POV: Alexander
"So you're telling me that Sol -"
"The soul who was once Sol," I interrupted. Tian glared at me before forging ahead.
"Sol, the one who blew up the Sun and betrayed Statera is now hanging out with Sequoia?" Tian continued, clenching his fists and glaring up at me. I shrugged, popping my jaw as I yawned and nodded. After a few moments of silence, Tian apparently came to a conclusion. "...if he tries anything funny, I'm going to obliterate him." He announced.
"If you obliterate him in the sense of destroying his soul and truesoul, then you will suffer the same fate as him and live as an insect or animal for the next million years." I countered, giving the deity a look. Tian hummed and considered this before nodding again.
"I'm going to obliterate him," Tian concluded. I huffed out a laugh, shaking my head at the man.
"Even as a deity you do not change, Tian. I believe that is one of your best traits." I told him, uncoiling my body and poking my head out of my cave. Spirits wandered about outside, going about their business and completely unaware that my home, my cave, now resided just before them. Legends about my cave abounded amongst both mortals and spirits about how to get to it, and how nobody has ever found it and whatnot. It was quite amusing, some of the stories they had come up with. On many occasions, apparently, brave warriors and heroes had found my cave, only to recieve wisdom from the Great Dragon that would aid them on their quest. All were but legends and myths of course. I've never gotten a visitor of that kind.
The reason for that was that most beings simply couldn't see my cave. I willed them not to, and they therefore could not see either cave nor myself..unless they were of sufficient strength. If the weaker beings were to lay their eyes upon me, their bodies and/or astral forms would begin to waver and fall apart, if not spontaneously combusting altogether.
"Oi, listen to me you overgrown lizard," Tian barked, drawing my attention back to him. I chuckled, shaking my head sheepishly.
"My apologies. I allowed my thoughts to wander. What was it that you were just saying?" I inquired, realizing that Tian had been asking me a few questions. Tian huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at me. His eyes were absolutely astounding to me, the irises themselves constantly shifting and changing, the colors clashing and promising of conflict of any kind. He was the closest thing to a God of War that the Four Realms would ever have.
"I was asking if you knew what Sequoia, the dryad Statera led me to, is," Tian asked, shaking his head. "It has been five thousand years since I ascended, and she's only aged by four. And yes, before you say anything, I mean that literally. She has only aged by four years, like she is stuck in time or something. That's not the strangest part, either. Her companion, the Skyshatter wolf, seems to age slower around her as well...not like it would matter, considering the beast's cultivation abilities, but that's beside the point."
I pondered this, having glanced at the girl that Tian had all but adopted before and noticed similar things. "I cannot say, honestly. Perhaps only Father truly understands what that girl is on the most basic level. Reika once guessed that she was the dryad of a Life-Giving Tree, however...I have the feeling that is not so. Her tree is similar but different..." I sighed and shook my head. "I can say that although her soul, was, like all others, created from Father's influence, it was created by the Will of the Four Realms." And there was a very big difference in that.
Father normally, unconsciously created creates souls and spirits to fill the expanding Four Realms from His own influence, rarely taking the time to consciously carve out a soul. I believe the last time He did so was...well, perhaps when He first created the original Big Four, instead preferring to allow souls to grow at their own pace rather than grant them power. That didn't stop other beings from influencing the creation process - I, myself, had molded a few souls so that they properly fit my first children, the Dragons and Draconians. My siblings have also done so, as has Morgan, when they first created their sentient races. It was a necessary step in creating those templates, so souls would have the chance to reincarnate into these races.
The Will of the Four Realms would then adjust the souls within the Four Realms so that they could all fit into the new races' bodies.
But for the Will of the Four Realms itself to mold its own soul was...nigh incomprehensible. The Will shouldn't have enough consciousness to consider the idea of moulding a soul, let alone actually do it. Tian at least understood the implications of this, if his muttered curse (more said out of shock than him actually cursing something) was anything to go by.
"...and you can't see anything about her destiny, either?" Tian asked. I scoffed.
"I am the Guide. It is my duty to see her destiny...or at least the path that she must walk. True, it is blurry even for me, but I at least know the direction it leads. As of now, you have nothing to fear. Her path is steady and safe - as it would always be for a being with a heart as big as hers." I chuckled.
"Riiiight," Tian drawled, and then, having thought of something entirely different, he switched topics. "Hey, do you have a reverse scale? And if so, where is it?" I blinked in confusion, not entirely sure what he was talking about.
"What is a reverse scale?" I inquired.
"It's a scale that, according to legends, when pressed will enrage a dragon. There was a red dragon that the rumor was based around." Tian explained. I hummed, considering that.
"It's probably Koga who started that..." I mused, nodding to myself. That kid did have quite the temper, though he's long since died and reincarnated into yet another dragon. I seem to recall that a mortal touched him once, and he flew into a rage...I was rather disappointed in him for that. "Not that I have one, but why do you want to know?" I asked.
