"Indeed. Mistress Yue Lao isn't one to be taken lightly," Celestial Emperor Atlas nodded his head in agreement. Not only did he know the legends surrounding Yue Lao, he was of such a high status that he could verify their authenticity. And they were all true. There was no falsehood in those legends.
"She will help you channel the kindness in your heart into Edict," Atlas smiled and rubbed Sharon's head lovingly. Yue Lao wasn't a mere Ascender. She was a goddess! A goddess who embodied love and peace. Yet if provoked, she was able to transfer the positive feelings in her heart into actual energy – energy which she used to combat any forces that stood against her.
And that was why Sharon had been chosen to study under Yue Lao. When the goddess met Sharon, she was drawn by the girl's innocent and childish demeanor. Whereas others like Atlas saw an overgrown child, Yue Lao saw someone who could carry her mantle – she saw one as kind, if not more so, than herself. As long as Sharon learned earnestly, she was going to become like Yue Lao, able to channel love and kindness into Edict. This basically meant that she could become someone who never run out of Edict as long as she didn't forget her values and morals.
"Shanxi, did you come bearing any gifts for your little siblings?" Atlas asked with a smile. Yet the twinkle in his eyes suggested that he already the answer to the question he was asking, and it was a positive one. After all, why would he enquire about gifts if he wasn't sure if there were any? He wouldn't want to disappoint his kids after all.
"I did," Shanxi nodded his head with a smile, and Sharon's eyes flashed like the stars of the night sky. Her figure disappeared like a smoke, and when she reappeared, she was right next to Shanxi, staring intently into his eyes. Sarong also held many expectations for his gift. For Shanxi had never brought back ordinary gifts. But he was able to keep his emotions under control quite easily.
"And they aren't from only myself," Shanxi added as he rubbed the storage necklace around his neck. This unassuming necklace was highly precious and was a High Grade Storage Unit that could hold several tons of weight of material!
"You mean…" Sarong asked with a slightly surprised expression.
"Yes. I went to see Peter and Anna before I came back." Shanxi confirmed his brother's thoughts with his words. And Sarong's eyes brightened up.
"How are they by the way?" Atlas wondered. It had been a while since he last heard from his oldest children. About three or four years maybe? Peter and Anna were on different worlds. And their worlds were quite the distance apart. It was surprising that Shanxi had been able to get a hold of both of them before returning, considering that his planet was also quite a distance away from the other two. And that was why Sarong was so pleasantly surprised by the news.
"They are doing great. Peter is the leader of a resistance force back on his world. And Anna is now the queen of some race on her world. Apparently they also worship her as their goddess." Shanxi laughed slightly when he mentioned the happenings on the worlds of his older siblings.
Atlas let out a chuckle as well, and Sarong couldn't help from leaking out a small smile. Sharon was the only one who laughed heartily. They all found the events described by Shanxi highly amusing because Peter and Anna were the last people who wanted to be placed in such positions.
Peter was someone who had lost his temper when Atlas spoke of him taking up the position of Emperor one day. "I am not a leader father,' Peter argued then. So the responsibility had been handed over to Shanxi. Anna was also not in a great position. Her beauty was so immense that there was a time on Planet Celestial, when Anna was no older than 16, that a religion had started because of her. People worshipped her like she was some kind of reincarnated deity, and that really ticked her off. It was part of the reason why she had been so eager to leave then.
"So it is safe to assume that both will be leaving their worlds shortly," Sharon giggled.
"Yes"
"Most definitely"
"Mhm"
All of them agreed with Sharon's words without so much as a single objection. And they all displayed absolute certainty in their answers.
"I wonder where they will go next. Kreech?" Sharon thought out loud.
"I doubt it," Shanxi shook his head. "Kreech has been a bit too chaotic of late – since that freak slaughtered so many powerful Ascenders. And its balance has been broken. It's a Chief Higher Realm like ours, so neither Anna nor Peter would take the risk.
"Indeed," Celestial Emperor Atlas agreed. Kreech had become embroiled in civil strife. For their Ultimate Ruler was dead. She was a victim of one man's vengeance, just like many leaders of the most influential forces in Kreech were. For she was killed in the maddened rage of a vengeful sword user. Since the woman left behind no heirs, many were keen on getting the throne for themselves. A place like Kreech wasn't kind to anyone below the Ascension Realm. Anna and Peter were powerful Celestial Nobles, but Kreech would do the same to them as it had with all the outsiders that dared to venture into it over the past few years – swallow them up, chew them raw, and spit them out.
"Back to the gifts," Shanxi wasn't willing to dwell on Anna and Peter's topic for long, so he changed the topic pretty quickly.
Sharon excitedly clapped her hands when she heard the word 'gifts'. However, Sarong wasn't as enthusiastic as his older sister. His brows were furrowed in doubt as his vision alternated between his father and his older brother. When the two spoke of Kreech and Peter and Anna, there was a slight worrying look in their eyes. Although it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, Sarong's sharp eyes caught that. Something that could make his father worry was no small thing. And the fact that Shanxi was worried as well meant that it was probable that Anna and Peter were going to Kreech anyway. Maybe they had been sent by their father, Atlas. After all, what other reason would his siblings have to endure the harsh realities of a Chief Higher Realm that wasn't their own when they could move to a Higher Realm within this heaven?
