A fleshy singularity erupted in the garden-between-worlds; a pulsating, vascular mass of viscera materializing from nothing, and then steadily expanding until it was roughly the size of a person. Once it had reached the apex of its mass, it suddenly hollowed out, creating an orifice in space. A flesh-tunnel through reality, through which Evolution Zero emerged. Unlike the portal that Genesis had used to pierce the veil of its universe, the being that stepped through was smooth, sleek, and had no trace of blood or guts anywhere on them. A silver avatar of evolution stood among the extradimensional flowers, serenely taking in the view. Despite the beauty of this place, it was an illusion, Zero knew. They could detect no pollen or other signs of floral life in this realm. It was all naught but a dream, though quite a pretty one.

Seeing no one else besides the shining goddess before them, Zero strolled up to Amaterasu in what it hoped would be a nonthreatening manner. "Warm blessings of Genesis to you, fair lady. I am the first iteration, you may call me Evolution Zero."

"Then it is settled..."

An echo resonated in the endless cosmos surrounding the two deities and their champion. Two elves; a silver-haired female and a golden-haired man, nodded in obedience, standing still on their knees in prayer. Beside them, two astral bodies stood, best described as a miniature sun and moon.

"These two shall become our champions. Lunara, may your champion spearhead our effort in banishing this corruption from all there is. Solaris, may your champion shield the realm against the incoming corruption. All our hopes, and our fate, are placed upon your shoulders, children. We will pray for our success. May you bring our kin's radiance to those who are lost in the darkness."

The echoes faded into nothingness. The divine presence of the creator, Empyrean, disappeared as their voice came into silence. The two chosen elves got up to their feet, looked into each other eyes with deep understanding and shook hands in silence before walking into the light of the portals behind them. This is where Moon and Sun would go separate ways. Illistrianna and Lunara walked firmly to meet with the expeditionary forces to vanquish the Darkness before it arrived on Elvira's doorstep. And should they fail, then Zenit alongside Solaris will serve as the last line of divine protection.

-------------------------------------------------------

A new arrival on this captivating meeting place. A garden unlike anything the royal palaces of Elvira could nurture. Illistrianna could feel her heart flutters at such sight. Truly a wonderful sight to behold, the high priestess took a moment to take in her surroundings. She could see a few beings had already arrived before them. She had been warned beforehand to discard all that she knew about reality. This place would undoubtedly disregard everything that she thought was possible.

The pale white moon accompanying the Moon Elf pulsated gently with silver moonlight. "Remember this, my child. We will be fighting not only for our kin's survival, but for the beauty of all these worlds. All this life. In time of crisis, all planes of existence will convene, as an estranged family coming together for what could be a final meeting."

Illistrianna nodded solemnly, her eyes drifting to the cosmos surrounding them. Her hands clutched the white wood of Lunara's blessing, Sanctuary. Somewhere, in this sea of stars, surely there were other champions gathering to fight for the same thing. But for the moment, it should be more appropriate to meet with the ones who would be fighting alongside her.

The moon priestess and her divine guidance reached to the gathering. Her steps were soft, with regal bearing but also reserved, mindful that she was in the presence of divinity. With her staff proudly grounded next to her and Lunara floating gently beside her, Illistrianna bowed her head and brought an open hand to her chest in respect. "Blessings of the Moon upon you, divine ones. I am Illistrianna, Lunara's chosen.

Both Mitsuko and Amaterasu were mightily impressed by the sudden arrival of the two champions from their respective universes. The sun goddess of Japan hasn't heard much about the colleagues from other universes, silently expecting that they might be deities from another alternate universe earth where things happened differently, but totally not expecting that they would originate from their own, unique universes with their own worlds. Just looking at them is enough to pique anyone's interest, the man made out of pure silver is very gracious in greeting the goddess, with Mitsuko herself impressed by the grace and poise of someone that came from what looks like a very fleshy dimension, just how did he learn those manners in the first place? Should anyone that wants to preserve their sanity know?

And of course, there is the elf that comes from a fantasy novel setting too. Mitsuko could not help but be awestruck by the woman's beauty. Like seeing an elf goddess from some high fantasy novel living in a castle coming to greet you in person. Heck, even her greeting with all that 'blessings of the moon' stuff felt unreal to her. While originally wanting to be more upbeat with potential introductions, the Osakan woman decided that formal manners are necessary with these individuals, no 'sup's!' and 'oh hi there's'.

And waiting for Amaterasu to introduce herself is part of good manners the champion reasoned, as she slowly descended from her flight with more poise and grace than when she started.

"Konnichiwa." Amaterasu first responded to Evolution Zero, bowing in the typical Japanese fashion she's used to when meeting foreign deities. "Watashi wa Amaterasu-desu. It is very nice to meet you Zero San. I did not expect someone from another dimension to know such manners as you are, My name is Amaterasu Omikami, and this is my champion, Mitsuko Imada." She gestured to the blonde woman beside her.

"Konnichiwa." Mitsuko bowed quickly afterward. "It is a pleasure meeting you Mr Zero, I hope we would be able to destroy this Nirvana anomaly and ensure the safety of both our Universes." She hated being this formal herself, being from the lower classes herself, she's more used to informal greetings and talking about things more authentically, none of this pretentious crap. But she's willing to let aside her preferences for a moment if only to ensure a smooth relationship with potentially powerful people she doesn't know.

The Japanese goddess then turned towards the Elven woman. Bowing in return to the Elf's gesture, before outstretching her hand in an expectation to be shaken. "Greetings to you to Illistriana-Sama. My name is Amaterasu-Omikami, but you can call me Amaterasu for short. I am the sun goddess of a nation called Japan, and we greet you warmly from the land of the rising sun. This is my champion, Mitsuko Imada, an invaluable asset I have chosen as my champion."

"Greetings." Mitsuko bowed again. "I am Amaterasu's champion for 5 years. It is a pleasure to meet a fellow champion as well. I hope that our relationship could be as productive as possible."

Mitsuko then turned towards Amaterasu. Her face visibly showed her discomfort and all but telling her to 'break the ice'. With the black-haired woman smiling softly at her in response. Telling her that 'she's on it'. "Well, enough with the formalities shall we, we ought to discuss our respective realities in more... jovial terms perhaps?"

