This increase in consumer culture triggered a promotion of capitalism which would spawn the "greed is good" era. People became more vicious in their need for wealth and status, praising the decadence and avarice to the point were celebrities are praised as demi-gods and allowed them to get away with horrible things. There are television shows that fawn over celebrities doing atrocious things such as building torture dungeons in their estates, to name an example. There are a litany of other disturbing examples we could mention here, but for the sake of brevity, we will let the readers of this document imagine this for themselves.

Moving on, the point here is that celebrities, at least those in America in this universe are known to partake in terrible activities that would put their own well-being and the well-being of others in danger to the point of even being criminal, with no one batting an eye, and even not only tolerating it, but accepting it and cheering it on.

As you would expect in an America like this, the government is also incredibly corrupt. with blatantly corrupt politicians being allowed to stay in power because no one simply cares, or at least the majority of people did not seem to care. The influx in the "greed is good" culture would lead into a decrease in morality. People would no longer care about right and wrong, simply their own self advancement, acting on their emotions in the moment.

This acting on emotions mentality would lead to an increase in bloodsports causing television to need to become more shocking. This allows TV shows that we would be disgusted by today to be aired. One such TV show would be called the "Republican Space Ranger", an animated adult show which features the main title character going to different planets and killing aliens simply because they were different, heavily indicating a normalization of racism and intolerance that we would later see play out in regards to the Mutant population.

Then there is the TV show, "Fame or Shame", a "talent" show of sorts that features graphic content that would not only get canceled in our universe today, but would not even be allowed on the air period. The masses do not realize how awful these TV shows are because they have been conditioned en mass to no longer care about right and wrong, a heavy contrast to most of the free world, with countries like the United Kingdom and Japan heavily criticizing these television programs and refusing to have them broadcast on their TV networks. (More on this in just a bit)

Stimulation and accumulation of wealth was all that most Americans cared for and sought to rise to the same heights as their celebrity demi-gods and corporate overlords, all to live the same lavish lifestyle as they do, but similarly to contemporary America, almost no one who was in the lower class was able to rise to those heights, or even the middle. The middle class was slowly being eradicated and by the time of 2018, the middle class was no longer officially recognized as a class. This in turn led to petty crime rising, just for survival.

Due to how the right wing cabal who overthrew FDR back in the 1930s were conservatives, they would stop any and all anti-gun laws, allowing weaponry to be assessed easily across the country. However, this causes an increase in violent crime across the country with New York City, Los Angeles and Miami being the biggest examples. Some cities like Detroit are so crime infested they they have been outright abandoned by the government and allowed to be taken over by gangs patrolling each corner block.

The police are incredibly corrupt as well with the corrupt government giving them extensive power with officers being allowing to gun a man down simply for looking at them and being too busy thinking of names to call a serial killer instead of actually catching said serial killer. Healthcare in the country was just as bad. If you were to walk into a hospital, you would notice how many people in pain that are sitting in their chairs waiting for hours seemingly to be serviced. The ambulance are noticeably incompetent with the attacked often dying before they can get there because they are stuck in traffic. And when people do get treatment, they are forced to pay an enormous hospital fee.

As you would expect, children do not have it easy in this country either. Because of how violent and dangerous the world around them is, children are often forced into private boarding schools for a majority of their lives, which in turn leads to further indoctrination from certain institutions. It is a broken system where the students are seemingly psychologically torn due to the violent nature of their world.

Now, we have discussed what the state of the United States is post-1933 in the SEU and how damaged and overall terrifying things are, but how do they handle global affairs, and how does the rest of the world view them? We have made some references in regards to this in parts of the sections above, but we will now go into more detail here.

Despite the deeply problematic aspects of the United States that came about as a result of the 1933 plot, America, at least prior to 2023, was seen as an international superpower. It was a very wealthy nation, despite a vast majority of its population either in poverty, or at risk of falling into poverty, and when it came down to global affairs, they handled their interactions and meetings with other countries quite differently than how they deal with their own people.

By this point in the timeline, much of the world was already aware of some of the ethical issues plaguing the nation, although it was to a limited degree, as America wished to display themselves as a nation of strength, and a unifying force when it came to foreign actors like Russia and China threatening the Western world, or bringing business opportunities abroad, allowing them to foster connections with other world leaders and governments.

The International Union (a version of the United Nations with more oversight and power) was heavily backed by America in terms of funding and resources for its facilities and military personnel, which is why the Union Senate and much of the Global Defense Coalition's facilities are located in the United States. But despite this, they also contributed to the rampant corruption within the Union Senate, a topic which warrants its own document, but something to mention regardless. And when it came to foreign countries that were not allies of the US, or members of the International Union, they would treat people in those countries with disdain, especially during times of war. In the war in Afghanistan, their brief war with Syria back in 2010, and even in World War III, American soldiers have been known to commit violent war crimes that are then promptly covered up to avoid being investigated by the G.D.C, going as far as to pin the blame of these atrocities on unrelated actors, causing more violence and bloodshed.

Despite the US's standing, many countries also noticed how morally bankrupt the country was to an extent, with most Western and East Asian nations refusing to broadcast certain TV shows and movies and have outright criticized them, along with most ordinary people overseas having the general view of the US being infested with crime and obsessed with drugs and guns. Foreigners typically do not feel safe in the country precisely because of its violent crime, and this would be an issue that certain politicians would start to raise.

The state of the United States was a direct result of the Sith Illuminati's plans to gain dominance over the world as a united international imperial state, and in allowing the plot of 1933 to succeed, the Sith have gained direct control over the country, though their role is to create a situation where action would be demanded by the rest of the international community to change. This would work in favor of Hugo Demask and Sir Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott, who both believed that the chaos of America would make the tight control of the New World Order a matter of necessity, taking it a step further, Westcott would use the state of the United States as a reason for his ascension as the Prime Chairman of the International Union, and sow the seeds that would lead Count Zobek into abandoning the Jedi Order to join the Illuminati, eventually causing him to take over Russia to formalize the creation of the Confederacy of Independent Nations later on.

The CIN, while many of its member states were authoritarian with their own issues and skeletons, was founded as a means to oppose the International Union and its corruption, blaming the EU's complacency and America's corruption for the institution's failings and thus wished for their own autonomy and a better quality of life, thus would cause the events of World War 3 to unfold.

But come 2020, there would be a reckoning. John Hill, a senator from Texas, would be elected President on the promises that he would end the corruption within the country, and make America truly strong again. At the time, most did not care for his messaging, but only voted for him because he was the most bombastic candidate at the time, and he made for great ratings for the media. However, John Hill hated what America had become and wanted to completely tear down the establishment and create a nation where the people could truly think and act for themselves, instead of corporations telling them what to do.

Upon election, he would fire various government employees and replace them with his own selection of people, even though they too were grossly unqualified as their predesecors. Still, John Hill had his own vision for America, wanting to punish the corporations that had ethically bankrupt the nation for decades. However, his efforts were repeatedly hampered by the Illuminati loyalists and the global war, which led him to make radical and cruel policies regarding foreigners entering the country, having police and military officers gun down migrants crossing the boarder in the south, or detaining civilians on suspicion of terrorism.

Hill was especially tough on crime, having police and even military officials carry out what was known as The Great Shake-Up, which saw a nation-wide operation to put a stop to violent crime once and for all. It had gotten to the point however, where prisons were over capacity, so Hill's solution was to simply have police and military execute criminals on the spot and burn any corpses left in their wake.

Beyond this, Hill was too tied up with other affairs like the war to do what he wanted to do, though when Westcott and his loyalists died and the Sith Illuminati was exposed, along with their crimes over the centuries, Hill was finally given the opportunity to act on his true goals, and his first order of business was to completely cleanse the government of Illuminati snakes and oligarchs who manipulated the nation for decades, though some would slip under the radar, Hill finally did what he needed to do and could focus on implementing his policies.

Hill developed a cult following over the years and by this point in the timeline, people were starting to wake up, and came to hate what their government did to them, and as a result, Hill would gain millions of supporters, even people already expressing their desire to vote him in the next election, but despite this, Hill still had problems. The economy was in deep trouble, and it would only get worse, and Gandstadt's nations were rising as a unified superpower threatening America's dominance, and because Mutants and other American citizens fled the country to the Republic of Gandstadt, Hill started a new campaign, which demonized Mutants and anyone else with enhanced abilities, which in turn led to a wide-spread anti-mutant revolt across the country. People were lynched in the streets, the Mutant Registration Act was initiated, and it led to police and the MRD (Mutant Response Division) to arrest all undocumented mutants.

Into the new year, in January of 2023, Hill went a step further by introducing a set of documents called the Paragon Accords, which functioned similarly to the MRA, only it applying to all enhanced beings, organizations and companies that produced or supported enhanced beings and weapons. This in turn led to a series of crises that escalated to the point of the world being brought to the brink of collapse, however when the timeline was reset, the Paragon Accords were never ratified by the International Union and thus failed to even pass the House of Representatives.

John Hill was not done yet, as he still had his plans for a new America, which involved the abduction of several orphans that were used to try and create their own version of a Divine Sovereign, to mirror Gandstadt's capabilities. The project was ultimately a success when a 4 year old girl named Charlotte was selected and was turned into an artificial Divine Sovereign, who was also brainwashed into seeing Hill as her father figure, making her more compliant for orders. Charlotte, operating under the codename FLAVIA, would be sent on several field missions into Gandstadt where she would encounter both Veronica Emeralds and Blanc Rosenthal on two separate occasions --- battling them and defeating them in combat, leading to their being hospitalized.

Hill's plans for Charlotte would start to be threatened when the girl would encounter Sylvia Bright, who would quickly befriend her. This would lead to her meeting Shido Fujimaru and becomes accepted into the family. To make matters worse for Hill, the Ratatoskr Foundation and the Global Defense Coalition, along with agencies like the FBI and CIA formed an investigation committee to look into his various crimes, including the Orphanage that was burned down, where they discovered that all of the adult caretakers were killed and the orphans having gone missing, and with later revelations that most of the other orphans were either sent to the middle east to be trained in a underground operations unit made up of child soldiers, or had simply died during the experiments.

And to top it all off, Congress was in talks to impeach Hill when these findings were leaked to them, which led Hill to hold a rally in front of the White House, where he slammed congress members and the investigation committee for this move against him, hyping up his crowd to march to the Capitol to prevent his impeachment from happening.

The march on Capitol Hill would be the catalyst for what would be known as the DC Riots. It would begin with a angry mob, along with a heavily armed Militia to marching up to the capitol with violent intent, all of whom were formed around John Hill's Rhetoric and believed they were there to carry out their president's orders. However, counter-protestors who hated Hill and everything he stood for blocked their path and fought along side police to fend off the attackers.

John Hill himself would join them and would engage several Foundation and Coalition agents before being confronted by the man known as Hideyoshi. Both men would put their strength to the test as they fought for what was the fate of America, a grueling battle that would end in John Hill's death, and Hideyoshi addressing the nation live on television. But Hill's death would trigger America's further downwards spiral into total anarchy, from the riots in DC triggered by the Bloodless Frenzy Spice, initiated by the Chaos Insurgency, which led to multiple lives being loss by the infected and from the G.D.C's massacre of the infected.

The vice president was killed by an assassin during the riots and so the Speaker of the Speaker of the House, Darris Hewlane became the next sitting President through line of succession. Hewlane attempted to maintain peace by trying to have Hill's militant supporters detained, working with G.D.C General Wilhelm Tarkin and other foreign powers to establish order, but by this point, the country had descended into full Civil War, with the PATRIOT Movement seeing John Hill as a Martyr and the mysterious Hideyoshi as an enemy to be eradicated.

Interestingly enough, both sides hunted Hideyoshi and his followers down for very different reasons. While Hill's supporters came after him for his murdering of their President, the government under Hewlane wanted to arrest him on principle of following the law and that his vigilantism caused an even worse situation to unfold, making him the enemy of both sides.

In late august of 2023, the PATRIOT Movement would gain new funding from Heisenberg Inc. with its CEO, Francis Heisenberg coming in to take control of the movement, portraying himself as "Hill's Successor." In truth, Heisenberg was an opportunistic oligarch who escaped Hill's notice when he was purging the government of corporate influence. In a twist of fate, Heisenberg would carryout a military coup, with Vatican Government backing, against Hewlane's administration, similarly to the 1933 plot that caused all of this in the first place, only this time it extended to congress and even the supreme court in a large, concerted effort.

Hewlane would be blackmailed into handing control of the government to Heisenberg before being sent off to prison. Third Princess Vivian of the UK, was visiting the white house at the time to help Hewlane regain peace in the US, however she was taken captive as well and was sold off to the country's underground human trafficking network, subjected to unspeakable things. Her current location remains unknown and this has sparked a very tense stand off with the United Kingdom in the Atlantic Ocean over it.

Heisenberg would try to make things back the way they were --- a country run by corporations, only this time, the control was much more overt and regulated, with CEOs from Heisenberg's trusted circle taking on the role of congressmen, or installing their own loyalists as congressmen, turning America into an official corptocracy. Despite this take over, it would not last for much longer. With the "resistance" being heavily armed by the entity known as Zoa-Gilstein, leading to Heisenberg unable to hold onto power.

Eventually, Heisenberg lost all authority when the rebels raised the White House and capitol hill, killing the CEOs that were trying to run the government and causing others, Heisenberg included, to flee into hiding. The military fell apart as senior military officers were being killed left and right in the fighting, and with the corporate governing body basically dissolved, the government fell apart, much of the United States now in a state of disarray and chaos resembling countries like Haiti. The civil war has reached its apex, and Heisenberg, fled to one of his penthouses in Philadelphia where he contemplates his next move, however, he is gunned down by a sniper named Shirou Emiya, ending any hope of a comeback by Heisenberg.

The Current State

As of September 25th, the country is in ruins. Cities have begun to lose basic infrastructure support as a result of the Government's collapse. The war between the Rebels and the Patriot Remnants still rage on, and the International Union has seemingly abandoned America for Gandstadt, seeing the new opportunities it presents as a capital and resources. Much like China and Russia did after World War 3, America has fallen as a superpower and is constantly ravaged by war, gang violence, other ecological and economical calamities as a result of the war. The country has reached its darkest hour, and unless there is an intervention by the world at large, or by even the Ratatoskr Foundation, everything seems bleak for the former bastion of the free world.

However, there are whispers of a miracle spoken among the PATRIOTS, rumors of their icon, John Hill returning from beyond the grave to save them. Some say that this is the work of god, having chosen Hill to be a messianic figure to save America from damnation. Others say that it is a clone, or a doppelganger from another reality, coming to finish what John Hill has started. Though whether or not this will save the country or further continue its damnation, remains to be seen.

Either way, the citizens of America, and even the world at large, watches with baited breaths to see what will happen, while the rest of the world continues to struggle against the dark forces that seek to subjugate it.

[projectsephira]

The Complicated History of Tenguu City

Aerial view of Tenguu City as it was in 2022.

Tengu City (天宮市, Tengū-shi), is a massive urban area that serves as an important location in the Sephira Alternative series. It is the city where Shido and Himeko Fujimaru, along with a handful of other characters grew up in and it is well known for being a technologically advanced city due to suffering from Spacialquake incidents in the past.

On April 11th, 2022, the City was obliterated in Metastasis Event during a confrontation between Tohka Yatogami and the AST, resulting in thousands of casualties in what is regarded as one of the largest humanitarian disasters of recent memory.

However, about a year later in May 28th, 2023, the city was restored anew by Fulcrum after resetting the timeline to ensure that the events of Dark Crisis were prevented from occurring. In the reset, The city was made anew and larger with a lot of its former residents restored with no memory of what happened.

Tengu is located south of Tokyo and north of the Kanagawa Prefecture. The location of the city is located in the center of a huge crater stretching for several kilometers. In certain continuities, it is also neighbors with Zeles City.

History

Though the city's exact founding is unknown, what is known is that it used to be an ordinary city prior to 1992, however a Spacequake completely destroyed the city, similarly to the Metastasis event that would come decades later. The casualties was enormous and the destruction extended for tens of kilometers.

The city was put into a rebuilding program thanks to a multitude of corporations and the influence of "the Golden Emperor" using the latest technology and began to restructure from the ground up, but for some time the city's population remained small as the threat of another Spacequake remained and the necessary infrastructure had not yet been completed.

There were correspondingly few schools and students at that time due to the severe population decline. Therefore, the city residents decided to combine all school festivals into a single holiday to make it more fun. Since then, this tradition has been preserved, despite the fact that later the population began to grow rapidly.

In the decades leading up to the start of the series, the Ratatoskr Foundation had obtained some level of influence over the city to the point of secret underground Foundation sites being created, as well as the presence of the Fraxinus, suggesting that Foundation personnel operate within the government and the police.

D.E.M Industries at one point had a few buildings dedicated to act as both their facilities for the Japanese branch of the company, or for the purposes of deadly and illegal experiments. For the longest time, conspiracy theories and urban legends posted on forum boards stated that D.E.M Industries was abducting homeless people and subjecting them to all manner of brutal experiments, or putting them through intense unpaid labor, most of which was proven to be true when the Illuminati was fully exposed, though by that point the city was already destroyed.

Seven years before the start of the series, Tengu City suffered a massive fire that burned down the entire Nanko district. The fire was caused by Himeko's transformation into a Spirit as she was unable to control her powers due to her young age and ineptitude.

Principles

Old City

Prior to the reset, Tenguu City was run by a mayor who is often voted into office to serve a set term, however, the mayor is a puppet figure as it is revealed that the city was currently under the influence of two warring organizations: the Ratatoskr Foundation and D.E.M Industries. This area was a point of contention for both organizations for many years to the point of both groups sending MTFs and mercenaries to battle each other for territory.

This was settled somewhat where both agreed to claim certain parts of the city as to avoid wasting resources into waging war over it. The city was divided into multiple Districts that was within the general oversight of both DEM and Ratatoskr. Around 18 City districts were created with Districts, 1, 8, 7, 18, 4 and 5n falling to the control of the Foundation, while the rest went to DEM.

This power struggle is reflected in the city's political structure which differs somewhat from other cities in the country. The democratic faction of the city's board is supported by the Foundation while the Conservative faction was supported by D.E.M.

Outside the city is a military facility run by the AST, a special division within the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. After the reset, this facility would fall under Foundation control and renamed to Site-019, where the AST now act as a regional MTF.

The City in recent years has had several gangs come and go, namely gangs affiliated with the Mafusa Sovereignty, a crime syndicate that operated all throughout South Eastern Asia at the time, making crime somewhat more rampant than in other cities in the country, save for Zeles City.

New City

After the reset, Tenguu City underwent a series of changes that made it stand out from its previous iteration. To begin with, the size and density of the city was increased to resemble a more dense metropolia, making it "Second Tokyo" in a sense. More high-rise buildings and urban developed centers are found and with a restored population, the city works as well as it did prior to the metastasis event, with new facilities and institutions to support it in the current world.

Because of the city's new size, the number of districts was increased to 22, and without DEM's presence, all districts now fall under the purview of the Ratatoskr Foundations and the Japanese Government. In a sense, it is an entirely new city with the history and flair of its predecessor. There is thought to be multiple Foundation sites in the city, including a more expansive underground complex, which can be accessed from small building in District 20, which houses a teleportation machine that connects to Aetheria in Gandstadt and back.

The city in this iteration features even more technologically advanced infrastructure a new train system as well as tiny robots that go around cleaning the streets on occassion. This and a lot of this city was influenced by Aetheria, which was set as the new standard for which all modern cities should abide by.

The city is still managed by two factions, however both of them are able to get more done with the Foundation having total influence. As far as it is able to tell, there are no notable gangs that have risen up since the Mafusa Sovereignty was rendered defunct after World War III's end, though there is always room for new blood to enter the scene, though it would be especially difficult due to the changes in Law enforcement. Ratatoskr's influence in Tenguu is so strong that the city is actually a veritable military fortress for the organization. There are various cannons and weapons hidden underground and can be deployed if necessary in the event of an invasion, again inspired from what the Foundation Branch in Gandstadt has taken for its security.

Demographics

New Tenguu is regarded as one of the most diverse cities in Japan, housing a very large foreigner population from both Europe and America with others from Australia even having relocated here. The reason people have for moving here is mainly because it is to start a new life away from their previous situation, or because of the general instability caused by recent disasters. The population has consistently been referred to having at least of 2.3 million figures. However what those figures consist of often varies depending on what documents one reads on the subject. .

Security and Military

Because of the Ratatoskr Foundation's influence, and the special circumstances of the Japanese Government, Tenguu City has a significant security force operating as its defense, which has accessibility to a more sophisticated array of measures to ensure security across the city. For visitors and tourists, people must require a certain set documents and a permit to be granted access to the city through entry points which require persons to have permission to enter or leave the premises. For vehicles, infrared seekers and MRI scanners a used to check vehicles. Inside the city, hidden cameras are dotted along many roads and alleyways.

The image of safety and trustworthiness is the forefront of New Tenguu City's concerns, but information was strictly monitored and controlled below the surface. Many systems were laid out throughout the city in the name of preventing the approach of any terrorists or spies, be they industrial or working for a nation’s government or other organization. This control and manipulation of information is exemplified during Vlov Arkhangel's rampage, where not only the message boards and the local SNSs block and manipulate information regarding him, the channels used by Sector 4 are controlled as well.

In addition to the ground-level security protocols in Tenguu City, the satellite Orihime 1 and Hikoboshi II (a camera satellite and also a satellite laser-cannon) gathers detailed pictures of the area and relays it back to Earth. According to Himeko Fujimaru, around the beginning of the series there were three satellites that continually monitored the city.

Sector 4

Also known as the Blue Jedi, Sector 4 is a police-based organization operating in New Tenguu City, its official name being "Tenguu Legal Affairs Bureau, Civil Registry Department, Annex 4". They are a peculiar organization in the sense that they are made up of Force sensitives who are either members of the Jedi Order, former members or were brought in from elsewhere. The role of Sector 4 is to manage a registry and the whereabouts of "special foreigners", which is the term used to refer to people with supernatural abilities, such as Mutants, Magi, other Force Sensitives, and irregulars from other places.

Conventional police forces under Sector 4's command.

