Ülgen sits on the highest layer of the sky in Altai telling: the creator, the benevolent one. Erlik governs below and Ülgen above, and between them they hold the two arms of the world.
The shaman's journey travels both ends: descending, he reaches Erlik; ascending, Ülgen. The way up passes through nine layers of sky and each layer sets a test.
Balbal's Sky realm is exactly that ascending arm. Nine floors, the canonical number; each brighter and emptier than the one before.