POV: Statera Luotian

My hands clenched and unclenched as I watched the battle continue to be waged. I was pacing back and forth, gritting my teeth as I watched my children try to kill each other, and constantly refraining myself from jumping out there and ending all of this. They needed this. It pained me to watch, especially now that I got a good look at the "Enemy" but I just knew that it would be good for them in the long run...or at least that's what I told myself.

Not that I exactly knew what was going to happen. Things were already different from the vision I had all those years ago, as I knew it would be because Fate is an asshat, and surprisingly enough even I couldn't quite make out the specifics. All of this just told me that this was a very fragile part of the timestream, one that could either make or break the Four Realms in the most literal sense possible. So I paced, and anxiously fretted over my children, and carefully felt for the time in which I could intervene. It was worryingly shaky, and not knowing when I could step in, or rather if I stepped in too soon it would undoubtedly spell disaster, was making me enormously frustrated. Thankfully my Palace was designed to keep my energy contained, so none of this nervousness was affecting the Four Realms. 

Speaking of the Four Realms, the battle appeared to be entering its final stages, but I knew that this was just the beginning. My attention once more focused on the battle, and I clenched my treasure once more. 

Alexander and the "Enemy" were still duking it out, though the "Enemy's" body had finally begun to show itself through the mist that shrouded it. Though the only features I could currently make out were four legs and what looked like a long tail. It's eyes still radiated pure hatred, and its gaping maw still filled me with a sense of dreadful familiarity, as traces of the Paradox could be sensed coming from the black hole that was its mouth. As for Elvira, she was fully involved in the current mass-suppression of dark angels. They had finally gotten into range of the Life-Giving Tree, whose branches lashed out with astonishing speed and accuracy, binding the dark angels while the angels and deities ran about, placing seals on the dark angels or storing them in sealing treasures, much like Dei's gourd, before whisking them away to the holding area that had been prepared beforehand beneath Elvira's palace. 

Even Dei refrained from his typical violent tendencies and was instead using all of his abilities to suppress and seal the dark angels, an impressive feat for a Mortal Immortal. Although he was still far away from being a paragon of the Four Realms, or whatever name they were going to make for that cultivation stage, he was still able to contend with the weakest angel in terms of power. In terms of fighting experience, however, he far outstripped any of the angels, which made up for his lack of power. Another sigh escaped me as I turned my attention towards the Mortal Realm, where a massive amount of negative karma was being accrued by the armies that waged war down there. It would take quite a while to recover from this, especially considering the Four Realms didn't really have much time to recover from the Paradox attack. 

Keilan and Elvira both glanced at each other and nodded after noticing that the dark angel army was mostly under control, minus a solid half that managed to escape from the range of the Life-Giving Tree, and shot towards Alexander and the "Enemy," leaving Gilles and Sol in charge of their army. Instantly, the Enemy was put back on the defensive as the duo joined in against it, Elvira's utterly astounding fleshly body exceeding the power of even Alexander's. A single punch of her shook the Four Realms, sending the "Enemy" flying backwards like a kite with its string cut. This was of course followed up by an invisible psyonic attack of Keilan's which placed numerous illusions over the "Enemy's" eyes and caused it to howl with frustration. Alexander followed it up with a bash from his tail that sent it flying once more...straight into the waiting arms of Elvira, who promptly began to beat the ever living crap out of it, this time taking care to not send it too far away. 

I began to chew on my lip, a sense of impending danger only continuing to well up within me as I watched.

Something was very, very wrong, but I couldn't figure out what. It couldn't be this easy. It couldn't! The "Enemy" was holding back, and while this fact undoubtedly escaped the attention of my children, it did not escape me. Surely it would not come out of hiding unless it had a very high chance of success. Trying to find what I had missed, I focused my attention on the Mortal Realms, watching Celene and Leo as they ran about, containing the opposing army, while the other sects scattered throughout the Realm did the same. For the most part, everything seemed to be going their way...which worried me. Almost absently my eyes flicked towards where Reika was mass-suppressing the dark angels, a good number of them still caught in the branches of the Life-Giving Tree as very few angels ran about actually suppressing them, the majority of the army focusing on battling the remainder of the dark angels...

