23 A New God of War

The Jade Emperor sat mightily on his throne. In front, a man with purple eyes and armour of darkness stood, back straight and unbending.

The Emperor leaned forward, his chin on one hand.

"Tell Us, what do you have to say for yourself, God of War?" he asked lazily.

Guan Gong stared fearlessly back at the Jade Emperor. He already had a sinking feeling of what the Jade Emperor was going to say.

"This one doesn't need to say anything," he retorted, wishing that he had another bottle of wine with him.

"Really?"

The Jade Emperor picked up a piece of parchment. He read off it, his voice growing more and more angry as he went on.

"You gave away half your Godhood to a mere Fairy."

How long had Guan Gong kept this a secret for? The God of War, with only half his Godhood, was a God that was useless. A God that would not be able to fight against the Demon Gods.

Guan Gong behaved recklessly. Heaven could not afford to have him act willfully as he had done before, with the Heavens in the brink of another war with the demons.

Guan Gong tensed up. Gritting his teeth, he spat out, "That was hundreds of years ago. This one can easily regain it."

He did not regret anything he gave to Jin Ying Hua. For her, he would've plucked all the stars in the sky. If she asked, he would've brought down the heavens.

She never did. She always kept their relationship a secret, preferring to gain power through her own means.

"Wait for me," she said.

Guan Gong sighed. She told him to wait, and so he waited for her.

He's waited 520 years for her.

Jin Ying Hua stole his heart so easily. That fateful night, when they met under a cover of moonlight and cherry blossoms.

Right before the start of the war, he forcibly gave away half his Godhood to her, no matter how much she tried to reject it. Guan Gong knew the consequences, but he was unafraid. He had been the God of War for so long.

One or two sacrifices did not mean much when it came to her.

The Jade Emperor slammed his hand down onto the table, shattering it into pieces.

"We should have chosen a new God of War after you fell in love with that Fairy."

The Jade Emperor knew this was coming. He should've acted earlier.

Guan Gong sneered. "As if you could find one more suitable than me."

With that, Guan Gong reached for his dark sword, strapped into his back. He charged forwards towards the Emperor.

He had held the title of God if War for so long.

The Jade Emperor leapt up, flying backwards from Guan Gong. He drew his thin blade from it's sheath.

"It is time for you to step down from your role, Guan Gong," he said calmly.

Both of them charged towards each other at the same time, causing a huge shockwave to erupt. The building trembled, and parts of the palace had started to crumble.

Guan Gong channeled his power into his sword, causing purple lightning to dance along its surface. Black mist poured out of his armour.

The two flew up. Guan Gong roared in fury and swung down his sword, the lightning cracks getting louder and louder. The Jade Emperor blocked it easily.

"You lost half your Godhood. You are no longer worthy of being the God of War."

Guan Gong snarled. "We'll see about that."

Each time their swords clashed, another power wave rocked 9th Heaven. The jade palace slowly crumbled, the ceilings already destroyed.

Half the jade palace had fallen during their battle.

Guan Gong frowned. The longer this battle went on for, the more disadvantageous it was to himself.

The skies trembled, truly splitting the heavens. The aftershocks of their battle was so strong that even those not in 9th Heaven could feel the rumbles of power coming from 9th Heaven.

Jin Tong, who had been on his way to Xuanpu Station, froze at the sight of the sky trembling and the rumbles of power coming from 9th Heaven.

Taehyung caught up to him.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Jin Tong narrowed his eyes, and started heading towards Fusang River, Taehyung hot on his heels.

Worry filled Taehyung's heart, a sense of foreboding crawling over him.

After Jin Tong left, Taehyung strode back and forth, deliberating on whether he should follow Jin Tong, and maybe ask some questions.

Either the method Taehyung used was wrong, or his target was just wrong. Taehyung sighed. He had nothing to lose.

With that, he rushed out of the mansion and spoke with the gatekeeper to find out which direction Jin Tong traveled in.

"Jin Tong, have you heard of--" he began.

Jin Tong interrupted, "Don't follow me. It's dangerous."

Taehyung slowed down, apprehension in his heart. Jin Tong dashed into the station, soon disappearing from his sights.

No, he couldn't let him go.

Taehyung ran towards the station, shoving his way past multiple people to get past the station and heading into the wispy river.

He felt the familiar threads of the Fusang River wash over him as he filled his document with power. A red seal appeared on the side.

His heart kept thudding painfully in his chest. Taehyung knew he had to be there. It was almost as if it was destined, that he was drawn to going to 9th Heaven in the end.

When he arrived at 9th Heaven, chaos reigned.

The beautiful fruit trees had withered. Dark, rumbling clouds filled the sky, flashes of lightning seen within the grey swirls. They all gathered at the centre of 9th Heaven: the jade palace.