POV: Alexander
The deities of the Four Realms chattered nervously as they gathered around the front door of Father's palace, waiting for Father to make His appearance and tell us what all this was about. My brother and sisters stood silently next to me, Kei off chatting with Tian and Inesa. We were all silently waiting, having and idea of what Father was about to tell us. The subtle sense of impending danger was still ringing in my head, I could only guess that it was about this. He had been gone for a year, attempting to find the source.
"...I believe Mother went to fetch Morgan." Reika said softly. A growl unconsciously escaped from my throat.
"I hope not," I grumbled, and Keilan shot me an amused look.
"What, are you still sore over not being able to beat him?" He teased. I glanced at him and snorted derisively.
"As if you are not the same," I shot back, and Keilan shut up. Only Reika wasn't effected overmuch by Morgan being able to tie us all down at once, as she wasn't the prideful sort. I, for one, would not let it go until I could defeat Morgan in one-on-one combat. My pride as the strongest deity in the Four Realms, excluding Father, would not allow it.
"Mother," Keilan suddenly greeted, bowing to the being that had suddenly appeared behind us. I turned and smiled warmly at my Parent, ignoring the vile presence beside Him for the moment. He smiled back, not showing a single trace of anxiety or exhaustion as He greeted us all in turn.
"I'm afraid our chat will have to wait until after this little meeting is finished, I'm afraid. Although there is much to discuss, I need to announce what is happening. All of the deities must co-operate if we are to survive this." Father said simply.
"So you did find out what the calamity is," Elvira stated as more point-of-fact than anything.
"I'm afraid so. Ah, and I need to congratulate you, Elvira. You finally coalesced your domain. Good for you. I was afraid it would never happen after you woke up without it." Father said, patting Elvira on the shoulder. Elvira flushed with embarrassment. She was the last of the original Big Four to achieve her domain, but it was no less grand than any of ours. The domain of Leadership was not going to be an easy path, and not to be taken lightly.
"I do hate to interrupt, but can we get a move on?" Morgan snarled from beside Father. I growled in the back of my throat, glaring down the sun-eating wolf. Said wolf just sneered at me, all eight eyes rolling in their sockets.
"You're right. My apologies. Would you grab their attention, Morgan?" Father asked, waving one hand towards the deities who were still facing towards Father's palace, not having noticed His arrival. Morgan cackled evilly, sucked in a deep breath, and howled. The horrendous sound reverberated through my body, sending chills down my spine and threatening to spike fear into my heart as an aura of pure black negativity exploded from its body.
Before I could stop my self, I returned the howl with a roar of my own, white light blasting out to counter Morgan's despicable aura. All deities turned to stare at the two of us, some assuming half-ready stances in case Morgan turned out to be attacking once again.
"Ahahaha! So the little lizard thinks its grown some fangs?" Morgan howled in laughter once my roar ended.
"Quiet, pup, before I fix you," I growled out in threat, feeling on-edge just from Morgan's presence. Father, on the other hand, was cleaning out His ear with His pinky finger as He stared at the two of us with a relaxed expression.
"Huh, that went better than I expected, actually. I'm proud of your self-restraint." He said in a dismissive manner, turning His attention to the congregated deities. I snorted angrily at Morgan, not taking my eyes off of the wolf for a moment as Father began to speak. The wolf steadfastly ignored my glare, its lips curled up into a smirk as it, too, listened to whatever Father had to say. Was I being a bit too harsh on the wolf? Probably. It had been many years since the Sun War, and Morgan had not made a move against any of us besides the occasional dark angel causing trouble, or plunging a world into war and chaos. In fact, although I am loathe to admit it, the wolf's presence was good for the growth of the Realms.
That didn't mean I had to like it, however. "I called you all here to inform you of an impending calamity, the likes of which the Four Realms has not faced before. We have endured turbulent times of chaos, of all-consuming war, and even an incursion of the Void, but today, my children, we will be forced to face total obliteration. As we are now, there is no chance for survival." Father said solemly. I immediately forgot about Morgan in favor of listening to Father, shock rocking the core of my being. No chance for survival? I knew we were facing a calamity, but for it to be that bad...
