Chapter 0298 - Goodbye Cruel World

A blinding light swallowed the far reaches of the region. Waves of energy that scorched and leveled its path came forward. Shields helped but there was a lot of confusion among the Zao Empire's forces.

Kuzunoha was screaming, "NO!!"

The light blinded anyone that looked directly into it, there was no telling just how many troops were gone in that instant.

Denoia brought down a wall that blocked the blast wave to troops that were nearby, she couldn't stop its detonation but she could protect those that were close to her.

Mursayade saw Vira and Kuzunoha losing their focus, she flashed next to their side. "Get your shit together! We don't know.. we.." She was cut off by another large explosion, lightning was swarming the space above them. Mursayade grabbed Kuzunoha and Vira's hands. "MOVE!"

Qingchi flew into the sky, she did her best to dodge the lightning during her attacks but it was fast.

Most of the soldiers on the ground were the Empire's finest, Ying Wu was responsible for removing soldiers from the battlefield. Wounded, slow or otherwise, they were all thrown into pocket dimensions to save time.

Kuzunoha let go of Mursayade's hand. "No.."

She was still crying and having a hard time concentrating on anything else. The Crusher Blade in her hand was glowing. It got brighter until it was the brightest thing in the night sky, Mursayade and Vira put their hands on her shoulder and a mist of color began to orbit the blade.

Kuzunoha felt a hot tear roll down her face, she vanished from sight and swung the blade a few hundred meters in front of them. It cleaved the sky toward Iasyou.

A violet hand caught the tail of the slash, spun and returned it toward the sky. Wu Hai's body was seething and the red light on his chest grew brighter.

"Kill those bitches!" The Red Emperor was caught by surprise by the slash but what had surprised him more was the slave's ability to block the attack.

Wu Hai flashed away and appeared next to Vira. He put his palm out and energies began to accumulate.

Vector swiped across the sky and brought his claw down on top of Wu Hai, slamming him into the ground. "GO!" Lightning gathered under his talons and Vector sank his weight onto his footing. "Hurry, this won't hold him."

Ajennic was crawling across Vector's body stabbing him frequently like a wasp, the spear in his hands was like a needle pricking him a million times.

The three of them joined hands and flashed away to surround Iasyou. Three beams cut into him but the damage was so minimal that they were almost pointless.

It forced them all into a retreat.

"He's made of fire, he's not an elemental." Vira gave her two cents.

"So what are we suppose to do?" Mursayade didn't have any answers, she could only question her next action.

The group was forced to duck, a flare of fire was following them and Iasyou was chanting again.

"Vira, if things go badly.." Kuzunoha was still crying, she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"SHUT UP!" Vira slapped Kuzunoha. "Don't talk like that."

The slave soldiers were being shot down by the remaining stealth corp and mage units but Wu Hai and two others were still giving the group serious trouble.

Vector was sent end over end, he crashed against the ground on top of his wings and a violet colored light stood on his chest.

Wu Hai roared atop Vector and punched down, it crushed Ajennic under a Divine Beast's weight, turning into a splatter of blood that stained Vector's lower back.

Vector spat out a beam of energy that swept across the battlefield toward Umbraal, the city was blown apart by the force.

Kuzunoha shook her head. "No.. It has always been like this. One step away from death. I never thought the heavens would be like this."

She pulled her hand away from Vira, grabbed Vira's face and kissed her. In the next moment, she appeared next to Wu Hai within inches. Wu Hai was fast, he reacted like an animal. His body turned and he punched with a handful of liquefied lightning. It sent Kuzunoha across the engagement zone, she was almost hit by friendly fire while she skipped across the ground.

Mursayade looked at Vira while they protected themselves with a shield. "Wu Hai must be under their control."

Vira pulled out the talon from the Storm Crow and passed it to Mursayade. She flashed across the battle and helped Kuzunoha up. "Don't fight Wu Hai, let Ho and Vector keep him busy. Just kill that son of a bitch!" Vira raised the Broken tooth blade up and gave off a battle cry. Illusory wings spread across her back, then Mursayade and Kuzunoha. "Together," she said.

