Each Fruit of the World Tree bloomed into a universe in the hopes of birthing a god. As unique instances of creation with infinite opportunities for miracles, each universe had an equal opportunity to divinity.

And in the olden days of gods, many universes successfully found their own divinities.

Gods often descended on new and developing worlds and shared the ways of traversing the Path and guided demigods through the intricate steps of the Final Ascension to True Divinity. Gods were everywhere.

It was a testament to the brutality of the Invasion that no gods remained to guide them.

In those days, under the benevolence of the many deities, traveling between the worlds was a simple matter for moderately powerful beings, but after the last remaining Celestial Divinities that survived the initial war of expulsion sacrificed their Eternal Divine Souls along with the Celestial Court to craft the Nexus Divine Plane, not even demigods could freely traverse between the worlds.

That didn’t mean there were no ways.

Special treasures, powerful artifacts, cursed lands, etc.

If there were rules, there would always be ways to break them.

While the Elders and the powerful factions of the Nexus had the major monopoly on these rare resources, some methods still managed to fall into the wrong kinds of hands.

Dimensional Pirates.

Powerful beings that only cared for their own selfish agendas that unfortunately had ways of crossing worlds. They would strike worlds with weaker strength and ravage what resources they could and promptly flee before the Nexus’s response arrived.

While rare, they existed, and each was a menace that deserved a thousand deaths.

“And your ‘brother’ is the most notoriousness Dimensional Pirate to have existed, because as the Demiurge, the god of the Second Heaven, he can strike a hundred worlds at once and never show himself. We’ve never been able to deal them a significant blow, but now, we at least know what he is. Will that help us in reigning him in Elder Paskone?” The imposing metallic figure of coolness explained to Sophie and asked his question to the man responsible for the Demiurge’s creation.

“Yes. Now that we know who he is, I have a good idea on how he’s concealed his movements. I will have a working prototype for a method to detect his forces as soon as I can,” Paskone said with a small bow.

“Good. Then let us speak no more of that matter for now. We will finish our introductions and continue with the meeting’s agendas. Now why don’t I… What are you doing?” Albara asked his old friend who was reaching for the Table with a long range orbiting ring of dust.

Mada, The Spirit of Light, pulsed in low yellow and orange hues.

“I should obviously go first. Aren’t you the leader?”

Pulses of blues and purples.

“What do you mean, ‘what do I mean’? You’re always pushing your seniority in my face and I finally give you some face and you-!”

A stray orbiting speck of dust lightly landed on the Table and changed it.

“-you bitch. Fine! Go first!”

A rapid pulse of mirthful mint yellow bursts needed no translation. Ha! Bitch, I got you!

Apparently, it wasn’t odd to see the oldest existences in the multiverse bicker like children, as no one batted an eye as the giant mechanical demigod was literally batted away by a jovial ball of light.

Or when it came flying back with a rocket kick.

Back and forth the childish retaliation went, and the Table flashed between two ancient histories.

These weren’t the only two universes that had existed before the fall of the Celestial Court, but their relationships with the Court differed from others with histories deeply influenced by the guidance of the gods and were powerful even before they Ascended to the 9th step.

As Blessed Children of Fate, each were recognized at an early age as the holders of Fate and were groomed into power and authority.

Mada was a direct disciple of the Supreme Spirit of Light and brought great wealth to his world by proxy.

Albara Tesin, as the direct disciple of the Human God of Wisdom, had similar experiences to his old friend.

As disciples to two of the Supremes of the Celestial Court, they had been exposed to the highest levels of power of the Old Era and had personal relationships with names spoken of in the most ancient scripts.

As the most talented and prestigious of the younger generation, the two were long friends and rivals with their own factions of loyal followers gathered from around the multiverse.

Each was still in the early stages of nurturing when the Enemy came and were too young to engage in the conflict, but they stood tall and proud as they bore witness to the courageous fall of everything they knew.

Armies of powerful beings they thought could crush any obstacles were devastated and their champions openly hunted and slaughtered, but none disgraced their homes by turning their backs. It gave courage to others, each death and sacrifice, destined to have meaning in the meaningless slaughter.

They watched the Enemy’s first defeat at the sacrifice of their most powerful, and how time was bought with the sacrifice of their foundations when they finally Glimpsed and became the World Tree’s only remaining demigods, they took the helms of the Nexus and stood at the new front lines in her defense.

With the last two to reveal the histories of their worlds and their own impacts on those worlds, a relieved sigh seemed to reverberate through space.

“Good, none of you are Traitors.” An increasingly familiar voice tickled Jun’s and everyone else’s ears as they watched an ethereal purple haired figure manifest floating above the center of the Table.

