POV: Randus (Deity of Dreams)

"Ma'am." I said respectfully, stepping out of the world of dreams to materialize next to our Creator. In all honesty, She looked terrible. With blood dribbling out of the corners of Her mouth, Her robes in tatters, and an overall very dreary expression, She truly did give off an aura of weariness and...disappointment. She turned to look at me and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach Her eyes.

"Randus. Thank you, you did good. How's Gilles?" She asked.

"Very well, Mi'lady. He is currently in a trance, but with a bit of time and effort he shall be right as rain." I assured. She just smiled and nodded, folding Her hands behind Her back even as Her sword, the Sword that Does Not Cut, vanished. She then moved further into the Four Realms, to stand before the First Four and Kei, who would now altogether be known as the Big Five. Alexander looked positively ashamed, as he should, his head hung low and his injuries not even treated. In fact, none of them had treated their injuries. All had varying degrees of burns, Reika was trying hard to keep herself together as she threatened to pass out, Keilan was paler than usual and was missing a horn, Elvira's feathers were matted and burned, her skin cracked and dry, Alexander was missing patches of scales and golden blood stained the rest, and Kei...well, Kei managed to make herself more presentable, hiding her injuries beneath her fox tails and robes. I sighed in my heart, already knowing that She was not going to scold them. They presented too pitiable an image.

"I am sorry. We failed you." Alexander said in a low voice, not daring to meet Her eyes. However, She was already trembling, though not from anger or disappointment, as I believed She should have been. Her children should have been the ones to end this fight, not Her. Even I felt ashamed of that. Instead, contrary to their expectations, though I do not know why they would expect anything other from our ultimate Parent, She let out a soft cry and flew forwards, enveloping all five in a hug, showering them with concern. It was an almost comical sight, watching our Creator blubber over the five of them, constantly concerned even as She poured divine power into them healing parts of their injuries. I could see the hesitation within Her, the desire to help warring with Her need to let us grow and learn. Elvira was the first one to pull away, looking like she was about to cry. Ah, that's right. She does not know that Gilles is safe.

"I am sorry, Father. I failed to protect...Gilles, he is..." Elvira said softly, unable to get it all out. Mother looked at Elvira and sighed, shaking Her head and forcibly reining in Her emotions.

"Randus, if you would." She said, turning to me. I bowed and waved my hand, causing Gilles to appear right next to me, his eyes closed and face paler than usual.

"By your command." I said as She took Gilles, pouring power into his body and waking him up almost instantly. I secretly sighed in amazement at the skill She displayed, bringing Gilles back from near non-existence in the blink of an eye like that.

"Gilles is right here, Elvira. However, you're right about one thing. You did fail to protect." She said, causing all to flinch. However, before She could continue, Kei spoke up.

"What about you then?" She snapped, red faced and more than a little angry. "I don't understand, why didn't you stop the Enemy before the fight began? Even now, with a wave of your hand, you could fix all the damage done to the Four Realms, and yet you don't." I bristled at that, taking a step forward and intent on giving her a piece of my mind. How dare she-?! The audacity! However, Elvira beat me to the punch, though I was certain that the Creator would've stopped me before I could act.

"This was not Father's mess to clean up." Elvira said slowly, looking much better now that she knew Gilles was alive and well, if not conscious.

"Technically, this is our fault." Keilan added, meeting his sister's eyes. She nodded at him, and Keilan continued, stepping forwards. "We all know how Mother created the Four Realms, but She did not personally create the Heaven and Karmic Realms. Technically we, Elvira and myself, did. Everything Mother created afterwards was to balance the Four Realms, and stop us from fighting. On the surface our two Realms are incompatible, but through Her actions they melded together. The enemy as we call it is one of our oldest brethren, the true Fifth of us, born in Mother's shadow at the same time She created souls. Perhaps, if we had not acted as we did and instead allowed Mother to create the Realms as She saw fit, we would have avoided this." Keilan said sagely. His narration slightly confused Kei, but she appeared to have accepted something nonetheless as her anger lessened.