Wait a minute. I narrowed my eyes and focused intently on the dark angels currently trapped, before my eyes widened and a feeling of utter shock and dread ran through me. 

"NO!" I shouted, almost, almost stepping out to go stop what I could see was going to happen. "No, no, no!" I hissed, praying that Reika would sense what was going on, what was going to happen, but I knew it was already too late. I could do nothing to stop it. The sense of danger I felt every time I even so much as considered stepping out of my palace increased dramatically when I thought about preventing this...so all I could do was watch with horror as the dark angels self-detonated. 

Incredibly powerful explosions ripped through the air, tearing into the Life-Giving Tree and sending splinters of wood out like enormous, continent-sized pieces of shrapnel. An inhuman shriek ripped through the booming explosions and the Life-Giving Tree shuddered as damage continued to be dealt. The dark angels that had been freed by the explosions shot forwards and, with almost fanatical glee, attached themselves to the trunk of the Tree before self detonating, destroying everything they were in the process. All their experiences, karma, and personality, they wiped away everything, leaving behind only the very base soul that gradually flew up to rejoin the River. When Elvira saw this happen she immediately froze, an expression of fear and rage flitting across her face, though she could do nothing but watch as the Holy Mountain, where a mass of dark angels were also stored, thought to have been sealed away, also began to tremble and shake. 

Her Palace was utterly destroyed by the detonations, and a number of deities and spirits were cripplingly damaged, even as more explosions rippled out from the center of her army. But she too was prevented from doing anything, and could only watch as things took a sudden turn for the worse. Dei managed to mix it up a little by pre-emptively throwing his gourd into the incoming horde, the resulting explosions creating chaos in their ranks, but that did little in the face of a group of beings hell-bent on their destruction, with no heed to their own lives. Gilles flew about frantically, mitigating the damage as best he could, but he too was shaken by the dark angels' savage ferocity. He could do very little in the face of that. 

"Where do you think you're going?!" The "Enemy" cackled with maniacal glee, taking a bite out of one of Elvira's wings as she rushed to go help. An utterly enraged roar erupted from Keilan, Alexander, and Elvira as the "Enemy" suddenly increased in power and ferocity, utterly tying them down and keeping them from leaving. 

"MOTHER!" A screech caught my attention, and my heart seized as I saw Kei shoot towards Reika, who was came tumbling out of the Life-Giving Tree missing one leg and bleeding profusely, her hair stained black. My stomach clenched, and my power surged, the Four Realms shuddering in response to my anger. The only thing that stopped me from flying out and ending this, was the excited look in the "Enemy's" eyes as the Four Realms shuddered, and it glanced towards my palace. He was waiting for me..."HOW DARE YOU?!" Kei screeched again, her nine tails flicking back and forth, all traces of her natural playfullness and mischeviousness vanishing.

Power erupted from her as she clutched her mother's injured body, nine different, but very similar, powers wrapping around her as she glared at the "Enemy." Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Darkness, Lightning, Space-Time, and Divine, these essenses erupted from within her, swirling around in an impressive display. The divine portion wrapped itself around Reika, an expression of relief crossing my daughter's face as her wounds slowly began to heal. 

"K-Kei...no..." Reika said weakly, pushing her one remaining hand against Kei's face before fading away into unconciousness. This only egged Kei on, and she dissappeared with a slight pop, taking Reika with her. When she reappeared she was right in front of me, red faced and angry, looking at me with an obvious desire to yell and berate. But she didn't. She must've seen something in my expression, or sensed something in my aura, but instead of yelling and getting mad she just took a step back, set Reika down on the ground before me, and nodded silently. The anger that she previously held seemed to fade away a little...though in actuality it was only redirecting itself.

