POV:Tian

Leo was howling with laughter, bending over double and his face turning red as he struggled to breathe. I scowled at him, ignoring the snickers coming from Inesa, Celene, and...was that Statera? That was. Statera Luotian had shown up out of the blue. I was so going to punch that bastard. But first...

"A MILLION YEARS?! It took you a million years to kiss your GIRLFRIEND?! That's...the most hilarious thing I have ever heard!" Leo gasped as he struggled to regain control over himself. My scowl deepened.

"Shut up before I break your stupid face," I threatened, seething. We were on our way to go meet Sequoia, only to have Inesa start tagging along...which ended up with all three laughing at me endlessly, once again starting the endless teasing that has occured in the past three days. Leo continued to howl, and Statera took this moment to chime in.

"That's after I went to a lot of trouble setting up two thousand six hundred and fifty three chances for Tian to make romantic advances on Inesa. Do you know how hard it is get cherry blossoms to blow in space?" He moaned dramatically. Inesa giggled and my face flushed red. So that's why there were so many stereotypically romantic scenes on our dates...damn it. I shouldn't want to murder Statera for trying to "help," but I so do.

"A million years! Can you be more dense?!" Leo continued, earning a swift kick to the stomach from me. He let out a groan of pain, falling to the ground but continuing to laugh.

"If that isn't the most Dei reaction in the Four Realms, I don't know what is. 'I'm going to punch the frickin' SUN to teach it a lesson!'" Celene mocked, her comment causing Statera's shoulders to shake with mirth.

"It's not surprising considering his life goal is still to punch me in the face," Statera reasoned, just barely managing to get the comment out in between laughs. "But don't let that fool you, he's just a big ol' teddy bear. Aren't you, Tian?" He said in a sickly-sweet sing-song voice.

"I'm not going to stay here and listen to this." I stated, flying off towards Sequoia's planet. "I'm going to go spend some time with someone who actually appreciates me."

"Aw, is wittle Tian upset? Did we tease him too much?" Leo said in a babyish voice. I ground my teeth, ignoring him. As deities, our bodies were incredibly tough, and therefore even if I were to grab an asteroid and slam it into his stupid face, it wouldn't even tickle. I had learned this through trial and error in the past three days. Many a mountain had been thrown at Leo. Many a mountain. (I was still confident that I could utterly destroy Leo and Celene in a straight up fight though, and they knew it. So they were careful not to provoke me too much...leaving me just shy of snapping and beating the living daylights out of both of them. All it would take is one more push for me to punch them, but they'd leave it be and let me cool off before starting again. It was infuriating.)

The cackling of Celene and Leo followed me all the way to Sequoia's planet, where I was momentarily stunned to see Kei playing with the little dryad. They were chasing each other all over the place, playing hide-and-seek with Kei severely handicapping herself, playing make-believe, and casually having Sequoia learn cultivation magic for the sake of "all the pretty colors." Figures she'd use it as fireworks...

"And what do you two think you're doing?" I asked in a mock serious tone. Sequoia had grown quite a bit since the last time I'd seen her in person, having kept an eye on her from afar at the least, but her personality remained the exact same. She was still exciteable, innocent, and loveable.

"OLD MAN!" Sequoia screeched mid-leap, sailing right past Kei who merely sidestepped the flying tackle, and falling to the ground in a heap. I laughed as she scrambled to her feet, now aiming her flying tackle at me as she dove into my chest.

"Heya, kiddo. How you been?" I asked, catching her.

"I made a new friend! Hey, hey, have you met Kei? I want to touch her tails because they look super-soft and fluffy but she's too fast so will you help me catch her?" Sequoia chattered, pointing accusingly to the smug-looking Kei, who was giving me a look of challenge. I may be confident that in a straight-up fight, I would be able to take most anyone in the Four Realms hands down, barring the original Big Four and Statera Luotian. It was kind of in my job description to be good at fighting even if that's not all Conflict is about. But there was no way I would be able to catch Kei, she was far too slippery.

To consistently escape Elvira after thoroughly pissing her off, like Kei loves to do, one has to be extremely good at escaping.

"Maaaybe," I said slowly, "but I think you should do it. I'm too old after all." And didn't that shut Sequoia up, because I never admit to being old. Seeing her stunned expression I laughed heartily and spun her around, causing her to giggle and forget all about it for the moment. Setting her back down, she wove about drunkenly, though her dizziness was exaggerated.

"Y'know, honestly I can't say anything," Leo said somberly, floating down next to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Good for you, man. Didn't think you had it in you." I just hummed and watched with amusement as Sequoia stared uncomprehendingly at Leo. Then she glanced back at where Sol - sorry, Logan, had been buried. Then she looked back at Leo.

"OHhhh! I get it now! You're the new Sun and he was the old Sun! Hi! I'm Sequoia!" She chirped. Leo furrowed his brows and glanced at me, to which I just smirked.