"I'm surprised you got that far." The Creator said, smiling and nodding at Keilan. "Yes, that is true, but it is also not. The Shadow of the Four Realms was bound to be the first true storm the Four Realms faced regardless of how you or I went about it, that is simply the nature of the Shadow. In essence, the "Enemy" was born because I appeared, acting as a sort of balancer. After seeing a bit of the "Enemy's" memories, I merely confirmed this. Which brings me to my next point. I can't hold your hands through all of this." She said bluntly. "Healing the Four Realms now would be like destroying all the struggles of those who fought, making it all essentially pointless. I cannot deny you all this chance to grow and change, which is also the reason why I did not first step in. Well, one of the reasons. There's a fine line between helping and hindering." The Creator said with a casual shrug. Kei said nothing more, bowing her head as the Creator sighed. "You're right about one thing though. You don't understand." She muttered to Herself, low enough that only I could hear...though judging by Kei's reaction she did as well.

I secretly pitied Kei. She's so young, yet already so powerful...she needs to grow more, to gain more enlightenment, to truly be considered on par with the Big Four. A truly powerful Divine. A true ruler of the Realms.

"What about Sol?" Alexander asked gruffly, to which the Creator shrugged and raised one hand, the fragments of Sol's memories flooding together. After staring at it for a moment, Alexander just shook his head. "That fool. He felt slighted because you were preparing to create the Lunar Star, encroaching upon his domain as he saw it, and sought power to prove you wrong. Truly a fool."

"Indeed." Reika agreed, shaking her head as she looked regretfully at the Mortal Realm.

"Ah, speaking of, I may not be willing to heal the entirety of the Four Realms, however I can most certainly speed it up." Our Creator said, waving Her hands as power flowed out of Her and enveloped the Four Realms. The Life-Giving Tree's spark of life roared back to full mast, though its exterior did not change, and the Holy Mountain's aura surged a little, becoming a bit denser. The River of Souls fixed the little damage done to it, as something so important could not be left untouched, and the Valley within the Karmic Realm shuddered a little, no change becoming apparent, but I was certain there was a change nonetheless. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check up on everyone else. Come along, Randus."

"By Your command." I said, bowing slightly and following.

POV CHANGE: Statera Luotian

In essence, the state of the Four Realms was shit. Well, not quite that bad, but no Realm was free from damage. The Mortal Realm was the worst off, many of the ecosystems having been nigh-irreversibly damaged, but it was also one of the first Realms to really start bouncing back. After the wars died down, cultivators in that area would fly about, using their own powers to heal the surrounding area or speed up its healing. However, some areas, such as areas directly struck by a dark angel self-destruction or by Sol's fire, were completely abandoned. On planets like Cradle, which surprisingly received minimal damage, these areas would naturally heal and be reclaimed by the races, much in thanks to the Elementals whose natural control over elemental essences allowed them to heal the area with greater speed than any of the other races.

However, on Pangea, these areas would undoubtedly turn into true "Danger Zones," places where corrupt, evil, or simply incredibly strong beasts and cultivators would gather. It was kind of interesting, actually. Some very unique occurences were happening in these areas, such as one place that had already turned into a forever-burning forest. Fire-based beings loved that place, namely the fire elementals.

As for the deities and angels, many of them were very badly injured, though due to their nature only five found themselves unable to sustain their lives, and instead chose to enter the reincarnation cycle for a shot at becoming a deity once again or become an immortal cultivator. Thankfully the Valley in the Karmic Realm was quick to heal, having sustained minor damage compared to the Mortal and Heaven Realms, and the Karmic Kings continued to judge the new flood of souls seeking reincarnation. I was very proud of them for getting back on their feet, despite the injuries and damages they sustained.

The Heaven Realm was...well, the Heaven Realm. Full of life as always, no matter what. Vibrant, practically buzzing as the intelligent beasts and Avians, as Fae, Karae, and Elementals had yet to spread to the Heaven Realm, ran about fixing their homes and just...well, fixing whatever they could. Elvira's palace was in ruins, but that swiftly changed as those who lived there and worshipped her worked to rebuild. It was quite the sight.