Murmurs of shock rippling through the crowd told me that the deities agreed with my own feelings.
"Thankfully, we have at least five million years to grow stronger and prepare for this eventuality. But even then, if we do not throw our all into surviving and strengthening the Four Realms, it will end with the total destruction of the Four Realms and all who inhabit it. Down to the very last soul." This got a stronger reaction from the gathered deities, and even Morgan sat upright, eyes wide. Morgan may have desired to devour the Sun and destroy the Four Realms, but it didn't want to destroy everything. Its view of perfection had been the Void, Father, and the created Souls, not just the Void.
"But that's impossible, isn't it?" A voice called out from the deities. Father shook His head.
"I wish that were so, my dear. But I can assure you that this is the truth." He said that softly, but it still reached everyone's ears. "This calamity does not just encompass the Four Realms, but another universe altogether as well. This is the One World," Father said, waving His hand. A giant image of a foreign world appeared over His head, appearing as truly one world with a sun and two moons circling it. I frowned. "And it is on a collision course with the Four Realms. That in and of itself would not be as bad, were this not the comparitive size of the Four Realms to the One World," Father continued.
A small ball of light appeared next to the image of the One World, sending ripples of astonishment coursing through the assembled deities. I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. If I remembered right, which of course I did as my memory was perfect, the One World was the home of the Deity of Beauty that visited all those years ago, as well as the home of the foreign dragon. And now we were on a collision course with them...?
"Can't we just move the Four Realms out of the way?" Gilles chimed in. Father quickly shot that idea down by explaining that, due to some of the rules of the Void, such a thing was impossible.
"What if we just moved in the opposite direction of the One World, and make the approaching speed null? That way we'd be travelling through the Void at the same speed as the One World, and never crash into one another." Another, a Deity of River, suggested. For this one, Father paused.
"Well...that would work to some degree. You have to remember that the Void is directionless, so until the One World comes into view it is impossible to tell where it would come from. If we started to 'accelerate' now, we could very well speed straight into the One World. Not to mention that I have no idea how we'd even go about doing that to begin with. But, its still a good idea, and could prove very useful one the One World does come into view. We could decrease the 'approaching speed,' as you put it, and therefore decrease the risk. Good idea." Father praised, making the Deity of River blush slightly.
"Now I have met with the Origin Deity of this other universe, Reika, Keilan, Alexander, Elvira, and Morgan have all met Her as well. Together we are coming up with a plan to mitigate the damage, if not outright nullify all danger, but to do so we must dramatically strengthen and enlarge the Four Realms. It is not a complete plan as of yet, therefore I won't bore you with the nitty-gritty details, but there is a general direction we need to develop the Four Realms in." Father continued.
"One moment, please," the Deity of Justice interrupted, raising his hand. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance, because how dare he interrupt Father, but remained silent because I knew Father wouldn't approve of any outburst from me. He would want to hear what the Deity wanted to say. "Why is Morgan here? Is it included in your plans to strengthen the Four Realms? That seems a little counter-intuitive. Doesn't the Great Wolf desire the destruction of the Four Realms?"
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Morgan cackled in response, the haunting sound causing the assembled deities to stiffen. "Foolish being. I would gladly devour the Sun and Moon," at this, Leo and Celene stiffened, their auras rocketing skywards and light flaring from their bodies. "because they are painful existances. Their mere presences offend me. And perhaps I will take advantage of this chaos to devour them. But I do not wish to become a non-existence either, and will therefore co-operate for as long as it takes to ensure the Souls survive this encounter." It drawled. The Deity of Justice frowned and backed off, to which Father smiled.