The Administrator looked around at the assembled eclectic group of characters with a newfound fondness, a heavy stone having been lifted from her heart. An old persisting doubt she could never fully kill had finally been put to rest, and it felt wonderful.

While not every one of the Elders could be considered morally upright, none were revealed as moral degenerates either.

And none were Traitors. Now she didn’t have to kill anyone today. That was nice.

Looking towards Jun, she gave a formal bow and smiled.

“Elder Jun, welcome to the Nexus. This place was created on the foundations of the Old Order through the noble sacrifice of our most honored ones. It keeps the Enemy at bay and gives us an opportunity to retaliate when a single attack of their full force would have ended us all. It also made it more difficult for our own to walk the Path and reach the step to joining this council.” She said with emotions Jun couldn’t grasp with his youth.

“So much time has passed and our numbers remain so few, but each and every member here is a guaranteed pinnacle genius that would have been celebrated in the Old Era. And now we have you,” she finally said with an excited smile.

“This Table, along with the new Guardians sculpture, makes three powerful Spiritual Artifacts you’ve created in a matter of days.” The Administrator revealed, and the Elders gasped in horror. There was another one?!

“I can only imagine what kinds of change you’ll bring to our eternal struggle. My expectations are very high, Elder Jun,” she said almost flirtatiously before straightening her leg and reaching down with her fair toes and touched its surface.

The Table rippled and rippled and rippled.

Almost like it was struggling to process a vastness it was never meant to encounter, it continued to ripple before settling into an epic story.

In the center were the extending branches of a timeless canopy of worlds. It was at the center because it was an existence that always was and always would be, sheltering the birth of its children from the Sea of Chaos and was content in its existence as a singularity.

But there were predators in this sea and not all things were meant for eternal peace.

The stony reliefs were now impossibly small, with a hundred thousand important events forming together to tell tales of larger significances.

The formation of the Celestial Court by the First Divine Family.

The Endless Eras of Peace and Prosperity.

The Enemy that Devoured.

The Tragic War of Existence.

The Last Sacrifice and the Birth of the Nexus.

The Era of Thirst and Hardship.

Every chapter had their own heroes and key figures that allowed for conclusions with hope, but the trends of deaths and defeats were not in their favor.

All led to one conclusion. The World Tree was also dying.

It had been too long since the last True Divinity was birthed from her Fruits, and the Enemy continued to chip away at her essence even then. The Nexus staved off the finishing blow, but it also made it harder for her other children to rise and grow. So few had emerged till then.

But at the end of the desolate tapestry of repeated tragedy, was a single scene given its own space of a familiar hammer meeting a familiar chisel.

“Do you see that? That’s you. Momma said you’re special.”

With every eye on him, Jun felt the weight of cosmic expectations and felt like it was a bit much. He was the new guy here. Could he just go through orientation first before being asked to save the company? What was happening right now?

“Before we get ahead of ourselves, we still have a few more basics we need to get through,” Albara interrupted, having sensed the little Elder’s discomfort. There was no point in overwhelming the child, even if he did share in those views himself. Three Spiritual Artifacts like these were simply priceless treasures, and they had all already benefited from two of them. What wonders indeed.

“I’m sure Elder Dogadon has already introduced to you all the duties and benefits of your new status, but as a reminder, although we gain much from the Nexus and it is our duty as the pinnacle forces of the World Tree in leading the resistance against the Enemy, that is not our main objective.”

Jun was already aware of the ‘duties’ of the Elders.

Guide the Worthy and Troubled. The strongest could walk the steps and seek his guidance, and the worlds that sought salvation needed to be fished out of danger as urgently as possible.

Craftsman and support inclined Elders operated a variety of services to accommodate the needs of the Crowns and Keyholders while combat oriented Elders offered lessons and guidance along their Paths.

Some were very popular.

Some not so much.

In return, Elders gained Karmic Merits, which held many benefits.

The greatest benefit was that the increase in Karma increased the Elder’s rank. This rank, besides starting petty fights of pride, also corresponded to their allotted time in a very special place.

The old Celestial Court was a supreme divine realm because of its connection with the thinnest membrane between reality and the Origin of all things where the seat of the Highest once sat.

Now as Elders, they could experience that seat and meditate on the Origin by the Origin. And the higher the rank, the more time they got.

But it was the first time that Jun heard of a higher objective than ‘Guiding’ and ‘Leading.’

What else was there for him to do?

Purple hair danced to its own breeze as the Administrator spoke with purpose.

“In order to fully vanquish this Enemy that has bled Mother for so long, a True God must emerge from the New Era. One of you must take the final step and wield the Sword of Karma that has been forged from the blood of the Celestials and strike down thy enemies for good!” She nearly screamed with her little clenched fists, not breaking eye contact with whom she believed that ‘one’ was.

Jun was looking anywhere else.

That was a lot of pressure.