• Chapter #20: [DEATH PLANE PT. 2]

“Ahhh… So this is what a Deity’s Shrine looks like…”, I muttered, as I gazed at the gigantic temple in front of me.

The Shrine appeared to be one, majestic, giant temple. On the outside, the whole structure appeared to be held by several giant pillars, each bearing various images and depictions, as well as things written in Runic Language. Only the entrance, had a few pillars, and the spot that didn’t had one were replaced by a gigantic doorway instead, with similar intricate designs as the columns.

The entrance was led onto by a long set of stairs, which had random, small linings that seemed to flow with power. The lines were also going continuously to the walls of the temple and inside the floors of it.

Also, unlike the gray surroundings, the temple actually had color, with it being white and the energy going through it being blue, while the writings were gold in color.

“Yes… After a planet’s creator dies, their physical body disintegrates and turns into a Shrine. The Shrine usually contains various writings in Runic Language and a way to exit and enter their plane..’, Lisa explains to me softly.

Hmmm… So that means there’s something to explore inside… Still though, I could not help but wonder on why the ruler of this place died.

“But, I wonder how did the Deity of this place died?”, I asked Lisa in curiosity. Deities were the 3RD in Ranking in the 5 Divine Ranks, being above Spirits and Demigods, while being below Gods and Ancient Gods.

So for one to die, my curiosity was of course aroused.

“We’re not sure ourselves… But during Ancient Times, even before Karma was created, those who sit on the 5 Divine Rankings waged a war against each other.”, She explained to me.

“A war…?”, I whispered.

“Yes… We called it ‘The Falling’, or the ‘Era of Change’.”, She added.

“But why would they fight against each other? Did something happen?”, I asked. I was now very curious.

“It was for the temporary ownership of Earth…”, She finally said.

… I couldn’t help but twitch in annoyance, but luckily she didn’t notice…

... Temporary ownership…? What do they think the planet is? Some sort of apartment?

Seeing me being silenced, Lisa went on with her explanation of what happened on the ‘Era of Change’.

“The Primordial… The one who created everything, he was the one who created the Universe, as well as Earth. It made Earth the Center Planet of everything, and those dimensions and other planets that those on the 5 Divine Rankings had created were only treated as minorities and pocket dimensions, inferior to the original world…”

“The Primordial had went into sleep, and let those inhabitants of Earth do their own things, evolving and worshipping those of the 5 Divine Rankings. It went on for a while, and eventually, those sitting down on the 5 Divine Rankings thought that Earth needed a temporary leader to manage it…”

“Those on the 5 Divine Rankings already had their own planets at that time, but also were also able to descend freely down to Earth at anytime.”

Hmmm… So I guess this is the reason why those old gods said they couldn’t directly interact with Earth huh…

“With that, the war started. It was unclear on who begun it. But the beings bearing that caliber and power was no joke. The Earth was ravaged and it’s inhabitants were forced to pick a side or hide in despair…”

“Is Earth really that special? I mean, sure it was the original world created by the Primordial, but they also had their planets too, right?”, I suddenly interrupted. I was curious on why would they fight over the planet, even though it’s the first world, I feel like it’s not an enough reason to fight over it.

I was met with a shake of her head.

“No… The Earth IS special. You see… Out of all the planets, Earth possesses it’s own will and is also a reserve of immense power… Something that those on the 5 Divine Ranks cannot do on their planets.”

Ahhh… Now I see, so that’s why they were fighting over it.

“Still, the power part would be useless if they’re already sitting on the 5 Divine Rankings. Why would they need a planet that’s able to go against them? For me, it sounds foolish.”, I concluded. True, it sounded kind of useless. They were already at the highest ranks possible.

“… Earth’s power isn’t just something to take light of… We are not very sure, or even know if it’s possible, but if Earth’s power is harnessed, it could make a Supreme Rank individual ascend to Deity Rank… Instantly…”

—?!

Wha…? Is that even possible…?

“Now… Imagine if a Deity took hold of that amount of power, they would immediately be thrusted upon Ancient God Rank, or maybe those of Higher Tiers could even hope to go toe-on-toe with the Primordial…”

I stood there, in disbelief and lightly shivering on what would happen if someone were able to extract Earth’s power…

“But luckily, it didn’t come to that.”, She begun once more, and I shook my head to clear out thoughts. I’ll ponder on that prospect later, for now, it’s time to listen.

