POV: Reika

I sat atop the Life-Giving Tree, staring down at Tian as he easily bypassed all of the trials I had set up for him. It wasn't troublesome to set up a trial that would give even him pause...normally, at least. Now? Now he was on a warpath, and no mere trial was going to stop him. I found it a little humorous, all things considered. Even Inesa, the one he was charging towards the Heaven Realm for, agreed that Tian was being lazy and that he needed a push. This might be a bit excessive, but I'm sure Mother has something in mind. Or it might just be Mother being particularly obstinate and onery. 

Either way it's most definitely on purpose, to get Tian to the Heaven Realm as soon as possible. With a light sigh I shook my head, going back to what I had been doing previously - observing the growth of the new Trees. They were doing very well, growing at a much faster speed than what the original did, though I sensed that this speed would slow soon enough. Already the Trees were linked on a fundamental level, with them sharing a sort of psychic connection, allowing them to feed off of one another in a way. It was a symbiotic relationship, where each helped the other thrive. 

Life had long ago popped up in the new Regions, perpetuated by the Trees themselves as well as a bit of influence from the deities - hence why a few mortal colonies had recently appeared there. I turned and looked down at Tian once again, a little suprised to note that he had just appeared atop the Life-Giving Tree itself, directly before me. His speed was astonishing, but I suppose the only real cultivator I had that would challenge the Tree's climb was the Celestial Empress. No one else really cared much...

"And you are...?" Tian asked coldly, his eyes narrowed in barely controlled anger. I almost lost control of myself and snickered at the idea of him bursting into the Holy Palace and finding Inesa having a cup of tea and chatting pleasantly with the various deities in the Palace (though she was currently running an errand elsewhere in the Realms)...as well as running into the glitter bomb Kei prepared specifically for him. Just because Kei may not agree with Mother's methods does not mean that she won't take this opportunity to prank Tian. Although they're not nearly as close as they were when Tian was Dei, over the past few million years they have maintained their friendship. 

"I am Reika, the guardian of the Mortal Realm. I don't believe we have formally met." I said with a small smile. "It is nice to finally meet you," He looked at me for a minute, his eyes flashing a green color before his gaze softened and he bowed deeply to me. I blinked in surprise at the gesture, watching in bemusement as he straightened back up and smiled at me. There was something about his eyes that made me pause...

"As much as I would like to stay and chat, there is something I need to do." Tian explained. "Care to explain why I've been having these urges to climb the Life-Giving Tree?" 

"Mm. That is because Mother wanted you to reach the Heaven Realm. I made it so that only those who are able to climb the Life-Giving Tree, whose trial tests one's willpower more than anything else, are able to travel freely between the Heaven Realm and the Mortal Realm." I said casually. Tian took a deep breath to calm his nerves, the tension flooding out of his body. I, for one, was utterly shocked by this, having expected Tian to continue on his warpath until he reached the Heaven Realm. 

"I see. I guess this whole thing is just one big misunderstanding then?" Tian asked with a sigh, shaking his head. I nodded, looking even closer at Tian than before. "I mean, it's been bugging me for a bit, but this letter is almost painfully vague, to the point where I can't tell if it's a threat - me being me, of course I took it as such, but now that I look at it it's really not that hard to tell that the thing wasn't written without any ill intent." Tian said, waving his hand and causing a letter formed entirely of divine power to appear from his interspatial ring. In the same movement, his war spear vanished into said ring. 

"I..yes, it is." I said, at a loss for words. Tian is being...surprsingly level-headed. Where is this confidence - oh. Tian turned his eyes to me once again, and I burst out laughing after finally seeing the green flash once more. Tian had developed a new divine ability, based off of Mother's eyes themselves. Of course he would! Of course Dei's fascination with Mother's eyes would have some effect on Tian! Tian raised one eyebrow as I continued to laugh, feeling absolutely wonderful about this whole thing. Did Mother know? She had to have known. 

"You done?" Tian asked calmly after I managed to stifle my laughter, his question being met with another round of giggles and a dismissive wave of my hand. "Look, just because I get what He was trying to do, doesn't mean that I'm not going to punch Him as hard as I can."

"I'm pretty sure Mother would like that, in all honesty." I replied. 

