The world rippled, myriad colours departed, reality distorted. Creation began with the universe coming into being from unbending. The ex nihilo gave way to the material world with all its wonders.

Lifeforms of all kinds from the smallest of forest dwelling critters to the highest of celestial beings manifested and went about their lives. In just a spontaneous accidental response, a universe made itself manifests.

Then in the same instant, all things ended. The universe withdrew into itself. All things degenerated into chaos as vast calamities bathed the world in flames. Reality crumbled as the very laws of existence faded to be.

In one instant, being. In other instant, unbeing.

The world came and went just as fast as it was eternal.

But it was not real.

It was merely a reaction.

An illusionary transformation generated from each step he took. Each step he took through the Chaos Sea manifested the concepts of creation, destruction, and recreation. Each step he took showed things taking form and in the next dissolved all things back into nothing.

Natural entropy gave way to negentropy before reversing back to entropy and fading away only to fade into existence once more. The deity that manifested these changes did not pay them heed.

And why should he?

Such transformations were happening around him every second. Constant myriad changes reflected off of his pale blue skin at every instant. They lasted for eternities contained within an instant and regressed while progressing. Time itself was diluted and muddled.

He didn't bother with them anymore. While it was a wondrous sight, he'd long since become desensitised to it. He didn't even bother to suppress it, not in this environment.

If he were interacting with lesser creatures, he'd naturally suppress himself so as to not cause them harm. But in the environment of the Chaos Sea, such an issue was not present. At most, weaker chaos lifeforms will take it as a warning to run away.

He looked around at his surroundings with a contemplative look. He took a few moments scanning every detail in the constantly changing spacial tides before frowning.

Before him was a massive plain of colourless colourful void of entropy. Infinite amounts of elements twisted and turned, destroying and creating whenever they collided. Dao laws came into existence and went just as fleeting.

But none are what he was searching for.

Such a sight wasn't one he was unfamiliar with.

It was a scene just like any other in the Chaos Sea.

"Not here," the blue man frowned. Two of his arms crossed across his chest while another set gripped their fists hard. His eyes twitched as he mauled over the clues he'd obtained.

"Where can he be?" He muttered taking more steps forward. Each stride he took crossed an immeasurable amount of distance. Each footstep easily eclipsed the total distance from one end of a chaos world to another.

He encountered various churning rifts and vortexes as he walked but ignored all of them. His gaze penetrated the vast beyond and his nostrils flared as he singled out specific Qi signatures.

He rubbed his fingers across his chin. "People lived here," he said briefly taking note of a chunk of stone. It was nothing special in his eyes though it did resemble a piece of a building. Some sort of temple perhaps?

Nevertheless, he continued his search for a little longer. The chaos sea was vast, so incredibly vast. So vast in fact that even he cannot accurately measure it.

"Damn it, I don't have long," he suddenly said looking back in a certain direction.

"A pity, I thought I'd be able to find you after that aftershock. I know that was definitely caused by you Pangu. Just where did you go? I need your expertise," he said in frustration.

When it came to understanding all things in all creation, few can equal a genuine Dao Ancestor much less surpass one. But Pangu was only a Hunyuan Wuji Luo Golden Immortal in name only.

Even many kalpas ago, the great god could already ascend to the Dao realm. His many years holding himself back have secured a level of knowledge and expertise that was unrivalled in creation.

Unlike he and his brother who took the first plunge long ago, Pangu would rather stay at his realm. But the results could not be denied.

The chaos sea was a truly mysterious location. Even omnipotent Dao Ancestors were limited in some ways. Some places they just could not go despite being able to perfectly perceive them. Deep down, they too knew that should Grand Dao's power turn on them, even they would be reduced to dust.

A sudden ripple in the void caused his eyes to turn slightly. The new presence was a new being but one with a slight familiarity. He had detected the newcomer's presence some time ago but had ignored it for the most part, he wasn't in the mood to deal with others right now.

But as the presence drew closer, his attention was drawn to it. The familiar feeling of rippling chaos mixed with some others were within it.