Suddenly, another gateway opened, inside a marble arch at the end of a nearby stone walkway. Inside was pure white, but it wasn't a light; it was snow. Frigid air burst into the area from within, but nothing and no-one was visible against the whiteout for a few moments. Then, at once, two single-file lines of reptilian lizard people with heads like komodo dragons burst onto the scene, some wearing veils over their faces and bearing the red and black banners of their nation, heralding the arrival of what appeared to be some kind of military parade. They stood silently on each side of the walkway, awaiting the arrival of their god and champion.



It began with an orc king, dressed in like manner to a sultan, carrying a white and blue sword that looked like some kind of holy blade. He was flanked by two masked oni, one with red skin and one with blue, carrying massive spiked war clubs, which they drove into the stone floor twice with every fourth step. Then, a pair of six-armed lamia emerged from the portal, dancing and juggling scimitars, flanked on each side by more orcs and oni beating war drums and shouting. Behind them, a taller reptilian woman with a human face emerged, walking arm-in-arm with a beautiful tengu princess with short black hair who looked nothing short of thrilled to be in that exact place in the parade, waving her free hand around to anyone who looked in her direction. The reptilian woman with long white hair, meanwhile, tried to remain stoic, but her face betrayed just a hint of distaste for the opulence of the proceedings. Unlike the lamia that preceded her, she was dressed for the weather she'd just come from, and had the look of a soldier about her.

"Schovajsa! (Hide yourselves!) Schovajsa! (Hide yourselves!)" the lesser lizardfolk cried, covering and turning their faces away and falling to their knees in a dramatic display that bordered on worship as the white-haired woman passed them. The ones fortunate enough to carry banners simply put one hand over the veils on their faces and solemnly bowed, keeping their flags upright. Behind the pair of royals who seemed to be the center of attention, a smaller lamia girl with only two arms and a smile that could melt the ice caps waved a blue and silver flag around with the kind of energy only a child could. She seemed to be cheerleading for an aquatic nation whose representatives could not be present. At the very end of the parade was Dominus himself, the infamous god of war and likely the one responsible for this entire charade. He was the "go before me" kind of god, choosing to bring up the rear behind his champion rather than lead the vanguard. But, with so many formidable-looking warriors present—who was the champion?

The orc king bowed to the gathering of champions and deities present—but he stood to the side, as did the two fierce-looking oni and dancing lamia, who sheathed their swords with flair and poise. One of them pulled the little lamia girl aside, shushing her excited giggles. The tall woman with the soldier-like bearing stepped to the front of the group, the tengu princess letting go of her arm reluctantly, and the orc king handed the holy sword to her with a nod of respect. She placed it in the empty scabbard at her side with some force, causing a low booming sound like a distant peal of thunder, leaving her audience with a single question: who was this woman, whose appointment as champion of a god of war was supported by multiple nations, and who could convince an orc king to be her sword-bearer?

She kneeled as Dominus approached from behind, and remained there until he planted a hand on her shoulder and bade her in a loud voice:

"Rise, Cynthia."

She obeyed, returning to her feet and bowing to her future comrades and their patron gods with her right arm over her chest. Dominus dismissed the gathering behind her with a wave of his hand as she spoke. "Gokigenyou (Good day) to the morning thtarss and their illuminant oness." The sight of a forked tongue and reptilian fangs greeted the assembly as she spoke, slurring her speech somewhat.

"Hmph. Let your sword speak for you, girl. You've not the gift for pleasantries," Dominus chided.

Cynthia bowed to the others in apology, using her cape for a curtsy, and remained silent as she left the stone walkway, joining the others on the verdant field. Aside from her long, flowing white hair and lack of facial scars, she lacked any delicate features. Her face was severe and stoic, and her eyes slightly wild, especially as they both occasionally glanced in different directions independently of one another as she sized up the group, though it was clearly a habit she was trying to fight. She dressed the part of a solider, but walked with a certain noble bearing that was unmistakable, despite doing so perched on the toes of her bare, dinosaur-like feet, with claws that were covered with caps of bright red wax. She didn't offer to let anyone shake her hand—though with those claws, maybe they were better off.

The Omniscient, not to mention Draven had finally arrived.
The Omniscient was a magnificent tortoise. Indescribably old, and very large, he waddled over as fast as he could, which, while very fast for a mortal, was slow for a deity. The Omiscient began to speak with Amaterasu in an indecipherable tongue to mortals, as if he had something to hide from all of them. Draven looked with curiosity, then looked around towards the other champions. He was walking with a simple wooden staff, and he wore a typical pointed wizard's hate. For now, he didn't say anything, and was only checking everything out. He was very interested in everything, and took his time to study deity, mortal and the local environment. Finally, he managed to speak one word. "Fascinating!" He didn't address anyone in particular. The surroundings were certainly unusual, to be sure.

Leaning on his staff, he finally had the nerve to walk slowly over to The Omniscient and Amaterasu. He was listening to his turtle god speak an ancient form of Japanese that only she and the Japanese deities could converse with. So that didn't seem to do him any favors. He was neither Japanese, nor was he old enough to understand this form of Japanese even if he was.

The Omniscient

"Ama, Ter, Asu. Why. Am. I. Here?"

"Lord Havokor, for the last time, please exit your room and open the portal, we are going to be late like always!"

"I don't want to! Those guys suck!"

"Please don't speak about our allies in such a way"

"But they do! Amaterasu is always trying to boss me around, The Omniscient is super grouchy, Celia gives me the cold shoulder, Genesis is nice but creepy, and Lunara is... sort of okay, I guess? But Dominus and Uzhdifal are always looking at me like I am an affront to them! They suck!"

"Lord Havokor please cease this foolishness, I will use my ribbons if needed!"

Shin had expected many things when he became a Champion for his Lord, what he didn't expect was for said Lord to be sooo....

"Fine, fine! I will open the damn portal already"

Charming

Despite his words and actions the moment his Lord stepped through the door to his room, he did so with a massive smile on his face. This was nothing more than a charade the two of them tended to engage on, his Lord ties to the concept of STRUGGLE showing themselves in smaller (inconvenient) forms.

