16 The Awakening (Nine Thousand Years)

POV: ???

I hate it. Everything. I hate it all.

In the beginning, I was there. I was there and watched as That One passed over me in favor of The Others, granting them a blessing and power. And then The Others had the audacity to go and create their hideous Realms! That One approved of this blasphemy, even going so far as to stabilize what The Others had created, and I felt cold, cold hatred enter me. How could they ruin this perfect world? That One had made us first in this world, and who were they to change it? How could That One continue to change it? Was it not already perfect?

I didn't understand.

I didn't want to understand.

I hated it all, but it was bearable. Like this, with the Four Realms, it was bearable. I even considered making a body for myself, to see what it was like. Then, That One said the words that forever haunt my dreams.

"Let there be light." A soundless scream tore itself out of me as my soul began to writhe in pain at its sudden appearance. It hurt! It hurt it hurt it hurt! IT HURT SO BAD! I twisted and writhed, screaming and screaming, tearing at my own soul to try and escape the pain. But the more I scratched, the worse the pain became, until I couldn't think any further. IT HURT! Slowly, though, ever so slowly, I regained my consciousness. The pain never subsided, but I was able to think again. It was awful, being conscious and sentient while feeling that every little portion of my being was slowly being torn apart and rebuilt over and over and over again. I turned to look at the cause of all my pain, that hideous ball of light, and felt a burning hatred so deep that the hatred I had felt before paled in comparison. I wanted it gone. I wanted it all gone. That One doesn't understand that what was created is vile and blasphemous, so I will teach That One.

Charging towards the monstrosity, I swiftly came to realize that I would not be able to touch that ball, let alone get near it. But I was patient. I knew that with enough power, I would be able to destroy that damnable thing and everything else along with it. But I had to get stronger, because That One would surely try to stop me. So, ever so slowly, I began to amass power. At first it was incredibly difficult, but after I sat and watched the creation of the Four Realms for a while, learning from the beings that appeared after That One and The Others created worlds.

I couldn't help but sneer as I watched those foolish beings run about, performing their pointless deeds. Eventually I would destroy everything, and then what would they have? Thus, their actions were pointless, as the world would be returned back to perfection and their deeds would hold no meaning.

After an indefinite period of time (funny concept, time. As if the passage of such a thing could affect one like me, or That One.) I began to pay attention to the small little "beasts," as they were called, as they were given life in the Realms. Watching them caused me to sneer once more, staring coldly at their pointless, insignificant lives as they ran about doing pointless, insignificant things. Then, after another indefinite time period, something in me changed. I had been playing around with a silly little being, distracting myself from the pain by manipulating them into doing something completely stupid, when I noticed a black strand rising out of the body of one of the beasts I had been toying with. Normally I did not concern myself with such things, but out of boredom I decided to touch the thing and play with it.

When I did touch it, it was sucked into my body and the pain I had been enduring subsided a bit. A shudder of ecstasy ran through me as I stared at where it had once been, a strange feeling spreading throughout my entire being. That was...delicious. I licked my metaphorical lips and looked back at the beasts, attempting to get them to release the black thing again, and when I finally got it to happen I greedily devoured it and swiftly continued the process. After thousands upon tens of thousands of years had passed, through my experimentations I had realized quite a number of things about this black energy. Whenever I devoured it, a small part of my power would grow, and it only appeared when the beasts felt an influx of negative emotion, releasing that black smoke. Unfortunately the beasts didn't release much of this energy, which I dubbed Negative Energy, but that changed when That One created its People, the Fae, as That One called them.

I tried. I really, really tried to keep away from them while That One watched over them, but the temptation was too great. With speed greater than anything I had ever mustered, I reached out and gently twisted a few of the People before quickly retreating and watching That One for any signs of movement.

There were none. And thusly, I began to form a theory that swiftly proved to be true. I had even, at one point, stood directly in front of That One, and remained unnoticed. That One couldn't sense me. Nothing could sense me. I was alone in my little world, but for some strange reason I knew that I could touch the ones I had manipulated to release that black smoke. Revealing a mocking smile as I looked at That One, I continued to manipulate the People, slowly coming to realize that my original theory was not exactly correct. I could just barely be sensed every once in a while. Every time I manipulated one of the People and released a strand of the black smoke, That One would notice something. It wasn't much, an errant twitch here and there, but when I manipulated a few beasts into killing the child of a hunter, and said hunter cursed That One, fear lanced through me as I feared I had been found out.

