Kairen Kord stood in a seemingly random location in deep space. The only thing around her that she took notice of was an asteroid-torn planet in the distance, slowly leaking out its golden life essence in a gaseous form, which, ironically, beautified that location in a mixture of gold and black.
On another side, this one somewhat close to where she was, an asteroid shower trailed past; millions of bright tiny dots reminiscent of space as seen in the night, from a location unpolluted by artificial lights.
She stood alone, unbothered. One would have questioned the wiseness in this since she was likely to be attacked by some of the predators that prowled the deep space, but Kairen didn't mind. They could come, but it was very unlikely that they'd be leaving alive.
She sensed it before she saw it: a rip in space, glowing with a golden white light, manifested a mile before her, and from it stepped a woman Kairen never expected to be meeting in this kind of circumstances.
Leceia Ren was a very beautiful woman, even by Ascendant standards. Her raven black hair, uncharacteristic of one who followed the Throne of Life, shrouded a beautiful love-shaped face unmarred by any form imperfection. It was so beautiful it reflected the golden life essence of the World Spirit in the distance like a dark mirror. Her deep emerald dress, clinched tightly at the waist, projected an image Kairen tried very hard not to even think of. And those eyes, those deep golden white eyes, which had, many times, pulled in intersystem emperors, locked down on Kairen the moment she stepped through.
At but a glance, Leceia Ren projected the image of one who only cared about their image and nothing else. One who simply served the Throne because of the prestige and authority it brought, but Kairen knew better. It wasn't openly said, but Leceia was considered a pinnacle-level ascendant, capable of going toe to toe with every other Ascendant. She was even stated to have gotten the recognition of Merak, the quiet obliterator. But Kairen kept that belief toned down. No Ascendant in their right mind would gain the recognition of Merak and choose to keep quiet about it.
"Herald Ren," Kairen made sure to greet first, which was uncommon since she was an Adjudicator, but Leceia wasn't just any Ascendant.
"Herald Kord," the woman returned, mirroring Kairen's nod.
"I feared you would not accede to my invitation," Kairen said, eager to say something instead of simply standing there awkwardly.
"I almost did not come," the other woman's voice turned amused, her attention soon turning towards taking in their environs. "But it's not every day a seemingly random Ascendant, even one of Order's, invites me to a meeting. Our Celestials may have their difference, which I'm sure you can feel, but that doesn't mean it needs to be carried out down the ranks."
Kairen nodded, not taking the reference of being 'random' to heart. After all, by the circles Leceia moved in, Kairen was random.
"Judging by the continued silence of why I was invited, I assume I wasn't the only one invited to this... Meeting?" the other woman asked.
Kairen nodded. "Invitations were sent to others. And forgive me if this offends you, but I wish to begin when all invitees are fully gathered."
Leceia nodded, saying nothing. Kairen began forming up topics to snuff out the silent awkwardness that was soon to follow, when light flashed, and another portal opened.
This one a mixture of deep blue and white, with frosty smoke pouring out at the edges. From it stepped a man— more a child than a man, really. It was very common practice for Ascendants to keep a youthful appearance when constructing their prime avatar, but Hozen Darin went further than that. The man, who was probably half a million years old by now, still carried the image of a child still in their early teens. His deep-set eyes, though, which carried the aura of something that had seen civilizations rise and fall, spoke to the contrary.
Like some of the truly powerful unconcerned with projecting power through unneeded wealthy displays, the man was putting on a simple black shirt and pants, a contrast to his bleached white hair.
Kairen saw it as Hozen's hackles rose the moment he finally took in who he shared the space with. She applauded his efforts in trying to keep his newfound wariness contained, but it was obviously not working, seeing as she wasn't the only one who noticed.
"Oh calm down, you," Leceia smiled. "I'm not going to bite."
"Forgive me if my wariness is overdone when I find myself in the midst of two grands," Hozen gritted out. "We all know the outcome if a fight breaks out."