"You get used to it," I responded as Sequoia danced around me to go say hi to Inesa and Celene, chattering away about the Moon and not seeing Inesa for a while. I just shook my head and looked back at Leo, who was frowning a bit. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I shook my head. "Best not think too hard there, Leo. There's a lot you need to catch up on...it's pretty obvious that your knowledge of the time you were asleep is pretty spotty." Leo hummed in acknowledgement, and we stood there for a few more minutes silently.

"So...Deity of Conflict, huh?" Leo asked. I nodded, watching as Kei ambushed Sequoia while the little dryad had been chattering at Inesa, prompting another round of chasing one another. Inesa laughed and I gently smiled, watching as Kei played with Sequoia. I hadn't seen her this playful in...ages. It was heartwarming.

"Yes," I responded after a moment.

"Isn't that dangerously close to a God of War? Didn't Statera swear that there would never be a God of War in the Four Realms?" Leo asked.

"Something along those lines," I admitted, "and that's also the point. Looking back on it, I can clearly see that, as Dei, I would've become a God of War rather than what I am now. That never left me, it simply...changed. My existance is part of what keeps anyone else from becoming a God of War, because my domain encompasses that and much more. It's...hard to explain." Leo shrugged.

"If you say so," he relented.

"Shut up and watch, Sequoia's about to meet Statera. I want to see where this goes." I said as Sequoia ran backwards, away from Kei, and slammed into Statera where He stood watching. Sequoia craned her neck upwards, and was immediately stunned to see Statera staring down at her.

"I know you," the little dryad whispered. Statera nodded silently, a small smile gracing His lips as He crouched to her level. "Heart..." Sequoia continued, reaching out and touching Statera's chest, right above His heart. It was as if a bomb went off, golden light flew out in an explosion of color and touched all beings. An endless wave of pure, Divine love flowed from Statera's heart and through Sequoia, who sat there wide-eyed. The moment was just that, a moment. Yet it seemed to last for an eternity.

When the moment ended and the light receeded, Statera kissed the top of Sequoia's head. "That's a good girl. Thank you. Now go run to your dad, he missed you very much Little Heart." Statera whispered, helping her stand and pushing her in my direction. She stumbled a bit as she walked, eventually collapsing in my arms and grinning up at me.

"That was cool," she whispered.

"Yes, it was," I said solemly, looking up at Statera. He just smiled a little sadly and vanished into thin air, sending me a mental message. The deities will be having a meeting in a few months. You can attend via incarnation if you wish. I nodded. I needed to make up for the lost time between me and Sequoia, after all.

POV: Statera Luotian

"If it's not a problem now, it's going to become one in the future," Elvira grumbled, crossing her arms. "Ever since those two elementals left the Heaven Realm, it's become very peaceful here. But now they're spreading their poison across the Mortal Realm, and gaining much more traction than previously. The argument they're using to stir the people up is that the Barrier protects the riches of the First Region, and that the gods don't want the new Regions to have said riches."

Reika nodded in agreement. "Yes, they are, but there's nothing we can do about it really. The Celestial Empress is already taking steps to prevent their doctrines from reaching the First Region, and the Gallos Empire, the technological empire, is resisting as well. Although I was initially reluctant to let them move their Empire to two outer Regions, it has turned out well. Also, thanks to Elvira and the help of the angels the mortals have been kept at bay, but war will break out eventually."

"It'll be a big war, but not as big and all-encompassing as the War of the Sun was. More beings will be involved, but that's simply because the Four Realms have grown much larger. I am currently getting the feeling that if war does break out, it'll be contained to the Mortal Realm and bits of the Heaven Realm. The biggest it'll get is touching the Karmic Realm as well, but that's absolutely worst-case scenario." Tian's divine incarnation informed. A few murmurs broke out in the congregation of deities at his statement.

"Their methods have been refined compared to before as well, so it will be a lot harder to uproot the schemes of these mortals. Twisting justice...their methods are disgusting." The deity of justice muttered, shaking his head. The two elementals Terra and Pyre were gaining much traction in the Mortal Realm, already having 'conquered' half a Region with many more falling victim to their doctrines, even if they were not directly under their control. Sowing chaos was what they wished for most of all. "It is unfortunate they dodged the justice those of the Heaven Realm wished to deliver unto them."

"I guess the real question is, what do we do about them? To end their little stint in the Heaven Realm the Deity of Justice and a few others intervened by helping the more powerful cultivators readjust their views and calm a few of their subordinates, who then proceeded to calm down the Realm and begin a manhunt. We can't really do the same here because they haven't reached the higher-level cultivators yet. And honestly I can't see them converting any Dao Progenitors. Especially since they follow Tian." Lucia, the High Deity of Light, reasoned. A few more murmurs ran through the crowd, all of which were silenced when Alexander sighed.

"The mortals wish for war," he began, "and have been pushing for a Realm-wide war for millennia. Many, many millennia. We have held them back for a long time, but...well. Children must sometimes learn by touching fire, rather than being told not to." A silence descended for a moment as everyone digested Alexander's statement.

"You're saying that we...allow the war to progress?" Dura, the Deity of Knowledge asked quietly.

