POV: Aeriel (High Deity of Wind/Air)
Finally, I understood why Lady Elvira brought me and my six brethren together to form a Council that would work to make decisions beneath her and with her approval. The Four Realms had expanded. I was told that Lady Statera, the Great Creator, had begun this process over twenty thousand years ago, and as a result of the Four Realms being supressed in size, the Seeds She had spread grew exponentially. Four new Trees, Valley, Mountains, and Rivers had been born in the Primordial Chaos, and had only recently emerged from the seething chaos to reunite with the rest of the Four Realms, expanding the size of our little universe by fifty percent. It was fascinating to watch, seeing the Rivers that had formed in the new worlds twist and turn and connect with the original River, ensuring that souls were mixed and didn't stagnate in one area.
However compared to the originals, the new...Regions, as they were beginning to be called, were mere saplings, but it was impressive nonetheless. All beings felt as if an invisible weight had been lifted off their shoulders, and a few even began to experience explosive growth in power. Which is part of the reason why Elvira brought together myself and my six other siblings as part of the Council. She, herself, wanted more people to more effectively manage to increasing size of the Four Realms, especially with the introduction of the new Regions. Rumor has it that she was even considering setting up certain deities or groups of deities as small hegemons of their own Regions.
But that was for later, now, my brethren and I had work to do.
The seven members of the High Council, as we were being called, were myself, the High Deity of Wind Aeriel; Terran, the High Deity of Earth; Ling, the High Deity of Water; Ryu, the High Deity of Fire; Leitz, the High Deity of Lightning; Gilles, Elvira's husband and the High Deity of Shadows; and Lucia, the High Deity of Light. Gilles was more of an honorary member that rounded out the seven elemental siblings, as all elemental deities are considered siblings, just so the Council would create a fully balanced circle. He was also Elvira's right-hand advisor, so it was more of a formality, him being on this Council.
"Alright, let's get this started." Gilles ordered, floating above us and holding his hands out, letting out a deep breath. His shadowy robes flapped in an invisible wind as he exerted his power of the shadows and darkness of the Realms, causing them to roil and twist together. In front of us and surrounding the entirety of the First Region was a massive, spherical barrier of pure shadow, the strain of maintaning was causing sweat to bead on Gilles' forehead.
We were building a barrier around the First Region, or more accurately, currently layering a bit of protection on the new Regions so those in the First Region didn't just go over there and mess everything up while the new Regions were still in a critical stage of development. They weren't stable enough to handle big powers like the Celestial Empress or the Empire of Gallos, but having beings like deities or Dao Progenitors watching over them could be beneficial...which is why all of us together needed to create this barrier. To handle the complexities of managing those who went in and out of the barrier.
Gilles grunted and the barrier stabilized a bit. "Lucia, you're up." He commanded. The little, golden-haired girl that was Lucia stepped forwards and extended her childish arms, face set in stone as she bent the light of the Realm Sun and Lunar Star, splitting the light into strands and forming a giant net of light with it. The net slowly merged with the barrier of shadows, being held together only by the sheer force of will of Lucia and Gilles. "The rest of you, begin now!" Gilles barked through clenched teeth. The rest of us raised our hands, and I closed my eyes.
A tempest swiftly picked up around me, gaining speed and creating a barrier of howling winds. Ryu stretch out his hands as well, innumerable embers floating out of the sleeves of his red robes and igniting the moment they touched my tempest barrier, creating a wall of fire and wind. Next was Ling and Leitz acting together in concert, space shimmering as Ling summoned the essence of water to create a veil at the same time that Leitz charged said veil with a net of pure, white lightning. Terran summoned a storm of dust particles, combining it with Ling's veil as well before all five of our elements simultaneously crashed into Lucia and Gilles' barrier.
With a massive BOOM, the barrier trembled and combined, stabilizing to create a wall of seven elements - impassible except by those who we allow. And of course the Creator. She can go wherever She wants, though, barrier or not.
"This should do." Gilles said, wiping his brow and shaking his head. Setting up this barrier took a lot out of all of us, but Gilles was the one who initially held it all together. It's understandable that he would be the most worn out. "We may need to come back and fine-tune it later, but for now it's good. I'll have a few of the other deities swing by to add a bit to it, but for now it's good." Gilles muttered to himself, all but completely unaware of his surroundings.
I took a step back after eyeing the barrier that shimmered in a myriad of colors. It's done now, right? I can go now, right? I took another step back, watching with polite interest as Gilles pressed against the barrier, testing its integrity. I'd already been working for Gilles for a century now...isn't it about time I got a break? Right? Especially after I exhausted myself so. My other siblings just looked at me with wry expressions, glanced at each other, and started to do the same as me, slowly edging away from Gilles while he was distracted. Only Lucia remained.