"Oh, look at that," Leceia murmured, with a look at Kairen like they were sharing a joke, "the primal is afraid."
Leceia raised her white painted nails to her face like she was cleaning out dirt. "Trust me, Harbinger, if a fight were to break out, I wouldn't need the help of an Adjudicator to end you." She finished with a bright smile.
Inwardly, Kairen grimaced. That sentence would only serve to further frighten the man.
Thankfully, they were saved as another portal opened up, this one a mixture of deep orange and red. And from it, another Ascendant stepped forward.
In contrast to the childish features of the Harbinger of the primal cult of water, Muzen ka of the unquenching flame took on the appearance of a wizened old man. His appearance wasn't too old as to seem deathly, but it was close. His garment, no doubt covering the bony body within, brightened with tiny sparks of fire. The man himself instantly took in the appearance of everyone around with his deep, piercing crimson orbs, unsettling to anyone who wasn't an Ascendant.
The tiny whisp of dark hair remaining on his head, like the plumes on a helmet, drifted slowly to a non-existent breeze. Kairen raised an eyebrow at that. Why keep something that was practically gone?
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Herald," the man nodded at Kairen. "Herald," he did the same to Leceia, but with a deeper nod. And then he finally turned to Hozen. "Isn't this meeting meant for adults? Why are you here?"
Kairen stifled a laugh at that, unwilling to offend anyone even though they could do nothing about it. Leceia, who Kairen had expected to do the opposite, simply glanced at the old man and then away, her eyes continuously trained on the shining display in the distance.
In response to the subtle jab, Hozen, in contrast to the expression Kairen expected from him, cooled, taking on a cold expression. He looked away from his counterpart in an open display of disregard.
Kairen shook her head at that. Childrens.
Luckily, the rest of the group began arriving one after the other.
Jenst Marg, Herald of the Primal cult of earth was a buffy man with a face half covered in a huge scruffy beard and a puffed up hair on his head. He was putting on a brown robe clinched losely at the waist, with a furry cape made from the furs of some apocalypse tier monster draped over his back.
The man didn't have time to acknowledge everyone before another portal tore open nearby, spewing out a misty-looking lady.
Ferr Gorra looked like someone high on some kind of euphoric substance, with her unfocused cloud white eyes which seemed to be looking at something the rest of them couldn't see.
Like her counterparts, she was also putting on a simple blue-white robe, which was more the color of the cult of water, and judging by the scathing look Hozen directed her way, Karen wasn't the only one to take notice.
Now that everyone had arrived, Kairen turned towards a seemingly random location. "Enough hiding, Shadow. Come out."
At her words, the rest of the Ascendants, with the exception of Leceia, instantly turned towards that location, surprise and a tiny bit of fear on their faces. Good, they should be afraid. The fact that any assassin with a good alignment could easily sneak up on them was not good for the image of power they were trying to portray. Of course, Kairen knew that sneaking up was more easier than actually killing their target, so she understood why they were less afraid.
Reality rippled and the darkness of space seemed to pull back, unwrapping itself to reveal a man of wiry stature, as expected from one in that kind of business.
His hair was dark and cut very short. And just like Hozen, he was putting on a simple black shirt and pants; cotton, if the nonexistent sound from his movement was anything to go by.
Kidrak Morr grinned at them all as he walked up closer to the gathering, openly reveling in the looks of shock and wariness on the faces of the primal Ascendants.
The man nodded at Kairen and then directed a deeper one towards Leceia, who returned it with a subtle nod.
"As expected from a Herald of Order," he winked at Kairen, his dark eyes glinting under the distant light of the dying world spirit. "Nothing can get away from you, can it?"
"Your flattery is noticed," Kairen said. "And promptly ignored."
Now that everyone had arrived, Kairen began. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice."
"...not like we had any choice," someone murmured, a murmur which Kairen chose to ignore.