"I know. He's told me before - sorry, do I call Them a He or She? It's so confusing sometimes - He's told me before that He'd like to see that, but it doesn't mean I still won't punch Him." Tian grumbled, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "And I guarantee that I will enjoy it more than He. Anyways, what happens next?" 

I hummed and put one finger to my chin in a mock thinking pose. "Well, you did climb the Life-Giving Tree, so I suppose I should send you to the Heaven Realm, and give you access to the passageways in and out of said Realm. For the most part only angels and deities use them, so, as per usual, you'll be the first 'mortal.'" Tian nodded his assent and light enveloped him, teleporting him to the Heaven Realm and giving him the ability to enter and leave the Realm at will. With a small nod I turned back to one of my other tasks, sinking into the Tree and pouring some power into it. Growing more Seeds was tedious, and required a long time to create...but in the end would be worth it, to continue the growth of the Realms. 

POV CHANGE: Tian

The world changed in an instant, and I was immediatly starstruck by my new surroundings. One moment I had been atop the Life-Giving Tree, talking with the beautiful brown-skinned woman that claimed to be the guardian of the Mortal Realm and gazing out across the innumerable star systems that made up said Realm. The next, I was floating mid-air above one enormous landmass the size of the entire Mortal Realm, a landmass that was one gigantic wilderness. Already I could feel my wanderlust beginning to take hold, no doubt caused by being stuck in the Mortal Realm for the past million and a half years, but I pushed that to the side for now. 

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Instead I focused on where my instincts were telling me to go...which was the absolutely enormous mountain behind me. It was easily as big as the Life-Giving Tree, radiating a power that was no weaker than the Tree's, albeit a different sort of power. It was an aura of majesty, one that made you want to bend a knee and bow your head. 

I, naturally, completely quashed such ridiculous notions and flew towards the peak, almost immediately feeling a pressure upon me that urged me to fly to the ground and walk up the damn mountain. It didn't get to be too much for me to bear until I was basically halfway up it, at which point I opted to simply rip open a hole in the fabric of space and teleport to the top, honestly surprised that Elvira, who I vaguely remembered from the War of the Sun, forgot that cultivators could teleport...unless that pressure was natural, not a trial set up by said deity. 

What greeted me upon reaching the top was a Palace, capital P because that's truly the only way to describe it. It was, much like the Mountain I stood upon, a Palace among Palaces, with giant white columns lining the pavilion outside. Water fell from seemingly nowhere towards pools lined with gorgeous stones, glittering in the light of the Realm Sun, while trees with metallic silver and gold leaves were planted above flowers of every color under the sun. The grand entrance was big enough for giants to walk through, and exquisitely carved and inlaid with precious metals. 

The Palace was meant to be excessive - its whole point was to say 'Someone big - many Big someones - live here.' I thought it was very functional in that regard, and judging by the personalities of the deities I've met so far, most of whom don't care for the material, the entire Palace was one big joke against Elvira that went too far and is now a thing. I wonder if there's anything like it in the Karmic Realm. I haven't physically been there in a while...

Like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, I came to a realization and facepalmed. I hadn't been exploring at all. In reality I'd just been running about the Mortal Realm, which I'd thoroughly explored, when there's an entire three other Realms to go visit and run amok in. Is that the message He'd been trying to send to me...? Maybe, maybe not. It's probably part of the reason, but I guarantee that the main one was to get me to to the Heaven Realm. With a gentle shove the doors to the Palace swung open, revealing a long, grand hallway lined with the same white columns as outside, but this time carved with astounding scenes. Various deities and spirits that gave even me pause drifted amongst the columns, going about their duties and paying me no heed. 

Two deities, however, did. They were Elvira and Gilles, two beings of incredible power that sat at the far end of the long hall, a stretch of at least a hundred pure-white steps leading up to the gleaming throne Elivra had herself seated on, looking about a comfortable as a whale with knees. On land. Which would make them uncomfortable because they're so heavy, and...y'know what, even I'm stretching to get this joke down. How Inesa can come up with the coolest damn analogies, while still being funny, is beyond me. 

"Tian." Elvira's voice boomed, sending all the other deities scurrying. Huh. Wonder why?

