All good things must come to an end. Despite how much I enjoyed talking to Deventus, I only planned on checking up on my universe quickly before returning. Another excuse had to be made, and it likely wouldn't be taken well.

Once the tension had fully evaporated, she spoke like a little excited child. Blabbering on and on about this and that. Exploration of the world would have to come later. Once this whole messed up connection situation was fixed.

"What's the issue, Teno?" My attention was drawn back to her. An inquisitive look marred her face. " Am I boring you with all this chatter?" There was no maliciousness in her voice. Instead, she spoke in a light, playful tone.

"You cold bore a rock to death with all that talking." She lightly pushed me before making a mock offended face. At this moment, she looked nothing like that regal being she had been in front of the other gods.

"You hurt my heart, Teno." We shared a laugh at our little antics, but she did restart her chatter. She was waiting for my response.

"I'm tired, Deventus." She looked at me inquisitively before turning her attention back to the world below. I pulled my knee from over the ledge where we sat and brought it to my chest. "I'm going to sleep for a while. I don't know how long, but it shouldn't be too long."

There was a pause before she spoke. Instead of frustration or anger, there was only acceptance in her tone. "Okay." There was no push back after that, no argument came, no bursting emotions.

It was just two beings sitting on a ledge and watching the world below.

"Before I go, I might take a little trip around the world. Any recommendations?" My question pierced the silent air.

"Not particularly. These are still the ongoings of mortals and all that, but they're not all that interesting." Her reply was noncommittal.

I shrugged at her reply and got ready to leave."When you wake up. Would you want to join in a game of Messiah?"

I was puzzled at her question. " A game of what?"

"Messiah, the game that you invented." She rose from her position on the ledge as she spoke. Following suit, I responded, "I wouldn't mind beating you."

She scoffed, "Keep dreaming, Teno."

"What? You think I can't do it?"

"No, I do not, and it's time for you to get some sleep. I have some duties to attend to." She didn't wait for me to reply before she was carried away by the wind.

That was a rather abrupt goodbye.

She hadn't seemed all that fazed by my excuse, but it seemed like it actually had affected her. I stood there for a couple of seconds before vanishing.

My reappearance was over a sprawling city. It was approximately where the mountain used to be. Where the humans had once called their home base. They still did, apparently, but it looked much different from before.

For one, I was sure that the mountain had never been this huge. The sheer size dwarfed nearly all if not all of earth's mountains tenfold. That wasn't taking into account the veritable army of smaller yet similarly grand mountains.

My curiosity kept rising. The sacrifice of the god caused the descent of the heavens, which led to this. I understood that part, but why was this the effect? Even a look into my memories didn't tell me of the process. I saw the event happening but why it had happened in this specific manner was beyond me.

Why had it only affected the planet and not the entire solar system or universe? The whole thing was confusing but very much enjoyable. Sometimes the best part of things is what you don't know. And I was a sucker for a mystery.

The mountain itself was now the home of a sanctuary, as the people called it. They were, for all intents and purposes, a state-sponsored sect. Or, more appropriately, an empire-sanctioned sect. Regular sects existed, but they usually weren't as powerful as the ones backed by the empire.

As I dug further into the past, more was revealed to me, but I stopped myself from going too deep. I only needed the basics of the culture, some history, and the language. Any more would take all the joy of being a creator out. Knowing everything sucks the excitement out of daily life.

However, from the information I did have, this place was now known as Massten. Which translates to the sanctuary of the oracle. Who had apparently died a while back. To still be relevant and talked of even after such a long time was astounding.

Though I was a slight bit disappointed that I couldn't conduct another soul container experiment on her. I had apparently missed her exit by over a hundred thousand years.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Unfortunate indeed.

I removed myself from the Teno form and transformed into one more suitable for lands. Which was a figure of a lighter skin tone, green eyes, and shoulder-length blond hair. The clothing was much more captivating.

They seemed to wear a mixture of oriental robes and fur and animal skinned clothing reminiscent of the Vikings. An odd and unexpected combo but surprisingly pleasant. It just seemed to click together for some reason.

My descent into the city went unnoticed as I simply teleported to the ground.

I had brought myself to a dark alley that reeked of feces and piss. I didn't need much encouragement to get out of it. The streets that I stepped into were entirely different. My nose was assaulted by a variety of different scents and sounds.

I had to pull myself back as a massive beast resembling a bison pulled a carriage through the wide streets. The guard atop gave me a subtle glare and mumbled under his breath but continued onwards. The carriage being pulled could only belong to some with power. The carvings and make of it spoke of excellent craftsmanship, and the person within it was clearly someone of importance.

