Sophia (Starcross)

Sophia is the only surviving member of the team that created Yaldabaoth, having developed her for use as a superweapon that could stabilize the situation in Pleroma, the home universe of all seraphs. After that went horribly wrong, Sophia ultimately turned her ambitions elsewhere, seeking to seize control of Heaven herself.

Backstory
The seraph named Sophia was born into a high-class life in Pleroma, the universe from which most seraphic life originated. Affluent, popular, and secure in her youth, Sophia had little to want and developed a passionate interest in the spiritual side of magic as she matured, seeking out more and more education on the subject. She eventually made somewhat of a name for herself in the magical community, thanks to her creativity and intelligence, and made new friends, friends she respected more than her previous, more childish company.

Thanks to a certain creative spark that glimmered within her soul, Sophia found that she had a particular knack for the development of artificial souls and new life. With the knowledge that this was likely linked to her inner world, Sophia further explored her niche with a rapturous excitement, which ultimately succeeded in unlocking her inner world. With this inner world, she could continue her research and create even greater things than before; now, the possibilities were virtually endless.

As this went on, Sophia ignored the mounting instability in Pleroma, where tensions that had been building for years were beginning to reach a breaking point. Such issues were not anything Sophia was interested in getting involved with, so she withdrew to focus more on her studies, more or less apathetic as to how any of that turned out. But a colleague was able to get her to reconsider. This colleague was someone who focused more on the physical side of magic, as opposed to the spiritual, and was not quite a friend to Sophia. Just an acquaintance, with the name Logos. He tried to bring these issues to Sophia’s notice again and again, but Sophia ignored him, finding that his moralizing was an irritating distraction from her increasingly questionable research.

But Logos had an undeniable, stubborn charm, and Sophia couldn’t simply ignore him forever. His words slowly got to her, deeper and deeper, and when Sophia looked back out at Pleroma, she saw all the issues he had warned her about. She had found some level of contempt for the insolent common fare, who she had never really cared for all that much anyways, and who were now disturbing the society that had propped her up so high. But not high enough. She deserved more, given all that she contributed, all that she could do, and it was denied to her. And so, Sophia fell in with Logos.

Sophia was one of several, mostly other prominent magic specialists that Logos had went out of his way to convert. While they initially attempted to more normally influence the events at the time in their favor, to acquire the power that they all felt they deserved, none of these attempts really paid off as they had hoped. But Sophia had a realization, suddenly. Surely force would be more successful. And using her inner world, they could create a weapon that they could control, a weapon that could ensure their rule over Pleroma. Of course, she couldn’t create it alone, but luckily for the all of them, Logos had amassed a following of talented mages. He, of course, supported this new plan, absolutely.

Within Sophia’s inner world, she constructed the base of this new artificial soul, and Logos and the five others he had deemed competent enough to trust with the process assisted. They supplied much of their own knowledge, not just magical, while Sophia carefully constructed an inner world based around all of these things. It was the biggest project she ever took upon herself. It did not take years, or decades, or even centuries, but millennia. During this time, things changed in Pleroma again and again, but Sophia was so utterly engrossed in her work that she had stopped caring about that in the same way. It wasn’t about power, anymore. It was about creating this… this god. It went through many iterations, each improving on the last.

Logos, however, was not so patient. They had grown closer over the years, but he was not content with sitting by and watching Pleroma’s balance of power shift again and again. He rushed the process, and eventually, though Sophia had some misgivings about the product, she completed her work and released her creation into a newly born universe, moments after its Big Bang. Named Yaldabaoth, she was left to her own devices, with only some oversight, as Logos turned his team’s attention back to Pleroma. Here, though things had ebbed and flowed over the years, tensions were at a high once more.

Their intervention in Pleroma quickly became violent, thanks to Logos’ hateful and maniacal nature, though Sophia stayed out of much of the fighting and continued to monitor Yaldabaoth’s development. She didn’t see much of note, unaware that slowly, Yaldabaoth’s steadily strengthening will and divine self-obsession was shutting her out. Bit by bit, Sophia would see less and less of Yaldabaoth’s deepest, most innermost thoughts, leaving her oblivious as to the concerning nature of her developments. Logos drew her attention away from Yaldabaoth occasionally, and the two of them eventually became a couple.

