POV: Dei

Celene and Leo's wedding lasted for an entire month, our wandering tribe of cultivators scrounging together everything they could to ensure the festivities would last that long. A few had even tried threatening the city not too far off, which surprisingly worked once the card 'we saved your sorry hides from a mystic beast horde' was played. I wasn't even mad about the shamelessness of that action, after all, this was far too big of an event to constrain with conventionality. Great beasts were roasted over an open flame and baked while buried under hard clay on top of a bed of coals, fine fruits and wine overflowed from baskets and flagons alike, and for the occasion I even broke out my personal stash of sword qi whiskey...though I only shared with Celene. Leo was a bit of a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, so he didn't get any. The ceremony itself was held on the third day of festivities, officiated by the same priest that had started the journey across Pangea with me, and held in the eyes of Mother Statera and Father Luotian. Wang Zizai also made an appearance, but for the most part the newly created angel, which was an entity that I was still trying to wrap my head around, was flying around all over the place with his newfound power.

That didn't stop the two of us from sharing a few drinks, however. Who says that if you're sagely and spiritual you can't have some fun? According to Wang Zizai, the Divine Soul, or Creator God of the Four Realms, certainly didn't. So long as one didn't go overboard.

Ah, that was another problem I was having. Currently, my entire belief system was utterly obliterated and I was forced to rethink everything I knew. Unfortunately, everything I know is very little, and I refuse to give that old priest the satisfaction of knowing that I now believe -no, I know -that there's a higher being out there. We have clashed far too many times for me to give him that satisfaction. Although...if I did tell him, he may just have a heart attack and die. Hmm. There may be merits to this after all. Then, once he's dead, I can take the Valandrian honey mead he's been hiding from me! Ha! Am I joking? Not even I know, especially not when he gets into an argument with me every other day simply for the sake of having an argument. It's practically a ritual at this point.

Anyways, the entire wedding was far and above one of the happiest and proudest moments of my life. Never before had I seen my people acting so carefree, and not for hundreds of years had I seen my most trusted friend Celene smile the way she did when she stood on the dais in her white wedding gown, formed purely of ice and snow (though the fact that I created said gown shall remain secret from her for all eternity), exchanging wedding vows with Leo, dressed in his slick-looking black robes (also made by me...with shadows...) And never before had I been happier to see that my people were truly flourishing. Once, I even shed a single manly tear watching Celene and Leo dance together, away from the festivities beneath the starry sky. I couldn't help it, but in that moment I had the sudden vision of another city, filled with my people, where these kinds of festivities would be more than possible. A place of safety and peace, where more people could dance like this, without a worry in the world.

Perhaps...perhaps it is time we head home...or create a new one for ourselves. With no small amount reluctance, I prayed to whatever higher being there was that I would be able to create such a place. And I swear I could feel the smug smile that was surely spreading across its face! I could feel it!

"I swear, when I get strong enough I'm going to come up there and punch you." I ground out, pointing one finger menacingly at the sky and grinding my teeth. This time, I could almost hear the smugness be replaced by laughter, to which I merely huffed and crossed my arms, frowning. I couldn't punch it. Yet.

POV CHANGE: Kei

Little did anyone but maybe Grandpa know, but I had been running about in the Mortal Realm the entire time, following silly Dei sometimes and sometimes following other mortals that caught my attention. I'd heard they'd even started telling stories about the mysterious fox-lady of the forest, who played tricks on people! Hehe, mortals are so funny! But the food they make is soooo goooood...so much better than the simple fruits Mom makes me eat...she doesn't understand good food. With a sigh I kicked my feet lazily, sending sand flying through the air. The beach I was currently on stretched as far as the eye could see, the waves lapping at the beach. Giggling suddenly I dashed forwards, my feet kicking up sand as I flew across the beach, my tails trailing behind me as I whooped and hollered, twirling and laughing for no reason other than to laugh.