It was only a few months that I spent running about the Four Realms, personally checking on things while also watching everything with my divine sense. That, and I designed and created a prison for the "Enemy." It was a kind of temporal...quantum...wibbly wobbly...thingamajig. It basically put the "Enemy's" body into a stasis while its mind was still conscious -a temporary measure until I could really figure out what to do with it. A few months was all the time I took for all this because that was when I decided that I could not put off answering the prayers of two people -calls I felt necessary to personally answer. So I sat down far above the Mortal Realm, directly above the city of Manu Ti, Randus standing by my side, and sent down an incarnation of myself. Only Dei would be able to withstand the aura of my true body, even Celene would disintegrate if I touched her. Hence the incarnation. Didn't want to have any accidents. I mean, I could technically go down there myself and severely suppress myself so my aura wouldn't affect the Realm too much, but...I just wanted to be cautious.

"...you really did come." Celene said as I appeared behind her, turning away from the window she stood at. Both her and I were currently in the cottage she had spent the past few millennia with Leo, the dark, hollow interior nothing like it had been but a few months prior. Outside, none of the hustle and bustle from the cultivators as they repaired the formations and cities around and on the floating island could be heard, a form of respect for the one who had sacrificed himself and became the Sun. "Are you the messenger, or are you truly...the Creator God?" Celene asked. I said nothing and smiled softly. Celene sighed and looked out the window once more, the melancholic aura around her increasing. "Is he...dead?" She asked softly.

"No. Not really." I told her. "His body was burned away, and now his soul sleeps in the center of the Sun, his body being reformed by it." Celene turned to look at me, confusion written on her face. "He'll become a deity, Celene. It'll take a few million years, but eventually he will awaken."

"But he won't be the same." Celene said, not even blinking at the information I just presented to her.

"No. He won't." I told truthfully. By nature, deities think and act differently than mortals. When he re-awakens he may have the same personality, and still have all of his memories, but he'll still be different. The Realm Sun will have affected his nature...and even now, I could see the red string of fate between the two beginning to fade. It was ironic really, that Leo acted to save Celene, but his very actions may tear them apart forever.

"Then please, let me go up there with him." Celene said, turning around and kowtowing to me. I simply stared at her. "I can feel it, you know. The connection between us. It's fading, and if left alone...I don't want that. He's done so much for me, and I..." She didn't get the rest of her sentence out, and although her face was pressed to the floor, I knew that she was crying. After a long moment of silence I sighed.

"It's beautiful, in my opinion. Since the very beginning, his soul has been the one chasing yours. You have always been the more adventurous one, and throughout the ages he's been the one chasing you, trying to catch up to you. And now, in the end, you're the one chasing him up into the stars. Quite beautiful." I said. Celene looked up at me, confusion on her face, as I pulled a glowing white pill out of the folds of my robe. "I cannot send you up to the Realm Sun, it would do no good to have two deities of the Sun. However, what I can do is make you another star altogether. The Lunar Star...one to light the day, another to illuminate the night. Together, you would bring balance to the Four Realms, and shine your light upon all creation. The tale of the Two Lovers, forever together in the sky above." I said, an illusion of the Sun and Moon circling the Four Realms, the Moon circling faster than the Sun, and often times crossing paths.

Celene was silent as I shared what this meant with her via vision, in the same way that I had done with Leo. I was offering her the same choice, and I knew, even before I came here, what her answer would be. This was why I had gone ahead and started condensing the power for the Lunar Star into a pill, much like the Realm Sun's.

"Yes." Celene said, a resolute gleam in her eyes. I smiled and nodded, putting away the pill.

"Six months. I will return in six months. Use that time to settle your affairs." I told her, and vanished, leaving her alone once more.

POV CHANGE: Kei

The moment Grandpa opened His eyes He smiled kindly at me. "Hello, Kei." He said as I stood there watching His interaction with Celene.

"Sorry." I apologized, looking up at Him. "I was angry before, and didn't mean to snap at you like that." Grandpa just laughed and shook His head, looking down at the Mortal Realm.

"No need to apologize, I understand. The negative energy in the area was effecting everyone, not just you." He said casually. Ah, I hadn't thought about that. Ambient negative emotions and negative energy tend to effect all beings emotionally, heck all natural energy has that effect, and there had been a lot of negative energy flowing around...still, I felt bad.