"Because I'm going to press it," Tian deadpanned, eliciting a booming laugh out of myself. With a shake of my head I snorted at Tian, causing the deity's form to flicker and informing me that Tian was getting the hang of divine incarnations. I hadn't bothered to check if this form of his was one or not earlier. It didn't really matter to me if I was visited by an incarnation or not.
"So you say. Get out of here, bratling, I'm sure you've got work to do." I chided, jerking my head towards the door. Tian huffed but vanished nonetheless, leaving me alone in my cave. With another yawn I closed my eyes, exerting my influence to guide the Four Realms from my cave, rather than moving about like my siblings tended to do. Guiding a massive number of people worked better this way, I've found.
POV CHANGE: Reika
"So I was wondering -" my comment was cut off by a loud explosion and a round of curses from Mother as She stumbled out of her palace, smoke chasing Her out of Her workroom. I blinked and stopped in my travel, Elvira stopping alongside me as we watched Mother continue to curse and berate something entirely out of our line of sight. Almost on cue, another incarnation of Mother appeared in front of us with a mildly annoyed, mildly frustrated expression.
"Ignore me," Mother said, waving Her hand back towards Her true body, which was still cursing, "and focus on me. How can I help you two?" She asked, gesturing to Herself. I blinked at the almost comedic routine before clearing my throat and looking at Elvira.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Uh," Elvira began, blinking rapidly. Even for Mother this was a bit strange, because we could still hear Her true body cursing in the background while Her incarnation stared at us expectantly. "Well, we had a few questions..." Elvira's eyes flicked back to Mother's true body.
"Ignore me and focus on me," Mother repeated. I picked up the slack where Elvira had left off, deciding that now was the time to ask our questions, not stand around gawking.
"I would like to start with the small things and then move larger," I started, pausing when Mother's true body started again on a round of curses, this time far louder. With a patient expression, Mother's incarnation repeated itself.
"Ignore me and focus on me. You're distracting me," She said. This was, apparently, the last straw for Elvira. A throbbing vein appeared on her forehead as she darted forwards, past Mother's incarnation to Her true body, slapping Mother upside the head and putting a halt to her tirade. With a shrug, Mother's incarnation vanished, allowing me to move forwards towards Her true body.
"KNOCK IT OFF!" Elvira thundered, the sheer force of which made Mother flinch and shrink back a little, holding up Her hands defensively. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Elvira rubbed her eyes with one hand and began to speak again. "There are some things we need to discuss." She said tiredly. I moved forward to stand beside Elvira, patting her on the shoulders.
"Yes, there are, but I think we need to lead into this conversation with a few of the less important topics first." I admitted, sending out a pulse of soothing energy. Elvira looked at me gratefully and Mother just smiled cheesily.
"Aww, it's so nice to see you sisters getting along," She teased.
"We always get along." Elvira deadpanned.
"Not always, I remember this one time you were fighting over -"
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Elvira bellowed, reaching the end of her chain. I held her back from hitting Mother again, who just cackled.
"Sorry, sorry! I just can't help but tease you when you're like this!" Mother said with a grin, almost provoking Elvira again.
"I would like to first inquire about what you intend to do with what the space between the Regions of the Mortal Realm," I said slowly, attempting to get the conversation back on track. Mother had gradually been filling the area with various...elements and energies, unbeknownst to every being besides the Big Five and Mother Herself. It was subtle enough to not draw attention, and I was wondering exactly what Mother was planning.
"Well, I'm going to fill it with hazards. In a sense." Mother admitted, scratching the back of Her head. "We don't want inter-Regional travel to happen yet, so I'm going to deter certain beings from attempting the voyage from one Region to another by introducing hazards and danger zones...do you remember what the High Deity of Lightning, Leitz, did all those years ago when the barrier was first introduced? Where he was just playing with some lightning and suddenly BAM! there was an area filled with nothing but lightning? It was a long time ago." Mother asked.
I nodded my head, remembering the phenomenon. It did happen in my Realm, after all.
"Yes, I remember. Gilles was intrigued for a little while, but quickly lost focus. I didn't think anyone played around with it after he got bored with attempting to recreate that?" Elvira asked, scratching her wing and fluffing her feathers unconsciously.
"Mm, a waste I say. I was hoping you all would pull through and figure it out, but it wasn't really important so I never pushed for it. That's what I'm going to do with those areas. In a sense, I will be creating Elemental Planes in-between the Regions, only on a small-scale and being very loosely tied with those terms. It will not only strengthen the internal structures of the Four Realms, specifically the Mortal Realm, but it will also prevent the older Regions from messing with the younger ones...for a time, at least." Mother explained.