"That is what he is saying, and I agree with the suggestion. Although we cannot see what the exact consequences of this war will be until it starts to near the end, meaning how bad the karma will get, how many will perish, how long it will last, etcetera, we can be certain that there will be little to no far-reaching consequences of this war. Unlike the War of the Sun." Keilan chimed in. Elvira nodded as well.

"This is an agreement those of the Big Five came to before this meeting began. Well," Elvira looked around pointedly, as if looking for someone. "everyone except Kei, since she didn't even bother to show up." That got a round of chuckles from the formerly tense room, and I smiled. Kei was still off gallavanting in the various Realms, not really bothering with the duties of being a Deity. Oh, how I envy her sometimes.

"But it is by no means our orders. How we handle this matter must be unanimous between all deities, and the angels must agree in the majority as well." Elvira continued. After a moment of silence, the Deity of Justice spoke.

"I believe this to be a good enough course of action. We cannot continually intervene with the mortals, and though I can find no pity for Terra and Pyre, for they are not even ignorant of how such actions will aftect themselves, they will be getting their just desserts after the war ends. Karma is inescapeable, even for Deities." The Deity of Justice said, nodding his head. "However, I believe the Creator should be the one to make the final verdict." And thus, all eyes turned to me.

Elvira and Keilan were looking at me apologetically, because they were trying to keep me out of this. It hurts to watch my children tear themselves apart, but children will be children. "Tell me your decision first. Do not let my own influence yours." I told them. It didn't even take ten seconds for all the deities to agree, coming to a consensus. I sighed and nodded my head. "That is my decision as well. Let the children fight it out." It pained me to say so, but this war was a long time coming. And it's not like we were actively telling them to go to war with one another, instead it was more akin to letting two barking dogs off the chain, although that is a bit of an extreme example and not entirely accurate.

"Very well. We will continue to hash out the details at a later date. Moving on..." After that, the conversation drifted to different topics. Such as introducing Leo and Celene to everyone, and how there would be an official celebration for them in the coming months, and how the development of the Spirit Realm was going, as it was an ongoing process. Since the time of chaos ended it was a bit slower, but the afterlife should be finished being remodelled here in the next dozen millennia or so.

There was also Elvira's plan to build a city in the Heaven Realm, a city of angels and gods, so as to try and attract more people from the Mortal Realm. There was the Holy Palace, but that didn't really count as a city that normal cultivators could reach. So she decided to try something different. She's also making the energy available in the Heaven Realm denser, but the real problem is that those scant few who have made it to the Heaven Realm didn't return after visiting it. Therefore no one in the upper echelons of the Mortal Realm really knew what was up there. It was kind of like a lack of propaganda on Elvira's part...too few people knew that the Heaven Realm was a place they could reach if they were strong enough at heart.

Countless other details were discussed as well, some small and some large, with Keilan and Elvira expertly leading the conversations. Keilan complained about the lack of deities helping manage the ever-growing Karmic Cycle. The elemental deities argued about how they were going to get the next Dao Progenitor to rise without following Tian. A few asked about creating their own races, tossing the ideas around. Even I chimed in once, discussing a few of the new beasts I would be introducing to the Realms soon, as well as the three new sentient races I expected to pop up sometime in the near future.

Eventually the meeting came to an end, all of the deities filtering out of the grand auditorium in the Holy Palace except for a few, who stuck around to chat or talk to me. Unsurprisingly, it was Tian who approached me first, with Inesa at his side.

"Statera," Tian began, and I nodded to him. "I was suprised you agreed to let the mortals go to war with each other." He admitted.

"I'm soft, but everyone needs a little tough love every once in a while." I responded with a shrug. This was actually a rather common strategy both here and in all the other universes I had visited. Just...never quite on this scale. That didn't mean it didn't pain me to have to sit back and watch this, but. But. What must be done must be done.

"Mm, I do have one concern though..." Tian started. "Last time there was a war anywhere near this big was the War of the Sun, in which dark angels appeared. I am worried that dark deities will appear as well, if such a thing is possible. Terra and Pyre seem like prime candidates for such." I hummed and thought about it.

"Technically yes, it is possible. Morgan, for example, is a type of dark deity being my shadow and all. However more dark deities will not appear for a while yet, and if I had to say...it's not really in the cards of fate for the Four Realms to have dark deities." I told him. Inesa scrunched up her nose next to Tian, looking at me confused.

"Not in the cards of fate...? So there won't be dark deities in the Four Realms?" She asked. I smiled and glanced to my right, where a Blue Box had been hanging for the past year, counting down until I would be transported to meet the other Origin Deities involved in the impending catastrophy. There wasn't much time left.

"Not that I can see. It is...complicated. The reason will be clearer when I come back." I said, standing and stretching.

"Come back...?" Tian asked. I nodded and winked at him, willing myself to go ahead and be teleported to the meeting area.

"Yes. I am going to see where the catastrophy is coming from," I said, and vanished from the Four Realms.