"Are you going to talk to Dei? He's pretty distraught." I asked carefully, knowing that Grandpa had taken a liking to him. I still wasn't certain as to why that was, even though he was the first Immortal Mortal and a future Paragon of the Four Realms, but I did agree that he was entertaining. Still, that didn't explain why Grandpa was going to such lengths to help Dei grow. For most other mortals, He'd act in a more mysterious way, indirectly effecting them. Celene and Leo just so happened to have interesting fates as well, and got caught up in Dei's growth.

"Not yet, Celene needs to become the Lunar Star first. Then I'll go talk to him. In the meantime you should go spend time with him. I know its been a while since you've last played together." Grandpa said, talking as if we were two children who were getting together to have playdates...which, considering it's Grandpa we're talking about, isn't too far off of the mark. Instead I just shook my head and moved over to Him, sitting down in His lap like I had when I was little. In fact, I made myself smaller as I did so, making it more comfortable for me. That didn't stop Grandpa from letting out a small "oof," and chuckling, scratching behind my ears. "Silly girl." He muttered, and I just smiled, soaking in His aura. It was just so comfortable...ah, no matter what, Grandpa was still the best.

While we sat there, we watched the on goings of Manu Ti as the mortals ran about. Celene surprisingly wasn't very productive, instead making a few appearances in her clan, and talking with a few of her friends, all while never giving away what exactly what was going on. No one was stupid enough to believe that she wasn't saying her goodbyes however...they just didn't know what it meant. Everyone knew that Celene was not the kind of person to commit suicide, so that left many wondering what exactly was going on. Only Dei, who received his "goodbye" late into the fifth month, had a basic idea of what was going to happen thanks to his incredible cultivation level. When the day finally came, Celene simply stood in her cottage alone, waiting patiently for Grandpa to appear, expecting to silently slip away under the cover of darkness.

She didn't expect for a beam of silver light to appear in the middle of the night, dragging her up into the sky for all to see, as she flew into the vastness of space to stand before Grandpa and I. I stood behind Him, watching as Grandpa silently handed the Lunar Star pill to her and watched as she unflinchingly took it. Red strings suddenly appeared from her body, lashing out and connecting to the Sun as a silvery white shell appeared around her, swiftly flying out into the darkness of space to explode outwards, appearing right before the Realm Sun. The Lunar Star was breathtaking, a shining white color, the color of the purest of snow. Almost instantly I could feel the Four Realms shifting, and Grandpa let out a contented sigh as the balance of the Four Realms was righted.

"That's so much better." He muttered, shaking his head and admiring the Lunar Star for a few moments before turning back towards the Mortal Realms. Many beasts and mortals were staring in shock at the giant object that appeared in the sky, some in fear, while those who knew simply sighed in their hearts. The Xing clan, from this point on, would undoubtedly become something of an object of religious worship, seen as the descendents of divines because...well, their true ancestors literally became the Sun and Moon for the entire Four Realms. Grandpa waited a few days, ensuring that nothing went immediately wrong with the Lunar Star, before he and I both flew down to the Mortal Realm, where Dei was sitting in mid-air, staring at the Sun while holding a glass of sword qi whiskey in one hand.

For a moment he and Grandpa just stared at each other, before Grandpa smiled and pulled a flask out from the folds of His robes. Since when did He drink?

"Came here to join you." Grandpa said with a chuckle, sitting down next to Dei and taking a draught from His flask. Dei eyed it silently, and Grandpa chuckled. "Don't even think about it. Your body would be burned to ashes if you drank so much as a drop of this." Dei just shook his head and sighed, looking back up at the Sun. It was night by the time either of them spoke again, the Moon hanging high in the sky. Seeing it now, I can see why Grandpa thought it necessary to have. The night sky just looked...empty without it.

"So you're God, the Divine Soul, huh...?" Dei asked causally.

"Yep." Grandpa answered.

"Guess I know now why you were laughing your ass off when I first met you." Dei said, and Grandpa couldn't help but chuckle. I hid a smile behind my hand, having heard that story, moving forwards and sitting down between the two, winking at Dei mischievously. He just shook his head at me, turning his attention back to Grandpa.