They operate as the official law enforcement in Tenguu City, with control over conventional and militaristic police resources to manage the security of the city. Members of Sector 4 are often seen operating as bodyguards for politicians and other high ranking city officials, and unlike their Jedi counterparts, the utilize force-imbued metal sabers which are said to operate as efficiently as a genuine lightsaber.

Sector 4 makes use of the Yuishiki System, which is activated under the Level: Royal Blue command. It is a sophisticated search engine that ignores the privacy rights of all citizens, accessing footage not only from surveillance cameras, but also images and conversations from the citizens' phones.

According to Kanade Ichinose, Sector 4 used to operate in Tokyo prior to the reset, but was later relocated to ensure the city's safety from anomalous threats.

Locations

District 7

Distirict 7 is the district that functions as a suburbia of Tenguu City, with houses for its citizens being commonly found here. This area has the highest population of families in the city, which is generally regarded as the most "quiet" section of the city. Admittedly, this area remains mostly unchanged. Shido's house can be found in this section of the city, along with Raizen High School and Kaisei Junior High School, both of Shido and Himeko's previous schools respectively before the old city's annihilation.

Additionally, Saito University can also be found on the outer reaches of District 7, a large educational institute that where much of Shido's former classmates attend now. There is also thought to be a Foundation facility either on campus or beneath the complex.

District 1

District 1 is located in the administrative section of the downtown area. Offices for public officials are located here including the HQ of Sector 4 and the Mihashira Tower: the tallest building in the city that completely towers over all the rest. This is said to be the home of O5-6, the true authority of the entire city and to a lesser extent, the country. The Mihashira Tower is said to be highly secured with various defenses befitting that of a high level Foundation Site with a special contingent of force sensitives that lead its security forces.

O5-6 is also believed to be a powerful force sensitive who keeps to himself and is among one of the oldest members of the council.

(More Locations and information coming soon)

[projectsephira]

Conceptual Thought Being: Caelesti Patrio.

Caelesti Patrio.

A Conceptual Thought Being is an entity that is the pure manifestation of a certain land, world, theories, ideas or concepts made into a physical form. The older and refined these concepts are, the more powerful and stable they become in the unlikely event of their manifestation.

In a sense, the Caelestri Patrio is a manifestation of America's collective ideas, beliefs, desires and emotions, made into the form of an entity whose form can be seen from space were it to manifest.

As it is a Conceptual embodiment of the Country of America in the Sephira Universe, it represents the ideals of freedom, liberty, hope for a better future, and acceptance of new blood and ideas that make it what it is.

And yet, its very existence is a contradiction, for as much as it represents these ideas, it also vehemently rejects them, denying outside presences in hopes of maintaining what it perceives to be those core principles. It is fickle, undecided, divided and chaotic. As much as it wishes to preserve itself, it also wishes to destroy itself in the process.

In a way, this being acts as America's own version of Alaya, the side of the Counter Force which protects humanity. As its rejection of outside influences drives its chaotic actions, it will perform a Theoretical Pruning Phenomenon Event, which is to erase history itself. And to do this, it would attempt to prune the rest of the Earth, ensuring that America and its people can survive without being exposed to outer influences, allowing it to potentially grow as a world onto itself.

[projectsephira]

Lore: The Overseer Council

The Overseer Council.

Also called the O5-Council, or the Overseer Command, is the ruling body of the Ratatoskr Foundation, consisting of 13 individuals who are widely regarded, and rightfully so, as among the most powerful, if not the most powerful, and influential individuals on the planet to the point where they could outright alter history itself if they so wished. It is for this reason that they were seen as the biggest threat to the Sith Illuminati when they were active.

They keep watch over everything and everyone that has a certain experience and history dealing with anomalous entities and objects.

History

The position of overseer has existed since the very beginning of the Ratatoskr Foundation, when Yahweh approached thirteen individuals to create an organization whose purpose was to protect humanity from all manner of powerful and anomalous threats. Though Yahweh would be heavily involved when the early days of the Foundation, she would take a step back when she felt that the thirteen founders could manage the daily operations of the organization.

Although some members have been in the council since the very beginning, due to their immortal nature, through Mystery or other strange sciences, most of the seats would change hands over the decades, with members coming and going, though their influence as an administrative body never changing.

Principles & Operations

As the administrative body of Ratatoskr, they are generally responsible for making important decisions when it comes to the operations of the Ratatoskr Foundation and how they approach specific matters. Just below Yahweh, they hold total control over Ratatoskr as an organization and its operations. The Council is generally secretive and unknown to most people, both outside and even inside the organization. Some regard the Overseer Council as a myth, much like the Illuminati.

Most Foundation personnel spend their entire careers without seeing them. Members below Clearance Level 2 do not even know they exist. Most people outside the Foundation have never heard of them, and even dismiss them as being not real at all, mostly as a way to keep people in line out of fear. Even if they are real, Foundation personnel do not even believe that they are human.

When interacting with personnel and other officials outside the Ratatoskr Foundation, their identities are kept hidden through various means. This is mainly done through remote contact meetings where they are able to hide behind a screen featuring specific symbols that represents them individually, or sometimes just their designation number within the council. Occasionally, this will be supplemented with their voices being digitally altered to be unrecognizable, laced with anti-memetic agents that causes most to forget what their voice sounded like.

Very rarely do Overseers have their meetings in person, with their meetings 98 percent of the time being virtual. This is not only done for security reasons, but having all 13 members together in person is believed to be a disaster of its own. When Overseers do conduct their business in public, they are usually accompanied by a secretary / assistant or bodyguard, or in rare cases, members of MTF Alpha-1, Commando Units specifically created to serve the Overseers.

Hierarchy

Even though the Overseer Council commands great power and influence within the Ratatoskr Foundation, and even beyond it, they still must answer to Yahweh, who holds the highest position within the Foundation possible: Administrator. She can override and overrule any decisions that the Council makes if she so wishes and can have most of the Council replaced if deemed necessary for her plans. However, since she is mostly hands off in regards to the administrative operations of the organization, the likelihood of her interference is low.

Within the Council itself, there is no strict hierarchy or ranking system that determines their influence and power. All Council members are thought to hold equal power within the Foundation, however, this is not exactly true in the strictist sense. Elliot Woodman, who is O5-1, is often treated and viewed as the de-facto leader of the Council and even Ratatoskr as a whole, therefore most defer to him when it comes to the decision making within the Council.

Council Members

So far, eight of the thirteen Council Members have been revealed throughout the story, with the others not having their identities revealed as of yet.

O5-1: Elliot Eisenhardt Woodman.

Elliot Woodman is the council member with the title of O5-1. Once the childhood friend of Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott, Ellen Mira Mathers and Karen Nora Mathers, Elliot joined the Ratatoskr Foundation after a falling out regarding Westcott's plans for the future, as he wanted to have no part in a future that would lead to mass suffering: something which Westcott enjoyed along with having ultimate power. Karen followed Elliot and would become his secretary as he was given the council seat not long after he joined. He is often viewed as the leader of the Foundation due to his kind nature, representing the values of what the Ratatoskr Foundation is supposed to be. It is often said that had Woodman not joined the council, the Ratatoskr Foundation would have lost its way at some point.

Woodman held the title as the "First and Strongest Wizard" but has since given up that title, semi-retiring from fighting, allowing Ellen to take that mantle instead.

O5-2: Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

Zelretch, to surprise a few, sits on the Council as O5-2. He is not only one of the original founders of Ratatoskr Foundation, but he is one of the founders of the Clock Tower of the Mages Association. He is Ratatoskr's connection to the world of Magecraft and maintains the tentative relationship that the Ratatoskr Foundation and the Mages Association has with one another. Zelretch is well known for many things: being the Magician of the Second Magic: Kaleidoscope, a disciple of King Solomon, and more famously, defeating the True Ancestor known as the Crimson Moon.

Similarly to Yahweh, Zelretch is mostly hands off when it comes to his duties as a Council member and rarely participates in meetings, often traveling between other timelines and observing them. He is listed as the director of the Department of Thaumatergical Research, a department within the Foundation that allows Magi to safely and freely develop their magecraft, as well as dealing with matters relating to the World of Magi. It is also Zelretch's Second Magic that has proven insightful to Ratatoskr's research in time travel and multi-universal research.

Zelretch's assistant is Rin Tohsaka, who manages some of Zelretch's Foundation obligations as a liaison affiliated with the Clock Tower.

O5-3: Mei Ling Xi.

One of the younger members of the Overseer Council, Mei Ling Xi comes from a wealthy family that has supported the Foundation financially for many years. She oversees and manages several micro-organizations that fund Ratatoskr's operations, from Site construction and management, to the trade and development of various equipment. She is highly devoted to Ratatoskr's cause of protecting humanity, and has no issues with sacrificing lives if it were to serve this purpose.

It was however later revealed that she was never interested in supporting the Ratatoskr Foundation. Mei is only interested in supporting any forces that can help her attain a life of personal freedom. In order to have this life of self choice, she resolved to change the world (dramatically if necessary) in order to attain the life she always wanted.

Her assistant is Wu Long, who also acts as her bodyguard.

O5-5: Thomas H. Wellington.

One of the more unusual members of the Council, Thomas H. Wellington is a Golden Retriever who holds the position of O5-5, and was gifted with the intelligence and sapience of a human, though whether he was once an ordinary dog, given high intelligence through unknown anomalous means, was a human who was transformed into a dog, or had his soul implanted into an animal remains unknown to many. Thomas is well-spoken, highly intelligent, and is known to both be a researcher and a philosopher. He doesn't view matters in terms of like or dislike, or good or evil, but in the view of whether it is romantic to him, and is an admirer of beauty found in deeper meanings and contexts.

He wears a unit on his back that can protrude mechanical arms to support him in his daily tasks, and is in possession of a CR-Unit which is said to hold immense, destructive firepower, making him a nightmare for both conventional, and anomalous forces. Thomas is regarded as one of the more dangerous members of the Council, despite not being malevolent in nature because of this CR-Unit and its capabilities.

Thomas enjoys cigars and is apparently 68 years old.

O5-7: Heaven Canceller

Heaven Canceller holds the position of O5-7, and has been within Ratatoskr since the 1950s. He is a well respected and talented doctor within the Foundation, to the degree that his treatments have saved more lives than he has failed, and to the point they were seen as miracles. For this reason, he oversees the medical department of the Foundation, and has trained many doctors under his wing. Despite his popularity throughout the Foundation, almost no one knows he is even a member of the Overseer Council, and his work focuses less on Council matters, and more on his work as a doctor, managing various facilities.

More often than not, he, along with Reine Murasame were assigned as Shido Fujimaru's medical practitioners due to his frequent injuries. Much of his life prior to joining the Foundation is unknown, including his real name and age, but he is well trusted by Shido and Himeko regardless.

O5-8: Francesca Prelati

Francesca Prelati is the council member holding the title of O5-8. She is the friend of Gilles de Rais, with Gilles eventually straying down a dark path that led him to try summoning a demon to relieve his financial difficulties, Prelati was the actual magus in their twisted relationship, with Gilles merely being the patron. Francesca is one of the more dangerous and unpredictable Council members that even the other O5s are wary of, due to her habit of making things "interesting", with her explicitly stated goal to be working towards making the world "a more fun place".

Francesca or rather François, is also shown to be highly well connected with various powerful organizations, as seen where she has ties to a highly ranked American Organization and other subsidiaries around the world, even other groups like the Global Defense Coalition, Marshal Carter & Dark, the Aozaki Family, and the Mages Association to name a few. This gives Francesca a great deal of information and resources to draw from in order to fund her "entertainment" and makes things more "interesting". Francesca has even shown to have a level of pull with the world's various governments and connections to some of the most influential and powerful individuals in the planet.

François (Francesca) has seemingly developed a unique method of immortality that somehow revolves around reincarnation, similarly to Vladimir Tepes Dracul. that she is capable of changing bodies frequently and has inhabited her current one for only three years, all its organs still being fresh. Francesca resurrects in a new body after death, which can be either male like her original body, or female.

She is a highly skilled practitioner of Illusionary Magecraft.

O5-13: Ellen Mira Mathers

Originally, Ellen Mathers was the Director of the Global Defense Coalition, Isaac Westcott's right hand woman and enforcer, and a cruel woman who despised Elliot. After Elliot joined the Foundation, Ellen saw this as a betrayal of the oath to create a better world they made as children, not only enraged for "betraying" her and Westcott, but believing that he had brainwashed her younger sister Karen into following him. During those thirty years, Ellen's desire beyond serving Westcott and proving her superiority to everyone, was to see Woodman dead by her own blade, and it was this hatred that gave her strength in the Dark Side, boosting her along with her status as the Mightiest Wizard.

However, after the battle between herself and Woodman in the battle of Site-119 during the Sith's final assault on Gandstadt, Ellen was bested and was rendered into a comatose state after Westcott was killed by Yahweh. For the following months after this, she would remain inactive until she woke up with no memory of her time as Westcott's enforcer and co-conspirator, an entirely blank slate while still having general knowledge on Realizers and other matters.

After the original O5-13, Gideon Almsted, had been revealed to be conspiring against the Foundation along with his daughter for their own nefarious purposes and was killed during the THELEMA Crisis, she was offered the empty council seat by Woodman, to which Ellen would accept. Ellen would become the new O5-13, though this appointment would be kept secret from the rest of the Council and the Foundation, as Elliot felt it may cause unnessicary conflict if a former enemy was revealed to be sitting on the Overseer Council.

Ellen however, is not the cruel, power obsessed woman she used to be, and is a diligent worker who remembers nothing of her past and is re-connecting with both Elliot and Karen. Her assistant is the artificial Elojim, Mayuri Kojima.

Other Members

O5-4:???

Unknown. They are said to have complete oversight over the militaristic branches of the Foundation.

O5-6: ???

This member is said to have close ties to the Order of the Jedi Mystics.

O5-9: The Brain.

Is said to be a highly intelligent young beauty who is an expert on manipulation.

O5-10: The Archivist

They are the director that oversees the Foundation's Archive Database.

O5-11: ???

Unknown, the Site they operate in is thought to be somewhere in North Pole.

O5-12: ???

12 is believed to either be an Extraterrestrial or is related to Extraterrestrials in some manner. Their office is said to be deep underground off the coast of the Atlantic.

[projectsephira]

Guide to the Cosmology of the Sephira Universe.

The Cosmos of Sephira is a vast and multi-faceted existence where all of the events of the story and the various spin offs and side stories take place in. This entry will go into detail regarding the structure of the Sephira Universe's cosmology, namely using Earth-616, the main reality of the story, as a reference.

The Angelarium: Ein Soph

A unique facet to the cosmos of the Sephira Universe is a realm called the Angelarium, also called by some the Inner High Cosmos. It is a metaphysical world of the subconscious that is said to exist within all living beings. To philosophers, it is likened to a bead of water floating at the center of the universe. All things stretch out from this droplet. All worlds, all galaxies, and the full expanse of creation extend infinitely in all directions from its surface. Beholding this tiny thing amidst the expanse around it does no justice to what it truly is. To understand its size is impossible because it’s as infinitely small as the universe around it is infinitely large. To see the bead is to lose sight of the universe around it and vice versa.

The bead holds a reflection of that universe within it. The space inside its boundaries is equally as infinite — a small and delicate infinity and yet infinity nonetheless. Like the bead that contains it, its size is impossibly small. And yet, as one peers deeper into its center, they see the universe inside. They may believe that this experience of looking from the outside in is what it may be to see through the eyes of a god. But they must respect that their view of the universe within the water is no more complete than the view of the universe outside of it. The interior universe is filled with the experiences and expectations of all existing things, the glimmering lights of knowledge and the vast darkness of unknowing.

To summarize, The Angelarium is simply a reflection of the Universe where one Smaller Infinity (Angelarium) is contained within another Larger Infinity (The Physical Universe) thereby making the Sephira Universe a Fractal World. The Angelarium is an infinite expanse within the Internal World of all living beings and is a reflection of the External World. However, there is more to it beyond this.

Within the Angelarium exists the Tree of Life, called Ein Soph, a living, cosmic structure that is infinite in size while it contains the knowledge of the Infinite. Every world, every Galaxy, every universe and every timeline or possibility, resides within this tree. The Tree itself is a microcosm compared to the Infinite sized realm that surrounds it which is the Angelarium. This in itself is another Microcosm-Macrocosm connection as The Tree itself is the entire Realm since it is found in the boundless skies and even in a single grain of sand of the realm while being stated to be everything and nothing.

The Ein Sof acts as the Primordial Source from where everything originates from including the emanations as well as the world of man. It has also gone by various names, such as the Swirl of the Root, the Fount of Origination, the Akashic records, and so on, and the Magi of Earth dedicate their lives trying to reach it, while the Jedi seek to be in harmony with it, as the Tree of Life is the origin of the Force.

There are 11 Emanations in the Tree of Life and they are:

Keter, Emanation of Crown

Chokhmah, Emanation of Wisdom

Binah, Emanation of Knowledge

Chesed, Emanation of Empathy

Gevurah, Emanation of Judgement

Tiferet, Emanation of Beauty

Netzah, Emanation of Endurance

Hod, Emanation of Submission

Yesod, Foundation of Life

Malkuth, Emanation of The Kingdom

Da'at, The Emptiness

All of these emanations act as aspects of Ein Sof and are the body of the Tree of Life of Ein Sof or the Angelarium. However, this is referring to the Tree of Life which is composed of the Sephirots or Emanations while the entire Tree is itself being emanated from Ein Sof, the Infinite.

Dwelling within the Angelarium are beings called Elojim, or what humans would call, Angels. The Elojim are known to be fit into three categories which are as follows:

The Seraphim.

The Grigori.

The Zodiacs.

Seraphims are the physical embodiments of the Concepts spawned by the Relationships between the Emanations and they all exist in the Angelarium, as the domain of the Angelarium is where the entire Tree of Life, including Da'at, resides.

All Elojim are embodiments of the Concepts who are generated as a side-effect of the different relationship of the emanations. These Angels are inhabitants of Angelarium and are embodiments of the different concepts, ideas, and personas that exist in or participate in Reality or Physical World.

They were initially a collective formless nothingness of Boundless Existence who were able to manifest into the Physical World of Man where Samyaza was the first to manifest and then gave all the Elojim their name thereby setting their boundaries and distinctions from each other where they will embody each of the ideas, concepts, phenomenons, and personas perceived by mankind.

Physical World

The Physical World in the series is represented by the Emanation of the Kingdom, which is Malkuth. Malkuth herself is an emanation and is the Conceptual Embodiment of the Physical World with the Infinite Space itself being a mere manifestation of her concept where all living beings live in. In addition, the very concept of Time in the physical world is embodied by Remph, The Angel of Time and thus, both Space and Time are what forms the Physical World or the Universe.

The Multiverse

The Multiverse, generally called the Greater Cosmos, is the space within the Physical World where different universes are born and reside in. It is likened to a forest of trees, where each reality has their own fundamental laws, rules, and source of origin. It should be noted that no two universes are identical, and while they may hold many similarities, each reality is its own separate space. Depending on where one finds themselves in the cluster of universes, similarities will be apparent, while others are completely alien down to the very laws of physics.

Each universe is referred to as a Lesser Cosmos and is also likened to a tree, with its extending branches being that of its many possibilities. These are what is known as Alternative Timelines, branches in reality that split off from the Sacred Trunk, also called the Sacred Timeline of Origin. This is signified with a universe having a predetermined point in its history before various possibilities splinter off.

Universal events called Quantum Time Locks are known to occur for the purpose of culling and management of Branching Timelines or "Adjacent Worlds" as they are called. These are done at regular intervals within a domain for the purpose of anchoring "the average expression of phenomena and occurrences" as immutable absolutes within a confirmed History.

Branches that are designated for culling require specific criteria for pruning. One of which is straying too far from the trunk of origin or should they lean too close to complete prosperity or ruin. The latter of which a branch advances too far into either prosperity or ruin are considered bankrupt and therefore pruned. consequently, that which is preserved and anchored as absolutes by the manifestation of Time-Locks are described to be "the Average Expression of phenomena and occurrences" — both because the contents of preserved timelines tend to be "commonplace" amongst Branches, and because their outcomes on average aren't biased toward positive or negative valence.

It is commonly mistaken that Alternative Timelines and other Universes are interchangeable and are of similar nature, but they are in fact entirely separate phenomena. Other Universes are completely different from one another in various ways, even if there are similarities between some of them, while Alternative Timelines are alternate possibilities of a singular universe.

The Greater and Lesser Cosmos, distinctive as they may be, are all part of a singular infinite space many would simply call, "The Universe" and is part of the Physical World which all life inhabits.

The Middle Cosmos

This refers to spaces that reside just outside the boundary of a Lesser Cosmos as alternative dimensions. In World-616, the number of spaces within this domain are unknown, but among the spaces present are the Liminal Complex, which also resides in the space which Yahweh resides in, a theory once put into place that the Complex was actually created by her to serve as a security system put into place to shield her residence from outsiders.

The Reverse Cosmos

Also called the Mirror Universe, the Reverse Cosmos is perhaps one of the more perplexing places in the Sephira Universe. By all accounts, it is a mirror version of the Lesser Cosmos that is the observable universe and is known to possess objects and celestial bodies that correlate to the mainline universe. An example of this is the planet Earth, which has a counterpart in the Reverse Cosmos called Gaea.

Geographically, Gaea is identical to earth if you were to view it from a satellite, however this is where most of its similarities end. On Gaea, humans exist in abundance, however technology world wide is stuck at a per-industrial stage, or is on the cusp of an industrial stage in some regions. There are also other species that developed along side humans, such as Elves, Fae, Mer-people, Beast People, and others.

The continents on Gaea, while visually similar to Earth, also go by completely different names, has different histories, and even differing ecological conditions from its mainline counterpart in the Lesser Cosmos. For instance, Africa, which is called Praxia in Gaea, has various towns, population centers, and different areas with plenty of green fields, lakes and rivers with the Sahara being virtually nonexistent, while Gaea's equivalent to Eurasia is very much like the Amazon Rain Forest in mainline Earth.

Perhaps another location of interest in Gaea is Mardoweth (@mermaus), a continent whose location cannot be ascertained as it relates to mainline earth. It also houses various populations of different species including humans and its own pantheon of Gods, which are still active in varying capacity to this day.