Soon I began to sing, a number of songs that I remember Grandpa singing to me a looong time ago that was just really really happy and stuff, and a few others made by the mortals. I used magic to create the sound of musical instruments, creating the upbeat tune that I could sing along with. As I ran about, singing and playing in the sand and surf the spirits danced with me, and the sand that I kicked up flying about alongside the ocean spray...right up to when I turned and saw Dei and his people standing at the edge of the dense green forest that bordered the beach, watching me dance and sing. So I did the only natural thing I could do. I ran forwards, grabbed Dei by the hand, and drug him out to the beach and continued to sing. The poor man was much too stunned to do anything about it, much less so when I tried enticing him to dance with me, grabbing his hands and spinning in circles.

Considering it had been a few centuries since he had last seen me I was surprised at the recognition in his eyes as he looked at me and struggled (futilely) to extricate himself from this situation, but then again I hadn't grown that much. Now I only looked to be about the age of ten or eleven if going by the Fae timescale. I continued to sing, changing the song and tune and gently coaxing Dei's people forwards. It took a while, but eventually I got all but the most tentative dancing on the beach, intoxicated by the sounds.

"...knee deep in the water somewhere, got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair only worry in the world 'is the tide gonna reach my chair?' Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky, never felt so happy never felt so high, and I think I might've found me my own kind of paradise!" I sang, grinning wildly as I let go of Dei's hands, flying through the air...where I sat down and looked at the beach below me. The people had stopped dancing as soon as I stopped singing, standing about in the middle of the swirling designs made by footprints in the windblown sand, little balls of ocean and light floating about, giving the entire scene a very surreal and artistic scene. I giggled and waved at the group, puffing up my chest proudly as I swished my tails playfully. "Hi! My name's Kei!" I announced, falling to the ground gracefully and bouncing forwards on the balls of my bare feet to stand in front of Dei, the tips of my large ears just barely tickling his nose. Dei took a step back and shook his head at me.

"Wh-what are you...?" One particularly old man asked, leaning on his cane as he stared at me. I gave him an odd look before flashing him a toothy grin and pointing to my ears, my tails curling forwards as if to cover the rest of my body.

"A fox, silly. See? A fox. A nine-tailed fox!" I told him, giggling.

"Lively, aren't you?" Dei said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alright, where's the other guy?"

"Who? You mean Grandpa? Grandpa's meditating. He's been meditating for about three hundred years now. Why?" I asked innocently, tilting my head to the side cutely.

"Dei, you...you know this being?" The old man asked.

"Yes. Dei and I met her before...a long time ago. A little under three hundred years. We were still heading towards the base of the Life-Giving Tree." Celene supplied, stepping forwards. Man, it's a good thing cultivators at Dei and Celene's level have memory almost on par with mine! We forget very little! Otherwise this would be an awkward reunion! "Though I wonder what she's doing here now?" Celene asked, turning to look at me questioningly.

"Playing." I told her proudly. Dei snorted, finally removing his hand from the bridge of his nose and running it along one of his horns. "What? I am! Mom's not paying too much attention, because she's dealing with all the evil things, so I'm free to slip away and play!" I set my hands on my hips and stuck my nose into the air, a grin still plastered on my face.

"The dark things. Who's your mother?" Dei repeated and then asked.

"I'm not allowed to say." I said, clamping my hands over my mouth. Dei just nodded, turning to face the boy who was about to speak even before the first word came out.

"Is no one going to address the fact that we were all dancing for no reason?! She obviously cast some magic to control us!" The boy complained. Dei just chuckled to himself and nodded, stepping back as if content to watch the entire thing unfold. I was the first to speak, however, because I was confused.

"Huh? I didn't control you though?" I said, furrowing my brows. "I was just singing and dancing. Isn't that how magic is supposed to be used?" I asked questioningly. That simple question, though I meant nothing more by it than what I said, as I only use magic to have fun and sing and dance, seemed to stun the surrounding people. Dei just burst out laughing, nodding his head. Celene and the old man's brows were furrowed, something like enlightenment flashing through their eyes. I didn't understand. I know they use magic to fight but...had they really not thought to use magic to sing and dance? That's a sad way to live. You're supposed to have fun!