The sudden appearance of demons in Yaldabaoth’s universe, however, changed everything in the experiment. They had run off from the chaos in Pleroma and turned up in Yaldabaoth’s home, and, as unknown variables in her work, Sophia felt that they should be removed. So, they tried to remove them from the universe, but Yaldabaoth’s abilities had far outstripped Sophia’s predictions. When Sophia told her of her true origins, Yaldabaoth lashed out in a shocking rage, far greater in intensity that she expected. The ensuing battle was short and violent, carrying over into Pleroma for a moment. That moment was all that was needed for Yaldabaoth to annihilate her creators with power far beyond their imagination. Pleroma, already wartorn, was devastated, and Sophia was the only of Logos’ followers to survive, having watched all her friends and colleagues die, Logos included.

Badly injured, on top of emotionally devastated, Sophia managed to slink away as a tantruming Yaldabaoth repressed the event entirely and returned to her home. She collapsed on some far off planet in another universe, struggling to stay alive and eventually falling into a brief comatose state. When she recovered, though her wounds had not totally faded, Sophia was alive, much to her own displeasure. She blamed herself for what had occurred, and for many years, she did nothing, withdrawing into a stagnant life alone. The situation only changed when she witnessed Yaldabaoth’s Seraphic Empire in motion.

Shocked and amazed by what Yaldabaoth made, but with animosity still stirring within her heart, Sophia slunk closer and closer to get a better look. Blaming herself for the past, Sophia decided that she’d have to take the steps forward to become someone who could carry on Logos’ legacy herself. She learned more useful combat skills from the angels she observed, and realized that these abilities were passed on from her colleagues. To Yaldabaoth, to regular angels, and now, to her own hands. It felt right, poetically so, that this was the path that she would end up taking.

From a safe distance, still wary of Yaldabaoth, Sophia observed the archangels, the children that her own child had spawned. Knowing and fearing Yaldabaoth’s true nature, Sophia sought to turn her children to her side and work her way to the top of Heaven herself. She attempted to recreate Logos to help her in her ambitions, but she could never get it right. She knew him too well, and every copy she attempted to make was imperfect. Bitter, and fearing the power of her own inner world, Sophia struggled to take it any further, but eventually forced herself to. Rather than create an imperfect copy of her dead lover, Sophia would make a more predictable and obedient variable than Yaldabaoth, someone she could refine at her own pace.

This new creation of hers kept the name of Logos, but rather than a lover, was her child and assistant. They would refined over the course of many iterations, with their personality and inner world completely changing in accordance with Sophia’s needs. While she worked on Logos, Sophia also went on to lay a trail to her location, a trail that one of the archangels would find. Whoever was the worthiest, whoever had the gall to question their mother’s divinity, would eventually find the path she lay and come to her side. As it turned out, the worthiest was her firstborn, the Archangel of Justice. Mastema.

To her shock, Sophia found that some semblance of Mastema’s personality reflected that of the original Logos. She was commanding, forceful, and strong, but stewed with an intense, daunting hate. It was a confusing situation for Sophia, who realized that it was possible that Yaldabaoth’s seven children reflected her seven creators. She regained her calm, however, and made her offer to Mastema, an offer to have a real mother, someone who would truly care, and someone who would mentor and aid her as much as possible. She expected Mastema to struggle, but to accept her offer.

Instead, Mastema gouged straight through her with the Spear of Destiny and nearly killed her in a childish, raging fit. Sophia came closer to death than ever in that moment, and Logos, who leapt in to defend their mother, did little better. They only barely managed to save her life and escape, and that was mostly because Mastema was far too overwhelmed by all these revelations and wanted to get away as soon as possible herself. Logos arrived on another distant planet, and cared for the nearly dead Sophia until she recovered enough to act on her own, before dying of their wounds themself, shortly afterwards. Alive, but in poor condition, Sophia created a new iteration of Logos, with a new purpose in mind - killing Mastema.

Working on and refining their design as she recovered, Sophia found that not even her knowledge of the soul could reverse the damage Mastema caused. A spearhead was still embedded within, and it was wedged too deep for Sophia to heal it. But it inspired her. After seeing the power of the strongest law in action, Sophia realized that she needed a law of her own if she wished to rule anything. So she created one, one that was similar to the Spear of Destiny in some ways, a weapon with which she could channel the power of her inner world. And she set her eyes on a new candidate. Jophiel. She could not leave the same trail as before, as that would certainly get her killed by Mastema, but Sophia kept an eye on her as she grew.