"There is something they aren't telling us," Sarong frowned and thought to himself. He was usually forgiving with his suspicions, but not when it came to his family. He wished to ask what was truly going on, but seeing his older sister's excited expression, he pushed down that unfamiliar urge and grew calm.
"I will ask them later," Sarong decided, making a mental note to himself not to forget this very important thing. Once his mind was made up and his tranquility restored, he returned his attention to the gifts that Shanxi brought them.
"Do you remember the story I told you the last time? The one concerning the origins of your weapons?" Shanxi suddenly asked as he dug through his storage space for the gifts. There were quite a number of things in there, so it was going to take some time for him to find those presents.
"Yeah. Why?" Sharon asked. Of course she remembered the story. Her axe, Canyon's Mouth and Sarong's blade, Reaper's Edge, were both High Level Weapons. And they were the reason for their nicknames.
According to the story Shanxi told them, both weapons belonged to rulers of a Higher World called Dissector. Dissector was a world advanced in science and healing, and everyone sought their aid for everything. Over the years they had helped so many people that they had built a lot of strong ties, making it difficult for anyone who had bad intentions against them to actually have their way. However, these ties became nothing but rubber bands of brittle strength when Dissector managed to finally invent a pair of strange weapons – an axe and a saber.
Every powerful cold weapon in the universe was made using Edict or Chaos. Skilled craftsmen and women used their own energy to shape and morph chunks of precious metals into valuable tools that could cause the eyes of even an emperor to turn green in greed. And to use these tools to their maximum potential, one had to infuse Edict or Chaos into them. There was no exception to this. However, Dissector had managed to break this rule.
After years of research, feeble successes and great failures, they managed to make that which they sought after – cold weapons of science. They managed to create an axe and a saber. Both blades didn't depend on Edict or Chaos. They depended on an entirely different source of energy – something called an energy stone.
Energy stones were actually the greatest achievement of Dissector. They had been created after centuries of research and exploration. They were small stones that were created by harvesting the organs and parts of dead gods. And they weren't powered by Edict. These stones allowed Dissector to invent things that no one had seen before, and until its destruction, it was the greatest resource exporter of the entire Universe!
This destruction came when it was realised that energy stones could power weapons – if these weapons were made right. So dissector toiled; its men of science fought for decades until they finally got what they sought. However, even with their brilliant minds, they were only able to manage two of such weapons. The hope was that soon they would find enough materials to make even more. The two weapons that were made were meant to be ceremonial, so they picked an axe and a saber – weapons that weren't popular on Dissector. And these two were gifted to the Ruler of Dissector, and the Crown Prince. And they were given the names, Canyon's Mouth and Reaper's Edge.
However, others – those so-called allies – found out about the weapons. They marveled at the works of art which didn't require Edict, and thought of the countless possibilities such weapons birthed. Weaker Higher Worlds who had buried their ambitions to topple the gods finally regained them. And they sought these weapons. For where the scientists of Dissector saw a marvelous work of science, they saw war. And this was because the axe and the saber were High Level Weapons without the energy stones! This in itself was amazing. But if one inserted an energy stone into the mouth of their blades, the two weapons became Divine Weapons!
The transformation to divinity didn't last for long, merely lasting a few minutes – but it was amazing enough. With such power the forces of the gods could be toppled, and a new era birthed. Their greed led them to seek out Dissector with their offer. However, Dissector refused. It wasn't because they had grown pompous, fattened and disillusioned by their vast number of allies. If anything, having so many allies kept them on the edges of their seats. For they were smart enough to understand that a man's heart is treacherous and conniving. And to trust in one – to put one's hopes in the promise of a man – was folly.
Dissector refused because of the lack of materials and the grave cost of creating the weapons. Although the materials could be found by scouring the Universe, there was no way the gods wouldn't realise that there was something going on. As long as they found out, Dissector would be destroyed. So they refused. However, they had underestimated the greed of man. The news was spread that Dissector had invented weapons meant to kill the gods and destroy their reign. It was false, but it did achieve its intended purpose. For the paranoid gods were going to tolerate no resistance to their rule, and they destroyed Dissector to set an example to the entire heaven within their control. And the two weapons were lost – until Shanxi, Anna and Peter found them.
"What does the story you told us have to do with the gifts you brought?" Sharon asked with a puzzled expression on her tender face. Sarong was quiet, yet his intense stare bore a hole though Shanxi's chest.
"This," Shanxi's eyes suddenly lit up when he discovered that which he sought. He pulled out a huge bag from his storage space and placed it before his half-blood siblings with a thud.
"What are these?" Sharon wondered as she retrieved a few tiny crystals from the bag.
"Over the years, Anna, Peter and I have been searching for remnants of Dissector. And recently, we found a small Dissector ship that escaped the destruction of the gods. In it was this bag. It will be quite useful to you."
"You mean these are…" Sarong's eyes widened slightly when he finally understood what was going on.
"Yes, these are energy stones."