"So...you'll be setting traps for the mortals to fall into, or will it be more like another, more dangerous wilderness, where it's not actively seeking their death but they still have to be careful?" I asked, pretty sure it was the latter but just wanting to make sure.
"It's the latter. It won't be very forgiving of mistakes - like going into the mountains during winter without proper gear - but it's not like I'll be setting it to actively seeking out the death of those cultivators who make it out there. They'll just have to trailblaze and be careful." Mother assured me. "Now as for the rest of your questions - " Mother abruptly stopped talking, staring angrily into space. An almost silent warning passed by Her lips, and She shook Her head once more.
"The next question we have is regarding - "
"What you really want to know is about the little dryad, Sequioa Pama, am I correct? You can feel it, that she is an existance that will shake the Four Realms, no? For a while even I was confused by her existance, though I honestly cannot feel anything but warm feelings towards the girl. She has such a big heart..." Mother sighed in praise, turning Her twinkling gaze towards us. Her eyes that saw through all things were filled with nothing but love and affection, which startled me a little. "And you two as well," She said, reaching out and embracing the both of us in a hug. She extended Her arms to drag me in as well, the limbs reaching out a good few hundred meters to drag me into the hug as well.
Elvira and I shared a look of confusion. This was a little sudden, was it not? I mean, Mother was always the loving sort, but... "Are you alright?" I asked gently, patting Her on the back. She laughed, a gentle sound that refreshed the soul and warmed the heart, patting my head and nodding.
"I am quite alright, dear." She said. "I can assure you that Sequoia isn't anything dangerous...and although I cannot tell you directly what her role is, I can give you a gratuitous hint. She represents the next step for the Four Realms, in the same vein as when I was taking a nap. She is a catalyst of sorts, not the end goal...at least, that is what I can see. It is so far into the future, however, that there are far too many possibilities to judge it accurately. Moving on, the next topic of discussion I believe is about the chaos of the Four Realms, am I correct?"
"Father..." Elvira began, before shaking her head helplessly.
"Yes, Elvira, I know. The time of chaos will end shortly - most likely in the next thousand years. The Four Realms need some time to stabilize before they can experience a major change again." Mother laughed, releasing us from Her embrace. "I was a bit hasty in my earlier actions to strengthen the Four Realms, and now I can see that the catastrophy won't happen for at least another hundred thousand years. Even I can be rash, you know!" Elvira and I both let out sighs of relief, with my sister visibly deflating with the action. Recently the Big Five, Elvira, Keilan, Alexander, myself, and Kei, had noticed that the Four Realms was being put under incredible stress - to the point where a few points of reality were begining to fray, as if it was breaking apart.
As Mother always said, the Four Realms is just too young, and not developed enough, to handle the long-term advancements Mother wants to make. Even the deities, myself included, are the same. We are all far too tired.
"You? Rash?" Elvira asked, a small smile dancing on her lips. "That's a very conflicting image you're portraying, you know." She teased. Mother laughed and nodded.
"Indeed!" She chortled, ruffling both my and Elvira's hair. I hid a smile as well, Mother was many things, but certainly not rash. Lazy? Yes, She is that. Cautious and careful? That too. Whimsical and prone to acting childish? That was never in doubt. But rash just wasn't a word used to describe Her. "Was there anything else you needed?" She inquired.
"...what were you working on that got you so worked up?" I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity. Mother grinned widely, and I suddenly almost regretted asking. Upon touching certain subject, Mother could get as...fanatical, which isn't the right word but the one I am using anyway, as Gilles when someone asks about his research. It's a thing Elvira complains about her husband all the time, which is funny in my opinion because I can just imagine watching her eyes glaze over the more Gilles talks...
"You see," Mother began, and I knew that I was in for the same kind of talk. Oh well, if it allowed Mother to blow off some steam, I was ok with it.
POV CHANGE: The Sword That Does Not Cut
I left the Creator's side because of a feeling. He was my creator, the one who gave me sentience and forged my form in the depths of His home, the one who used me to end the threat of the Shadow of the Four Realms. I am the Fate Cutter, the Destiny Binder, and the Painter of Both, and only in recent history have I begun to feel that, although the Creator will forever remain my true wielder, another worthy of utilizing my power has appeared in the Four Realms.
So I left, and began my search. A never-ending search...for thousands of years I was trapped in the core of a planet, for another stretch of time I found myself wandering the new Dimensions of the Dimensional Creators, and even now I continue to wander. Searching for the one meant to wield me, to utilize my power...
It was a long and tiresome journey, one that I was willing to undergo. Because I, as an instrument forged with the intent of severing and rebinding fate, am following my own strings of fate. The strings that I can barely sense, and yet sense all the same. It is only a matter of where they lead...although I hope that I soon arrive at my destination. It has been far too long already, and I feel no closer to my goal.
Ah, well. The journey is part of the destination, and I admit that I am finding some joy in travelling around the Four Realms.