TL;DR: A combination of Hard and Soft Magic system based on ascending Dimensions and related Dimensional Forces, loosely based on the four universal forces (interactions).

Edit: Forgot to add pictures

Disclaimer

The post is an extremely long read (2652 words), but I would appreciate any feedback if anyone manages to read through all of it without getting completely lost. Worldbuilding has always served as a sandbox for me to play with different esoteric concepts (karma, reincarnation, soul, gods, spirits, etc.), and seeing how they could work and influence the world. I took inspiration from many sources that resulted in this monstrous amalgamation. No AI has been used for conception, editing or formatting of any of this mess, and it is still WIP. It’s also worth noting that I don’t believe any of this has any relation to the real world, it’s all just for fun and recently for writing fantasy stories.

Introduction

The magic system consists of the underlying Hard system of Dimensional Forces, and a Soft system called Grace, that is based on the interactions of Dimensional Forces. The system is highly convoluted and overcomplicated by design, so I apologize for its confusing nature. The story starts with the only known source of magic being the Grace, and the Dimensional Forces are gradually uncovered by the Protagonist as he learns about the hidden nature of the world, and the reasons why he is one of the few individuals without Grace (Grace of The Martyr explained later).

Related images show the ascending dimensions and how they build on each other, and examples of Deities.

Creation of the Universe

The fictional universe sprouted from a single point of infinite energy (0D) and then unfolded through dimensions (1-9 so far, but 11 in total) into increasingly complex forms of existence. Each dimensional shift upwards created a new spatial dimension, and led to separation of a new dimensional force. Starting in Dimension 1 (direction) with a single spatial plane, and the only force separated was gravity; then with Dimension 2 (area/shape) came nuclear force; Dimension 3 (volume/form) with quantum force; Dimension 4 (hyper-volume/life) with vital force; and Dimension 5 (mind/consciousness) with psychic force.

While 5D is “all around” the lower dimensions and serves as a “connecting” dimension, Dimension 6 is a dimension “folded over” the lowered dimensions, and serves as a first true “multidimensional” plane, where a person gains access to each dimension separately. Performing magic means tapping into these dimensions and manipulating related forces using one’s soul.

Each object or being has one soul for each dimension they exist in. Inanimate objects (usually) have 3 souls (Dimension 1-3 - direction, shape, form), animals have 4 souls (one more for sentience), while a conscious being has 5 souls, one additional mental soul with access to psychic force.

Dimensional Forces as a Hard Magic System

Magic in the world of Drth is done through manipulating these dimensional forces. The first four (1-4D) are loosely based on the universal forces of gravity (1D), strong (2D) and weak (3D) nuclear, and electromagnetism (4D). 5th dimension is a subspatial mental plane of consciousness that acts as a conduit for the lower forces, with diminishing returns further away from the 5D (4D being the closest with highest interactability, and 1D being the furthest and hardest to interact with). 0D is the source and is not accessible. 6D will be uncovered during the story and therefore won’t be detailed too much, as I’d like to keep it vague for now.

Using the Psychic force of the 5th dimension to interact with lower dimensional forces is akin to manifesting outcomes through intent and imagination, but is highly energy intensive and therefore greatly inefficient. In most cases to the point that the majority of people are not able to do much with the Psychic force. However, the costs can be mitigated by strength of will, imagination, creativity, and faith.

While the will, imagination and creativity are solely based on the person’s own mental capacity and can be trained and improved, the faith can provide the highest energy boost, but is also the most unstable. Having faith in oneself can increase the pool of one’s energy, but it doesn’t come close to a person that is backed by the faith of other people. So belonging to a group with shared ideals (e.g. religion, nation, ideology), or having a large following (e.g. fame, prestige, political power) can lead to a person's energy reserves to be increased immensely.

The energy increases in direct proportion to the number of people belonging to a given group, and a person can belong to any number of groups they truly believe in. The relation has to be reciprocal, meaning a person can draw energy but also has to offer their own energy in return with no exceptions.

Optionally a magic user can fuel their magic using power shards, a special material made out of processed souls. Every inanimate object has 3 souls (for each dimension 1-3), so even a chunk of rock can provide additional energy for anyone able to process those souls. However, the energy acquired from rocks or minerals is negligible to power shards made of sentient souls of animals (1-4D), or conscious souls of mindful beings (1-5D). This creates an abundant market for such materials, and its black market alternatives for animal and human power shards, giving anyone with enough wealth access to immense power. 

A regular human in the world of Drth exists in all dimensions up to the 5th dimension (0-5D), and has a soul for each dimension they can manipulate the respective dimensional forces with (except 0D). However, the current reality of the world is capped in the 5th dimension (due to lore reasons I won’t go into here), and knowledge of dimensions and their related forces has been lost to time. So while all people of Drth have access to magic in all of these forms (1-5D), the only currently known magic is the Psychic force (5D), known simply as Grace (more on it below).

