History Main / AbstractApotheosis

This trope is as [[OlderThanDirt Old As Mythology itself]]. Every religion/myth gives some form to a radical concept that cannot be described in simple words. As an example, {{Satan}} is often considered the embodiment of hate, despair, etc., after he [[FallenAngel fell from the heavens]]. The hate itself transformed him from angel of good into a devil of pure evil.

* After the ''ComicBook/New52'', the Lords of Order from the ''ComicBook/DoctorFate'' series have been retconned. Prior to, the Lords of Order and Chaos were primordial beings of the universe that represented Order and Chaos in the cosmos. Now the "Lords of Order" is a title for the earliest humans who were scholars that became the first wizards and sought to impose order on a chaotic universe through their new-found magic. Their obsession with order would lead them to achieve a lesser form of apotheosis, making them generally less powerful than the Olympian gods and whatnot. There doesn't appear to be a corresponding "Lords of Chaos" so far.

* In ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'', [[Characters/MarvelComicsThanos Thanos]] is defeated when he [[spoiler:abandons his body and becomes/replaces Eternity at the head of the cosmic beings... and fails to realize that the Gauntlet itself, which sustaines his new existence, is still on his lifeless body's hand and within easy reach of vengeful relatives]].

* ComicBook/WonderWoman becomes the goddess of truth for a while in ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'', but gives it up. She seems to be an avatar for it even in mortal form, however; for example, some stories says her Lasso of Truth simply channels her inborn powers, and her very presence makes it difficult for people to lie.

* The Abstracts in ''FanFic/FaithAndDoubt'' and its sequel can be this. The Abstracts Honesty, Kindness and Doubt ([[spoiler:later revealed to be Faith]]) were Earth Ponies who ascended during Discord's reign to become the very embodiments of their abstracts.

* Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality''. Each of the first five books features a mortal who becomes an AnthropomorphicPersonification ([[TheGrimReaper Death]], Time, War, [[TheHecateSisters Fate]] and [[MotherNature Nature]]).

* ''Literature/ThoseThatWake'' inverts this. Man in Suit is hopelessness given form.

--->'''Owner:''' Even if Rider history changes, it seemed the memories people have of Riders don't change. People's memories create time. In other word, as long as people's memory exist... Kamen Riders will endlessly revive.

** From the same block, there are Ascendant characters who turn into Essence (enchantment) if certain condition is met, such as Homura, Human Ascendant.

* Inverted in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': the Warp (formerly known as the Realm of Souls) is an alternate dimension that changes based on emotions felt by sentients. The four Chaos gods were formed from it, being the embodiments general emotions and concept related to them - despair for Nurgle, passion for Slaanesh, rage for Khorne, and hope for Tzeentch.

** In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'' it's hinted that [[spoiler:Athena]] has become something higher that a god, following the explanation of [[spoiler:why the gods became evil between ''1'' and ''2'']] it can be guessed that [[spoiler:Athena has become Greed itself]]

** In ''VideoGame/Persona3'', [[spoiler:the Main Character sacrifices [=his/her=] life to become the Great Seal, the final barrier between Nyx, Death itself, and Erebus, the AnthropomorphicPersonification of humanity's self-destructive unconscious desires, thus becoming the ultimate representation of hope in [[TheVerse the ''Persona'' universe]], and visualized as a massive golden gate with the protagonist's soul keeping it closed. Ryoji is the literal embodiment of death, and serves as the game's final boss and the first person you meet in game.]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': Hope. His entire CharacterDevelopment, is about him growing to live up to his name. [[LampshadeHanging This is commented on frequently]] over the course of the plot. In the second and third games it's taken even further as Hope has become the embodiment of the virtue itself and the world becomes hopeless (both figuratively and literally) when he disappears.

* ''{{VideoGame/Destiny}}'': One of the schemes of Savathûn, the Witch-Queen, {{H|ordeOfAlienLocusts}}ive god of cunning and subject of much WildMassGuessing, was to transform herself into the very concept of 'WildMassGuessing about Savathûn', so that she will exist anywhere "every false prediction, misguided theory, fearful rumor, and ominous supposition" suggests she exists, and [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil live for as long as people continue to make them]]. [[UnreliableNarrator Or so she claims.]] Her brother Oryx had the less convoluted goal of becoming "synonymous with death", but he got killed before that could happen. Their sister Xivu Arath, conversely, ''already'' considers herself the AnthropomorphicPersonification of war.

