"Before there were gods, there was balance. Before balance, there was chaos. And before chaos… there was the loop."
— Ancient Verse of the Nameless Cycle
The World of Letharion
Letharion is a vast realm suspended between heaven and void — a place where mortals, monsters, and gods share the same air.
It's a world shaped by Spirit Force, the invisible energy that flows through all living things.
Every creature possesses a Spirit Core, the heart of their strength.
Those who learn to refine this energy walk the Path of Ascension.
The Path of Ascension
The Path of Ascension is divided into ten mortal stages, followed by divine realms that reach beyond imagination.
Each step represents a cultivator's fusion with Spirit Force — body, mind, and soul becoming one.
Mortal Stages (The Earthly Path)
Beginner – The first step. The cultivator learns to sense Spirit Force and guide it through their body.
Adept – Spirit Force is refined into energy channels. Strength, senses, and awareness begin to grow.
Expert – Spirit Force can be released through attacks or techniques. Warriors at this level can destroy boulders and bend metal.
Master – The cultivator's body becomes a vessel of power. Spirit Force merges with blood and nerves, granting inhuman endurance.
Grandmaster – Their aura manifests physically. A single strike can level armies. They begin to touch the boundaries of the soul.
Transcendent Stages (The Heavenly Path)
Saint – The soul begins to refine. A Saint can heal from mortal wounds and manipulate elemental Spirit Force.
Sage – They awaken the Spirit Core, allowing them to command natural laws like gravity, flame, or time itself.
Archon – Their will influences reality. A thought can shatter mountains or calm storms. They are feared across nations.
Celestial – A being of pure essence. Their lifespan becomes infinite, their body immortal. They can travel between realms.
God – Complete fusion of soul and creation. A single word from a God can create or destroy worlds.
Realms Beyond God (Forbidden Paths)
Above the mortal and divine stages exist realms few can comprehend:
Nameless Realm — Where those cursed by eternity wander. The place of endless regressions.
Eternal Domain — Home of the true gods who watch the cycle of creation.
True Void — The space beyond existence, where reality collapses.
The Loop — Neither place nor time — the infinite circle that Aelric himself becomes bound to.
Spirit Force & Its Natures
Spirit Force exists in all forms of life, but its nature changes with the wielder.
Fire Force — burns, purifies, and destroys.
Water Force — heals, flows, and adapts.
Earth Force — defends and strengthens.
Wind Force — cuts, moves, and enhances speed.
Void Force — rare and forbidden, able to erase existence.
Divine Force — wielded only by gods and those who slay them.
Every cultivator's Spirit Core aligns with one element by fate — though some rare beings (like Aelric) evolve multiple affinities through battle and regression.
The Six Mortal Kingdoms
The known world is divided into six great nations, each guarding one of the Heavenly Seals, artifacts said to protect the world from collapse:
Lethar Kingdom – The northern frontier; harsh, cold, home of warriors. Aelric's birthplace.
Velmora Empire – Center of learning and cultivation academies.
The Solarian Dynasty – Worshippers of light and the sun god.
Ebonreach Dominion – Masters of shadow and poison.
The Azure Isles – Spiritual nation of sea-born cultivators and elemental mages.
The Scarlet Wastes – A desert filled with lost ruins and remnants of ancient gods.
These six kingdoms together form the Mortal Ring — the layer of reality accessible to humans.
Above it lies the Heavenly Ring, home of Saints, Sages, and Archons.
Beyond that… lies the Divine Veil.
The Law of the Cycle
The gods are not eternal.
When they die, they are reborn — again and again, through their own followers' prayers.
This endless pattern is called The Cycle of Rebirth.
To break the Cycle means to erase the gods themselves.
To control it… means to become something beyond godhood.
Aelric Vane — the man who once killed a god — is the only mortal to ever carry the Mark of Infinity, binding him to endless regression.
He cannot die.
He cannot rest.
And if he ever learns how to command the Cycle…
he will become the first Nameless God — the ruler of eternity itself.
"The gods wrote the laws. But even they fear the one law they cannot change — the loop that returns all things to their beginning."
— Ancient Record of the Regressor