And for a second, I almost had been. That One stared at me for a long while with a pained expression before turning away again. When That One disappeared and I consumed the large amount of black smoke that appeared I realized that I had to be more tactful about all this.

So I waited. And waited. And when that hunter finally died, his soul slowly making its way to the River, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind and I latched onto that soul, dragging it into the same world as I. The ripples that caused gave That One quite a start, and That One truly began to notice my presence. That One called me 'the storm.' However, that did not interest me. What did interest me was the soul in my grasp. Letting out a low hum I caused a few beasts to create another strand of black smoke, and forcefully fed it to the soul. It struggled for a bit before complying, and upon seeing the changes to the soul I laughed. This! With this, I wasn't the only one that had to fight to return the world to perfection! I could create my own People!

"I will feed you, you will grow stronger, and together we shall destroy this blasphemous world." I told the soul. The soul trembled but didn't have any power to resist as I kept feeding it that black smoke, gradually increasing its power as well as my own.

Shortly thereafter, I felt something. Something calling for me, out beyond what was called the Abyss and in the Void, that almost perfect Void that was only missing what That One originally created. Out of curiosity I moved through the Abyss, the crashing waves doing nothing to harm me, until I reached the source of this call. After observing the Void for a short while, I came to realize that something was being born here, something not too unlike myself. We were similar, but inherently different...and I smiled coldly in my heart. If there could be two of us, then our chances of destroying the Four Realms would increase greatly. However, it needed a push...and I didn't know what that push could be. After sitting there contemplating for a while, a change occurred deep within the Void. I could barely sense it, a soul wandering on the very edges, and the thing that was waking up just barely reacted to it.

This was my chance. With a burst of power I shot towards the soul, only to bang against a giant blue wall. With a mild curse I glared at the wall, slowly realizing that this thing was what was keeping the other being from waking up. I sneered in my heart and pushed against the wall, sending out a series of bursts that gently vibrated this wall...right up until it just barely cracked. That one small crack caught the attention of the soul and, contrary to my expectations, it charged right through the wall and deep into the Four Realms, laughing crazily the entire time. It was completely surprising, but worked out even better than I could've imagined as both the other being woke up and the foreign soul started to wreak havoc in the Four Realms.

"Welcome, brother." I said, speaking to the other being but receiving no response as it sat there, motionless. I frowned and glared at it, slowly moving forwards to poke it before freezing as an aura unlike anything I had ever felt erupted from within the Four Realms. It completely froze me, my entire being trembling at the fury it radiated and sheer power that rolled off of it in waves, the entire Four Realms shuddering in response to it. Only That One could cause such a reaction from me, and I shivered. I had been arrogant to think that I could face That One so soon.

The battle between That One and the foreign soul lasted all but a few seconds, right up until the one like me completely erased the foreign soul. It's power shocked me, and I watched wide-eyed as it chased That One back into the Four Realms, injuring That One in the process. A shudder ran through my body and I laughed, flying forth and splitting the Chaos, as it was called, to charge towards the hideous monstrosity that caused me so much pain. When I slammed into it intense pain wracked my body and I was sent flying backwards, screaming and writhing. The hideous monstrosity trembled and shifted position, but otherwise was completely fine. I cursed it out loud, before a sudden desire caused my attention to shift. In the Mortal Realm, a dense, dense cloud of black smoke rose into the air, and I flickered forwards, devouring it with all the speed I could muster. The foreign soul must've caused a lot of damage for all this black smoke to appear.

However I didn't eat all of it. Instead I saved some, knowing that I could use it to power up that soul I had been tainting, before turning my attention back towards the fight between That One and the void being. What I saw was that it was over. All that was left were fragments of the void floating about and...drops of...That One's essence...Before I even realized what I was doing I lurched forwards, gobbling up those few drops and the fragments, and my form began to drastically change. Panicking because I could feel myself being drug into the same plane of existence as That One and The Others, I dug a hole in the very fabric of the Four Realms.

A deep, deep hole. Even I didn't understand this hole, but it hid me away as I assimilated the drops of That One's essence and the void being's fragments.