"Yes. It was quite amusing that you'd claim I don't exist to my face." Grandpa chuckled.

"So which one are you then? Statera, or Luotian?" Die asked. Grandpa snorted.

"Both. I am neither male nor female, I'm even genderless when I think about it. I represent Balance, so of course I'm not going to take a side like that." Grandpa explained, waving His hand absently. Dei just shook his head, and for a while the two lapsed into meaningless small talk. I may have drifted off a few times, daydreaming about playing in the Mortal Realm and stealing some of their food, or maybe going and bugging Elvira because she was fun to tease, but eventually I was drug back to the conversation before me when Dei abruptly stood up and moved in front of Grandpa.

"I would like to get stronger." Dei said, voice calm. Grandpa took a small sip of his flask, which probably had an endless amount of liquor in it, and just smiled at Dei.

"No." Grandpa said simply.

"What, I don't get a reward for saving the Four Realms?" Dei asked wryly, fully aware of how stupid that sounded. He didn't save the Four Realms, he merely bought it a few seconds time. That was exactly what was bugging him the most. My thoughts must've showed on my face because Dei shot me a look that essentially said "shut up, you," to which I poked my tongue out at him and giggled to myself.

"You don't get rewarded for war." Grandpa said coldly, folding his hands in his lap. Dei looked back to Grandpa and nodded, as if he had expected that. His shoulders sagged a little and he glanced back up at the sky, a wry smile on his lips. I just watched him, not letting my emotions show. "However...that does not mean I will not help. Just because you will not say it does not mean I cannot hear your heart." Grandpa added, standing up as well. I frowned and looked at Grandpa, wondering what He was going to do to help Dei. Celene had been the last of his true friends, and now she was the Moon. I do not really count. What would Grandpa do to help heal Dei? Dei, for a moment, just looked at Grandpa before falling to one knee with his head bowed.

"Please, help me." He said, and I could hear the heartbreak in his voice. He had done much in the war, but in his mind he had not been able to do enough. He had not been able to protect anything, or so he thought. I started to stand, to move over to hug him as if that would help, but Grandpa held up one hand to stop me. For a long moment Grandpa just stood there, staring at Dei, before nodding His head.

"You needn't bow." Grandpa said, and Dei stood, obviously relieved at not having to kneel. I suppressed my chuckle at that, knowing that showing a subservient attitude just wasn't in Dei's nature. In fact it was almost a polar opposite to that. "Normally I would ask again to confirm your will, but in this case I believe that would be more of an insult. Dei, I hereby relieve you of your cultivation." Grandpa said, stepping forwards and placing one hand on Dei's chest. In instant all of Dei's cultivation left his body, appearing in Grandpa's hand as a ball of light. Dei didn't utter a peep of discontentment or pain, despite the tremors running through his body. "You shall live three lives, each with their own lessons to be learned, and in each life you shall not be able to cultivate. Only in your third life will you walk the path of immortality, and only in that life will you have the chance to gain your cultivation back. Only upon reaching a certain stage will you regain it along with your memories. Though even then, you shall cease to be Dei." Grandpa said sagely. Dei trembled, only being held aloft thanks to Grandpa's magic.

"I've already said my goodbyes." Dei said, shocking me that he was capable of keeping a calm voice even through the intense pain that must be wracking him. Losing one's cultivation is not a peaceful process. Grandpa just smiled and nodded.

"I know. See you soon." Grandpa said, and Dei's mortal body dispersed into dust. His soul, however, stayed put for a few moments, giving Grandpa one last meaningful look, before floating off into the River, once more entering the cycle of reincarnation. "Again and again, that man just continues to amaze me. It's a good feeling." Grandpa announced, smiling and looking down at the cultivation in His hands. With a sigh He put it away and winked at me before disappearing, leaving me with a complex feeling in my heart. Well, it's not like I won't see Dei again. He just...won't be Dei anymore. I shook my head and smiled, looking once more at the River. I suppose I should go learn a bit more about reincarnation. After I help Mother though. She's trying to heal the Life-Giving Tree, and with my help it should go faster. I turned around and dissappeared as well, barely containing my excitement. Dei was interesting, that much is true. I wonder what he'll do being unable to cultivate? I look forward to it.