Kesshō's body crashed on the starry ground, the tower having disappeared, or destroyed as it seemed. She could still see small parts of the tower at the corners of the starry space, slowly falling apart and disappearing into the void. Pushing herself she attempted to get back on her feet, failing to do so as her awakened form broke apart, her clothes returning back to normal, although her accessories remained even after. The darker part which covered half of her blue eye also reduced back to a crescent, her pink eye returning to normal as well.
Two arms wrapped around her as she attempted to get up again, pulling her into an embrace, which she allowed. She rested her face against the person's chest, their pink hair hanging loosely behind them, laying on the starry ground that stretched as far as the eye can see.
"You have done well, rest for now." Fi reassured, gently caressing Kesshō's hair. Kesshō buried her face in Fi's dress, tears filling her eyes. "Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. He is not sad in the slightest about what you did, neither am I. He is proud of you even, and he can rest easy knowing that you will make the right decision no matter the cost."
"I didn't want to, but he killed..." Kesshō trailed off, sobbing as tears streamed from her eyes.
"I really need to give him an earful for this, that idiot making my adorable daughter cry for his sake. Don't worry, he is fine. He should be here anytime now, or we can go to him if you want to meet him right away," Fi chuckled.
"Take me there," Kesshō exclaimed, slightly startling Fi.
"Okay, here we go." Fi mumbled as she tightened her arms around Kesshō, picking her up and walking through the starry area. "This is a really cool place, and the coolest thing about this for me is this." Fi informed as she raised her hand above herself, her fingers brushing against the dark void above, a starry glow illuminating on the trail of her fingers.
Kesshō reached out her hand, failing to reach the ceiling of dark void due to her shorter arms. Lifting her higher Fi placed her on her shoulders, allowing Kesshō to reach it, the starry glow following her finger tips. Her bright eyes reflected the glow as Fi walked ahead, stopping shortly after, reaching her hand out in front.
"This is even cooler." Fi giggled as she pressed her hand against the dark void in front of her.
The void shattered like a pane of glass, revealing an area ahead with brightly colored stars glowing all around inside. Kesshō's didn't pay any attention to the stars however, her eyes rested on the two figures inside, one laying on the ground and the other standing in front of him. The two turned on hearing the sound of the shattering void, similar to shattering glass surprisingly.
"Kurai! We have many, many complaints to you, and she is very mad at you and will bite you, so get here right now to get bitten," Fi called out.
Kurai sighed as he glanced at The Creator, who seemingly shrugged, gesturing him to go. Fi set Kesshō down, helping her stay standing as her legs nearly gaveaway. Kurai walked to the two, standing in front of them, seemingly worried but smiling nonetheless. Kesshō raised her arms in front of herself, waiting for him to pick her up, which he did after exchanging glances with Fi.
"I am extremely sorry to have worried you." Kurai pleaded as he placed his hand on her head.
Kesshō grabbed his hand with both of hers, bringing it lower and in front of her face, opening her jaws and placing it inside before closing them. Kurai sighed but did not resist, not feeling any pain as Kesshō did not apply any pressure on his hand. After she released his hand Kurai patted her on the head, embracing her tightly right after as she buried her face in his clothes.
"Really cute, right?" Fi inquired as she walked over to The Creator and sat down, glancing at Kesshō and Kurai.
"Certainly like her mother," The Creator chuckled weakly.
"This is the end it seems," Fi sighed.
"No, this is simply the beginning, the end is far still." The Creator announced, though his voice did not carry far.
"So, would you like to give her a hug? I don't think you will get another chance to," Fi offered
"I am not worthy to do so, I have done far too many evil deeds to hold a being as pure as her," The Creator sighed.
"She wouldn't care, you know that as well," Fi sighed. "Well, seems like he is good enough to be her father in that case."
"I am impressed you moved on this fast," The Creator chuckled.
"I planned in advance, you know. When your partner is creating plans to change the world, you have to be careful. No guarantees when he will die and to whom." Fi shrugged with a smirk.
"Still just as I remember," The Creator chuckled. "I hope you will be able to care of the rest by yourself now, sorry for leaving everything to you," he sighed.
"I won't," Fi informed. "They are strong enough already, all of them, I am no longer needed anywhere. I just want to tell Sapphire those two didn't kill any Midnight Wolves, I just don't want her to hate her sister."
"Don't worry, I will instead of you," The Creator sighed. "She will not listen to you, she has lost far too much in your presence to trust you that much."
"How do you plan to tell her?" Fi questioned with a little of her head.
"I always make my plans ahead of time, and I needed to give her a gift anyways, for all that she has been through," The Creator sighed.