She liked how Jophiel grew. She liked that she cast aside the things that had held her back. But Sophia couldn’t approach her without risking her life at Mastema’s hands. Many iterations of Logos were wasted in attempts at assassination, and most died in tests against lesser angels. Despite everything, despite every step she took, nothing Sophia did was enough to take down Mastema herself. But Sophia had learned persistence. She would not give up so easily.

Appearance
Whereas her creation and her descendants seemingly favor striking appearances, Sophia is fairly unassuming in every guise she takes, preferring to blend into a crowd rather than stand out. Still, she couldn't help but make herself a fair bit taller than average, over six feet. She once had a tendency to slouch around, but she's done her best to fix unbecoming parts of herself like that, so now, Sophia stands as tall as she can in all situations. In her human guise, she has a solid build with equal parts muscle and fat, and long, shapely legs. Due to her secluded lifestyle, essentially a shut-in, Sophia has exceptionally pale skin, and she has chosen to allow her body show signs of her age, such as distinctive crow's feet.

Unassuming, for Sophia, also means somewhat messy. Her hair, a silvery shade of dark blue, always looks as if she only just got out of bed. It's a nest of cowlicks, curls, and thick knots, going down to her waist, with sidelocks that are just a bit shorter. The one eye she has is a deep, intense red, but the right eye is gone, along with a good portion of her skull, courtesy of Mastema's Spear of Destiny. In its place, Sophia worked some magic to make a basic replacement for the missing parts of her head, which is bound to her head by an eyepatch. Underneath, no matter what she's done, Sophia has not been able to disguise or remove the blistering, stark white scarring Mastema caused. Much of her body is covered in similar scars, but she does her best to hide it. Even with these injuries in mind, Sophia bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain "granddaughter" of hers. Because she is a seraph, and not an angel, she has no halo, but when she deigns to reveal her wings, they take the form of blades of light that arc off from her back.

On account of simply not caring how she comes across anymore, Sophia dresses very casually in her human guise. Her standard outfit is simple and functional, made up of a snugly fit tank top, a zip-up hoodie wrapped around her waist, tight but faded jeans, and, most distinctively, a pair of cowboy boots, complete with spurs. The hoodie, in its usual position, obscures the omnipresent holster of her law, a massive silver revolver, which she never allows to fade back into her soul. When she prepares for combat, Sophia cleans herself up just a little, losing the sweater and replacing her tank top with a simple, slightly-wrinkled button-down shirt, typically white or blue, or some combination of the two.

Personality
Compared to the other members of her "family", Sophia is a surprising and confusing person. She is almost always calm, treating everyone she meets with a simple, contagious friendliness, quickly hitting it off with the majority of the people who cross her path. Always sincere and almost maternally gentle, Sophia is a curious and thoughtful soul deeply interested in not only magic, but psychology as well. This reflects her true nature, underneath the pleasant surface, as an extremely adept manipulator who draws in useful pieces with her kindness. While she may lack ambition, Sophia has a vision, and seeks someone worthy and ambitious enough to carry out her plans alongside her, someone she can trust and respect as a peer.

Gentle, quiet, and mild-mannered by nature, Sophia doesn’t do much to command attention, unlike her descendants. Rather than rely on some overwhelming presence or sense of confidence, Sophia just acts normally and pleasantly, and it works well enough for her. She’s a very polite and casual person, and tends to brush aside compliments and reverence (even if she secretly loves both of these things), acting as if she's of no special import at all. These traits make it very easy for her to make friends, and her sweet, outgoing personality garners her a lot of admiration. Constantly going out of her way to flatter and help others, Sophia is equally quick to supply comfort and support, but these things just reflect her outlook on all social situations.

To put it simply, all social interactions revolve around mutual manipulation, as far as Sophia's concerned. While she understands on some level that manipulation isn't exactly a good thing to do, morally speaking, Sophia believes that it is simply the rule of the world, and is normal, expected, and even encouraged. Still, her lovely exterior is no facade - Sophia is truly friendly and caring, it's just that she always acts with an ulterio motive in mind. Nothing Sophia does is ever as simple as it seems. In the end, however, Sophia prefers her silence and solitude, and she spends the majority of her time shut-in, alone, far from the outside world. Only when she can't help it, or when it serves her goals, does Sophia touch down to interact with others. Up until that point, she engrosses herself in her work, constantly thinking, and always exploring all the possibilities.

