POV: Statera Luotian (MC)

"How DARE you?!" I bellowed, rising to my feet in one swift motion, my aura surging outwards as my consciousness came crashing back into my true body. All of my memories came crashing together, as all of my incarnations had stopped what they were doing to come back, including the conversation with Dei, and for a split second I was stunned. Then the entire palace turned into naught but dust in response, an anger unlike anything I had ever felt bubbling in my chest. Randus, bless him, was standing in the middle of what had once been the kitchen, his face pale and a look of shock written upon his features. "HOW DARE YOU?!" I roared, blasting off into the distance at a speed never before achieved under the heavens. The Four Realms shuddered at my passing as I hurtled towards the center of my universe, a comet of black and white amidst the chaos. Thunder boomed and a dragon roared, the sound loud enough to shake the heavens and shatter mountains. My eyes flashed as Alexander came into view, rising above the Mortal Realm, a great white serpent shooting through the foliage of the Life-Giving Tree like an arrow, snapping and snarling at a figure half his size. Reika danced about the dark figure, the myriad of elements peppering it as it laughed and fought, the ripples of the battle shattering the surrounding Realm and disrupting the balance. Elvira and Keilan flashed into battle as well, pestering the figure with attacks of white and black, while the figure just laughed and shrugged them all off, its four arms blurring as it fended them off with four bone-white weapons.

"BEGONE!" I bellowed, slamming into the being with such force that it sent him hurtling out of the Four Realms and into the surrounding Primordial Chaos. A quick glance took stock of the situation. Elvira and Keilan had their fists clenched, staring at me with a mix of shock, awe, and utter confusion as to what was going on. Alexander was heavily injured, with many wounds covering his body, his golden blood staining his scales, patches of scales completely missing and one of his horns broken off. Reika was the worst off. She was weeping, clutching an object to her chest as her entire body shook, curled in on herself as the branches of the Life-Giving Tree reached forwards to embrace her, comforting her when I knew I could not. The reason for her state was clear enough -the Mortal Realm was in utter disarray. The Life-Giving Tree was heavily scarred and burned, the mortal races, both beast and Fae alike, were warring with each other, and natural disasters ravaged the realm. With a loud harrumph, I used a bit of the power I had been saving up to create the moon in order to temporarily stabilize the Realm. "Take care of her. I'll be back soon." I growled, clenching my fists and looking up to where the figure had disappeared.

This won't take long.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" The laughter reached my ears as the figure came hurtling back into the Realms, to which I coldly snorted and shot towards it like an arrow released from a bow, slamming my fist into its stomach and sending it hurtling backwards once more. Power surged throughout my body as I clapped my hands together, the shockwave clearing a path through the Primordial Chaos to show the Abyss, where the Chaos met the Void. There, in the roiling waves of pure destruction that was the Abyss, stood the figure laughing its head off, insanity clear in its eyes. Its body was completely grotesque from countless eons spent within the empty Void, with ulcers and deformities etched into its very soul, while each of its four arms held what looked like a giant tooth. This being...was powerful. Perhaps as powerful as me, though its body was certainly more sturdy. Without waiting for a cue the being shot forwards once more, stabbing at me with the four giant teeth. I huffed and took a calm step forwards, a shield of pure energy coalescing in front of me, blocking the strikes. A low growl rumbled out from my chest as I took another step forwards, slamming my hand into the shield and sending it hurtling forwards, smashing into the being and sending it further out into the Abyss. A pang of pity found its way into my heart as I watched it laughing, though it did nothing to abate my anger. The poor spirit obviously had no rational thought, driven completely fucking bananas after eons spent in the Void. I could see the trial it had left in the Void, the trail of something in the nothing, but...how did it get in? Wait -!

My eyes widened as blue boxes containing warning messages popped up all over my vision, and I shot backwards. The being cackled as, all of a sudden, it was completely devoured, everything down to its very soul being eliminated and returned to nothingness alongside a giant swath of the Abyss. Where I had been standing moments ago likewise vanished, the Primordial Chaos hissing as it seethed and fought to return the nothing into something. An invisible, undetectable force kept it at bay, however. An entire section of my Realm had been utterly erased, returned to the Void. I didn't even have time to think as I continued to shoot backwards, a sense of impending crisis heading straight towards me. Then, however, I glanced back towards my universe and what was contained within. Whatever had destroyed the Abyss certainly had enough power to wipe my universe off the inter-universal map.