"This being interacted with Pangu," he said with happiness. There was still a bit of time before he had to journey back. He could use this chance to obtain some clues and then begin his journey during the next kalpa.

A chaos being emerged from the void. It was a truly titanic creature serpentine and draconic in appearance. It possessed gleaming scales of azure, amethyst, indigo, and bright green colours. Fins that resembled the dancing sea grass and corals of the ocean floor.

It had manes of spongey yellow hair swaying as it moved its many heads. Eight serpentine heads and moved around the chaotic environments. It reminded him of his and his brother's trusted retainers.

'Wait…no,' he contemplated. This snake wasn't a chaos life form. It had some characteristics of one but was otherwise distinct from chaotic lifeforms. This was a living being from a chaos world. A curious discovery.

He turned his head and acknowledge the newcomer. "Greetings," he said. He must've startled the newcomer cause the eight headed serpent was rather alarmed.

"Greetings," the newcomer answered back. "I sensed a massive change going on and came to investigate. I did not expect to encounter…" he trailed off.

"Neither did I, I am investigating some matters of mine own. I hope friend can help me?" He asked politely sensing the newcomer had no intentions to fight nor any real ill intent.

For what felt like hours, the serpent stared at him in something resembling recognition. It was an odd feeling where eight pairs of eyes stared intently at his body. It made him feel a but bashful.

"Ahem, I wondered if friend can answer some of my questions," he asked interrupting the awkward silence.

"Uh…yes…sure…of course Shi…uh, just ask away," the snake said.

He casted the serpent an odd look. He definitely stopped himself from saying something. But he also didn't want to pry nor invade the serpent's privacy. He paid closer attention as he asked.

"I was wondering if friend has seen a man around this tall? Muscular, very muscular and hairy with wild hair, like building muscles in all places. He should be wearing a loincloth made of leaves," he listed. He didn't know if these details were still accurate to his once rival's appearance but he wasn't one to change his wardrobe.

"You're describing Pangu right?" The serpent stated.

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"Good, so you did know him. May I inquire to his location? I am in desperate need of his assistance," he said smiling for the first time since he'd left the fourteen realms.

The serpent spent some time contemplating before he answered. Before he did so he shrunk into himself, reverting to a human form. An enlightened form rakshasas and similar beings alike took to hide their true appearances.

The serpent was an unassuming man somewhere in his forties from the looks of it. He had a short beard from both sides of his lips and a short one on his chin. His hair was shoulder lengthen and tied in a head bun where a small crown rested.

"Master Pangu's situation is complicated," he said. The serpent looked unsure of how he was to proceed. Unsure how much he wanted to say.

"Master? Pangu took an apprentice?" The four armed blu skinned man wondered aloud. "I suppose you do share similarities."

"I can't call myself a true disciple, merely a lucky man who received a bit of guidance," the serpent said. "What is it you want with Pangu?"

"I am in a bit of a bind. I have friends, and family that need to be saved and I believe Pangu can help me. His understanding of certain aspects of Dharma can aid me in my predicament," he said.

"But why? You are… pardon my bluntness but you're presence, your power, your realm. It's not something that exists within the bounds of Hunyuan Wuji Golden Immortals. You're a genuine article of Dao. A genuine Dao Ancestor," the serpent spluttered.

"This matter is complicated, forgive me if I can't say more. Please, I just need to find Pangu. I'll only bring him away for a few kalpas," he said.

"Pangu is invalid, on the verge of death. He won't survive a trip to the chaos sea," the serpent said without hesitation.

It took an embarrassing amount of time for the blue man to register those words. Invalid. Verge of death. Won't survive.

"Impossible," he quickly denied. "Pangu was invincible below Brahman realm or Dao realm as you refer to it. It is impossible for him to fall into such a state."

Unintentionally, the blue entity's wrath made itself manifest. Fire roared around him causing his tiger skirt to flare up. He took a deep breath to calm down.

"Speak no falsehoods to me," he said.

"Pangu separated Ying and Yang from formless chaos. He manifested the Dao and carved out creation, separating heaven from earth," the serpent said. "A universe, a chaos world was produced. But it was not an ordinary, nor even an extraordinary one. It was a truly unique thing that one has to see to believe."

