Chapter 116: Divine Beast

The land was a desolate expanse, with hues of gray and brown. No life stirred, and no wind whispered. Ezerald walked through this barren land, her footsteps echoing in the silence. Her mind was a mess, and today, her thoughts were occupied by a single entity: Telluris. One of the seven divine beasts, born in the age of gods, Telluris was said to be the strongest. Divine Beasts were born through the same method as Gods; they also came from the same plane of existence as the Gods. Yet as much as she loathed God's divine beast, it was simply something they could not let go of.

Legend whispered of its power and of its ability to reshape worlds. And Ezerald, along with the others, sought to harness that power for their own ends. The idea was audacious, perhaps even foolish. Taming a divine beast was a task that had defeated gods. Yet Ezerald was not deterred. To see their plans come to fruition, there was nothing she would not do. As she walked, she visualized Telluris. A creature of myth and terror, yet also of awe-inspiring beauty. The beast was a fusion of earth and sky, its form both solid and ethereal. It was said to have the strength of a mountain and the speed of a storm; its eyes held the wisdom of ages.

Suddenly, a disturbance on the horizon caught her attention. A colossal shadow was creeping towards her, growing larger with each passing moment. It was their fifth meeting, yet her heart pounded with anticipation and fear all the same. There it was, Telluris. The beast emerged from the horizon, its form dwarfing everything around it. Its body was a mosaic of earth and sky, with rock-like formations intertwining with ethereal, translucent membranes. Its eyes were twin suns, radiating an otherworldly light. Telluris moved with a grace that belied its immense size, each step causing the ground to tremble. As Enki drew closer, Ezerald could feel the creature's power—a raw, untamed force that seemed to emanate from its very core. Yet, there was also a sense of ancient wisdom and a profound understanding of the universe.

Telluris stopped a short distance from Ezerald, its gaze fixed on her. Its voice, when it spoke, was a low rumble that carried across the land. "Fate walker," it said, its voice echoing with a timeless quality, "you dare to approach me again?"

Ezerald met its gaze without flinching. "I do," she replied, her voice steady. "As I said, I seek a pact."

Telluris chuckled, a sound like thunder rolling through the barren land. "A pact, you say? With me? A creature of chaos and destruction? You are persistent, if anything."

"Your loyalties lie not with God's beast," Ezerald replied simply. "I offer you purpose, or would you prefer to merely laze around in this barren land?"

Telluris was silent for a long moment. Then it spoke. "Fate Walker, your ambition is as vast as your folly. To believe you can control me is the height of arrogance. I have walked this universe since the height of it. As I have walked Aethel, I have seen empires rise and fall, civilizations born and destroyed. I am a force of nature, not a tool to be wielded by the likes of you."

Ezerald was undeterred. "Perhaps," she said, "but even forces of nature can be guided. Together, we can create something truly extraordinary."

Telluris regarded her with a mixture of amusement and contempt. "You are a bold one, fate walker. But I warn you: seeking to control me is a perilous path. It could lead to your destruction." Ezerald smiled with a cold, predatory expression.

"I am well aware of the risks. But I am also prepared to face them." The land seemed to hold its breath, as if even the desolate expanse was aware of the cosmic significance of this encounter. Ezerald and the beast stood facing each other, the two locked in a silent confrontation.

"Maybe I should try eating you again." The beast pondered.

"Don't you dare!" The beast of beginning actually had the gall to chuckle.

"Very well I shan't." Telluris conceded. "But I will tell you once more that you waste your time, Fate walker. It should have been made abundantly clear when I chose not to side with anyone during the war between your kind, the dragons, and the Gods."

"Unbiased, yes I know well just what kind of beast you are, Telluris," Ezerald huffed. "Even so you know well Aethel was my kind's home. The Gods and dragons invaded our home, and the war brought ruin to it, and now lesser beings crawl about. Do you not think that unfair, beast of beginning?"

"It matters not what I thought, I am merely here to observe and to act if necessary." Telluris turned its large head upwards, staring at the vast and bleak sky. "My goal... is the balance."

"Then you should be inclined to help." This time it was not Ezerald who spoke, the aforementioned woman whirled around to the source.

