Ascension

Ascending to godhood is a very different process from previous ascensions in Stratum, where one simply gathers enough ‘godhood’ to break trough from one to next. At the level of a deity, cosmic meaning, rituals and symbolism are much more important than brute accumulation of ‘godhood’. Becoming a god requires a profound qualitative change – an Apotheosis. Apotheosis is the process whereby one integrates a concept of God and forces the universe to accept its new state of being, thereby attaining the Stratum of God. Apotheosis can only be attempted after one achieves either Ekstasis trough one of three processes, Brosis, Gnosis or Efaptis.
Brosis is the most direct path to ascension: to reach heaven by violence. By growing one's renown and killing stronger opponents, one's level increases. Once a creature reaches the 20th Level, they may can seek an opportunity to enter Ekstasis and begin their ascension to godhood. On the other hand, the process of Gnosis is simultaneously more difficult to complete and easier to attain. Gnosis is the path of knowing God and reaching enlightenment, learning to transcend by oneself. Once an individual becomes a Scion of any one skill, they may choose to enter a state of Ekstasis. Finally, the path of Efaptis is the hardest and most demanding path toward Ekstasis, as it requires one to take on the identity of a preexisting god, giving up one's individuality to fuse with Them.
Entering Ekstasis dissolves the individual into the fabric of the universe, allowing them to temporarily become one with the entirety of existence. This is said to be a divine experience (badumtss), however, it is irreversible and will likely result in Annihilation - the complete erasure of the individual. To avoid this, the Apotheosis must be performed in conjunction with a special ritual that will anchor the individual's conscious, The ritual varies from Domain to Domain. It also does not need not be performed immediately before or during the Apotheosis, so long as the individual has successfully performed the ritual once the Apotheosis will be successful – assuming, of course, there are no additional disturbances and bad actors. The details of each Domain’s ritual and powers is given further ahead.
===Facing Annihilation===
If the ritual used for your Apotheosis failed or was interrupted, if you lose focus for too long during the Apotheosis, or if you suffer a complete Breakdown whilst being of the Angel Stratum or above, your character loses all sense of reason and degenerates into an eldritch monstrosity. This monster is hostile to all and any other beings. It appears as a variant True Form of its previous self, and possesses all of its previous self’s powers, skills, abilities, identity, Authority and Motifs.
As you may conclude, this retention of Motifs and Authority will allow the monster to gradually develop some sense of reason and new sapience, eventually becoming a new, inhumane deity.