Yao Jun's eyes slowly opened, the walls of his room stretching out around him. His pupils swam about a bit before he rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times to clear them up. He'd been with Yama and the others for a few days, talking to them and sparring so that he could understand them, their strengths, their weaknesses, their desires.
It had only been a few days, he was certain of that. But he couldn't remember the last time the days felt that long, they seemed neverending as they sparred.
"Ah, I guess that's what pressure does to you..."
He clenched his hands a few times before he stood up. Yama and the others... they were stronger than he had expected. They were Origin Beasts, but they were still young so he would be lying if he said that he was expecting a lot. But they were stronger than he expected, and their teamwork was nothing to scoff at. But perhaps that was just to be expected after he left them on their own so often, it was inevitable that they would get closer and explore each other's strengths, banding together was one way to survive after all.
He walked over to the bathroom that was attached to the room, splashing some lukewarm water on his face as he stopped in front of the mirror. He obviously wasn't dirty, this body wasn't the one that had entered the universe after all. But it just felt nice, it was a sensation that cleared the mind.
He looked at his own reflection in the mirror. Sharp features and slightly narrowed eyes, black hair and black pupils, and a healthy skin tone. He once had smooth features, but the years of battle had sharpened them into their current state, but other than that his overall appearance had returned to what it was when he was young.
But it felt unfamiliar to him. Gleaming purple hair and ghastly grey eyes, that was what he was used to, those were the colours his friends and journey had given him. It had been a little while since his appearance reverted to this normal state, but this was the first time he truly took a good look at himself, he could scarcely recognize himself.
He had changed. The years, the battles, the journey, it had all changed him, both mentally and physically. But now the physical changes had reverted and only the mental ones remained so he couldn't help but feel some dissonance. But even though the appearance had reverted, traces of change were still present on him, scars of time.
And the place where these scars were most visible, at least to him, was probably the eyes. They were the same black as when he was a child, but at the same time, they were completely different. Back then they were dark, the black of desperation as he struggled each day, it was a grim colour. Now, while they were still grim, they weren't as dark anymore. There were lights in them, small flickering stars that lit them up like the brilliant nightsky.
"Hmm..."
His gaze was focused on his eyes, on those flickering stars. He wasn't sure if he was seeing things or not, but they felt like the planets in his universes, as if his eyes were a gate into what he had become. His gaze wasn't focused on it because it was strange, but rather because an idea struck him when he saw it.
"It's worth a shot. Shouldn't be impossible, at least theoretically."
A flash of fire washed over his face and evaporated the water that stuck to his skin, his gaze turning away from his reflection as he left the bathroom. He stepped out of the room as well and made his way through the hallways and onto the deck, where Zhuan Yi was standing.
She stood at the bow of the ship, her gaze drifting about aimlessly as she took in the surroundings. They weren't burrowing through space so the planets and other celestial bodies that whizzed past them were clearly visible, gargantuan clouds of dust and stone snaking about between the celestial bodies.
"Faster than expected. Judging by how you spoke, I expected that I would need to park the ship and wait for you."
She didn't turn around but she obviously hadn't missed his arrival, her gaze continuing to drift about. He shrugged his shoulders as he walked forward, his hands landing on the railing as he reached her side, gazing out across the seemingly endless expanse of space.
"Tell me, Zhuan Yi, what do you hope to see by following me? What sort of world are you dreaming of as you step forward?"
He didn't look at her and she didn't look at him, well, she glanced at him with a tinge of surprise in her eyes but it only lasted for a second or two. She didn't immediately answer the question as she pulled her gaze back, Yao Jun simply shrugging his shoulders again as she spoke.
"That's a surprising question, I didn't take you for the type of person to really care."
"I'm trying to change, it would be nice if I could start to understand more."
One of Zhuan Yi's eyebrows couldn't help but rise as she glanced at him again. Change, the older you got the harder it became to change. The life you had spent years fighting for, the beliefs you had struggled to maintain, trying to let go of those and change was both painful and difficult. But she lowered the brow after a moment, a few wrinkles appearing between her brows as she pondered over the question.