"Yo." I said casually, throwing one hand up in greeting and slowly making my way towards her, much to her surprise. Had Reika not told her about my 'change of heart?' Oh well, it's more fun this way. "What's up? It's been lifetimes since I last saw you. Speaking of which, how're you doin,' Gilles?...It is Gilles, right? There's so many names for you in the Mortal Realm that it's hard to keep track of it sometimes."

"I am well. Congratulations on completing your divine ability. I've been watching your progress on it with interest for some time now, and I must say that I am impressed. Even though it is only in the fledgling stages, it already allows you to see so much..." Gilles said with an impressed tone, gaining a far-away look in his eyes. 

"Dear, it's not nice to reveal others' secrets so casually." Elvira said, taking the whole thing in stride. Gilles blinked and looked at Elvira, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. 

"Ah...sorry, I just get caught up when there's something of particular interest around. My apologies." Gilles apologized as I walked up the stairs to stand before the two deities. Their full power blasted my physical form - or, should I say, their natural auras did - the combined pressure making it feel as if my scalp was beginning to peel off. Even if I am as powerful as I am now, I am unable to fully resist the presence these seemingly all-powerful beings emit. It merely serves as yet another reminder that I have not reached the end of my path - there is still a long, long way to go. 

"I get it." I said with a sigh, standing silently as Elvira and Gilles had a mental conversation with one another. A mere second after it started Elvira started talking again. 

"Honestly though, there's not much more for you to do here. Inesa's not currently in the Palace, she went on a little excursion with - " Whatever it was she was going to say was cut off by none other than Statera Luotian Himself appearing above me, smiling at everyone in the room. 

"Hello. How's it going." He said casually. 

"...Father, you interrupted me." Elvira deadpanned. 

"I know. I just wanted to stop Kei's glitter bomb from going off. It was a bit too much in my opinion, but I figured you'd appreciate it." He said, holding out one hand and inspecting the glittery ball in it. I shuddered at the thought of any glitter Kei got ahold of. She once painted an entire town with glitter, just because Inesa and I had been temporarily staying in it. Even with all my power, it took forever to stop finding the stupid sparkly things. Then my attention turned towards none other than He Himself...and I was shell-shocked. He looked so tired.

Still wanted to punch Him, but His current look was just so...pitiful. I didn't even know deities could look tired to begin with, but Statera Luotian was certainly pulling it off. Dark bags hung under His eyes, and his aura seemed so much more exhausted than everyone else's that it was painfully noticable. But, like I said before...I still want to punch Him in His stupid face. 

"Well? Are you going to say something or not?" Statera asked, floating down to stand at eye-level with me. He situated himself on a lower step for this to be possible, as He was currently around seven feet tall. The fluidity of His form was really annoying sometimes. 

"Just that I'm going to punch you." I said calmly. Statera flashed me a genuine smile, nodding His head. 

"Then hold on for just a second." Statera said, His smile turning into a smirk. In a flash I suddenly felt as if the weight of the entire Realms was bearing down upon my shoulders, crushing me at the same time that an enormous pressure made me feel as if my skin was being peeled off. Almost instantly I stumbled backwards, my expression one of shock as Statera continued to look at me. "What you saw previously was an incarnation. Figured you'd want to punch the Real Me." He said. I sucked in a breath, finding myself unable to take a single step forwards as my knees threatened to collapse if I so much as moved. 

Statera watched me for a moment longer before the pressure abruptly vanished, his form appearing that much more...transparent, as it were. I took a deep breath, calming myself and glaring at Him. What an ass. 

"Sorry, I don't mean to be harsh but did you really think I was just going to let you punch me? Really? Why do you think I'm so looking forward to the day you can? Just because you've been growing more powerful doesn't mean I haven't either." Statera said. "But, all said and done, I am proud of you for getting this far. It's time to take the next step, however. See you around, Tian. Elvira. Gilles." Statera then upped and vanished just as abruptly as He had arrived. Elvira coughed into her fist awkwardly. 

"You'll have to forgive Father. He's been run ragged lately, so He's a bit more...blunt than usual." Elvira apologized. I, however, said nothing, instead staring at where Statera disappeared. 

Yes, I still have a long, long ways to go.