POV: The Celestial Empress
I was not a particularly religious woman. There were those amongst the cultivator ranks who were, of course, choosing to follow the teachings of one church or another to attain enlightenment. There were a number of priests in my council, for their powers of foresight were second to none and they did have influence, the three most powerful being the churches of Father Luotian, Mother Statera, and the group who worshiped the Life-Giving Tree. Generally speaking they were a good bunch - like any organization, they had their issues - but I personally never bothered with religion. Nor was I particularly spiritual, like some of those old hermits or hidden temples that cultivated in peace and secrecy.
I knew there was a higher power, that knowledge came with the process of becoming more powerful. That wasn't what I was saying. What I was saying was that, at this particular moment, not being religious or spiritual was doing nothing to stop me from praying. We would need all the help we could get for this upcoming battle.
"Please...lend me strength," I asked, pressing my hands together and bowing my head, kneeling on the floor of my tent while dressed in full battle-armor. This would be a deciding battle against the Elementals. They were not a powerful group of people, they did not have the outstanding battle tactics that my strategists did nor many powerful cultivators in their ranks...what they did have was fanatacism.
Their people, even the non-combatants, were pure fanatics to the Elemental cause. They would self-destruct if their defeat was inevitable. It didn't matter if our medical corps were treating them, if it was against our soldiers, or just because they felt like they could do some damage, they would detonate their cores and massacre as many people as they could.
It was a disturbing tactic that cost countless lives, and even now is something we cannot counter. In the beginning, it caused massive casualties. Especially against our healers and doctors, many of whom were naturally kind-hearted and were only trying to help. We had lost so many good people...
"Please, lend me the wisdom I need," I continued. None of my people wanted war anymore.
They were tired, and felt we were now wasting lives, throwing them at the Elementals needlessly. I can't say that I blame them. But, there are those of us who rule realize the truth of the matter - that if we do not end this threat, if we do not deal a decisive blow right now, then it will come back to haunt us later in the worst possible way. A second war would lead to the entirety of the Mortal Realm getting involved, and the devestation would be horrifying.
I cannot even imagine what the damage a war encompassing the entire Mortal Realm would be like.
"Mother, are you ready?" A voice called from the entryway to my tent. I sighed and stood up, dusting off my battle dress and looking at the tent ceiling.
The deities and angels hadn't abandoned us, I knew that much. But their decision to stay out of this war was...vexing to say the least. I understood the reasoning, because as a leader I had to make the same decision many times in the lives of the true mortals - those who weren't cultivators - but that didn't make it any better when it happened to me. It only served as a reminder that we were all but children. Children who have to learn not to play with fire using the oldest trick in the book - letting them touch the flames.
Apparently we weren't as wise as we once thought.
"Yes, I am," I responded, turning and walking out of the tent. Before me stood my two children and Bob, the master illusionist. Primula and Yamua were dressed in night-and-day differences, with my daughter wearing full plate-armor, a heavy mace hanging at her side, while Yamua was clad in light leathers, weilding a bow with a quiver full of arrows strapped to his back. Neither of them took to the battlefield much, Yamua specializing in scouting and having excellent reconnaisance skills, ranking in the top ten even amongst all those in my command, while Primula proved unparralleled in defensive strategy.
Today, all bets were off though. It was likely even I, who did not have a combatative Dao, would be forced to take the stage against these Elementals.
"Let us begin, then," Bob said solemly, turning to face where this final battle would take place. For it truly was one of the final decisive battles - we had pushed the Elementals armies all the way back to their first Region. Originally they had four entire regions, four Life-Giving Trees, under their control. Now it was down to one, nay, half of one. The line was drawn, and if we could take this planet, then the war would be over. The Elementals would have their supply routes cut off, and lose one of the planets that produced the most of their war-machines and formations.
"It will be over soon," Yamua promised, and I nodded in agreement, steeling myself. Hundreds of millions of soldiers lay spread out before me, cultivators of all ranks spread out in the skies above the planet of Regis and facing the enemy army. They were few in number, and yet somewhere in that mass stood Terra and Pyre, the would-be tyrants. If all went well, they would not be wanna-be emperors by the end of this battle.
In lieu of answering I raised on hand into the air, and the entire battlefield fell silent. For a brief second, everything was silent. Then I dropped my hand, and the horns of war began to blow. It had begun. At long last, the end of the war was in sight.
POV CHANGE: Sequoia Pama
"It's ok," I whispered, placing my hand over the injured cultivator's eyes and closing my own. The look in his eyes was clear - he was scared, he was hurting, and he still had a little bit of fight left in him. It was the only thing keeping him alive, and even that was dwindling. His breathing picked up, and I whispered to him, "let me help you."