“The Primordial soon woke up, and seeing that it’s planet was half-destroyed, it raged. It’s anger caused the deaths of many Divinities, and the result on why they couldn’t descend to the world now and influence us, at least directly. It granted the Will of the Earth an ability to reject any direct approach of the Divinities to it, and blocked anyone from hoping to ever harness the world’s power.”, She finished.

Well, ain’t that a relief.

“After that, the Primordial fixed the world and healed those who were injured, but did not revive the dead. No one knows what happened to it next, but we suspect that it went into sleep once more.”

•_• Wow…

I just shook my head in exasperation…

“So in other words, if the Earth is a GC, the Primordial rage-banned everyone because of flame wars and for the sake of being a temporary admin?”, I summed everything up and simplified it.

She seemed to be taken aback, as she faltered and looked at me incredulously.

“What?”, I mischievously said to her, making her blush and pout cutely.

Damn… I just want to push and pinch her and pa—

Wait! Now’s not the time dammit!

“W-Well… If you would put it that way, I suppose it is…”, She muttered.

“Hmmm… What about the Black Zodiac and their 6 Deities?”, I asked again. Although I’ve been asking a lot of things, she doesn’t seem to mind it. In fact, she looked eager as she explained everything to me.

“No one really knows how they started… But they begun appearing about 1 and a half century ago. We have little information on their Deities… But they’re planning to do something to the Ancient Gods, which is why they’re collecting the Relics and Artifacts that serve as the direct connection to them.” She explained.

I see… Now that would explain on why they wanted Hiro’s Tyrant Blade. They’re cooking up something and it’s gonna affect those who sit at the Highest of the Divinities.

Well I also got 5 types of swords in my inventory.

Still, I couldn’t help but think about this Primordial thing. It’s supposedly the creator of everything, but went to sleep? Strange, was it tired of creating the universe or something?

I shook my head as we begun climbing the stairs. It was silent, and after sometime we had reached the top. Immediately, the contrasting jet-black doors opened up with a creak. Ominous wind blew out from within it, making the two of us shiver.

Looking at each other for a moment, we finally stepped within the dark insides of the temple and as soon as we were within, the doors closed on their own slowly.

…

“What a hideous creature…”, Shido frowned and winced in disgust, as he examined the strange chimera-like creature who had human hair.

“We need to hurry and find the others. Lady Yumie and Lord Mayer are still of unknown location.”, Although this wasn’t a very good situation, they were in a place were few monsters showed up. Who knows on what place the others had landed to?

“Instead of worrying about the others, we need to worry about ourselves. I’m very sure that Lady Lisa and Lord Mayer can handle their own. We also need to watch out for the Black Zodiac, they still might be lurking around this place. You know that the sword is what they’re here for, right?”, Shido said to Hiro, scolding him for a bit. They need to get out of here before they start rescuing others, or they won’t be able to be any of help.

In response, Hiro’s shoulders slumped for a bit.

“I see…”, He replied tiredly, but were immediately replaced by a determined look.

“However, I will take care of myself. I can’t afford to be useless anymore, I’ll surpass my limits and help them, even if I have to fight someone or something stronger than me.”, Hiro said in resolution.

Shido merely let out a sigh, he’s pretty sure that if Kaide was here, he would also scold Hiro for his recklessness.

“Suit yourself.”, Shido replied simply.

…

“The world of eternal gray, falling ash. Everything of constant dead color. The traversal of time had stopped to gaze at my wonderful presence. Humanity will be freed from the chains that bound the— mmmphfh!“, Tatsumi spoke dramatically, before his mouth was wrapped in vines.

“Can’t you shut up already?!”, His female companion, yelled out in frustration as she wrapped his mouth in tree vines.

Looking at the woman in annoyance, Tatsumi summoned his flames and burned the vines that covered his mouth.

“Tch… Must you always ruin my grea—”

[Ataraxia]

Again, he was silenced. However, it didn’t come from his female companion.

“Shut it.”, A familiar voice commanded Tatsumi, making him nod meekly.

Seeing his nod, the hooded man also turned to Gia.

“You two, hunt down and kill other Union Members. If priority target has been found, immediately report to me. Be careful about Target A and B.”

“Roger!”, The two immediately saluted in unison.

“Also… Don’t try and fight the LightSeeker, just run away when you see him.”, He added. He was surprised by the appearance of a member of such a group and were wary of his power, so he won’t risk confronting him.

The two were surprised of his orders and looked at each other, but nonetheless obeyed it and went off.

[•END•]

Revised by BaNaeNae.