"Who could have guessed that my little Shin would one day turn his beloved ribbons against his Lord, why if only your Grandmother could be here to see you now she would-"

Shin watched expressionlessly as his Lord keep muttering to himself before deciding that ignoring him was for the best, instead, he decided to check his equipment one last time, his sword was safely strapped to his waist and his pack contained extra clothes in case his current ones were damaged in combat, he would have liked to get more things but his Lord announced this campaign a few hours ago and he decided to give priority to other things.

Well it was too late for regrets now.

"Shiiiiin! Stop wasting time, we will be late you know?"

Suppressing a sigh he watched his Lord stand proudly in front of a fully open portal and without saying another word they both stepped through it.



Appearing beside the other deities his Lord wasted no time in thinking about his greeting

"Hey guys long time no see! You all look just as I remember"

Ignoring his Lord's informal hellos he gave the assembled deities a deep bow with a fist on a closed palm in front of him.

"Greetings Great ones, greetings my fellow Champions, my name is Shin'Za Ze'Hav, Lord Havokor's chosen champion"

Stepping gracefully out of portal ripped through time, a young brunette woman adorned in golden jewelry and a simple white flowing dress took a moment to pause. "Ah..." Her mismatched golden and blue eyes took in the extraordinary scenery. "So this is the place." She muttered under her breath, taking a glance behind her as her white haired Goddess floated in through the portal, levitating only a few inches above the ground without moving a muscle. The Goddess, Cetia, slowly moved her gaze to the small brunette woman and gave the faintest upturn of the corner of her lips in acknowledgement.

The brunette smiled to her in return and once again took in the scenery. This place was very familiar to her, though she had never been here in a physical form. In her dreams and visions Cetia had often guided the women to this area of the in-between. It served as a meditation area as well as an easy way to astral project herself to distant areas of her own world. This place was peaceful for her and had always felt like a safe haven, but she had never truly known just how important the area would become to her.

"Looks as though we're late."

Slowly, the woman made her way through the landscape towards the group of people... and creatures?... she saw gathering nearby. For all the times she had been to this realm she had never once seen another being here besides her Goddess. As she approached she could feel her heart beat harder in her chest, the nerves finally settling in. She had so scarcely been around other people for an extended period of time, especially strangers, and this all felt very overwhelming to her senses. Not to mention that each one of these people were extremely important in their own way. The pressure was enormous!

As she got closer, suddenly, she tripped over a tree root and fell forward into a tall white haired woman who stood next to what appeared to be a behemoth of a God. "Oh!" The woman caught herself on the muscular woman's arm and straightened herself, her pale face instantly flushing her cheeks with red in embarrassment. "I-I'm so sorry!" She offered a sheepish smile to the woman, taking a couple steps back and turning her gaze to the rest of the group. "Uhm... Greetings, all." She nervously glanced to Cetia who levitated beside her, emotionless and silent. "I am pleased to introduce you to Cetia, my Goddess of life, death, and time." She gestured toward the celestial being to her left and then turned back to the group, trying her hardest not to gawk over how different each of these people were from what she was used to seeing.

"And my name is Sybil." She bowed to the group in respect, "It is my pleasure to meet you and to serve with you."

---

Mentions: @Emeth

Zero watched with fascination as the variety of gods and their attendants arrived in a steady stream through various portals. One god even arrived with an entire entourage of attendants and followers, all of different species and intriguing morphologies. While the display was quite impressive, it seemed perhaps ostentatious. They all knew why they were here, and who they were each dealing with, so the possible reason for such a display was lost on Zero. Gods were usually free of the follies of mortals, such as their inability to comprehend perspectives outside of their own.

As more gods and champions arrived, Zero observed that they were the only party that had arrived alone, at least by all surface appearances. While it had all of the power and perspective of a god, Genesis unfortunately was truly bound to its physical form, and therefore its planet-sized flesh could not travel much of anywhere. Despite this, Zero was still in communion with Genesis through a powerful psionic link, though at the present moment that link was dormant. There was nothing here that required the direct attention of Genesis, and Zero had all knowledge pertinent to the situation secure in their bio-matrix. There was no possible way for them to store the godlike intelligence and universal knowledge of Genesis within their conveniently mobile flesh, but they were still able to retain a shocking large chunk of it.

That said, there was still plenty of room left in their skin to learn more. Entirely new universes needed to be explored, understood, and perhaps tasted. Genesis had already poured billions of Red Heralds-- independent bioforms far simpler than Zero-- into any universe it could breach for purpose of reconnaissance, but Zero was far from some simple scout. Evolution Zero was everything that Genesis could never be: an explorer, an ambassador, a missionary, and-- if needed-- a soldier.

Initially they were most interested in the hybrid bioforms exhibited in the large retinue surrounding the god Dominion, but after watching another champion literally fall into their throng, they decided against it.

"But of course, life-giving lady." Zero answered with perfect, crisp diction. There was not even the slightest unnatural resonance to their voice; their mimicry was perfect. "I could not serve Genesis were I not agreeable to life outside the communion." Addressing the others who might have been interested, they said, "I apologize that my creator could not join us. I have the full confidence and authority of Genesis, and may act in its stead. I might say, 'treat me as though I were Genesis,' but I would not presume to be so arrogant. Please treat me as a loyal ally and companion."

Dominus glanced over in the direction of the new arrivals. "Ah, Havokor. It is good to work alongside you again," he said with just a hint of insincerity. The god of conflict and struggle intrigued him somewhat, but his personality sure was something. It would be just a slight exaggeration to say that the two were friendly rivals or brothers in arms, but they at least had a few things in common. Havokor was not soft like the rest of this rabble. "I like the look of this one," he remarked, looking at Shin'Za. "Well done." Cynthia, for her part, bowed in greeting, this time with one arm in front of her and one behind, conveniently placed to be suddenly grabbed by someone.

Cynthia's eyes widened slightly as she glanced down at the girl who'd tripped into her and grabbed her arm for support. Her expression became less stoic by pure instinct upon seeing the short young lady with gentle features, as if she'd reminded her of someone. She seemed like a child in the eyes of the giant reptilian woman, especially when standing right next to her—and Sybil probably felt the same looking up at her, judging by her shy reaction as she scurried away and anxiously blurted out her introductions.