"NO!" I roared, unleashing the full extent of my godly might. This thing -whatever it was -was NOT getting through to MY Realms! "FUCK OFF!" I bellowed, stepping forwards and cocking one fist back, stepping right into what I knew was a gaping maw of nothingness. I bared my teeth and drew upon all the power I currently possessed and then some, calling forth the energy of the Realms in order to drive this beast, this being of nothingness, this Paradox, off. Everything trembled, the Primordial Chaos, the Abyss, even the Void itself seemed to inch away at my explosion of pure fury. The six balls of condensed Primordial Chaos that perpetually floated behind me trembled and expanded greatly, absorbing the Chaos in my surroundings to fuel the sudden growth. A thousand meters...ten thousand meters...a hundred thousand meters...the great columns of chaotic energy grew exponentially, until it was what I felt was the same size as the Paradox and coalescing into a giant figure, with me at the center. The figure was a giant form of myself, formed of the cloudy grey chaos that flickered with all the colors of the world and then some, it's enormous fist cocked back same as my physical fist, all of the power I was drawing coming together to pile into that fist.

All this power radiating off of me in waves, forming the impressive figure, commanding the entire will of the Four Realms, must have put off an impressive sight. However, I for one knew that this was not going to be enough.

But who gives a shit about shit like that?!

"I said FUCK OFF, BITCH!" I bellowed, throwing everything I had into one punch. Cracking sounds resounded out from the entirety of my universe, fractures appearing around the edges as my giant fist landed upon the Paradox, shattering everything within a few hundred thousand mile radius. A plaintive wail that only I could hear sounded out from the Paradox as it was forced backwards, close to the edge of the Abyss and back to the Void...but the blow was not without sacrifices. The entirety of my left arm, the arm I had punched with, was gone alongside most of my shoulder and a bite-shaped chunk of Primordial Chaos, the Paradox's maw having closed upon my arm. My instincts screamed at me that it was so close! and that if I could just get it deeper into the Void, then my Realm would be safe, and so would all of my children. However my giant of Chaos was crumbling, my universe was cracking under the pressure, I was devoid of any energy, and to top it off I was bleeding golden blood all over the damn place, and that's not to mention that there seems to be bits of Void -or Paradox, in this case -floating all over the fucking place because apparently I shattered parts of the beast as well! "Just leave already." I said, gritting my teeth and shooting forwards, ignoring my own personal safety to step into the Abyss. The crashing waves of the Abyss threatened to tear my body apart, having already recovered from the nothingness it had turned into.

Gritting my teeth I slammed shoulder-first into the Paradox at the fastest speed I could muster, bellowing out a challenge and shoving it just beyond the edges of the Abyss. Just a little more, I just need to push it a little further. My blood seethed, the droplets I had been leaving a trail of jerking and shooting towards me, radiating my divine essence as it came to hover around the Paradox, which was rapidly losing the substance it had gained by simply being within my universe. For it to fully dissolve back into nothingness, I needed to get it further away. I extended my right hand, panting and eyes gleaming as I stared at where I knew the devouring beast to be, my blood droplets hovering just in front of it.

"Detonate." I commanded tiredly, feeling just a smidgeon of my power well and truly leave me as the droplets exploded with immense power, scattering the remains of the Paradox into the Void, where it finally disappeared. (Though deep down I felt that was not truly the right answer. I didn't understand the Void well enough to understand the answer, however.) I felt like collapsing and sleeping for a million years, but managed to hold myself together, turning around and re-entering the safety of the Primordial Chaos, giving my body, which was on the verge of shutting down, a rest from the rigors of the Abyss. With a wave of my hand I forced my body to stop bleeding, knowing deep down that my injury was not a superficial one. It would take millions, if not hundreds of millions, of years to regrow my arm as it had been all but erased by the Paradox. I sighed and shook my head, waving my hand and expending energy I did not have to heal the cracks in my universe. The Primordial Chaos seethed as it accomplished this, being the building blocks of the universe and all. That healing alone would cause the Realm to slowly fix itself, but as I looked around I realized there was still much work to be done.

The Realm Sun was off kilter, the Life-Giving Tree was injured, Reika was a mess, Alexander was still healing his injuries, the Deities were all thoroughly shaken and gathering around my first four children, the Realms were in chaos, the Primordial Chaos was severely depleted, I had lost track of a few drops of my blood (as in, I could no longer sense them), and those damned blue boxes were still trying to get my fucking attention. A sudden bang sounded off behind me and I whirled around with such speed that the surrounding Primordial Chaos turned into a small vortex. What I saw shocked me, even though I couldn't really see it. The Paradox was alive and kicking, however, it had just run into a hexagonal blue shield, which connected to more hexagons, which in turn encompassed my entire Realm.

You successfully drove the juvenile Paradox Beast out of the Four Realms. Go tend to your children. I can protect you from here.

I stared at the box for a moment before nodding, not in the mood to get angry. This disaster was partially my fault after all -I had been complacent on increasing my personal power. I had been warned that things could slip through the cracks of my protection, and in my complacency had forgotten that fact. Still. I fully expect an explanation after this. This was not a minor disaster.

You will receive one.

Now slightly appeased, I moved with increasing speed towards where the Deities and had gathered to watch my fight. Oh, this was such a long day.