"Be careful." I told her, my voice eerily calm as she turned to leave. Almost absently part of my power reached forwards and enveloped Reika, healing her as best I could. Due to the nature of her injuries, she wouldn't be fully healed until the Life-Giving Tree also recovered, but at least like this it wouldn't be as bad. Kei looked at me for a second, getting another handle on her anger, and dissappeared with another pop. This time, she appeared in front of the "Enemy," looking completely pissed. The "Enemy" looked at her with a wolfish grin covering what little of its face could be seen. This only egged on Kei, and she erupted with power.

An enormous nine-tailed fox formed from all of her elements erupted forth, completely dwarfing even Alexander in size, a snarl on its face. With a roar that could shatter the skies it lunged, snapping at the "Enemy" who could do naught but stare in surprise as its fire-filled maw completely engulfed it. A gutwrenching screech echoed out from within the fox's maw as a myriad of elements battered the "Enemy," all while chewing and shaking its head viciously. With a sudden burst of power the "Enemy" escaped from the clutches of the fox, only to be met by an onslaught by Alexander, Elvira, and Keilan. Its pupils constricted, and I heard it mutter to itself in a soft voice. 

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"A troublesome one appeared." It muttered, glaring at its four attackers and taking a few steps back. They, however, had no intention of letting it get away. Alexander was the first to attack, his powerful breath attack blasting forth and working hard to incinerate the "Enemy." Kei, being all but immune to most fires, shot through the flames like a bolt of lightning, her illusory fox dissipating as she lashed out at the enemy with increasing fervor. Space itself seemed to rend and tear at the "Enemy" eliciting another shriek as it fled, bursing out of the fire from Alexander's attack and into Elvira's open arms. A sudden mental assault by Keilan immobilized the "Enemy," ensuring that it took the next few blows from Elvira head on.

In front of me, Reika stirred and opened her eyes, confusion momentarily shining in her eyes before her gaze fixed on me as I stared at the ensuing battle. 

"Mother." Reika said, slowly standing and testing her newly reformed leg. I looked at her and flashed her a tired smile, unable to take too much of my attention away from the Four Realms. 

"You're looking better. Rest now." I told her. Reika just stared at me for a short moment before stepping forwards and gently placing her hands on my own, gently prying one hand away from the treasure in my hands. I marveled for a second at my other hand, which was white knuckled against the treasure to the point where it was creaking and groaning under the pressure. "Ah..." I said absently, looking down at my child. For a moment, when she saw what it was that I was holding, her tender expression morphed into a complicated one that was swiftly replaced with a look of unending sadness. She wrapped her arms around me, and I felt myself stiffen ever so slightly. 

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm so sorry." I chuckled lightly, patting her head and shaking my own. "Please, don't....please, just leave this to us. We will handle it." Reika said, her voice muffled as she buried her face into my chest. I glanced briefly at my treasure, a wry smile flitting across my face. Ah, I knew that this thing would be interpreted wrongly...

"It's alright, Reika. Children fight. For now, just rest. You were injured pretty badly." I whispered, planting a kiss on the top of her head. After a few more moments Reika squeezed one last time before letting go and taking a step back, breathing deeply. A determined glint flashed through her eyes as she gazed at the Four Realms and assessed her own injuries. Reika had never been much of a fighter, not like her other siblings, so I wasn't too concerned about her running off to go fight the "Enemy" alongside her siblings and child, but...

"I'm going to go help out in the Mortal Realm. My injuries might be preventing me from running in and supporting in the fight against the enemy, but at least I can mitigate the damage done by the dark angels." Reika said, staring at the increasingly worsening battle that Gilles was frantically trying to salvage. Something about that nagged at me, but I pushed that thought out of my head and focused once again. Thankfully no more dark angels had self-detonated, but that was still a threat that loomed over the entire army. Not even the mortals below had been spared the effects of the kamikaze bombardment. 

