"Akumu… What a nostalgic name..." The cloaked shadow turned around. His eyes met that of the coloured sculpture that stood alone at the centre of the Throne Hall. It was like an unmoving deity that gave the cathedral a holy aura, one that was so dazzlingly bright that it offered much more meaning to the simple hall.
"Most that know that name had either perished during Dream's ascension or fell to the annals of time. The only ones living that know that name is perhaps Kuro and yourself, Asyesco."
Ao's eyes narrowed into slits before he finally breathed out his final apology. "Akumu, I'm sorry..." The World Serpent knew that the Allfather wasn't blaming him for losing the west and Junius' betrayal, but it didn't change the heavy guilt in the blue-haired man's heart. "I should have been more vigilant. I shouldn't have given Junius your mana."
"That's enough, Asyesco..." The Allfather waved his hands, possibly from irritation. "I already said that you're blameless. Also, in this very moment, I don't feel like being the almighty Allfather that frowns upon the wretched lives of humans. I'm just Akumu, and you're just Asyesco, two friends gathered in one place for a simple chat."
"... If that's your wish," Ao bowed before lifting his head. His heavy footsteps echoed through the halls as he ascended the steps to the statue, where the Allfather lay in wait. Feeling the cordial atmosphere of the cloaked shadow, the World Serpent sighed.
Ao remembered the first day he'd met the Allfather, a couple centuries back in the Uncharted Wilderness. Back then, he had all but given up on life. The World Serpent had been living for thousands of years and reigned over a region of the Uncharted Wilderness. He had seen the rise and fall of many dynasties. He had fought with countless Spirit Beasts, some dying under his fangs, while others lived on to become Primordial Beasts. However, as powerful as the World Serpent was, he was unable to make the final leap into the Primordial realm. No mortal's life was infinite, and that includes Spirit Beasts. Although the World Serpent could live for a hundred thousand years, the time would come where he would fade into dust.
Ao, then infamously known as Asyesco, the Destroyer of Worlds, couldn't live with that fact. Spirit Beasts couldn't become Immortals, no matter how powerful they grew to be. Just look at the Celestial Dragon and the Terrestrial Dragon, for instance. They were arguably the most powerful beings to have ever existed, but even they could outrun mother time. The Celestial Dragon contracted with the Lady of Water to hopefully continue his lineage and be reborn at a later date. On the other hand, the Terrestrial Dragon merged all the landmasses together with its body and soul to ensure that its legacy would live on in the form of the Terre Continent.
All mortals, be it humans or Spirit Beasts, longed for eternal life. Alas, there was a reason why there were only twenty-one Spirit Immortals in history. Strength hardly mattered at all. Hence, the World Serpent had given up on life itself. If he were to perish anyway, why struggle to become a Primordial Beast? Asyesco wanted to live his life in peace and enjoy life's vices.
Hence, the World Serpent disguised himself as a regular human being and had decided to spend the last few years of his life touring human cities and enjoying whatever culture they had. Slowly, the indomitable World Serpent that only knew a life that was filled with battles had developed an interest in humans. He was curious as to how humans lived and was most curious about the vast knowledge that they kept in their libraries.
However, happy days weren't built to last. The moment Asyesco's identity as a Spirit Beast was discovered, humans summoned the most powerful hunters in the land and pursued the World Serpent with a vengeance. To them, it didn't matter that Asyesco was non-violent. They wanted to kill the Spirit Beast and hound him out of their civilisation. Some humans even lusted over the top-tier materials that they could make from the World Serpent's corpse.
In the end, even though Asyesco tried to avoid a life of battle, conflict would always come to him. He couldn't live his life in peace, and neither could he attain Immortal life. At the end of his ropes, the World Serpent sought to end everything and pray that his soul would be reincarnated into a better future.
It was then… That Asyesco met him.
An outcast. A wanderer. A being that surpassed all others. There were many nouns that could describe the mighty being that stood in front of Asyesco in his darkest hour. However, as the World Serpent looked back to that moment, he could only think of one word.
Saviour.
The Allfather was Ao's saviour, there was no doubt about that. When Ao attempted suicide, it was the Allfather who had saved him from the brink. The World Serpent didn't have a reason to keep going anymore, but the Allfather's promise that day had kept him going on for over four centuries. Ao truly saw the Allfather as a friend worthy of the name. Therefore, he couldn't sit still as the Rank 99 Spirit Saint continues to deteriorate his lifespan even more.
