Something unprecedented had occurred. A single being had completely taken over the entire universe. No god, dragon, phoenix, or other entity had ever managed to do more than take control of a few planets, and even that had been regarded as an exceptional accomplishment.

  Time passed, but the universe no longer shrank or expanded. Instead, it stabilized, as the overall level of entropy dropped.

  Mana levels climbed for most planets, as the core worked to further strengthen the creatures living within its domain. While it may have succeeded in seizing the entire universe as its treasure, the core was always looking for ways to improve, no matter if that was by further streamlining its systems that it was constantly testing out and improving, or by strengthening the planets and creatures that belonged to it.

  The core had indeed fully comprehended all Concepts, but that did not mean that it understood how to best utilize those Concepts and the various abilities that they provided. Just as the core was constantly testing and improving its systems, it was also trying to always improve upon its understanding and usage of Concepts.

  There was one gradual change that did start to aggravate the core. As time passed, it could sense something stronger and stronger, and yet it always remained just beyond what the core could perceive with any sort of clarity.

  There was something beyond the realms of its senses, despite the fact that such a thing should be absolutely impossible. The sensation was like a metaphysical itch that grew stronger and stronger, yet the core was never able to even find where the itch came from, let alone scratch it and gain some relief.

  Decades turned into centuries. Centuries turned into millenia. Millenia turned into eons, and still the itch remained.

  The turning point came when one of the sapient creatures finally succeeded in overcoming all of the odds and achieving immortality. This was accomplished rather oddly, to the core’s perspective, as the elf managed to master his Concepts to an extremely high level, and then managed to also obtain Authority. Immortality came about when the two were merged into a fusion that mimicked how gods tended to come into being, though without the inclusion of faith or belief from mortals triggering the creation of a god.

  The arrival of a being who possessed a physical body due to rising up from being a mortal, while incorporating the aspects of a divinity, triggered a resonance that the core felt very clearly, and at that moment, the core understood its own itch that had been torturing it for so long. It was also a resonance, just not with anything that existed in the core’s universe. There was some sort of barrier blocking the core from perceiving the source of the resonance clearly, but if it could just break through that…

  ***

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  A small black snake lay coiled around the stem of a mushroom, safe and hidden from larger creatures. Despite his potent venom, he knew that larger creatures posed a grave threat.

  Besides, he could always just eat the mushrooms that protect him. There was really no reason to venture out and take such risks-

  *Initiation of the 1st Universe confirmed. Introduction sequence commencing*

  The little snake felt a bit confused by the strange sight, not fully understanding what it was seeing. However, even as he stared, a bit of knowledge appeared in his mind, allowing him to understand just a bit more.

  ***

  An old woman sat on a rotting tree, a raven perched in its branches. They were the gods of their world. They knew that their world was not even close to being alone, but they also had no desire to move beyond the reaches of their realm. They knew a bit of what else lay beyond, and they had no desire to enter that contest.

  They remained in their realm, ancient and bored, yet unwilling to move beyond what they knew.

  It was because they were rather inactive that they felt the moment that something unseen entered their realm. They could not sense exactly what it was, but as they examined the intruder, they were able to make a bit more sense of it. This was not a god or being from elsewhere invading their domain, but more of some sort of unseen oversight that could measure the mortals’ bodies, abilities, understanding, and achievements. With this, the humans could grow stronger, possibly even to the point that they could challenge Crone, Raven, and Rot.

  ***

  Seven gods had gathered to discuss the recent changes they had all been informed of. This “system” was wreaking havoc on their world, and they needed to get a handle on it quickly.

  The only good news was that the system had granted the gods administrator access, though that had not been explained at all.

  Some of the gods were shrouded in the dark, while others blazed so brightly their features could not be clearly made out.

  Many of them opposed each other, so it was highly unusual for all of them to gather together, but this was an emergency. After all, from what they had been able to make out of this system, it was able to raise mortals up to become godlings and even lesser gods.

  While Solia was happy to see such potential introduced to their world, she knew that some of her peers were far less excited. In fact, she knew at least Nedramus would be determined to keep the mortals in their proper place.

  Hopefully, she would be able to get some help from a few of the other gods.

  ***

  Time passed slightly differently in each of the universes the core spread its influence. In some, only a single system was introduced. In others, the lack of interactions between worlds meant that multiple systems could be used without conflict.

  However, the core was most eager to see what would happen in universes where it had introduced multiple, but conflicting systems.

  After all, everything would eventually belong to the core, so it could take its time to continue to seek the best path forward.

  END

  I wanted to write the birth of the systems that appear in so many litRPG stories, while addressing other details that I see so often glossed over. I wanted to provide what could essentially be a prequel to countless stories written by others, touching upon details that are so frequently treated simply as mysteries.

  With this epilogue released, I'll be fully editing the entire story, cleaning and rewriting as necessary to improve things to a level that I am happy with. Not really sure what will happen to this story after that, but I gained the practice and experience I wanted from this, and I have other stories that I will pursue more fully and share as well.