Concepts are the crystallization of intense desires and wishes impressed upon the cosmos of the Mirror-Universe. Though normally intangible, they can be actualized into forms—either as Concept Beings or Concept Abilities—through rare and volatile processes. Once birthed, the Laws of the Universe enforce their existence, ensuring their essence is fulfilled without exception.
Catalyst Requirement: To manifest into a being, a Concept requires a Catalyst—a rare mineral or force formed only in areas of extreme energy density and pressure. Catalysts are unpredictable and cannot be replicated, they are volatile and eventually dissipate after a period of time; once a method of actualization is used, it can never be repeated.
Manifestation: The Catalyst, fused with the originating desire, produces a Concept Being—a sentient entity whose very existence is tied to its governing Concept. As a prerequisite, every ability a Concept Being has is a Concept Ability.
Universal Backing: A Concept Being cannot act contrary to the essence it represents. Their victories, failures, and survival are upheld by the Laws of the Universe itself.
Example: @Gibbor, the Concept of Victory, must always win a declared duel. Should he lose, his existence would unravel instantly. Against higher laws, such as @Adam Steward (Herald of the Author), @Judges, or concept beings that counter his like @Helech, his Concept collapses, and so does he.
Not all Concepts birth Beings—many become Abilities, due to the increased rarity of catalysts in today's time. Concept Abilities rare powers that bend reality with cosmic authority.
Nature: Concept Abilities are not learned; they are Awakened—actualized by an individual through alignment with an intense wish or desire that has lingered in the cosmos concerning the individual themself.
Binding: Once awakened, a Concept Ability fuses permanently with the wielder. It should not be able to be transferred, replicated, or learnt. (That is until @Enoch Archon somehow did the impossible and learnt @Kairos's TrainWreckage Concept Ability).
Rarity: Fewer than 1% of wishes and desires awaken into Concept Abilities. And if they are, it is almost always tied to desires placed upon the individual by others, rather than by the individual themselves.
Examples: @Kleos Lampsi awakened the Concept Ability of the Glory Attribute due to the intense desires of her mother for her to shine and be seen for a greater good, along with the intense desires of her father for her to become a great and mighty influence in her generation (due to all the many insights he gained into the Mirror-Universe). This was coupled with her experience in meeting such a great talent in Enoch, that it drove her to want to be more and not try to hide her skills as to accommodate others (which she would do before).
However, @Pizor awakened his concept ability of The Player from HIS OWN wishes and desires, and view of self-importance. He was so convinced he HAD to be great, and WAS great, that he awakened and actualised that concept mostly by himself.
Awakening: This process requires some sort of Enlightenment, the lifting of mental veils that obscure the truth of one’s potential. Encounters, revelations, or trials often catalyse this realization.
When faced with a Concept Ability Wielder - It is recommended you either find a way to disengage and retreat, or incapacitate them before they activate their concept ability
Fulfilment Law – The Universe guarantees that a Concept is upheld in its true form, unless opposed by a greater Law.
Ignorance Does Not Excuse – A Concept Being will still fail if their Concept is naturally countered, even without awareness of the counter.
One Path, One Birth – Each Concept has only one method of actualization. No two Beings or Abilities arise from the same process.
Higher Law Supremacy – Concepts cannot override greater cosmic laws, such as those tied to the Author, his Herald, Judges, or superior generations (so a 1st gen concept of hero cannot win against a 2nd gen concept of victory because they are a hero).
Wishes placed upon others—especially by parents or close kin—carry immense potential to shape Concepts or awaken Abilities.
The quality of the wish depends on a couple things: Firstly, on the alignment of the wisher to the grand narrative (the Author’s story); Secondly (in the case of a concept ability), on the closeness of the wisher to the individual in question.
Thus, not all desires manifest. Some fade, while others crystallize into destiny-shaping truths.
Concept Beings are not static across history — their forms have evolved into three generations so far, each distinguished by the vagueness of their Concept. Vagueness is not weakness; it is the safeguard that allows them to persist within the Universe without collapsing under contradiction.
This principle arose after the doomed attempt to forge the Concept Being of Perpetuity, which disintegrated almost instantly. Its failure revealed a truth: a Concept too exact cannot survive if it goes directly against already established universal laws. The Mirror-Universe demands a margin of interpretation to uphold their existence.
Nature: Defined with little or no vagueness, their Concepts are blunt and literal.
Strengths: Raw, overwhelming power in a single dimension.
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to paradox or superior frameworks, since their essence leaves no space for reinterpretation.
Example: @Etan Eben Concept of Power — he is simply very, very powerful. The Universe enforces this directly but without flexibility.
Nature: Originating from @Oscar Eben who awakened his concept ability (and so being), these Concepts are written with deliberate ambiguity. Vagueness makes them resistant to collapse when confronting paradox or contradiction.
Strengths: They can act in ways that bend, rather than break, reality and rules.
Weaknesses: Their strength often lies in disruption, not dominion; they tend to warp or disjoint reality rather than rewrite it.
Example: @Mr Paradox, Concept of Paradox — exists as two beings in one: a creator who births with every strike, and a destroyer who erases with every swing. What he creates and destroys stands apart from the Mirror-Universe itself, ensuring he destabilizes reality without annihilating it.
Nature: The refinement of the principle of vagueness. Their Concepts are broad and open-ended, but often take on baselines shaped by the context of their creation. This ties their essence to circumstance while keeping them universally coherent.
Strengths: Can operate under or against higher beings and universal checks; their vagueness allows them to adapt to environment and opposition.
Weaknesses: They are not invulnerable — their broadness protects their existence but leaves gaps in interpretation that can be exploited.
Example: @Helech the Wayfarer, Concept of Counter — a Concept forged to oppose the hero @Bastion, a mighty chosen vessel who wielded a shield.
Vagueness: “Counter” has no intrinsic baseline.
Contextual Baseline: Since Bastion fought with a shield, Counter manifested as an expert swordsman (the opposite).
Environmental Baseline: Born in the western continent of war and kingdom turmoil, Counter was granted the universal ability to never be struck by direct attack, and to always parry and counter any direct blow.
Limits: This law does not protect against indirect assaults — a quasar bomb from Quasard or the crushing force of a black hole cannot be countered, as they are not direct attacks.
Too Exact that goes against already established Universal Laws: Risks instant erasure (e.g. Perpetuity).
Vague but Contextual: Grants survivability, while letting the Universe enforce a baseline to stabilize their role.
Generational Shift:
1st Gen = Absolutes. Simple
2nd Gen = Flexible disruptions. Nuance
3rd Gen = Vague cores, contextual anchoring.
⚖️ Legacy: The evolution of Concept Beings shows the cosmos adapting its own laws. From the rigid might of the First, through the paradoxical dualities of the Second, to the contextual flexibility of the Third — Concept Beings are not only born of wishes, but also of the Universe’s will to remain consistent with itself.
Concepts embody the fragile yet immutable link between human desire and cosmic law. They are testaments to the depth of longing in the universe: every dream, every vow, every desperate wish leaves a mark. Some dissolve. Others echo. A rare few are written into existence, backed by the Laws themselves, becoming unyielding realities—whether as Abilities bound to mortals or Beings that stride as living incarnations of their own essence.