"Hm?! BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Dominus laughed madly at the girl who had tripped into Cynthia, and seemingly nearly forgotten to give her own name. "Cetia, you can't be serious! This little lost lamb is your champion?!" he scoffed. "—and you too, Amaterasu. Sincerely, a child?! At least she appears confident," he observed, shooting another condescending glance at Sybil.

But Cynthia took one step in Sybil's direction and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Well met, little one," she managed to say coherently, looking away from her to hide her fangs and glare daggers at Dominus. Cynthia knew how it felt to be openly mocked in the presence of the powerful, and to desire dearly to be literally anywhere else but where she was, even if that "anywhere" was a battlefield covered in damnable snow and ice. Already, she was putting everyone present on notice that she and her god did not see eye to eye.

Dominus offered only a nod in greeting to Zero. He didn't seem too upset that Genesis could not be present. More importantly, Cynthia was glaring at him. "Hmph. Cynthia. I don't remember giving my permission to let a child herald my arrival. Who invited the lamia girl?" he demanded. Cynthia shrugged, as if to say that details like that didn't matter to her. Ignoring him, she turned to Zero and gave him a bow of greeting. "I, too, do not require... delicate treatment," she said, slowly and carefully choosing words that were easier for her to say. "Call me by my name only," she said to no one in particular.

Dominus, however, was in a mood to get back at Cynthia for her insolence, and so he did not let her get away with being anonymous. "Meet my esteemed champion, Cynthia Schovajsa—princess of the reptilians, and a proud and accomplished soldier who holds the title of War Queen among her people," he boasted, as if all of her accolades were also his own. Cynthia exhaled with an exasperated huff, resisting the temptation to reiterate that she required no title of address.

---

@Kumbaris @Teyao @The Muse @Dead Cruiser

Illistrianna could not help but marvel at how different the Sun deity from another world was compared to her own. Legends of Elvira tell of Empyrean's son as a tall bronze-skinned elf with hair akin to a field of wheat. But from what she witnessed herself, Solaris was best represented as the sun, his radiance blinding all but his family and his champion. And despite Amaterasu being the main organizer of this godly alliance, the Moon Elf couldn't help but have a newfound respect out of sharing ties to a sun god herself. Maybe this was the reason Lunara had a natural good disposition towards the goddess?

Just as Illistrianna gracefully shook Amaterasu's hand and was about to comply to her request of knowing more about her world, the priestess' head turned to the side to watch the fanfare unfolding before them. She clearly was distracted from continuing the conversation, intent on analyzing what kind of persons these new arrivals were. Just what kind of allies they were going to be. It amazed the elven champion how, despite the very obvious differences between all the gods and their champions present at this gathering, she could understand each and every spoken words. Truly, it was a blessing that Lunara had taken the time prior to choosing to learn the different dialects from all these beings and grant her this gift of communication through divine knowledge.

The pale moon lady could not help herself in noticing that a lot of these champions seemed very different from her. Most of them seemed like they could handle their own in battle for sure. In a way, they were reminding her of Rosearia. Illistrianna had utmost faith in the reason Lunara chose her as champion instead of the kingdom's strongest warrior.

To each and every new arrival that came their way, the high priestess offered them the same curtsy bow. Much like her goddess, she remained silent unless spoken to, her face neutral to all, no matter how they presented themselves. She assessed quietly all the individuals standing with her. She would not pretend to understand who they were, but was interested in knowing who they were through their acts, their words and their body language. Deep down, she knew Lunara was doing the same.

Mitsuko was awed at the sight of everyone present in the garden-in-between-worlds, she saw a veritable multitude of individuals milling around, talking with each other, and just in general being jovial with each other, from half-lizard people to elves so bizarre they were unlike anything she’s seen on Earth. It’s downright bizarre yet also incredibly fascinating and interesting, a lot of opportunities for Mitsuko to study and see new people not from Earth.

Amaterasu, meanwhile, was trying to fend off the double inquiries from Dominus and the Turtle. Assuring Dominus that no, she did not make a bad choice by choosing Mitsuko, and telling the turtle why they are here in the first place. "Didn't you get the memo? We are here to provide coordination and guidance for our champions." She told the Omniscient. "We could not let them go without imparting some wisdom from us can we? I would be a bad goddess if I did such a thing."

But, now that everyone is here. Amaterasu decided to speed things up, feeling confident that she had fended off Dominus for now, and quenched the curiosity of the Turtle. The black-haired woman took center stage, with every deity and their champion seeing the Japanese sun goddess speak on the proverbial platform.

“Alright alright. I think that’s pretty much all of you?” Amaterasu interjected, killing Mitsuko’s interest in an effort to move the team along. “I think that you all know why you are here. So I will make this as quick and effortless as possible. We’ll move on to discuss the issue of this Nirvana thingy later on. But first!”

“My name, in case you’re wondering, is Amaterasu Omikami, and this is my champion. Mitsuko Imada. She is a champion of mine for 5 years now, and arguably one of my best.” The deity turned her face and looked at Mitsuko with a certain fondness in her eyes. Like they know the hardships they endured together and what kind of grit Mitsuko has to make sure things are resolved amicably in their favour. “But that’s enough of me. Why don’t you introduce yourself, Mitsuko?”

“Me?” Mitsuko wondered, quite unusual for Amaterasu to put her into the spotlight in the first place, but whatever. “My name is Mitsuko Imada, from an island nation called Japan. I was born in the city of Osaka, a town with… I think 20 million people now? Give or take? Yeah, big… big city. Unfortunately for me though, I was born into poverty. My people were historically oppressed in Japanese society and I was a daughter born to parents within that group, so I grew up living a life of crime and general lawlessness, that is, until. I went to jail at the age of 18 with my gang over a robbery gone wrong. And while that should be the end of me, Amaterasu stumbled into my group of ne’er do wells and offered me an opportunity. Become a champion of her, or rot in prison.”

“Safe to say I took her offer, and thank goodness for that. I was taught self-discipline, culture, fighting techniques, and etiquette. I was also given money and luxuries I never imagined before, and in return? I fight evil Japanese spirits and make sure that my country does not fall into the clutches of rogue spirits with evil intent. Let’s just say that I am particularly good at my job, even defeated one of the premier Japanese deities in a duel once. So that’s fun.”

