56 So Far Away

A NOTE FROM LIGHTNINGWARRIOR21

Here we are. Enjoy, and thank you for all the love!

POV: Statera Luotian

I yawned, feeling tears well up in the corner of my eyes as my jaw popped loudly. Loud enough that everyone in the room, and there were a bunch of them, as this was a meeting between deities, turned to look at me.

"What?" I asked innocently, stifling another yawn. "I'm just as tired as you all, so don't give me that look."

"Yes, but none of us are yawning," Tian, bless his soul, said, being the only one stupid enough to say that directly to my face. I love him for that, and showed that love by smiling at him. (Even though I had all but forgotten about him until he spoke up. Oops? It's hard to even remember if I'm seeing the future or the past or the present at the moment...it's all kind of blurring together...I need a break. Another, longer one, but I cannot afford such a luxury. No one can.)

"If we could get back on topic," Elvira said with a resigned sigh, rubbing her temples. I smiled and nodded, beckoning with my hands for her to continue. The renovations to the Spirit Realm were well underway, almost complete at this point, making the afterlife more a life after life than the souls and such just standing around waiting to be reincarnated. This would solve far more problems than initially predicted, which pulled a lot of pressure off the rest of the Realms and allowed more power from the Will of the Four Realms to go towards allowing said Realms to grow faster, because we were still fit to bursting with the number of deities and angels and other high-level beings in the universe.

Thankfully the doubled Primordial Chaos was allowing the Realms to grow much, much faster. Exponentially so. I may have to duplicate the process at some point, once the Chaos returns to manageable levels...but, similarly, I can't do it too often becuase that would be bad. Why it was bad I hadn't had the time nor brain power to figure out yet, but it was. Ah, wait, now they're talking about the new regions that would appear in the next few thousand years, and what we should do about the Barrier.

There were five new regions total, all Seeds from the first Region, forming in the Primordial Chaos as we spoke, with the other Regions not yet large or old enough yet to properly make Seeds of their own. And so, everyone is wondering if we should create a second Barrier for the same reasons they created the first (to ensure no one interfered with the growth of the new Regions and their inhabitants) or if we should move the first barrier outwards, or just leave it where it is, or even allow it to fade into non-existance.

"Just leave it where it is, for now. In a few hundred thousand years," if we survive that long, I didn't say out loud, "we should be able to let the First Region and the others intermingle, or perhaps even sooner if we're lucky, but for now it should stay as is. No new barriers, just leave it alone." I abruptly decided, stopping the argument from going in a gigantic, far-too-wordy circle for the fifth time. Reika shot me a grateful look, her hair a bit of a mess, and she continued to weave something made out of the fibers of leaves as she listened to Keilan start to rant about the changes in the Karmic Realm and how it's affecting the reincarnation cycle.

Supposedly it's theraputic. Both ranting and weaving, I mean.

...I need a hobby to keep myself occupied. But, wait, doesn't creating and running an entire universe kind of count as a hobby?...no, wait, that's not a hobby...WAIT. I CREATED AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE. Very quickly I portioned off the part of my mind that was having an existential crisis, because how did I create an entire UNIVERSE, dammit?! The answer is; I don't know. And how did it take this long for this fact to hit me? Like, yes, I knew that I created a universe, but never did all the implications therein hit me - until this moment. In which I was very mentally preoccupied. Because I don't think that even now, I'm powerful enough or skilled enough in Creation to create another universe.

...focus, Statera, focus. You're running off on tangents. With that thought, I killed four of the incarnations that weren't particularly doing anything, allowing my mental faculties to regain enough clarity for me to focus on the meeting.

"...so really, it's all going to be amazing, but right now it's nothing but a mess." Keilan finished with a weary sigh.

"And that's not even getting started on..." I sighed heavily, and prepared myself once more for the long haul. There was just too damn much to do...and we were still just getting started.

POV CHANGE: Tian

"Well that was a nightmare," I muttered under my breath, leaving Elvira's Holy Palace with Inesa, our arms intertwined. She nodded in agreement, yawning slightly and poking my side.

"Yes. Did you see how tired the Big Five and the Creator looked? They're working at least ten times harder than the rest of us, it's a miracle they look even half as aware as they are." Inesa said, a bit of praise lacing her voice.

"Statera was nodding off mid-sentence," I pointed out.