"I don't really know. When it comes to you, I'd just like to see how high you can go. You're abnormal, a freak of nature. It's like the curiosity you get when you see a newborn beast that's become mutated and malformed, you're curious to see just how long it'll last. As for the world, I got no clue. I've been too preoccupied with the survival of my race to think about what sort of place I want the world to be. But if I have to give an answer right now then I think it would be nice if the world could become a place where I didn't have to worry about my race like that, it'd also be nice if those who come after me didn't have to worry about it either. That good enough for you?"
It was an answer she came up with on the spot, those who struggled for survival never really had the chance to think about the greater picture after all. But it was funny, the answer you came up with on the spot, the answer you suddenly dredged out from the deepest recesses of your mind, it was the proper answer for you far more often than not.
"Yeah, that's good enough. It... It would be nice if that world came to pass, constantly worrying about the survival of those around you is painful."
Once again, Zhuan Yi's eyebrow rose, her head unconsciously tilting as it turned towards Yao Jun. His hands were still resting on the railing, his gaze placid as it swept across the endless expanse ahead of them. You could call his expression calm, or perhaps cold in some regards, but that was what made it clear that he was being sincere.
"Heh, I guess it's really true what they say, loss is the quickest way to gain, and pain is the fastest way to change. But don't let that change make you too merciful, Yao Jun, you know that right?"
Once you started to care about others, it generally became much harder to end your enemies, you started to sympathize with them, you saw yourself in them. And then they killed you in return. That was why she reminded him, why she reminded this mutated monster whose future she wanted to see.
Yao Jun didn't voice any answer, he simply turned his head slightly and locked eyes with Zhuan Yi. The answer was written in his eyes, engraved in them like the myriad of stars that danced around in them. She shivered quietly as she looked into those eyes, the darkness scattered between the glittering stars was deeper than the darkness around them, and it seemed all the more endless.
That was why the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Yes, this was a man who wouldn't show excessive mercy, this was a being that was more beast than man. Yao Jun turned his gaze away again when he saw that Zhuan Yi understood his meaning, moving on to the next topic.
"I want to try something. I want to try bringing you into my universes. The foundation should allow it, and in the end, it's still a universe so there should be no problem with bringing in outside lifeforms. If it works, I want you to spar with the guys in there, what they can gain from fighting me is limited. What do you think?"
His universes, they were all formed using fragments of the Demon God's Gate, which had allowed him to both absorb Demonic beasts as well as bring in people. So who was to say that he couldn't do the same with his universes? He hadn't tried it before, but there was no reason that it shouldn't work.
"Yeah, that does sound logical. Sure, go for it. But let me tell you this, if you leave me locked up in there then I'll be sure to tear things up worse than you could ever imagine."
She spoke extremely casually, but there was a certain amount of trust needed for that answer. Those universes were his territory, he was a god there. If he wanted to lock her up then there really wasn't much she could do, she'd just be trapped there. But she still said yes, she still trusted the beast.
Yao Jun gave a small nod and then stretched out his hand, placing it on her shoulder. Did he need to do this? Honestly, it was hard to say. He didn't need to do so with his God Gate, but he wasn't using his God Gate right now so he had no idea what to do.
So, he placed his hand on her shoulder and focused on his universes. He thought back to when he still had his God Gate, when he was dubbed the Nine Heavens Demon God. He thought about the sensation, the feeling of drawing something in, of providing it with a new home where they could rest.
The sensation was very clear to him, it had brought him friend after friend, kept companion after companion safe. He couldn't see it, but the flickering lights in his eyes danced about slightly as he tried to mimic the sensation, forming an eerie sight. And then he felt it, a slight sensation seeping out from his universes. The sensation left his body and surrounded Zhuan Yi, who evidently sensed it as well.
"Alright, I'll go keep them company it seems. Don't forget my warning."
Her body twisted slightly when she finished speaking, space around her twisting for a moment before she vanished. Yao Jun could feel the new arrival in his universe, something from the outside had arrived and become part of it for the first time. His gaze lowered to his hands, one of them clenching a few times as he checked himself.
"Doesn't seem to work as it did in the past, shame. But I guess that's to be expected when its foundation is just a few fragments rather than the whole thing."
