The Dawn of the New World

Lord Aekor's energy sky-rocketed in an instant. The ebony ocean seethed behind his back giving birth to countless mammothian entities as he stared daggers at Baba Jezda...and she responded in much the same fashion.

The sky rumbled as dark clouds moved in from all directions, blocking the light coming from the other side of the world. A streak of blue lightning illuminated the land for a brief moment, allowing the attendants to catch a glimpse of something monstrous hidden behind the sea of clouds.

A heavy pressure descended upon the island forcing Ladu Purto to summon an Ancestral Relic for defense.

Sensing the atmosphere taking a turn for the worse the golden-eyed shadow attendant swiftly intervened before things got out of hand.

"Calm yourself Lord Aekor, it is unlike you to lose your composure over something so minor."

"MINOR?!" he roared back, "Our champion is on death's door because of what she did! If you had any idea of the trouble she has caused for all of us you would not be trying to stop me right now!"

"Then why don't you explain what's going on so we may assist you in this endeavor? Do you truly wish to see this escalate further?"

His words carried a strange hypnotic effect which relieved Lord Aekor's anger to a great degree. He retracted his energies and sat back down on the throne to explain his side to the others.

"As some of you might know, the 'Champion of the Deep' was on the verge of a great breakthrough. He had assimilated his three forms and began the process of creating a new body for the final trial of his Sixth-stage Physique Demon. Everything was going smoothly until a great disturbance in the ether created a backlash that nearly ripped him apart."

"I know what you speak of," the golden-eyed attendant admitted he has sensed it too, "The disturbance was felt throughout the material realms if I am not mistaken, and it is the reason why many of us couldn't be here in person. But what does that have to do with her?"

Lord Aekor's expression turned ugly, "Because she was behind it! The source of the disturbance was the sudden emergence of the Void Immortals of the 'Church of the Sacred Light'. They were personally dispatched by the 'Heavenly Host' to hunt someone down. We have confirmed there was a fight and some rumors of a titan appearing were thrown around but apparently, the main culprit escaped."

"I was wondering who was behind it but no one has stepped forward to take responsibility for it. But then again, there are not many beings left alive who can make the 'Heavenly Host' make a move in person so the pool was quite limited, and it just so happens to include her," he motioned towards Baba Jezda who didn't even meet his gaze.

"Now she just appears out of nowhere after so long, and with a weapon that poses a threat directly to the Hosts of Heaven. It has to be her, that's the only reason this gathering would make sense. She did-"

[It was not her]

Shockingly, Hao Xuan's voice echoed above the island promptly silencing Lord Aekor's speech. They all turned towards the platform where his tiny figure could be seen looking in his direction.

"You can hear...us?" the golden-eyed attendant questioned doubtfully.

[I can]

"That is not possible," Lady Purto hissed, "They are two completely separate spaces, you cannot simply-"

[And yet I have. I do not have time to explain everything so I will cut to the chase. Yes, it was me they came for and they will not give up until they know I am dead. I assume they are employing everything at their disposal to track me down which won't take long so you might want to cut the chit chat]

"He's right," Baba Jezda finally spoke up in her defense.

"I did not have anything to do with what happened there but I did lend him a hand afterward to save his life....as ordered by the mistress."

All the attendants looked at each other in surprise. This was certainly unusual.

"The mistress ordered you to save him? Why?" Lord Aekor questioned.

Baba Jezda tapped her cane twice silencing the roaring ocean both above and below her.

"Because for too long we have stood idly by and allowed these Gods and the Demons to take everything they ever wanted. Now one of them threatens our very existence by cutting us off from the Abyss and destroying our roots. You all know who I am talking about," she said looking into their eyes.

"We are about to lose the war- No, we already have. It is too late to do anything about it now but with him, there might be a chance. We can turn the tides in our favor once and for all!"