"Aegraxes?" She questioned in confusion at her sudden brethren's appearance. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping," he smoothly replied as he turned to Telluris. "Now then beast of beginning. It's been an odd few eons."

"Aegraxes, most mighty amongst the Fate walkers, have you come to use force now that words have failed?" Telluris questioned, though the beast did not tense for action.

"Of course not, I'm merely here to relay something to you. You fancy keeping the current balance of Aethel, correct?" Telluris said nothing as Aegraxes continued. "Well, I'm surprised you've yet to notice, but the balance has been completely thrown off by a new party."

"Continue."

"A second spawn of Octavia has entered the fray." Telluris's reaction could not be seen on its giant face, but from how its body shifted, it did have a reaction. Ezerald was clearly more apparently befuddled.

"A second one?" Ezerald blurted out. "That damned Octavia! After all these years, she does this now!?" She cursed.

"It was quite a surprise to me as well; I barely escaped with my life," Aegraxes admitted. "Telluris, you should know what danger this new spawn is, not just to my kind but to this realm as a whole. He had used the Harbinger of Fate with reckless abandon; he clearly has little regard for the destruction he would cause."

The divine beast remained silent for a while. If Telluris had a face, its expression would no doubt be one of contemplation, and the two demons knew very well why.

("Octavia and you were quite close, no? After her lover had died, she found comfort with you; it's why you overlook each spawn of hers. Though even you probably did not know of this second spawn, what will you do?") Aegraxes mused.

"I will assess if this spawn is a threat to the balance of all..." Telluris finally spoke, the two demons' eyes dilated as a bright golden light enveloped the giant beast's form. They watched as the enormous form of the divine beast shrunk and morphed into something much more humane, the light that illuminated all died down, and bare feet touched onto the ground.

There now stood an ethereal and beautiful woman, flowing hair as blue as the vast sky itself with gold outlining it and orbs that held the depth of the very sea to them. She was clad in white robes adorned with threads of gold, and what stood out most were the golden antlers protruding out of her head. Beauty would not do the woman justice; she was otherworldly.

"I know what it is you want to do, Fate walker." A soothing voice parted from her rosy lips as she leveled a dull stare at the duo of demons.

"Hmm, interesting form to take," Aegraxes mused. "Is it perhaps the form you used when making love with dearest Octavia for seven days and nights? That is quite-"

"That is not your business." The divine beast cut him off. "I shall investigate this supposed second spawn. Should you merely be leading me on, then you shall incur my wrath."

A vibrant golden aura enveloped Telluris before her form shot up into the sky with such force that the earth trembled. Soon the divine beast and second spawn would occur; could the realm handle such an encounter, Aegraxes wondered.

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All was silent; he stood back in the dull atmosphere of the cave. Azael was nowhere to be seen; it seems the man had served his purpose. Feeling his helmet back on his head, Mikoto stared at the long blade clutched into his right hand. The Sabre, the red glow adorning the dark blade made it seem more ominous. From those heroes he had seen, Sabre caused more problems than fixed them. Even so...

With a thought, Mikoto dismissed the blade; it dissipated into particles of red that vanished into the air. Mikoto turned and took slow strides out of the cave; his mind was preoccupied. When he told Gideon he wanted a nice weapon, he had not expected his journey to lead to this. Seeing the tragic tales of those heroes, meeting Azael, and seeing Sabre for what it truly was. And then there was his new conviction.

"I want to be a hero, huh?" Mikoto chuckled. "Hinata would call me a chuuni." He was content with merely learning Arcane Ascendance and returning home. But why did that seem like such an empty goal? He still wanted to see his mother and Hinata, but he had not thought of it until now. Octavia was desperate enough to drag him from his reality to this world to save it from some supposed calamity that would plague the world and more.

If he had the power to act, could he truly leave billions and more to merely die when he clearly had the power to help? But that would mean abandoning his mother and sister for much longer; how long? A few more weeks? Months? Years? Could they bear it until then? Could he? He was barely keeping it together as it is. And him almost turning sixteen did not help the matter; he was going to go insane.