He had absorbed Zhuan Yi, but he didn't feel any increase in strength, nor did he feel the presence of any new laws. But as he said, it was probably to be expected, his universes were just formed using fragments of his God Gate, not the entire thing. Things might change once all the fragments were torn open, but that was a question he could not answer at the moment so it wasn't one he felt like dwelling on.
"Alright. With that taken care of, let's pick up the pace a little."
They had originally only taken it slow because he wanted to understand his companions, now that he had gotten the first step of that out of the way he no longer had a need to go so slow. A funeral pyre was still waiting for them, the flames still had to be lit.
He headed down into the ship again and stopped in front of the array core that controlled it, inserting a few Spirit Stones to give it more power. He then used the map to confirm the location and activated the array, space around the ship quickly warping as the vessel pierced through to reach its destination.
The ship shook slightly for a second before it fell silent again, the Spirit Stones in the array fading away to dust. Yao Jun stepped out of the ship and then recalled it into his interspatial ring, gazing down upon his first of three targets.
The World Tree planet, the home and base of the World Tree clan that Arthurius belonged to. The gargantuan tree whose roots covered the entire planet towered towards the sky, breaking into the dark expanse of space as its bright green leaves fluttered despite the absence of wind. There were obviously cities spreading out amongst the gargantuan roots, but the main base of the sect was located inside the tree itself, with abodes and buildings mixed directly into the trunk and branches, they were like a symbiotic entity that had attached itself to the tree.
Yao Jun looked at the planet, but didn't immediately advance. He could feel a barrier around the entire planet, an array had activated to seal it off. There were also a large number of guards patrolling, both on and around the planet so it seemed like the sect was doing what it could to not be disturbed right now. Naturally, with him having arrived right by it so abruptly, he was bound to draw the attention of the patrolling guards.
"Before you approach any closer, please identify yourself. Otherwise, we will have to treat you as an intruder."
The guards, who showed the elongated features as well as the abnormal height of the World Tree clan, held spears as they approached Yao Jun. They were wary of him, holding their weapons tightly, but they didn't show any immediate hostility and instead acted rather politely. From that alone it was clear that the clan probably hadn't sealed itself off because of an emergency, they'd be a lot antsier if that was the case.
Yao Jun observed the guards for a bit, his gaze eventually leaving them and returning to the gargantuan tree. His gaze was calm, like a placid lake, practically drilling into the tree. The guards looked a bit awkward, unsure of how to proceed. But just as the one who seemed to take the lead opened his mouth, another voice cut in and interrupted them.
"I don't believe my descendants should have any relationship with one such as you."
The voice was rather low and sombre, but it reverberated inside your head like a shout, the guards flinching. In front of Yao Jun's gaze, the gargantuan tree shifted slightly, the bark moving about to form a large face with leaves for eyes. The eyes were looking straight at Yao Jun, who returned the gaze. He had felt it, the immensely powerful presence within the tree. This was probably the leader, or one of the previous leaders, of the clan, and probably the strongest Godking they had.
"I am Godking World Tree, the guardian deity of my descendants. Oh you Nameless Entity, who are you and why have you come to our doorstep?"
Yao Jun had sensed the strength in the tree, and in turn, it had sensed him. It could feel his cultivation, it was far too low for it to actually take notice of him. But it could also feel his strength, or to be more specific, the danger he posed. The thing that had arrived, while having much lower cultivation, was extremely dangerous. It was not an entity that his descendants should have any contact with, they existed in a different realm from each other.
Yao Jun looked at the large face, the planet had started to bustle with activity the moment it revealed itself. They were probably panicking quite a bit right now, setting up their defences with haste. But it didn't matter, it wasn't like he came here to fight them.
He didn't need to think about his answer, those who gave him their hopes and dreams, those whose worlds he shouldered, had given him the answer already, he just needed to respond to it.
"I am Yao Jun, the Demon God. And I have come here to erase your enemies from this universe."
Not just Yao Jun, not the King of Demonic Deities, and not just the Nine Heavens Demon God. No, he had become more than that, he needed to become more than that to respond to the hands that had reached out for him.