Misozi was busy moving people from the rear, there were countless lights outside of the barrier that locked the space.

Evinate was struggling to keep the area locked down. Confining space around the battle was a massive task and so many others were attempting to enter the battlefield.

A unit of mages were about to wiped out by an incoming boulder, it was the size of a house and they were on foot. Misozi was busy sending out puppets to collect the dead and injured, it allowed Ying Wu to rejoin his Father. When she saw what was about to happen, she raced to their position and used her hull to stop the crash. Soil and bedrock separated when it struck her, she crashed nearby.

Noyuki was moving troops with Prince Wu and saw Misozi go down. She didn't have any time to mourn or worry, people were dying all around.

There were more and more lights surrounding the battlefield, they were patiently waiting, watching from a distance. Hundreds of Ancestors from across the Ultinian Heavens began to gather. A battle of this size and scope had never happened in Ultinia, the last time something of that magnitude had occurred it nearly broke the world of Shiyan into pieces.

Wu Hai was blown from Vector's chest into the sky, then, he breathed in deeply. Lightning and Ice formed into a swirl of light.

'Pon-on-on' The beam struck the sky, missing Wu Hai entirely.

The Red Emperor laughed in delight but noticed quickly that he was being targeted again. "You're too slow." Iasyou tried to backhand Vira but his arm was stuck, struck and pierced by a blade as thick as a wrist.

She was aiming at his heart but he had swung faster. Vira used her other arm to block the fire blast that followed his hand then grabbed onto him tightly. "Now, you're mine!"

Mursayade appeared above and came crashing down with the talon in all four of her hands. She had confidence in her actions, it was enough to gravely injure Vector. She yelled to get his attention as she came down. "Hey!"

Iasyou finished chanting and seven suns appeared overhead. Vira was still pushing on the Broken tooth blade, it pinned the Red Emperor in front of her. A red column of light swallowed him and he disappeared as Mursayade was half an inch from piercing his skull.

A millisecond later and the fight would have ended in that moment.

Wu Hai was trading blows with Vector, Fire and Lightning versus Ice and Lightning. Vector's breath attacks were good but he couldn't use the majority of his attacks, they were far too powerful and only affected wide areas. It was like a street brawl, neither of them carried any sort of weapon but they kept swinging.

Iasyou saw his slave battling the Divine Beast all on his own, his fighting spirit rose and the seven suns began to evolve, they were shrinking. "Blue Dwarf" The suns compressed. Seven blue lights circled his body like a belt of stars.

Kuzunoha had missed her chance to attack when Iasyou moved but she still had a mission to complete.

The bulk of the Empire's forces had been moved to safe locations. Those that chose to remain were the strongest of them all.

Noyuki and Ying Wu were able to rejoin the fight, they nodded to each other as they passed.

The White Guardians were still tied up, they were forced early on to keep the energy flowing toward Evinate. If the custodians entered the battle, it was all over, they would all die today. Evinate could only lock space around them and he could only keep it up until he ran out of energy.

Ying Wu watched as a soldier died to save Agent Hiano from a stray flare. She had been shoved out of the way by her lieutenant. "Riley!" There was nothing left, not even ashes. Bazingah was gone, Master Lu Sha was gone, his mother was fighting with all of her strength but the battle was intensifying, not getting easier.

Kuzunoha was kicked away by the Red Emperor, she had struck him but one of the blue dwarf stars that rotated around his body had stopped her attack. The Miniature Sun exploded outward but did nothing to Iasyou.

On the other hand, Kuzunoha was sent halfway across the battle. She slammed into Vector as if she had been aimed in that direction.

Iasyou saw several more opponents approaching, the remaining dwarf stars were pulled into a line. "JUST DIE!" He was tired of the constant attacks from all three sides, the attack flew toward Vector.