After a few laborious seconds he stopped struggling, and I removed my hand, my eyes meeting his. They were begging for something, some comfort in his final moments, that all was not in vain. My core pulsed slightly, power radiating from my palm as my hand gripped his, and his eyes glazed over as he let out a soft sound.
"Oh," he breathed, a smile creeping its way onto his face. "Thank you," he whispered, and his body crumbled into naught but dust.
Tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I stood, looking around the devestated surroundings. An entire mountain range had been annihilated by the cultivators who fought a bloody battle here - nay, an entire planet. The entire planet, once a thriving, green world, was now reduced to a wasteland, the natives either dying or living in holes. I was doing what I could, taking those few survivors and putting them into an estate-treasure, a treasure that essentially holds its own world, until I could find a new home for them.
And this was one of the smaller battles. I was told that one of the bigger battles devestated an entire solar system.
"What do I do?" I whispered, to no one in particular.
"What did you show him?" My newest friend, a grumpy old silver dragon named Argenti, asked from behind me. I turned to look at him, his majestic silver scales seeming dull and muted in the ash-covered skies as he sat, coiled up. I hadn't noticed before, but the feathery tip of his tail hung over my head, blocking the drifting ash from falling on me. I scrubbed my eyes and shook my head.
"A better time," I whispered. "Golden fields of grass, a green meadow, white sands, a dense forest...it's different for everyone." I said slowly.
"Mmm," he hummed, stretching his wings slightly. "A moment of peace before a new beginning...that is all anyone could ask for in their final moments."
I sniffled and felt my throat clench up, tears threatening to spill once again. Argenti rumbled gently, one of the feathers on his tail gently brushing away a tear on my cheek.
"Hush now, child. This is no place for you. Let us return," he said softly, but I shook my head. He was right - I dispised this. War was horrifying, and people were dying left and right and hatred was spreading like a disease. People prayed to Dad for help in war, but this was not Dad. He represented conflict, true, but this was a conflict of hatred and fear. Dad was conflict to rise above that. That was the Old Man - the Tian - I knew.
And this war needed to end.
I clenched my fists, set my jaw and squared my shoulders, looking up at Argenti with a determined expression. "No," I declared. "No, there will be no more of this. I will not let it continue. I will end this today." I told him, and in that moment, the world shifted. Argenti blinked in surprise, then turned his head skywards and rumbled in even greater surprise.
"The heavens bear witness to your determination," he said disbelievingly, looking back down at me as the light of the sun broke through the clouds overhead. The spirits of this planet, angry and spiteful that their world had been destroyed, all turned their attention towards me as power began to surge forth from the depths of my heart. The venegeful spirits of those killed all paused in their hauntings, the darkness now finding its way onto this rock pausing as I connected myself to something far greater than I.
Grass sprouted around my feet, my tree emerging from the depths of my soul, where I now stored it, and sinking its roots into the soil. Light pulsed once, twice, thrice, and a cool ray of blue light penetrated the clouds above, joining the rays of the golden sun to illuminate the barren plain.
"I'll be damned," Argenti whispered, his tail retreating so the light of the Sun and Moon could reach me. Power welled up from within my soul, and my tree began to grow. Slowly at first, but swiftly gaining speed, bringing life with it to every inch of ground beneath its leafy foliage. And then, moreso.
Trees began to sprout, the drifting ash began to clear, and the bodies on the battlefield began to sink into the ground, the areas where they returned to the soil sprouting flowers and grasses and, ocassionally, trees as well. Power continued to flow through my body, my tree's leaves turning a pure golden color and radiating a pure, life-giving light as it slowly stopped growing. It now reached hundreds of feet into the air, appearing as tall and majestic as any mountain.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Argenti said solemly, watching as, one by one, the hundreds of thousands of leaves now hanging from the branches of my tree began to separate, floating in the wind and being carried to every corner of the planet. And, one by one, the spirits of this planet began to cry out in joy and wonder, jovially dashing about, aiding my magic by giving the growing plants flowers and nourishing the ever-present Spirit Realm. "Everything returns to the dirt and given time, life shall blossom again,"
Together we stayed like this, watching as life slowly began to bloom on the planet once again with the leaves of my tree. This is what cultivation magic is supposed to do. Heal. Not wreak havoc, not cause distruction, but to make you, and the universe as a whole, a better place.
Once the last leaf fell from my tree, it was over. It uprooted itself, slowly returning to the depths of my soul once more, and I let out a small breath.
