The magic circle shone bright, lighting up the entire night. Winter shielded her eyes and rolled backwards from the sudden outburst, being temporarily blinded. She slowly opened her eyes as the lights died down, her eyes slowly adjusting back to the darkness of the night. Winter gasped as she realised the magic circle disappeared, a dark figure laying where it used to be.
"Sapphire!" Winter called out as she dashed to her side. "Are you okay?" She inquired, lifting Sapphire in her arms.
Finding Sapphire to be unconscious Winter checked her heartbeat and breath out a sigh of relief on finding it to be fairly normal. She used healing magic on Sapphire before searching through her pockets. Retrieving a purple crystal from one of her pockets she gently fed it to Sapphire.
"Please work," Winter prayed. Sapphire spluttered and sat up, coughing blood and saliva. "Sapphire!" Winter exclaimed.
Sapphire raised her hand and gestured to Winter she is alright. "It's just blood from the internal bleeding I believe, best to get rid of it than let it be." Sapphire panted after she stopped coughing.
Sapphire wiped the blood from her mouth and standing up walked a few steps away, towards the forest. Sapphire felt a weight on her back as Winter pounced on her from behind, tightly hugging and falling with her in the thick snow. Winter embraced Sapphire tightly and pressed her forehead against Sapphire's, both of them staring into each other's eyes.
"Please don't ever scare me like that again." Winter pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"You still did save me." Sapphire pointed out as she rolled her eyes.
"Even after you told me you didn't need any help," Winter reminded.
"Yeah, yeah. The question is, how did you use a phoenix feather like that?" Sapphire questioned.
"What do you mean by use it like that?" Winter inquired.
"Only phoenixes can use their feathers from long distances. And while a person holding a phoenix feather will be revived, someone can't simply use their feather to revive someone else," Sapphire explained.
"I have no clue how I did it then, it kind of just happened on its own. I just wanted to help in any way and the phoenix feather just did it so I thought it was possible." Winter shrugged as she fiddled a lock of Sapphire's hair.
"And why were you so worried when I had my own pheonix feather?" Sapphire inquired.
"Don't lie, you have already used yours, in the fight against that little monster, Kesshō. She killed you with the attack when you weren't able to move for a while, and me and your father needed to protect you till you got back up." Winter sighed, not believing Sapphire assumed her to be that stupid.
"I didn't expect anyone to realise that," Sapphire sighed. "Well, whatever, I need to sleep."
Sapphire buried her face in Winter's chest and almost instantly fell asleep. Winter gently patted her on the head and slowly drifted back to sleep, having been woken abruptly when Sapphire challenged the Guardian suddenly.
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Sapphire woke up not long after, but neither did she see the morning sun, nor the snowy forest, failing to find even Winter by her side. She lay in a small snowy patch of land with a singular conical tree, drifting in an infinite starry void. Sapphire slowly sat up, looking around herself in awe. The countless stars created a beautiful scenery in the endless void, bright colorful dots spread all throughout the darkness.
"The view is quite nice, isn't it?" A familiar voice inquired.
"Certainly is," Sapphire breathed. "Well, is it time for our talk now?" She inquired.
"Certainly is." The Creator answered, with what Sapphire imagined to be a mischievous smile. She turned around and returned a similar smile as he came and sat down a bit away from her.
"Now, you may ask whatever you wish to." The Creator informed with a wave of his hand.
"What are you?" Sapphire inquired.
"If you are asking my rank, I am a Greater Guardian, and the one in charge for several things here. You will find out everything you wish to know regarding me with time. I will rather not disclose much about myself," The Creator ended with a whisper.
"Why not?" Sapphire inquired.
"My past is not very beautiful or sad, it's simply a large amount of unreasonable bloodshed and losses," The Creator replied.
Sapphire thought for a moment. "What is Fi?" She inquired.
"Rank sixth of the Immortals, also, the queen of phoenixes, a title she has been born with," The Creator answered.
"Are you sure you are not missing something there?" Sapphire questioned, glancing sideways at him.
"I am smiling right now, just informing as no one would be able to tell." The Creator informed, causing Sapphire to laugh. "Regardless, I am very proud of you, I didn't expect anyone to catch onto it this early. Yes, she is the Goddess of Wolves, and a close friend of mine."
"What exactly are Guardians?" Sapphire inquired. "The one I fought seemed human-like but at the same time she didn't feel human."
"The Guardians vary largely, they were selected by the Guardian which existed before them in the specific world cluster, but that changed once the organisation called Celestia rose to power. They changed the order of there being one Guardian for every world tree to one Guardian for every world," The Creator explained. "The new Guardians were elected and were weaker than the past ones which protected entire clusters. The newer ones died more frequently but were replaced very quickly as well."
"Not exactly the answer I was looking for," Sapphire thought out loud.
"They are greater beings ascended from the lesser beings, capable of traveling freely between worlds and granting the power to do so to others. They are extremely powerful even as they are now, and it's best to be careful when dealing with them," The Creator replied.