Mursayade and Vira moved to intercept. The six miniature suns were extremely dense, despite their willingness to stand in front of them, the suns pushed them both back and into Vector's body. He crashed down again. Wu Hai took the opportunity and eight colored fire began to rain down around him while he furiously punched at Vector's scales. Breaks began to form across his skin and Wu Hai was not slowing down.

Iasyou defended himself with a series of fire tornadoes and Qingchi was inspired. She commanded tornadoes of her own and watched them clash.

"DO IT!" Vector yelled, burn marks covered his body..

A blade came down from no where.

Vira was carrying a concealment array, Kuzunoha was inside.

Vira, Mursayade and Kuzunoha swore even before the battle, they would not let such a situation exist. They would come home with Wu Hai, or not at all. Kuzunoha brought the blade down between his wings and stabbed through his chest.

The blade sunk between his ribs and came out the other side. Wu Hai's eyes stopped moving.

֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍

In that moment, time seemed to stand still.

[Jigui, Jigui.. wake up..]

[hey, you have a brother too, its important to share things]

[I am Nara Kuzunoha, and you are about to die.]

[Its a Girl!]

[Together, forever.]

White light swallowed Wu Hai's vision and he appeared in a white room. "Hello?" He was standing alone, there was nothing to be seen other than the corners of the room.

A voice came from no where, it was there and then it wasn't. Quanli Jigui appeared in front of him, he was dressed in his teacher's uniform. "I see its come to this path. Its a hard life and one that must continue. You've taken the road I would hope you had, simplicity is not efficiency and life is anything but."

"I don't understand" Wu Hai stood across from himself. "What happens now?"

"Simple." Jigui smiled. "You keep going. But this is my end. When we see each other again, it will only be in memories. Just know that I'm proud of you for never giving up, I am fulfilled."

Visions of Jigui's life flashed by, all of it.

Wu Hai watched for what felt like hours as images flooded into his mind.

"This power, your power, it will never belong to anyone else. The power of God, any God, should never be held in anger. Remember that as you see life pass around you and remember my words."

֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍

The light flashed and faded, his eyes reopened and Wu Hai spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked down his chest, there was a red square that burned away when he looked at it.

Time was still stopped.

Vector was bleeding badly, he had just been run through. Kuzunoha was gripping the blade that was pushing his body down.

Lights spread out in every direction from Wu Hai's body. His body was with covered lights, the fire around him vanished, the sword that was in his back vanished.

He stood there for a moment in contemplation, 'Remember my words..' "Jigui's final words.."

'I haven't lived until I have died.'

'I haven't lived, and so I must.'

'I have not died, so I cannot.'

'I will choose to change.'

'I will be the architect, I will create a path for my own.'

In that frozen moment, he knew. There was no turning back, life had a way of changing the way you look at things and he had lived a long one at that.

He snapped his fingers.

Time began again but he was gone from his previous position.

Kuzunoha swung down with nothing in her hands and Wu Hai was gone from in front of her. The night disappeared and the entire third tier of Ultinia was brightened.

Vira and Mursayade looked up with Kuzunoha. They saw Wu Hai surrounded by light in the sky above. He held the Crushers handle and twisted it, the lock inside broke, then, he shoved it into his heart. His heart exploded and blood spilled from his chest. Wu Hai slumped over in pain but continued to drive it in.

He yelled in pain.

Iasyou tried to attack but when he moved his hands, nothing happened, then an arrow pierced his brow.

Kuzunoha lowered her bow.

Vector stood up, the wound on his chest had begun to heal over.

"ENOUGH!" Wu Hai roared in the sky. As he yelled, energy from everywhere seemed to disappear.

Wu Hai came down on a of pillar light, he landed softly. The Custodians which had been arriving in greater numbers tried to leave but they were stuck like everyone else. Even from a great distance, Wu Hai could hear every word without a single syllable. Waving his hand, anyone that was watching was disarmed and stripped of their power. He snapped his fingers afterward and all eyes were on him.

