Levi switched to his wisp inside his Spiritual Leywell and walked closer to the three origin seeds orbiting his souls. He rested his chin on his hand and kept pacing in a large circle around them, brainstorming the best possible method to save him from eternal agony.
Meanwhile, Ash'Kral and the Titan kept drinking tea while watching him. They kept their thoughts to themselves, as they wanted Levi to seek answers on his own, helping him only when he was stuck or asked for their assistance.
By now... Levi was already too involved with the Three-Body Problem, having a close idea of what was allowed and what wasn't.
'I know that the three seeds also hate physical contact with each other... if it was up to them, they wouldn't share the same host.' Levi murmured inwardly, 'Separating their branches and giving them a personal space within my body... even if the difference was less than millimeters, will make them extremely happy, and might even offset the previous dissatisfaction of choosing the Nine Senses Seed to inhabit my main soul.'
Levi had no problems with convincing the three Divas... but the method itself. It was simply unrealistic to expect them to grow their branches away from each other when there was no map to guide them during the evolution process to stay out of each other's territories, when all three wanted the best possible location.
It was like three buyers choosing the same real estate agent, and telling him to sell them the best plot of land in his portfolio while at the same time, maintaining their privacy and personal space.
Levi rubbed his temples... three seeds... Three souls... One body... No room.
'Map... map, map...'
As Levi kept repeating the keyword for the success of his evolutions, his spiritual eyes kept scanning the souls and the seeds... as he was doing this while pacing around them, Levi suddenly came to a halt the instant the three seeds and souls aligned in his spiritual vision in a straight line for a couple of seconds before they continued their personal orbits around his souls.
His heart skipped a beat as a single word took hold of his being.
"'Syzygy..."
He uttered, his overflowing mind locked into a single idea, a single theory... and most likely, the sole reasonable answer to this dilemma if, if he was capable of pulling it off.
"Syzygy? What is that?" The Titan asked, a bit confused by the term.
"When three planets or more fall into one straight line, they stop fighting for space and instead share one path for a short moment. An interesting approach that I didn't expect him to get this fast..." Ash'Kral's eyes gleamed in praise, surprised by Levi's intelligence.
He always knew that he was smart... but, to connect a cosmic phenomenon to the solution of their current dilemma this quickly, made him realize that Levi was finally starting to see answers related to the Three-Body Problem from the correct perspective.
Ash'Kral didn't change the name from the Equilibrium of Chaos to the Three-Body Problem for no reason... he also started seeing the answers from the stars, the universe, as if it was always giving them hints on how to solve this eternal dilemma.
Meanwhile, Levi swiftly returned to their table and spoke with a tint of fever in his voice.
"When planets align, each world shares a single path across space while at the same time, not touching... that path can be measured, predicted, and even copied."
He pointed at the Nine Senses Seed... the one already grown into his main soul with its branches spread like a young tree.
"Nine Senses Seed already finished the path for us... Its branches show the map we were looking for," His voice deepened, "But if I align the other two seeds behind my soul, just like planets behind the sun… their branches can grow on the same path, side by side, without touching. They won't overlap... instead, they will follow the same line!"
"You plan to align the seeds and souls like planets?"
The Titan leaned closer, still a bit confused as he was never interested in the study of cosmology or bothered to learn anything about it.
After all, he majored in arts and literature.
"Yes." Levi nodded. "Syzygy!... if I calculate the exact moment when my three souls fall into a single straight line, the seeds will see the map during the evolution." He pointed at them."During that alignment, the Nine Senses' branches will overlay on them like a blueprint... They'll know where to grow, how to bend, what areas to avoid down to the last millimeters."
"But... this alignment lasts for a couple seconds at most." The Titan wondered, "Doesn't this mean you don't just need to calculate when the alignment will occur, but also calculate how long the evolution lasts to ensure that the branches' growth will happen while the alignment is happening."
Levi nodded, understanding just how demanding the conditions were mathematically... he couldn't evolve too soon or too late. The branches' growth must occur the exact moment the alignment started to provide the most detailed and precise map to give them what they wanted without any of them needing to compromise.
Levi knew the term compromise was a taboo for Origin Seeds. They could hold a truce for a unified goal, but none of them would compromise to let the other two stand higher than them.
"And what happens when the alignment ends?" Ash'Kral asked, already knowing the answer.
"That's a risk I am willing to take... if the Void and Sun can't memorize the branches' routes and such to the last millimeter after the process starts, that's on them." Levi said, "All I have to do is perfect my calculations to give them the best opportunity of growth..."
Ash'Kral and the Titan nodded in approval... they understood that even if Levi's calculations were perfect, there would still be a rate of one second or more for error.
After all, the Origin Seeds couldn't grow their branches in a couple of seconds even if they pushed for the process to end faster.
At the same time, they weren't that omnipotent when dealing with their growth... otherwise, there wouldn't a problem to solve as each one of them would be able to handle their own selves inside one host, one soul, and yet... not touching. They had control over some matters while they were still hopeless on others and required the Host's assistance.
As Levi lifted his head and gazed at the three seeds one more time, he couldn't help but murmur with a tint of conviction.
"Three worlds… one line… one moment… and the whole structure falls into place, forever... this is my eureka moment... If I succeeded, I will be the happiest man on the planet."
***
The Boundless Expanse... Levi's studio apartment.
After spending a couple of days studying the movements of the seeds' orbits in addition to noting the entire duration it took the Nine Senses Seed to finish its evolution, Levi began perfecting his calculations right away.
He sought that exact moment when the magic would occur, and he had to time it perfectly, not once... but twice!
After all, he couldn't evolve both seeds at the same time since they might end up following each other's similar growth paths. Instead, he wanted to do the Sun Seed first and once he succeeded, he would align the souls again, so the Void Seed could choose a different path.
Once he was comfortable with his calculations two days later, he decided to kickstart the evolution right away... he understood, the longer he waited, the more he would doubt his calculations, and he had no intention of letting his mind ruin the perfection of math.
"Alright... I have already told you what needs to be done." Levi warned sternly, "Don't f*ck it up... otherwise, it will be on you this time, not me."
The Sun and Void Seeds reacted by sending faint jolts of pain through his spine, reminding him that if they f*cked it up, he would still be the one on the receiving end of their abuse. They were telling him that he was still not at that level to scold them like this.
"Fine... suit yourselves, I dealt with much worse pain."
Levi's brows twitched, but he no longer entertained them... he sat on the floor of his studio with only his trousers on. Then, he brought the evolutionary formula of the Sun Seed close to his mouth, taking a deep smell first.
The Sun evolutionary formula was almost like the first one... golden, illuminating, but had a good smell of burnt incense. Then, he waited in silence while listening to the countdown from Astra Ai.
29...27...24...
Levi had included Astra Ai in his calculations as she was considered one of the most intelligent AIs in today's age even by the standards of before the civilization collapse... Her countdown was precise to the last millisecond.
Levi only waited patiently while keeping the bottle near his mouth... the instant the countdown reached the last three seconds, he tightened his grip and poured it in, but didn't swallow.
Two...One... Gulp!
MidGard