"What happened to my Appraisal?" Sapphire inquired with a half-way annoyed expression.
"It's being upgraded. I found the system created by the goddess highly impractical and so I decided to make my own for you. It will prove greatly useful in the future," The Creator answered.
Sapphire nodded thoughtfully. "What are me and Kesshō to you?" She inquired.
"Daughters," he answered with a shrug.
"Who is your favorite then?" Sapphire tilted her head.
"You are both close, but Kesshō." The Creator answered, noticing Sapphire's ears droop down, although her facial expression didn't change. "I will still prefer interacting with you more," he added.
"Don't try to cover it up now." Sapphire pouted.
"It's more fun to teach you and answer your questions," The Creator explained. "As for Kesshō, she learns too fast to even need to be taught. She can simply learn by watching, and is truly terrifying when it comes to combat. If it was playing I would definitely prefer to play with her, but as for teaching, I would certainly rather teach you."
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Sapphire tilted her head at him, wondering just why he thought of them as his daughters, but she felt certain he wouldn't answer that.
"You are right about that," The Creator confirmed.
"Don't read my mind, not good to read your daughter's mind if you think of me as one," Sapphire growled.
"My apologies, I didn't know it was not nice to do that," The Creator chuckled. "Will some chocolates be enough for forgiveness?" He inquired.
"Some what?" Sapphire tilted her head.
"Ah, right, your world doesn't have these," He sighed.
Holding his hand out he summoned a small pouch out of nowhere. It appeared to be translucent, made of some translucent and somewhat stretchy fabric according to Sapphire. Inside were several small brown colored spheres, about a dozen in number. The Creator handed it to her and she inspected it, not knowing what to do exactly.
The Creator pulled a small string tied at the top from one end and the pouch opened its top a bit. Sapphire thought for a moment before retrieving a sphere from inside and eating it. She found it to be quite sweet, enjoying the taste as it slowly melted in her mouth.
"You and Kesshō really are very similar," The Creator observed.
"Maybe," Sapphire replied.
"Both of you have very similar sword styles, around same size and build, similar type of outfits, like similar things. You are just comparatively smarter in some ways," The Creator compared.
"And physically stronger," Sapphire added.
"I wonder for how long," The Creator sighed.
"How strong are you?" Sapphire inquired.
"Stronger than anyone else you know," he answered
"So, there is no one who can defeat you?" Sapphire questioned.
"As things stand, not yet, but in the future there will be many much stronger than me. Afterall, this is just the beginning of a new era," The Creator replied.
"Are you good or evil?" Sapphire inquired.
"Depends. To you, I believe I am good, to any who harm you, I might be evil," The Creator answered.
"That's not really a good answer," Sapphire sighed.
"There are very few who are absolute good or absolute evil. Almost everything you do thinking it's the good thing to do, will be evil for atleast someone. There are those who can seem to be absolute evil, but some will still support their actions. Same with being absolute good, some will despise them for their actions no matter how much they try. No matter how they try to be good to everyone, even if they are a god, they can still not be absolutely good," The Creator answered.
"Am I good or evil?" Sapphire inquired.
"Neither, you are a fairly rational person doing what the situation requires. It's neither good nor evil, it's simply the right thing to do," The Creator responded.
"What about Kesshō?" Sapphire inquired.
"Her actions may bring harm to others, but she bears no ill intentions towards anyone. She simply does as she is told for now, not having enough knowledge to arrange her thoughts and do something when alone. The reason why she follows orders is because she is an overthinker, she considers all possibilities of her actions and there is someone getting harmed in each possibility one way or other, and she doesn't know which to do and usually ends up doing the wrong thing. And so, she simply follows a person whose judgement she trusts," The Creator explained.
"So even when killing-" Sapphire questioned but got cut off.
"She has no will to kill and only kills when she is ordered to. She fights only to have fun," The Creator informed.
"So she came to kill me, to have fun?" Sapphire inquired.
"Not kill, but fight. She hasn't fought anyone who can stand against her sword skills for long, but she believed you will be able to, and you did to a decent extent. Swordplay is something she enjoys, fighting someone who can match her skills is what she enjoys the most. Granted she limits herself in every battle, just so her enemy actually stands a chance," The Creator explained.
"So, I only fought her when she was limiting herself?" Sapphire sighed.
"Don't worry, I have trust in you. If there is anyone who can push her to her limits, it will be you," The Creator replied.
Sapphire smiled. "I have several questions I know you won't be answering, so I won't bother asking those."
"Smart choice," The Creator nodded.
"I don't think there is anything else for us to talk about now," Sapphire sighed.
"Well then, we shall meet again whenever you wish for it then." The Creator waved.
"So, I just need to want to talk to you and you will show up?" Sapphire inquired.
"Pretty much," The Creator shrugged.
"Somewhat creepy, but whatever," Sapphire shrugged. "What about the elder and other Immortals?" Sapphire inquired. "They must all be extremely powerful."
