Epilogue 7: Behind the Scenes

***** Trigger warning: Violence *****

[Exact location unknown, the Void outside of the dimensional planes, unknown time]

On a desolate, rocky planet, towering mountain peaks pierced into the sky out of an ocean of molten rock. A hooded figure rested on the tallest peak. He angrily gazed at the continent below. Another failure. The elemental mana was too unstable. The planet would soon fall apart.

Those high-handed swine in the Magical Plane had it good. The elements did all the work for them, and the foolish mortals worshipped them as gods, calling them Celestials. Just the mere thought of them being worshipped made the figure sick. The only thing that they were good for was stealing and backstabbing.

The sky above changed to show a glowing river of tiny motes of light. Each was a star, complete with planets. Some were flourishing with life. One, in particular, he had been watching with longing for ages. The crown jewel of their prideful crown.

As the figure stretched his hand out towards the river of stars, a think golden barrier stopped them. Like pressing on thick rubber, the figure's hand could only move forward a little bit before being bounced back. With smoldering fury, the figure futilely tore at the barrier.

The barrier forced his hands back. He could only glare as the barrier slowly faded away. It only showed itself when something tried to enter the Magical Plane. Even he couldn't enter despite his persistence and power. No, his power was the reason why the barrier was so resistant to him.

But he could watch and subtly influence. The sky shimmered and then revealed a bright blue and green planet. They called it Tellus, the jewel of their domain. Well, 'domain' was a bit of a strong word. Those despicable snakes didn't even know that other worlds existed. They never were the adventurous types.

Envy and jealousy gnawed at his heart. He would have that planet, no matter what it took. Their pride and joy would be his someday. A sneer formed on the figure's lips as madness seeped out from his very core. Everything would be his one day. He would take it all from them.

The barrier sprung to life as the figure struck at the planet. Sparks flew as the figure and barrier collided. Slowly, his reason returned. As the figure heavily breathed, he stared at Tellus. The figure's tense shoulders relaxed.

Time was on his side. There was no need to rush. His planet would be built into a paradise. It couldn't possibly lose to those incompetent degenerates' pride and joy. He could just recycle some of the old materials. The best planet would be of his creation. Then he would take the entire Magical Plane, leaving them with nothing.

Nothing lasted forever. The same was true with the barrier. He was getting stronger, while they were fading. The barrier would weaken without their backing. As the figure gazed at Tellus, he noticed a slight fluctuation in spacetime. The figure's head tilted. The fluctuation came from inside the barrier.

Those filthy rats may just be thieves, but they're not stupid. They would never let the mortals have magic that could impact spacetime. Not even storage items. Yet spacetime began to flux somewhere on Tellus. The figure stood up with shining eyes. He could feel the pull of fate.

The barrier began to tremble and shake as the fluctuation hit. Stretching until it was as thin as a hair, the barrier finally broke. Spacetime nearly buckled under the strain. The figure carefully weaved spacetime back together. Satisfied, he withdrew his mana as the barrier finished healing.

He watched as a spark of light flew towards the Magical Plane's twin, the Natural Plane. The figure smiled as he erased the path of the spark. Someone was crossing over to the other plane. They should be able to enter the Natural Plane on their own. Though the plane's properties reject mana, the plane didn't have the same entry restrictions as the Magical Plane.

At that time, a golden man appeared where the crosser broke through the barrier. Nothing seemed to be amiss. The golden man did not notice the figure's gaze and eventually left. Giggling, the figure took great pleasure in the golden man's foolishness and overconfidence.

Still in a good mood, the figure began to think. There was much work to be done. The figure's instincts knew that the crosser's fate was to return despite the Natural Plane's steady withdrawal from the other dimensions. When the crosser did return, there would be a chance to put a rift in the barrier. He had much work to do if he wanted to push the crosser's fate along.

Summoning all his strength, the figure pushed his influence into the Natural Plane. Curiously, the crosser landed on Tellus's twin, Terra. The two planets had a history of accidentally exchanging residents before the barrier. This was almost too good to be true.