"She's working the hardest out of all of us. I heard that, at one point, there were over one hundred incarnations of Her running about in the Four Realms, all while Her true self remained functional. I know you haven't gotten used to the whole 'divine power' thing, and using incarnations, but that is an inconceivably impressive feat considering how much power Her incarnations still had." Inesa attempted to explain, trying to impress me. I was having none of it, despite the fact that, yes, I was having a bit of an interesting time getting used to 'divine power.'

It was just so...different than anything else I'd used, and yet the same. It was all energies of the Four Realms and then some, and was tinged with my domain of Conflict. Which I still had yet to fully understand, but when I told Inesa that she just laughed at me.

"...He was still nodding off." I argued back.

"Do I need to remind you that you were crying - no, blubbering like a child when Sequoia called you 'dad?'" Inesa asked sweetly, and I cringed inwardly because no, I did not cry, I did not shed one manly tear, it never happened no matter what Inesa says.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said weakly, and Inesa just giggled. "It doesn't even fit into the conversation we were just having." I continued, voice gaining strength just a bit.

"No, but I wanted to definitively win the argument," she shot back with a smug grin, and I cringed because I just knew that she would win whatever argument she wanted with me just by bringing up that subject even if it never happened. I did not cry, dammit.

Running my hand over my face, I unskillfully switched topics, unsure if unskillfully was even a word. "I'm going to go pay a visit to the Celestial Empress and the other Dao Progenitors before I get started on any of my tasks. They deserve to know what's going on, especially if they felt how the Stars changed." I explained. The Dao Stars of the Martial Way that I had created underwent a change when I ascended to become a deity, mostly because the intent behind them became much, much bigger. The Martial Way still existed as a Dao Path, but now there was...something else (far more intangible than stars) that represented my Deific Path. Those who followed my Dao Path (which was literally every single Dao Progenitor thus far) would most likely have felt this change.

Hence why I felt the need to inform them. Though I doubt any of them really had much of a chance to become a deity themselves in the near future, it was common courtesy. Well, for me at least. Considering I was THE trailblazer, and needed to at least tell people there was now a trail they could follow.

"Right, well I'll see you later then. I'm going to work on keeping the mortals calmed." Inesa said, patting my shoulder. As the Deity of Hearth and Home, it seemed she was the most suited to keeping the mortals from tearing themselves apart...to a degree. She was by far the most relateable of all the deities, because of her domain.

"Yeah, see you," I told her, watching as she vanished. With a light sigh, and imagining what the Celestial Empress's reaction will be like, I too left for my destination...which is a bit of a redundant thought, if I think about it.

Along the way, I passed by numerous angels and highly powerful spiritual beings, most of which greeted me as I passed by, and many of which were looking at me with somewhat smug smiles. The reason was simple - at some point in my life, most likely many of these beings had watched over me. And they had guided me to this point...through all my tantrums and ranting and raving about wanting things to go faster, because I didn't want to wait.

And now they're giving me smug looks because I finally got here, in the right way, not the fastest way. Smug pricks. I'll admit that they did good to get me here, but never to their faces.

Eventually, I reached the Mortal Realm, crossing the distance between the two Realms with competuous ease especially compared to when I was but a Dao Progenitor trying to travel between Realms. And, upon crossing the Realm border, I immediately teleported to the Celestial Palace, where the Celestial Empress was already waiting for me in her billowing silk robes and shiny golden adornments. Now that I looked at her as a deity, I could see much of what made her, her, enough for me to revise my opinion of her.

She was a bit of a spoiled princess, that was true. But she truly was a good ruler, having spent two million years running the Mortal Realm would turn practically anyone into a good ruler if they payed a little bit of attention. The Celestial Empress, however, didn't do it because she lusted for power, like I somewhat thought. True, she desires to grow much, much stronger, so no one can oppose her on this Realm. But at her core, hidden behind all of her extraneous thoughts and desires and wrapped in her desire to rule, is the desire to protect Manu Ti - the city that saved her, the legacy of the one who brought her world out of the darkness; my legacy. The legacy of Manu Ti.

I couldn't help but smirk. After all these years, she was still chasing after me...as a ruler, not as a cultivator.

I couldn't be more proud of her.

"Heya, little miss empress," I greeted her, floating down to eye-level with where she stood on the veranda of her palace. She stared at me for a moment before smiling and shaking her head, putting a hand over her face and chuckling.

"You finally did it, didn't you?" She asked as more of a question, still hiding her expression from me.