Interestingly, for the people of Gaea, geographical locations for north and south, & east and west are reversed from how it is in the mainline reality of the Lesser Cosmos. The place that is Antarctica on earth is seen as the north pole, which the ocean surrounding it considered to be the northern sea, and it is described as a frozen waste land where creatures of ice are said to reside. In his youth, Kazuto Takamiya once traveled there to kill a dragon made of ice and use its body to have a new sword forged for him.

The Reverse Cosmos is thought to be a strange place conceptually, as it is at first glance, appears to be a totally separate universe that shouldn't exist, however, it is classified as its own part of the Lesser Cosmos, while holding properties that remain to be fully understood. Travel between Earth and Gaea is done so easily through beings who can access it, ancient doorways lost to time called Gateways, or through certain dimensional anomalies. It should be noted that there are several locations on Gaea with high levels of Mana density in the air that may make it difficult for a human from Earth to adapt to living in, or at worst, lethal.

The Netherworld

The Netherworld, or simply the Afterlife, refers not just to one location, but is rather a space that houses various kinds of environments meant to house souls, or large concentrations of the Living Force. When a sentient creature dies, their soul is brought to a region of the Netherworld where they will either pass on through the Fount of Origination to be reborn, remain in "limbo" where they simply exist as wandering souls, or is subjected to an eternity of torment and punishment.

There are three different regions of afterlife worlds called the Light Regions, The Grey Regions, and The Dark Regions.

Light Regions is generally where souls go to to be sent on their way to the Fount of Origination. They will have a higher chance at being reincarnated as a different individual altogether, with their memories of their previous lives being removed, save for some very rare instances.

Grey Regions are areas in the Netherworld where souls do not pass on into the next life and are instead sent there to roam endlessly with no purpose. In one of these Grey regions, the world of Corbanic and he institution called the Three Moons Initiative reside here, after three temporal variants of earth ended up being killed in an attempt to escape an incoming threat by warping the planet to another solar system, only to instead warp them to the Netherworld instead, inadvertently killing themselves. The Three Moons Initiative has their own judicial system where they judge the souls that ends up in their domain, to be rewarded and exist among the rest of their society, or to be subjected to severe agonizing punishment.

Dark Regions are zones within the Netherworld that are considered dangerous and inhospitable, even for the dead. Various locations, such as the biblical hell, make up these areas where souls are often tormented by hostile entities, or is anomalous in their own right that causes immense suffering to the dead. Such places include the White Room, which is a small, sterile white room that forces souls to relive their most traumatic moments, endlessly on repeat.

Also residing in these Dark Regions are the entities of Chaos: Primordial malevolent beings that are linked to the GOETIA Greater Consciousness. They represent chaos, evil, violence, darkness, malevolence, and insanity, something which a group of beings called the Final Occultation wish to unleash upon all the cosmos, sending reality into never ending havoc.

The Netherworld is overseen by Azrael, the Elojim of Death. Although he resides in the Angelarium, it is Azrael who sends souls to various regions under his judgement. The Netherworld is also connected to the Driftwood Cathedral, a domain where Azrael typically resides, connecting the Angelarium and the Netherworld.

Azrael is in the possession of a book called the Tome of Fated Parting, where any name he writes into the book, is fated for death. How such a death comes about varies, as well as when, but know that it will come. The names of trillions are already written and it is only a matter of time before he claims their soul.

Azrael can also impose the concept of death on immortal beings by simply writing their names in his tome, and should he wish it, impose his will on the souls of the Netherworld and have them act as his minions. Azrael however is a passive being, like most Elojim, and is only interested in managing the netherworld and the departed. He does however have servants that are called Emissaries of Death, beings who resemble the traditional depictions of the Grim Reaper and also command death itself on a limited scale. One of these Emissaries serves the Dead Apostle Ancestor Vladimir Tepes Dracul.

[projectsephira]

The True Story of Vladimir Tepes Dracul.

A long time ago in the mid to late 11th century, Vlad Tepes Dracul used to be a human named Mathias Cronqvist, a knight and a master tactician who also practiced magecraft. He was childhood friends with Leon Belmont and Elisabetha Valdamjong, the latter of whom he would marry when they were 18.

Known for not only being a skilled tactiican, to the point where he was known throughout Europe as Cronqvist the Wise, but as a loving man who cared about his friends, and even moreso his wife. But underneath all of this, he had an innate fear of losing Elisabetha.

Having had nightmares of his wife's death, Mathias turned to magecraft in hopes of finding a way to keep her from dying, therefore he sought to learn and know everything. The more he continued his work, the more his despair grew. And one day, when his wife became ill, Mathias grew desperate.

That was when he met Walter Bernard, a very powerful Dead Apostle Ancestor at the time who gave him an offer, that he could provide him with the means of keeping his wife safe from death as long as he got something in return.

This was when Mathias convinced Walter to kidnapp Baron Leon Belmont's lover, Sara Trantoul, promising him that Leon would be a formidable challenge for him. Thrilled with the prospect, Walter did as he proposed, telling Mathias that in order to truly oppose death and become someone with the eternity to keep that which he loves from dying, he had to become a powerful Vampire, and in order to do that, he had to be bitten by the most powerful one.

He tells him of Arcueid Brunstud who was the daughter of the Crimson Moon himself. Mathias would begin to seek her out, but before he leaves, he tells Leon that it was Walter Bernard who took his beloved, manipulating him into a confrontation with the Ancestor.

Just as it happened to be within the cycle of Arcueid's duties of killing Demon Lords, Mathias tricked her into drinking his blood, causing her to go haywire. After killing all the True Ancestors who raised her, she regained her sanity and locked herself in the Millennium Castle.

At some point after this time, Elisabetha would die from the unknown illness she was infected with, and it was this death that caused Mathias to truly snap for the first time. Having gone through all of this, only to lose the woman he loved anyway, Mathias became maddened with rage and grief, swearing that he will get his revenge on the lord himself for taking his wife away.

Mathias became more power hungry, wanting to become so powerful that he could challenge God himself. He would go on to seek out the Crimson Stone, an ancient artifact that was said to bestow the owners of it immense power. After obtaining it, he would form a partnership with the Emissary of Azrael, the Elojim of Death, who would claim the soul of Walter upon his death at the hands of Leon, and store it within the Crimson Stone. Mathias as a result, obtains immense powers, becoming one of the most powerful Dead Apostles to ever exist. It is from this point forward that any humanity Mathias had is now entirely gone, hence, he changes his name to Vladimir Țepeș Dracul, Lord of the Dead Apostles and King of the Night.

1094-1476: Interlude

At some point during Dracul's unholy life, he constructed a castle in the province of Valachia where he established as his territory. He would recruit humans and other beings who had turned their back on God, or were shunned by the light. Dracul granted some of them forbidden knowledge held by the Holy Church and the Mages Association and allowed them to practice their rites in his castle.

One day, he met a kind woman named Lisa, with whom he would eventually become romantically involved. She reminded Dracul very much of Elisabetha, which was mostly the reason why he had fallen in love with her. Lisa loved Dracul very dearly despite his views on life and they would eventually have a son together named Adrian Fahrenheit Țepeș, who would be later known as Alucard.

Eventually, rumors started to spread that Lisa's medicinal practices were a form of witchcraft. This caused her to be arrested and sentenced to death by the authorities. Lisa was captured and crucified, an event Adrian witnessed but was prevented from intervening in. As the execution would have traditionally occurred during the daylight hours, Dracula would not even become aware of it until hours later and when he learned of this, it drove him over the edge. Eventually, he plotted his revenge against mankind as he did to God for ruthlessly taking away what mattered most to him.

War With Humanity

Dracul would wage a war against humanity, amassing a huge army of Underlings, Ghouls, Living Dead, along with various inhuman creatures and human magi who had become sycophantic followers of his cause, having their own reasons to despise humanity. This force would wipe out multiple armies sent by the Holy Church and the Jedi Order, wreaking havoc across Europe and conquering whole countries.

One night, Isaac, a General in Dracul's army, reported the Belmont Clan had started an offense in the west. A vampire hunting descendant of Dracul's old friend, Leon, who went by the name Trevor C. Belmont, was planning to assault Dracul's Castle. Because Dracul was responsible for the death of Leon's betrothed, Sara, Leon committed his kinsmen to hunting down and destroying the vampire. Isaac requested the opportunity to face Trevor himself. Instead, he was sent to find Hector, another General who was previously ordered to assassinate Belmont, but had deserted. Dracul planned to meet his old friend's descendant himself and waited for the hunter in his throne room.

Dracul eventually faced the vampire hunter along with the rebel, Grant Danasty (who had earlier been turned into a demon by Dracula's forces in a failed attempt at overthrowing him before Belmont freed him from the curse), Arcueid Brunestud and his own son, Alucard, who had chosen to oppose his father. Eventually, their effort had resulted in Dracul being slain. This was Dracul's first death after reigning for hundreds of years.

Reincarnation

As it would be had, Dracul's death would not be permanent. Instead, he would reincarnate himself within the body of another within some point after the destruction of his original body. His method of Reincarnation and its workings seem to be derived from a Principle that he stole from Arcueid in the past. Normally, the soul scatters and returns to Akasha, or becomes one with the Cosmic Force after leaving the envelope of the body upon death, but Dracul's soul is able to be transmitted. It has lost the concept of destruction entirely and morphed so that it can remain conscious even while held within the record. No matter how many times his body is destroyed, he will always revive within a new one after a period of time. He is able to completely persist beyond death so long as human beings exist in the world, by taking them as host bodies.

Remilia Scarlet explains that Dracul is a man who sought real immortality, not the incomplete one vampires have. He can reincarnate into a new body after death, having the ability to keep his soul alive after it leaves his body. Until his next body grows up, they won't know they are Dracul themselves. In addition, she reveals that Dracul can choose his next vessel beforehand. He will always target someone who, has powerful family connections, and/or has a special innate ability. His usual priority is of 'good connections', often choosing a balanced mixture of both wealth and magical abilities to ensure his quick ascension to power without attracting attention.

Dracul would reincarnate several times over the centuries to carry out his revenge against humanity and God, coming into contact with the Belmont Clan and Arcueid, who would kill him in these instances, however they are unable to permanently kill Vlad, thus creating a cycle where every time Vlad reincarnated, she would visit the world outside the castle, punish him, and return to sleep, while the Belmonts would continue to train their descendants to fight the next confrontation, and developing new ways to kill the Vlad.

At some point in the past, Dracul convinced Vlov Arkhangel to kill Zaria Offenbaum and lied about how the blood of a True Ancestor would save the knight's life, seemingly stealing away the past 200 years away from Vlov, resulting in the knight developing a deep hatred for Dracul and a desire for revenge against him.

One day, Dracul and Nrvnqsr Chaos had a discussion about immortality, with Nrvnqsr Chaos asking him about his answer to the question of eternal life. Nrvnqsr Chaos was impressed at Dracul for finding the "Wandering Sea" they've met in, but Dracul praises him back for his 800 year old still-functioning magecraft.

Around the 19th century, the Belmont Clan would decline and fade from relevancy in the World of Magecraft after being chased out of europe by the Holy Church, allowing for other organizations and groups like the Holy Church and Arcueid to continue the fight against Dracul's reincarnations.

In the year 1899, Dracul would find his reincarnation in the form of a girl named Evelyn Belnades, a girl born to a normal family in a remote village in France one hundred years after his fourteenth incarnation died. The fourteenth was destroyed by Arcueid before he had a chance to find a family bloodline with both wealth and power. He could only fulfill the requirement that his next incarnation would have physical potential, so he was born into a normal family without any social standing. In exchange, her body instead had extremely high magical potential, which is the closest in power to his original body in all of his incarnations.

Dracul's influence gave Evelyn abnormal violent urges but she always kept them in check. It became too much to bear, so she shut herself into her room. One day, she emerged, killing her parents. He began manifesting on her twelfth birthday, and greatly enjoyed the amount of power the body gave him. Being chosen as Dracul's new body caused her to awaken at age 12, become a vampire, take over her village, and eventually become a central figure of what would be called the France Incident.

Even though he would have to take a long period of time to take over the town without status, he was fine with waiting until later to obtain social standing. He committed various atrocities to the citizens as he used his new powers to slowly take over the town. After the town was completely under his control, he was inevitably hunted down by Arcueid, who managed to find him after two days of searching. He was killed, and Evelyn's body was taken by the Church. She eventually revived with her original personality without any of Dracul's influence, while Dracul moved on to his next incarnation.

Sealing

In 1940, Dracul would reincarnate into the body of a Homunculous man who bore a strong resemblance to his original body, and was in fact, created by a cult of Alchemists who became obsessed with Dracul's legend. This cult had spent generations trying to recreate Dracula to perfection, so that he may have the perfect vessel when he reincarnated, and at long last, they succeeded.

As this Incarnation was an influential figure within the cult, as well as having some ties to influential mage families, Vlad wanted to make his come back and get revenge on humanity once and for all. With his plans of taking over Germany's Third Reich to gain access to the artifacts and resources that they had at their disposal, Dracul intended to bring about humanity's own destruction by using the war machine of the Germans against all of mankind and other esoteric practices.

This plot however would fail, when Alucard infiltrated the cult, wiping them all out with the aid of Jonathan Morris, a youth descended from the Belmont clan and Catherine Orlean, a talented Magus, both whom Alucard recruited because he received intelligence from his allies that his father had returned once again.

After the trio eliminated the cult, Alucard would confront his father for the first time in centuries, shocked that he looks exactly the same as he did prior to his first death. A battle ensues, and while Dracul appears to be overwhelming Jonathan and Catherine, Alucard would launch a surprise attack by running his father through with his sword, the Crissaegrim, which was not strong enough to kill the dark lord, but was able to seal him in a death-like state, locking his soul into his current body.

Alucard decided that in order to prevent him from reincarnating further and end the constant cycle of Dracul being an ever present threat, it would be to completely seal him away, rendering Dracul inactive indefinitely. After it was all over, Alucard would take the body of his father and further hide him away underground when no one would be able to find him or unseal him. Because of this, the world had truly believed Dracul to be permanently destroyed, and soon faded from memory of the Church and the world of magecraft.

Reawakening

In spite of all odds, Dracul would be unsealed in the modern era in the year 2023 A.D, after an excavation operation of the Chaos Insurgency, looking for new anomalies to help aid them in their cause of destabilizing the world and destroying the Ratatoskr Foundation and the Jedi Order. Dracul would awaken with no immediate memory of what happened, but when faced with the Chaos Insurgency agents, he agreed to join them, as long as they told him about the world's current state.

As he learned about the world after being debriefed, he would feel his anger rise for humanity once again and swears to carry out his vengeance. To give him this oppertunity, Rei Romani and Madam Morgana offers him a seat of the Masters of Chaos, as part of Rei's ongoing crusade of revenge against this world too, to which he agreed, understanding how she felt.

In the meantime, he continued to learn about the world and how most if the Twenty Seven Anscestors have been sealed away by the Church, or eradicated by Arcueid, and hearing of the rise of Biscas T. Benedict as the Pope of the now Supreme Holy Church of Rome and the further radicalization of the Church, he decides to rid the world of the Church. He would establish his territory in Romania and use the resources of the Masters of Chaos to take over the country silently. At some point, he would meet the former Mermaid Princess named Sara and develops a fondness for her.

Later, when the primary HQ of the Masters of Chaos were attacked in Madagascar by Xira, the Goddess of Fire in another world,, Rei and Morgana engaged the deity in a fight which resulted in the destruction of the HQ and an accident to occur with the Tesseract, sending Rei and Morgana across the other side of the Galaxy to parts unknown. In their absence, Dracul takes over the resources of the organization and reforms it into the Lords of Shadow, a council of individuals comprised of vampires and other beings similar to such.

His HQ would be his castle, re-manifested and placed within Romania where he further strengthens his grip on and uses it as the HQ of the Lords of Shadow, reminiscent of the old days. He gives sanctuary to the Scarlet Sisters, Remilia and Flandre, along with their maid, Sakuya Izayoi after the Church begins their hunt on all Vampiric beings. Former members of the Qliphoth Ascendancy imperial family, Freid and Aria Astaroth are also brought in as members of the Lords of Shadow. Other remaining Dead Apostle Ancestors align themselves with Dracul and offer to fund his operations.

With his charge, he organization's focus is entirely shifted away from the Foundation and his focused on warring with the Holy Church, where he employs the Chaos Insurgency to perform various terrorist attacks across the world, directed at christian institutions and church affiliated organizations. he then soon addresses all of Europe in a broadcast, declaring war on the Holy Church of Rome.

The War

War breaks out in Europe as the forces of Rome storm down upon Romania, but with the combination of Dracul's own power, those of his council, the legions of dead, magi who have joined his cause, espers who joins Dracul to escape persecution from humanity, and the conventional forces of Romania and Hungary, not to mention the resources of the Chaos Insurgency and what was left behind by Rei and Morgana, the war becomes extremely brutal and messy, rivaling some of the atrocities carried out during world war three just a year prior. Just like in the old days, Dracul would unleash his Kazikli Bey spell, to impale hundreds of catholic soldiers and warriors on spikes to send a message, indicating that Vladimir Tepes Dracul has returned.

The war would trigger his old enemies such as Arcueid, and his son, Alucard, to seek him out, as well as a manhunt for some to find the unknown individual who is the last descendant of the Belmont Clan.

[projectsephira]

Part 2: A Deeper Look Into Vampires. Flames_of_Death.

The next several hours would be a blur of activity.

Some time after Arcueid fell asleep, Shido would shoot his sister a text telling her that he was going to be getting home late and to look after the house and the kids until he got back. When she pressed a bit further, he just said that he had some things to take care of and that he'll be back as soon as he was able.

He obviously didn't tell her about the whole vampire thing going on. He didn't want her to worry and more than that, get pulled into something really dangerous even for her.

Since there was going to be a few hours until the sun went down, Shido simply sat on the sofa, watching Arcueid as she slept.

The activity, or lack there of, had become boring after a good hour or 2 and suddenly he felt himself fall asleep himself.

The next time he woke, it was over 10 PM, and Arcueid, now awake, expressed her annoyance at him sleeping on the job, even though she said it was safe during the day since Vampires only operated at night. Though since said vampire's underlings had been out during the day, the threat of them barging in and attacking them was a real one.

Their talk about many things continued after that, but what was a main topic was what vampires truly were in this world.

To start with, Vampires were just another race of bloodsucker, or being that consumed blood to survive, but she also went into further detail regarding the different types of Vampire out there.

The type of Vampire Arcueid was, and the Vampire that was attacking the city were two different categories, known as a True Ancestor and a Dead Apostle.

True Ancestors were entities that were classified as Elementals, beings naturally created from the planet itself. They were considered the Progenitors of the next category of vampires and did not require blood to survive.

Arcueid was a True Ancestor, and was tasked with hunting down Dead Apostles.

Dead Apostles were originally humans that were turned into bloodsuckers by another Vampire, or a True Ancestor, though some were also Magi who turned themselves into such creatures to carry on their research for much longer than their lifespans would allow. They were more in line with the image Shido had of what a Vampire was, in that they needed blood to survive, and that like an infection, they can turn others into Vampires until a whole village was filled with such creatures.

Everything from turning into mist as well as becoming animals like wolves and bats, it was all true, though it varied from individual to individual.

Dead Apostles also had a ranking system and some form of hierarchy to them.

There were the ranks of the Dead.

How it went proceeded as follows.

Rank I: Corpse.

This was the lowest rank in the Dead Apostle chain of command. They were called the dead, corpses, or basically for simpler terms, Zombies. Those with no inherent resistance to the vampiric curse will become one of these things --- mindless corpses that walk about feeding on the blood of their prey. They were apparently incapable of operating without orders from their master.

Rank II: Ghoul.

Somewhat similar to the first rank, although unlike Rank Ones, they actually possess a small degree of intelligence but were unable to pass off as decidedly human, thus were unable to blend in unless certain measures were taken.

Rank III: Undead.

These functioned as the commanders of the lower ranks, as they were stronger and possessed enough intelligence to pass off as a human, meaning they were dangerous, not only in the fact that they commanded Corpses and Ghouls, but that they could virtually be anyone anywhere.

Rank IV: Nightkin.

This was the rank where a person transitions from being a living corpse and becomes an actual vampire. They were no longer just mindless zombies or a simple corpse that became reanimated.

Rank V: Nightmare.

A Vampire, or beginner Vampire that could also develop supernatural abilities. Both Rank Fours and Rank Fives fall into the same sub-catagory and could still be a legitimate threat on their own. Even so, they are still bound to their master.

Rank VI: Lesser Dead Apostle.

This was the rank where the individual could be considered a true vampire in every sense of the word. It was at this point where they could freely leave their Sire at any time they wished and could create their own territory and gather up followers. These types of Vampires were more common for one to come across in the underground supernatural side of the world called the World of magecraft.

Rank VII: Greater Dead Apostle.

For a Dead Apostle to reach this rank, they must be granted certain privileges by an Ancestor. Dead Apostles who have reached this rank far outstrip those of the previous rank, and their presence alone is enough to corrupt the land they inhabit.

Rank VIII: Successor.

Those who stand in line to become an Ancestor after the current one. Ancestors give certain beings this privilege due to various circumstances. There are about two of these for every Ancestor. Each one was supposedly stronger than the Dead Apostle currently running amok in Tenguu City.

Rank IX: Ancestor.

This was the highest rank within the Dead Apostle hierarchy. What distinguished them from the others was their possession of Idea Blood: a special type of ability that those within this rank hold, which in and of itself was a Principle. A Principle was also a type of ability held by long lived Vampires.

Any Dead Apostle who acquires Idea Blood by taking it from a previous holder, ascends to the rank of Ancestor regardless of their previous ranking.

Along with a ranking system, Dead Apostles also had various titles affiliated with them. For instance, there were the Suzerain, or Castle Lords.

Castle Lords were Dead Apostles who own territory and expand their influence through the gradual buildup of underlings. They were true to the image of a common Vampire portrayed in most media, of being castle dwellers with dozens of subordinates under their command. The Dead Apostle in Tenguu City was thought to be a Castle Lord.

Other terms briefly discussed were Sires, which were Dead Apostles who spawned Lesser Dead Apostles, Offspring, which were Lesser Vampires spawned from a Greater vampire, and Underlings, vampires that serve an even greater vampire in general.