After finding the crosser, the figure found a useful tool. Obsessed with magic and fearing his mortality, the tool was perfect. The figure pushed and led the tool to the remnants of a team that crossed over from Terra. When the tool acquired the team's dimensional artifact, a sharp tug of fate began to pull the tool towards his and the crosser's destiny.

Exhausted, the figure rested his eyes on his new planet. Years later, the figure awoke only to find that the crosser had already returned. Anger rose in the figure before he realized that the tool was still up to something. To the figure's delight, the tool had found a way to force open an old portal between the worlds.

Patiently watching from the Void, the figure made his preparations. The tool soon began the ritual and succeeded in opening the portal. Both the tool and another destined crosser were sucked into the portal. The figure arrived near the barrier as fate pulled the pair to the barrier.

The tool and the crosser were extremely weak by the barrier's standards. It wasn't prepared for the old portal to open, and the pair smashed through. The figure struck and grabbed shards of the barrier. Before the barrier could close, he weaved it together while adding his mana.

When the figure finished, tiny holes were hidden in the barrier. The barrier healed itself too fast to do more, but this was enough. The figure wildly laughed as he escaped. Now, he had a way in. Without those shards, the barrier could not fully heal itself.

However, the figure wasn't done yet. Crossers were either destined to either return to their worlds or die. He could feel fate pulling both ways for this one. He decided to watch her story play out.

Five years passed in the blink of an eye. His tool had arrived years before the crosser, and his antics attracted the attention of Tellus's overlords. The figure kept his eyes on the crosser. Unknown to all but him, she had met a young heir of a particular bloodline.

That bloodline should have died out ages ago. Those treacherous pigs wouldn't allow anything else to freely exist that could inherit that person's things, especially the barrier. Then again, the bloodline was particularly resilient. No matter how muddled the heritage, it can be reborn like with this heir.

The current heir had to be contained, but he couldn't die. The figure wracked his brain for a way to get rid of him. Then the figure saw the heir fall in love with the crosser. Still, the Celestials didn't notice. The figure quietly stimulated the tool, letting him cause more trouble over the continent.

As time ticked by, the threads of fate pulled everything toward a conclusion. The figure watched from the Void, occasionally nudging fate towards a certain course. The crosser and young heir finally confronted the tool. All of the figure's preparations were successful.

Once again, the portal to Terra opened, pulling in the crosser and the tool. This time, the heir went with them. Smiling with glee, the figure watched them smash through the weakened barrier. As the figure prepares to steal more shards, an entity emerged from Tellus.

A purple-robed woman approached the hole with several armored escorts. The figure quietly hid. He never expected her to show up in person. Even after eons had passed, the woman still looked young and cold. However, she didn't seem to notice his presence. His smile twisted with cruelty.

The woman frowned as she looked at the hole in the barrier. There had been too many disturbances recently. She easily noticed the ones who had broken through. The tips of her mouth quirked up. How interesting. Little mice from the other dimension were sneaking around.

Her smile faltered when she saw the third traveler. How was someone with that bloodline alive? She couldn't let them escape. The guards flew to grab the travelers while she focused on the barrier. Fixing it properly was a delicate skill that none but her could do.

With her attention on the barrier, the purple-robed woman began to stitch the hole back together. A scream disturbed her thoughts mid-stitch. Annoyed, she turned around to discover all of her guards were missing. Before she could draw her wand, a fierce pain exploded in her abdomen.

The woman looked down to see a sword sticking out of her body. Dark red blood flowed down her robes. The figure appeared next to her out of the darkness. She hadn't seen that face in eons and never thought to see it again. Disbelief and a faint trace of fear appeared on her face.

"It's you? But how?"

The figure mockingly laughed as he began to twist the sword. Her screams stopped only when she fainted from the pain. The figure roughly grabbed her and both disappeared into the Void.