Lucia glanced over her shoulder at us then back at Gilles, then back towards us. She winked. "Run." She mouthed, and I flared up my power, feeling the strain it put on me as I prepared to jump to the other end of the Four Realms.
Gilles, sensing the flaring of power, turned to yell at the five of us. "Don't -" But I was gone before he could finish the word. Finally, I was once again free(ish.)
POV CHANGE: Statera Luotian
I think it's funny how Elvira chose the seven elemental deities to be her Council rather than any other group of deities. Certainly I can see their allure, they're among the most respected and powerful deities in the Four Realms, to the point that when they all came together they most likely rivalled one of the Big Five in terms of power, and that's not to mention that her husband is one of the elemental deities. But, and that's a big but, the elemental deities are notoriously...free-spirited. I hardly ever saw Aeriel face-to-face after I initially greeted her way back when, near the very beginning of the Four Realms it seems, as she was constantly running about the Four Realms, almost never staying in one place for more than a day.
The others are just as free-spirited. Ling spent over a million years floating about the River and the Karmic Ocean. Just...floating there. Then there's Ryu and Terran, who attempted to turn the Holy Mountain into a volcano as a prank a few ten thousand years ago. None of them ever showed up for meetings between deities (not that I could blame them for that one), and yet they were among the most famous of deities. Sometimes it seemed that they were famous simply because they just ran about, doing their own thing.
So I wouldn't call Elvira's choice to attemt to reign in those deities as particularly wise, but...well, it's her choice. And I'm sure they'll do well, but Elvira will have to learn to have even more patience. I will admit that they did a good enough job with that barrier, however.
Which just so happened to be where I was now. Standing in front of the barrier, that is. Randus and I were examining it, and I could feel a heavy weight being pressed down upon my shoulders. I understand that this is a relatively good decision, and that the new Regions, as my children call them, do need to be protected, but using this method will have...ramifications. Granted, these "ramifications" were going to come about one way or another regardless of the method chosen, but this will just bring it about a bit sooner than later. Which seems to be a running theme in my universe.
"There's always something," I grumbled, letting out a long, slow breath. Even now there was still so much to do and change and adjust that I barely had time to stop and rest anymore. Traveling about with Reilly, Shin, and Yueya was fun and all, but it created far more work for me than I ever intended or wanted - it was more tedious work than what it took to initially set up the Four Realms. Instead of expanding and fine-tuning the systems already in place like my children and I had been before, now it was testing and experimenting with new systems, ensuring they mesh well enough with the systems already in place, taking away certain parts of both so they do mesh, then tying them together so they run better before fine-tuning those parts only to find out that there's another problem somewhere else and GAH! IT'S SO MUCH WORK!
"I just want to plaaaaaaaaay~!" I whined, tossing my hands up into the air and pouting like a petulant child. I had been so excited about these changes in the beginning, too! Using Shin's cycles to help stabilize the flow and growth of elements and other energies through the Four Realms, adding bastardized versions of Yueya's System and Reilly's Luck to mess with reincarnation, and then combining all three things to begin messing with the Realms themselves, specifically the Spirit Realm, which is basically all afterlife. It's not just the River! The Spirit Realm is like a second layer to all the Realms, and I'd completely neglected that part in favor of messing with the River, because of reasons I'm not even completely sure of!
It was all my fault, too. Alexander just assumed that this was the way the Spirit Realm was meant to be, all while the Spirit Realm itself failed to live up to its true potential and purpose. It was time I rectified that. The Spirit Realm was not only the Realm that served as a guide for the other Realms, but it also serves as the afterlife for mortals - it is the Realm of Souls. However, among all the problems I've noticed in the Spirit Realm the one that takes the cake is probably the afterlife cycle for the mortals. Spirits weren't quite as bad off because they have Alexander to guide them, but the afterlife cycle is...a disaster at best.
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This was brought to my attention not because I had another, working afterlife to look at in the other universes, but rather because of the glaring lack thereof. Well, Reika gaining the domain of Life and Death, which are one in the same, also helped, but that's beside the point. Each of us, Reilly, Shin, Yueya and myself were all extremely negligent in creating, maintaining, and building upon the afterlife. Shin was the best off, but even he had problems with his afterlife. The reason being that the afterlife is just that - another life after life. Right now, the souls of mortals just kind of...exist. It's like they're standing in line for their next life and that's all. I mean, it's not that bad, but that's a good enough analogy.
Then there's the Heaven Realm. It's not acting like a proper goal, either! It's acting more like the Realm of Deities than a Realm that mortals wish to ascend to. It's pitifully populated with clans and tribes of mortals in comparison to the Mortal Realm...when it should have a bit more. Now in all honesty that's not a big problem, but not many of the deities, angels, and other powerful beings are really interested in the Heaven Realm. The only saving grace is the Holy Mountain and Elvira's palace, which does attract deities and angels.