"No gifts for the one that has been through the most?" Fi inquired.
"Unfortunately not yet, she will receive one afterwards, two in fact, both which I have done much work to prepare for her," The Creator sighed. "It pains me to see it too, but you know it just as well as I."
"Those who become powerful without suffering never remain on the good side? Do you really think it is necessary for someone like her?" Fi questioned. "She has already suffered a lot, any more and her soul might never recover."
"The strongest warriors are the ones who have fought and won, just a display of skill on a wooden target doesn't make you the strongest," The Creator sighed.
"We never agree on this topic, do we?" Fi sighed.
"Seems that we won't till the end, it has been good knowing you," The Creator laughed weakly.
"Yeah, don't worry about me, I will forget you soon enough," Fi shrugged.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Truly unchanging," The Creator laughed.
"This is farewell then, maybe I will keep your memory in a corner of my mind, who knows." Fi bowed, tears shining in her bright pink eyes.
"I have one more request of you." The Creator mumbled, his voice faint.
"What is it?" Fi inquired.
"Don't tell her about this interaction, he won't either, I don't want her to regret," The Creator requested. "Unlike us, killing isn't something she willingly does. She kills when necessary, and when there is a reason. His 'death' gave her the reason to kill me. She wont regret it however, she still believes me to be an evil person, if she finds the reasons behind my actions, they will hold her down forever."
"I know, she won't find out, I assure you of it." Fi mumbled as she walked away, leaving one of her feathers by The Creator.
"A souvenir for the journey ahead, I will cherish it." The Creator chuckled as he held it in his hand, raising it in front of his head as he looked at it for a few moments, his hand slumping to the side right after.
"Are you two done?" Fi questioned. "This place will collapse soon, best to not stay here any longer."
"I know that." Kurai sighed, Kesshō sitting at his shoulders, brushing her fingers against the starry void above, a brightly glowing butterfly symbol present on the back of her hand. "Playtime's over, things are going to get serious again." He mumbled, causing Kesshō to look down at him, tilting her head in confusion.
"He held the position of 'Ultimate Authority', a sign of being at the very top," Fi explained. "Once the person holding that position dies, it starts a war, the 'War for Ultimate Authority'. The war got its name first, and then everyone decided to call the position the 'Ultimate Authority', saves them the trouble of giving it a fancy name I guess. Regardless, now that he is dead, that war is going to start again, and the war itself chooses the participants. The sigil on your hand is a sign of being chosen. All whom the worlds deem worthy are selected to participate in this bloodbath, so a new strongest may be born."
Kesshō slumped herself on Kurai's head, her ears lowered along with a sad look on her face.
"Don't worry, you won't have to kill in this," Kurai reassured.
Kesshō tilted her head at him, not understanding.
"Unlike most wars, no lives are lost in this, mostly because of the scale. This war occurs across all the worlds, all participants receiving the power to travel between worlds along with the sigil. The participants can gather armies if they want, or go alone, it's best to have allies still. You can disqualify opponents by killing them, or making them forfeit." Fi raised her hand in front of herself, showing the phoenix sigil at the back of her hand, the red markings of the sigil fading in a few moments.
Kurai also held out his hand in front of Kesshō, the mark of a sword on the back of his hand fading in a similar way. "The two of us have no requirement to participate, we will only help you win, and make sure you don't need to fight anyone you don't want to fight. Which is why we need allies as well in this, so let's go and meet them."
"You planned this far ahead?" Fi questioned.
"I always make my plans ahead of time," Kurai shrugged.
"Lead the way then," Fi smiled.
Kurai raised his hand in front, a distortion of space appearing in front of it, slowly stretching to create a big enough portal, circular in shape. Fi gestured to Kurai to go ahead, following behind him. She stopped at the portal, glancing at The Creator one last time, her feather still grasped in his hand. She smiled at him as she walked through the portal, the starry void fading into darkness right after the portal closed.
The place they teleported to seemed to be a barren wasteland, a forest visible not far on one side. Many jagged hills and rocky formations dotted the barren landscape, no sign of any other creatures there. The sun slowly lowered itself to the horizon, hanging just above it, it's light already dimming and failing to reach most places in the barren wasteland.
"We might have to look around for a while," Kurai sighed.
"Who are these allies of yours?" Fi inquired, glancing at Kesshō, her head turning from side to side. "Guess I will find out soon enough." Fi mumbled as she spread one of her wings, plucking a feather off it. Stepping in front of Kurai, Fi flung the feather ahead, erecting a red barrier. Several ice crystals slammed into the barrier, rising into a mountain of ice right in front of it.