I stayed that way for a long, long time. Or, at least what felt that way. I woke up fifty years after That One went into secluded meditation, a time period that felt like ages to me. I laughed coldly after figuring out what the cause of this was; that thing called time flowed much, much faster in my little hole. Although it wasn't as big a gap as what I really felt, my sense of time never was the greatest, it was still fast. Inspecting my new body I sneered again, feeling that not only was I more powerful, but I would now grow in power alongside That One due to absorbing some of That One's essence. We were connected now...and I laughed coldly at that.

My next actions were very cautious, as I knew instinctively that if I was too obvious that I would very easily be discovered. I had become more...corporeal from absorbing That One's essence, even if the void being's fragments helped to keep me hidden. It was a strange equilibrium those two found...

I grabbed soul after soul and fed them the black smoke I had stored away, including that first one that I grabbed. It took him and a few other souls that were already dark due to various things very little time to develop into beings of great power, very similar to the angel that had recently appeared in the Four Realms. I didn't immediately act, but instead began to set up a situation to test their strength, manipulating some beasts and Fae while trying to lead that angel and the one mortal That One had taken interest in to the location. If I could kill them, then it would be wonderful.

However, what was outside my expectations was when The Fool found me, and asked for power after sensing my strength.

Of course, I was all too happy to oblige after seeing who it was.

This was just too good to be true.

I had gained a rather powerful puppet.

Obviously, I am favored to return the Four Realms back into perfection, and then That One will see. That One will see that it was wrong, and perfection with forever remain.

So I continued to bide my time, gradually increasing my power and followers, not feeling too depressed by the failure to destroy the angels nor that mortal-turned-immortal. All things would happen in due time. Seeing that That One didn't interfere with the conflicts I had created with The Others, I felt even prouder in my path, that I had indeed chosen the right way. These skirmishes increased in intensity over the next few thousand years, slowly becoming full-scale wars as my forces and the forces of The Others slowly became more numerous and more powerful. I held the numbers advantage, and became quite good at commanding.

Oh, how easy it is to corrupt those silly souls. How simplistically easy. It was mortifying. Were the world still perfect, this would not have happened. Silently, to myself, I made a vow to destroy all angels and dark angels the moment the world is righted. Only then will it truly be perfect. Well...I'd kill The Fool too. That one had to die either way.

After nearly ten thousand years of battle it was finally time. The final battle had finally come, and I let out a soft cackle as I looked at my forces. The first soul I had tainted now had power equivalent to a deity, and even it was not the most powerful of my forces. This was simply too great. Manipulating these fools was just too easy, and now, they will help with their own destruction.

"It is time." I told them, looking at all of my assembled forces. My hole had grown larger over the years, and various tunnels led across the entirety of the Four Realms. Now, though, it was time for war. All those entrances opened as wide as they could and my forces flooded out, swarming the Four Realms. They, in turn, stirred the beings I control already within the Mortal and Heaven Realms, only adding to the wave that spread. After a few moments I myself began to move, clenching one fist and shattering my hole, a destructive aura radiating off of me as I emerged. In an instant my soul and That One's essence reacted to the Four Realms, the entire universe twisting as my body formed from nothingness. A vicious grin spread across my face and my laughter echoed across the entire Four Realms as I, the strongest being just below That One set my sights on the Realm Sun with hunger in my eyes. Now that I had a stomach, capable of destroying anything thanks to the void beast fragments giving it that power, I felt hunger for the first time.

And devouring the sun felt like a good start to soothe this uncomfortable feeling.

POV CHANGE: Statera Luotian

Alexander had been tending to his Realm when the being emerged from its hole, startling him at the suddenness of the action. Although he had long since been prepared for it, the fact that it was moving now of all times still startled him. This only lasted for only the briefest of moments before he roared and charged towards the enemy and the waves of dark angels flooding the Four Realms. He knew that the final war was beginning now.

Keilan had been refining an alchemic pill formed from pure karma when it happened, nearly causing the process to fail. He, however, merely looked up, swiftly finished forming the pill, popped it into his mouth, and let out a low whistle. Instantly a number of beings from the karmic realm, such as the Karma Kings themselves, appeared at his side and disappeared alongside him to go stop the incoming horde.