Believing that psychology is an integral part of magic, Sophia's curiosity is mostly put to work in mentally dissecting others and seeing how they tick. This serves her goals, of course, making her increasingly competent in manipulation, and though she stifles the urge to ask invasive questions, this is because she often comes to the correct conclusions on her own, simply by observing someone. In many ways, Sophia's personality reflects that of her favorite granddaughter, and, like her, Sophia is a ruthless perfectionist willing to do anything when success is on the line. Completely self-righteous, Sophia is far from humble and completely convinced that she is always in the right, for whatever reason. Her moral compass is irreparably twisted, and she somehow manages to truly care for the people she ensnares in her plotting, convincing herself that everything she does is in their best interest. Sophia strongly believes that her actions, good and bad, will bring out the best in her allies, but what she sees is as the best is just as twisted as her morals - self-realization, in her eyes, is the process that others go through to become more useful to her.

Sophia's view on the world is an extremely rigid one, and she believes that, while the weak fall by the wayside, the strong, cunning, and intelligent should rise to the top. In other words, people should rise and fall according to their ability. She does not believe that the weak should be completely disregarded, but does not concern herself too much with their plight, as the power and position of the strong is what she cares about. She believes that this is simply the fairest and most just way to govern the world, and fully understands that such a situation would inevitably turn into a dictatorship. However, when it comes to ambition, Sophia is lacking, and she seeks to install someone else in the position of dictator, someone who can fill the lonely void in her heart with their charisma and skill. Sophia doesn't like to stand out, after all.

While she's convinced herself that the need for such a person is purely political, the real reasons are far more personal. Billions of years spent more or less alone have left Sophia extremely lonely, and she seeks peers to surround herself with, blaming herself for the death of her old friends, colleagues, and allies. For taking them from her, Sophia greatly resents her "daughter", Yaldabaoth, and seeks her death as vengeance.

Powers and Statistics
Tier: At least 3-C, High 3-A with Gnosis and preparation

Powers and Abilities:
 * -|Personal Abilities= Genius Intelligence, Skilled in Martial Arts and a master Markswoman, Causality Manipulation, Conceptual Manipulation (Type 4; Sophia's attacks effect opponents on such a level, and she can control and reprogram inner worlds), Dream Manipulation, Gravity Manipulation (Sophia has her own immensely powerful gravitational field, which she can control), Higher-Dimensional Manipulation (Can manipulate and transmit information through higher spatial dimensions, and create multidimensional constructs), Information Manipulation (Sophia can control and shape raw information), Law Manipulation (Sophia can alter and destroy laws, and created her own, Gnosis), Magnetism Manipulation (Sophia has her own immensely powerful magnetic field, which she can control), Mathematics Manipulation (She can alter mathematics and how math affects the world using World Operator), Mind Manipulation, Physics Manipulation (Sophia can alter and control the laws of physics using World Operator), Pocket Reality Manipulation (She can materialize and control her inner world as a pocket dimension), Probability Manipulation, Quantum Manipulation, Soul Manipulation (All her attacks, physical or magical, affect the soul just as they do the body, and using Inner World Operator, she can control and reprogram souls, even inner worlds), Spatial Manipulation, Time Manipulation, Absorption (Sophia can absorb others into her inner world), Dimensional Travel, Incorporeality/Intangibility (Immaterial; Sophia is made out of magic and immune to conventional physical harm), Portal Creation, Power Mimicry, Sealing, Shapeshifting, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation, Immortality (Types 1 and 3), Regeneration (Low-Godly; can regenerate from nothing but the data of her soul and can exist independently from her body)
 * -|General Mage Abilities= Magic, Extrasensory Perception (Mages maintain a constant, perfect, and precise image of their surroundings by analyzing them through magic), Self-Sustenance (Types 1, 2, and 3; vital processes such as breathing, drinking, eating, and sleeping are alien and unnecessary for Sophia), Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Flight, Forcefield Creation, Reality Warping with Override Sigils (Override Sigils can be used to overwrite the laws of physics), Reactive Evolution (An Absolute Barrier automatically adapts to attacks to become more resistant), Acausality (Type 2; A mage's history, present, and fate all exist independently of the past and future), Resistance to conceptual, mental, physical, and spiritual attack (Absolute Barriers protect the user from attacks on all levels of existence, potentially providing protection against a host of abilities)

Attack Potency: At least Galaxy level (She's comparable in power to Abaddon, Full Throttle Jophiel, and Mastema), High Universe level with Gnosis (Somewhat comparable to Mastema's Spear of Destiny, and superior to Yaldabaoth's Sefirot) and preparation (She created Yaldabaoth's inner world and could do so again quickly, but the process took thousands of years the first time around and she does not have full control of the results, leaving her reluctant to attempt to create a being so strong again).