Dimensional Forces 0-11D and their application

Each subsequent dimension builds on the previous ones and gains additional capabilities. They are intrinsically connected, so manipulating gravity (1D) influences every object or being, as the hierarchy is strictly bottom-up, and everything in existence also consists of gravity, and all the dimensions up to its highest achieved dimension (Regular humans exist in 1-5D). So even though higher dimensions are more complex and have more potential applications, they cannot change the fundamental properties of lower dimensions. Dimensions are local, so even though a person reaches 6D, it doesn’t influence other people or realities, and they still exist also in 1-5D, and do not cease to exist in them at any point, with the exception of true death of all their related souls.

Time is also not a distinct dimension, as it is a property of successive causality for all dimensions, and only flows in one way. So no time manipulation shenanigans are possible in this universe, with a single exception of time being relative. Therefore it can flow slower for people able to perceive more actions in a given time frame. This can effectively slow time for a person with faster mental processing, as they perceive more in a single second, compared to a regular perception.

0D - Chaos force (Void) - the source of everything

1D - Gravity force (Gravity) - guiding interaction of objects with mass on a single plane, for example changing the mass and acceleration of objects, leading to change of direction objects travel in, or their momentum

2D - Nuclear force (Strong nuclear) - increasing or lowering the strength of bonds of inanimate objects, for example enhancing the toughness of surfaces, or weakening them (only on two dimensional planes - area)

In practice one could enhance or dissolve the surface of the shield, or armor, or a protective wall, but not the whole object.

3D - Quantum force (Weak nuclear) - is responsible for transmutation of three dimensional inanimate objects, or their materialization/dematerialization; it is most effective if the magic user has all the related ingredients available, and creating objects from thin air is close to impossible, as well as disintegration without appropriate ingredients is almost impossible, especially if the object is held together with more than just the quantum force (e.g. vital force enhancements, or higher).

The use could be transmutation of inorganic materials, materializing or deteriorating matter, or even creating whole objects with required materials, knowledge and energy.

4D - Vital force (Electromagnetism) - as all the higher dimensions build on lower dimensions, the vital force is similar to quantum force, but with additional capabilities for transformation of living systems; chemical reactions; interactions, generation and transfer of electricity and magnetism and their related waves (visible light, radiation, temperature, and more).

It has a wide range of uses, from infrared vision, through temperature manipulation, all the way to generating and manipulating electricity/magnetism, or even biological mutations and enhancements.

5D - Psychic force (Consciousness) - first incorporeal plane of thoughts, ideas and egregores, this dimension is a mental domain where concepts are as real as the matter is real in 3D, or biological tissue or electricity is real in 4D. The concept of a nation has a tangible presence and influence over the world as if it was a real entity. Same goes for ideologies and religions that are shaping the world and people in it, mainly by interacting with the lower dimensional forces. While 3D objects or 4D bodies can be destroyed and cease to exist, 5D concepts are much harder to eliminate, and will live on as ghosts even after their original hosts are deceased. Either by existing in other people's minds, or by existing in the incorporeal mental domain until they are able to latch on new hosts as parasitic ideas. 

Applications of the Psychic force can be telepathy, telekinesis, mind reading, mind manipulation, mental imaging (access to a virtual mental interface for advanced perception), but also creation of bigger-than-life concepts and egregores that will eventually gain a life of their own. The Psychic force can be enhanced by faith as mentioned before, and it is a foundation for Grace detailed later.

6D - Metaphysical force (Spirit) - closer interaction with lower dimensional forces, by gaining ability to perceive each dimension separately, and limited interactability with them. It can be explained as a window to each of the lower dimensions, where a person can manipulate each dimension directly. In 5D all dimensions are sandwiched together, but 6D is a prism that can split them and a person can see and “touch” them separately.

A 6D person would see properties of each dimension, so the 1D gravity and its vectors; 2D nuclear force and its bonds; 3D integrity and related elements; 4D electric charge, nerve system, pulse, blood pressure, bone structure, etc.; 5D thoughts, fears, ideals, beliefs; all floating around a person like a virtual interface (similar to 5D mental imaging, but more advanced). It also offers limited interaction with all of these components, most notably a short-range teleportation anywhere the 6D person can see, as the 3D space is compacted in the 6D.

7D - Divine force (Archon) - redacted

8D - Celestial force (Celestial) - redacted

9D - Galactic force (Galaxy) - redacted

10D - Cosmic force (Cosmos) - redacted

11D - Eternal force (Eternity) - redacted

Grace as a Soft Magic System

Currently the world is believed to be created by 9 divine entities known as Gods, or Archetypes, that are also a source of magic - Grace. Grace is understood as innate power granted to each person by one of the 9 Gods (The nature of these Gods is ambiguous on purpose, and will be uncovered in the story).