“Do you have any questions for me? What I said over there is a very truncated history of my life, so I probably omitted a lot of details there, but gosh! My life has been a rollercoaster that’s for sure.”

“Speaking of rollercoasters. Would anyone else be willing to share the stories of their life? I think it would be best for all of us to know each other deeply.” Mitsuko concluded. To the approval of the Japanese sun goddess beside her.

The goddess Amaterasu introduced herself and her champion, giving a bit of insight into their experiences. The experience of trying to piece together their subjective realities from mere descriptions was somewhat novel for Zero, who basically had almost no experiences of their own. What they did have was a portion of the memory of Genesis, ripped from the stars in the days when Genesis was not yet alone. Someone else's experiences of islands... nations... cities... poverty... crime... All passed down to Zero third-hand. They were like memories of a memory; the knowledge was intact, but the essence of it, the soul of the memory, felt distant, indistinct. Regardless, Zero felt confident and prepared for the task at hand. They were made for this, literally, and Genesis did nothing by accident.

Having not that much to say about themself, Zero opted instead for another approach. "In the absence of Genesis, I will endeavor to express its being, its desires, and its will to you all." Zero stepped forward to better garner the attention of the others. Despite the the hyper-evolved, anatomically esoteric body that they currently wielded, they did their best to keep their body language neutral and without aggression. "Genesis is love; the love for life, the love for the beauty of the universe, and the love that living things have for one another. Genesis loves you all, and so do I. This is the reason for which Genesis created me: so that I might be able to share that love with the multiverse, and keep it safe for any and all. Genesis has made me the first iteration; its successor, or perhaps its offspring. I greatly hope to learn from all of you, to grow a powerful bond of empathy and understanding, and bring Genesis to a new era of peace and unity."

Lunara's high priestess remained stoic throughout the first introductions, her eyes seizing both the individuals and their patron deity, at least for those who were present. Hearing Mitstuko's story, Illistrianna couldn't help but feel some sort of respect towards the young woman. While the part about defeating a god in duel was impressive, what the elf found most admirable in her story was how she went from a poor child sinking into the consequences of evil deeds to a hero. It was like a fairy tale, to be honest, but the ways of the gods work in surprising twists. She could relate to working for the well-being of the people.

The moon gravitating around Illistrianna still was silent, but it pulsated with a gentle glow. The silver-haired elf hummed positively in response. It looked like Lunara was in agreement with her champion. A most respectable hero indeed. Mitsuko would make a good ally in the battles to come, and so was Amaterasu, from what they could tell. There only was one thing Illistrianna was left to wonder during Mitsuko's speech, but she wouldn't allow her ignorance to make a fool of herself by speaking it out loud.

Just what was a rollercoaster?

---------------------------------------------

As for Genesis' Herald, there certainly was something noble to be found in what it encompassed. To save everything on the sole principle of love. It was quite an interesting being, for sure. She wondered what a world like its would look like, considering of all the beings present, the champion of Genesis was unlike any other. She'll keep an eye on it for sure. Illistrianna was quite curious about it. The moon rotated silently, darkening.

As its introduction fell to silence, the elven priestess took a step forward. She nodded to herself, agreeing to the plan of introducing herself for the sake of camaraderie. Just like before, she bowed slightly to her peers, maintaining a regal and confident allure.

"Blessings of the Moon to you all. I am Illistrianna, Lunara's chosen. I have served our bright Mother for as long as I can remember, but it is only recently that she appeared, to grant me the duty of protecting our land from the coming darkness. I endeavor to do my best to support the effort in protecting our worlds, just as it was previously my duty to ensure the well-being of the Night Kingdom as one of the Three Queens."

The moon elf paused, looking at the moon that seemed to shine all the more brightly beside her. In retrospective, she didn't have much to tell about her life. Despite her long life and the many events that happened during her ruling years, her life could simply be resumed as being a devout queen for the most of her life. She didn't need to bother her companions with details that they wouldn't need.

She gave a faint earnest smile. "My apologies, I am sure my story is not quite as exciting to share as everyone else's. I suppose having lived as a priestess and a queen lacks a lot of noteworthy eventful moments."

Illistrianna bowed respectfully once more and stepped back to leave the speaking stage to someone else. The moon floated gently around her, pulsating with silver light.

Cynthia, in fact, did not know why they were here, she realized, listening to Amaterasu speak. Dominus bade her come, and thus she did. He demanded their entrance be grand, and so she had enlisted the assistance of the orc king to make it so. She never did well with royal pomp, herself. What she did know was that Nirvana was the plane of existence upon which the gods had their dwelling, unbound by time and death—and allegedly, worldly desires—though she had her doubts about the latter claim.

She listened in wonder as Mitsuko spoke. An island nation with a population of 20 million? Had she heard that quite right? It was doubtful the humans numbered that many in total in her own world. It seemed as though this girl led an eventful life, with many twists and turns. Wait, did she just say that she dueled a deity and won? Cynthia glanced at Amaterasu for some kind of sign that she'd exaggerated somehow, and finding none, was even further amazed. She barely even heard the comment about the rollercoaster, with her mind spinning as to just how strong she must be. Did she dare ask the young lady for a spar, later? ...No. She'd rather chew gravel than suffer defeat by the hands of one Dominus had deemed "a child."

Then, the alien spoke. The manner of its speech put Cynthia off somehow, despite being perfectly fluent. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, until she glanced over at Dominus, pinching his nose in frustration and impatience, and realized that she was barely paying attention to what was being said herself. Ah, that was it. Zero's manner of speech reminded Cynthia of a politician. It was a bit too refined, and the vague and repeated use of the word 'love' didn't actually tell her much about Genesis as much as what was not being said. Immediately, Genesis struck her as a being with secrets, and its being absent from this meeting only solidified that in her mind. As for Zero, she wasn't sure if she could hold that against him. He was a bit of a mystery, and she couldn't be sure yet if he had free will.

Finally, there was the elf. Elves were isolationists on Cynthia's home planet, making war against those who encroached on their own territory with no respect of race or creed. She supposed they could be considered neutral—apathetic towards the war, even. Cynthia found her remark about her life as a queen not being noteworthy or eventful unconvincing, however. Certainly, it was her personal belief that long life was the enemy of a life well-lived. Her own siblings' lack of noteworthy accomplishments when compared to her own was the proof. Why do anything today when you have nigh-unlimited tomorrows, after all? This, however, was not from lack of opportunity, but lack of effort. The elf that stood before her now was either lying to keep her secrets, or lazy just like them, she concluded. The grizzled War Queen could not conceive of a world in which war was a seemingly bygone concept.