Speed: Massively FTL+ (Comparable in speed to Mastema and others on her level).

Lifting Strength: Multi-Stellar (Stronger than Remnant, who can fit multiple stars in their orbit)

Striking Strength: At least Galactic Class

Durability: At least Galaxy level

Stamina: Limitless. Due to her Fruit of Life, Sophia is supplied with what is an infinite source of magical energy, allowing her to fight indefinitely, though her stamina may suffer if her soul is extremely badly wounded, though this is something that is extremely difficult to accomplish. While she may not be as experienced as some other combatants, she's still very hardy and she has a strong will, fighting on despite all the damage that remains on her soul.

Range: Low Multiversal (She can reach into and affect other universes with her magic).

Standard Equipment: Her law, Gnosis.

Intelligence: Supergenius. Predating even Heaven and Yaldabaoth, Sophia is a mage of extraordinary ability and knowledge, having prioritized her advancement as a mage and scientist, above everything else she did. While this came at the expense of much education or experience when it comes to fighting, Sophia is perfectly capable of holding her own thanks to her wealth of magical and psychological knowledge, which makes her a deadly opponent for anyone. Even if she's outclassed in experience and technique, Sophia's knowledge of the soul is so great that she can accurately determine the nature of an opponent's inner world and any spiritual weaknesses that they may have just by interacting with them. Actually fighting them will give her more opportunities to do so, more opportunities to exploit every weakness she sees, whether it be with words or wounds. She is perhaps the greatest Inner World Operator in existence, having refined her spiritual ability over the years by creating Logos and Yaldabaoth, works of such complexity and depth that it would be impossible for anyone else to perform such feats, even with much more time at their disposal. Unsurprisingly, she excels best out of combat, using her resources and manipulative abilities to control others and have them fight for her. Sophia understands that positive reinforcement and love are what works best to motivate allies, and thus treats all on her side with an unconditional maternal support, inspiring a suicidal, unquestioning loyalty in everyone she converts to her side.

Weaknesses: Sophia is not a particularly experienced fighter, and her law's effects can be reversed if the bullet it leaves is removed from a target's soul. This is very difficult, however, requiring exceptional precision and knowledge on the soul to accomplish. More extensive changes to someone's inner world may require hours, if not years, of containment within her inner world. Sophia's wounds from Mastema still remain as well, constantly inhibiting her, causing chronic pain, and acting as her biggest weakspots.

Abilities
Magic is the art of using one's Understanding to Control Fantasy.

As a natural being of magic, Sophia’s magical array was nothing to scoff at when she first came into existence, but she has since then completely surpassed its bounds and transformed it into one of the most impressive magical arrays in existence. This was achieved not only through the normal use of magic, but through Sophia’s own self-modification, going to great extents to make it as powerful and capable as possible. While it’s extraordinary well-rounded, Sophia’s tendency to avoid combat has left it lacking in some aspects, as to be expected.

Due to the strength of her magical array and her nature as a seraph, Sophia can exert herself at the full extent of her magical power for a functionally limitless amount of time, though exerting herself too much in too short a period of time can have negative effects on her array, and could even prove lethal. If she is under intense emotion, this is much likelier to happen, though she will exhibit a much higher output of magical energy.

Absolute Barrier: A magical barrier that protects the user from external manipulation and attack, on every level of existence. An Absolute Barrier protects the user’s body, mind, and soul - their cells and atoms, the magical and physical forces keeping them together, and everything else. It is akin to a magical immune system, protecting the mage from threats and adapting to future attack.

It passively protects the user from most types of attack, manipulation, and control, as long as the barrier is strong enough - a witch of substantially greater power can punch straight through one. An Absolute Barrier is passively maintained at all times, even in sleep, requiring no energy to maintain, and can only be removed by a stronger witch actively stripping it away, or by the user consciously lowering them.

Flight: Sophia’s magical abilities allow her to easily fly for extended periods of time, as easily as she would walk. She can fly in combat without issue, and is more than fast enough to rapidly travel across intergalactic distances.

Radar: Sophia’s magical abilities sustain a constant 360° image of her surroundings, which is projected straight to her mind for processing. This radar is far more reliable than conventional senses, and is capable of easily picking up superluminal movement. It constantly operates at Sophia’s maximum processing speed, even when it would normally be restricted so that she can function normally.