Evinate's protective barrier was torn down and all magic disappeared from the area, as more beings arrived on the third tier, their power too was extinguished. People fell from the sky and crashed into the ground.

"NO MORE!" Wu Hai's image was projected over the sky. Spreading his arms, he looked out at the chaos. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, the third tier, which had been filled with corpses glowed a green an eerie light. "Never again."

The corpses vanished.

Copies of Wu Hai spread out, they numbered in the thousands. All of them except the original vanished, reappearing across all levels of Ultinia, Shiyan, Earth and many other places. His image was shown to all, his voice penetrated every barrier of the universe.

Through the darkness, in every corner, Wu Hai spread his voice. "See me, hear me, know me. My name is more appropriate today than I ever thought possible. I never quite understood why my Father chose to name me as he did but it was truly fitting in the grand scheme of things. I am the bringer of disaster, for you all. I moved to create a path to power and overlooked something so simple. I was right to believe that I was unworthy to be God. I even gave up my power, cast it aside and worked to earn that power. How could I, a being from another world, become a God to rule over a world I created. It sounds strange but why? I never lived it, I never earned that right. I could not die, I could not vanish and give up. I had to see if I was worthy." There was a momentary pause in his words, Wu Hai seemed to take a deep breath.

"I was not." he hung his head.

"This world, the heavens, everything is wrong. The heavens should be reserved for the innocents in the afterlife, instead, its blood and war, death, chaos and tragedy." He waved.

The entirety of Ultinia was contained in a single bubble, it shrank. Wu Hai held it in his hands and opened his other palm, The tiers began to separate and vanish.

"If you want a place in Heaven, earn it. Strength does not determine the value of a soul or someone's worth on a path to power, evil or good, everyone has the capability within them. This lie, the heavens you've grown to know, goodbye." The bubble popped into hundreds of smaller bubbles that popped again into thousands, then tens of thousands. They spread with the wind from his lips.

"Shadows and Dust... these are the things all beings leave behind but only a few can leave an Idea." Wu Hai disappeared from the space that use to be the Ultinian Heavens and reappeared in a giant white space.

Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people stood quietly in confusion. None of them had weapons and violence was blocked magically. "Life has been unfair. Life is always unfair. But that is life." Wu Hai waved his hand and positive feelings, his own, traveled toward the crowd. "The Afterlife is suppose to be peace, so I give it to you."

Vector's body shrank, he was not too much taller than Mursayade. "Thank you," Wu Hai looked at them both. He couldn't stop crying, "there is no way to dodge what's coming, I.."

"I know." Vector saw Wu Hai's eyes trembling. It was taking everything he had just to keep his resolve.

"In a moment, we say goodbye." Wu Hai waved his hand, Kuzunoha and Vira appeared at his sides. "I cannot build a heaven and leave it unattended. Don't worry, we'll meet again."

Wu Hai held out his palm and a blue bubble appeared, he floated it to Vector's hands. "Gefést gave me this.. Its of no use for me but I think it should belong to you now." A hammer and book appeared. "You have a long life, we'll see each other again. I promise."

"Together Forever?" Wu Hai turned toward Vira and Kuzunoha. They nodded to each other and looked at Noyuki, "Not unless we all go."

Bright light swallowed everyone else in the plane, in the next moment they had all returned to Shiyan.

֍ꟷꟷꟷꟷ֍

"G-Grandma, can you tell me a story?" A small voice came from beside the bed.

"What do you want to hear about?" The old woman smiled and sat up slowly, her body was weak from the passage of time but her mind was as sharp as ever.

"I wanna hear about sword fighting and magic, can you tell me a story with magic in it? Ooh, tell me about Grandfather!" his nose was running but the innocence in his voice was refreshing.

Mursayade cried a little, "I miss him, but I know he's waiting for me. Come on up, I'll tell how my sisters and your grandfather helped reclaim the Heavens." She propped her grandson up on bed and looked out of the window.

"It all started a long time ago, up there.. on Earth.."