Reika had been tending to her garden on the very top of the Life-Giving Tree. Plums, peaches, apples, pears, and thousands of other fruits all sparkled in the light of the Realm Sun, slowly transforming into more than just mortal fruits. The entire garden grew on the single highest leaf of the Life-Giving Tree, the leaf being in and of itself the size of a planet, so the garden was incredibly incredibly large, with billions of trees of each type of fruit. She didn't seem to react to the presence of the being, but slowly sank into the Life-Giving Tree itself. After a few moments she had completely disappeared within the Tree, and the branches began to twist and writhe, an indescribable aura radiating off of it. This was an incomplete technique that Reika had come up with, but already it had the potential to become the single most powerful technique in all of the Four Realms. Excluding my own, of course.

Elvira was standing watch over a number of deities as they practiced in the courtyard of her palace, creating techniques and lightly sparring against each other. She had officially been elected the military general of the Four Realms due to her astoundingly strategic mind, and was making sure that these deities were up to snuff for the upcoming battle. Ironically, these were the deities that believed such a thing would not happen yet still feared it. Sol, the sun deity, was among these deities. The moment the being appeared, Elvira sucked in a deep breath and, without hesitation, roared out the following phrase.

"PREPARE FOR WAR!" She boomed, clasping her hands behind her back and swiftly walking into her Palace. Inside was her battle armor, and as the general, she would lead the charge.

Dei...well, he was getting into a fistfight with a mortal in a tavern. Both were absolutely hammered, having spent most of the night drinking, and Dei was laughing loudly as he traded blows with the burly sailor. Over the years the mortal towns around the chains that bound Manu Ti to the ground had transformed into thriving cities, and he was currently on the outskirts of one of those cities. As soon as he heard Elvira's call to war, a sound that everyone beneath the Immortal Stage were unable to hear, his eyes glittered with a ferocious light. With a wave of his hand his ragged clothes transformed into blue robes, all signs of inebriation were wiped from his face, and a divine spear appeared in his hands. Then he disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the mortals stunned at what they had just witnessed.

He assembled his people, his army, with he, Celene, and Leo at the head. Just beneath them was a young woman who had only recently reached the Immortal Stage, bringing the total number of Immortal Mortals in the Four Realms up to four. Dei's people, and a number of other sects throughout the Mortal Realm, would wage war amongst mortals, as mortals move when the heavens do.

As for myself, when it appeared I merely opened one eye, instantly realizing where it had been hiding. It had created a pocket dimension just ouside of the Four Realms, something I hadn't been able to detect. Until now. Now that I knew what to look for, I would easily be able to find them. Currently I was sitting in my palace, though no longer on my meditation bed. Instead I was in a very special room even among all the rooms of my grand palace. Dark stone surrounded me, the only light in the entire place from the two pools in the center, one formed of solar fire and the other from lunar ice, though the lunar ice would only be complete when the Lunar Star is made. Technically speaking I could've created the Lunar Star two thousand years ago, however that would've led to the total collapse of the Four Realms so I was forced to restrain myself. Instead I spent the past two thousand years refining a treasure alongside Kei, who was currently meditating off to the side.

"It's beginning." Kei said with a stretch and a yawn, opening her eyes to look at me. She hadn't lost that mischievious glint in her eyes over the years, though she had only continued to grow more beautiful. Her nine fox tails had also been filled with purer and purer energy, to the point where she would even give one of my first four children a run for their money if it came to blows. My expression remained completely neutral as I nodded, looking down at the treasure in my hands. A complex expression crossed my face and I shook my head, closing my eyes and continuing to refine. "Not going to move yet?" She asked, and I shook my head again. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she stood up, a portal in space opening up. "I'm going to go watch. Not too interested in fighting, but...if things start looking bad I'll step in." She said, and disappeared.

After a long moment I sighed and opened my eyes once again, looking directly towards where the 'enemy' had appeared. That poor, poor child. "In all things there is balance. In life there is death, in creation there is destruction, when there is good there will be evil, and when the first shadow is cast a being shall be born in it." I sighed lightly. "This one was born in and of my own shadow. It is all but balance." I said, and once again returned to refining my treasure. I would not move until it was time.

That was the only way to keep the balance.