1 The Hierarchy

High in the exosphere of Magna, there stood twenty Celestials.

Thirteen on one side, seven on the other.

Far below the group of celestials, a massive war involving hundreds of thousands of cultivators was taking place.

On the ground were the weakest of the weak. Elites among humans. Postulant and Nascent Tier cultivators. Leading them were generals in the Novice Tier.

Above them in the stratosphere were the Adroits, wielding powers that were beyond human capabilities. The distance between them and the weaker troops below ensured that their attacks would fizzle out before causing excessive collateral damage.

Farther up, in the mesosphere, were the Masters. A step further than the Adroit, their attacks were fiercer and more efficient. From them came the most collateral damage, as they could accidentally destroy large swathes of cultivators on the ground if they weren't careful.

Maps had to be redrawn whenever they fought.

And just before the Celestials, in the thermosphere, were the Mythical Tier cultivators.

Their attacks lit up the sky in a grand display of power, outshining the sun. The control they had over their abilities made it so that they never caused collateral damage if they hadn't wanted to.

They were monsters amongst the inhuman. However. . .

A truly massive, blazing ball of inferno hit the group of twenty Celestials from the fight between the Mythical Tier cultivators. It exploded with such a ferocity that the sound was heard on the other side of the globe.

And yet. . .

The dark fumes were quickly blown away by an emerald gale. Not a single protection was put up, and yet, they stood there as if nothing had happened. Such was the hierarchy of mortal plain cultivators.

"How many times are we going to do this, Valerio?" the man leading the seven asked, his voice mirthful.

"As many as it takes, Amon."

Valerio's voice was laced with rage, yet his face didn't show it.

The two leaders were similar in their weapon of choice, but their style couldn't be anymore different.

Valerio was clad in shining plate armor, and a beautiful double edged sword hung from his hip. Atop his dark brown hair sat a crown, and his armor featured a depiction of that crown in multiple spots.

He even wore a cape with the same design on its back, which fluttered wildly in the winds.

His faction wore identical suits of armor, though instead of a crown, they wore angular helmets with a depiction of the crown serving as their visor. They also lacked the cape Valerio wore.

He was lean, though the armor made him look a smidge more bulky than he actually was. He was an imposing figure that stood six feet tall. And his well maintained mustache and beard completed his look.

Meanwhile, Amon was clad in a black and gold karuta, and a fierce looking Katana hung from his hip. His jet black hair was put up in a ponytail using a golden clasp of some kind. His face was free of any facial hair, but his chiseled jawline allowed him to maintain a mature visage.

His faction wore the same gold karuta, but they wore masks that obscured their faces. Each one different from the other.

The two leaders then silently drew out their swords in unison.

The rest of the group also drew out their weapons. Hammers, spears, bows, staffs, axes, whips, and maces. One even took out a single shield.

"Well then, I suppose it's high time we've ended this charade of ours. I think I might miss it, honestly, my old friend," Amon said as he took his stance.

"Fuck off, bastard."

Valerio shot forward at sub-light speeds using a focused explosion of vibrant flames and emerald currents, slashing sideways with his blade. Amon met it in kind, mimicking Valerio. The two blades clashed violently, sending a colorless shockwave through the fabric of reality.

The energy those ripples contained would've sent their comrades flying, but Amon had opened a spatial rift just before their blades clashed. They were now a continent's worth of distance away from their comrades.

Amon twisted his body as the two blades scraped against each other, using the momentum to get to Valerio's side and unleash another slash. Valerio suddenly dropped lower like a rock, causing the slash to miss.

His descent halted just as quickly as it started, and he sent his left hand forward, unleashing a powerful array of thunderbolts forward. It outshined the fights of the Mythical Tier cultivators, and left unassuming humans on the ground without their sight for the foreseeable future, if they'd ever get it back at all.

Rather than fly around the array of lightning bolts or even counter it with his own elemental attack, Amon flew straight into them, passing through essentially unhindered as he weaved through the intricate array of dangerous bolts.

Chunks of his armor and flesh flew off with each graze, but he hardly felt them as he drew closer to Valerio.

"Dumbass!"