"Akumu, are you really going to do this? If it's Phase Five, you can sacrifice my body to-..."
"I told you many times that it doesn't work, Asyesco..." The Allfather scoffed. "Even if I wanted to, Phase Five won't work unless it's done using a Rank 99 Spirit Saint's mana. I'm a half-step away from the Immortal Realm, that's why I can endure the pain and mana drain that would come. Though, I would be forced into a lengthy hibernation."
The Allfather levitated towards the stumped blue-haired man before landing a gentle touch on his shoulder. "So I'll be relying on you to build the next Heaven's Gate while I'm asleep."
"Akumu..." The World Serpent had a thousand words to say, but in the end, he simply remained silent. Ao has been under the Allfather's wing for centuries now. However, he had never seen the Allfather in such a peculiar mood. The Allfather… Akumu… He was ready to end it all.
Phase Five and Six were the final two stages of the Grand Scheme. The scheme... to ascend into the Immortal Realm. The main reason why the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts agreed to lower their head to a human, was because of the Allfather's promise to drag them into heaven alongside his ascension. For that, they needed to build Heaven's Gate, a feat that had never been accomplished. Even history's greatest genius, Spirit Immortal Dream, couldn't accomplish that tall task.
However, for Heaven's Gate to work, the Black Masks needed the Allfather to breakthrough into Rank 100. Which was easier said than done. Even if all eleven Spirit Saints charged at the Allfather with all their might, they would fail to land a single scratch on the ancient being's mighty power. Their power wasn't enough for the Allfather to trigger a breakthrough. Therefore, the Black Masks needed to create as much chaos as they possibly could to create a new generation of heroes.
And it paid off spectacularly. Shin Iofiel, Kanari Saniela, Isadore Himmel… Those were just some of the names that could potentially become dominant Spirit Saints. Particularly, Shin. Once Shin matured, he would unquestionably become the Allfather's greatest rival and the man that would push him over that final hurdle.
"Hey, Asyesco..." The Allfather looked solemnly at Spirit Immortal Dream's statue, wholly engrossed in the sculpture's beauty. After meeting Shin in the Illusory Canyon, the Allfather's mood had turned strange. And who could blame him? The dream that Allfather had been chasing for over five hundred years now… It was nearly in his grasp.
At that moment, the Allfather could see a little boy standing at the foot of the statue. Black hair and hazel-brown eyes, the boy was as cute as a puppy. His face was dirty, and the well-worn grey clothes were browned by mud and reek of faeces. The boy was clearly a pauper, one that would hardly live to see adulthood. However, there was a fire in his eyes. The boy gazed up Spirit Immortal Dream's statue, the same way that the Allfather did. With an esteemed reverence that was unparalleled by any other.
The Allfather stifled a laugh. Without looking back, he shot Ao a weird question: "Asyesco, have I told you about the first time I met Dream?"
"... You know the answer to that question," Ao shook his head. Although the Allfather knew everything about the Nine Coloured Noble Beasts, the Nine Colours hardly knew anything about the Allfather's past. They did know that the Allfather once served under Spirit Immortal Dream, but that was the extent of their knowledge. "You have always been touchy when it came to her..."
"Have I really?" The Allfather chuckled. Lifting his fingers up, the cloaked figure gently caressed the cheeks of the statue. "Dream was the one shining light in my despondent life. The person that gave my life purpose and… the reason why I'm pursuing the Immortal Realm."
"She must have been quite the woman."
Ao nonchalantly threw a comment, but that one sentence had sent tornadoes spiralling around the Allfather's mind. The Allfather was a Rank 99 Spirit Saint. In any generation, the man would be worshipped by any organisation in the world. He didn't need to create the Black Masks or formulate any sort of Grand Scheme. If the Allfather wanted to live in comfort, he could very well do so just by announcing his existence. Yet, he had given that all up, in the pursuit of the Immortal Realm and the beauty that was enshrined in this statue.
Laughing at his old friend's words, the Allfather gave the most radiant reply Ao had ever heard from him: "Yes… Yes, she was..."
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