"Be careful." I told her after a long silence, sending another burst of power into her and healing her wounds even further. She just smiled and hugged me once more before dissappearing. Another sigh escaped me as I turned my gaze back to the battle, and the gradually worsening expression of the "Enemy." After a moment's hesitation, after seeing that Reika was back and very swiftly turning the tides of battle against the dark angels, something inside of it just snapped. The hesitation it held before simply broke, and it exploded with power. The black mist covering its body completely faded away and its body completely formed, unleasing the true extent of its might. 

"ENOUGH!" It roared out, sending Kei, Elvira, Alexander, and Keilan tumbling backwards. The "Enemy" had a wolf-like body, grey, matted fur covering its canine form, patches of the fur missing here and there. Atop its head curled two jagged, bone-like horns, while various bone spurs jutted out from various parts of its body. Its feet were not normal dog feet, instead replaced by vicious talons, six sharp claws curling from each foot, while scorpion-like claws snapped menacingly from its front shoulderblades. As if to add on to the sinister visage, six spider-like appendages curled from its back in three groups of two, the tips shining like spears, all while its green, snake-like tail whipped back and forth. At the end of the tail it upbruptly changed into a spiked ball of death, complete with acidic poison dripping from the spikes themselves. It was no bigger than the average dog, but that made it no less intimidating. A sinister growl echoed out from the back of its throat as the "Enemy" narrowed its six beady eyes, lashing out in a sudden display of savagery and malice. 

Kei immediately defended, a wall of swirling elements erecting itself between the "Enemy" and themselves before abruptly shattering with a single blow. The "Enemy" scoffed in front of this paltry defense, the sound echoing out and filling my children with a sense of dread. I could see it in their eyes, that they instinctively knew that this foe was one more powerful than they. However, that dread was quickly replaced by determination as they charged forwards, unleasing all of their might to suppress the "Enemy." 

Unfortunately, it was not enough. I desperately wanted to go help them, but once again the feeling of impending danger prevented me, so I could only watch as, even after a few short exchanges, the "Enemy" thoroughly dominated my children. 

"I had wanted to keep my true strength hidden until That One showed itself, but The Others forced my hand..." I heard the "Enemy" mutter. "...Must commend them on that, at least." It said. 

"YOU SHALL NOT WIN!" Alexander roared, unleasing the full brunt of his power in one massive attack. Kei, Elvira, and Keilan all followed suit, resulting in a massive wave of pure power rushing forwards towards the "Enemy." Even it would not be able to escape unscathed from this...is what should have been the case, had it not merged with fragments of the Paradox. A loud sucking noise could be heard as the "Enemy" swallowed every last drop of the power, all of it vanishing inside of its gullet and causing its personal strength to increase even further. However, it did not stop there, as even the leftover vestiges of power from within the attacking four were drained out, the suction only stopping when the "Enemy" found it could not suck out their souls. Their souls were far too powerful for something paltry like that to happen. 

"Pity." The "Enemy" murmured, glacing at the now-incapacitated quad before it turned towards the Realm Sun. A strange glint flashed through its eyes as it glanced in my direction, a sneer crossing its face. Then, it rocketed towards the Sun, intent on destroying it before anything else could come and block its way. It must know that currently my hands were tied, and it wanted to take advantage of this situation to deal a devastating blow. Of course, if it got too close, I would undoubtedly intervene because the destruction of the Realm Sun was not something I could allow, impending danger or not.

In the midst of all of this something happened, something even I did not expect. The "Enemy" ground to a halt about halfway to the Realm Sun, staring warily at the figure that had suddenly appeared in between it, and the object that illuminated the Four Realms. This figure had appeared in a flash of silver light, the man himself having had a breakthrough that allowed him to achieve an insane level of speed that allowed him to cut off the "Enemy." 

"Where do you think you're going?" Dei said sagely, breathing heavily from his flight. It had drained much of his remaining energy to get there, but there he stood. "Did you think that I would let you run away after hurting Kei? You're lucky she's still alive, or else I would've outright slaughtered you." The "Enemy" stared at Dei with the same expression I did, one that clearly understood the vast difference in power between the two. Calling Dei an ant wouldn't even begin to describe the difference. The "Enemy" simply snorted and shot forwards, intent on driving straight past Dei, but to its surprise Dei met it with the tip of his spear. The "Enemy" hesitated then, taking a few steps back as its mind whirred, unable to understand Dei's behaviour. The difference was vast, so why did Dei stand before it? Did he have some secret that would allow him to win? No, that was very unlikely. Those thoughts were undoubtedly the ones that flew through the "Enemy's" mind as it stared at Dei.

