The Three Facet & Six Paths
"So, you're saying anyone who enters this palace area would be no different than a mortal who has never cultivated in their entire life?" Daniel asked in an amazed tone as Yama simply nodded before gesturing Daniel to open the palace doors.
"So, are you still getting the tugging sensation?" Sun asked as Daniel shook his head.
"The sensation seems to end at this door." He lied as he quickly left the group to open the palace's huge double door.
Luckily, the demigods were busy scrutinizing the two statues at the entrance; furthermore, the palace doors didn't seem to drain any form of energy out of him, as they readily opened up with little effort.
Meanwhile, outside the repulsive barrier that almost killed Yama, five elder gods gathered together with solemn expressions on their faces, and some of them; like Onir and Belen were looking considerably disheveled.
"What the fork is all this?!" Onir cursed angrily.
"We've been trying to pass through this barrier for a while now and it isn't even budging, and all our attacks are being repelled with greater force."
Onir grumbled whilst Beira placed her hands on his back transferring some of her energy into his body as he seems to have been injured, but despite this, he was still faring better compared to Belen whose mouth had a faint trace of blood trickling down her chin.
It seems no one was willing to heal her, after all, Kvass would definitely not allow Imros to do so, and Beira was currently tending to her crush and might not have enough energy to heal her as well.
"But since they are inside, shouldn't we just wait for them to emerge from the barrier?" Beira suggested as she finally removed her hands from Onir's back. S
he looked a bit exhausted, signifying that Onir had sustained a significant injury as well.
"Well, that isn't a bad idea, but do you think you have enough left in the tank to heal me a bit?" Belen asked as Beira shook her head slightly.
As the goddess of the hunt, it was only natural that Beira would have some sort of ability to heal herself if she managed to sustain any injuries during her hunts.
Belen had never thought she would need such ability, given the nature of her powers whilst Onir was just too proud to do so; in his opinion, getting scarred during a successful conquest was like proof of his adventure and a way to brag about the strength and the difficulty of his battles.
"Alright then, since we've decided, I think it's best if you take the little time we have to recuperate, after all, our targets might emerge from the barrier at any moment." Onir said, advising Belen.
"Those three are not to be underestimated, thus you guys must be fully prepared to face them when they emerge." Kvass advised as Belen frowned.
"What do you mean by us? Aren't you going to do anything?" Belen growled at Kvass.
Though she might be crushing on him and his twin brother, ever since they arrived, the duo did next to nothing and simply acted like mere observers.
"My powers require that I take the right and just actions, and until I know if the motive behind this mission is true, I'm afraid I'll have to count on you guys to complete the mission." Kvass answered with a scoff and undisguised repulsion.
"What about you?" Belen asked turning to Imros;
"Bros before hoes, Belen; I always follow Kvass' lead." Imros answered as Kvass gave Belen a derisive smirk.
"Hmph, I want to see how you explain yourselves to the goddess of oracles when we return!" Belen scoffed but the twins paid her no attention whatsoever.
As for Onir, he didn't care about their decisions one bit; as far as he was concerned, he simply wanted to fight Sun, the demigod who was rumored to possess enough strength to defeat gods and even flee from the presence of an elder god if he felt like doing so.
Also, there was Valpak who was simply the most mysterious among the three demigods; no one could speculate the extent of his strength as he rarely fought anyone, and when he did fight someone; the fight always somehow ended before it even begins.
Yama on the other hand was very well known for his nigh unbeatable intelligence; it was rumored that despite not having any significant strength, Yama was still able to survive any form of confrontation, unscathed.
Whilst the elder gods were recuperating and planning the ways with which they would subdue the three troublesome demigods, the group in question finally arrived at the throne hall of the Realm of All Beginnings.
Daniel looked at the nigh ineffable throne hall which looked more like a sanctum than the meeting place of the nobles, royals, and imperials of any race.
The sanctum was about five hundred meters in length, two hundred meters in width, and about a hundred meters in height.
The numerous precious gems embedded all over the walls and roof gave the sanctum a dim ambiance.
There were numerous runic formations everywhere he looked, and at the podium of the hall stood an altar of sacrifice.
This altar sat beneath what seemed to look like the pillars of a portal or something of that sort.
The altar itself was large, hexagonal in shape, with six slots on each point of its hexagonal structure.
"If you guys are ready then take your positions; the more time we waste, the greater the chance of unforeseen situations arising." Yama urged as Sun and Valpak walked up to the altar and sat at the two base slots of the core triangle.
"Little kid, you are to sit right there." Yama turned to Daniel before pointing towards the spot located at the top of the core triangle.
After the trio took their positions within the slots of the core triangle, Yama approached the outer triangle and summoned what seemed to be a pole that was about four to five feet tall.
At the top of this pole hung a banner that revealed its identity as a flag, and the moment it appeared, clouds of black and white misty energy began to gather above it.
Several green tadpoles and multicolored forms of energies seemed to be squirming all over the banner, causing a mystical gust of wind to sweep across the area inducing a feeling of deep sadness in the entire group.
"The sad wind rustles and the miserable cloud becomes misty; worthy of being the most coveted treasure of the demon realms; the demon calling flag." Valpak muttered as he gazed at the flag with an expression of utter recognition.
After placing the flag on the slot of the outer triangle closest to Valpak, Yama once again summoned another treasure, and this time, it was a scroll that unfurled itself upon appearing.
Depicted on the scroll was the painting of a vast universe, filled with innumerable mountains and rivers, whose details were captured to their tiniest crevice and ripple.
Now, it was Sun's turn to bear an expression of deep veneration.
"Capable of capturing gods and demons whilst harboring enough power to bring any universe to its destruction; the 'Map of All Mountains and Rivers'." Sun muttered as Yama placed the map on the outer triangle slot closest to Sun.
Then lastly, Yama summoned another treasure that appeared to resemble a Hydrangea that emitted a mysterious pink luster.
It was about three meters in diameter and held peanut-sized balls on it that had several beads and jingling rings dangling from them, and this time, it was Yama's turn to praise the treasure.
"The first inborn treasure; representing the power of causality and effect; carrying the power to merge all and any two beings within the three facets of creation and six paths of existence." He recited before placing the treasure in the slot closest to Daniel.
Yama then summoned a brown gourd that seemed very ordinary from any perspective with which anyone chooses to observe it.
He then approached the center of the altar and poured the contents of the gourd into the hole that was there.
"A token from the yellow springs of the netherworld; the final destination and the dwelling place of all departed beings and the road to the land of immortality." Yama chanted as a yellow liquid giving off a mystical aura poured out of the gourd onto the altar.
The yellow liquid then began to flow across the several channels etched onto the altar, and when it completed its circuit, all the slots where Daniel, Sun, Valpak, and the three treasures laid began to glow.
"The Celestials, demons, and mortals represent the three facets of all creations-" Yama added as he pointed towards Sun, Valpak, and Daniel.