Superhuman Capabilities: Sophia’s magical abilities grant her strength, speed, endurance, and processing speed far above that of any normal human. As a seraph, her body is a work of magic on its own, and cannot really be described or understood properly with conventional biological knowledge. Powerful magical barriers and spells are a part of her body, allowing her to withstand magical attacks from opponents on her level. The power of her physical blows is comparable to that of her magical attacks.

She can process information at a ridiculously fast rate, indescribable multitudes faster than any normal human - or even the average supercomputer - can. This allows her to process and analyze information during battles and run through the countless calculations needed for her magic.

She typically keeps this aspect of her magic restricted when she doesn’t need it, though it will automatically activate if her magic detects a threat. Unfortunately, it tends to activate during times of stress and anxiety, regardless of whether or not Sophia is in legitimate danger.

Seraph: Sophia is a pure seraph, a magical being born from the final light and energy of a dying star. While all angels and demons are ultimately descended from the multiverse’s first seraphs, Sophia’s true nature is not either; she is a true seraph, far older than angels.
 * Fruit of Life: Like Yaldabaoth and her creations, Sophia possesses the magical organ known as a Fruit of Life, a magical core created by Yaldabaoth for her own use, which Sophia copied. For the archangels and their creator, the Fruit of Life acts as a stellar core, a mass of magic and plasma smaller and denser than a neutron star, the size of a fist. It supplies Sophia with an infinite amount of magical energy, synthesized from the infinite potential released by the Big Bang that created Heaven, along with an extremely powerful magnetic and gravitational field subject to her own control. Granting not only raw energy, a Fruit of Life also provides a substantial boost to computation. More than a mere mass of energy, it is a high-power, multi-dimensional processing unit that calculates and transfers information through higher dimensions. While Fruits of Life are certainly important, as the pinnacles of Heavenly magic, science, and power, losing one is no issue for any archangel, least of all Sophia, who can regenerate her Fruit of Life easily.
 * Messenger: Sophia can communicate telepathically regardless of language barriers and transmit information across transdimensional distances. She can also teleport such distances and open portals to other worlds.

Inner World Operator: The inversion of World Operator. While World Operator is the magic of world programming, Inner World Operator is instead directed inwards, focusing on programming souls and, as implied by the name, inner worlds. It is a magic no less complex than World Operator, necessitating extensive knowledge of spiritual mechanics to utilize, but in turn, grants an immense amount of power over the soul.

For Sophia, Inner World Operator is the essence of all magic, and it is her greatest passion when it comes to it. She is more apt in its use than she is in the use of any other magic, an impressive feat given how well-rounded and extensive her knowledge on magic is. Sophia has turned her knowledge of Inner World Operator both on herself and others, using magic to reconstruct and rewrite souls. Though it takes time, she can completely reprogram inner worlds if she so pleases, having done so to create and recreate Logos and their many iterations, as well as Yaldabaoth and her incredibly powerful inner world.
 * Spiritual Profiling: Thanks to a familiarity with the soul, Sophia can come up with a detailed and generally accurate profile of another individual’s soul and its composition just by spending time around them and analyzing their actions. It’s even more effective in combat, during which Sophia can come to conclusions on her opponent’s inner world based on their magic, how it functions, and how it’s used. This is far from foolproof and prone to error, but any profile will be refined over time, becoming more and more accurate and laying the foundation of future analysis and attack. While plenty of Inner World Operators can do this, Sophia is extremely skilled in its use, virtually unparalleled. Her chances of failure are slim, and she can determine major aspects of an inner world based on small tells and subtleties in the actions of others. This is part of what makes her a terrifyingly competent manipulator.

World Operator: The magic of world programming, which allows Sophia to reach into the fabric of space and time to bend reality and its laws to her will. This degree of magic allows for the strings of universe itself to be used as a canvas for spellcasting, so that Sophia can twist even probability, quantum mechanics, and mathematics.

Though she specializes in the more spiritual end of things, Sophia is still a competent World Operator, having devoted herself to exploring and discovering as much magic as possible. She is familiar with the physical reality of the universe and can control it in a number of ways thanks to her plentiful knowledge and experience.
 * Akashic Record: Sophia can repurpose unused and distant parts of the space-time continuum to backup her processing skills, effectively warping portions of space and time into supercomputers with which she can record and process information at incredibly rapid speeds. Through this technique, it is possible to compress even the largest banks of information into infinitesimally small bytes without losing any data, allowing for much, much faster processing and essentially infinite storage space.