* In the backstory of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' the Avenger of the Third Grail War was originally a normal villager with no special powers until his village turned him into TheScapegoat for their own sins. As a result his soul came to represent the "wish" for there to exist a source for "[[GodOfEvil All of the World's Evil]]". [[spoiler:When his soul entered the Grail, that wish was granted, transforming the Grail's contents into an endless flood of curses and potentially transforming Avenger into a PhysicalGod]].
* Lord Barok van Zieks in ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' is seen by the public as the divine avatar of the "Reaper of the Bailey" who delivers karmic deaths to all those he prosecutes against. It's later revealed that [[spoiler: Mael Stronghart orchestrated the Reaper murders to specifically achieve this, something that Lord van Zieks was ''not'' happy about once the truth was discovered.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Stronghart''']]: Your role wasn't that of some embodiment of death. No, you were London's guardian angel.
--> '''Lord van Zieks''': An angel with bloody hands? [[ShutUpHannibal I think not.]]
* In the ''VisualNovel/ShinzaBanshoSeries'', there exists the concept of a character creating their own law that will alter the very nature of reality according to their desires. However, as they get closer and closer to making it a true law, they also start to embody it more and more. Should someone Emanate then they will ascend to unprecedented levels and instead of creating their own law, they will ''become'' it, effectively becoming a God in the processes as they rewrite all of existence. [[spoiler:At the end of the novels final route, [[VisualNovel/DiesIrae Ren Fujii, Reinhard Heydrich and Marie]] becomes the very concepts of frozen time, war and omnibenevolence respectively as they take on the current God, Mercurius, who is the concept of the EternalRecurrence in a massive free-for-all]].

* From ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', [[TokenEvilTeammate Black Mage]], after being killed by Lich, descended into hell, took it over and became the embodiment of all mortal evils. Then his (former) demonic minions resurrected him [[EvenEvilHasStandards so they could kick him out of hell]].

* In the ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'' the ultimate antagonist of the series, [[spoiler:The Hunger]] is revealed to be a extremely twisted vertion of this trope, as it is the result of an [[spoiler:''entire multiverse'', down to its inanimate parts and objects revolting against the concept of existing out of sheer, enraged, nihilism at the futility of existence and endlessness of time, proceeding to devour other multiverses in an attempt to out-size the concept of space and demand whatever or whoever is out there for an explanation and to force it to change. Case in point, the core and creator of The Hunger, John, explains that a more proper name for it would be ''The Dissatisfaction'']]

** Madoka is the former TropeNamer and gave us the Alternative Title: Becoming Hope. Explanation is a spoiler for all the series: [[spoiler:Madoka's wish turns her into a Goddess, and then a witch (a creature that radiates despair) - but she uses her immense power to ''destroy'' said witch and lives on as the abstract concept of hope, existing beyond time and space. Her influence allows all the magical girls who have ever existed to fight without despair and die without regret]]. And [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion the third movie]] reveals that [[spoiler:[[InvertedTrope the abstract can be made concrete again]], if you have the proper trap. This happens ''twice''.]]

[[folder:FanWorks]]

* ''FanFic/DeathIsForcedToTakeAVacation'': The Reapers are this for the Role of Death, former mortals who gave up their original selves to take up the position (though as aides to the Lady of Death and not as full Lords or Ladies of Death themselves).

** The same holds true in other universes in the same multiverse where this one is set, such as the [[FanFic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell Pieces-verse]].

* ''{{VideoGame/Destiny}}'': Savathûn, the Witch-Queen, {{H|ordeOfAlienLocusts}}ive god of cunning, and subject of much WildMassGuessing, seeks to transform herself into the very concept of 'WildMassGuessing about Savathûn', so that she will exist anywhere "every false prediction, misguided theory, fearful rumor, and ominous supposition" suggests she exists, and [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil live for as long as people continue to make them]]. [[UnreliableNarrator Probably.]] Her brother Oryx had the less convoluted goal of becoming "synonymous with death", but he got killed before that could happen.

* The concept of ''La Persona Superiore a Dio'' (The Person Higher Than God) in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' is temporarily achieved by [[spoiler:Fiamma of the Right]] in Volume 22.

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'': The BigBad of 2002 sees Isaac and Miria as the embodiment of Hope, and therefore specifically excludes them from the hijackings he's planning.
* The concept of ''La Persona Superiore a Dio'' (The Person Higher Than God) in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' is temporarily achieved by [[spoiler:Fiamma of the Right]] in Volume 22.

* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' has a surprise example in [[spoiler:Zamasu, after his defeat tries to take a page from Giygas book and AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence as "Justice and Order" itself, becoming an EldritchAbomination that corrupts Trunks's timeline]]. Doubles as SurpriseCreepy and SuddenDownerEnding.