"Now let's go to end this war," I said still feeling as vigorous as ever. Energy poured into and from every cell in my body, any and all impurities flowing away in the breeze as I sucked in pure, raw energy. I blinked slowly, new information filtering into my eyes as I looked around at the grounds. I could see...this planet would have looked like it did now - lush, green, and beautiful - given time. But now...now I had sped up that process. The world is as it would be in a hundred thousand years.
Argenti grunted in agreement, allowing me to clamber onto his back before he took off into the sky, leaving behind a healed world and a collection of natives, who I released from the estate-world prior to taking off.
Later, this planet would become an Eden for cultivators. A place of utter peace, a sacred place which no mortal being had the right to desecrate lest incurring the wrath of the entire Realm. But that, was a story for another time.
POV CHANGE: The First (Male; Ichiro)
"I've about had it with these punks," I grumbled, glaring down at the Elementals and their armies as they charged forwards in a cascade of bloodlust and dark energies.
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They were truly pissing me off. All my attempts at negotation, all my subtle manipulations of the courts, and they continued to fight back and reject all attempts at peace or negotiation. Or rather, my female body did all that. So it was technically still me, but also not. Regardless, they were pissing me off because they were truly evil - brainwashing their citizens to be absolute, suicidal fanatics in the worst way possible only being one of their crimes. The fact that they introduced a Devil Dao, as they were typically called in other, older universes, into this one was another reason to despise them.
I mean, come on. Generally from what I saw, things were going rather well in this universe. The deities or divinities or gods or whatever they're called here are a little hands-off, but still manage to get things done. There were some management issues up top, but nothing irreversible. It's nothing like a few other universes I'd seen, where it truly was...vile. Just vile. But based on my understanding they also had corrupted gods in control of the universe, so that was part of the problem.
Back on topic though - the battle.
On the other side of the field stood the golden legions of the Celestial Palace, advancing at a steady march in a spherical formation through the void of space. Immortal energy radiated off of them in waves, twisting local space-time so no one could teleport. Formation circles popped up around the advancing sphere, protecting the group from the long-range cultivation magic cast by the elementals and their armies, simultaneously reflecting the attacks.
It was a devestating formation, costly to set up and simpler than a few other formations out there but highly effective. It had netted the Celestial Palace innumerable victories over the past few years.
But this time it wouldn't be enough, as the elementals themselves, Terra and Pyre, would be participating in the fighting. Against two Devil Dao Progenitors the formation would eventually crumble. Which is where I would come in. My male body was more than sufficient to beat the stuffing out of those two, something I desperately wanted to do.
Please don't interfere.
Long time no annoy, Purple Boxes. Why don't you want me to interfere? Do you think this war is necessary?
...sometimes children must learn to not touch fire by touching fire. And matters would only become worse through my direct intervention, or certain actions of your own. So I plead you to not intervene. One who would end the war approaches, even without your aid.
I snorted and shook my head, ignoring the purple box and looking down at the ensuing war with a scowl. This petty little war was nothing compared to the conflicts I have seen - have been apart of. I have watched entire universes shatter in the flames of war, and lived in the devestation afterwards. This little war is nothing in the face of that, but having recently come from one of those universes I currently have an entire dislike towards any form of war. So I shall end this one, with or without the approval of the purple boxes.
Besides, I felt partly responsible for this war. I was the reason those two elementals gained the enlightenment needed to become Fallen Dao Progenitors, or whatever they're called. So I waited, slowly charging up my power, plotting my course of action, and waiting for the critical moment in which to intervene.
It came sooner than I expected, in the form of a green-skinned girl on the back of a silver dragon appearing through a rift in space and time, pausing the entire fight.
"That is enough!" the dragon boomed, its sheer power cowing both sides for but a moment. "Your bickering has gone on long enough!" Then, attacks from the side of the elementals began to rain down upon the dragon, coming primarily from the male Elemental, Terra. A shield of lovely green energy protected the dragon with ease, emanating a calming aura and radiating from the dryad on his back. The shield easily resisted all of Terra's attacks.
"Today is the day you die, dragon! You should have remained hiding in your hole!" The elemental laughed, brandishing a wicked-looking mace. Behind him trailed the female fire elemental, Pyre. Manipulative mind magics trailed from her hands as she followed close behind, her magics bolstering Terra's abilities and simultaneously weakening the dragon's. I cracked my knuckles and spread my hands, activating but a few of my magic spells and abilities.
"Let's get this party started~" I sang, and teleported forward. Time to end this.
POV CHANGE: Statera Luotian
My fists clenched and unclenched as I watched the battle going on below me, eyes tracing the endlessly changing futures. Whenever the First did anything futures were altered beyond my - or anyone else's - control, as if we had any control to begin with. Sometimes freewill was a bitch, but I would never rescind my gift. However, this was the first time the First had been directly involved with a major event. And, of course, they wanted to make a mess of things.