Dominus glanced at Cynthia, and made a motion with his head that usually meant something along the lines of 'put a stop to this nonsense, will you?' He couldn't mean for her to give a speech, could he..? Cynthia remained frigid for a moment before choosing to speak. "My people have hardly known aught but war from our birth. You may rely on me," she said simply. Dominus scoffed. "What this ice queen is trying to say is, try not to slow her down," he offered with a haughty smirk. "That..." Cynthia paused. "The word of my god... may contradict mine own opinion from time to time," she managed, returning his smirk with one of her own. The two seemed to be playing a game of wits of some kind, with rules only they knew at the moment.

"BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Cetia, you can't be serious! This little lost lamb is your champion?!" Sybil felt her heart sink and her face flush red once again as she listened to Dominus laugh at her clumsiness. Sybil remained quiet, her eyes on the ground as she mentally scolded herself, reminding herself that she needed to be more calm and calculated. Despite being sought after for her wisdom from people all across her nation, Sybil had never been in front of so many people all at once.

Cetia slowly turned her head towards Dominus, her pale emotionless eyes staring at him for a few moments. "Dominus," her voice was soft, though just as cold as the rest of her essence, "you put far too much weight into appearance alone." She turned away from him, making her succinct judgement and moving on from the conversation. Sybil briefly glanced up at Cetia, interested in what her Goddess had to say considering she was a deity of few words. Immediately her attention was broken as she felt a hand on her shoulder, her eyes darting up to see that Dominus' champion had been the one to touch her in what felt like an attempt at comforting her after Dominus' mockery. She smiled and nodded her head to the tall woman, "Thank you, Cynthia. It's a pleasure."

Before Dominus was able to come back with some sort of quip, the Goddess Amaterasu and her champion Mitsuko began to speak. Sybil listened intently, feeling empathy towards Mitsuko as she spoke of growing up in less than ideal circumstances. Despite her hard upbringing Mitsuko was able to turn her life around and sounded extremely accomplished which Sybil admired. She was certainly strong in both the mental and physical compacity; definitely someone that Sybil was glad to have on her side of the fight.

Next up was the silver creature that went by the name of Zero. Sybil had never seen anything like him in her life and in all honesty it was difficult for her to listen to what he was saying while she examined his body and wondered just what kind of abilities he had. By the end of his speech she felt that she was left with more questions than answers: What did Genesis look like or act like and why weren't they able to attend?

The next to step up was a beautiful regal looking elf. Sybil had seen elves before so she was less distracting, but Sybil did take note that the woman seemed to embody the aesthetic of a moon goddess. Sybil raised a brow after hearing that Illistrianna was a queen. Although she did not inherently hate all royal people, it was difficult not to make a quick judgement about the type of person Illistrianna might be due to Sybil's own personal experience with royalty being one of decades of abuse.

Soon after it was Cynthia's turn to speak and Sybil smiled as she listened to her, feeling a comradery for the woman already despite barely knowing her. Sybil glanced over at Dominus as Cynthia stated that his views were not necessarily hers. She almost expected a quick outburst from the behemoth god, but it seemed that they both had a playful smirk on their faces and enjoyed the challenge.

Just then Sybil felt a chill creep down her spine; she could feel Cetia's gaze rest upon her. Obviously, it was time for Sybil to become the center of attention once again. Feeling her heart rate pick up, Sybil cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Thank you all for sharing about yourselves, I look forward to getting to know you all more." She paused and took a deep breath, her heart pounding against her chest. "As for me," She clasped her hands down in front of her to keep her hands from noticeably shaking. "My name is Sybil. I am choosen by Cetia and dedicate my life to her and am grateful for all that she has gifted me, and my world. I come from a kingdom called Valoria and serve their royal family with guidance as needed." She paused, unsure of how much to say about the true nature of how she became in service to the royal family. "When I was young I was taken away from my family to be of exclusive use by the royal family. These days... I spend most of my days in Cetia's temple." She bit her bottom lip, becoming more unsure of herself by the second. "This is the first time I have been in front of more than two people for... more than six decades by now." She let out a nervous chuckle, her eyes moving to the ground as she tried to center herself. "Uhm..." She turned her gaze back to the group, "I suppose that is all... Thank you, everyone."

Shin looked calmly as the others introduced themselves, although outwardly he appeared stoic and stiff inside he was busy storing all the new information his new allies were sharing, he didn't want to admit it but he felt both, out of his depth and interested beyond measure. THIS is what he had expected when he was told he had become a champion of his Lord, the stories they told varied between each other but they all seemed to have weight to them, almost like a story out of one of his people's legends.

As The Sybil finished her introduction he directed a look towards his Lord, wondering if he planned to introduce them like some of the other gods had done or if he waited for him to do it, knowing his Lord it could go either way.

A weight settled on his stomach as his Lord flashed him one of his serene smiles as his only answer.

"Oh no"

"My-" However before he managed to utter a sentence to run damage control his Lord beat him to the punch.

"Domy! You know it's always a pleasure being in your presence" Shin wanted to slap his palm to his own face so much, he knew his Lord's tone enough to understand that he was being sincere but the way he worded it bordered between rude and mocking, hopefully they wouldn't have another political incident in their hands, he still remembered the last time a foreign god visited Carnagoria and how THAT clusterfuck ended. Now he just had to hope that his Lord didn't say anything else- "And don't be so hard with the little lass, why, she looks like she could kill your last three champions on her way to breakfast without breaking a sweat! Though this entire bach all seem to be particularly powerful"

That grabbed Shin's attention, his Lord didn't give empty praise to anyone so for him to recognize not only another champion but ALL of them? that was important. Still, he couldn't let this continue or they would either get expulsed from this meeting or be shamed away from it.

"Ahem! Lord Havokor our introduction?"

