…
"Is she lying…?" Arthur asked a dumb question with an idiotic face. His temperament and aura as the handsome and perfect hero were completely broken.
He as a leader and the Guardian of Humankind is an extraordinary judge of character.
He knew just from the tone of voice, her seriousness, her gesture, her urgency and the content and consistency of her words screams the truth.
But… For the first time in his life, the Hero King doubted his judgment of character.
The content of her explanation was just too bizarre for anyone to believe.
If it were anyone besides the Fate Priestess, he or she might've been laughed at or completely labeled as a lunatic.
Unfortunately, the one in front of them is the Priestess of Fate, Maeia. A mysterious being who is considered a goddess at the same time not.
To be exact, she is a demi-goddess.
No one knows the whole story.
Some say she is a human who failed to ascend as a goddess with her divinity of fate.
While others say she is an amalgamation of multiple spirits and the divinity of fate. A consciousness born from fragments of souls.
There was even a rumor that she is fate itself in a humanoid form, disguising as a demi-god.
Nonetheless… One thing is for certain.
She is a mysterious person who suddenly ascended to the mystical world. The only being majoring in the divinity of fate.
And this mysterious priestess earned the trust of the highest and most influential beings all over the mystical world.
She had saved countless beings from their fate.
She had divined and anticipated countless tragedies and disasters that almost fell upon many races and beings, saving them from their doom.
So far, none of them have been wrong… which resulted in her earning the respect of the masses.
So the credibility of her words can be trusted, and all the beings who heard that the possibility of a sudden extinction of all living beings has come….
They all went through a rollercoaster of emotions.
Shock turned into realization.
Realization turned into fear, disbelief, anger, unacceptance, and graveness.
Others chose to believe, while others thought she was joking and chose to not accept.
"No. She is not." Selene replied with a sense of graveness on her face.
"Right…" Arthur can't process the information he just received.
Only a few minutes have passed but in that few minutes, it was enough to break their countless years of experiences and emotional control as the leader of their factions and races.
"Hahahaha, it appears the priestess has a sense of humor too…"
"We get it that those monsters were too many and were sudden… but the end of our world and the extinction of our race? It is a joke… right?" A leader of a race took this chance to ask a question that everyone wanted to ask but fell short at the end seeing the serious look the Priestess is giving him.
The Priestess gave a sigh, which was enough to let everyone know she wasn't joking… and this was enough for everyone present to know how grave the matter is.
"Oh, I sure wish it was a joke… and for my prediction to be something that is a mistake." She then pulled out a certain tarot card from a deck.
The card released thick death energy to its surroundings.
!!!
Everyone felt uncomfortable, sensing the eerie energy.
"T-that is…" Freya's heart sank.
She has never seen an object with this much death energy!
"That is almost comparable to the aura of a death god." Odin's eyes narrowed, at this time he completely believed the priestess' words.
"I-impossible! For that much energy…" Zeus has seen the God of Death in his mythology, and the energy Thanatos radiates is very similar to this energy he's feeling right now.
Now you're telling me that an energy comparable to a death god came from that single card?
Everyone present felt their logic turn upside down.
"As you can see… impending doom awaits us." Soon, the card returned to the deck.
"Still… What are those monsters? You still haven't told us what those creatures are." Thor commented, still a bit numb.
"Yes… I haven't seen any creatures or races that look similar to what attacked us." The Sun Goddess, Amaterasu lightly waved her fan, as she also added.
"Indeed, I would also like to know." Arthur nodded in agreement, looking at the Fate Priestess for answers.
"Yes, that's what I plan to do, after revealing first what we're dealing with and the graveness of our situation." Maeia nodded, as she continued:
"First before I start, I would like to ask everyone a favor."
"That is whatever you're about to hear, please maintain your calm… At least, try to maintain it."
"I would also appreciate it if you refrain from asking questions while I talk."
"Questions will be entertained after the statements that I'm about to give you are finished."
"..." The gods, progenitors, and leaders who are present gave their affirmation after a moment of silence.
But one thing they all have in mind is that…
'What could be more surprising than finding out an impending doomsday is about to come for all beings?'
Nonetheless, they kept quiet about it as they prepared themselves for the worst just in case.
"There are two points that need to be revealed." Maeia held up two fingers in front of everybody.
"First, the balance has been broken… So, what does it mean?"
"Just like what I've said before, gods are now susceptible to 'true' death. It means since there is no system or 'balance' to maintain the authority of the gods."
"Once their soul has been killed, you will not be revived by the universe, unlike before."
This is one of the 'unfair' buffs of the gods.
Their soul is 'immortal', so even if they were obliterated both body and soul, the universe or rather… the system that maintains the balance will revive them, based on the divinity that they govern.