"Normally, I wouldn't call an emergency meeting like this and have it situated in the middle of nowhere, but precautions have to be made," She finished, looking at each of them to convey the gravity of what this entailed.
"Hours ago, I was sent on an errand toward a random star system in the middle of nowhere to investigate the sudden appearance of an anomaly," she began, folding her hands behind her back.
"An anomaly?" Hozen was the one to ask, though she saw the question mirrored in the eyes of the others.
"I do not know exactly what it was, as I was told only a short while after it had happened," she said truthfully. "But what I am led to believe is that two grand elements were used."
"Seriously?" Jenst began and was about to say something else when Kairen cut him off.
"No, hear me out," she raised a palm in a stalling gesture. "Two grand essences suddenly spiking in the middle of nowhere would not have drawn the sort of attention my temple now puts on it. The reason for the alarm was that both elements weren't just drawing from the ambient essence, they were drawing straight from their origin planes," she finished, watching as the dubiosity on most of their faces swiftly changed to shock and curiosity.
It was rare for an essence to spike just by being drawn from the ambient essence, but not unheard off. Individuals with the greatest authority over an element in a planet could accomplish that. But for such spike to come from the essence being drawn straight from the origin planes? Well, that was a serious issue.
Things like that, if left unchecked, could tear through an entire system in seconds, and if that continued, then the entire Galaxy was at risk. There were beings with the capability to draw straight from the origin planes, which was what made her temple nervous, since those beings weren't supposed to be here without their knowledge.
"What grand elements were they?" Hozen asked again.
"Life and Soul," Kairen answered, looking at Leceia as she spoke. The others did too, which would have elicited some sort of discomfort on the Ascendant. But if the woman in question was feeling any sort of uneasiness, she didn't show it.
"Is this the reason you requested for my presence?" Herald Leceia asked, her voice cool and undisturbed.
"No," Kairen shook her head. "While it would be easier to point fingers, we all know very well how unlikely it is for you to have any hand in that. No, what I called you all here for is that: on arriving at the star system, I was shocked to see that all the planets occupying that region were gone. Completely destroyed with no trace whatsoever."
Now silence settled. They all knew what that meant. Everyone here in this gathering, one way or another, had the capability to destroy World Spirits. Completely eradicating them, though, without leaving a trace, was another story."
"The System guardian?"
"Doesn't want to say anything," Kairen answered, which pinched her pride. An Ascendant like Leceia would have been able to intimidate the Sun spirit into cooperating.
"If power was the problem on your last visit, I'm sure all of us together could remedy that," Kidrak offered.
Kairen shook her head. "It would have worked a few hours ago, but the moment I left the star system, the Sun Spirit moved. I do not know where it is since it completely severed its karmic strings with the star system."
Another silence, this one much more intense than the last. There was only one way to completely sever karmic strings, and that was to completely annihilate the thing at the other end. System guardians were brutal, willing to protect their homes with everything in their power. Kairen understood that for them to do that, there had to be the possibility of a win. The Sun Spirit fleeing spoke of the contrary.
"I assume you have already read into the memories of that system?" Ferr finally spoke, her voice soothing in ways Kairen found difficult to describe.
Again, Kairen shook her head. "I could not."
Hozen frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means that the memories of the event had been removed. Destroyed," Leceia explained, a frown on her face as she gazed at Kairen.
Kairen understood that frown. Even amongst all those here, none of them had the capability to remove a memory so much so that another Ascendant couldn't piece through it at all.
"Forgive me, Primarch," Ferr said. "But I fail to see how this concerns us," she gestured at the remaining Primals. "This is a matter of the grand cults, why are we here?"
Kairen knew it would eventually come to this. Thankfully, she was ready. "I called you here because your various temple are the ones closest to the star system in question, and also: all of your cults, with the major exception of earth, and to a lesser extent, air, had a major participation in the events leading to that moment."