Above the Sequence

“There are some things that make it easier to be ‘infected’ the more you know.”

This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS relating to some of the most pivotal parts of the "Lord of Mysteries" and "Circle of Inevitability".

“	But the horror of the Great Old Ones far exceeded my imagination. Accompanying my revival was a new life of corruption… Perhaps only Great Old Ones can resist Great Old Ones.	„
— Roselle Gustav to Klein Moretti on Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 1307

Great Old One旧日: 
Jiù rì, or Great Old Dominator旧日支配者: 
Jiù rì zhīpèi zhě, refers to a level above Sequence 0, where one becomes a direct representation of a certain aspect of the universe. According to the Second Blasphemy Slate, to become a complete Great Old One, one needs to accommodate the corresponding Sefirah, plus the Uniqueness and at least one Sequence 1 Beyonder Characteristics of each Pathway in the group.

Above the Sequence is an umbrella term that refers to existences at the level of the Sefirot or higher. It has been used to refer to Great Old Ones, Outer Deities, and Half Great Old Ones.

On Earth, because there are 9 Sefirot, there can be 9 Great Old Ones. In the Cosmos, there is an unknown number of Outer Deities at the level of Great Old Ones. By year 1358 of the Fifth Epoch, the 10 most powerful Outer Deities in the entire Universe that are currently gathering around the solar system are all Great Old Ones. Some of "Them" wish to retrieve "Their" Sefirot and Beyonder Characteristics that had been ripped from "Them" and were attracted to Earth when The Original Creator awakened in the Pre-Epoch. Some of "Them" have the hope of getting neighboring Sefirot, Uniquenesses, and High-Sequence Beyonder Characteristics on Earth that "They" can accommodate.

To Great Old Ones, the number of authorities has a certain connection to level and status, but not entirely. The corresponding characteristics, power, and symbols are equally important.

To put "Their" power in perspective, Klein surmised that the other Sequence 0 deities (excluding the Evernight Goddess should "She" become a Great Old One) would be able to tie down one or two Outer Deities together, and that it would be considered a miracle. It would take nine to fight one, or even more.

Levels of Above the Sequences

According to Madam Magician, there are three levels of Above the Sequences:

1. Most Great Old Ones on Earth and Outer Deities in the Cosmos are at the first level. "They" can still accommodate another Sefirah that has similar, close, or adjacent symbolism to "Their" own. This would make "Them" equal in power to the Pillars, though "They" still wouldn’t possess the symbolism of Pillars.
2. Between the first and third levels, there’s the second level: the Pillars.
3. The Original Creator is at the third level, representing the ultimate, representing chaos, beginning and end, representing the unknowable and undiscussable. No existence can surpass this level, and this level can only have one being, and it’s very unstable because both aggregation and division are "His" instincts.

The Three Pillars

Pillar Symbolism

Compared to other Great Old Ones, the Pillars possess special symbolism. They are the foundation for the universe’s maintenance and development, each supporting one of the three layers of worlds:

• God Almighty, Lord of the Astral World
• Lord of Mysteries, Dominator of the Spirit World
• Mother Goddess of Depravity, Sovereign of the Physical World

Each controls a realm, but not completely. "Their" authorities overlap with each other.

The three Pillars differed significantly in how "They" wielded "Their" respective symbols:

• Lord of Mysteries can seal the Spirit World. For a set period, no creatures, including other Great Old Dominators, could enter the Spirit World without "His" explicit permission. All their abilities, authorities, and symbols related to the Spirit World were rendered ineffective.
• Mother Goddess of Depravity could not seal off reality to prevent unauthorized entry or expel all adversaries. Such actions were unachievable. "She" could only impose a continuous weakening effect on targets within reality. However, on the other hand, reality was the foundation of the universe. Unless everything ended, reality would eternally exist. Thus, the Mother Goddess of Depravity possessed the characteristic of indestructibility, never to perish. As long as "She" wished, "She" could not be displaced or sealed.
• God Almighty can disrupt the Astral World by causing abstract concepts and symbolic markers there to descend into chaos. This can delay or disorient other Great Old Dominators and prevent "Them" from using the Astral World to travel elsewhere.