However, catching him by surprise, the array collapsed in on itself, trapping Amon. In the next instant, Valerio created an extremely dense ball of fortis in his hand, before using his lightning to set up a devastating railgun.

The ball of fortis shot forward like a comet, a tail of white electricity and friction flames flowing behind it. Yet, at the same time, the prison of white thunderbolts burst open with several black slashes.

Amon saw the incoming fortis ball within the fraction of an instant it would've hit him, and quickly slashed at it using his katana, which became covered in a solid black aura. The Katana and the ball met, and they annihilated each other.

The debris left scratch marks all over Amon and his equipment, but he only shot forward while summoning another Katana into his hand. It too was quickly enveloped by a dark aura.

Just before the two could clash blades, Valerio's comrade appeared before him. He swatted Amon with his beautifully crafted mace, sending him flying into the distance. The mace, however, wasn't left unscathed. A deep cut had appeared on its surface.

Another of Valerio's comrades appeared soon after, carrying a bow. He shot a volley of light arrows, exploding when they got close to Amon. His offensive was continuous, allowing the trio to talk briefly.

"Amari, Hakim, you good?"

They nodded, and Amari spoke while Hakim continued to fire volleys of light arrows.

"We're good. Dexter was tough, but now, we'll never have to worry about that freaky fucker again."

Valerio nodded at them with a smile, but his mental energy quickly swept over the entire battlefield, covering the vast distances needed with ease. He got a brief snapshot of what was going on.

Dexter's corpse had just begun to fall down to the ground.

Rose had just whipped at Ivy using a fresh thorny vine, and she seemed to be channeling energy for another spell. Nova assisted her by getting into close quarters combat with Ivy, the power of her flames nearly countering Ivy's offensive.

Alex and Conner had just punched each other in their faces.

Matt and Jon seemed to be struggling against Noah's relentless offensive. Even in that snapshot of the field, he had just sent out hundreds of black slashes. Maya had just been bisected, and her corpse was beginning to fall.

Skylar and Halo were in the same boat as Matt and Jon, though they were better off in comparison.

Sarah was decimating Shiva and Evelyn with Ivan's help.

'God damn, she wasn't kidding when she said she was going to get even with them. . .' Valerio thought in passing.

His focus then went back onto Amon.

"You two go help Halo's squad, I got this fucker."

The two quickly disappeared from where they stood, leaving Valerio alone with his enemy once more. The explosions began to dissipate as Amon came speeding towards Valerio yet again. Suddenly, a portal opened up and swallowed him.

Valerio spun to his right, and a menacing crimson glow surrounded him. A solid white glow surrounded his blade, and a whistling sound accompanied it. Their blades clashed as Amon came out of the portal that had appeared behind Valerio.

Sparks flew when the blades clashed, and an ear wrenching sound accompanied it. It was as if a saw blade was trying to cut through a solid block of tungsten. It was working, just irritatingly slowly.

Their blades continued to clash as they spun, dropped, and ascended, oftentimes flying in intricate patterns, attempting to throw off their opponent.

Valerio kept getting stronger with each clash, making Amon's arms grow numb as their clashes continued. With that increase in strength came an increase in intensity of his aura. It became more menacingly vibrant. It was becoming suffocating for Amon.

White flares also began to flow through the menacing aura.

"This is certainly new! These centuries of peace haven't affected you in the slightest!"

Valerio's face became a scowl. He hated this talkative bastard with a passion.

The crimson aura grew even fiercer as he shot forward.

"However. . . It's still not enough!"

Valerio's vision suddenly changed.

"Shit."

"Amon took control of the spacetime around us!" Hakim yelled out when Valerio suddenly appeared on the trajectory of his light arrow. Valerio ascended as fast as he could, but It pierced through his chest as if it were butter.

He was left with a gaping hole just below his heart. Any closer and the intricate spell he was setting up would go haywire. An instant death for every mortal and inhuman being in that hemisphere was certain if it happened, and even his fellow celestials would be left harshly injured.

Valerio quickly spread his mental energy, allowing the crimson energy to flow through it. It was the only technique he had with enough weight to counteract the effects of the spatial domain. The others had similar techniques, but they were more exhaustive on their mental energy reserves.