"You heard Morgan. It will aid us because although it's too proud to admit it, the Four Realms is its home as well." Reika added, earning herself a scathing glare and threatening growl from Morgan.
"I do not," Morgan hissed. Reika, being the fearless woman she is, simply looked at Morgan and smirked, which only served to infuriate Morgan further. I laughed loudly, drawing attention to myself.
"I apologize for the interruption, Father, but I think we four will take the stage now," I boomed.
"Five!" Kei chirped, waving her hands and bouncing forward to stand next to me and my siblings. I looked at her and smiled, shaking my head.
"Yes, five. These changes will not happen overnight, and there is still much planning to do. You need not worry over us." I finished, nodding to Father. A ripple of agreement passed through the deities, resounding their determination. Five million years was a long time, but we would endure. For the sake of our survival, and the survival of the Four Realms, we would do what is required of us, and help in whatever way we could. Father had made sure to beat a hardworking attitude in all of us, after all.
I, for one, felt a surge of pride for my fellow deities, but it was nothing compared to the absolutely beaming pride Father was projecting towards each of us. A warmth like Father's arms wrapping around me encompassed me, and all deities, Father's whispers reaching my ears.
"I cannot tell you how proud I am of all of you." He said. "For now, I will leave it to you." He said, and stepped back. Elvira cleared her throat, heart swelling with pride, just as mine was. I shifted my posture, straightening up and lifting my head just a bit higher in pride.
"Together, we are stronger than we could ever be alone. This calamity means nothing in the face of our combined might. And on the other side of this, the Four Realms will come out stronger than before." She began, and I agreed.
Together, we are strong. As it has always been.
POV CHANGE: Statera Luotian
It had been another one hundred thousand years since I told my children about the calamity. After the initial flurry of activity, things settled back down into a bit of routine. Growth routes were mapped out, ideas were drafted and then subsequently tossed out, internal structures were continuously strengthened, and many deities continued on with their duties to the mortals. That primarily consisted of watching over that which their domains governed, helping spirits, and helping angels to guide mortals when it got too tough for them to handle. The latter rarely happened, but there are the odd mortals who are just...explosively tempered. So a deity will sometimes step in to make sure they don't stray from the path they chose.
Not unlike Tian.
I hummed and contemplated that. Destiny was the path one chooses for oneself. Prior to being reborn, a soul will choose what kind of life they want to live and will be sent to a family and place that will allow that life to happen. In other words, souls will always reincarnate into somewhere most comfortable for them, with adjustments based on karma and whatnot. Anyways, destiny is chosen by oneself. And upon being reincarnated, so long as that path is chosen from the bottom of one's heart, the universe will conspire to make that path happen. Spirits will actively seek to make these changes...but once the path is chosen, there is no turning back.
That kind of conflicts with freewill, but not really. They chose it themselves, and generally feel extremely satisfied with the results once its been completed. During the hardships required to make their destiny reality? Not so much. They usually get pretty salty about having no control over their own lives. But afterwards, yeah, they feel good. Which is where I'm seeing the parallel, because I'm wondering if the collision of the Four Realms and the One World is fate or destiny.
Fate is the accumulation of all destinies one decides on. It's like the end-goal. Sort of. I'm not convinced there is an end-goal anymore.
What I was wondering about was the destiny of deities. I'm almost positive that we have our own destinies, but who helps us to achieve it? Are there beings hovering around the Four Realms and other universes right now, manipulating events so we deities can reach our own destinies? Or are we subconsciously guiding ourselves? My eyes can see many things, but this conundrum they cannot see through.
A small prick in my soul alerted me to the Will of the Four Realms finally beginning to make its move, drawing three new soul-husks out of my own and beginning to mold them into three new beings. When it was finished, I was faced with three new species.
One was a being of water and karma, a parallel of the dryads meant for the Karmic Realm. The being had blue skin and blue hair, with eyes that encompassed the ocean itself. Webbing filled in the gaps between its fingers and toes, and a small, fish-like tail sprouted from its rear. With a wave of my hand, I created a group of the beings so they could reproduce. The Will of the Four Realms then whisked it off to the Karmic Realm to be placed in the Karmic Oceans, were they would begin to live out their lives.