Each God represents a different facet of the civilization, and gaining their Grace sets the person’s path in life. Each grace comes with a passive trait every person with the same grace shares, but also a potential to manifest into a personal Deity (imagine JJBA personal Stand) once a person reaches puberty, and goes through an initiation ceremony.

For example being graced by The Mender gives a person passive traits of being able to assess internal biological state of all living systems (plants, animals, beings), and after reaching puberty manifests in a Deity related to growth, production, regeneration, healing, etc. The Deities reflect one’s personality and serve as a means to fulfill their assigned role in the society.

With the example of The Mender the constructed entity is related to anything from farming, herding, medicine, healing, or even therapy. It can be as mundane as being able to fertilize the soil, accelerate healing, or talk to animals, or as broken as restoring one’s body to a pristine condition. However even the most broken abilities are held back by the immense energy requirements, and if the person doesn’t have access to external sources of energy or faith mentioned earlier, they won’t be able to do much with their Grace or Deity.

Sarranil has been graced by The Mender, and developed a Deity Blooming Aster, that gives her a rather mundane ability to accelerate growth of flowers. But mastering this ability can open a potential to transfer the effect on other living systems for restoration, or even reverse the effect and expedite decay for combat.

The passive traits become intuitive for the graced person, but the special abilities have to be activated by intent. It could mean simply imagining the flower blooming to activate the spell, or executing a certain ritual, sequence of hand gestures, or any action that can put the caster in a state of mind that allows the effect to manifest.

Archetypes of Gods, their domains, related career paths and passive traits

1. Herald - Resonate

• Domain: Arts, entertainment, recreation
• Role: Artists, actors, singers, etc.
• Passive trait: Charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent (ifykyk) to motivate and increase moral; enhanced creativity and imagination

1. Zealot - Bind

• Domain: Religion, faith, tradition
• Role: Priests, monks, clergy, etc.
• Passive trait:  Ability to enhance innate traits of other archetypes and their Deities through faith; initiators of ascension ceremonies (mostly after reaching puberty to gain the respective Graces, and later to ascend and embody the Deities - extremely rare occasions, only handful known cases throughout the history)

1. Mender - Grow

• Domain: Growth, restoration, production
• Role: Farmers, herders, medics, etc.
• Passive trait: Ability to assess internal biological state of living systems, and understanding on how to improve it

1. Wright - Craft

• Domain: Processing, crafting, extraction
• Role: Miners, smiths, engineers, etc.
• Passive trait: Ability to identify materials and their properties, and a blueprint vision for constructed objects

1. Warden - Preserve

 

• Domain: Protection, preservation, defense
• Role: Guards, knights, generals, etc.
• Passive trait: Enhanced strength, durability and mental fortitude; strategic thinking

1. Reaper - Disrupt

• Domain: Change, disruption, offense
• Role: Hunters, mercenaries, assassins, etc.
• Passive trait: Ability to identify weak points, both physiological and mental; enhanced dexterity and perception

1. Scholar - Discern

• Domain: Knowledge, learning, discernment
• Role: Teachers, researchers, scientists, etc.
• Passive trait: Deep understanding of complex concepts and ability to communicate them effectively based on the recipient; mental imaging and enhanced mental processing

1. Steward - Balance

• Domain: Service, trade, justice
• Role: Merchants, service, judges, etc.
• Passive trait: Understanding of people’s needs, wants and motivations, and able to quantify the monetary value of objects, or moral value of beings

1. Martyr - Release

• This is the only Grace that doesn’t manifest in magical powers, or a Deity, and their only societal role is to get sacrificed in the name of the greater good. Usually to facilitate great shifts that couldn’t be brought upon otherwise, or avert cataclysmic events. It is extremely rare to be graced by The Martyr, usually appearing only once in a generation at most, and is seen either as an omen or a blessing, based on who you ask. For this reason it is a one way ticket to an artificial altar, which is also the fate of the story protagonist.
• Domain: Ascension, atonement, sacrifice
• Role: Scapegoats, “sacrificial lambs”
• Passive trait: Living batteries with immense innate energy, but no access to magical power or ability to manifest a Deity

If anyone made it all the way here thank you and I would appreciate any feedback. Have a nice day.

Visualization of how the dimensions build one on another, from 0 to 6D

More detailed breakdown of the dimensions

Few examples of the Deities from the Grace System. From left to right - Leader: Smothering Moor (Zealot); Head Assassin: Marrow's End (Reaper); Head Thief: Slither and Shift (Reaper); Head of Trafficking: Noxious Fumes (Reaper); Main Bodyguard: Adamant Once (Warden); City Merchant: Gilded Rate (Steward); Medic: Silver Spindle (Mender); Accountant: Last Count (Steward)