POV: Randus (Deity of Dreams)

Our Creator descended from the Primordial Chaos, looking tired, injured, and like a Deity of War. The power She had radiated cowed even Alexander, who was without question the strongest Deity of the Four Realms beneath our Creator, though even said Realms responded to Her beck and call without question. Whatever it was that She had fought after completely overwhelming that other being had done a number on the Realms nonetheless, pushing Her to the brink and even taking Her arm in the process. What She did next surprised me, as She ignored the other problems within the Realm to descend upon Reika, grabbing the sobbing girl and gently prying away what it was that she had been holding.

"Let me see, sweetheart." She said softly. Reika hiccupped out another sob, slowly relinquishing the indistinguishable form she had held to her chest. "Oh, dear." Our Creator said in a voice quivering with heartbreak and rage. For a moment She closed Her eyes, taking a deep breath. Colors flashed as She released that breath, and when Reika realized what our Creator was doing, it was already too late to stop Her. What little divine energy She had regained after the battle and a portion of Her immortal life force, the only true form of energy She had left, flew into the withered form and gave it life once more. The soul within that form that had been slowly withering away, fading into nothingness due to the sneak attack of that despicable being, and the body Reika had been creating to house that soul both surged with a sudden, awe-inspiring life-force, color returning to its hair and flesh. Two more long, fluffy tails stretched out from the rear end of the being (it was Fae-like, I realized with shock, as before it had been too hideously disfigured for anyone to tell, but now I could clearly see the Fae-like skin, arms, torso, and legs) joining the seven already in place. Reika's eyes were watering already, but when the being opened its eyes to gaze upon the world with big, rainbow-colored eyes, it's body the same size and physique as a newborn Fae's, she began to bawl, hugging it close. It was then that I realized that this was Reika's true sentient life-form. The Elementals had been all individual beings, but this one...this one contained traces of nine different elements and energies. If the Elementals were single elements, this one was all of them and then some.

"M-Mother...Th-thank you..." She sobbed, clutching her child close. Our Creator merely smiled, looking more tired now than ever before as She watched the newborn being, its fox-like ears twitching cutely alongside its nine swishing fox tails, each created from a different energy. "Thank you..." She was shaking now, gently cradling the child while the boughs of the Life-Giving Tree continued to comfort her in its embrace.

"My dear, giving my all to every single being in this universe is my sole purpose in life. You are my children, and your children are my children as well. What kind of parent would I be if I did otherwise?" She asked rhetorically, sounding incredibly, inconceivably tired. Reika looked up at her, tears still streaming down her face and her jaw working silently, unable to make any sounds come out. All the deities were silent at Her comment, and in that moment I felt like I truly understood Her preachings about Divine Love. She did not mean the gooey, romantic love that the Fae seemed to so adore. No, what She meant was this right here. This is divine love. And She is the prime example of it. I'm not sure who started it, but soon enough all the Fae were bowing their heads, some even kneeling to Her. "You needn't kneel to your parent." She said tiredly. After a few more moments of silence She just sighed, and spoke again. "I will be entering a period of secluded meditation from henceforth until a number of things are completed. I must stabilize the Four Realms and restore some modicum of Balance, which I can do by exerting my Will across the Realms, I must heal my injuries, and I need to create the fucking Lunar Star." She mumbled that last part, pinching the bridge of Her nose and taking a deep breath. In response to this one of the now five, as one had been lost in the battle, balls of Primordial Chaos floating behind Her flew forwards and attached itself to Her left shoulder, forming a new -albeit temporary -arm. "If you need anything, find one of my divine incarnations. I'll have ten running around the Realms, just like before, only without the breaks this time." She stated.

"Wait!" Sol called, just as our Creator was about to vanish. "What -what was that thing?!" He asked shrilly.

"My wake-up call." She muttered to none but Herself before speaking up. "A Paradox. A borderline sentient something made of the Void's nothing, and bent on returning all substance into the Void. But! You need not fear that thing. For now, it is gone, and there should be no others wandering this close. Focus on healing the damage it dealt and making the Four Realms stronger than before. Another one should not appear for a long, long time." She said, eyes flicking upwards in a glare towards the Void. "But if another one does, I am still here." She said simply, before turning and vanishing into the Realms, to somewhere not even I could find Her. Almost immediately afterwards, however, I felt fluctuations in the Four Realms as it slowly started to right itself. The Realm Sun was visibly moving back to its previous position, and was probably the focus of Mother's attention at the moment. With an almost silent chattering and tension the Deities dispersed, leaving none but Reika, Elvira, Keilan, Alexander, Gilles, and myself standing atop the Life-Giving Tree. Elvira, Keilan, and Alexander all wore complicated expressions, their pride severely injured from having suffered relative defeat from an opponent our Creator had easily overpowered. Or, perhaps it was due to our Creator actually having to lift a hand in their defense. I am not sure, but am certain to find out in time when they start to dream.

This, too, was part of the love She spoke of. With a slight bow to where She had dissappeared, I muttered "Thank you for the lesson," and disappeared into the Four Realms, myself. There was much work to be done in our Creator's half-absence.