What should happen is that the Heaven Realm should attract all manner of powerful beings, from Immortals to those Divine Beasts like the Skyshatter Wolves. However very few Divine Beasts actively sought out going to the Heaven Realm, while the only Immortals in the Heaven Realm are two avians that were born amongst the tribes that live on the Holy Mountain. So I need to make the Heaven Realm more suitable for those beings. That doesn't mean that it should be better for cultivation or anything, because that's not the way the Four Realms is laid out, but...hmm...it's a problem that I'll have to ponder. Perhaps it's simply because no one from the Mortal Realm has managed to get to the Heaven Realm yet.
Even the Celestial Empress hasn't been able to, mostly because Reika keeps shutting her down. She's set the 'trial' up to be a test of willpower more than cultivation base, though that is still certainly a part of it, so it's not too surprising that she hasn't made it to the top yet. The Celestial Empress doesn't have the strongest will in the universe.
Actually, come to think of it...Tian hasn't been to the Heaven Realm either, has he? I think he's aware of it, but...well, maybe that's one of the problems right there.
"Ma'am?" Randus asked, drawing me out of my thoughts. I looked at him and smiled, shaking my head.
"Don't mind me. I just had an idea," I said cryptically.
"Uh oh," Randus deadpanned. I frowned at shot him an irritated look, which he completely ignored.
"Oh hush, it's fine. It might even decrease our workload." I attempted to reason.
"That's what you said before as well." Randus countered. Wow. Looks like I really upset him. Guess he was enjoying his rather laid-back lifestyle until I came along and dumped a whole bunch of work on everyone. Yes, now you know how I feel when I became an Origin Deity. Well, and a bit of work would be good for him, but mostly the first thing.
"True. I mean, I could always rely on you even more if you're so keen on it..." I said leadingly. Randus wisely kept his mouth shut, and I chuckled. "We'll be heading to the Heaven Realm next. I want to bug Elvira a bit, and track down Kei. She's been dodging me because she knows that I have something for her to do, so I'm going to give her a bit extra." I told Randus. A glint appeared in his eyes and I smirked inwardly. "Sharing the pain," as Randus calls it, especially with Kei who tends to hide a lot, is something Randus wholeheartedly agrees with. Thus, he'll be acting more cheerful after I dump a lot of projects onto Kei for a while.
Ah...not that I can blame him, though. I've been trying to shove my work off onto everyone else since, quite literally, the dawn of time (at least in the Four Realms.) It makes sense that my children wouldn't like work either. Like parent, like child and all that.
POV CHANGE: James Xu (Dao Progenitor)
"So, the great Xu patriarch decided to grace us with his presence." One of the other Dao Progenitors, a lovely water-elemental named Mina, said haughtily as I gently flew into our designated meeting room, slipping through a window on the roof of the small house. It wasn't much, just a simple, single-room house on a mountain of Cradle, the planet said to have given birth to the Fae. The people here were, shockingly, still tribal, having no desire to advance further than they already are. That does not include the cultivators, of course. The other two Dao Progenitors that ascended in the wake of Tian were both sitting at the round table in the middle of the room next to Mina, looking at me with wry expressions.
"Ha. I am hardly old enough to count as the patriarch. A few of those old monsters in the clan have higher cultivation bases than me, after all." I retorted with a snort. Becoming a Dao Progenitor was an...interesting process. One has to first reach a certain level in cultivation to be considered for it, but then one's personal Dao must be approved after undergoing the trials that are known as life. This instantly gives Dao Progenitors incredible power...and also the option to halt cultivation altogether to pursue other avenues of power and enlightenment. Therefore, there were actually a few people with cultivation bases higher than my own, though limited in number, called Paragons. Rumor has it that those Paragons may have the opportunity to rise to the same height in power as Dao Progenitors, but that has yet to be proven on any level.
"You are the strongest and the only one to have become a Dao Progenitor. That qualifies you as the Patriarch." Mina scoffed. "But at least, now that you are here, we can begin." She said, turning to the other two. Takeru, the wizened old Karae with a white beard that touched the floor when he stood and a wrinkled old face that showed the clear passage of time shook his head with an amused chuckle.
"No, we are waiting on one other," Takeru said. I gave him an odd look, while Azul, the blue-robed Fae that looked younger than me despite being older by several ten thousand years, looked at Takeru sharply.