What would everyone else think when he suddenly had a personality change? Only Fiona knew he was a spawn of Octavia. To the others, he'd merely turn mad at some random point; for some reason, it irked him to think what their reactions might be. He had not known them for long, though Agatha, she was a friend. It was good to see her unwind and stop being the cold little princess her father wanted her to be. Mirabella was brash and rude, but even she put aside pride in order to accept help from him. Victoria was pompous but ever grateful to him for saving her mother; even so, the girl should unwind herself. Lucinda was burdened with being a spawn of Octavia; it was she was known as. He hoped one day he could comfort her that she was not the only one to have such a burden. And of course, Ruby and William, his first friends in the academy. William was too kind for his own good; he actually fit that hero stereotype. Ruby was a dull and mysterious girl; he hoped that would change someday.

Were all these people his friends? Were all these people the least bit important to him? Would he be sad if any one of them died? Did he want to help them? Would he feel anything if he were to abandon them?

He frowned beneath his helmet as harsh sunlight assaulted it. Questions without answers, but there was one thing he was sure of, and that-

Mikoto blinked as he saw something akin to a golden comet shoot through the sky at absurd speeds, further casting an intense light on all. The comet crashed into the forest before him, and the very foundations of it shook. That in itself was odd, but then about fifty kilometers or more an enormous barrier encased all, a translucent gold in color with intricate glyphs patterning around it.

"Wards? High level too, absurdly so..." His eyes told him as much with just a glance. And they were cast near instantly as well; he'd need at least an anti-nation level spell just to dent the barriers. And then there was a burst of mana from deep within the forest; it was immense and engulfed all. A golden hue of unparalleled brilliance that was unmatched in both power and beauty. And most of all, the sheer scale of the mana was equal to his own. No doubt the person responsible for the wards was the one this absurd amount of mana was coming from.

Mikoto's form warped out from his current position; in the next instance, his form was high in the air, his form weightlessly hovering as he looked down at the source of everything. Beauty did not seem to do justice to what he was looking at; her silky-smooth sky-blue hair flowed freely in the wind, and her golden antlers added to her otherworldly appearance all the more. She did not seem to mind walking barefoot on the dirty ground; she seemed so free with her white robes flowing freely in the wind. Her deep ocean eyes were immediately on him, and then she spoke.

"Show me your face." Despite the vast distance between them, he heard her soft and soothing voice all too clear. Mikoto narrowed his eyes at the request; this... person came to him, she was after him. With her level of mana, seeing his true mana signature should be an easy task; she just wanted confirmation. Mikoto debated with it before shrugging to himself; he raised his right hand and tapped his index finger against his helmet. It vanished into naught but particles of red as his red eyes zeroed in on her.

"There ya happy!?" Mikoto yelled; the woman chuckled.

"No need to yell; I can hear you just fine." A serene smile crossed her face. "You look just like her."

"Octavia, huh?" Mikoto scoffed. "Don't compare me to her; I'm clearly better looking." Another chuckle.

"I do like your confidence." She admitted. "I am known as Telluris; may I have your name, young one?"

"Mikoto Yukio." Strangely, he did not deem it unnecessary to give his name nor did he hesitate. It was odd; why did this woman feel so familiar and comforting.

"A beautiful name." She complimented. "May I make a request, dearest Mikoto?"

"Sure."

"I wish to discern your character; I wish to know if you are a threat." Telluris stated, her voice still soothing and smooth. "I see the best way to do that is through combat. Your soul sings and your body dances; through battle, there is no deceit."

"You wanna throw down?" Mikoto questioned; strangely, she nodded her head despite his slang. And for some reason, Mikoto found the prospect of fighting someone with equal mana to himself exciting. "Well, if that's what you want..."

Then more light assaulted the sky; were it a night of the pitch-black, then it would have seemed like day. Circular glyphs littered the sky, millions upon millions of glyphs hung in the sky all trained on Telluris. At the absurd display, anyone would have shrunk in fear from the absurd scale of it all.

"I won't hold back, random lady!" Mikoto finished with a declaration and a wide grin.

Telluris found herself smirking. "I would not have it any other way."

And then a battle broke out; were powerful wards not placed to contain the battle, then the realm might have been destroyed seven times over.