Gnosis: Sophia’s primary weapon, a law that she created after witnessing Heaven’s laws in action, another thing that she has to give Yaldabaoth credit for, much to her own displeasure. Gnosis is the law of self-actualization and self-realization, the law that lays out self-discovery. As with any law, Gnosis is stored inside her soul as information, and she can thus materialize it if it is destroyed or misplaced. It takes the form of a massive silvery revolver, sleek in appearance, with seven chambers and a long barrel. When not in use, Sophia simply holsters it, but she can materialize it in her hand if she needs to, and though she only carries one on her person, she can manifest another for dual-wielding if she desires. Sophia has never been much of a fighter, but mainly uses Gnosis for combat these days, supplementing its power as a law with her extensive magical knowledge.

Made for the sake of versatility, Gnosis has several different shot types with different functions. It has no bullets, instead operating similarly to Yaldabaoth’s Logos, materializing the essence of every gunshot in its target with perfect accuracy, though Sophia can also fire normal projectiles to mix it up. While she often acts like she’s no good when it comes to gunplay, Sophia is an excellent shot when she needs to be, utilizing her exceptional senses to fire on her targets with flawless accuracy. Like a user of Logos, Sophia combines both usages to keep her targets on their toes and catch them by surprise. The law’s effects are also applied if someone is hit by the gun itself, and not a shot.

Anyone struck by Gnosis has their inner world “opened”, forcing a partial activation that exposes the core of the victim’s soul, regardless of whether or not they’ve unlocked their inner world’s abilities. This leaves them vulnerable, and makes it easier than ever for Sophia to analyze, attack, and alter their soul as she pleases. Its varying functions and shot types all branch off from this application, each a different way to make its victim “perfect” - perfect for Sophia’s purposes, that is, and not for anything else. Self-realization is just another weapon, in the end.

All of Gnosis’ different chambers leave a “bullet” behind in their victim, which can be safely removed by a sufficiently skilled Inner World Operator, reversing its effects. It would be very ill-advised for someone of lesser skill to attempt to remove the bullet, as they would likely cause severe damage to the host’s inner world and could potentially even kill them.
 * Gnostic Chamber: The original application of Gnosis. Upon opening a target’s inner world, the first chamber casts Sophia’s influence deep into their complete individual concept, allowing her to alter it as she desires. In this case, Gnosis rewrites their history, their personal reality, changing their past in accordance with Sophia’s goals and desires to force them to become an ally, generally by inserting Sophia into their past as an ally, confidant, and mentor. The changes to their past can also change the nature of their inner world. In fact, if Sophia devotes the substantial amount of time needed to do so, she can completely rewrite their inner world. This would take a long time, however, and there’s no guarantee it would turn out as she pleased. Generally, Sophia tries to make the most minor changes possible, as to avoid altering an inner world too much and to prevent having to spend hours or more working. Sophia can utilize this on herself to remove or add events to her past, but this is a risky prospect that could change her inner world if she’s not careful, so she’s very cautious about utilizing it in this way.


 * Evolution Chamber: A chamber that forces an unrealized inner world to develop and rapidly become more viable and useable, sometimes even achieving Apotheosis and fully unlocking its use for its target. When used on an inner world that has been unlocked, it will cause it to further develop - maybe for the better, and maybe for the worse. By shooting herself with it, Sophia can force her own inner world to evolve, taking on the traits of a self-modification based world, but she doesn’t have complete control over its effects.
 * Hylic Chamber: A chamber that forces a target’s inner world to contract, locking an opponent’s soul within their body and preventing them from reaping the full value of something like apotheosis. A victim would be restricted by the limits of their body and its needs, leaving them much more vulnerable.
 * Regression Chamber: A chamber that forcibly rolls back a target’s inner world to a state that Sophia finds more useful, causing them to regress to a younger state, as if the past however many years of their life had simply not occurred. Sophia can utilize this chamber on herself to reverse wounds, but something as deadly as the Spear of Destiny won’t go away even if she reverses herself all the way back to the first year of her life.
 * Stagnation Chamber: A chamber that was developed to counter inner worlds based around self-modification and evolution. Once it takes effect, Sophia’s victim finds that their inner world stops functioning in such a way, preventing it from developing further at all. It simply freezes an inner world in time, denying all improvements of any sort, including the acquisition of new knowledge.
 * Terminal Chamber: A chamber that Sophia developed after being nearly killed by Mastema. Designed by reverse-engineering the damage dealt to her soul by the Spear of Destiny, Gnosis’ Terminal Chamber is the most lethal of all Sophia’s options. It replicates not the Spear of Destiny, but the severity of the damage it once dealt to Sophia, attempting to overwrite her victim’s inner world with a much more miserable, nihilistic reality. It’s not nearly as effective as the Spear of Destiny, and does nothing to warp the world, but it remains a dangerous weapon all the same.
 * Wild Card Chamber: The seventh chamber of Gnosis. It has no set function, acting as a blank that Sophia can change as needed. She often installs copied abilities relayed to her by Logos into this blank slot, but whenever she changes the installed spell or law, she loses the previous iteration.