"Ah, that's a breath of fresh air." Dei said after regaining control of himself. His eyes twinkled as he looked at me, and I grinned at him. "Leo, don't worry about it. If she wanted to do something bad, then she could've done much more than just that." Dei reasoned, and I shrugged, turning to look at the group of people Dei led while he and Leo argued. (More like Leo argued, and Dei calmly shot down all of his accusations.) Last time I had seen this group was about fifty years ago during that first world-shocking battle between the angels and dark angels. Since then he'd gathered a solid hundred more followers, including a few more Elementals, Avians, and Karae. The Elementals, which were fire, wind, and earth Elementals, were staring at me with a sort of reverence, obviously able to sense my natural propensity towards all the elements. I smiled and waved at them before a sudden thought struck me.

"OH!" I shouted, startling everyone who was staring curiously at me. "Dei, what are you doing here? Weren't you over by the Northern edges of Pangea? That's a long way from here." I noted, staring at him curiously. Dei just smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Searching for a place to settle down." He said, and sighed. "Just haven't found the right place yet."

"Why not here?" I asked. "Just build an island out on the waters...oh! A floating island! A floating city! In the sky! A floating island city in the sky! That'd be so cooool!" I blurted, bouncing up and down at the thought of a flying city of cultivators. Dei just stared at me and sighed, turning towards Celene, whom he seemed to share a conversation with just through facial expressions. "Is that possible?! It is, isn't it! Just make a whole bunch of formations that keeps it afloat! Can you do it? Can you? Canyoucanyoucanyou?" I asked quickly, to which Dei just sighed again, turning and consulting with a few more of his people.

"It...might be. The spiritual energy here is abundant enough." One of the formation experts of the group said, his eyes flashing strangely as he thought about it. "The formations though...it would be unlike anything ever created. The fact that it'd be flying is an interesting concept, and would solve the issue of beast hordes...so long as they were minor ones..." Then it devolved into senseless muttering as he consulted the other few formation experts and apprentices about the idea, slowly becoming more and more excited about the idea. Did I just start something I shouldn't have? "It'd take a long time to do the research necessary to create such a city. We'd need somewhere safe to do so before we could do any serious research. We'd have to start small and work our way up. Luckily we already have a few formations that bend and control elemental essences, but that would be on a completely different scale." The expert said, rubbing his chin. Dei nodded.

"So you're saying we'd need somewhere safe for you to conduct research for a number of years first." Dei said with a shake of his head. "That's...difficult."

"Yes, but I get the feeling we're going to have to fight to lay claim to a piece of land wherever we go." Celene reasoned. "Seeing as the world's only been getting more and more chaotic in recent years, it might be better to settle down now and build up the future city's defenses before it all goes to shit." Dei nodded in agreement, and I furrowed my brows. The world's getting more chaotic? I hadn't noticed that. "And we had been heading in this direction because the quality of energy was increasing the further we went."

"Hmm? Oh, the spiritual energy? It's strongest in the center of the lake." I said, pointing towards the middle of the vast sea...even though I called it a lake. Compared to some of the other bodies of water in the universe, it was really rather small...like the Ocean of Memories in the Karmic Realm, or any of the large bodies of water that dotted the landscape of the Heaven Realm. This tiny pond was but a drop of water in a vast ocean. Dei just nodded in response to my statement, and Leo blurt out yet another question.

"Why are you so certain she's not trying to trick us?!" He blurted, apparently having stewed upon that question for a while.

"Because her aura is stronger than Wang Zizai's." Dei repeated calmly, and effectively shut Leo, and any other objectors, up. I just blinked and tilted my head to the side. Well of course it was? I'm a divine beast, no? That's how it should be, right? "Still though, it is a good idea to be cautious. We'll stick around here for a while, scout out the area, make sure it's relatively safe and all the necessary resources are around, and then if all goes well we can see about creating our city." Dei stated, folding his hands inside of his robe as he moved off, starting to bark out orders. Hmm. That went better than expected! I giggled and hid my mouth behind my hand, eyes gleaming. This was interesting! I think I'll stick around.