To describe the difference between a True Ancestor like Arcueid and a Dead Apostle was to call them an Extension of Humanity. That despite all of their power and inhuman traits, they were still fundamentally human at their core, just with extended lifespans. Lifespans that needed to be expanded by consuming blood.

True Ancestors were Extensions of Nature, as they were never human to begin with, but entities created by the Planet itself. They had more in common with Nature Spirits than humans.

The whole lecture had Shido's head spinning, with completely new terms and concepts that he had to store within his mind. It was a lot to take in, even to the point where none of it felt particularly real, and Shido has seen so much in the span of almost two years now.

At the very least, he knew what a vampire truly was in this world, and the fact that they had many weaknesses, like sunlight causing them to degrade faster, the fact that they can regenerate from their injuries, but not through a conventional healing factor, but through a reversal of time.

She called it the Hex of Restoration. All Dead Apostles had this ability, though it can be bypassed.

They also had things called Mystic Eyes, which were eyes that had supernatural effects. Vampires generally possessed a pair called the Mystic Eyes of Binding, which was pretty self explanatory, holding one in place upon eye contact.

Hours after the lesson on Vampires, it was just about 4 AM, and Shido realized he had been here for the whole day.

He noticed the temperature getting warmer and warmer to the point where he was genuinely starting to break into a sweat, so he told Arcueid to stay in the room while he investigated.

Clearly, this was not normal, and based on what he saw on the room's view screen which showed the lobby, he couldn't help but be concerned with what was happening.

________________________________________________________________

Fujimaru Shido stood in the dark hallway of the Hotel.

The air was thick with both heat and tension as he walked around. It was currently late august, meaning warm weather wasn't too strange, but it had been nice earlier that day, and the hotel had the AC on blast. If anything, it was freezing when they first got here.

Now, it felt like an oven.

The lights were off, which told him that something must have been wrong with the electrical system. The only thing that was lit up were the bank of elevators directly at the end of the hallway.

His throat hurt more than it did when he was in the room with Arcueid, the air dry and rough like sandpaper.

Still, the hallway was disturbingly quiet. Like the whole place had been abandoned. Everything was so tense and soundless, that he almost wanted to believe the scene he witnessed on the monitor wasn't real.

But, it was real. Which means that everyone in this building was in danger.

The vampire had found them and was sure to hunt for them. Why else were they attacking this hotel deep in the heart of New Tenguu?

Shido presses forward down the hall, his fists clenched as he steeled himself for whatever he was going to encounter in the next few minutes. He had no weapon on him that he could use to defend himself.

He only had his special right hand.

But would that be enough?

Could the Fantasy Breaker stand up to whatever this Dead Apostle is going to throw at him?

A chiming sound reverberated through the air, the sound of an elevator reaching its destination.

He turns the corner to face the elevator doors that were just several meters away from him.

The floor indicator near the doors stop moving and the cab arrives, a deep chill running through his bones in spite of the oppressive heat sinking in.

The door opens, causing Shido to tense up even more than he was already, but the sight of what awaited him was something he was no way prepared for.

Inside the box was awash with the remains of the recently deceased.

Blood was splattered all over the box, dripping out and onto the carpet of the hotel hallway.

A strong iron scent followed, hitting Shido hard.

BGM: 幻舞

Shido forgot to breathe.

Despite the scent, the sight before him was the only thing taking up his senses. The tightly packed pieces of red flesh in the elevator, the creatures gnawing away it it without a care in the world.

All of it had been burned into his mind.

"..............."

He couldn't even form any words from his throat.

That.... that used to be a human.

That used to be people, who lived ordinary lives, who had dreams, aspirations, friends, and a family even.

The pieces of flesh used to be human.

And those dogs.....

They were ravenously devouring the things that used to be people like they were gnawing on raw steak.

Blood continued to pour out of the elevator, dying the carpet in a vermilion color with a gurgling sound.

Thump. Thump.

His heart pounded away, but he forgot to breathe.

In that sea of blood, bodies, bones, brain matter, fingers and organs------

------the only things that were living were those two black dogs.

"Ah....Ah......"

His mind wants to reject the scene that's laid before him.

It wants to reject the reality where things like this can happen to people so easily.

But his heart new better.

No matter how much he wanted to deny it, people have died, and their remains were right in front of him.

That those dogs were mercilessly scavenging off the bodies of others.

In the elevator, there was a small vent, leading to the floor below. Through it, there were countless screams of people he couldn't hear before. It was then that a horrifying realization set in.

The attack had already started, and hundreds of people were now dying.

The scratching, scraping sounds of flesh being chewed on, the screaming and pleas for help and cries of horror down below that barely sounded like a human language....

Shido's brain, connected to the sounds he hears, can picture exactly what was going on down there.

Thump. Thump.

He couldn't see it, but he can imagine it.

People being burned alive, people being devoured alive by the horrors thatb were unleashed upon the Hotel.

Thump. Thump.

There was a man who noticed the unusual temperature in his room. The moment he opened the door to flee, he was consumed by the conflagration.

A girl had locked herself in her room, sat down in the bath and cried. The flames from the lobby blanketed the floor she was on and her body was turned into ash from the inside out, becoming a steamed fish.

There were people who scrambled to the elevators to escape as fast as they could, but the elevator was completely filled with former guests. These guests, no longer human, greedily set upon the people that had just arrived.

Thump. Thump.

Half the screams were of fear of being eaten alive.

The Other half were of despair of being burned alive.

Not a single person was spared.

There was no man, woman, child or elder that was left alive in this building.

The realization hit Shido like a speeding truck, that there was no one here to save. Everyone had perished without him being able to stop it, and beneath his feet was a hellscape so close, it made his skin crawl.

He felt completely sick.

He felt nauseous, but he refused to allow himself to throw up. because if he did, then he would also become one with the sea of red.

"Ah..... Ah.......ha."

He forces his stalled breathing to resume.

Gritting his teeth, he regains control of himself. The longer he stands here, the sooner he too will end up like the rest of the people here. Which also means that Arcueid is in danger.

"Grrr......."

The dogs in the elevator notice his presence.

Low, guttural growls leave their maws as their soulless eyes settle upon Shido, blood dripping from the corners of their mouths.

Shido tenses up as he knew they were going to come after him.

He also noticed that all of the noises downstairs also ceased.

In other words.

There was no one left alive anymore.

And he was the last form of prey to be found here.

The dogs break into a sprint, their jaws widening in preparation for their next meal.

[projectsephira]

A Detailed Explanation Into Sephira: Humans, Magi, Espers & More

Welcome viewers. This is going to be an entry regarding a few different things in regards to the Sephira Expanded Universe. As opposed to this being a topic on one subject, person or event, this is going to be explaining a few things when it comes to the "Magic System" in the Sephira Universe, namely as it relates to humans and how they can access these powers.

What do I mean by Magic System?

Well, it namely relates to how certain powers work and how it is predominantly present throughout the entries in this universe. While I may refrence things like Herrschers and Spirits, I mainly want to talk about humans in specific and the many types of humans that exist.

Humans.

Humans are the predominant species that rule Earth. They are, at least to a degree, are the most intelligent creatures on the planet, having been around for a couple million years, only to have more prominence for at least 40,000 years, and in this time, they have grown to dominate various fields of understanding, and have developed civilization.

During the Age of Gods, a time period in which Gods and other Phantasmal entities freely roamed the Earth, humans learned how to manipulate all sorts of powers, as well as discover innate talents that they previously were unaware of, and while science and technology has weakened the Mysticism of some of these powers, humanity still claims mastery over them to this very day.

To begin with, we must start with Magi.

Magi, also called Mage, or Magus when referring to singular persons, are people who practice an art called Magecraft. Magecraft is what you would call an artificial recreation of what many would call Magic, which has long since faded away since the Age of Gods came to an end. By that principle, a Magus practices Magecraft in an attempt to reach the Fount of Origination.

The Fount of Origination is basically the centre point in the Cosmos from which all possibilities is born and returned to when they end. This has gone by many different names, such as The Root, Akasha, God, or Ein Soph, and there are theories that states that Ein Soph and the Root are intrinsically connected, but whether it was created by Ein Soph, or Ein Soph originally came from there remains to be fully understood.

In any case, Magi seek the Fount of Origination for various reasons, mainly to acquire knowledge and power, and to even bring forth the True Magics that have been lost to time. Though many Magi who tried to reach the Fount of Origination, was lost, either because they were destroyed by the World's System, or had been consumed by it and never returned.

It should be noted that Magecraft is not Magic, but rather a scientific replication of it, thus it is not as potent or powerful as Magic. The beings who wield Magic are called Magicians, and there have only been five individuals who have ever achieved this rank. As of the present day, only two of them have been confirmed to be active. As humanity continues to advance and replicate effects once achieved by Magic through science and technology, the weaker Arcane Mystery becomes, therefore impacting Magecraft as a whole, which is why it has been on the decline since the end of the Age of Gods.

A Magus is more than just a term, but is rather defined by a whole set of beliefs and lifestyle, the first of which is the desire to reach the Fount of Origination. This is the driving force behind most Magi and they and their families will dedicate all of their efforts and resources to accomplish this.

It is therein that a Magus does not operate on the same lines of thinking or morality that common humans typically do. Magi have their own society which operates alongside, yet completely separately from the rest of human society. They do not follow laws set by the society of common man and are instead bound to the laws they have set for themselves, which are mainly enforced by the Mages Association, even though organizations like the Holy Church and the Ratatoskr Foundation also have a form of enforcement to a much lesser extant.

This society is typically referred to as the World of Magecraft.

In the World of Magecraft, there is great emphasis placed on Family and Bloodlines. In order for Magi to use Magecraft, they must have something called a Magical Circuit, an organ in the human body that's likened to psuedo-nerves. They vary in a variety of ways between different people. Some have higher circuit counts, and other have strange quirks to them. Mages try to specifically breed their children to have better circuits.

Those from old, well established bloodlines typically have better Magical Circuits thanks in part to selective breeding, while younger families no more older than three generations are typically weaker in both quality and quantity. There have been instances where if partners aren't chosen carefully, the quality of Magical Circuits can degrade with each generation.

Most traditional mages are less inclined to use modern technology, not believing in its convenience and believing that Magecraft is superior to modern tech. Some Mages are so technologically illiterate, that they have difficulty operating televisions, and especially smartphones. Being in places like Aetheria or any Ratatoskr Foundation Facility would likely drives some of these individuals crazy just trying to comprehend it all.

Despite this, not all Magi are like this, and there are some mages who utilize modern technology in their day to day life, and can operate phones and computers with very little difficulty. So it all really depends on the person and their upbringing.

I mentioned the Mages Association as the de-facto authority of the World of Magecraft. It is essentially an international, self-preservative and self-defense organization formed by Mages with the sole objective being concealment of the arcane as to further the advancement of magecraft. Magi typically enroll at the Clock Tower, the Association's main HQ in London to learn magecraft and better develop their craft. You could think of it as College for Mages basically. The organization however is rife with internal conflicts and petty political power struggles. The Association employs individuals known as Enforcers: Combat oriented Magi that are often sent out to deal with Mages with a Sealing Designation, or those who threaten to expose the Arcane to the wider public.

Moving away from Magi, I now want to talk about Espers.

Espers.

Espers, also called Psychics, Irregulars, or mutants, are humans that have special abilities as a result of a mutation. This mutation is brought about from the result of an extradimensional entity which exists as a gestalt of physically and metaphysically mutagenic symbiotes that currently inhabit and affect approximately 15 percent of the human population

These typically allow humans with these mutagenic symbiotes to develop ESP, or Extrasensory Perception, which grants the person abilities to affect the world around them.

Unlike Magi, Espers can only utilize one special ability, meaning that someone with pyrokinesis is unable to utilize aerokinesis as well, where as a magus is capable of doing both, depending on their Element and a few other factors.

Espers typically awaken their power when they come into contact with the fluid produced by the Entity, where they will undergo an event known as Apotheosis. The Esper will "Awaken" their ability and may undergo a secondary mutation that radically alters their physical appearance, though in many cases they will retain a human shape.

The existence of espers have become widely known to the public but their powers don't degrade over time because there is no overlaying mystery behind their power. Espers sometimes have a hard time controlling their abilities, which leads to them being seen as a threat towards humanity and is often hunted by various groups and organizations, seeking to contain, harness, or destroy them.

Then we have Force Manipulators.

Something to note here is that Mages use what is called Magical Energy, which is typically called Mana, the Greater Source, which also originates from Ord, the life force of all living things.

The Ord and the Force are the same type of energy, as it permeates not just throughout the Earth, but throughout the universe as well, however Magi cannot manipulate this energy in large quantities from their own bodies. It is why they use Magical Circuits to gather mana for their spells.

With those who can manipulate the Force, there is no need for Magical Circuits. Simply put, the only way for a human, or any other sapient creature to access the Force is if they have a high number of organisms within their bodies called Midichlorians.

It's worth mentioning that every creature in the universe has these things inside of their body, but most people don't possess the needed amount to manipulate the Force directly. Midichlorians are microscopic, intelligent lifeforms that formed a symbiotic relationship with and communicated the will of the Force to their host—in their blood. These people were deemed Force-sensitive, and were capable of consciously sensing the Force. With this conscious sense of the Force came the ability to harness it, allowing Force-sensitives to access various Force Abilities.

In a way, Force Manipulation can seem like another form of ESP, and for those who practice Force Sorcery, it may seem like Magecraft, but in truth, Force manipulation is a art of itself and is mostly separate from the mechanics of the other two powers. And Unlike Magecraft, any arts surrounding the Force doesn't degrade over time like Arcane Mystery, as the Force is vast and anyone that could sense it, can tap into it. Like Magecraft, it requires years of training to master, and one's power and talent solely depends on how many Midichlorians a person possesses, much like how Mages being dependent on the number of Magical Circuits, quality of such and Mana Capacity.

What is interesting about the Force is that there are many different layers to the Force, which may indicate that it is a sentient being. In fact, there is reason to believe that the Force has connections to Ein Soph and the Fount of Origination.

These are the aspects of the Force that is known:

The Living Force

The Living Force dealt with the energy of living things. This is where Ord is mostly associated with and how Mana originates.

The Unifying Force

This deals with the entirety of space and time as a concept.

The Cosmic Force

This mainly concerns the concept of Life after Death and what happens to beings after they die.

The Physical Force

This especially concerns the physical world and how the Force influence the material.

Additionally, and more predominantly, there is the Light Side and the Dark Side of the Force, which deals with the moral compass of the Force itself and Ein Soph, its originator, as an entity, which is also called the Sephiroth and the Qliohoth respectively.

The Order of the Jedi Mystics is an organization of Force Sorcerers preached the philosophy of the Light Side, which aligned with compassion, selflessness, self-knowledge and enlightenment, healing, mercy and benevolence.

Orders like the Sith Illuminati and the Sith Imperium practiced the Dark Side, which was aligned with hatred, fear, covetousness, anger, aggression, jealousy and malevolence.

The Knights of the Jedi and the Sorcerers of the Sith have fought in the ancient past for dominance, as light vs dark, with the last three iterations of the Sith being destroyed, either due to the Jedi and other light side organizations like the Guardians of Light, or through their own infighting and petty wars against one another.

Most Force users operate in secret due to the problems exposure to their abilities would cause, such as incurring anti-esper bigots, or risk being hunted by the Mages Association, though organizations like the Jedi have more leeway, as they have dedicated themselves ton defending the Earth from mystical threats and has been in a century long alliance with the Ratatoskr Foundation, thus is protected by them.

While the Jedi being too close to Ratatoskr carries its own problems, such as seen in another timeline, the two organizations benefit greatly from the partnership in terms of resources and understanding. Jedi are even considered honorary Foundation Personnel, such as the rank of Jedi General in the Foundation's military structure.

Special Mentions

Spirits

These are typically humans that get turned into divine entities known as Spirits, after having an object called a Sephirah Crystal implanted in their bodies. At that point, they will either cease to age or age very slowly unless they wear something called a Telesmatic Limiter. Spirits don a special type of armor called an Astral Dress, and wield Divine Constructs called Angels, which are often named after entities from the Elojim race. The energy they use is called Telesma, a special type of mana that the Angels from the Heavenly Realm use.

Wizard

Wizards differ from traditional Magi and even Force Sorcerers in a number of ways, as unlike the former two categories, a Wizard's power comes about via technology. To become a Wizard, one must undergo a procedure to have a piece of equipment called a Realizer, or Manifestation Device implanted into their brain. After that, a person becomes a Wizard and is able to deploy a Territory. Territories can be something akin to a Bounded Field that is generated by the Realizer within the Wizard's brain, which is generated by absorbing magical energy.

Within these territories, Wizards are capable of performing feats akin to that of Magi and even True Magicians in some extreme cases. For instance, a Wizard can accelerate or slow down the movements of other objects inside their Territories, themselves included, reattach limbs, levitate, quicken a weapon, make shots more accurate, and blades more sharper. Territories can also be used as a shield to protect the Wizard from incoming attacks. They also wear something called a Combat Realizer Unit, which allows Wizards to utilize their territory in the best optimum way possible for battle situations.

Realizers can also slow or halt one's own aging.

Sovereign Patron Units

The Sovereign Patron Units of Gandstadt are typically humans who become a Sovereign through having a Share Core implanted into their bodies. During this process, it replaces their heart as a critical organ and it becomes the nexus for their life force. Their bodies are forever altered, as they become stronger, more sturdy and resistant to things that would seriously harm or kill a normal human, and their aging is forever halted, making them immortal.

The power they utilize is called Share Mana, a specific type of magical energy that is generated based on the collective faith of humans toward them. It is this energy that allows them to not only fight but to function as living beings. With this power, they can transform into what many call a Sovereign Alter Ego, which is a combat oriented state where certain traits of their baseline personality are enhanced or other obscure traits being dragged to the surface, which gives those who witness them the impression that the Alter Egos are separate entities inhabiting the same vessel. This is not the case.

Sovereign Patron Units are capable of performing a special type of thaumaturgy (Note: Thaumaturgy is a blanket term for all kinds of Arcane Practices, like Magecraft and Force Sorcery) called Share Arts, which allows them to utilize Share Mana in a variety of ways. Such feats have shown them to be capable of putting them on the level of a True Magician, making them some of the most powerful beings to come across. Their only limitation is their Share Mana reserves which can run low if used too much, causing them to revert to their base form, and the fact that faith of humans is what gives them their power in the first place. A Sovereign's power can also fail to work properly if they are removed from the dimension they inhabit, preventing them from transforming, causing them to rely on other external means of absorbing Share Mana. Though this differs from other universes where Sovereigns such as Lady Vectia do not possess this limitation.

Powerful and capable Sovereign are able to deploy what is called a Share Field, which is a powerful Bounded Field that makes Sovereigns more powerful for a period of time, and weakens enemies who thrive off of dark energies like the Anti-Faith, the dark equivalent to Share Mana.

Types of Sovereign Patron Units

There are at least four types of Sovereigns that are prevalent throughout the series.

True Sovereign

Sovereign Patron Units who have ascended to the rank of Herrscher in Gandstadt's political system. They are the rulers of their nations and is the ones who who the people give their faith to.

Ascended Sovereign

This is a blanket term given to those who achieve a form called the Ascended State: a Form that can be granted via a special ritual which involve multiple Sovereign Patron Units. In this state, their overall power output is increased tenfold, and are capable of utilizing Arcane Mysteries on par with True Magic.

Inheritor Sovereign

These are Sovereign Patron Units who hold the position of Herrscher Candidate in Gandstadt's political system. They are meant to inherit the Share Core, power and position of their progenitor at a certain point in the future, and is expected to take on the duties of a True Sovereign in the event their progenitor is unable to. The ones of the current era were originally homunculi created for this sole purpose while having small shards of their sisters implanted in their bodies as pseudo cores. They still possess their hearts, but gain the powers of a Sovereign on a limited scale. They aren't able to initially access their transformation and requires a more psychological effort in order to initiate it. After which, transforming comes as easily for them as their progenitors.

Inheritors are known to be slightly weaker than their progenitors and age very slowly, as opposed to being immortal.

Artificial Sovereign

A rare category, as there is only one instance of a Artificial Sovereign. They are former humans that are turned into living generators which grant them the power to tap into Share Mana and utilize an Alter Ego transformation like the others. The basis of it functions around the faith of one's abilities, rather than the faith of others, which theoretically, they can become stronger than even True Sovereigns so long as they believe in themselves. It is uncertain if they can age normally or if their aging is halted / slowed like the others. The sole Artificial Sovereign that exists so far is Charlotte Fujimaru.

[projectsephira]

Why The SEPHIRA Initiative Was Created in The First Place

Throughout the story there has been a number of organizations that has held prominence throughout the Sephira Universe, with organizations like the Order of the Jedi Knights, and the Ratatoskr Foundation being just a few of those, there is one group that has consistently stood to defend the Earth from forces which would have destroyed it. We are of course, talking about SEPHIRA, the special response team made up of our favorite Herrschers and Spirits. But how did the team become what it is today? What was the original plan for it, and who was originally considered for the program?

Stick with us as we open up yet another document as we go over the story of how the SEPHIRA Initiative was conceived.

At some point during the second year of World War Three, the idea of a special response team came about in a meeting with Elliot Woodman and the rest of the Overseer Council, as they discussed the state of the world at the time. It was from the estimates of the Logistics Division of the Foundation, stating that the war would continue to escalate before reaching a point where the consequences would be cataclysmic. And besides this, more anomalous incidents were being detected and resources were being stretched thin in aiding the Stabilization Union with the war effort, as well as trying to contain hostile anomalies.

The idea of a special MTF Unit with a broad mission of responding to any and all crises was considered, but how to implement such a task force was left up to debate, as it would take an incredibly skilled and powerful group to undertake. After the meeting, Woodman would consult with the Administrator DEUS, better known as Yahweh, and tell her about the plan to create a new team to tackle threats to the world, and it was here that Yahweh would make the suggestion to try and recruit the Spirits, and other beings who may dedicate themselves to Service of the Ratatoskr Foundation.