"Right, right, I forgot about that" The amused smile he directed towards him made it clear that he had not, in fact, forgotten about it but blessedly decided to not derail the conversation anymore "Greetings young champions and my fellow gods who have already met me, I am Havokor! the God of Struggle and Conflict and this little one here is my champion Shin"

Shin took the lackluster greeting without hesitation, that was the best he was going to get out of his Lord and he knew it.

Better than him talking about other things again.

"Salutations, as my Lord has said I am Shin'Za Ze'Hav, a champion of Lord Havokor and the one he has chosen to accompany him to this meeting, I became a champion only three years ago so I don't have many achievements to my name but if there is any conflict you need help resolving please don't hesitate to rely on me." Saying so he gave another formal bow, making sure to add all the formal demeanor that his Lord lacked.

The Omniscient
"Ama-ter-as-u" The tortoise god spoke. "I-am-so-rry."
"Pressing. Concerns. Press. On. Us."
"I. Must. Go. As. Does. He."

The Omniscient nods his head towards Draven.

Draven nods. "He's saying there's an emergency back at home. We have to go."

With the introductions finished, and Amaterasu feeling confident that the group can progress forward. She decided to discuss the plan to hopefully seal this phenomenon away. She doesn’t fully understand what this calamity is doing, but the sun goddess knows that they plan on spreading their taint into many worlds, and there are 4 key worlds that they will need to reclaim in order to seal the taint on reality for the foreseeable future.

“Alright then. Since everyone has gotten to know each other, I feel that we need to discuss this Nirvana anomaly.” Amaterasu said, snapping her fingers before a massive metallic table is summoned into the center. “Don’t worry, that is just me summoning something from my pocket dimension.”

The table then proceeded to light up, the extremely complex electronics and chips inside the table processing terabytes of information, eventually resulting in a 3D projection from the table’s screen upwards. “We know there is one massive anomaly in the center of… well, the space between universes. As you can see in the hologram.” She pointed at a white object in the center of the projection. “And they are tainting different universes across realities with the hopes of eventually consuming all of reality. Well, through a ton of research from myself, our fellow deities present here, as well as the OMR on my earth. We’ve found out that there are 4 key universes that are the main ‘staging grounds’ for this anomaly to spread its taint. And we will send you to one of these realities for now.”

“Don’t worry, even just reclaiming one of these realities from corruption is going to significantly hamper the expansion, and all you need to do is to just destroy the one thing that is the key of mainttaining the corruption in that world. It can be an object, a person, a corrupted deity, as long as you killed them? The world should return to normal, although I do feel kinda sad that we can’t revert the damage already wreaked though. Bah! A project for another time perhaps, right?”

She might sound optimistic, but in truth, the moment Amaterasu made that realization, that the worlds corrupted by the taint will have to recover manually, that there is no magical reset to their situation, fills her with a kind of depression she has rarely encountered. The type of depression seeing her people just after Japan surrendered feels like, the depression where you know there’s a long road ahead for these people, but… you can’t do anything to alleviate their woes and suffering.

No, she mustn’t dwell on that too much. She has a mission to complete.

“Alright, so the first world we will be going is… oh shit.” Amaterasu looked at the world, and her face paled at what this world has in store for her.

“We will be going to a… universe where… my country… won the world wars.” She said. Her voice dropping like lead as she finished that sentence. “Uhh, Mitsuko? Can you take over for a moment? You’ve already read the briefing right?”

The former criminal knew what Amaterasu was experiencing, and nodded, Amaterasu herself found a chair to sit down on, and contemplate the dark future she could’ve led her country, nay, her world should they win. Her face, if anyone dares to look at it, looks grim, like seeing a newborn child being killed in the face of their mother.

“Alright, so… things might get a little bit heavy here, but… this is a universe where Japan uhh, won the second world war. In the reality where I live. My country once embarked on a campaign of territorial conquest some 70 years ago, our fellow countrymen conducted atrocities and brutalities among our neighboring countries, and we got rightfully defeated by a coalition of nations. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki got completely obliterated by a… uhh, I guess the closest analogy you have is an incredibly powerful spell? One that can destroy cities with one blast. And we surrendered after that.”

“Okay okay. I’m aware that I glossed over a ton of history there, but let’s just say none of us are proud of what we did during that time. Even myself. This is a universe where our enemies lost and we won, and it seems that they’ve opened a tear into this Nirvana thingy and got destroyed as a result.”

“You will be dropping near Tokyo by the way.” Amaterasu interjected. “Or at least, what remains of it after the calamity destroyed the world.”

“Yes, and the target should be uhh… uhh.”

“My evil alter ego. An Amaterasu drunk on power and is focused on furthering the goal of NIrvana for just a touch more power on a throne of ashes.” Amaterasu finished.

“Uhh yeah… that. So uhh. Wow, this got dark really quickly.” Mitsuko finished. Powering down the table and leaning on it to see everyone in the face. “Listen. This world is dead, like, completely and totally dead. There are no lifeforms, no humans, no elves, and no other living beings. The gods here only persist because of the power given to them by the Nirvana anomaly, so if we kill Amaterasu, every single deity in this world should die with it.”

“You should do your preparations now by the way.” Amaterasu finished, finally standing up. “Because we gods cannot help you on this endeavour, only champions are resistant to this type of corruption, so I would recommend stocking up food, weaponry, mana, whatever you want to stock up. Because I can tell you, beating Amaterasu is NOT going to be easy, I would have a coterie of deities alongside myself, our gods of war, of nature’s wroth, of lightning, of whatever.”

“So, once you’ve finished all your preparations, come back to this meeting spot and I’ll open up the portal for you.” She finished. The face of the sun goddess lightened a little bit, but still sad at what she saw in that reality.

Cynthia stared blankly as Amaterasu spoke, trying not to look confused. Nirvana anomaly was something she'd heard a few times, but the casual mention of a pocket dimension and unbelievable technology being put on display left her in silent wonder. Gaps between dimensions, she could only faintly comprehend. She'd stepped through a portal to get here. So the anomaly was inside the walls? She struggled to think of a good analogy to wrap her brain around it. What she did understand was that there would be four locations where battles would take place. This was something she could work with, though she failed to understand how "corruption" could be stopped through battle. Was it evil magic, or an evil spirit? Some kind of virus?