The blue man stopped as he listened to those words. He gulped down the mouthful of saliva that had built up within him. "What? That makes no…show me," he all but demanded.

He took a step forward intending to proceed but stopped seconds after. He gazed down at his palm where a Sanskrit word made itself manifest.

"We'll talk at a later date," he hurriedly said before dashing away without waiting for an answer. "I'll find you again."

He had wasted too much time, he dashed at top speed through the unending chaos. He left a trail of fire in his wake as transformations burned out beneath his footsteps.

Speed was the necessity here. He had already saved the location where he met the serpent in his mind. At his realm, he can track down that same location easily enough when next he was available.

He traveled beyond many worlds, beyond many universe ending catastrophes without looking back. Random xiantian treasures scattered throughout the chaos did not distract him one bit as he approached his destination.

A multi armed man sat on a lotus observing a spherical structure. Majestic enchantments were at work and the universe appeared beautiful from the outside. Yet one only needed to pear beneath the shell to see the turmoil within.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" The sitting man asked. His skin was a dark blue in contrast to his own pale blue. But both were incredibly powerful omnipotent beings in all creation.

"Sort of," he said striding forwards. "I'll tell you more in the next kalpa. Let me concentrate," he said immediately entering the chaos world.

His arms stretched outwards as his body twirled around. His forehead split as a third eye manifested into existence. A bright light enveloped the world, dissolving all of reality but preserving creation as he formed the, into usable matter.

He danced to the end of the world. Cycling creation anew into the next kalpa. Tandava, one of his, Shiva's, greatest techniques, Astras of unimaginable power. The power that ends the material universe and converts it into another.

…

The preserver watched the destroyer perform his work. The creator was already preparing. Vishnu was silent as his preservation enchantments were undone by his brother, silently gazing as the universe was remade anew.

It was a process that took time yet was instantaneous at the same time. An entire day of Brahma's remaining life will soon begin as this one ended.

It was a fascinating process, watching them both work. But it was one Vishnu grew tired of long ago. He was itching to move.

"Shiva, my brother of the same source," Vishnu said. "We can't keep doing this. Brahma's life nears its end. Till now, now alternatives can be found. Perhaps it is time you give up."

As destruction winded down to its closing phase. As Tandava reached its climax. Shiva retorted from within the burgeoning universe.

"No, not until the very end. I refuse to believe nothing can be done."

"The time arrived long ago and the window is shrinking. A new power rises in the distance as I'm sure you've sensed too. I can't see where and how. But one day, a new Brahman realm entity will emerge. Soon, we'll have to leave," Vishnu urged.

"We've stayed in this world for too long already. We need to transcend," Vishnu said. "Not to mention, when this new being comes into existence, even we may not survive."

Shiva remained silent as he watched distant Brahman begin his work. He appeared very unwilling.

"I seek transcendence too," he admitted. "But please, just a little longer. I have concrete clues to Pangu's location now."

"And what guarantees do you have that Pangu can do what we could not figure out?" Vishnu scoffed. "Fine, I can afford to wait for a little longer. Brahma's end should come before the storm arrives."

"Thank you brother," the pale blue god said in response emerging from the new universe.

"Remember what Yuanling told us, only one may transcend at any given era. We are in luck competition is so scarce. But I grow weary of waiting," the darker god said.

Shiva nodded in agreement. It was regretful, but he had built up too many connections in the fourteen realms. He cannot bring himself to abandon it, abandon them, abandon her. Even if he was to leave, he had to at least ensure their eternal survival. He was prepared to give up all his treasures.

"People were really beginning to wonder. You were gone for most of the kalpa," Vishnu said as he approached the universe, specifically the sea of milk wherein his mount and retainer awaited.

Shiva sighed in regret. "I had no choice. Like you said, time is so limited. I have such a small window to search as well. I have to make the most of it. How long is it exactly? Before Brahma gives out?"

"A little more than a dozen kalpas. That's all you have left," Vishnu said.