"They are all indeed very powerful, but you need not worry about them," The Creator reassured. "As long as I am alive the Immortals will not act out of order, and when they do they will be punished accordingly, I won't allow any harm to come to you from them so don't worry."
"Are their rankings based on powers?" Sapphire inquired.
"Yes and no, their rankings are based on both power and importance," The Creator answered.
"So Fi is practically useless?" Sapphire tilted her head.
"Not quite, she simply does as she wishes to, and so I decided for her to be the lowest ranked. The first and second ranks have played important roles thus far. Fi is also overwhelmingly weak compared to all the other Immortals," The Creator answered.
"So, the elder is more important than Fi, and even stronger." Sapphire thought out loud as she remembered Fi destroying an entire city with ease.
"She was, but now she would be lower than Fi since she is no longer allowed to interfere, while Fi is the most important Immortal for me currently. You may still go and try to kill her if you wish to, I can guarantee you won't die, but I won't guarantee you will win," The Creator replied.
"So, you will protect me?" Sapphire inquired.
"Only when you are on the brink of death, and only against the Immortals, and only you," The Creator answered.
"That's kind of you." Sapphire smiled, the starry void reflecting in her shiny blue eyes.
"I trust it's time for you to depart, its already dawn and you may want to get going soon," The Creator reminded.
"Okay, send me back." Sapphire nodded.
"With pleasure." The Creator bowed and snapped his fingers.
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Sapphire opened her eyes, fully awake as she looked up at the sky. It seemed dawn, some light of the rising sun visible in the cloudy sky. The clouds resembled waves in the sky, completely covering the blue expanse and the sun, but still allowing some light to filter through to wake all life. There were snowflakes falling slowly, one landing on Sapphire's face and causing her to notice it.
She sat up quietly, gazing at the beautiful scenery, slowly eating the chocolates she received from The Creator. As Sapphire sat calmly, Winter also woke up, hugging her the first thing after waking up. Sapphire didn't bother to shove Winter away this time, too busy with her own thoughts.
"So, today we continue our journey?" Winter inquired, still clinging on to Sapphire.
Sapphire nodded as she ate another chocolate. "Now, our journey will continue in a different world, so be prepared for the worst, and the best."
Winter nodded understandingly. "A journey across worlds, I wonder what we will find there," She pondered.
"Something new most likely. We will depart soon so no need to think too much about it, we will find out soon enough." Sapphire informed as she rested her head against Winter.
The two of them sat there, looking at the beauty of nature at dawn. "What is that on your hand?" Winter questioned, gently grabbing Sapphire's hand.
"I don't know." Sapphire answered, inspecting the dark-blue flower marked on the back of her hand. "I have never seen it before on my hand, but it looks like the Midnight Bloom."
"Appraisal has been discarded. Acquired skill True Appraisal. All systems have been successfully stabilized, wielder successfully registered in the fifth War for Ultimate Authority." Appraisal informed, the voice sounding more grown up and less monotonous.
"What?" Sapphire questioned, Winter also tilting her head.
"The War for Ultimate Authority, a war initiated once the previous holder of the highest position in the world system dies to select a new one," Appraisal informed. "The position grants no powers itself, simply serving as proof of a being's capabilities. All participants possess a sigil on the back of their hand, the shape and color different for each. Those selected may withdraw at any moment. All casualties to registered participants and their armies will be recovered, all who died will be revived and all who suffered fatal wounds will be healed. All participants will be informed when the war starts."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Winter suggested. "A war just sounds like looking for unnecessary trouble."
"Yes, but we will be revived even if we die," Sapphire shrugged.
"I still don't think it's a good idea," Winter mumbled.
"I won't die, that is certain, it is a good chance for me to compare myself with others who are chosen for this," Sapphire pointed out. "It will be the best way to figure out which people we should be careful of."
"Where will this war happen?" Winter questioned.
"The war occurs in all worlds. A penalty will be issued for causing unnecessary damage to life and property of that world. Certain worlds and regions will be designated for wars as well, clear areas without hindrances of any sort," Appraisal explained.
"So, basically we can get caught up in it even if we don't directly participate," Sapphire smirked.
"Fine, suit yourself," Winter sighed.
"Now, let me ask the most important question," Sapphire smiled. "Is she participating?"
"Chisana Kesshō is registered as the first participant, given the advantage of eliminating one altering one rule due to being the one who killed the previous holder of Ultimate Authority," Appraisal informed.
"This will certainly be fun," Sapphire chuckled.
"You and your obsession with her," Winter sighed.
"I am not obsessed," Sapphire argued. "I simply want revenge on every single one of them. Her, Kurai, and the elder, they will all die eventually. This war will help me figure out more strategies to do so."
"Sure, but till then," Winter sighed. Sapphire tilted her head at her. "You are all mine." Winter exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Sapphire, pulling her in a tight embrace.
"Yes, yes, not going to leave my best friend," Sapphire mumbled. "Let's prepare till the time it actually starts." She suggested, attempting to push Winter away but failing. After a few moments Sapphire stopped, resting her head against Winter and closing her eyes as Winter patted her head.