Then, the deity moved on, explaining their first location. It seemed they'd be going to Mitsuko's home, or some nightmare version of it at any rate. For a while she followed, nodding along solemnly at the mention of atrocities being committed. No country was innocent, she knew—including her own, which still enslaved its own people. For just a moment, she wondered how her proposed legislation to address the issue was being received, nearly missing Mitsuko's remarks about a magic spell that could level an entire city—and hadn't she said there were 20 million people on that island? Two cities, in such an unfathomably populous place—gone, just like that. Cynthia's countenance fell as she imagined how many people must have perished. She could only hope their deaths were painless.

Amaterasu and her champion continued to speak. They would be required to fight an evil Amaterasu? She couldn't even process the idea of an entire world being devoid of life. Even hers, wrought with war as it had been for all its history, wasn't dead just yet. How much more terrible was this evil Amaterasu, that even Dominus was put to shame? Finally, the ultimate revelation, that the gods themselves would not be participating in the battle. Champions were resistant to the corruption? Cynthia's face seemed dissatisfied as she crossed her arms, a kind of quiet outrage brewing beneath the surface of her icy features. She was unconvinced. "Dominuss, what iss thiss? We fight alone againsst the godss?" she hissed, not caring if her voice offended anyone's ears at this moment.

"Hmph. I am also displeased," Dominus agreed. "but it cannot be denied. Any god we send to investigate the anomaly turns against all of creation, dissolving all the laws of nature which they have established, and destroying all living things without direction or purpose. A throne of ashes, indeed. All the champions sent alongside them are driven mad, as well. Only champions whose gods remain behind keep hold of their senses, and they all report the same thing: the corruption of their minds happens in an instant, with no resistance to its influence. It doesn't seem to do anything to mortals, directly. It sends the corrupted gods to do its bidding."

"But what, 'it?' What do we know?" Cynthia replied, taking Dominus's explanation only slightly better.

"Mortals cannot comprehend its nature, and the gods cannot observe it without being corrupted. We don't know what it is," Dominus explained.

"Wonderful," Cynthia scoffed, with a dismissive hand gesture to match.

Throughout the meeting, Illistrianna looked focused as she listened to Amaterasu's and Mitsuko's explanations of their first objective. She had struggled with certain terms but she tried to not let the lack of knowledge sway her. The direness of the situation sure was alarming, for the gods to be powerless against this corruption and for mere mortals like her to go up against power-hungry deities. And to think the humans in this world had invented weapons that could annihilate millions of people in an instant...

She listened to Cynthia's and Dominus' discussion. The champion brought some valid points, and the lack of knowledge of what they were up against made it even harder to have a full grasp on the situation at hand, beside the fact that they were going in blind. Even so...

"There is yet hope, despite how dire it all seems. If, unlike divine beings, we mortals are impervious to this corruption, then surely we might have an advantage over the fallen gods of that world, in one way or another."

But for the time being, preparations were needed. The small moon gravitating around Illistrianna had separated from her champion, floating not too far away from the group. A pulse of silvery moonlight shone briefly before a portal of silver and black opened where the moon was. A sign for the priestess, prompting her to not waste time into preparing for the upcoming incursion.

"Fare thee well, until we meet again." Illistrianna bowed in respect to her peers before stepping into her patron's gate.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Stepping out of the silvery portal, the moon elf was greeting by what one would call a divine sight. Another garden, not much unlike the ones from the place between realities they'd just come from. But this one was of eternal night, with the stars and a large blue moon to illuminate the surroundings. Fields of verdant grass with glowing flowers of white, violet and blue petals adorned this place of existence. Over a lone hill stood a tall white tree, where an elf was standing under. She would easily pass for Illistrianna's twin, were it not for her divine presence.

A tall woman of pale white skin, silvery hair tied in a long ponytail and orbs of white light for eyes the physical appearance of Lunara was of a warrior-lady clad in shining white armor with silver adornments and wielding an elaborate long spear that some would argue looked like an overly-large glaive, war scythe or naginata. Her calm and careful gestures as she plucked fruits from the great tree personified the wisdom of the guardian goddess.

She turned to her Champion, her smile faint but earnest. "Welcome to my domain, daughter. For the time being, as my champion, this will be your home, until our mission is complete."

Illistrianna nodded solemnly, making her way to her goddess. "What of Elvira?"

"You have left home with firm resolution. To come back when harm would no longer come to threaten that which your have sworn to protect. As the spearhead of our incursion into defeating the Darkness, you cannot let your mind stray from your task. But worry not..." The moon goddess waved a hand towards the other side of the hill, gesturing towards the distance. Over the hill, the landscape changed to a familiar setting. The gardens surrounding the hills morphed into a grand overview from above of Elvira, then morphed again so as a castle of ivory stood beneath them. "...your sisters will protect during your absence."

The champion marveled at the sight, feeling a slight hint of nostalgia as she looked upon the kingdom she had left behind. But the landscape soon enough returned to the serene gardens of white and green.

"Why me, Mother? Would Rosearia not have been a better choice to become your Champion?"

An alabaster table appeared next to the tree, with silver cups filled of deep red liquid. The guardian deity beckoned her champion to sit in front of her to share an invigorating drink.

"Your sister is the most powerful, fit to be a champion indeed, but what is one more sword on the battlefield against an overwhelming foe, with no armor or shield? A weapon of legendary sharpness, but breaks in a few clashes?"

"An army of the strongest champions, handpicked by the gods, with no one to support them."

Lunara nodded silently, taking a small sip of her divine drink. "You have devoted your whole life in protecting your people. For the coming battles, your conviction will become the shield of your allies. Your faith will support our effort in stopping this calamity. This is why, daughter."

Illistrianna looked down at her cup, nodding quietly with a faint smile before engaging with her drink.

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Some time later, Illistrianna emerged back into the world between worlds from the very same portal that reopened. She carried with her a few additional supplies that Lunara gifted her before they left their realm, mainly divine fruits picked from the white tree that would keep her and her allies fed should they spend a long time away from their home. Medicinal plants from the gardens that would cure ailments and injuries if properly prepared, should she experience troubles with her magic.

She looked back at the moon that stood a distance away, this time not following the priestess. Illistrianna nodded, walking up to the meeting. For now, their fate rested upon the champions' shoulders.

"Greetings once more. I am ready."