Power

Complete Pillars hold a status higher than other Great Old Ones, but are not fundamentally different. All Pillars can simultaneously go against 2 Great Old Ones who don't counter "Them".

• For the Lord of Mysteries:
  • Against Great Old Dominators with specific symbols capable of countering the "His" abilities, "He" could only rely on the unique symbolism of a Pillar to contend with two at most.
  • In the absence of counter abilities and symbolisms, there is no fundamental difference between battling two or eight Great Old Ones, and "He" can fight an infinite number of Great Old Ones.

Aggregation Instinct

The Pillar is the limit of stable existence and suppression of the aggregation instinct. If a complete Pillar accommodates one more Sefirah, "They" will lose control over "Their" aggregation instinct and will actively consume more Sefirot until "They" aggregate into The Original Creator, causing "His" revival. Once this process begins, it can only be interrupted by "Their" complete fall and division.

Similarly, other Great Old Dominators cannot further accommodate a Sefirah with Pillar symbolism because this would only lead "Them" to self-destruction. However, occupying one or two Uniquenesses and the corresponding Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics is not a problem. "Their" power will increase slightly, and "Their" abilities will become more diverse. Besides, just because "They" can't accommodate a Sefirah with Pillar symbolism doesn't mean there's no suitable way for "Them" to use it.

Current Status

• The God Almighty position is unoccupied. The Primordial God Almighty almost revived during The Apocalypse, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Without hundreds or thousands of years to wear down "His" strengthened consciousnesses, none of the God Almighty's five pathways are suitable for birthing a corresponding Sequence 0.
• The Lord of Mysteries position is occupied by Klein Moretti who ascended using the Potion System and merged with The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth.
• The Mother Goddess of Depravity was once a Pillar, but when The Original Creator split and created an embodiment of convergence and separation, part of "Her" Sefirah was torn from "Her" and became the Brood Hive, which was attracted to Earth along with the Mother Pathway and Moon Pathway. Then the Mother Goddess of Depravity became not much different from the other Outer Deities, but "She" still possesses the symbolism and status of a Pillar due to the unique symbolism of the Chaos Primogenitor. "She" managed to accommodate the Brood Hive again in The Apocalypse, but not the Uniquenesses and Beyonder Characteristics of the Moon Pathway and Mother Pathway.

The Fourth Pillar

This world was born from chaos. Besides the Astral World's Dominator, the Spirit World's Lord, and Reality’s Sovereign, there is another important symbolism - one that represents the endpoint of destiny, the universe’s destruction, and the finale of all things. Under such a symbolism, even the Three Pillars would completely perish; "Their" spirits no longer existing, everything returning to chaos. The hidden Fourth Pillar would meet the same fate not much later; or rather, "Its" self-destruction brings about all termination.

The Fourth Pillar is formed by the convergence of two Sefirot: the City of Calamity, and the River of Eternal Darkness. Due to the existence of the Fourth Pillar, pathways of the Eternal Darkness group and the Calamity of Destruction group are exchangeable. However, after switching to a hidden neighboring pathway, if one doesn’t expel the corresponding Beyonder characteristics, they will be unable to accommodate the Sefirah in the future and will be rejected by the belonging Sefirah.

The hidden Fourth Pillar is related to the universe’s destruction and the termination of all things, and would not normally appear. It wasn't the birth of the Fourth Pillar that would bring about the end of the universe, but the universe reaching its true apocalypse that would give rise to the Fourth Pillar symbolizing the final end.