POV CHANGE: Statera Luotian

One thousand two hundred and eighty five years. That's how long I spent in secluded meditation, and the moment I awoke the entire Four Realms trembled. All the conflicts currently ongoing between cultivator and angel alike froze, as suddenly the dark angels began to flee. Ever since Wang Zizai's ascension there had been innumerable skirmishes throughout the Four Realms, some of which were 'lost,' some of which were 'won,' both neither of which were ever true losses or wins. After all, there were no real stakes to the current game. Of course, what this meant was that I immediately cast my divine sense over the entirety of the Four Realms, searching for the culprit. What I found was...nothing. The dark angels reached certain points and simply vanished into thin air, and even when I focused all my attention on the spots where they disappeared I still sensed nothing.

This was cause for concern.

With a huff the boulder I had been meditating within exploded, my true body standing up, roots of the Life-Giving Tree that had wrapped around me making snapping sounds as they broke and retreated under the ground. With a boom I shot into the sky, teleporting across the entirety of the Mortal Realm to appear above Elvira's palace. The suddenness of my appearance startled my four children, who had been having a strategy meeting concerning the dark angels. After all, I had done everything in the matter of a few seconds, and their senses hadn't quite caught up to them. Unfortunately for them, I had ruined whatever plans they had in place by waking up. Elvira herself was only recently joining in on these battles, having spent all of her time tempering and refining her body in the Primordial Chaos until about a century and a half ago...though she had quickly taken to battle like a fish to water. 'Light,' or 'white' in Elvira's case, is all about conflict and activity, so I was honestly not surprised by this. Although she had not actually fought any battles yet, she was an extremely skilled tactician, even rivalling Keilan, who tended to come up with more abstract tactics.

"Father."

"Mother." My children said as they came scrambling out of Elvira's palace. I looked at them all with a blank expression, waving my hand and nodding my head.

"Fill me in on the situation." I said monotone, causing my four children to look at each other. There was a good reason for my inexpressiveness, and I dreaded what I had to do. My enlightenment had touched upon Fate, which just made my enlightenment that much more profound. Though Fate is not to be confused with fate. They're different. And one pisses me off much more than the other. Alexander, noting my expression, led me into the main hall of the palace, where a military strategy board was in place, depicting the entirety of the Four Realms. A number of skirmish sites had been set up, and my four children were just getting the reports about the dark angels fleeing. Apparently some mysterious force had been interfering with their ability to know what was going on in their respective Realms, so information and movements of the dark angels were delayed in getting to them. Once again, this was concerning.

Thankfully the situation wasn't that bad. I sat in one of the chairs, eyes closed and a frown on my face as I listened to Elvira and Keilan give their reports, mentally creating the map and situation. I still didn't know what the purpose of these attacks were, as they were far too systemized for my liking, nor who exactly was controlling it, but I was still forming a general idea of the entire situation. At least, more of an idea than my children had. After their reports all four simply stared at me as I thought. It was a long while before a forlorn sigh escaped my lips.

"Fuck." I said, standing up, followed by another stretch of silence. "My hands are tied." I announced. Silence reigned for a long, long time, especially from the surrounding Deities that had, at some point, come to pay their respects to the newly awakened me. Instead what they got was me telling them that I wasn't going to help in this fight...basically. I mean, I would, but not to the degree that I'm certain they were hoping for. After all, I am their creator. A number of them were probably expecting me to just swoop in and 'boom!' War's over. But that is not the case here.

"Why?" Alexander was the first to recover first, because he had already figured that something like this situation would crop up. Upon meeting my eyes, however, Alexander was shocked for a split second. I was angry, and it showed.