Elliot wondered how it would be possible to convince such extraordinary beings to join them, especially if many of them were hostile to humanity and were constantly attacked by the AST and other branches of the Global Defense Coalition. Yahweh would insist that they try, as the Spirits at their core were not agents of destruction, and that under the Foundation, they could be valuable assets, and find a new purpose --- but the challenge lay in recruiting them. This is where she also suggests that Himeko Fujimaru, the only Spirit under their employ at the time, be the one to oversee its development.

Elliot, being someone who also wanted to see the Spirits thrive, would agree to it, and so, he would contact Himeko personally, and have her assigned to the Special Response Initiative, where she would be given the task of enlisting agents and operatives. The Spirits were of prime consideration, but there were other enhanced beings that were also being considered for recruitment, and so Himeko would have agents monitor these secondary members for the time beings.

The issue arrived for them when Reine Murasame had turned in her report on the psychological profiles of the Spirits that they were aware of, like Mai Hitogami, who had no name at the time and was only known by her code name as <Princess>, reviewing it, they realized that recruiting them into the SRI would require a delicate approach. Himeko and the Fraxinus crew decided that in order for this to work, that there would need to be a middle man for the recruitment process, someone who was willing to understand the Spirits and other anomalous beings on a deeper level as people. A psychiatrist or researcher seemed ideal for this, but those types of people, at least according to Reine, may handle things from a clinical perspective, and a Jedi Knight or Master may seem threatening right off the bat, especially since they carry around weapons like Lightsabres with them.

The gambit was an incredibly risky decision, but it was decided that they would recruit from outside the Foundation, someone from the general masses. They would have to meet a very specific set of requirements and would need to be briefed on what their role is, so in order to find this person, the Fraxinus would put out random quizzes, questionnaires and other indirect methods of evaluating individuals to determine their suitability for the role, and this program would be started in Old Tenguu City as a starting point.

People from different businesses, schools, and universities would take the tests which would be evaluated by Reine and the Fraxinus AI, MARIA, and of the 47 individuals who had taken the test, only three of them scored higher out of everyone else in terms of meeting the specified qualifications, with the highest ranking one being a certain young man we all know. With Shido Fujimaru scoring the highest out of everyone, Himeko brought her findings to Elliot, who approved of the results, she expressed concern for her brother and how may disrupt his life as a student. Understanding, it was decided that they would wait until after he graduated highschool, of which he would be approached for the job, provided the world didn't fall apart by then.

Fast Forward to 2022 and Shido is in his third and final year of highschool at Raizen. He was still considered as the prime candidate as the Negotiator, and with mounting pressure from the Overseer Council, Himeko was forced into a hard spot. Keep in mind that during this time period, Shido was unaware of her double life as a Foundation Officer, nor did he know about her secondary personalities, as the only persona she presented to him at that time was her "Little Sister, or White Mode" when she wears her white ribbons. On April 11th, she had plans on briefing him at the diner they promised to go to that evening, but with the Spacial quake detection system going off, she was forced to return to the Fraxinus before the meeting could even take place.

It's following this that Mai Hitogami, the Princess, had emerged in downtown Tenguu City, which triggered an immediate response from the AST. Shido would be caught in the middle of the fight between Mai and the AST, with Mai specifically engaging with Airi Ichinose, a long time friend and classmate of Shido's and it's here he is introduced to the anomalous world. It's also during this fight that the Unknown Orb anomaly that hovered above Tenguu City for eleven years, would activate, causing the Metastasis Event that destroyed Tenguu City and teleported its residents all across the planet, sending large amounts of them to unsafe places that resulted in their deaths, with many others still unaccounted for to this very day.

The plans for the SRI would be hampered significantly, as all of its prime candidates, who were in Tenguu City at the time, were unaccounted for, and for the time being, the Fraxinus was being deployed to the Pacific Ocean to investigate a new landmass that suddenly emerged at the time of the Tenguu City disaster, which is here they would discover Gandstadt and learn about its manifestation. Jedi Knight Kojiro Kurosaki and MTF Alpha-501 would be assigned to work with the Fraxinus in investigating the new land. Of course by the time they gathered a good deal of intel on the continent, the Fraxinus would encounter Shido, who by this point was already accompanied by all four Herrschers, Lazula Eri, Rosemi Loveheart, and <Princess>, who was now going by the name of Mai Hitogami, having been convinced by Shido and Vivio to join their party after some convincing and turmoil.

The Fraxinus and Kojiro's MTF would support Shido's party throughout the Abeloth Conspiracy, but the topic of recruiting him or Mai into the SRI didn't come up until some point after the newly formed Gandstadt Alliance went public to the world, and with the sudden arrival of more Spirits, at which case Shido was approached and agreed to help out in pacifying some of the Spirits and help organize the ground work for this new team. With Vivio and Yuna being among those to join and help out, with Mai being the first Spirit to join, more concrete plans were being formed.

Eventually, the team would come to be known as SEPHIRA with the first to join being Vivio and the Herrscher candidates, with the other three setting aside their duties to their nations to be called upon when needed. With the added additions of Hiroto Motohara, Kojiro and Sayuki Takamiya, the latter whom defected from the G.D.C when learning about Shido's existence in Gandstadt, a formidable enough team was already formed. SEPHIRA would focus its efforts on recruiting the remaining Spirits, which after several incidents and some interference from the CIS, success in this field would be found, which would lead up to the current lineup of members.

What's interesting about this is that Shido's role was meant to be that of a middle man who would reach out to the selected Spirits and individuals selected for the SRI, and that after he was successful, Himeko's plan was to let him go after that and have him continue to live a relatively normal life outside of the Foundation, while someone like Kojiro, or a more experienced Jedi Master taking on leadership role as a Jedi General. But it was because of unforeseen circumstances that delayed and impacted how the team would ultimately pan out. Shido, while not officially having this title, he would be the de-facto leader of SEPHIRA, as he displayed skills to competently guide his teammates toward the correct course of action, and it is through this and his determination that many incidents were undone and resolved.

However, months later, into the following year, which is 2023 as of the current point in the timeline, Himeko and the Overseer Council decide to pull him off of the team and Foundation operations all together, as because of his death, it had caused the team, Himeko herself included, to spiral out of control. he was too connected to them and they were too attached to him, which was the reason why he was pulled off to ensure that their greatest assets doesn't become their achilles' heel. With Shido's removal from the team, Kojiro would take up the leadership position, and that is where the current status of the team would be left off for now.

Now

With recent escalations of threats to the world, from both native and non-native forces, SEPHIRA as a team has become more needed than ever, especially now that the team is also being supported by a powerful group, which for simplicity's sake, we will call the League of Hel, boosting the team and the Foundation's overall protection against forces they may be ill equipped to deal with.

But whether or not we will see new members or possibly even a second or third branch of this team, remains to be seen. Time will tell as SEPHIRA is continuously tested.

[projectsephira]

The Untold Story of Shido's Twisted Clone: Lord Shinzon

Lord Shinzon the World Killer, is a clone of Shido Fujimaru in another timeline where the world ended. He was a Dark Side Acolyte created and trained by Eradicus the Tormented meant to replace Shido after his death at the hands of Clarissa Almsted's curse. because the original Shido never returned to life, the Gem of Sephiroth was transferred over to Shinzon and mastered all of its esoteric abilities, becoming very powerful.

Origins.

Shinzon is a native of the now erased- "Fae Timeline", also known as Worldline-6190, where the world ended due to the machinations of GOETIA, the Sith, and the unleashment of the Anti-Force Equation. The deviation from the main timeline occurs after Shido succumbed to the curse placed upon him by Clarissa. In this version of events, Shido came to accept the fact that he had died and did not go on a journey through the Emanations of Ein Soph to come back to life and resided on Corbenic.

Enraged by the death of his son, Eradicus created a clone of Shido and was able to find success, having the Gem of Sephiroth implanted into his body at some point after his creation. He gained access to all of Shido's memories, but due to the Dark Side conditioning, the clone was devoid of the original Shido's benevolent nature and was instead a Sith fanatic, cruel and ruthless.

He was given the name Shinzon, a play on the original's former name Shinjiro, and after he was properly conditioned, he was given a mission by his father, which was to take on the name and identity of his progenitor and to act as he had until the time was right. Shinzon would go to Earth, pretending to be a recently revived Shido who was welcomed openly by his friends and loved ones. Drawing from the memories of Shido, Shinzon would resolve conflicts in the same way that he would, such as the current crisis with the Supreme Holy Church in the main timeline, though when he was alone with the pope, he unleashed a monstrosity that brutally devoured the old man.

Up until December 23rd of 2023, Shinzon gave a flawless performance as Shido of which no one suspected, but when the time came for the Sith to unveil themselves to the wider Galaxy, he would act, as per the orders of Eradicus. On the 23rd of December, during the wedding of Shido and his Fiancee (verse dependent), he would reveal his true self in open display as he brutally executed his fiancee without warning, in clear view of everyone watching. He would then attempt to kill Shido's children, Sylvia and Charlotte, but this was stopped by Vivio and several other of his friends.

He would engage them in a fight where he pulled out a Sith blade, but before, he would reveal to them that Shido was dead, and that the whole time he was an imposter. Taking advantage of the shock, he would land lethal blows on Vivio, Mai, and Blanc to name a few, and after killing these individuals, the Sith invasion of earth would begin. Shinzon would lead Sith forces in a brutal conquest of Gandstadt, which would see the deaths of several more members of SEPHIRA, including Sayuki Takamiya, who he killed due to not wanting a rival for his father's favor and the fall of all four nations. Eradicus would congratulate the clone for his conquest and lied to him about the circumstances of his daughter's death, admitting she was killed in the conflict between Sith Marauders.

As Earth fell to the Sith Imperium in a brutal war between it and the forces of Earth, GOETIA learned of the treachery of his apprentice and ventured to Earth personally. Shinzon would be goaded by GOETIA to kill his creator under the promise of more power and dominance over the forces of the universe, and so with that reasoning, he would fight his father to the death, and kill him via decapitation, the same method he used to kill Shido's fiancee and so many others in the war.

After defeating Eradicus and taking his head as a trophy, he would become GOETIA's new apprentice and through the guidence of the dark entity, he was further awakened to the Gem of Sephiroth's power, ascending to the level of a Fallen One. As a result, he effectively became biologically immortal, even though the genes of his progenitor would ensure he would age slowly anyway, and continued his conquest of Earth, unleashing horrors upon horrors of entities upon the world.

GOETIA would uncover the Anti-Force Equation five years after the conquest of Earth, and the two would further ravage the Earth. GOETIA would turn his attention to spread his influence across the universe, leaving Earth to the hands of Lord Shinzon, who would become reckless on his mangement of the Anti-Force, driving humans and any living creatures still alive to complete insanity. It was said at this point that Shinzon's personality was very similar to Ike Westcott as he reveled in the carnage he brought upon the Earth.

Many years later, as the earth was ruined to the point of becoming uninhabitable by the year 2048, the remnants of humanity led by a grown up Sylvia and Charlotte Fujimaru, would constantly evade Sith Forces and the horrific nightmares unleashed upon the world, with the protection of the last remnants of the Jedi Order, Foundation operatives, and members of SEPHIRA, one of them being Kojiro Kurosaki and his partner, Vita Loranzo and their daughter Fae, who was extremely young at the time.

The Pilgrimage of 2000, as this group was called, would seek out the gateway to a place they called Eden, another world free of the darkness of GOETIA where they planned to settle and form their own society, though unknown to them, this was one of the only gateways to Gaea, the realm where the Takamiya Clan originated from. One day, while they were reaching the cave that housed the portal to Eden, Shinzon would attack the group, killing multiple other individuals.

Kojiro directly was confronted by Shinzon, who would kill Vita right before his eyes, causing Kojiro to give into his rage, engaging the clone in a duel. The young Fae and several others would watch on as Shinzon quickly gained the upperhand and sliced off his hand before executing him with a decapitation. Before he could set his sights to Fae, several Jedi intervened, with the Sylvia herself joining in the battle against the imposter of her father. fae would be taken away through the portal by the survivors, unable to see any further of what would happen to Shinzon, other than the fact that Sylvia returned minutes later, not willing to speak of the confrontation other than that the Jedi who aided her were dead.

Legacy

Although it remains uncertain what became of Lord Shinzon after this confrontation, it can be presumed that Sylvia was either able to drive him off, and that he was never able to make it to Eden due to Sylvia destroying the gateway after she and everyone made it through, or that she was able to kill Shinzon due to her mastery over her Ontokenetic and Force abilities at that point, before giving both of Fae's parents a proper burial. Regardless of Shinzon's fate, he had left a mark on history that led to the total destabilization of his home reality, with Fae, not knowing the full story, growing up to see Shido Fujimaru as the bringer of the apocalypse.

Just before Fae's reality fell apart, destroying Earth and all affiliated dimensions, Eden / Gaea included along with it, Fae had been sent into the past thanks to the efforts of that world's Sylvia and Sorcerer Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, seeing her as the only viable candidate to help prevent this same outcome from occurring, as it may change events in another timeline to facilitate the downfall of GOETIA as an Multiversal entity, though Fae was initially unaware of the shift until she sensed the presence of the younger version of her father, thus their meeting and their goal of preventing this calamity from occurring, even if they were operating on limited information.

[projectsephira]

Why the Sealed King is WAY Worse Than You Realize - Pope Benedict's Terrible Secret

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Who is the Sealed King? What is Pope Biscas T. Benedict's dark secret that he and those within his inner circle has hidden from the world at large? With the Supreme Holy Church beginning to make their move to claim dominance over the Earth, the Pope, and those in the Inner Circle of the Church has been put under the spot light. But what is the dark force that has gained the Church so much power and influence in the turbulant climate of the current era of the Sephira Universe? Stick with us fellow archivists as we delve into another holocron, as we uncover another mystery.

Something important to note about Benedict is that unlike in the Kinoverse, where the character first debuted, this iteration of Benedict came from a cult known as the Chosen of God, a religious order that predates the Ratatoskr Foundation and existed alongside the Jedi Order and the Sith Illuminati for at least a thousand years. At some point though, they began to infiltrate the Catholic Church, where Benedict would rise through the ranks, becoming a well established figure in the Church before he eventually secured the papacy.

But who are the Chosen of God? The Chosen of God is a religious order that worships an entity known as the Sealed King, or to his followers, Xiolt-La the Father. Information on this entity is incredibly scarce, as the Jedi, Rataoskr, and even the Sith Illuminati when they were around, made sure all references to this being was wiped from the face of the Earth completely, both in physical evidence, and in memory, and for very good reason.

You see, the Sealed King is an entity of immense power, but what sets it apart from others is due to the fact that its strength and power is proportionate to those who know of its existence. In essence, the more people know about it, the stronger it becomes, and the Chosen of God go through great lengths to ensure that knowledge of their king is spread.

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Under normal conditions, the Sealed King is unable to manifest due to being sealed away, but when knowledge is obtained about him, he is able to regain his power little by little, and when most of humanity is aware of him, he will manifest completely with his full power.

It begins through a series of thaumatergical memetic agents woven into text, writings, speeches, phrases, and any form of christian literature or references to the biblical God, which would completely brainwash the individuals who happen to gaze upon, or listen to these infected pieces, and become fanatically loyal to the Sealed King, hence how the Chosen of God was formed in the first place.

It is this phenomena and this religious order that has infected the higher echelons of the Church and beyond, spreading through all branches of the organization. The most fanatical are the ones who are infected by this memetic agent, as when they speak of God, they aren't talking about the Christian God, but rather, Xiolt-La.

Eventually however, at a certain point, so many people in the Church became servants to the Sealed King, that the entity ended up possessing Benedict as its main host, and was able to manifest his power through the false Pope.

As for the story of the Sealed King, it goes as follows: Xiolt-La used to be a member of a pantheon of cosmic entities simply known as the Old Gods, having been born from "Mother Void and Father Light", inheriting both of his progenitors' properties, but still being distant from them. Unlike his fellow gods, the Sealed King was a benevolent being who valued life and made it perfect, by giving humanity tools to achieve their independence and become greater. This angered the gods and under the leadership of Ma'tol, they attacked Xiolt-la. However, the creations of the old gods seeing the benevolence and greatness of their king abandoned their oppressing masters and joined him, forcing the gods to fight Xiolt-la by themselves.

Ma'tol eventually confronted Xiolt-la who had challenged him in a single combat of gods known as Roh'i Xifalk. The two fought a destructive battle for countless years, and eventually Xiolt-la was able to overcome Ma'tol and banished the latter and the other gods to oblivion, but as Ma'tol fell he cursed Xiolt-la by sealing him away from reality and causing humanity to completely forget about him. It was after this that Xiolt-la began to exist as a memetic entity,inserting himself into the minds of other beings, forcing them to worship him and spread his influence so that he may one day emerge and re-manifest himself into reality.

However, it should be important to note that this lore surrounding the Sealed King may not be completely accurate, at least as it pertains to his origins, and it is indeed possible that this is all a fabrication, a myth told to his followers as a means to have them worship him as a benevolent deity, even when he has proven himself to be anything but.

It is said that once he is able to gain a host, the Sealed King will regain a small portion of its powers, though even a small portion is still devastating to behold. As an entity, Xiolt-la is capable of distorting, bending and warping the very fabric of reality itself, altering the genetic makeup of living beings, morphing its appearance, bestow destructive powers onto others, and command force storms capable of annihilating entire cities, and this isn't even at his total peak.

When more people become infected, he would be able to control multiple hosts at once, bending them to his will and using their power combined with his own, and when 97 percent of humanity is infected, he becomes a planetary threat, capable of altering the very makeup of the Earth itself. For example, he would be able to turn earth, and entire celestial bodies into liquid gelatinous substances, spaghettify it, and then destroy every atom tied to it completely. And who can say how much more powerful he will become once the entire Galaxy is infected?

The threat of the Sealed King could very quickly approach the same level of danger that Goetia is poised to become in the near future if Xiolt-la isn't stopped, In fact, it is possible that Xiolt-la and GOETIA may be related in some capacity, though whether this is true or not remains to be seen.

Like many entities, the Sealed King is methodical in its approach, appearing on television under the guise of Benedict as a kind, yet concerned Pope who wants to make the world a better place by spreading Christianity across the world, to throw off those who may suspect him before the time is right, yet behind closed doors in the darkness, he is as insidious as ever, orchestrating plots to preemptively eliminate problems, investigating others that may be of used to him as a vessel, and tormenting living beings with his power.

Rumors abound in the underground catacombs, halls, and secret rooms beneath St. Peter's Basilica, where the Sealed King has people taken down there to experiment with his reality bending abilities, by transmuting the very genetic make up of a living human, converting them into twisted, inanimate objects, slurries of unknown substances, or even twisting them into horrid nightmarish creatures that should not exist anywhere near a church.

A favorite creation of the Sealed King's is an abomination called the Morphling. A red skinned, humanoid creature that can consume the life force and memories of its victims, before morphing into that same person with all of their memories and mannerisms, literally becoming that person. They get in close, presenting themselves as the person they take the form as, then when the other has let their guard down, it will morph into its true form and consume them the same way they did to the other, leaving them dead. There is thought to be at least 200 of these creatures out in the world.

And this is just one example of the horrible things the Sealed King has created, of what terrible darkness Xiolt-la is capable of.

But anyway my friends, what did you think? Were you always curious about the Pope and his true nature? What more do you wish to see from the Sealed King in future arcs to come?

As always, leave your thoughts down in the comments below, and have a great one.

[projectsephira]

Satan, The Dragon Beast of the Underworld

The Gem of Sephiroth is a metaphysical construct that holds many mysteries, both awesome and terrifying. It is the source of Shido's Fantasy Breaker power and contains entities of immense power. Among those is what many believe to be the true devil itself. I am of course, talking about Satan, ruler of the underworld in hell.

But what is this being's story? And how did it end up being contained by the Gem of Sephiroth, and how does Satan's presence pose a significant threat to not just Shido, but the whole world at large? Stick with us today, fellow creators, and let's delve right into another document.

To understand the story of Satan in the Sephira Universe, we must go back thousands of years into the past, near or at the end of the Antediluvian age. Although it has never been certain, Satan was said to actually an Elojim, or an Angel for those who don't know what that is, named Satanael. Like all Angels Satanael had no defined gender, although it generally preferred a female countenance, so it presented itself as such. Occupying the heavenly realm in the Angelarium as all angels did, she grew curious regarding the gateway to the chambers of the very ego and will of Ein Soph itself, the God of the Sephira Universe.

As time went on, she grew to become skeptical that God was behind those gates, or if there was even a God at all. One day, she wanted to see what was beyond those doors, but was halted by members of the Seraphim. Satanael would then go on a speech about how stifling the Heavenly Realm was, believing that it was merely a box. This thought was seeded in the minds of other Angels, who also wished to see what laid inside.

The Seraphim at this point had to deal with various angels who were 'malfunctioning' and sought to put an end to this malfunction. And so this would set off the event known as the War in Heaven, which saw thousands of angels on both sides being destroyed in combat. The side of the Seraphim and their loyalists were losing badly to the point where they had to use various artifacts in their possession to turn the tide.

Among those was the Gem of Sephiroth, which the Seraphim used to contain the Fallen Angels inside of it, imprisoning them. Still, Satanael, Beelzael and the Light Bringer, Lucifer fought their way through thousands of Angels before they were able to reach the gate. Michael stood in the way and a tense battle was fought, which ended in both Michael and Lucifer wounding each other severely. This allowed Satanael and the other fallen to reach the gates and open them.

But what they saw was not what they anticipated. What they witnessed remains a mystery even to this day, but it made all of those who looked within the gate to experience fear, dread, and pain for the first time. And it was after this that all that saw what was within the gate would be exiled from the Angelarium, all the way down into the abyss of the Qlippoth, the dark energies they were subjected to causing them more pain, fear and despair. They would invert and become twisted, insane versions of what they used to be.

Satanael, now called Satan, had gotten the worst of it. She was sealed away in the Gem of Sephiroth, before the artifact was locked away deep in the underworld, or a place within the Qlippoth that goes to be sealed away and forgotten. This energy had leaked through the Gem of Sephiroth, corrupting and warping Satan into a malevolent force to be reckoned with. In time, she would lose her original form and would be molded into a Seven Headed Beast that came to master all of the negative forces of the Universe.

Satan seeks retribution for what has happened, and having seen through the truth of what was seen in the Heavenly Realm, she would seek to defile everything in the universe with Death, Darkness, Destruction and Sin. Unfortunately for her, she would never manifest into the physical world, even as the Gem of Sephiroth continued to trade hands over thousands of years, making it into the human world at some unspecified point in history.

But Satan's story and desire does not end here, because after the Gem of Sephiroth finds its way into the body of Shido, who would have its seals broken on several different occasions due to losing his arm in battles multiple times, her influence would grow, or at least, she would be able to percieve what was going on in the outside world through the memories of Shido, seeing all of his exploits.

For some time, she had gotten a pretty good picture of who he was, and realized that she may not be able to corrupt him and turn him to the Dark Side. But wondered if she could return into the world of the living, by either having him unleash her himself, or more insidious yet, weakening his consciousness and taking over his body, gaining not just her own twisted power, but the powers of other entities imprisoned within the Gem of Sephiroth.

And it would be the start where she would expand her influence, to weaken him by appearing in his dreams. At first, she would manifest in his dreams in the form of whoever he is romantically involved with depending on the timeline, attempting to seduce him with sex and whisper things into his ear, attempting to lower his mental defenses further. This would work for a while before Shido became aware of something being wrong. Then she would attempt to torment him psychologically by reawakening the trauma he had sealed away from his many gruesome deaths from Echidna Westcott, albeit with her own flare.

However, with several individuals beginning to suspect a dark presence within Shido, which would potentially cause the worst apocalypse yet to come, only time will tell on the Beast's role going forward.

In the Sephira Universe, Satan has a very terrible legacy, though the entity itself has never had much of a role in the events of history, the horrific exploits of Lucifer and Beelzebub were often attributed to Satan, to the point where some believed the three to be the same entity, just under different names. But make no mistake, Satan is a malevolent force that would serve in the forces of GOETIA, the Qlippothic side of Ein Soph, also the manifestation of the Tree of Death, opposite of the Tree of Life, if given the chance. For all demons and fallen fall under the control of GOETIA.

But this is the story of the devil of the Sephira Universe, the Dragon Beast that will bring about an age of darkness in service to Goetia.

[projectsephira]

The Supreme Holy Church of Rome

The Supreme Holy Church of Rome, also called the Roman Catholic Church, or simply, the Holy Church, is the world's largest Christian organization, boasting a number of 2 billion worshippers, spanning across 113 countries.

Their central base is the Vatican City State, protected by a barrier that incorporates a magical formation that involves 90% of the buildings in Rome, and a 'lock' that changes every hour, a security which supposedly not even the best Mystics of the Jedi Order is able to bypass.

On the surface, it is religious and political organization that has once again risen to prominence in recent times thanks to the election of its new Pope, Biscas T. Benedict, but underneath the surface is a hidden side that specializes in the hunting of heresy.

Compared to the public side of the Holy Church that treats heresies as if they do not exist because those who teach the word of God must not acknowledge that which runs counter to their doctrines, the Holy Church contains the zealots who feel the heresies should be more proactively destroyed. They are a major force that has a tenuous relationship with the Mage's Association and the Jedi Order.

Background

The City of Vatican

The Vatican has its roots in Vatican City, the pre-WWIII sovereign territory of the Holy See. Although Vatican City was founded in 1929 AD, the history of the modern Vatican is tied to the far older history of the Holy See. As the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, the Holy See dates back to antiquity; and in this regard, the Vatican represents one of the oldest institutions in human history.

By the early 21st century AD, the status of Vatican City remained largely unaltered since its founding; it was a walled enclave within the city of Rome, encompassing a total area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres), and a population of less than a thousand citizens, making it is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world by both area and population at the time.

At some point after the conclusion of World War 3 and the disbandment of the Sith Illuminati, Biscas T. Benedict was selected to be the Pope and thus rose to the papacy. After the coronation, Biscas would officially announce his plan to restrengthen the ties between the Church and the various countries across the world as he quietly reorganized the Roman catholic Church into the Supreme Holy Church of Rome.

Under the table however, this would bring an unprecedented level of darkness to the Holy Church that would begin to spread over time, as Biscas was aligned with an anomalous religious order known as the Chosen of God, a cult of people infected by a memetic agent that forces others to worship Xiolt-La, an Old God-like entity that will progressively grow more powerful and manifest as more people become infected and learn of its existence.

It was this cult that would assassinate Biscas' predecessor, and allow him to rise through the ranks of the Church to become the Pope, with the help of other infected clergy members. These clergy members would then form the  Order of the True Cross, a secret society comprised of various members of the Holy Church, including many Cardinals, Archbishops and the Pope himself, who sits as the de-facto leader of organization. With the Jedi and the Ratatoskr Foundation constantly going around and eliminating their memetic agents, thus hampering their reach for a time, the Order of the True Cross would seek to rapidly militarize, in order to rise up and eliminate the Jedi, the Foundation, and other beings they deem heretical.

At some point, Xiolt-La would manifest within the body of Biscas, possessing the Pope after a select number of people within the Church were infected by the memetic agent. he would carry on Biscas' work and grow even more powerful, both politically, and with his own power as Xiolt-la constructed his plan. To eliminate those that would threaten him and his rule as the Church continues to spread his memetic agent all over the world, infusing it into christian symbols, objects, artifacts, phrases, ect.

Government

The government of the Vatican has a unique structure with influences from absolute monarchy, elective monarchy and theocracy. The Pope is the sovereign of the state. Although the Pope takes the highest legal authority in the Vatican, his actual control over the government is entirely dependent on his character. In the case of a weak-willed sovereign, the College of Cardinals wields considerable influence and power as the seemly de facto form of leadership of the Vatican. Despite the influence of the cardinals, they cannot legally overrule the authority of the Pope. They must therefore seek the Pope's approval before taking certain actions especially military actions that involve the state. Although the Pope is technically an elective office—its succession decided by a papal conclave held after the death of the incumbent Pope.

The Concistoro, the seemly highest decision-making body in the Vatican, is the legislative branch of the Vatican government. Composed of high-ranking members of the Catholic clergy, the Concistoro is also responsible for making final decisions on whether to investigate clerics suspected of corrupt practices. The majority of its membership consists of older, higher-ranking clergymen, who regard Cardinal Medici and his supporters as dangerous extremists. As a result, they consistently support Cardinal Sforza in order to limit Medici's influence in Vatican politics. Pope Biscas T. Benedict and Cardinal Beryl Augustine are between the two Cardinals and had an balancing influences. In cases such as captivity where the Pope is no longer able to competently exercise the powers of his office, the College can assume direct leadership of the Vatican until the Pope is either rescued or killed.

Neo Inquisition

Set by Pope Biscas himself, the Neo Inquisition, also known as the Department of Inquisition, the Inquisitorial Department, the Bureau of Inquisition, or simply the Inquisition, is a special division of the Ministry of Vatican Papal Doctrine—the department responsible for promulgating and defending the creed and doctrine of the Catholic Church. Its membership consists of elite warrior monks, known as Inquisitors, who serve the Ministry of Doctrine as the chief enforcers of the Catholic faith. Their reputation as a group of uncompromising hardliners, dedicated to the Vatican and committed to their duty without question—has earned them the nickname "Fangs of the Church."

The Inquisition headquarters is based in Rome, the capital of the Vatican Papal State. Due to their status as an elite order of holy warriors, the Inquisition is tasked with the duty of providing security to high-ranking members of the clergy, such as the College of Cardinals and especially the Pope. As such, Inquisitors are often stationed in the San Pietro Cathedral and other key areas of the Vatican headquarters, especially during important ceremonial events that involve the Pope and leading members of the Church. Despite their primary role as a domestic force, as well as their association with the domestic-based Ministry of Doctrine, Inquisitors can also be deployed outside of the Vatican's territory, but only to provide security to clerics of high rank such as the cardinals or the Pope.

Inquisitors are led by the Minister of the Inquisition, although they also work directly for the Secretary of Vatican Papal Doctrine; since the current year, both offices have been occupied by Cardinal Francesco di Medici as well as Mother Superior Melancholia.

Ministry of Holy Affairs

The Ministry of Holy Affairs, also known as the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Division of State Ecclesiastical Affairs, or the Ministry of State, is the pontifical government branch responsible for the international relations of the Vatican. The Ministry is headquartered in Rome, the capital of the Vatican, and is currently led by Cardinal Seras Divinius Ortensia Goldhand.

The Ministry was created to resolve diplomatic situations by using peaceful methods, although the Ministry considered this task to be difficult due to the instability of the international community. In situations where diplomacy fails, the use of force is exercised by the by the AX—a special division of the Ministry of Holy Affairs. The AX consists of elite priests and nuns, all of whom are trained to undertake unconventional missions as a special forces group of the Vatican.

Others

  - Ministry of Vatican Public Relations - responsible for managing relations between the public and the Vatican government; headed by Cardinal Beryl Augustine.

Military

The Vatican Military is responsible for the defense and security of the territories controlled by the Vatican. It is composed of several different branches, including the Army, Air Force, and Special Forces.

The Military is not completely separate from the political organization of the Vatican. The Department of Inquisition possesses its own military assets, including soldiers, tanks, and air battleships. The Papal State Affairs Special Operations Section, also known as the AX, consists of priests and nuns who are trained as a special forces group in order to perform unconventional missions for the Vatican. Furthermore, the AX has access to its own battleships, such as the Iron Maiden and the Iron Maiden II.

Secret Subfactions

Vatican IV

Vatican IV (often refereed to as Section IV) is a secret covert operations military unit and is one of the special forces division of the Supreme Holy Church. It is lead by the Archbishop Cornhall and is often deployed to deal with the enemies of the Holy Church mainly being Protestants, Eastern Orthodoxes, Protestant and/or Eastern Orthodox Magi, Jedi, Pagan Magi, Mages Association members, and even targets belonging to the Ratatoskr Foundation.

Vatican IV was founded sometime during the 1500s as a way to monitor the church for those who were enemies of the pope. Vatican IV was created during the Protestant Reformation as many of the defectors turned to Protestantism and many magicians began to appear and fought on behalf of the new movement. Concerned that these new magicians were trying to make others defect from the Catholic Church, the Pope ordered the creation of a military unit to deal with them and so the Vatican's Military Division and created various sections to deal with them. Section IV was soon created and it was tasked with dealing with the newly born Protestants and killed many of them including both leaders and magicians. Their original main goal was to kill Martin Luther but they failed and went quite after the reformation had ended and the new dominions were born.

In recent history Vatican IV has often shifted depending on who was the pope during the various time periods. During the Cold War, Vatican IV was often deployed to deal with Communist Revolutionaries in places like Latin America and in Eastern Europe, they targeted mainly leaders of the Soviet Union and the leaders of the various communist puppet states. Once the 21st Century had began, Vatican IV became much more active. Members of Vatican IV were deployed to the Middle East in nations like Syria to assassinate leading government officials who had knowledge of magecraft, the Ord, and the occult and killed them in an effort to give them over to the Catholic Church. Currently, it's been active in Asia and the Pacific, namely in Japan and back in Europe in its central and eastern regions.

Abbeys

Abbeys are monasteries that house individuals like Caren Hortensia. She was admitted to the Citeaux Abbey, but she was permitted to leave on errands pertaining to exorcism unlike the others in the abbey.

Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament

The Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament is a special agency made up of a group of special clerics charged with the research, recovery, and managing of holy relics scattered across the globe. The items called holy relics include the remains and blood of saints, the nails that crucified Christ, the holy cross, the thirty silver coins of Judas, and other items with the holy attribute. The members follow the "Eighth Sacrament" outside of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, the seven graces that God bestows in the Catholic faith: Baptism, Holy Eucharist, Matrimony, Holy Orders, Confirmation, Penance, Anointing. It is a "Grace that doesn't Exist" in the rightful faith or a "power separated from the faith", meaning the members trained to retrieve the hidden relics do not fear being involved in heretical power such as magery to accomplish their goals. It is the lowest of the special agencies.

Burial Agency

The Burial Agency is a group of special Inquisitors gathered by the Church. The original Michael Roa Valdamjong, then a priest of the Church, created a burial doctrine, the base of the Burial Agency, back in the twelfth century. He created it along with the original Narbareck, the first technical leader of the Agency, called the Burial Classroom at the time. She knew of Roa's plans to become a vampire, but didn't stop him. Though they are known as the most professional Inquisitors, they are not actually responsible for stamping out heresy, leading them to be called Executors or killers.

They are not meant to be exorcists, but simply those who kill demons. The organization operates and scouts entirely on ability. Anyone can become a member if they have the power and the will to destroy heretics and whatever else the Church finds "inconvenient." Faith is a secondary condition compared to the necessary power to obliterate the heretical, though they will baptize the members. It is made up of seven main members including the leader, and an eighth member, an exceptional candidate from the Church, is in reserve, though they are changed often because they keep dying during missions. Those on the outside see it as a group filled with magi who loved to explore the taboo, people who enjoyed enslaving the captured heretics, gun nuts, and maniacs with insatiable bloodlust.

Each member works alone under most circumstances, and they will not cooperate with foreign demon hunting organizations. The members gain powerful privileges and influence, and they will even go against the wishes of the Church without orders to eliminate heretics. They'll go as far as to skewer a Bishop if he is possessed, leading to whispers calling it the most heretical section of the Church. Merem, an Ancestor, cooperates with the Burial Agency because, as he is a collector of treasures from all ages all around the world, he wants to be near the treasures that the Church sealed away.

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[projectsephira]

Profiles of Evil: Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott (Sephira)

Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott, also known by many names as Vitiate the Qliphoth Tyrant, the Emperor, the Dark Lord, or to very few, GOETIA, God of Chaos and Death, is arguably the central antagonist of the entire Sephira Alternative series, and is a man who is meant to represent the ultimate evil, a force of nature that can't be so easily terminated or dealt with. Even after his main timeline counterpart's death at the hands of Yahweh at the end of the New World Order Saga, he still proves to be a headache for Shido Fujimaru and the Ratatoskr Foundation, once more operating behind the scenes, mostly the cause of the events beyond this point in the story.

This document will give a detailed profile into his character, from his past, to his goals in life, to his twisted ideology and his many dark deeds. We will be talking about other timeline variants of him, as there is very little difference between the variants aside from their fates and the ways they were defeated. Also, his nature as an extension of the GOETIA Consciousness will be brought up, as it is a crutial part of his overarching character, along with how it explains significant deviations in his plans later on.

Background

Before we get into the early life of Isaac, we must first talk about GOETIA and what exactly it is. GOETIA is believed to be many different things, none of which can be characterized as "good" in any sense of the word. It is thought to be an entity that was born from the darkness of the underside of Ein Soph: the de-facto "God" of the Sephira Expanded Universe, and like a virus, it infected itself into the many branches of Ein Soph, or the Tree of Life as it is called. The Multiverse, is also characterized as a Tree, or a forest, which each tree representing a secular universe and their branches being alternative timelines and variations of how things in that universe could play out. Ein Soph, as a entity, both presides over these dimensions and is simultaneously these worlds, and everything therein.

It is theorized that Goetia has evolved into an entity that inhabits multiple universes and timelines all at once, and is aware of what its other hosts are doing in those realities and timelines, and can easily abandon a universe in favor of another should its plans fail in said universe. It had taken a long time for it to achieve its plans, even failing multiple times, but as of this point in the series, it has begun to achieve victories and fulfill its goal, which is unending darkness and torment on a scale hither to undreamt of. This is however, only temporary, as Ein Sof has begun to actively prune these universes and timelines where Goetia has brought about destruction and chaos. Its ultimate goal is to spread this darkness to all realities and timelines so it may become the Tree of Death, the opposite of Ein Soph, the Tree of Life.

GOETIA is able to incarnate into multiple humans they believe is crucial to actualizing its plans. In the prime universe, which is categorized as Earth-616, GOETIA has had many different hosts throughout history, being born into many individuals who had a certain "distortion within themselves, and will typically guide their actions toward absolute power or mass suffering, though these hosts will not be aware of their true nature. Gaius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and even Adolf Hitler were thought to be extensions of this demonic entity, however, it is only Isaac Westcott who would realize his true purpose and nature, after his first death, and it was perhaps due to his innate esoteric knowledge and power within the Dark Side that allowed him to embrace the Goetia identity and move to actualize his goals.

Childhood and Early Life

Born in May 3rd of 1970, Isaac was born in a small secular town comprised entirely of Magi, though differing from traditional magi, they were more of a community that practiced magecraft in service to keeping their town thriving, and would even help each other out from time to time. They were however, wary of outsiders, and had a few bizarre traditions, such as praying to an unknown deity.

Despite this seemingly quaint setting, Isaac's life was far from easy or simple. His father was Sir James Westcott, patriarch of House Westcott, one of the noble houses of this secular town. James had a wife and four younger children, who are unnamed as of now, and while he would approve of his three younger sons and only daughter, it was Isaac whom he detested from the moment he was born. Because of his unusually high Magic Circuit and Proxiclorian count, he was perceived by his father and the rest of his family to be different. This may have been a good thing in the eyes of other mage parents, but because of the culture of the town, James saw this as a sign that his eldest son was a freak of nature.

Another thing that further cemented this idea in James was how Issac never cried when he was born, and would radiate such darkness and malice despite being an infant. James would go on to wanting to kill his son right then and there, yet never acted on this impulse. Even still, James believed his son to be nothing but pure evil, and would spend the duration of Isaac's childhood constantly at odds with him, with tense confrontations that more often led to physical abuse.

Growing up, one of the main issues that Isaac had with his father was his being content with mediocrity as a noble, with Isaac having large ambitions for his family and lineage despite being so young. He wanted his father to claim the title of regional governor, and rise to politics of the greater United Kingdom, yet much to his disdain, James would never strive to reach such heights. Isaac was disappointed to learn that he was alone in this ambition, and that his father not only lacked the ability to improve his family's standing, but also arrogantly believed he had all the power there was to be gained. This would cause Isaac to view his father as a fool who believed himself to be more intelligent than he actually was, and held no respect for the man whatsoever. Likewise, he had a low opinion of his mother and his younger brothers and sister, who were all subservient to James's will, and all, in their own ways, shunned Isaac for his unusual personality.

Isaac, Elliot, and Ellen as children.

Isaac however, was not alone, as he would meet his long time "friends", Elliot, Eisenhardt Woodman, Ellen Mira Mathers, and her younger sister, Karen Nora Mathers. They would become a group of close friends that would accept Issac whereas his family and other peers did not, though it should be noted that they were completely unaware of Isaac's true nature as a twisted individual. The four would practice Force Magecraft together, with both Elliot and Isaac tutoring Ellen at times, who would struggle the most.

Unbeknownst to his friends and family, Isaac felt nothing for them. He would put on a false air of him being a caring individual, but in truth, the distortion within him prevented him from feeling any genuine love or care for them and others outside of what it would provide him. Further more, he developed a twisted fascination with despair and death, often seizing pets and other small animals throughout the town and brutally torturing them to death. He had a particular interest in crucifying cats to a tree by impaling their paws with nails, before skinning them alive, having a collection of skinned cat corpses in the woods outside the town where he would perform these horrendous acts.

One day while he was torturing an animal, he would come across, a individual by the name of Hugo Damask, who was at this point in time, the reigning lord of the Sith Illuminati, Plagueis the Wise. Plagueis would come to the town, having discovered many magi and attuned there, and had been thinking about choosing Elliot as a potential future apprentice, however, his encounter with Isaac would make him reconsider, as he saw something in the boy that Elliot did not possess, and not wanting to pass up on something he felt was special, Plagueis would form a friendship with Isaac, whom would open up to the dark lord about his grievances with his family, his ambitions, and even his twisted nature. Isaac felt as if he could be himself around Plagueis, where as he had to pretend to be something he was not around others. To pretend to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Because of the town's distrust of outsiders, many of the locals came to be wary Plagueis, some even picking up on his nature as a dark sider. James especially distrusted him, believing his influence was bad for the town's continued legacy, and came to disapprove of Isaac's dealings with him. James would confront his son about this, which would devolve into an argument where James would admit to the then 10 year old Isaac, that he has always hated him, that he even questioned if he was even his son to begin with, and ending off with him stating, that he wish he had killed him the second he was born. Isaac goads his father on, telling him to do it then, and as James approached, Isaac's full potential would be unleashed. He would brutally torture his father with his own Force Thaumatergical power in its rawest form before killing him, caving his head in and mangling his body. When his mother and younger siblings came to investigate the commotion, they would find Isaac standing over the body of his father, and in a frenzy, he would murder the rest of his family, taking glee in their suffering and deaths. Isaac would then proceed to murder every servant and guard within the estate before fleeing into the woods.

He would tell Plagueis what happened, who would then decide to cover up the crime, though he would do this in the most horrendous way possible. Plagueis would decide to have everyone in the town murdered, with the only condition being that Elliot, Ellen and Karen were left alive, as Westcott believed them to still be of some use to him, so the following day, Isaac would lead them out of the town to practice their magic as always, while Plagueis would use one of his contacts within the Holy Church to tip them off about a village of Heretics. What would result from this was a Task Force of Church Inquisitors coming to the town to slaughter every resident present, man, woman and child, as well as every artifact and documents of their teachings burned in the name of God.

The four would return to see their home burning to the ground, causing Ellen and Karen to despair as Elliot comforted them. It is Isaac who would get off of this suffering, yet use every bit of restraint to hide it and be the comforting voice that they perceived him as. He would tell them that so long as bigoted people like the christians and others were around, tragedies like this would happen again and again, and so he proposes that they all pursue the course to change the world and make things the way they wanted. For their fallen friends and lost families, they will create a new world order of everlasting peace.

And thus, the three would join Isaac in this goal of creating a new world order, and through Plagueis, they would all be inducted into an academy for gifted youngsters, operated under the Sith Illuminati. Elliot, Ellen and Karen would not receive Sith training, but would instead be educated in a number of different fields, like politics, economics, business and science. Isaac on the other hand would officially become the Sith apprentice of Plagueis himself, given the name, Vitiate the Qliphoth Tyrant. Training for Isaac would be very brutal and trying, as before getting into the further esoteric mysteries of the Dark Side, Plagueis would first teach him pain to stoke the fires of hatred and anger within him. First, he had Isaac climb an icy mountain with only his bare hands and sheer will power, to reach the top where Plagueis sat meditating. Once he reached to the top, he would reward the boy with several lashes to his body with his red Lightblade, pausing every now and then to give him a lecture about the dark side before continuing with the torture.

Teenage Years

Most of Westcott's teenage years would be spent training under Plagueis, who would take him to many different places where he taught him more about the Sith Illuminati, Sith history and the Dark Side of the Greater Will. He would be trained in various forms of sword combat and would quickly rise in power as he mastered the dark arts. As he gained power through his training, he would also develop as an influential individual at the St. Crowley Academy and form various connections with the children of other influental people, most of whom were within the Illuminati. Westcott's studies would also involve creating magic / magecraft through pure science, snd so after discovering the existence of a certain particle or energy, Isaac, Elliot, Ellen and Karen would conduct research in their spare time, with Isaac using his friends to further the Sith Agenda.

Early Adulthood

Around 1990-1992, when the group was in their early twenties, the outbreak of anomalies throughout the world was beginning to cause all sorts of issues, which led to the group being brought in by both the Ratatoskr Foundation and the Global Defense Coalition in order come up with a solution in containing these dangers. While Isaac and his master saw that some anomalous objects would be useful, they agreed that such unknowns should be disposed of if they cannot serve their purpose in creating the New World Order. To this end, they would use their years of research, coupled with Isaac's Sith knowledge to create the first Realizer, which would give ordinary humans, or at least those with stunted potental, the same abilities as the Jedi and the Magi of the Clocktower, which would include the creation of a sphere of influence known as a territory, where these Wizards would be able to use their power.

And so a war against the anomalous would begin with G.D.C and Ratatoskr Foundation soldiers and agents becoming Wizards, which would see the rise in the G.D.C being particularly brutal towards anomalous entities that did not conform with the Sith Grand Plan. Other weapons were also developed, namely a particularly dangerous weapon known as the Spacial Quake Bomb.

This bomb was a phenomena that would require a predetermined target, in which would target a location where a keter Class Manifestation was supposed to take place. With Isaac setting this bomb off, it would kill the entity that was supposed to be summoned, along with millions of others, completely decimating a large part of Eurasia. It was this calamity, among other things that caused Elliot to split from the NWO Agenda. If a new world order involved mass murder and executions, it was something he did not wish to be part of, and so he would leave. Karen would follow Elliot as they both joined the Foundation, eventually rising to high positions, where Elliot becomes O5-1.

Ellen on the other hand, chose to stay with Isaac, coming to despise Elliot for his supposed treachery, and even "brainwashing" her little sister into following him, swearing that she would kill him one day. Fully onboard with the Sith Grand Plan, Ellen would join the ranks of the G.D.C where she would quickly become the strongest Wizard of them all, eventually becoming the director of the G.D.C itself, where the organization would be subservient to Westcott's policies by principle.

Westcott on the other hand, would use the resources from Asgard Electronics, the company that the Mages Four started in order to develop Realizers on behalf of the Foundation and Coalition, and would form Deus Ex Machina Industries with the help of a man named Akihiro Kihara, a man who had a twisted interest in scientific advancement, even as it pertained to the mystical arts. Isaac would put Akihiro in charge of DEM Industries, which would go on to become one of the largest military funding corporations on the planet, which would further supply the G.D.C with weapons and vehicles that were advanced for its time.

While his corporation continued to grow throughout the 90s and 2000s, he would step down from the role of CEO and give that position to Akihiro, pursuing a career in politics. After a five-year stint in the National Law program, he was appointed as Military Prime Minister in the reelected Alex Vizari's retinue. Isaac lost more elections than he won in his early political career, missing out on a string of political appointments. His political party is the symbol of peace, however, this symbol would soon be replaced by something worse.

Marital Life

At some point in the mid-90s to early-2000s, Isaac would encounter a woman by the name of Beatrice, who, similarly to Plagueis, had sensed something inside of Isaac that piqued her interest. On the same note, Isaac also developed an interest in her, and after some time, the two would eventually choose to get married, though something that should be noted was that this was done so out of shared interest and was more of a partnership as opposed to a relationship with genuine feelings involved. The two would conduct multiple rituals and experiments together, which would result in the creation of their "children", beings that carried both his blood and Beatrice's, and would serve a different role in the New World Order Agenda, but Isaac did not see any of them as his true successor, save for maybe one more he would have later in life.

The Second Cold War

Throughout the 2000s, Isaac and Plagueis would have several dealings with multiple corporations, government bodies, and terrorist groups in order to kick start the "Big One" World War 3, as they believed that a large scale, world altering war was necessary for this to be achieved. Isaac continued to form connections with many note worthy individuals on the world stage, such as Willheilm Tarkin, a G.D.C Officer that supported the idea of instilling global order, and former Jedi Adrian Zobek, who admitted his grievances with western countries such as America and its inability to govern efficiently due to corruption.

Isaac implemented a plan to create a drone army fight alongside the G.D.C and the future West forces. However, Akihiro knew that he could not be the one to commission such an army. If the IGV and VSA or the United States Strategic Forces were to discover that a corporate power-broker like his alter ego, Isaac, had commissioned an army, it could lead to questions that might expose their plans to create a new World War III while using the war as a decoy to move their troops around the world to seek for Conducts to open portals to other worlds. He would have to find a proxy to act through, preferably a high-officer in Global Pact Defense in order to give the project an additional smokescreen. That proxy would ultimately present itself in the form of Jackson Frigs.

Jackson Frigs and Isaac had met seemingly by chance at a negotiation on Berlin. While analyzing Jackson, Kihara took note of the fact that Jackson, who had accompanied Isaac, was extremely concerned about the political climate of the world at large. He saw that Jackson was just as aware of the GDC's corruption as others terrorist factions, but was far more afraid for the GDP's future than extremists factions were. Isaac realized that he could use Jackson's fear to manipulate the G.D.C, ISA and VSA into helping create the Drone army the Prime Minister required. However, before he could snare Jackson, he was interrupted by the arrival of Britnei, and let the matter drop.

At some point shortly after Jackson's resignation as the Vice Director, Kihara's company approached other mega-conglomerates, including the likes of the Shadowkatz Corporation, Kisaragi Motors, and Circuits & Chips among many others and requested that they create an global-executive alliance. With the funds provided by Isaac's political party, Kihara paid for the alliance. However, to make absolutely sure that the existence of the drone army never came to the attention of the world, Jackson had to die; a task that would fall to Isaac's Assassin Squad. In secret from the world, Isaac's Black Ops forces carried out the murder, killing his old friend and cementing his allegiance. The Drone project still stood even after Jackson's death, so Isaac himself carried on where Jackson left off. Until he had been silenced, Jackson had kept the project a secret. To ensure that it stayed one, Isaac erased all records of the D.E.M Archives, along with thirty-nine bank datas additional systems.

The Drone Army

During the preparation, the Isaac choose Kurata in charge of Isaac National Party's project to create cyborgs, using human bodies as raw material. The success of this project would allow Isaac to utilize robots and cyborgs in battle. Unfortunately for Isaac, a young bounty hunter named Hiago Drazz and Drazy Gotsu tracked their operations to Warsaw, Poland and seemingly destroyed their research, delaying their plans. Isaac had now completed his three-years as Prime Minister, and his drone army was nearly at the ready by the Executive Alliance. The time was ripe for the commencement of the penultimate stroke of the Grand Plan.

Throughout Isaac's career, he had thrown the world into chaos and poverty. Through careful manipulation of the United Nations Council, various International criminal organizations, and the US's commercial and financial institutions were festering with hatred and resentment of the corrupt Capitalism. Disenfranchised, poor, exploited and lawless, many of these countries began to sound the rallying cry that they should break from the United Nations. With a global civil war virtually inevitable, Isaac rushed to make sure he was in complete control of the impending conflict, running for the election of Supreme Chancellor of the United Nations.

The Murder of Lord Plagueis

On March 28th, 2011, Isaac's election to the office of Supreme Chancellor now secured, there remained just one unfinished piece of business for Isaac to resolve. For, once Isaac had been elected Chancellor, Lord Plagueis had intended to act as a de facto co-Chancellor, ensuring Isaac only passed laws that he approved of. In truth, Isaac had been subtly manipulating Plagueis for years, fooling him into thinking that the ideas for the implementation of the NWO were his own while Isaac laid the groundwork for his ascension to Chancellor and Sith Overlord. Isaac had never intended to share power with anyone, and he knew that installing a co-Chancellor would both raise suspicion and be politically damaging to him. With Plagueis's usefulness now exhausted, Westcott moved to eliminate him.

The night before the election, Damask made his first public appearance in years, attending the premiere of an opera known as "The Hanged King" with Westcott. After the performance and late dinner in Paris, the two Sith Lords retired to Damask's Penthouse in upstate France to celebrate Westcott's imminent triumph. There, Westcott plied Plagueis with wine while rehearsing his chancery acceptance speech slated to be delivered the following day before the Council. Plagueis soon fell into an alcohol-induced sleep, and Westcott saw his chance. With his master's guard completely down, Westcott betrayed Plagueis by blasting his respirator mask with Force lightning, shorting it out and waking him; being inebriated and half-asleep, however, the man could do nothing to stop his apprentice.

Westcott took this opportunity to thoroughly deride, mock, and otherwise disparage Plagueis, telling him that for the whole of their relationship the apprentice had ever manipulated the Master, playing him like a pawn. And throughout the relentless derision, Westcott sent forth additional blasts of lightning, causing the man immense pain as he slowly suffocated. Adding insult to injury, Westcott lambasted Plagueis for his role in Westcott's own warped conversion, hatefully accusing him of manipulating a "confused boy" into murdering his family. Strangely, but perhaps merely reflecting that early psycho-emotional conflict and trauma, Westcott then expressed to the senior Sith his genuine gratitude for the teachings that Plagueis had, over the years of their association, passed on to him.

At the moment that the stricken lord finally succumbed to death, Westcott—having only just proclaimed himself the embodiment of the long-prophesied Sith'ari—felt a monumental shift in the Force, which he interpreted as the dark side anointing him as the tool it would use to take over the universe:

The exultant Sith Lord, however, then felt another tremor, or "vague awareness" of a power "greater than himself" that was "shading his sense of triumph." He suspected that it was perhaps Plagueis reaching out from death to vex him, or simply the aftershocks of his own rise. Isaac reasoned that neither was the case, though he would not discover what exactly the foreboding feeling was until later.

Prelude to War

Throughout the 2010s, Isaac would proceed with his plans of kick starting the war, despite being delayed with some research material destroyed. Westcott continued sowing seeds of discord and distrust among the member nations. He exploited existing fault lines: political, ideological, and economic to deepen divisions. Utilizing his vast network of agents and resources, he orchestrated a series of carefully planned incidents, each escalating tensions between the nations of the East and West.

As conflicts flared and diplomatic negotiations faltered, Westcott took advantage of the chaos. He used his charisma and manipulation skills to sway influential leaders, exploiting their fears and ambitions. Through a web of deception, he painted himself as a savior, promising stability and order in a fractured world. Another useful asset would be his new "apprentice", Adrian Zobek, who would end up overthrowing the government of Russia and reinstate the USSR, acting under Isaac's guidance as Lord Tyrannus the Necro Lord. Westcott knew that Zobek's oratory skills, political acumen, charisma, and intelligence would serve the Sith cause well, not to mention his extraordinary wealth and resources. Additionally, Zobek was one of the most talented and powerful thaumaturgic adepts in the world. With strategic precision, Westcott maneuvered the United Nations into a breaking point. He manipulated key votes and decisions, leveraging his influence to amplify existing divisions, and with Zobek's aid, they would set the stage for World War 3.

The Infinite Army

Wanting to have a sizable threat that the West could rally against in a potential war, Westcott and Zobek would commission the Infinite Army Program, which was a joint military project between the New USSR, China, North Korea and Iran, where the top companies in those countries, coupled with the support and resources from the Executive Alliance under the table, would join together to develop this program. In 2015, the Infinite Factory was fully constructed in China, and it would begin producing Infinites en mass.

Infinites were clones, genetically modified and augmented with cybernetics to be the best soldiers possible. The program was largely overseen by geneticist Nathanial Simmons, who was selected because of his experience in genetics. Infinites were created, all while the general population knew nothing of what was happening, and it would also be around this time that the United Nations would officially split into two factions that was so clearly drawn between East and West.

The Breaking Point

Around this time of 2015-early 2016, the United Nations would fracture into two separate factions after Westcott's years of manipulation. the International Stabilization Union (ISU) and the Confederacy of Independent Sovereigns (CIS).

The ISU, led by nations favoring a centralized global governance structure, believed that unity and cooperation were the only paths to lasting peace. They sought to maintain the original spirit of the United Nations, albeit with stricter regulations and increased authority. Their goal was to stabilize the world through collective decision-making and coordinated efforts.

On the other hand, the CIS, comprising nations valuing sovereignty and individual freedom, viewed the ISU's proposed regulations as encroachments on their autonomy. They believed that true peace could only be achieved through the independence and self-determination of nations. The CIS rallied behind the notion that the United Nations had lost its way, having been corrupted by capitalism and it was time for a new era.

Ellen Mira Mathers would become the Director of the G.D.C, and would enforce Westcott's policies in the I.S.U to prepare the organization to fight in a potential war. The Drone Army was ready, and so were the many Wizards, soldiers and G.D.C operatives as the C.I.S was also readying their forces, with C.I.S propaganda denouncing the West and their hypocrisy. Much like how Ellen was the right hand that controlled the military, the Confederacy needed theirs, hence the creation of general Grievous. Through a series of unethical experiments and modily mutilations, the cybernetic monstrosity was born. Under Westcott's approval, Zobek would have Grievous trained to kill Jedi, as the Sith came to see the Jedi Order and the Ratatoskr Foundation as threats that needed to be dealt with during the war.

The Day of Reckoning

Westcott's achievements would finally pay off on December 23rd of 2019 as the C.I.S would begin a preemptive strike on the West. Warships from North Korea would sail across the Pacific and launch a devastating attack on the West Coast of the United States of America, catching America off guard by several missiles and bombings in Los Angeles, San Fransisco, and parts of San Andreas. Infinite Troops marched on and would begin attacking these cities. Meanwhile, further chaos would be ensued by multiple terrorist bombings in important offices, as Infinites snuck into the country and placed themselves into special facilities and locations, before detonating bombs attached to their bodies, killing themselves and hundreds of other people.

This hadn't been limited to America, as western countries like Britain, Germany France, Canada, and even Western allied nations like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea were attacked. The initial attacks were devastating leaving thousands worldwide dead, many more wounded and causing billions of dollars in damages. However, the worst attack yet happened in Ukraine, where the Ratatoskr Foundation and the Jedi Order were direct participants.

Through Westcott, Zobek had attempted to assassinate the third princess of the British Royal Monarchy through assassins and freelance mercenaries, calling upon Jedi Knight Kojiro Kurosaki to act as her body guard, along with a Foundation/Coalition agent presence. Through a series of events, the two ended up in Ukraine, where they would discover the C.I.S's secret base in the country, who were both planning to attack the rest of Ukraine with the full might of their forces. Kojiro and the Princess would try to expose this plot, but they would both be captured by Zobek, set to be executed hours later.

The execution was interrupted when the Jedi with a small Foundation MTF showed up to stop what was happening, appearing to have the upperhand, but then Zobek revealed the full number of Infinites that were at the location, and a battle ensued, which left multiple Jedi and Foundation agents dead, leaving Kojiro, the Princess, and the surviving Jedi-Foundation Task Force at the mercy of the Confederacy.

Fortunately though, through the Queen of England and her contacts with both the Foundation and the G.D.C, additional forces were sent to Ukraine along with the Drone Army, and upon the arrival of the reinforcements, full blown war would irrupt in Ukraine. The Jedi, the Foundation, the Coalition, and the Ukrainian Military would engage the Confederacy's Infinite Forces, which would leave thousands dead on both sides, and would be regarded as the bloodiest conflict at the start of the war.

Emergency powers

"It is with great reluctance that I have agreed to this calling. I love democracy. I love the Union. The power you give me I will lay down when this crisis has abated. And as my first act with this new authority, I will create a Drone Army of the Union to counter the increasing threats of the Separatists."

It was this event, among with the other attacks by the confederacy that Westcott needed to force the Union Council's hand to grant him emergency powers to extend his leadership in the I.S.U. And so after a tense debate, a vote was put to have Isaac be granted emergency powers and to "officially" give funding for the ISU Drone Project, which would legitimize and have more Drone Soldiers be produced, to fight alongside the human forces of the G.D.C.

Additionally, the Ratatoskr Foundation would form a tentative partnership with the G.D.C, agreeing that the C.I.S and a war with them was an existental threat to the stability of mankind, and so, Foundation agents and Jedi would work along side Coalition forces to stomp out the Separatists, not knowing that they were being led into a position that Westcott will exploit three years later. And in the new year of 2020, Jedi would be leading Union Forces against the Confederacy's clones, all while Westcott would continue to implement restrictive policies across the Union Nations in the name of security, which included, heavy boarder security strict curfews, all while anti-confederacy propaganda was rampant and wide spread.

Divergence: New World Order

For the next few years up until 2022, Isaac would continue managing and controlling the war, coming across a few hiccups and disruptions due to the emergence of the Continent of Gandstadt and his nations stepping onto the world stage, as well as attempts to have the Herrschers join the war effort on the behalf of the I.S.U. There would be plans to get the support of the herrschers for both sides, though they would remain neutral, while gaining the support they needed from Ratatoskr.

There would also be the Rainbow Serpant Crisis, which would involve a massive snake-like creature laying waste to most of Australia and parts of the estern pacific, ending in a destructive confrontation in China which resulted in the nation having a heavy national crisis due to the immense loss of life and damage that was done to it. This crisis would be resolved when Shido Fujimaru would seal the entity away into his right hand.

Despite all of these setbacks and happenings, Isaac's plans were still on track to fulfillment, and come September of 2022, Isaac and the Sith would seize their chance to initiate the final procedure of their plans, which involved the Battle of New York, which orchestrated Westcott's own kidnapping, and a massive attack on Gandstadt using Confederacy and Mafusa Sovereignty Forces with other criminal groups, weakening its defenses immensely so that the G.D.C and the sleeper agents within the Foundation could act.

Westcott would contact all Illuminati sleeper agents across the world and have them execute Protocol 86, which would see the summary execution of individuals deemed traitors to the Stabilization Union. This included the majority of the Ratatoskr Foundation, the Jedi Order, certain political figures, and others that could pose a threat to Westcott, all at the same time, he would declare a New World Order: the First International Empire, and Westcott would achieve his ultimate victory, with most of his adversaries either killed or in hiding. The Separatists would crumble and be taken over

This imperial state would last for about a year until it would be threatened by a force called the Alliance to Restore Democracy which would rise up to challenge the International Empire, comprised of former Ratatoskr Foundation members, a few Jedi and even ordinary military people who hated the new regime. AFter another war, this empire would be toppled, with Westcott being killed by an Assassin on the LN-666 Station, distracted when he was torturing Shido who had ventured there to confront him.

Kurumi preparing to send Shido back one year in time.

Isaac's daughter, Maria B. Westcott however, would transform into a dark entity that began ravaging the planet, killing both Alliance and Imperial forces en mass, with no one, not even the Herrschers or the remaining Spirits being able to stop her. After witnessing his friends being killed, Shido came to the conclusion that there was no turning this around, and so he resolved to go back to the very beginning and try again.

He would then have Kurumi to use her Sixth Bullet: Vav, to send his mind back one year into the past, approximately a week before the end of the war in order to expose Westcott and the entire Illuminati plot.

Downfall

With Shido going back one year into the past, his warning of the Empire and the machinations of Westcott effectively change history, with the Foundation able to quickly move and arrest any and all sleeper agents within the organization. This would trigger a series of events that would culminate in Westcott, Zobek, and Mathers with their forces to have a final battle in Gandstadt, which ends with Shido defeating Westcott, Kojiro and Yuna killing Zobek, and Elliot fighting Ellen and seemingly killing her, although it is later revealed she survived and was in a comatose state. After the battle, Isaac had a brief conversation with Elliot before he is inevitably killed by Yahweh, the Ratatoskr Foundation Administrator herself.

After this, all of Westcott and the Sith's deeds were exposed to the world, which led to many people being arrested for treason and conspiracy, with the war coming to an end.

Revival.

Details surrounding Westcott's resurrection can be found here.

(Part 2 will be coming soon.)

[projectsephira]

Evil Profile: Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott - Part II

Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott, Dark Emperor of the Sith and the Incarnation of GOETIA, is the titular antagonist of the Sephira mythos and is one of the largest threats to the state of humanity's continued existence. In part 1, we went over the events in his life in detail, from his formitive years, to his rise in power, as well as his role in guiding world politics to the road of World War Three, a major global conflict taking place throughout the first two novel series, that being Sephira Alternative and Sephira Alternative: Next Phase, which would eventually end with him declaring a new world order, and achieving the Sith's ultimate goal of dominating the Earth. However, a year into this regime, it would all be undone thanks to the Rebellion's efforts of sending Shido Fujimaru back in time, in order to stop Westcott and expose the Sith, ending in a major confrontation that ultimately resulted in Westcott's first death.

Part two will be delving into his psychology and other personality traits, as well as his relationships with other characters in order to highlight the cruel and warped nature of this individual, as he is one of, perhaps even the most evil character in the entire Sephira Alternative mythos.

Personality & Character

Ever since the moment he was born, Isaac was distinctly different from that of his peers and even family members around him. For when he was born, he did not cry, nor did he behave in a manner that an infant normally would. His father claimed that Issac bore eyes and expressions utterly devoid of emotion or empathy. As Isaac got older, he developed a morbid fascination with death, misery and suffering, going out into the woods outside of the town he lived in to find small animals and torture them, before eventually killing them. He would do these in horrific ways, such as nailing cats to trees or skinning rabbits alive.

As a child, Isaac felt no love or affection for his mother, brothers and sister. He especially had a poor view of his father, seeing him as a fool that did not strive for more power, and perhaps because of James abusing him on occassion, Isaac grew disdain for his father, opting to kill him after he had finally gotten him to admit just how much he hated his own son. Like wise, he would murder the rest of his family in brutal fashion, as well as all of the servants and guards in the Westcott estate before burning it all down.

Another trait of note about Isaac is his lust for power and domination over others, feeling as if it was his divine right to dominate the weak and fearful. He wanted his father to seek out further power beyond the region, as a way of the family house ruling above everyone else, but grew disappointed when he did not share his own ambition. Westcott would take this opportunity to rise to the power he wanted by being the apprentice of Hugo Damask, joining the Sith and learning new heights of power.

As a Sith, Isaac was cruel, heartless, and above all, sadistic and manipulative. Whenever he saw a use for someone, he would indeed exploit them for his own ends, often showering them with praise, and promises of power and prestige, or anything that person wanted. To the public, he was presented as a kind man that wanted to make the world a better place, becoming Prime Minister of Ireland and eventually President of the United Nations, later the International Stabilization Union, using this persona of his. behind closed doors however, he would appear as if he were evil incarnate, and this assessment may in fact be correct, given his nature as an incarnate of GOETIA.

Westcott very rarely displayed anger, and was never really known for direct outbursts of malice and fury. However, this did not mean he was incapable of being displeased, as when he was displeased with someone, he would have that person brutally tortured, and.or executed, while maintaining the same calm demeanor he displays to the public. He takes immense pleasure in the suffering of other creatures, and it is even suggested that he would purchase slaves and disparaged persons such as sex trafficking victims, just to have them endlessly tortured by his own personal Mercenary squad for his own entertainment.

For subordinates who failed him, he would punish them by taking away an arm, a leg, an eye, an ear or in some cases, even sexual organs such as male testicles before sending them off for medical treatment, hammering home the price of failure should it ever happen again. This has inspired loyalty, but mainly fear throughout the Sith Illuminati, with some of the coldest individuals viewing Westcott as the most brutal individual to ever grace their order, and it was this reputation that forced all others to stay in line and serve his will.

Of course, whenever someone has failed him multiple times, he would have them executed in brutal fashion, sending his own personal squad of inquisitors to fetch the subordinate and to have fun with carrying out their execution if time permits it, meaning, giving them the green light to torture them until they were dead.

When it came to rivals and enemies, he was just as cruel, if not more so than he was towards subordinates who failed him, as when it came to those in direct opposition to him, he would use whatever means necessary to facilitate their downfall. He would often go after families and other innocent people and would have them tortured and executed right in front of that person's eyes, forcing them to watch as they were powerless to stop the brutality of their family and friends. Other times, he would use his resources to discredit people who try to oppose him, ruining their reputation and thus creating a series of events that would destroy that person's life. He would especially take pleasure in this method if it resulted in the suicide or death of the individual in question.

Above all, Isaac was without a doubt, an evil, power hungry, sociopath that would use whatever means necessary, however immoral to achieve his goals, and while he had enough self awareness to not see himself as "good" or a hero in his own story, he never really considered himself evil either. Rather, he viewed himself as a being beyond common morality or the labels attached to such, and it is here where his core philosophy lies.

Philosophy

The core of Isaac's core philosophy is that good and evil does not exist in the form that most commonly believe it to be. The acknowledges the Light Side and the Dark Side as pure sources of energy, and is naturally aligned to the dark, but as far as morality goes, he does not believe in good or evil. Paradoxically, Westcott believed that all humans and sentient beings were capable of great darkness and malevolence as he was, believing that this was the true nature of humanity, of what many called evil, was simply a fact of life, a truth within all beings that many would refuse to acknowledge, or would try to justify using righteous reasoning and words. For Westcott saw himself as being "ahead of the curve" when it came to acknowledging his darkness. In essence, his belief is centered around the idea of all humans being evil by nature, and that life in and of itself, is by nature, "evil". This philosophy has been a driving force in his life as he would not only indulge in dark and violent acts, but would try to force others into being consumed by this inner darkness.

In his spare time, he would torture others not just out of entertainment, or enacting a cruel punishment, but as a way to pervert the worldview and mental state of others. Isaac wished to bring out the dark side in others, turning people who were righteous, hopeful prospects, and turn them into monsters, monsters that they would have opposed before their transformation. In other cases, he would not even need to torture someone physically or mentally, as just the right words and amount of manipulation was enough to completely change someone's world view, and convincing them into taking radical acts that would forever dominate their destiny, until they were able to realize their folly, or until they met their end. He would however, develop a fascination with those who could not be so easily twisted, such as the cases of Elliot Woodman, Nia Honjou, and Shido Fujimaru. And it was due to these cases that Isaac began his own research into how the human mind worked, so he could find new ways to break people.

Goals and Aspirations

Westcott's plans and agenda has been known to change throughout the series, but the most consistent fact about him is wanting to become a God, or more than a God. Before his first death, he believed it was his divine right to claim the throne of Earth and to rule as a dictator unchallenged. In Sephira Alternative: New World Order, Isaac is successful in becoming the Emperor of Mankind, a title that was not held by anyone since Adam El Asem, the first man and king of man and the days of Old Europ and Gandstadt. It was Isaac's plan to initiate a gradual takeover and an erosion of civil and human rights, until the population became so conditioned, that rebellion wouldn't be on the minds of the populace, no matter how cruel the Imperial Earth Government was. It was through the Tarkin Doctrine he was able to pacify much of the world for a time, but even then, his regime would collapse a year later after his creation due to the Alliance to Restore Democracy rising up to oppose him.

When Shido went back in time to before the battle of New York, with the Ratatoskr Foundation and the Jedi Order, now fully aware of the Sith Illuminati conspiracy, the Foundation would act fast after publicly releasing the list of individuals associated with the Sith as well as revealing their existence to the world, all thanks to a list of documents that Kurumi had sent back in time to Shido, which indeed contained this list of people, with Westcott and Ellen Mathers included. With the entire plan being exposed, Westcott changed his plan to wiping out his enemies and gaining control through force, eventually opting to wipe out the human population and to rule over who was left, however, Westcott's plan here would fail, as he would be defeated by Shido and the other Herrschers. After his defeat, Yahweh would appear before him and kill him herself while he was weakened.

Of course, this did not spell the end for Westcott, as it was thanks to his surviving family members, as well as some of his loyalists managing to relocate to a distant planet in the Alpha Draconis Star System of Thuban, where they made contact with the Alpha Draconians who created a clone body for Westcott's soul to inhabit, resurrecting him. However, while he was in "limbo", he had awoken to his nature as a part of the demonic entity known as GOETIA, realizing his true purpose, which was not to instill brutal order, but to bring chaos and destruction, and so, his plan going forward would change.

On the surface, he maintained his original goal of dominating the Earth, only this time through the military forces and assets of the Qliphoth Ascendancy, which he would seize using the body of Hajime Damekichi as a proxy ruler of the new Sith Dominion, however, using a very powerful military wasn't the endgoal for Westcott, for what he sought, was the secrets left behind on Nibiru by the Annunaki, which was their discovery of the Anti-Force Equation. It was his plan to use a major war as a distraction, and to cause the dark side across the universe to become stronger again, as he would attempt to find and decipher the Anti-Force Equation. Should this be accomplished, it would drive all living things in existence into complete madness and despair, causing mass death and suffering on a universal scale and beyond, and this is what he desires above all else, for what he wants is to indulge in the suffering, pain, despair and darkness of trillions, giving him the greatest high he would ever experience.

Should this fail, he has a backup plan, in which he intends to remake the universe itself into a universe of immense suffering and destruction, using the Eternity Shards to initiate the Human Incineration Ritual, a cosmic ritual that causes the destruction of history itself and converts the lives lost into heat energy that he can manipulate. And it is through this that he will use to try to achieve his insidious goals. At the end of the day, Westcott wishes to indulge himself in the most suffering possible, going as far as to wanting to torment other universes, dimensions, and realities by becoming the Dark Counterpart to Ein Soph, the Tree of Death. And by becoming the metaphysical Tree of Death, he would be able to torment other gods and entities, even Ein Soph itself, and once he has had his fill, he would destroy everything that ever existed, along with himself.

Relationships

Ellen Mira Mathers

One of Westcott's long time associates, and personal enforcer in the Empire, Ellen has served Isaac and the cause of the Sith Illuminati of a New World Order, maintaining the core belief of the strong deserving to rule and the weak deserving to be oppressed. She would be the one to help enforce his will and implement his policies when she would become the Director of the Global Defense Coalition, as well as be his overall right hand during World War III. She has shown a fierce loyalty to him, much to the point where she would gladly kill anyone for his sake. She would follow Isaac's path in the Sith after Elliot and her sister Karen both defected to the Ratatoskr Foundation, and as such, she holds great animosity towards her former friend.

Likewise, Ellen is probably the only subordinate Isaac is the most lenient with, and is believed to be one of the very few individuals, that Isaac feels some modicum of care for. Where he would have punished anyone else harshly for their failures, he simply bushes it off, even commending her for her efforts anyway, and when he had established the New World Order, he had quickly elevated her to the role of leader of all Imperial Military Forces, making her essentially among the highest ranked officials in the Imperial hierarchy. Following his death in the main timeline, Ellen is put into a comatose state after her defeat, and wakes up with no memory of him or the Sith, and is believed to have been a pre-programmed condition Westcott himself implemented, possibly in a rare act of kindness so she would not mourn his passing.

It is also revealed they have had a Child in secret, but never raised said child.

Elliot Eisenhardt Woodman

Isaac and Elliot had been friends since they were children along with the Mathers Sisters, with Isaac holding very little opinion of him, hiding his dark nature from Elliot just like everyone else. Up until they were around 20, they had maintained a close bond to a degree, though when Elliot vehemently disapproved of his cruel methods, what image of a friendship they had had all but crumbled, as Isaac grew to view his former friend with some disdain for joining the Ratatoskr Foundation.

Isaac's views of the Foundation were not positive, and he had even held some degree of contempt for the organization, calling them an organization of Greenhorns that made him sick for how righteous their goals were. Despite hating the Ratatoskr Foundation, unlike Ellen who completely resented Elliot for his perceived treachery to the point of wanting to kill him, Isaac was quite cordial with him, even after meeting him for the first time in thirty years, Isaac greeted him like the old friend he was and even offering him a position at his side in the New World Order. Elliot would reject this offer and maintain his resolve to put a stop to his dark deeds, as that's what the Foundation is for, to which Isaac calling it regrettable, coming to the conclusion that the two were destined to oppose each other.

It seemed that, despite his insidious nature, Woodman still had enough respect for Westcott to visit him in his final moments, before Isaac met his end at the hands of Yahweh, with Woodman ultimately regretting how things ultimately turned out in the end.

Adrian Zobek

Once an esteemed Jedi Master, turned political leader of the New USSR and the Confederacy of Independent Nations, Zobek and Westcott were good friends, having bonded over their agreement of how the United Nations was bloated with bureaucracy and corporate meddling, along with how dogmatic the Jedi had become, being more loyal to organizations and institutions rather than the Greater Will. Westcott would eye Zobek as a future apprentice and the man he needed to conduct a major war that was within his complete control, and so when he came to Zobek, telling him of the Sith and the NWO Agenda, Zobek wanted in, and thus began his training under Westcott as the Sith lord known as Tyrannus, the Necrolord.

Despite Zobek being a crucial part of his plan, Isaac only viewed him as a means to an end, and was ready to dispose of him when the time came, as when he ordered Kojiro Kurosaki to kill Zobek on the Invisible Hand Skyship, during the Battle of New York.

Beatrice the Golden Witch

The relationship between Isaac and Beatrice is not something that could be simply described as "love" but rather something else entirely related to attraction. It could be said that the two have a shared interest, as well as similar personalities, as it was known that the Golden Witch was quite brutal and sadistic in her own right, which is why they had gotten "Married" and "Created" dozens of offspring meant to carry out their will when they dominated the stars. In the New World Order Timeline, as well as during his eventual take over of the Qliphoth Ascendancy and its reorganization into the Sith Dominion, she holds the position of Empress, and is thought to have almost as much authority as Isaac himself. Despite this, she is rarely, if ever seen by anyone nor does she really participate in the politics or militaristic aspects of the Sith Empires. According to Isaac, he describes her as more of an observer of world events rather than an active participant.

Shido Fujimaru

Upon learning about the existence of Shido, as well as his Fantasy Breaker, Isaac would take an immediate interest in him. It would only be after multiple incidents, a first encounter meeting, and spywork done by subordinates that Isaac's interest in Shido would increase twicefold, learning of Shido's desire to save everyone he could around him whenever a crisis unfolds, how he is unwilling to kill or even let his own enemies die, as well as his sheer iron will to keep moving forward no matter what was thrown at him. Isaac would develop a fascination with him, to the point of borderline obsession, as he made it a goal of his to try and break Shido mentally, to get him to fall into darkness and despair, and to ultimately prove that even the best of everyone is not free of the darkness that is inherent within all humans.

Shido on the other hand, initially found Isaac's personality to be bizarre and abnormal, but this assessment would evolve into Shido developing a strong dislike, but more so fear of the man due to how far he is willing to go and just what he is willing to do just for power or a kick of another's suffering. Shido states that he could never really forgive Westcott for all of the harm he has done, for all of the death and suffering he has committed throughout his life, and especially to the people around him, but despite that, Shido claims that he still would have tried to save him in the end, not only his life, but his soul from the very distortion that guides Westcott and his madness.

But it is this answer that only makes Westcott further obsessed with Shido, realizing a common similarity they have. Isaac assesses that both he and Shido are the same, just only being two extreme sides of the same coin. Just as Isaac wishes to drown Shido in despair and darkness, as an attempt to break him utterly, Shido, despite everything, wishes to save Westcott, to destroy his Illusions and to free him from the distortion that drives his madness, so he may properly atone for all of his sins, even if it takes a lifetime, or more than a lifetime. This similarity between the two as opposite extremes of the same coin has not gone unnoticed by other characters and individuals.

Yahweh notes how similar the two are, not on a base level, but on a deeper level. She notes that if the two were to swap alignments, they would be virtually identical to their current selves, with Westcott being like Shido in his altruism and Shido being as cruel and corrupt as Westcott is now. Yahweh likens the two to forces of nature that is destined to forever clash against one another. Westcott will never be able to corrupt Shido, nor will Shido ever be able to truly overcome Westcott's darkness. In realities where both of them live, it is a fight that will never be truly resolved, and so Shido Fujimaru and Isaac Westcott are destined to oppose each other without any clear resolution, even if one of them happens to die for good.

[projectsephira]

The Annunaki, Nibiru, and the HORRIFIC Demons of the Past

Nibiru in the Sephira Expanded Universe has always been a location of intrigue since the moment of its reveal, back when the Qliphoth Ascendancy, remade and dominated the world, but in its minimal screen time, we have not seen much of it, only small pieces and hints to its history and legacy. However, this planet has a vast and complicated history, along with hosting a number of frightening things that even the Empress of the Ascendancy was very wary of, and something that Isaac Westcott took interest in when he overthrew the Ascendancy and formed the Sith Eternal.

To get into what the subject of this document is about, we must first go into a little bit of detail regarding the original inhabitants of Nibiru. The planet was once occupied by the Annunaki, a race of giant humanoids that stood around 10-14 feet in height and had developed into a highly advanced society of scientists and mystics that specalized in a number of fields, namely the creation and alteration of life itself, something that Westcott's former Sith Master, Hugo Demask took an interest in. The Annunaki were known for being "colonialists" that traveled to different star systems and enslaved lesser developed species that hadn't formed any kind of advanced civilization yet.

In the ancient past, Nibiru was suffering from pollution and other manmade disasters that was killing their planet, and in order to rectify this, the Annunaki sought out the Earth to mine gold and other materials they needed to reverse the damage done to their world. 300 Annunaki boarded their Great Ships and took to the inner Solar System, taking over 600 beings called the Igigi.

The Igigi were a race of humanoids that the Annunaki created as a slave labor force, and it was the Igigi that maintained order and managed production sites both on Nibiru and on Earth during the Mining Operations. But with the cruelty of the Annunaki pushing the Igigi, they would eventually have enough and rebel against their masters. Despite their being many, the Annunaki were stronger than the Igigi, eventually overpowering the rebellion with their powers in the Greater Will.

The Annunaki did not kill them all however, still wanting to keep them around, however the Igigi refused to work. This left the Annunaki with a bit of a situation, stumped as to how to proceed. It was then they would discover a species of primate-like humanoids and chose to subject these creatures to different experiments to create a new, intelligent, labor force. At first they were met with repeated setbacks, attempting to alter their genetics to change them into perfect subjects, but all they did was create monsters and abominations, creatures that are still thought to be roaming the Earth to this very day.

They would soon find success when a Annunakian Cleric and Priestess performed a ritual that involved the heart of one of the primates, and the brain of another. This ritual would result in the creation of Adam El Asem, the first man and the one who would go on to become the first King of mankind. They would repeat this same ritual and create a few more humans, or proto-humans, namely the being known as Lilith, to serve as Asem's mate and, and the two would go on to sire many sons and daughters over the centuries, with humans popping up in large numbers. They resembled modern day humans, albeit with several anomalous traits, such as superhuman capabilities, strong magical talent, and an incredibly long lifespan.

It was at first that Asem and these proto-humans would serve the Annunaki, and were mining them tons of Gold and other material that the Annunaki needed to save Nibiru, But Asem no longer desired to be a lave to the Sky Gods, so he would rally thousands of his fellow humans, and rebel against the Annunaki, and to further add insult to injury, several other Annunaki had fallen in love and married humans, even having families with these humans, creating powerful offspring. And so it was this large force of humans, Annunaki turncoats and their children that forced the occupiers off the Earth for the time being, the Annunaki occupiers having concluded they had enough gold and unique material needed to repair the damage to Nibiru, and thus they returned.

It was thought that for a time, they were successful in restoring their world, however it would be another cataclysm that would alter the fate of both the Annunaki, and Nibiru forever. A dark, chaotic force had afflicted the Annunaki, whether it be due to a ritual gone wrong, or a malevolent entity discovering them of its own accord and attacking the society, it remains uncertain. What is certain, is that this would effectively be the end of Annunakian society on Nibiru as it was known. Millions were driven mad as the dark entity warped their minds, sending some into fits of rage and insanity, causing individuals to loose control of their power.

Those that were consumed began to worship, death, pain and chaos, causing bloodshed and carnage on a massive scale, as temples and cults were erected in service of this horrific monstrosity. Those who weren't consumed tried to fight back against the madness and bring about order to their society, but as more and more of them were either consumed by the Dark, or were being killed by the consumed, the rest had decided to abandon their homeworld and set for a planet far across the Galaxy that would be called Marduk, and the Annunaki would gradually rebuild their society there, but it would never be the same again.

Back to Nibiru though, the madness continued to sweep across the planet, many Annunakians falling to the Dark Side and participating in hedonistic massacres against one another, and creating rituals, manuscripts, and grimoires of cognitohazardous knowledge that only served to spread the insanity and possibly open up a gateway to the Neatherverse, the dimension of the various afterlives and where the forces of Chaos are thought to reside. However, the insanity became too much and they would all kill each other off before accomplishing anything.

These conflicts had ruined the planet beyond belief and it was thought that traces of the Chaos entity still permeated through the grounds of the world, as many of the corrupted Annunaki were unable to fully pass on, and instead, manifested as dark, malevolent spirits that roamed and haunted the planet. Even when a race of insectoid creatures crash landed on Nibiru thousands of years later, the creatures couldn't fully infest the planet as the chaos spirits haunted the insectoids and were killing off their population.

When Zayane Astaroth found the world, she was able to fend off the chaos ghosts but was unable to destroy them, instead opting to seal them away by building her empire on top of the ruins of what remained, creating layers upon layers of cities where the forces of chaos were gradually weakened the higher you went, and where Zayane could have some degree of control over.

As of now, the remnants of the Annunaki and the forces of Chaos reside in the lowest level of Universe City on Nibiru, with that darkness only growing to fester in the centuries it has remained dormant. the Malevolent Ghosts are evolved into strange, eldritch entities and has even used the dark side to twist what little life remained down there into terrifying abominations. Issac Ray Pelham Westcott, after his revivle and seizure of the world as he builds his own Sith Empire, using the body of Hajime Damekichi as a proxy leader and the face of this imperial force, using what was left of the Qliphoth Ascendancy as the foundation, would venture to level zero of Nibiru, where he would seek out the powers and knowledge of Chaos.

For Westcott is the human incarnation of GOETIA, the Chaos God, and is recognized by the chaos spirits as the harbinger of GOETIA's will. GOETIA is thought to be a transcendent entity that is thought to exist in all known universes and realities, only able to manifest into these worlds as mortal men and women who carry a certain "distortion" within themselves. Westcott, and these beings were initially born, unaware that they are in essence, extensions of GOETIA, but through some unclear means, gain an understanding of what they truly are, and carry out their goals to realize GOETIA.

One may argue that GOETIA is the dark side of Ein Soph itself, the being that is God, and is everything in existence, as Ein Sof represents life, while GOETIA represents Chaos and Death. One can kill all of his extensions, but he will simply just incarnate again, and can even bring in other incarnations from other realities in order to achieve his goals. It seems for now, he has chosen Westcott to be his primary vessel, a "command centre" of sorts to control his other instances. He can even incorporate the consciousness of other humans into its collective by psychologically breaking them down and consuming the consciousness matter, as with the case of Hajime.

It is thought that GOETIA is unable to fully manifest his power, and in order to do that, one of his extensions must initiate a ritual that will breach the boundary between existence and non-existence (Afterlife) where the forces of Chaos reside. It may take just one universe to accomplish this, described as opening up pandora's box that will have disastrous ramifications not only for Universe-616, but all known dimensions and realities. To put it simply, GOETIA, and the other Chaos entities would do to the Multiverse what they had done to the Annunaki, causing widespread chaos, destruction, madness and death that would last for eons unending.

This is Westcott's ultimate goal, and wish. He enjoyed having power and ruling over others, but after learning of his true nature as part of the GOETIA Collective Consciousness, and its core, he would embrace all aspects of chaos and give in further to his dark and insidious nature. To become a god that tortured all life and unlife everywhere, seeking to even break the will of Ein Sof itself. A potential war with the Galaxy and Earth would only be used as a means to widen the spread and neutralize his enemies. Also, just because he loves war and death, especially if he is the cause of it.

And so this is the dark secret that lay within Nibiru, and the horrifying truth behind Isaac Westcott and his SIth Dominion. A plan to torment all of creation and to thrive as a demonic God of Chaos.