"Yes. I am a deity now. The deity of conflict." I affirmed, nodding my head. "Of course I'll come visit time to time, but there's a lot I'll be doing. It's crazy how much more you can see after becoming a deity, it's like even the Mortal Realm becomes a whole new world." I explained to her.

"I see," the empress says, looking up to meet my eyes. And if I noticed that she was hiding her eyes beneath an illusion...well. I didn't comment.

"Of course, I'll be waiting for you," I continue on, and at this the Celestial Empress blanches. Within her I can see emotions roil about - confusion, mostly - but beneath it all is a little spark. A spark of hope, because she has been guarding this one spot for what seems like eternity, unable to move on. "I'm looking forward to the day you become a deity." I said, nodding my head to her and stepping away. The Celestial Empress blinks at me in surprise, and I just grin. There it is - the spark has begun to flicker into a flame.

"You - I - what?" She stammered, and I chuckled, watching as the flame began to slowly turn into a roaring passion, a desire to grow stronger, though she herself did not notice it yet. So this is how the other deities felt when they kept goading me towards becoming a deity.

....I begrudingly admit that it is a lot of fun. "See ya," I said in farewell, because my last goodbye had me definitely not crying, nope, so I opted for that. And then I vanished, cackling to myself at the Celestial Empress's expression.

POV CHANGE: Morgan (The Shadow of the Four Realms)

I could feel the danger, same as everyone else. Not nearly as well as That One, of course, but I can feel it all the same. And I know that I must do something in order to prevent the Four Realm's destruction.

At first, I thought that it was to create yet another conflict, because the Four Realms certainly came out stronger than before after the Sun War, but that isn't necessary. The way things are going with the turmoil in the Mortal Realm, I won't need to do anything - although those that view me as some sort of spiteful, hateful, malicious entity (which, face it, I kind of am) figure that I'm behind the chaos that is slowly building up into a Realm-wide war in the Mortal Realm. It's actually kind of cute. I don't have to do anything to cause a war, those foolish mortals are doing it all on their own.

Heh. And my Arachion's are right in the middle of it all, like the predatorial species they are. I'm so proud. (Dimly, I realize that this feeling is the one That One wished to instill into me, but I will never admit I feel it.)

No, instead of starting a war I am helping my Dimensional Creators to expand their...dimensions. The First Dimension was progressing nicely, having reached a rather large size, but I needed to create more. The goal was to have dimensional pockets across the entirety of the Four Realms, and since they exist "outside" of the Four Realms, creating a sort of net around the outside. After all, the new dimensions actually exist outside of the Primordial Chaos and the Abyss...technically speaking.

Technically, the new Dimensions existed within the Four Realms as well, albeit on another plane of existance, which is an infuriating topic to attempt to wrap my brain around because isn't the Spirit, Karmic, Heaven, and Mortal Realms all different planes of existance?

I snorted and turned my gaze back towards my Dimensional Creators, watching them work and "dig" in to the new plane of existance, quite literally carving a home for themselves into the fabric of space. If I were to equate it to anything...hm, I'd use those automobiles that have cropped up on so many planets, in many different forms. The Four Realms is the automobile itself - uselessly disecting this analogy to describe what Realm with what part is that useless dragon, Alexander's, job, not mine - while what I'm having the Dimensional Creators build is more like...roll bars.

Not that they realize I'm having them make this, of course. I'm discovering the joys of manipulation, beyond whipping foolish dark angels into a frenzy. Speaking of dark angels...

"We've finished over there," a dark angel said, appearing next to me and pointing towards where another group of Dimensional Creators had created another dimension. (That seems like a redundant group of words.)

"I am aware," I growled out, fixing the dark angel with a glare. "I thought I told you not to bother me with trivialities." The dark angel just shrugged and I sighed. "Go, then. Go terrorize a planet or something. If I desire for you to do something, I will call and you will come." I reminded it. The being shuddered in response before gleefully flying off, probably to do exactly as I described - terrorize a planet so as to feed off of the negativity of the mortals.

Dark angels had started popping up more and more often as of late, mostly due to the chaos, but even they won't be the big players in the game that is starting in the Mortal Realm. No, the big players will be the Evil Cultivators, or Vile Cultivators. The ones with all the power of the dark angels and cultivators.

I allowed a feral grin to spread across my face as I lounged, watching everything with my many eyes. Yes, I will enjoy watching where all this goes. Even if I do not interfere directly, it is still fun to watch people make a mess of things.