"Idiot," I muttered, accepting a cup of tea from Randus and shaking my head.
One of the most difficult things about the Monkey Wrenches were their unpredictability. Because they lie outside of the natural laws of the universe, it took much more power to predict their futures than normal. The Mad Scientist's future(s) were consistently fuzzy, to say nothing of the First's, which are almost entirely blank. As such I had to take things as they came with the First, which normally wouldn't be a problem...if they were a deity, like Alexander or Keilan. Or stayed relatively quiet, like they had been. My first four children were hard to predict as well, though that was mitigated because I knew them, and they were part of the Four Realms. Inextricably linked to the Four Realms, basically.
But the First...? They're more like a child. A mortal child given energetic power on par with an Origin Deity and free reign. An egotistical child, no less. It's a terrifying concept, no less to have it be staring you in the face.
Rubbing my temples I focused again on the battle raging below.
Sequoia Pama's tree began to bloom, each of its leaves appearing fresh and green, bringing with it the freshness of spring. Her powers and enlightenment over time was expanding at an astounding rate, enough so that even I was beginning to gain enlightenment on the subject by viewing her. And it allowed her abilities unseen by mortals in the Four Realms.
Adding to that her ever-growing heart power, and, well...she was nigh unstoppable so long as she set her mind to something.
"You are destroying the very worlds you are trying to conquer! You bloody fools! Look around you - what part of this is righteous?! How many children are now parentless, how many children died in the midst of your fighting?! How much collateral damage must there be before you are satisfied? How many worlds must burn before you realize that your fighting is nothing but petty and damaging and doing absolutely nothing to make the world a better place?!" Sequoia bellowed, displaying a fury out-of-place on the genial little girl.
The Celestial Empress from where she stood looked downcast. This was a conversation she had had with herself thousands of times over the course of this war, hating every moment that it continued.
"As many as it takes," Terra hissed, taking a few steps back from the snarling silver dragon in front of him, clutching his injured arm. Two exchanges was all it took, and Terra found himself completely dominated by Argenti, almost losing an arm in the process.
Sequoia's mouth worked in shock as she processed that response, unable to understand what he just said. Pyre's fires flared as she attempted to send manipulation magic towards Sequoia, failing for the umpteenth time as Sequoia's massive heart and the power within repelled it with ease. Sequoia's eyes flicked to Pyre with that, transfixing the fire elemental in their gaze. Then, she sighed heavily, the green leaves of her tree gently swaying in a non-existant wind.
I understood the feeling. There was little that could be done about people like that.
"Now you see what I'm struggling with," A sudden voice interrupted the conversation, drawing attention to the newcomer.
The First - their male body, Ichiro - sat calmly mid-air, overlooking the entire battlefield. This was apparently what they had been waiting for, a chance for a grand entrance. His wings were outstreched behind his body, rings of grey energy slowly twisting behind his back as his eyes glowed a similar grey color. Silverly lightning danced and crackled around his arms as he stared down at the two elementals.
"You," Pyre hissed, setting her stance and facing the First. I sighed and shook my head, swirling the tea in my cup. Of course they didn't heed my warnings. Vexing does not quite encompass my feelings on the subject.
"Me," the First agreed, and moved. Suddenly he was behind the two Elementals, holding swords of a grey light and holding them to their throats. The two moved suddenly and without warning, managing to teleport out of his reach before he could slice their throats, escaping and darting away. The First frowned. "Must be getting rusty. Shouldn't have let you get away like that..." he grumbled, rolling his shoulders.
Power began to roll off of him in waves, pressure raining down upon all beings close to him, forcing them to their knees. Even Sequoia and Argenti were not spared, their bodies physically unable to stand the pressure.
"Y-you, I will not die here!" Terra roared defiantly, unleashing his own impressive aura. Alas, it paled in comparison to the First, who was, for all intents and purposes, a god amongst men. A pity they had forgotten the lesson I learned so close to the beginning of my existance - that direct intervention isn't always the best route and can, at times, make matters worse.
"I actually think you will," the First drawled, pointing at the two. Silver lightning crackled, and shot out with impressive destructive force. I clenched my cup, gritting my teeth and refraining from interfering. Me directly interfering with any part of this war was the worst-case scenario. It would lead to a 97% chance of destruction of the Four Realms, assuming we survived the upcoming collision with the One World.
The second worst case scenario, however, was the death of the Elementals. That would lead to the premature birth of Dark Deities, which I had previously fortold was not in the cards for the Four Realms. So the Elementals becoming Dark Deities was...bad. Very bad. The already small chances of suriving the collision would shrink to infintesimally small sizes if that happened.