General Powers/Characteristics of Great Old Ones

• All Authorities and Traits of True Gods, at a higher level.
• Universal Symbolism: "They" become a direct representation of a certain aspect of the universe and are able to exert influence on it as a whole. However, in actual combat, the immediate area of effect was usually limited to a single star system or the radiation zone of a black hole, which was achieved mostly by reality-oriented symbolisms like those of the Supernova Dominator or Calamity of Destruction. During combat, "Their" short term symbolic impacts remained mostly confined to this range, with only minor, manageable disruptions spreading throughout the universe.
• Ability to establish a connection through knowledge of "Their" existence: All existences at the level of the Sefirot and above have the characteristic that, once an individual knows enough information about "Them", "They" can establish a connection to that individual and cause corruption through that connection. Only existences at the Angel level or above can sever this connection in some ways.

Advancement Condition

There is no advancement ritual required to become a Great Old One since no ritual can change the awakening of The Original Creator's will, but the Ancient Sun God believes that the order of accommodation can improve self-awareness to some extent and enhance the success rate:

1. Become a Sequence 0 of a pathway, then control and fuse with the Sefirah, and lastly, accommodate the other Uniquenesses. This is the best option.
2. Become a Dual-Pathway True God, then control and fuse with the Sefirah, and lastly, accommodate the other Uniquenesses. This is neither the best nor the worst option. This has hope of success, but not a great chance.
3. Fuse with the Sefirah last. This is the worst option.

This is the general approach, though some Pathways have their own unique details, like the Calamity of Destruction Pathways.

The 9 Great Old Ones on Earth

On Earth, there are 9 Great Old Ones groups corresponding to the 9 Sefirot and 22 Standard Pathways. The information about the 9 Great Old Ones is recorded on the Second Blasphemy Slate.

In a time more ancient than the Modern Era of the Pre-Epoch, the sleeping Oldest One had naturally split into multiple personas. "They" were also in a state of slumber, but "They" began to use the authority and Beyonder Characteristics "They" controlled to influence the world, making many preparations for the true dissociation which would occur when The Original Creator awakened. Among the multiple personas, the Primordial God Almighty and The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth were the most powerful and active Great Old Ones on Earth.

When The Original Creator awakened at the end of the Pre-Epoch, "He" split into six Sefirot, sixteen Uniquenesses, and countless Beyonder characteristics, with different personas controlling different Sefirot, Uniquenesses, and Beyonder characteristics. The Primordial God Almighty and The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth broke and dispersed the wills within the other Sefirot, making those wills take a very long time to recover and awaken again.

The remaining three Sefirot and six Pathways came from the three Outer Deities who are direct creations of The Original Creator: the Mother Goddess of Depravity, Mother Tree of Desire, and Son of Chaos. When The Original Creator awakened, "They" were the Outer Deities most affected: "Their" Sefirot were each torn in half, with one half being drawn to the site of the original Creator's self-destruction on Earth along with "Their" corresponding Uniquenesses and Beyonder characteristics. When there were twenty-two Pathways and nine Sefirot on Earth, a balance was reached, and the attraction stopped.

№	Great Old Ones	Full Title	Pathways	Sefirot
1	God Almighty	God Almighty; Creator; Maker; The Omnipotent and Omniscient; Lord of the Astral WorldSimplified Chinese:  上帝， 创造者， 造物主， 全知全能者， 星界之主	Visionary Sun Tyrant White Tower Hanged Man	Chaos Sea
2	Lord of Mysteries	Lord of Mysteries; King of Space-Time; Beacon of Destiny; Embodiment of Sefirah Castle; Dominator of the Spirit WorldSimplified Chinese:  诡秘之主， 时空之王， 命运道标， 源堡化身， 灵界支配者	Fool Error Door	Sefirah Castle
3	Eternal Darkness	Eternal Darkness; Singularity of All; Space-Time-in-OneSimplified Chinese:  永恒之暗， 万物奇点， 时空归一者	Darkness Death Twilight Giant	River of Eternal Darkness
4	Goddess of Origin	Goddess of Origin; Mother of All; Brood Hive of FilthSimplified Chinese:  根源之神， 万物之母， 污秽的母巢	Mother Moon	Brood Hive
5	The Anarchy	The Anarchy; Shadow of OrderSimplified Chinese:  失序者， 秩序阴影	Black Emperor Justiciar	Nation of Disorder
6	Calamity of Destruction	Calamity of Destruction; Origins of DisasterSimplified Chinese:  毁灭天灾， 根源之祸	Demoness Red Priest	City of Calamity
7	Father of Devils	Father of Devils; Lord of Deviants; Source of CursesSimplified Chinese:  恶魔之父， 异类之主， 诅咒之源	Abyss Chained	Tenebrous World
8	Demon of Knowledge	Demon of Knowledge; Arcana of MadnessSimplified Chinese:  知识之妖， 疯狂奥秘	Hermit Paragon	Knowledge Moor
9	Key of Light	Key of Light; Endless Disorder; Incarnation of FateSimplified Chinese:  光之钥， 无尽的混乱， 命运化身	Wheel of Fortune	Key of Light

