99 Faith

{No, that wasn't an enemy in that flashback. RELAX. Side note, my hair is always cut to be even but manages to grow into a mullet unprovoked. I might shave my head off.}

The moment when Yuri tilted his head up and cursed the sky, empowered by grievances which feasted upon god-given soul, the gods that grant Mundus themselves and the devils who play with it to their own amusement saw the scene very differently.

Among the Aedra, Zenithar and Julianos were the most aghast. Their lifeblood was commerce, logic, the material, and the down-to-earth. To see a pillar of psychic grievances that screamed their own grievance of being discarded spelled mystical atrocity to them if anything. But like the others who were largely unfamiliar with the most recent shaker of cosmological causality, to look down and see nothing yet understand that another of them was being born inside of that nothing shook them to their core.

Arkay, who had seen too many examples of the breaking of his law of natural death as of late, groaned at the newest arrival coming on the recently perceived tailwind of Talos himself.

"We don't even have a planet for them, where will they go? If that offensive cloud is evident of their newfound purpose, how am I supposed to believe he will join our ranks quietly? I have already been offended and taken advantage of by this moon over my head, I've paid my dues. Somebody else take the grievance!"

Mara looked upon the chaotic winds that were granting the hidden spirit some kind of spiritual respite with a mix of emotions. But she was familiar with the signs of this figure, who was always followed by two women who loved them dearly. Such a person can't be all bad, right?

Meridia looked at it with nothing but hatred. The ambition of a mortal to achieve what was rightfully hers alone while exerting their free will in a seemingly corrupted manner put her off. But she quickly forgave the display when she found out where the beam of chaos was headed. Meridia quickly went to the Hollow City, her stronghold near the point of impact, to have a front-row seat.

Molag Bal laughed heartily as he felt a wave of vile feelings erupt from the area of that damned Tower. He looked upon the world and crossed his fingers for the resulting destruction to have been wrought upon the mortal plane by the commendable mage who would soon make the 17 Daedra into 18. He was wrong.

Molag's expression twisted into an angry and slightly fearful scowl, and seconds later, the beam arrived at Coldharbour.

Like a descending dragon shaped from the Aurora Borealis, the wave of emotional backwash collided with a large portion of Coldharbour which eclipsed the entirety of the castle of Heart's Grief, and in a single moment, the sounds of rending flesh and crying terror were silenced.

Gigantic Daedric Titans, blue and floating Cold-Flame atronachs, snake-women-like Harvesters and their soul shriven victims, short and pesky Banekin, and dozens of dremora in the service of Molag inside his castle were instantly oversaturated with spiritual trauma and their souls were shattered into dozens of irrecoverable pieces. In a single cacophony of thuds, they all fell at once with varying levels of sound or loss of light and power.

Molag clenched his fist tightly and his throne shook from a single pound. Meridia took point from a Tower a great distance away and laughed with soulful glee, earning a glare from Molag at an incredible distance away, yet she continued.

Was Molag hurt from this attack? Not quite. Even all the servants that had just died could be fairly quickly replaced from the perspective of an eternal one like him. But the point was that he was slighted by the new little spirit on his first day. He must be taught a lesson, enough times to know that he is not capable of contending with him for any period of time. That Molag will always do whatever it takes to come out on top.

But above all, Akatosh and Hermaeus Mora had the greatest understanding, which amounted to little less than the rest.

Akatosh, who had been trying his best to see this assistant to his champion, was unhappy that they had decided to ascend to something of one of them so soon yet also confused about how they did it. Since he cannot feel the person, he cannot know the method of their ascension completely. Did that Sublimation give them a clear enough view allowing CHIM? They are certainly being treated like a wielder of that label by the fabric, yet this was the first time he had seen it achieved through such a concrete method of sublimation. Who was this person? What would they become? He believed they would be an Aedra due to the casting aside of the flaws for the realization of the self, but this Fateless One had never gone according to any plan. Akatosh finally lamented that someone who has achieved this level will in no way continue to mingle with mortals. Thus, his champion would be alone now.

Herma, the closest to Null, has decided for himself that Yuri would in no way take up any kind of mantles like Aedra or Daedra. He was looking forward to this so-called 'change' Yuri had mentioned prior the most. He still foresaw nothing, despite the very obvious beam detailing his exact location, and this excited him the most.

"Is this...your move, Null? To cast aside... all earthly weights... to toss aside the personal veil and see through the impersonal truth? But if you have nothing left, Null... you will fail."

If Yuri heard their opinions on his matter, he would ignore them. He isn't a part of their neverending game, and in fact had remembered and accepted what this universe was for quite some time but knew he could not achieve what they believe is God. No, not the outsider, the only likely real element in a universe filled with fragments of untruth in imitation of the only truth.

Yuri was still enraptured by a state of serenity that had overtaken him after casting off a majority of his bindings, slowly coming to terms with the new unhindered him. He did not feel reborn, but as if a layer of skin had been torn off and an even truer, deeper him was uncovered. In contrast with his newfound weight, his heart felt weightless. A perfect smile had broken through his face and his serenity was split with joy. He had kept everything he wanted and spared nothing of demerit.

A single small drop of Sorrow remained to bring sobriety in times of hardship, to bring shades that deepen the meanings of even the brightest colors. The rest of his seven sins, though weak and unformed, remained in their rawness with no traumas to direct them prematurely or uncontrollably. His virtues now unblinded found new room to grow, he surmised. Mercy was granted him when his death was forgiven, how can he not remember it and bring it forward? Understanding and empathy to most creatures, even when Mercy cannot be granted; as an immortal with an outlook that will continue to grow deeper, wiser, how can he not employ it? His heart, his metaphorical heart, felt warm and full, and he knew he can use it to a greater extent and it will continue to patiently grow with him without cracking.