To give an example, if a god of fire were to be defeated and 'killed', both body and soul, they would be revived by the universe based on the divinity they govern.
The god of fire would be revived from a place where fire is rampant. Of course, they would be revived in the world of their mythology of where they came from.
That's the reason why gods are called true immortals. Not to mention, a god's soul is very tenacious, a damage to their soul can be healed at an astonishing rate.
Now, to say that they have lost this 'unfair' buff was a huge blow to all the gods present… enough to make them go nuts.
But before they were able to speak out, the Priestess interrupted with a much louder tone:
"That is not all. The balance being broken also means the birth of uncertainties."
"Anomalies will start to happen, things that were not possible before will now be possible."
"Chaos will ensue, and god-slayers will probably appear. New elements and energies will be made…"
"These are just some of the phenomena that can happen, now that the system has been broken, and…"
"..." Literally, all the beings have their mouths open, their brains short-circuited.
To be able to shock all the ancient beings who have been living for millions of years, this is the first in history.
They looked like a school of dumbed goldfish right now. It looked absolutely hilarious… except, the reason behind that expression is not someone who can laugh at all.
"Second point, those unknown monsters… At this point, I can only guess as to what those things are, based on what I saw." The Fate Priestess continued without minding everyone's goldfish look.
"These unknown monsters are made of wastes… corruption and impurity that resulted in these failed abominations."
"As for further reasons of what these things are…" Maeia shook her head, she then gazed up, as if she can see through the roof and the sky of this world.
…
"HAHAHAHAHAH~! This is definitely interesting!"
"Seeing their reactions was worth it!" A voice resounded in the void, as the voice 'looked' at the certain spot on the 'ball'.
Before the voice, are multiple screens that show the situations of every big shot in each 'universe'.
The voice was attracted to a specific situation happening.
At a certain screen, the Universal Doomsday Conference was being 'watched' by this voice.
"I'm pretty sure they will love it too." The voice 'grinned' at the spectacle it created.
"Still… that little girl sure is interesting."
"She did see me before when she was wondering cluelessly with that fate power of hers." A tone of fascination can be heard from the voice, as it looked at Maeia.
"Hmm. What to do…" The voice seemed to think as if looking for an idea of what to do to make it more interesting.
!
Like a bulb of light, an idea flashed within the voice's 'head'.
"Oh, I know! What if all the beings know the existence of the other universes and that they have now been merged into one big universe!?"
"Wouldn't their reaction be something really precious!? HAHAHAHA~!!" The voice laughed as if it found a good toy to play with.
"Oh! Another idea!"
"Let's also reveal the existence of the Protagonist and the Antagonist of the World!"
"It will also be interesting to see their reactions if they knew the existence of these special beings who have limitless potential."
"Beings who can transcend the world and break all common sense."
"Hmm… but if I do that, they might get hunted by the greedy and scared beings, and they might die prematurely."
"Although, I don't think they will be killed by those old beings."
"Oh well, better to be safe than sorry."
"I'll just hide their identity until the time they awaken their power."
"Even if others do find out, they are loved by the world itself and fate is also the bitch of the Protagonist, so that's fine… not to mention only the Protagonist and Antagonist can kill each other." The voice felt like it was too much of a genius for coming up with these insane ideas.
"Omni-Core."
The strange spherical machine's 'eye' glowed brightly, waiting for a command.
"Execute these commands."
<... understood.> The overseer worked on the background as it executed the command it was given.
'Well then, I hope you will not disappoint me.'
'I have audiences to entertain.'
The voice smirked, it then continued to watch the events that were happening all over the great universe.
…
"What–"
WHOOOM~!
Maeia was about to continue, but was cut short by the sudden gravity explosion that fell on everybody!
Lights of scenery flashed within everyone's eyes.
"What the–!?"
"N-no…"
"What the hell is this!?"
They were shown flashes of images, as numerous pieces of information flooded their brain…
The existence of the other universes.
The combination of all the universes.
The birth of the Protagonist and the Antagonist… the potential and power of these special beings…
…
A few moments passed, enough for everyone to calm down and process the vision they were given.
"This is…" Arthur's eyes were full of seriousness, his aura almost gushed out of his body.
Everyone's expression was grave too. They have seen visions they wouldn't believe if they were told.
"It was just a theory, but who would've thought other universes actually existed…" Zeus felt a drop of sweat fall from his forehead.
"No… what we should worry about is the existence of those special beings." Hades' eyes turned stern. A hint of greed flashed in his eyes.
'If I can have such potential…' Hades almost shuddered in pleasure visibly.
"I'm more interested in meeting them, to be honest." The Monkey King held his staff, feeling excited about fighting those special beings.
"..." Odin's eyes flashed, while different thoughts ran through his head.