Notes:

Outer Deities

Main article: Outer Deities

There is an unknown number of Outer Deities in the Cosmos. The most powerful Outer Deities in the entire Universe that are currently gathering around the solar system are all Great Old Ones.

№	Outer Deities	Full Title	Pathways
1	Mother Goddess of Depravity	Mother Goddess of Depravity; Origin of Evil; The Indestructible; Goddess of Origin; (Former) Mother of All; (Former) Brood Hive of Filth; (Former) Sovereign of the Physical WorldSimplified Chinese:  堕落母神， 邪恶之始， 不灭者， 根源之神，‡ 万物之母，‡ 污秽的母巢，‡ 现实世界的主宰	Mother (Accommodated Brood Hive, no Uniqueness) Moon (Accommodated Brood Hive, no Uniqueness) Chaos Primogenitor
2	Mother Tree of Desire	Mother Tree of Desire; Father of Devils; (Former) Lord of Deviants; (Former) Source of Curses; (Former) Perpetual Blatherer; Heartless GodSimplified Chinese:  欲望母树， 恶魔之父，‡ 异类之主，‡ 诅咒之源，‡ 永世的嘶吼者， 失心之神	Abyss (Accommodating Tenebrous World, no Uniqueness) Chained (Accommodating Tenebrous World, no Uniqueness) Patriarch
3	Son of Chaos	The Anarchy; (Former) Shadow of Order; (Former) Bridge of Light and Darkness; Interstice Between Black and White; Ever-Uncertain Mist; The Truth that Oversees All ThingsSimplified Chinese:  失序者，‡ 秩序阴影，‡ 光与暗的桥梁， 黑与白之间隙， 永不确定的迷雾， 监督万物的真理	Black Emperor (Former) Justiciar (Former) Chaos Mist
4	Primordial Hunger	Primordial Hunger; The Symbol of Devouring; An Insatiable Convergence; The Cleanser of All ThingsSimplified Chinese:  原初的饥饿， 吞噬的象征， 永不满足的聚合， 万物的清扫者	Tail-Devourer
5	Circle of Inevitability	Circle of Inevitability; The Eternal Cycle; The Predestined Destiny; The Cause, the Effect, and the ProcessSimplified Chinese:  宿命之环， 永恒的轮回， 注定的命运， 原因，结果，过程	Eternal Aeon
6	Supernova Dominator	The Ruler of Stars; The Symbolism of Weight and Density; The Controller of Fundamental Forces; The Laws of the Boundless CosmosSimplified Chinese:  群星的主宰， 沉重和致密的象征， 基本之力的掌控者， 无垠星空的律法	Astronomy Aficionado
7	Inextinguishable Ravings	The Philosophical Essence; The Inextinguishable Ravings; The Symbolism of Life's Spirit; The Eternal ConsciousnessSimplified Chinese:  哲学的本源， 不熄的呓语， 生灵精神的象征， 永不磨灭的意识	Everlasting
8	Monarch of Decay	The Inevitable Decay of All Things; The Endpoint of the River of Time; The Lord of Rot and Putrescence; The Irreversible EntropySimplified Chinese:  万物终朽的象征， 时光之河的终点， 腐烂与衰败的主宰， 不可逆转之熵	Second Law
9	High-Dimensional Overseer	The Lord of Dimensions; The Eye Overlooking the Mortal Realm; The Source of All Illusions; The Creator of the Painting WorldSimplified Chinese:  维度之主， 俯视尘世的眼睛， 一切幻想的源头， 画中世界的造物主	Sublunary Eye
10	Goddess of Fate	The Weaver of All Fates; The Symbol of Ultimate Judgement; The Eternal Goddess of the FutureSimplified Chinese:  所有事物的命运纺织者， 最终裁决的象征， 永生的未来女神	Dreamless

