The Dawn of the New World

At first, Hao Xuan didn't know what he was looking at. There were mountainous limbs and various appendages decorating the vast landscape as far as the eye could see. There were even hundreds of meter-long spikes coming out of the ground in one of the nearby areas that weren't there before.

And the only reason he could even make that much out was because he was looking at it from very high up. It looked as if there had been a fight between the kind of beasts that could level countries with a single strike and the devastation that the surrounding areas had suffered was proof of that.

There were countless new chasms and ravines that separated the landmass into countless smaller areas.

It was difficult to understand what Ashura of the Six Paths wanted to show but after a few seconds of glancing around Hao Xuan put together the whole picture when he examined the spikes from another angle.

"Those are ribs, aren't they? And that on the sides are hands...that gorge is where the head should be-!! Wait, don't tell me this is-"

Ashura of the Six Paths nodded in confirmation, "Me. This is what remains of my divine form."

"B-But how?!"

He let out a weary sigh, "It's a long story."

And Hao Xuan understood what he meant, "How long as I gone for? How long has it been since our last meeting?"

"Only around 170 years. Trust me, it wasn't because of you. It was a long time coming and would have ended the same way sooner or later."

Despite the dreadful news Ashura of the Six Paths did not seem to be disheartened at all. In fact, he appeared to be in better spirits than last time.

"Even if you say that-" Hao Xuan could not help but blame himself. Seeing the obvious, Ashura of the Six Paths quickly flicked him on the forehead before his thoughts could run wild.

"Don't do that. Never dwell on the past, you will only be doing your enemies a favor. What has happened has happened and there is nothing you can do to change it. And like I said it would still have ended the same way even without you."

He could see that Hao Xuan wasn't going to take him on his word so he explained a little more.

"They had been pestering me about joining their ranks for eons just so I would submit to some Demon Lord in the Abyss and...that was never going to happen, ever. I might have been betrayed by my kin and stabbed in the back by the very Gods I fought for but I would never join hands with a filthy demon."

Hao Xuan was suddenly brought out of his dazed state when he heard about the demon lord.

"A demon lord in the abyss? Do you know his name?" he asked with a deep frown.

"Mhm," Ashura of the Six Paths let out a deep breath, "They call him Maymun. I heard he has been creating an army the likes of which have never been seen before. I didn't think he would actually be able to pull it off because the Abyss is already contested by countless other powers but..."

"But what?"

"But...after the realms of the Chaos Lords were cut off from the rest of the abyssal planes there wasn't anyone to stand in his way. But I'm sure the others will come up with something sooner or lat- what? What's with that face?" Ashura of the Six Paths noticed Hao Xuan's perplexed expression.

"I...I think I know what's going on."

Hao Xuan explained everything that had happened since their last meeting and the more Ashura of the Six Paths listened the more somber his expression became.

"If the old witch is the same one I have heard about then...this is much worse than I expected."

He started pacing back and forth while explaining everything to Hao Xuan.

"Every section of the known planes has their own form of guardians, the ones who keep order and despite their cruelty, they are still better than the old alternatives. In Hell, this role is played by Lucifer himself and the Demon Lords that serve under him. In the physical planes this is done by the combined efforts of the Federation and the Church of the Sacred Light."

"The Abyss, albeit in a constant state of entropy, has its own guardians. They are the 'Chaos Lords' that dwell within the depths. I don't know how many of them there are, who, or even what they want most of the time but whenever there is some existential threat to the current working of the Abyss they reveal themselves one by one."

"I had heard that the 'Old Witch' was the one in control of them and could easily create more Chaos Lords but I'm not sure about that anymore."

He grabbed Hao Xuan by the shoulder, "If even that wicked thing is failing against Maymun then it is far worse than I imagined. His strength has grown beyond what any of us could have anticipated."