His penis remained, {for all who were concerned}, empowered and tied along with the rest of his body by a spiritual and metaphysical network of nerves that operated at a much higher speed and intensity should his preference allow.

He spoke through his Sigil to warn the girls of later arrival. He knew he was ready, and this wasn't over.

'Alera, Tonilia, I am safe. Even better than safe. I have a few more things to do, I'll be back soon.'

'I'm glad you're safe! Stay that way!' Alera mentally encouraged him.

'Scoop the enlightenment from that Tower until it forgets its own name!'

'I'm pretty sure it's me who has more to be scooped from.'

'Uhh... please don't go scooping yourself.'

'No promises. I love you guys, and I'll see you later.'

' ' Bye! ' '

Yuri aggressively deactivated the Sigil's connection, trapping them in Avalon just to ensure that they don't get the slightest whiff of the themes he believed he was about to deal with, which may prove fatal to them.

Yuri turned around and floated his way to the crown of the Tower once more, a place he felt was becoming quite the natural perch for him. Unfortunately, he wasn't selfish enough to take it with him. That was like cultural appropriation, and also a cataclysm starter.

The seven mages quickly teleported to his position around the Tower to investigate, bearing no small amount of fearful respect or leaking curiosity.

"*Hrnhrm*. Mr. Shadow Lord-" Yellendor cleared his throat and sought diplomacy first.

"Yuri," He spoke and his timber shook their skeletons. They didn't know how to feel, because they gained so many feelings with a single word.

"Yu-Yuri? Is that your name?"

"It is. You have been watching me for quite some time. Are you fine? Must've been quite difficult, enduring all that hubbub I projected."

"Ah, as I imagine it was for you as well."

"Thank you, I feel much better," Yuri did not open his eyes throughout this entire conversation.

"AAAAGHH," Lilatha released all the angst this singular person gave her as she clenched her brown hair into an unkempt furl. "Are you going to quit sucking his dick and ask him to leave?!"

Silence descended onto the group, all of whom were looking at her beside Yuri, who tilted his head in her direction until he broke the silence.

"Quite the impatient Padawan you have there, but she had a point. What is yours?"

"Haha, we of the Order and our friends here," He motioned to the two remaining adults from the Direnni, "Would simply like to avoid causing the land and the locals below too much distress. Do you think this endeavor of yours is approaching closure?"

"Wait a second..." Alvanir had been wondering about the exact reason the man had been here, but after all that drama he had believed his first notion was wrong. But he didn't need the Tower for all that, and he certainly had no reason to stay unless...

"You're really trying to achieve CHIM, aren't you?! This whole show was your own mutated Walking Way, wasn't it?! Now you're still here meditating and using the Tower as a focal point? This could take decades and destroy you in the end!"

Yuri smiled self-depreciatingly, for this was his hang-up. How was he supposed to achieve CHIM from the same perspective as them when he didn't have the same risk, nor the same purpose. The idea that stood at the forefront of the likeliest success for him was causing the mother of all Dragon Breaks and peering inside of it at its epicenter, but now he knows it would cause untold damage and mark his very first act of pure selfishness after his enlightenment. It wasn't...him. He would exhaust all other options first.

"You're wrong. I can't achieve CHIM the same way you people do, that realization can't help me, I am not allowed to take that step."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because I am an outsid-"

Yuri frowned, then popped his eyes open and glared at his surroundings without any malice. Then his brows loosened and he laughed lightly. Nobody spoke, for they felt this was a bit odd but enchanting all the same.

'The universe is treating me with plenty of weight, yet it still refuses to approach me to impart any special attachment to it. I thought my outside origins were at fault, but what if it just can't see me well enough? If it can't see me, how in the hell am I supposed to truly see it?'

"Thank you, dear mages. You have helped me see the reality of the situation."

"...Perhaps it was fated..." Yellendor offered.

"What reality?!" Alvanir was alarmed. Should he be documenting this?

"Does this mean you'll leave now?" Lilatha bargained.

'System, remove my Title.'

[Remove Title: Champion of Akasha?]

"Yes!"

And from the lull that the world around him had formed, Chaos had stirred awake and bent inward to encircle Yuri with incredible momentum. Soundlessly, the seven mages were blasted aside or teleported away themselves to avoid being enveloped in a maelstrom involving many of the world's laws.

From the force that seemed to be pressing into him but in reality was applying no real pressure, Yuri felt as if he was recognized.

The man who tore apart the Aldmeri Dominion's machinations and reshaped the country before its time, the man who stole the Skeleton Key and the Seven Black Books and removed them from the stream of causality to make them part of his own reality, the man who released Azhidal and allowed him to go beyond his fate, the man who put the College of Winterhold on a path of the highest magical dominion in a nation of men and not mer, the man who had released dozens of examples of incredible works of enchanting and many examples of a language none had ever seen before. That man, who released dozens of ripples that would turn into waves that would send the stream of Fate far off the normal course, was long overdue for a chat with reality. There were few greater examples of ones who had Walked the Psijic Endeavor so thoroughly, and Yuri finally tied himself to that causality.

And as the wave of Aurbic fabric wrapped comfortably around him, Yuri was allowed just as much intimacy with it. Yuri saw through what he already knew, yet a clause that he wasn't aware of before sung the same tune in an intricate melody of Love and Will together with the Dream.

Before the seven confused mages, Yuri vanished into thin air.

{Next Chapter: The Dreamer, the Observer, and the...}