"Because of numerous reasons. First off, not even I can find where they're hiding and coming from. Eventually I'll figure it out, but right now it's like I'm flying blind. My current guess is that it has something to do with the Void, which is characteristically 'nothing' and technically invisible to any form of sensing. Second off is that this is the first storm the Four Realms is facing. I cannot deny it the chance to grow from this." I said simply. A few complaints were raised to this, echoing from around the hall, which I allowed to run their course. My eyes spoke volumes about what I truly thought of the situation. There was much more to that last point than simply 'cannot deny the Four Realms the chance to grow,' or even 'facing a disaster to avoid calamity.' No, I had seen a bit into the workings of Fate. And seeing as how this was a point in the timestream that I could not change? Well, that really, really pissed me off. I may have been an average angel on Earth, but now I'm anything but average. And one characteristic that I did end up picking up from my lives on Earth was basically this; "tell me what I can't do, and I know exactly what I want to do." Unfortunately that thought process conflicts with the duties of a Deity...especially those of an Origin Deity. Taking a deep breath, I suppressed my anger. I had hoped to mitigate the damage, but unfortunately...the vision I had been shown was just a bit too beautiful.

That, and I knew that the way I was about to do things was one of the better ways of handling this. I wanted a bunch of happy stories...but pain is both a very good teacher and motivator.

"So you're going to just let your people kill each other?" Reika asked, and I nearly snapped at that. The aura that unintentionally flared out of me nearly shattered Elvira's palace, the entire building rumbling and shaking for a split second before I managed to reign it in.

"Sorry." I apologized, taking a deep breath. Reika's face was shocked, drained of all color, and the Deities had all taken a number of steps back as they stared at me. The pressure I had just shown was far beyond anything I had shown previously...though that was only because I had prevented the pressure I was releasing from affecting them. I just so happened to lose control this time. "Just...yes, technically I am. Strictly speaking, I couldn't stop that anyways. Mortals are mortals. They're stupid, and bound to have wars and kill each other and stuff at some point. As sucky as that is, that's part of freewill. Plus, there are already dark angels here. All we can do is try to keep the damage to a minimum. That's no excuse though. What I'm about to say, though, is strictly for you four's ears. The rest of you need to leave." I said, and waved my hand. The Deities currently in the hall were all swept outside with a gust of wind, and a barrier was erected around me and my first four children. Keilan was giving me an odd look, and I clasped my hands in front of my face. I was going to show them pieces of my vision, so that they could see what we were working towards. This needed to happen, something I realized only I had seen it.

"I had a vision..."

After our little chat I left the palace of Elvira, leaving my four children to think about what I had to say. I'd be going back into secluded meditation with my ten incarnations running about, but this time I'd be doing so in my palace once again. (Though I would take a break every now and then. One of these breaks would be for when Dei breaks into the realm of Immortality, which should be soon.) Of course, I had omitted a few things in our discussion. One of the big ones was that even if I hadn't been shown what one of the futures could be, I would've still allowed the storm to come and shake the Four Realms, as much as I dislike it. As for my anger with the entire situation? Simple. I'm far too knowledgeable about how the manipulation game works to let this go. I had been shown a vision while meditating, one the depicted one of the futures of the Four Realms. This was shown to me so that I would go forwards and choose a path that would either go towards or away from said future, all to achieve a specific effect that doesn't always something to do with that future. Key words there, shown a vision, and one of the futures. There's a very subtle difference between having a vision and being shown one, and I had only discovered the difference this time around due to various circumstances, and there are also very many possible futures when talking about thousands of years into the future.

"Well then, Fate. It's just you and me now." I said, sitting down, my eyes flashing dangerously. Oh dear, I really needed to calm down. Eh. It should pass in a day or two. Thankfully Randus had kept my palace clean during my absence, and my meditation bed was perfectly ready for me to sit on. The plan hadn't changed. I still need to create the Lunar Star. But now I'd be meditating on the vague image of Fate I had discovered as well. With that thought I closed my eyes and began to meditate, sending my incarnations out into the world once again.