Kesshō looked up, leaning back in an attempt to see the top of the mountain of ice, nearly falling as she leaned too far. The mountain of ice continued to extend forwards and upwards, not managing to damage the barrier in front, but extending over it. A large chunk of the ice shot down from above, melting and evaporating away before it could reach the three.
"Can't handle the heat?" Fi inquired as she raised her hand in front of herself. "Phoenixal Art: Scorching sun."
She flicked a feather held between her fingers forwards, the feather bursting into flames and shooting forwards as the flames grew bigger, turning into a sphere big enough to enclose all three of them. The sphere of flames passed through the barrier, slamming into the ice ahead and melting through it, moving some distance away before exploding into an inferno of pink flames, reaching high into the sky.
"Am I really going to be the weakest here?" A voice sighed, walking to the three from behind.
"In general, calling you weak would be very wrong." Kurai shrugged as he turned around.
"Your sister?" Fi inquired.
"Yes, Yuki, my younger sister, although it's hard to tell," Kurai sighed.
"You both have similar eyes, hers have more life than yours though," Fi shrugged.
"Completely ignoring the snowflake shapes in her eyes, definitely expected from you." Kurai mumbled as he gestured to Kesshō to get off now, which she did. "Recovered enough to move?"
Kesshō nodded as she dropped down behind him, walking to his side just as Yuki stood in front of them, inspecting the three with her deep blue eyes, a snowflake shape visible in both her eyes, touching the corners of her irises. She wore a long white dress, the sleeves translucent, a white coat over her shoulders and it's sleeves hanging behind her. Her entire outfit possessed snowflake and ice patterns, almost seeming to be made of snow itself.
"I doubt that is how you should be wearing a coat," Kurai observed.
"It looks cool though, and cool things suit me well," Yuki shrugged.
"Can't be denied, though the pun was unnecessary," Kurai sighed. "Is she here yet?"
"She got here quite a while before, but she left to do something, should be back in a bit." Yuki informed as she looked around.
"Are you two getting along well?" Kurai inquired.
"Sure are, we are best friends already," Yuki informed. "And I think we will get along just fine." She added as she turned to Fi. "A Celestial Phoenix?" She questioned.
"No, my rank is just Divine," Fi shrugged.
"I thought the Phoenix Queen would be a Celestial," Yuki sighed.
"Just one rank below," Fi smiled.
"Well, not that I mind." Yuki shrugged as she turned to Kurai. "As for you, don't think I would forgive you for making me wait for so long."
"Can't rush these type of things, and I didn't tell you to wait here, you were free to do whatever wanted to do," Kurai sighed. "It would have mattered little even if you chose to not participate."
"I have the sigil so I should, don't you think?" Yuki showed the back of her hand, a snowflake visible on it. "So, should we get started?"
"No, we have time still. The war will start after some time, whenever it does we will know." Kurai informed as he walked ahead. "Till then, we will stay in the forest."
"We will have to prepare as well, this would be like nothing you have ever seen before," Fi smiled.
"Have you seen it before?" Kurai inquired.
"No, I have only ever heard of it from The Creator," Fi shrugged.
"The dark figure," Yuki mumbled. "Will he also be in the war?"
"No, he has died, that is why the war is even happening," Kurai informed.
"Oh, okay, then there shouldn't be any problems." Yuki smiled as she picked Kesshō in her arms.
"There are many others stronger than you, the rest of us have nothing to worry still," Fi shrugged.
"I would like to see these people who are stronger than me," Yuki chuckled.
"Who are you referring to? Sapphire and Crystal?" Kurai questioned.
"No, the other five of us Immortals, I am very certain they will be participating in this war," Fi informed.
"Then let them find their own demise, it doesn't concern us much," Kurai shrugged.
"You seem certain they won't stand a chance," Fi observed.
"There are only two I consider as someone who can stand a chance against her, that being Sapphire and Crystal, none of the Immortals will be able to last for long against her," Kurai sighed.
"There is one, who might even be able to win," Fi informed.
"How certain are you of that?" Kurai questioned.
"I know he will be able to, he is not a straightforward fighter, he will break his opponents from the inside as he fights." A shiver ran down Fi's spine.
"You seem to have some bitter experience," Kurai observed.
"Yes, I do, which is exactly I would feel much better if he gets dealt with quickly," Fi sighed.
"We will see about it when we find him, for now we have no clue of his whereabouts," Kurai shrugged. "Regardless, it's best to get some rest while we still can."
"Totally agreed." Fi stretched her body with a slight yawn. "Things will get quite intense soon enough afterall." She patted Kesshō on the head, taking her from Yuki and following behind Kurai.