"They shall be named Nereids, children of the sea." I announced, making it so simply be speaking.
The next was a being that was a storm given human form. Thunderclouds created its flesh, lightning flashing through its nervous system, and rain rushing through its veins. Although I am exaggerating, it is not too far from the truth. The beings had dull grey skin and had a humanoid form, with hair that varied between all the colors of the clouds. The tips were a pure, fluffy white, and the roots were an ominous grey, the color constantly shifting to give the appearance of stormclouds. Lightning and ice filled the being's eyes. As with the Nereids, with a wave of my hand I created another group of these beings to create a colony or three. The Will promptly whisked them off to live in the Heaven Realm.
"The children of the skies and storms shall hence be called Raijin." I proclaimed.
The final being was...different. It, like most pure spirits, didn't have a particular form. And yet...it did. It was...strange. This being was both physical and not, but I sensed would most likely prefer to live in the Spirit Realm, and held tremendous latent potential. The form it did have was, well, not unlike that of a Fae, minus the horns. Its body could fade in and out of the material world at will, and it had bronze skin and a very exotic purple haircolor. Only a small group of them were made before the Will moved them to live in the Spirit Realm, as the first true race of Spirits.
I agonized for a long while before I figured out a decent name for them. "Henceforth, the Spirit Children shall be known as the Djinn."
New sentient race created: Nereids The children of the sea, these beings were created by the Will of the Four Realms and are destined to live primarily in the Karmic Realm. New sentient race created: Raijin The children of the skies, these beings were created by the Will of the Four Realms following the template of the dryads, and destined to live primarily in the Heaven Realm. New sentient race created: Djinn The first Spirit Children, these powerful beings were created by the Will of the Four Realms and are destined to live primarily in the Spirit Realm. Their potential is great, so be careful.
Congratulations!
Milestone Reached: 10 sentient races.
Reward: 20% increased growth rate of Four Realms.
Total number of sentient races: 12
Race list: Fae, Avians, Karae, Elementals, Draconians, Dragons, Dryads, Arachions, Dimensional Creators, Nereids, Raijin, and Djinn.
Huh. I totally forgot that there were rewards for things like this. Though its more like a natural occurance due to reaching certain milestones, rather than a reward.
With curious eyes, I turned my gaze to the new races. In particular, I looked at the three souls the Will of the Four Realms has personally molded. They were much like Sequoia, the little dryad. She had been touched and carved from a part closest to my heart, inheriting a heart too big for her body all the love she could possibly obtain, soaking in said love like a sponge and returning it tenfold. She was unwavering and strong and kinder beyond words.
The Nereid, however, had been carved from my mind. It would be gifted with brilliance and the ability to see through all things...though it, too, was not without my love. The Raijin was pulled from my blood and bones, gifting it with a divine body and an unmatched aura, while the Djinn was pulled solely from my soul and my soul alone. The Djinn was gifted with my spirit...I looked forward to seeing how these three turned out. Even Sequoia went beyond my expectations with how much love she held in her tiny form, and how much she could effect others.
Even Tian had been changed by her, and he was as stubborn and steady as a mountain.
Unfortunately, I could not wait to see where the Four Realms would lead these three...no, four if I'm including Sequoia. As much as I like surprises, I cannot afford the luxury right now. So, taking a peek at the future of those four...I began to laugh. The simplicity of it all strikes me as hilarious.
Why did I not think of this? It solves about 50,000 issues with strengthening each individual system in the Four Realms in one fell swoop.
"Evolution," I muttered to myself. "The Four Realms intends to evolve each of the individual Realms with the use of those four, much like how I evolved my own domain. They will become deities, and introduce new layers into the FOur Realms. Marvelous. Simply marvelous."