Logos: Logos is a heavenly martial art, system of magic, and philosophy developed by Yaldabaoth and spread throughout Heaven. Dedicated to controlling the totality of one’s being and using it in its entirety in combat, Logos is an instinctive fallback for angels, who have its foundation programmed into them. Logos works by clearing the user’s mind, sweeping away their emotions and identity for a time so that they can better focus on combat, making it difficult for angels to form stable identities and properly process emotions. As they generally lack any strong identities or emotions by default, angels are incredibly well-suited to the use of Logos.

With this supernatural concentration and the powerful will behind it, Logos revolves around transcending physical attacks and instead relying on pure magical attacks. The user simply wills that their target is struck, and they are, by an instantaneous force with no physical component. These cannot be responded to by normal means, instead requiring magical defenses and accurate predictions to counter them. In combat, a user utilizes both physical and pure magic, so an opponent must defend themselves on both a physical and magical level at once.

Logos is one of the many things that Sophia has picked up and copied from Yaldabaoth and her creations, but it’s not something she has taken to very well, leading her to use her own variant that does not risk her identity in the same way, similarly to Jophiel and Lucifer. She’s perfectly competent in its use, of course, but as she’s not much of a fighter, it would be a stretch to describe her as a master of the art. She can defend herself and hold her own, but that’s about it.

Soter Metra: The inner world of a creator and a mother, someone who has birthed and created for as long as she’s lived. Sophia’s inner world is something that could be described almost like a womb, the root of all herself and all that she has done to create and change the world. Her habits and nature as an Inner World Operator makes it so that her own inner world is subject to flux and change as she operates on herself, but Sophia’s inner world never strays too far from its roots. Unlike many inner worlds, Sophia does not need to bring it into existence as a pocket dimension to use its abilities, but its full power reveals itself in such a state.

Sophia’s inner world is, though far from empty, structured in a way that makes it ideal for the storage of other souls and inner worlds. And this is exactly what it does, even when abstracted. Whether it be by force or choice, others can have their souls stored within Sophia’s, subjecting them to her psychological and spiritual expertise. Sophia can use her powers to alter their inner worlds as she pleases, typically refining and upgrading them to make them more useful to her and her goals. Her law, Gnosis, operates on the same principle and derives its power from her inner world, but within her inner world, Sophia’s abilities are at their best, allowing her to modify them as much as she desires.

Rather than simply store and operate on the souls of others inside, Sophia can also create new souls once she’s fully activated her inner world. It takes the form of a laboratory once visualized, filled with large tubes that contain those within, and allowing for Sophia to work Inner World Operator to its fullest extent. She can fully peruse any subject’s inner world and all their memories, and make any modification she wants, potentially completely rewriting someone’s inner world given some time. Alternatively, she can create an entirely new inner world, and thus, a new soul and being, programming it to her specifications. Sophia can’t perfectly control or predict what the product will be, but she can take the time to refine any being she creates. It is within her inner world that Yaldabaoth and Logos were created.

Override Sigil: An extremely advanced form of magical technique used to change the nature of reality around and within the user, allowing them to bend and break through the laws of physics. Due to their complexity, Override Sigils are incredibly difficult to create, use, and control properly, requiring detailed knowledge and a powerful will. In addition, they tend to, invariably, drain a lot of energy and stamina, making it difficult to use them for extended periods of time, even if this can be mitigated by more powerful and willful mages.
 * Relative Lightspeed: A common form of Override Sigil that is ultimately developed in some form or another by most mages as they increase in power and speed. Normally, it would be impossible for even an incredibly powerful and willful mage to break through a universal constant such as the speed of light, theoretically requiring infinite magical energy to do so. However, this Override Sigil circumvents this issue by modifying the user's inner world to change the value of c to whatever they please, raising it as they grow in speed so that they can accelerate past the universal speed limit.