With a roar Dei unleashed his cultivation base, shooting towards the "Enemy" with all of his might flaring...only to be sent flying backwards like a kite with its string cut, blood pouring out of his mouth and staining his robes. The "Enemy" merely cocked its head to the side, before a hint of understanding flashed through its eyes. 

"Ah, you're that one, aren't you? The one who succeeded in passing the 'Immortal Tribulation' or whatever its called. Your arrogance truly knows no bounds. Stay down, and you may yet live to see the end of the Four Realms." The "Enemy" sneered, aiming to go past Dei once again. 

"Sh-shut up, you mangy mutt. I ain't done whoppin' you yet, so who says YOU CAN GO ANYWHERE?!" Dei roared again, his giant illusory form appearing behind him and smashing towards the "Enemy." A smile unknowingly plastered itself onto my face as I watched this, even despite Dei losing horribly. His giant shattered, and the "Enemy" sneered as Dei stumbled backwards, its tail swishing back and forth in irritation. "Wh-what are you waiting for? C'mon, you damn dog. I-I'll fuckin' skin you." Dei spat, trembling from the pain.

"Hmph. What is that saying you foolish People have...? Ah, right. 'You don't know how high the heavens are.'" The "Enemy" sneered. "But in compliment to your foolishness, I shall personally eat you." It said, and shot forwards, its maw opened wide. Dei just laughed and let it come, not even flinching when the "Enemy" bit down onto his shoulder, instead taking the opportunity to shove his spear through the "Enemy's" chest and out its back, effectively peircing its heart. Soulpower fluctuated as Dei commanded it, shaking the "Enemy" down to its very foundation as he wreaked havoc on the one thing the "Enemy" did not know how to protect; the soul. It howled in pain and viciously stabbed Dei with its six spidery appendages, one clawed talon flashing and batting him away. 

Dei barely managed to right himself, his life force flickering as he still stood between the "Enemy" and the Realm Sun, his robes in tatters as blood poured down his front. In a matter of moments he would undoubtedly perish, but still he stubbornly held on, a silhouette standing against the Sun. He may have been but a pebble in the path compared to the "Enemy," but today he stood taller than even the Holy Mountain. My smile devolved into a self depriciating smirk as Dei continued to glare at the "Enemy," still intent on killing it despite his grevious injuries. Not once did the thought of failure cross his mind. Rather, he couldn't fail.

"This is how high the heavens are." Dei stated matter-of-fact, tilting his head up and looking down his nose at the "Enemy," his voice filled with such conviction that it caused me to finally begin to move. All hesitation within me vanished as the "Enemy" rushed forth, unadulterated rage billowing from its form, clear intent to utterly destroy Dei in both body and soul radiating from it. The sense of danger within me also vanished, but even had that not happened, I still would have moved. This was too much. Now it all ends. This little campaign is over as of now. Dei himself stared at the incoming wolf-creature and faintly smiled. He knew better than anybody else that he was about to die, but it was something that never happened. 

Instead, the "Enemy" ran face-first into a fist of Primordial Chaos, sending it flying backwards as I appeared behind Dei. One hand gently pressed against Dei's back, healing his wounds and restoring his rapidly fading life force. His eyes flickered as he turned to look at me in shock. I smiled and nodded to him, before gently pushing him, sending his body hurtling back towards his city.

"You did well. Leave the rest to me." I said forcefully, stepping forwards and completely ignoring the flags I raised with that comment. The "Enemy's" eyes met my own, and I just smiled warmly at it. "Sometimes children need to be disiplined. You, my child, are sorely in need of a good beating."