"I think we need to change the purpose of this conference now." Hera was also sweating profusely from what she saw.
"Yes. It appears we need to make an alliance." Maeia suggested as she sat weakly in her seat.
"Priestess." Several of her maidens assisted her, seeing their goddess weak.
"Thank you." She raised her hand, as she looked at the gods waiting for an answer.
"I disagree… at least not yet."
"Not to mention the difference that all of the factions have, but there are also those who have hostile relationships with each other." Odin commented with a serious light in his eyes.
He, as a wise leader of a whole mythological faction, saw the big picture of the 'alliance'.
"I agree with the Norse old man… Even if we reveal this information to the masses and other leaders who weren't able to attend, they will have a hard time accepting this information." Zeus nodded in agreement.
"Not really. As the leaders and representatives of our own factions, even if they half-doubted us, most will still believe as we have the image, integrity, and trust to support our reason." Amaterasu covered half of her face with the fan she was holding, but a sharp light also glinted in her eyes.
"Pfft. Yeah. Image, integrity, and trust." Sun Wukong almost laughed as he stared at Zeus.
"..." Veins popped out on the God-King's head.
"Haah… well then, it appears we cannot make an alliance just yet." Maeia sighed as she rubbed her forehead. Things just got worse!
'That goddamn being…' Maeia cursed inwardly at a specific someone she suspected was the cause of all this.
"Yes. We cannot make rash decisions right now."
"Knowing that there are greedy beings out there if they knew the information about the external forces that came from other universes, they might try to ally or use them to eliminate their enemy." Michael gave another possibility, which caused some people inside the room to frown in concern.
"I'll suggest to Father about the alliance if ever there would be one."
"We, the angel race from the Biblical Faction would like to join, and I, Michael, granted the title Archangel would be the representative of the angel faction." Michael gave his early permission to the Priestess.
"Yes, thank you, Lord Michael." The Priestess smiled in appreciation.
"... yes… I see." Aphrodite suddenly muttered as she caught the attention of everyone.
"It appears there's no need to inform everyone." Aphrodite suddenly spoke, seeing she caught the attention of everyone.
"The vision that we all saw… It actually happened to everybody…"
"You mean…"
"Yes. Every single person has learned about the existence of the other universes, the combination of the universes, and the birth of the special beings." Aphrodite shifted her body to a more comfortable position as she told the information in a rather casual tone.
"Doesn't that mean, we can now form–?"
"No, I'm afraid not. Other leaders and gods would still need to think hard about the decision they will make before they join the alliance." Odin interrupted the representative of the elves as if he knew what she was thinking.
"Haah~ things went from 0 to 100 real fast." Ariel breathes out rather tiredly.
…
Two hours have passed, and the conference has just ended.
"What do you plan to do?" Arthur asked while walking with the Witch Queen.
"Research magic… the breaking of the balance has allowed for the possibility of pretty much everything to widen better than ever." The girl gave a small smile of fascination.
"The alliance?"
"...yes?"
"Do you plan to join?"
"...I'll think about it." Selene commented rather dryly.
"I see…" Arthur was a bit lost in thought. Everything that happened today was too surreal.
It felt unbelievable.
Who would've thought that the sudden invasion was much more than what meets the eye?
"... What about you?" Arthur snapped out of his thought, as he looked at the Queen of Witches.
"The same as ever… protect humanity from this crisis, save them from doomsday." The Hero King laughed a bit emotionally.
"... Someday, that would be your doom, you know?"
"Then so be it. Heroes are the frontline of humanity. It doesn't matter if we die or not… for us, our duty is our purpose..."
"Dying for the sake of others is the biggest honor a hero can achieve in their life." The Hero King's eyes flashed with a determined and heroic light.
"... I see." Selene just glanced at his face for a bit, she then turned her eyes straight as she continued walking.
Daisy, who is at the back just listened to the conversation of the two leaders of the human race, a bit satisfied at the little moment.
Along the way, they both talked about the meeting and the plan that they needed to do, while a third-wheeler just followed.
…
"You finally arrived, Hades."
"Hahaha~ we thought you were going to stay there for a long time."
Strong beings who are covered with a blur were sitting around a big table.
"To be honest, I thought you were Satan's dog." a being covered with a crimson robe, smirked a bit amused at the slim horned man before them.
"Oh please. If it was before, then yes. But now he has gone soft… A fucking coward he has transformed into." Hades spat mockingly as he walked and sat towards the remaining empty chair.
"Hahahaha~ a subordinate actually dares to backstab his master? Fascinating… As expected of an evil god." one of the beings rubbed their chin in fascination.
"..." Hades just glared in response.
"Alright, enough idle chit-chat… time for business."
"Let us commence the search plan for the Protagonist and Antagonist." the crimson-robed man smiled rather ominously.
…