"NO!" the two shouted in defiance, negative energy flowing into them like a river, bursting forth with all the power of a raging waterfall and meeting the First's lightning head-on, inciting an explosion of energy.
"Damn, that's actually impressive that you managed to stop that blast," the First said with audible surprise, staring at Terra and Pyre, who were panting and almost completely drained of energy. I let out a little breath of relief. They at least bought enough time for the one mortal who might have a chance of stopping the First to get there.
Speaking of who - "Enough, Ichiro," a calm, female voice rang out across the battlefield. For the third time, the battlefield was interrupted by a newcomer. This time, it was the Mad Scientist herself.
Purple light spread out in lines around her, forming a cracked sort of spiderweb that echoed a haunting power. A form of power even I had not seen before. She stood in the skies above the battlefield, framed against the leaves of the Life-Giving Tree of that region, which glowed in the light of the Realm Sun. The First blinked in surprise, looking at the Mad Scientist in both surprise and confusion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, sending her a mental message so that no one else could hear him.
"I'm here to stop you from fucking things up, idiot," she replied, concisely and harshly. She only ever got rid of her signature pauses when she was truly pissed off, I'd found. "Did you even bother to use any kind of clairvoiyance?
"Um, no," the First responded, "it's boring that way. I can see -"
"MORON!" she interrupted, "is that an excuse to play with the lives of all those here?! Did you not think that your actions - the actions of someone as powerful as you - would not have consequences? Especially in a universe so young?" she chided. The First frowned.
"Uh, no, I didn't really think about that," he admitted with a sheepish blush. A quick clairvoiyance spell later, and he paled a bit. I couldn't help but blink in surprise. The First had managed to tap into my own divination streams that let me see into the future, and essentially 'hitch a ride' to see some possible futures. "Oh, shit," he said.
"Yes, oh shit is right. What do you have to say for yourself?" The Mad Scientist demanded.
"Sorry," the First admitted, "should've heeded the warnings of Purple Boxes-san. So what now? I've already kind of committed to killing those two, and backing out seems a little weak. I'll just play it up. Let 'em slip away into whatever pocket-dimension they've prepared."
"That's acceptable," the Mad Scientist allowed, "I would suggest something different, however - and you're already acting. Fuck," and the First began to move with blinding speed. The entire converstation itself took less than a second to complete, mental messages taking far less time than an actual conversation.
"No! I will end this here and now!" The First loudly proclaimed, their male body shooting forth towards the Elementals, the pressure they exuded lessening just enough to allow them to move.
"Enough, Ichiro! We...should not...interfere, yet!" The Mad Scientist protested, the lines of light around her swirling and condensing into a giant hand as she shot forward. Sequoia and Argenti began to move as well, the dragon's roar echoing across the battlefield as he arced like a silver bullet towards the First and the Elementals. Sequoia's tree began to shiver, the leaves shaking and twisting as a multitude of branches lashed out, seeking to bind and contain all the aggressors.
The Celestial Empress and her army began to move as well, her people's impressive use of formations lessening the First's pressure just enough to allow even the weaker cultivators to move in sync with all the others. (Primula, the First's female body, helped as well of course.) But all of that was, to the casual observer, in vain.
The Elementals, faced with the imminent doom of the First's overwhelming power, activated their most powerful escape treasure - a seal that opened a one-time entrance into the heart of the Dimensional Creator's universe. A place where they had been building a city for years, intended as a fallback in case their empire truly did fall to the Celestial Palace.
However not even the First could have predicted what peered out at them from inside the hole they tore open in space and time.
Baleful energy radiated from the hole, a hateful cackle washing over all beings and rooting them in place - fear overtaking their bodies. Even the First was given pause as Morgan reached one paw out, and drug the two Elementals to safety.
"You shall not die this day," Morgan laughed, its eight red eyes peering out of the hole towards me. I frowned, wondering just what Morgan was doing. It was definitely changing the possible futures - most not in a good way. "I have plans for you," One last haunting cackle echoed out into the Mortal Realm, and the hole closed, sealing the Elementals in the realms of the Dimensional Creators.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my chin, wondering just what Morgan was thinking. What was it aiming for, with such an action? With a slight scowl I rubbed my temples and stood, moving away and no longer paying attention to the war. It had reached its conclusion, I just wondered what the future would now bring. And what the second war, once again led and started by the Elementals, would culminate to.
There were so many possibilities, that not even I could tell. All I could do was aim for the most beneficial one.
But for now - other matters held more importance.