The procession of guards behind the carriage was a testament to that. Once they passed by, the streets were immediately flooded with people and much smaller carts and carriages. I glanced around before picking a random direction and walking.

I'd wanted to do a quick glide over the entire world, but my arrival here clearly showed that all areas had to be appreciated individually. I couldn't stay too long, but a couple of hours shouldn't be that much of an issue, temporally speaking.

My randomly picked direction led me down through the streets of what I assumed to be the upper-middle class and merchant areas. Which, as one would expect, were filled to the brim with shops. There weren't too many vendors, but they did exist. All sorts of goods and items were on display.

Swords, books, spices, and clothing all hung at glass windows. I was tempted to go to the stores, but I continued my walk.

I passed by a multitude of over-enthusiastic merchants before making it to the quieter areas of the section.

The difference was immediately noticeable. For one, the noise reduction was unnatural. Just a couple feet behind was a bustling street filled with noises, yet here was much quieter.

There were no voices promoting products, nor were their children running around. I was sure that they had managed to artificially reduce the noise somehow.

A quick glance of the street let me know of its nature. All those that walked here looked wealthy, and more importantly, they looked powerful.

This looked to be a cultivator-only street. A stretch of my senses confirmed that. The previous streets had been populated by a couple cultivators, but they had been only a handful at most. Plus, their overall strength was much weaker than what I sensed here.

I only hesitated for a moment before I continued to walk forward. At first, strange glances were sent my way. Once I stopped suppressing my cultivation, those glances ceased.

I expected some reverence at my sheer cultivation quantity, but there was none of that. A quick glance at the qi levels here let me know that despite being of a higher cultivation realm than me, they had nowhere near the amount of qi that I did.

Could they perhaps not detect cultivation depth or qi quantity?

I shrugged my head and cleared my mind of the thought. It didn't matter what they thought. I could still one-shot the whole city.

As I continued my walk down the significantly less busy streets, I eventually came to a halt in front of a fragrant-smelling building. Like most other buildings within this city, it seemed to be made of a mixture of wood and iron. The dark green of its exterior stood out against the purple and blues of most other buildings.

The sign that hung above its entrance read Shooting Summer Abode. I wasn't sure of its purpose, but the fragrances that emanated were too fragrant to ignore.

My entrance in was met with little fanfare. I was guided by a server who led me to the second floor before bringing a wooden menu to me and standing to the side.

A little bit of reading eventually informed me of the fact that this was a tea house. It was unexpected given that I'd never smelt tea so fragrant, but I couldn't complain. I was a big fan of tea.

"Excuse me ...?" I addressed the server who had stood to the side awaiting my order.

"Eren, sir" was the timid reply I received. A quick look over left me puzzled. I couldn't tell what gender they were. It was only after another second of looking that I noticed adam's apple.

"What would you recommend, Eren? I haven't been to a tea house in quite a while." he seemed a little caught off guard at my question but replied smoothly.

Was he not used to customers asking questions?

" he Verdant spear Tea along with Sun's Moore is our most high quality and delicious tea's. They are said to have mind-clearing properties and help to fight against inner heart demons."

A glance at the menu left me amused. The two teas were the most expensive items in the shop. Being number one and two respectively."

"And what you recommend I had along with the Verdant spear?" I asked as I closed the menu and pushed to the edge of the table, where Eren picked it up.

A side of Verdant's beast roast pastries would be the perfect combo for the tea. I didn't bother asking for the price and simply nodded.

Eren bowed before walking off to get my order. I glanced out the window of my corner side table. It was covered by emerald drapes that could be adjusted to give complete privacy. Outside I was treated to the view of cultivators flying overhead on swords.

The swords seemed unnecessarily large, but I would be damned if I didn't say that I wanted one as well.

The things just looked so damn fun to ride. I was eventually drawn away from flying cultivators by a polite cough. Eren was back, and in one hand was an oriental-styled teapot nearly the size of my head. In the other was a platter of meat treats.

As they were placed in front of me, I inhaled the aroma.

By the smell alone, they seemed to be worth the price.

"Thank You." Eren bowed before stepping back and closing the curtains. The privacy made me feel like a VIP.

As I began to pour my tea, I heard a commotion outside. A glance out the window showed me a situation that I had been waiting for. On the floor was a boy who seemed to be of a poor background, while standing over him was one of wealth.

Good tea, snacks, and a window view of a xianxia story unfolding. This was looking like a good day.