List of "Great Old One" Existences

On Earth

• Primordial God Almighty (Pillar)
• The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth (Former Pillar)
• The Fool (Pillar)
• Ruler of Calamity
• Eternal Darkness

Outer Deities

• Mother Goddess of Depravity (Pillar)
• Mother Tree of Desire
• Son of Chaos
• Primordial Hunger
• Circle of Inevitability
• Supernova Dominator
• Inextinguishable Ravings
• Monarch of Decay
• High-Dimensional Overseer
• Goddess of Fate

Half Great Old Ones

This refers to those that have transcended the Sequence (Above the Sequence) but have not reached the level of a Great Old One. The exact requirements for one to be considered Half a Great Old Ones is unknown, but all known examples share the following characteristics:

• "They" are a Sequence 0 True God of at least one corresponding pathway.
• "They" hold some control over the corresponding Sefirah.
• "They" don't have all the components (Uniqueness and at least 1 Sequence 1 characteristic) of all corresponding pathways.

Known Half Great Old Ones

Period	God	Sefirah	Authorities
			Pathway	Uniqueness	Sequence 1 Characteristics
Pale Era	Death	River of Eternal Darkness	Death	Yes	3
			Red Priest	Yes	-
During Klein's Apotheosis Ritual	Adam	Chaos Sea	Visionary	Yes	3
			Hanged Man	Yes	3
			Sun	Envisioned	-
			Tyrant	Envisioned	-
			White Tower	Envisioned	-
After The Fool's Gambit	The Fool	Sefirah Castle	Fool	Yes	3
			Error	No	1
			Door	No	1
Before Death of Primordial Demoness	The Fool	Sefirah Castle	Fool	Yes	3
			Error	No	-
			Door	No	-

Notes:

Quasi Great Old Ones

This refers to those that have merged with or have sufficient control over the corresponding Sefirah, and have most or all of the required components (Uniquenesses and Sequence 1 Beyonder Characteristics), but cannot be considered a complete Great Old One, either due to a lack of required components, or due to various other reasons.

Known Quasi Great Old Ones

Period	God	Sefirah	Authorities
			Pathway	Uniqueness	Sequence 1 Characteristics
Third Epoch	Ancient Sun God	Chaos Sea	Visionary	Envisioned	Envisioned
			Hanged Man	Yes	1
			Sun	Yes	1
			Tyrant	Yes	1
			White Tower	Yes	1
The Apocalypse	Celestial Thearch	Nation of Disorder	Black Emperor	Yes	1
			Justiciar	Yes	1
	Celestial Master + God of Steam and Machinery	Knowledge Moor	Hermit	Yes	1
			Paragon	Yes	3
	Holy Monk + Will Auceptin + Ouroboros	Key of Light	Wheel of Fortune	Yes	3
	Master of the Shadow Cottage + Farbauti	Tenebrous World	Chained	No	-
			Abyss	Yes	3
	Grisha Adam	Chaos Sea	Visionary	Yes	3
			Hanged Man	Yes	3
			Sun	Yes	1
			Tyrant	Yes	1
			White Tower	Yes	3

Notes: