[???]: 1x earth seed, 1x metal seed, 1x wood seed.

[???]: 1x fire seed, 1x water seed, 1x light seed.

[???]: 1x dark seed, 1x essence of space, 1x essence of time.

Somnus extracted Forgor's existence. He then traveled through time.

TS: Year 12, Day 60;

He sealed and removed Forgor from the pool of concepts.

"Kalos is the only concept for an element."

Somnus then decided to do something different.

He traveled forward in time.

TS: Year 900, Day 1;

"01, 27, 29, 81, and 85 have been removed from the pool of concepts."

"There are 95 other concepts. These have all been dreaming for hundreds of years. They are reaching the end of their lifespan."

"They have matured."

Somnus thought about the concept nexus. He figured it was too simple and easy to assign concepts laws just from their actions in a few scenarios. There was no competition. They were all isolated and alone in their journeys.

"Even in the dreams, they have the characteristics of immortals and gods. They are different from normal humans."

Somnus planned to do what he had done in the past that ended up destroying a universe. He had fused dreams, this had once caused chaos and destruction. But these weren't humans sharing a dream. These were ancient concepts competing!

"They will retain their memories of the dreams they have had for the last few hundred years. But they will lose everything that makes them special in the dream."

"I'll make it so they have normal human limits. I'll have them compete for survival. The winner will be chosen as the ruler of that dimension."

"The loser... will be removed and not stored in the concept nexus. This is a battle for survival!"

"The winner will also be able to gamble. They can 'pass' on the law that they would inherit for a chance to compete for a different law."

"This is far more interesting then how I have been going about things."

"There are a few things I must decide and create. The first game will be for the metal elemental law..."

Somnus felt that if he continued to do things in the same way. He would keep getting sidetracked and assigning alternate laws until he ran out of concepts.

So he decided to spice things up a bit.

Somnus did something insane. He destroyed 'Universe #01'.

Somnus existed outside it. So he didn't hold any reservations in regards to the integrity of the universe. Just as he had created it easily, he had destroyed it easily. But all of the data and memories he had couldn't be removed unless he wished it.

Universe #02

He recreated Time and History and the Universal Time Constant. He had kept a log of history.

Somnus took the exact same steps he had taken for 'Universe #01'.

It was a perfect copy. But there was one major difference. The concepts that had attained their roles were permanently out of the pool.

So there was only 95 concepts.

But they all had the same sources that they had had in 'Universe #01'. Somnus had implemented something special into this universe. Just like how he had created a consciousness program for Time.

Somnus had taken the essence of the concept nexus and grew it alongside the new universe. You could think of the concept nexus like a framework that he could use in all future universes. The more concepts he collected. The more 'perfect' the universes would become.

You could think of it sort of like a function. Instead of needing to 'redo' the logic over and over again. You could trigger a function and perform multiple calculations exactly how you wanted them done in the order that you wanted them done.

It was creating a foundation for the universe.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The moment 'Universe #02' came into existence. It wasn't simply Somnus observing it alone anymore.

There was another dimension added to it. This housed the concepts.

TS: Year 0, Day 1;

Somnus had long become the fabric of reality as the dream seed. These concepts weren't on his level. They were like the characters in a game. While Somnus was far removed from them. He was like the physical player.

But [History] had been changed in 'Universe #02'. This was because the concepts kept their assigned numbers from the past universe. But Ping'yan obviously wouldn't wake up this time. She had been wiped out from the pool of concepts.

But this was an 'honor'. She had 'ascended'.

She was a permanent member of the concept nexus and would be involved with the future outcome of this and all future universes.

Ping'yan would've been born year 0, day 1. But that history had been changed.

So it was 02's time to shine! They were the force that got the ball of concepts rolling. This was Zhar. A human that had been displaced into this entirely different reality.

Despite him being born first this time. He didn't wake up. But the chaos of his dreams caused a chain of events, leading to the birth of 94 other concepts.

Somnus designed a gathering point for the concepts that was in a separate dimension tied to 'Universe #02'.

[Ping'yan]: Hello..?

[Forgor]: Was that all a dream?

[Tankai]: Interesting. This is like a forum.

[Miros]: This is annoying. I was promised I'd be able to fight other concepts!

[Kalos]: I can feel it... this is incredible! I can weave my own dimension into existence...

[Forgor]: Crafting a dimension? How interesting!

[Ping'yan]: Should we introduce ourselves?

[Tankai]: Our names are our usernames. There is no need. How about our laws?

[Forgor]: Laws? That tablet I saw...mine seems to be crafting...

[Tankai]: Mine was technology.

[Ping'yan]: Cultivation.

[Miros]: I am combat.

[Kalos]: You guys... It seems you are all different then me.

[Ping'yan]: What do you mean?

[Kalos]: I am earth.

[Forgor]: What even is that?

[Kalos]: An element, I was taught how to create the earth elemental dimension!

[Forgor]: Nobody taught me shit.

[Admin]: I see you all are having fun!

[Tankai]: An admin? How interesting. I have a few questions.

[Admin]: You can all use this 'nexus chat' to communicate.

[Admin]: Each of your sources has been layered as the foundation of this universe.

[Admin]: Mess around with the mechanics yourself.

[Admin]: You can also meet in person at the 'nexus forum'.

A meeting room formed from seemingly nothing as the concepts manifested. They had an additional sense that humans lacked. It was the ability to manipulate their source. This was almost the equivalent of a human manipulating their soul.

From this they could dismiss their physical body and exist on a data level as the source itself. Each source was protected and isolated.

"I'm the only women?" Ping'yan frowned.

"Does it even matter? It isn't like we are humans. No reproductive organs!" Tankai sighed.

"Let's battle!" Miros shouted.

Fog filled the room and a man in a suit appeared. He looked out of place amongst these concepts. The others were wearing daoist robes. But he was wearing a suit and his facial expressions were unreadable.

"Hello! I am Visdre."

"The designated adminstrator for this universe!"

"How does one become an admin?" Tankai's eyes were glowing.

Visdre coughed.

"We can talk in private about that later. You all have your own laws. It could be said that your actions will have a great impact on this universe."

"You are all the gems that I have painstakingly found among the first entities in the cosmos..."

"We are special?" Forgor was itching to study the rules of this space.

"Yes."

"I was right! There were others..." Tankai laughed.

"So that means that more people will be joining us, right? When we wake up. We gain our law and become a part of this 'forum'?"

Somnus expected Tankai to figure it out fast. But he realized that even Tankai lacked information.

"Actually, you guys are it."

"What?" Kalos had a weird expression.

"What do you mean?" Tankai asked.

"The creator of reality has fused your source with the foundation of this universe."

"Ok?" Ping'yan said.

Somnus shook his head.

"Things aren't so simple. Your universe has already been deleted. You all have been removed from history and will never be born. This fact will never change."

"It was through the birth of this universe that you all gained your foundation."

"The creator plans to destroy this universe as well."

"Then the next universe will have a larger foundation..."

"The purpose of this universe is to create the elemental dimensions."

Somnus pointed at Kalos.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"You guys should understand your situation now. You are the highest of the highs. You are above the gods. Your existence itself has been woven into the rules of this universe."

"You have reached the top!" Somnus laughed.

"Congratulations!"

"But now you must help me select more concepts to join you. We must design a legendary filter!"

"At the end of the destruction of a universe. Your memories will be uploaded to a database."

"The universe is only temporary. But our roles are eternal!"