"You mean -" Azul didn't finish that sentence as, stepping in through the door even as I sat down at the table, in walked a living legend. Two broken horns, silvery-white hair that topped his head, clean white robes, and a spear held loosely in one hand - this could only be Tian. I had only ever met the man himself once before on the eve of my ascention to Dao Progenitor, and even that was merely in congratulations. Still...even since then, his aura was a hundred times more profound than it had been before
"T-Tian..." Mina breathed, eyes going wide. Even to us Dao Progenitors, who can see and sense far more than most beings, Tian was more myth than man. He who had been Dei, the one who built the holy city of Manu Ti, and the one who forged to path to Immortality and fought in the legendary War of the Sun alongside Leo and Celene. Then he, as Dei, was struck from the Heavens to undergo a great number of trials, only to be reborn as Tian and rise to the highest of heights as both Paragon of cultivation and the first Dao Progenitor. It is said that he spends most of his time amongst the gods and angels, considered by most to be the beings who act as the hands of the pinnacle being, the Creator God.
Even I have not truly met any deities. True, I have seen the ellusive beings from afar once or twice, due to my divine sense being incredibly powerful, but I have never met them. Angels, I have met. They helped guide me. But I have not met any of the gods.
"Yes, yes, I'll go see it...after this." Tian said, waving his hand at an angel that was floating behind him. The celestial being just sighed and shook its head before turning and floating away, leaving us in peace. "Sorry about being a bit late, I was catching up with an old friend. He was one of the angels who watched over me in my youth, and we just happened to catch each other and got a bit...caught up. Reminiscing the old days. You know how it is." Tian explained, moving to the table and casually sitting down, as if he didn't know the profound effect he had in this room.
He was the true Progentior of the Martial Way, which all four of us used to reach the same stage as he. For example, Azul is the Progenitor of the Dao of the Bow, using the bow as the core of his own personal Dao. It is in the same vein as Tian's Martial Way, which incorporates all forms of martial skill as a way of raising one's self up, but Azul took that and created a new facet in the Martial Way that is specifically for the bow. I, for example, used the staff as my core, creating the Dao of the Staff, which is still a part of the Martial Way. In the future, they may be others who progress and become Progenitors of the Dao of the Staff, taking a different approach than my own, and therefore deepening the Dao in and of itself. However, that is still part of the Dao of the Staff, which is part of the Martial Way.
It is all connected, and Tian will always be the one who opened that path, and created the Martial Way.
"It is quite alright, senior." Takeru said with a smile. Tian snorted.
"Don't call me senior. I may be older than anyone here, but that title makes me uncomfortable." Tian grumbled, shifting a bit. "Now, can we get to the topic at hand? I hate beating around the bush, and I've got things to do."
"Right, of course. I called you here, called everyone here, to discuss the appearance of the new Regions." Takeru said, adopting a serious expression. The mood in the room instantly grew serious...with the exception of Tian, who was completely relaxed and sported a disinterested expression.
"What about them?" Tian asked.
"We're discussing how we're going to handle them. As we all know this world has been expanding fairly quickly in recent years, and these new regions will double that growth. It would be prudent to have someone to watch over these areas, and guide their growth." I explained slowly, nodding to Mina.
"We have discussed this a bit before, and came to the conclusion that we should each take control over a different Region...however, no one was able to contact you, but with you here we have enough people to have one Dao Progenitor per Region." Mina reasoned, giving Takeru a look. No one expected Tian to show up to this meeting, as it was an informal one before we truly decided which action to take, but apparently Takeru had other ideas.
"Mmm. Not interested." Tian said dismissively. My head whipped around to look at him, and he chuckled. "When I led my people across Pangea as Dei, in search of a new home, I did so because it was necessary, not because I wanted to. Even when I was the Lord of Manu Ti, I acted as such because I was the strongest and most fit to lead in a time of chaos and fighting. Now, there are plenty of others that I feel comfortable leaving the reins to, you four, for example, while I pursue other avenues." At the mention of other avenues, whatever he meant by that, Tian's eyes began to grow distant.
"I have always wanted to grow stronger - as both Dei and as I am now, I have hated the idea of someone being above me. Although it has fundamentally changed over the course of my reincarnation and my life, that same ideal has remained the same. And I can feel it...it's right there, almost within grasp...and ever since you four followed the Martial Way to create new Daos, a new path of growth has become more visible...a path that is not cultivation..." Tian's voice grew distant, before he shook his head and cleared his thoughts. "If I were you, I'd either all four of you go to one of the new regions and stand guard over it, but not interefere too much with its growth, or all stay here. Either way you can rest assured that if it becomes necessary I will step in and lead once again. I'd just prefer not to. At least, not in the conventional sense." I couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that, even as the conversation continued from there, with Tian only interjecting a few more times to help move the discussion along.
And I never could've imagined what his path would lead to - because I didn't even know it was a possibility. But that is the legend of Tian, in and of itself, after all - proving the impossible is indeed possible, and paving new roads.