Back at Ares'' house.


    Enyo took a deep breath as she consolidated the results of her cultivation session. After the training, she''d gone into one of the cultivation rooms as she felt it was possible to raise her cultivation by a stage. Lo and behold, she''d accomplished it, bringing her to the 7th stage of mental accumulation. Part of the reason she''d been able to raise her cultivation was because she''d succeeded in creating a new offensive art during her training, one that came under the righteous justice aspect which she wasn''t altogether too familiar with. Exploring new pillars was a way for cultivators who didn''t use dedication to potentially make gains in their cultivation; that being said, Enyo was seriously considering swapping over. She had little interest in anything other than the holy pillar and had an affinity for both aspects. Her barriers were already monstrous and leaning further into that would solidify her path forward. Pillar affinity was rarely wrong and dedication cultivation hardly ever failed anyone who invested in it, so Enyo was only really deciding whether to swap before or after the tournament. It probably wouldn''t affect their chances of winning, but Enyo wasn''t a gambler and there was no need to take any risks. Of course, if she asked Ares, he would naturally recommend she swap... I wonder if that idiot has collapsed yet?


    After returning home, one would assume Ares would have gone to sleep and rested his weary and achy bones... Yeah right. He''d planned on doing as such, but at the end of the training session, Sadie gifted him the space ring full of miscellaneous weapons used during the training session. Ares, like any other man on any other planet, simply couldn''t resist playing with his new toys and went into the backyard to practice Asura Rondo as well as swinging around the various weapons. It''s also worth noting that, when Sadie watched Ares stuff the spatial ring filled with weapons into a dimension she couldn''t see, she naturally asked him about just like everyone else had. When his response, which was the same as always, indicated that he kept it in the same place he kept his kitchen, Sadie slapped him and walked away without asking him anymore questions.


    Enyo, now that she was finished with her cultivation session, arose from her seated position and opened the door, after which she was greeted by her adorable daughter.


    "Hello mum!"


    Enyo smiled and picked Appa up, giving it a hug. "Hello sweetie, what have you been up to?"


    "Hmmm. I was watching dad playing around... Mum, is dad evil?"


    "Probably, why?"


    "Towards the end, he was acting weird."


    "... What''s so strange about that?"


    "I mean he was laughing like a supervillain."


    "I''m honestly surprised he hasn''t done that before, but you''re right, it is somewhat unusual. I was about to go check on him and make sure he hadn''t fainted in the cold anyway, let''s go see what that fool is up to shall we?"


    "Mhm!"


    With Appa in her arms, Enyo walked to the back of the house and opened the door leading to the garden. The garden itself was relatively unimpressive, essentially just being a square patch of grass with nothing else of note present. It was certainly sizable though. If a tenant wanted to, they could put some effort in and get a really pretty garden in return. It was big enough that you could host a get together if you really wanted. Not many people went through the hassle of cleaning up and decorating, though, as these were usually just temporary accommodation for anyone who was talented enough to move up and become and inner court disciple. Usually, no matter how untalented you were, becoming an inner court disciple was always in reach. The requirements weren''t too strict so why bother spicing up the garden when you were almost definitely going to have to leave the house anyway? It was ideal, for most people, to wait until they got their inner court residence, where they would probably spend the rest of their life. The requirements to become a core disciple were far stricter and there could only be so many at any given time, just reaching the minimum cultivation threshold and passing a small test was no longer enough to move up. As Heaven''s Path was a sect that had been around for quite some time, the core disciples were typically those that had earned their place and kept it for a considerable amount of time, meaning anyone who wasn''t a cultivation or combat genius stood basically no chance against the veteran core disciples. Of course Edgerton and Eagerton who came from a higher domain, had plenty of combat experience thanks to the war, and were prodigious in every sense of the word earned their spot with relative ease. They were exceptions, though.


    Enyo opened the door to the plain garden, that Ares had never touched prior to today, and was immediately greeted by the cackling Appa had previously informed her about. Just as she was about to look to the side where the laughter was coming from...


    bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz


    A large, gold, red, and black object whizzed past her, speeding off into the dead of night, giving her a front row seat to the doppler effect in action. Enyo hadn''t quite seen whatever it was that went flying past as it was a little too dark to make out specifics and, whatever it was, it was damn fast. Enyo was about to turn and face Ares once again...


    BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM


    A black and red helix violently erupted from wherever the mysterious object landed with a golden pillar rising straight up in the middle of it. The sheer width of the explosion was massive and it even shot upwards high enough to split the clouds in the night sky. The domineering, ancient aura of devastation swept through the neighbourhood, blasting away any fencing too close to the blast zone and even rattling the foundation of some houses. Speaking of houses... Enyo slowly realised Ares'' practice dummy was, in fact, one of the empty houses next door that was supposed to belong to either Aejaz or Appa who were living here instead. The houses were really quite luxurious as far as outer court houses went, it was fairly obvious the sect elders were not going to be too pleased with the destruction of one that could have been repurposed for new outer court disciples... Enyo could practically hear Rud stomping down the street already, so she turned to the cackling maniac and decided to get the conversation over and done with as quick as possible. She wanted to go to sleep with Appa and leave Rud''s questioning up to Ares, it was his fault after all; there was no reason to allow herself to be dragged into it when she was tired enough as is. "I don''t suppose those were fireworks?"


    "Hm?" Ares stopped laughing to himself when he realised he wasn''t alone anymore. "Hehehe, nope, but it''s certainly showy, isn''t it? It''s a new art called ''Perish Wheel''. It''s like an exploding buzz saw that combines all the aspects of destruction! I got the idea from that dumb mecha dryad back in Baja. Though, of course, mine''s bigger!"


    Are all men this stupid? "Don''t you think it''s..." Enyo glanced at the ruins of the house that was test site alpha. "... A little much?"


    "Muahaha, nope. The art might be a little extreme, but there''s method to the madness!"


    "... No, I''m pretty sure there''s madness in your method... Whatever, we''re going to sleep. Good luck with Rud."


    "Hm? Rud? Right… Oh shit."


    "BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    Enyo walked back inside and closed the door, ignoring Ares'' pleas for help as a loud yell and THUD signalled Rud''s arrival. Besides, who was Enyo to get in the way of someone smacking Ares upside the head? She enjoyed it just as much as everyone else. It was also necessary every now and then for two reasons, one: it put Ares in his place. He was a mouthy bastard who acted before he thought about the consequences of his actions and how they would affect those around him. A few beatings here and there would keep him honest! And two: People might start to actually get annoyed at him for real otherwise. He was just about tolerable provided you were given opportunities to...


    SMACK


    … Take out your anger every now and then. To be fair, Rud was probably the person who''d put up with Ares'' shenanigans for the longest now so he was next in line; all he really needed was an excuse and boy did he have one now.


    Enyo ignored the wails coming from the garden as she went to sleep while cuddling an Appa who was tittering to itself every time it heard the sound of flesh being struck.


    ---------------------------------


    An hour later.


    The door to the bedroom opened as a lump of groaning flesh dragged itself across the floor and into the room. Ares was well and truly shattered as today had been a long day, so he used what little remaining strength he had left to crawl over to the bed and flop onto it. He shut his eyes and immediately dozed off into dreamland. His dreams were unusual this day. Perhaps combining all three destruction pillar aspects for the first time had awoken something within Ares. His dreams all took place within a red, pulsing void with black seams strewn about, holding it all together. As the red void pulsed and became gradually more vibrant, the contours of space formed a conical hole that lead deeper into the ever expanding depths. Whatever this place was, it was definitely related to the nothingness pillar, no questions asked. Colour scheme and general aesthetic aside, Ares felt at home here, like a fish in water. He could float freely, unabetted by gravity or physics of any kind. He could freely Shift to anything within sight... Not that there was anything here. Even if he Shifted as far forward as possible, his surroundings didn''t change even an iota; not because he hadn''t moved, but just because the expansiveness of this void rivalled the deepest depths of outer space. The distance he would need to travel in order to change the immediate scenery was incalculable. Instead of endlessly, pointlessly searching the expanse before, Ares began playing with the void. He wielded it freely here without the need for mana or fine control. With the flick of a wrist he could create ''physical'' objects like a red dolphin, hopping in and out of portals, or a red meteor that went crashing off into the distance beyond vision, or even a red... Actually, the creations all being red didn''t really bear repeating, similar to how all his annihilation creations were gold... Anyhow, Ares was stuck in this strange place for hours on end, seemingly unable to wake up from this weird dream and return to reality... Actually, that word, ''reality'' didn''t quite make sense to Ares. This void felt more ''real'' to him than the world he knew.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Ares was startled when he heard a whisper tickle his ear. He looked around and even tried to sense his surroundings through the use of nothingness but that action seemed to amplify the voice. As Ares focused harder, the ''voice'' became clear enough to understand properly. Rather than speak back, Ares simply listened patiently for hours on end, digesting all the information he was receiving; information that was of vital importance to him and to the entire world. His face grew sour towards the middle of the explanation he was receiving before gradually turning into one of bitter acceptance. By the end of the ''talk'', Ares was in a foul mood. He didn''t want to hear the things he''d heard, nor did he want to be involved but, really, he knew he didn''t have a say in the matter. He was just going to have to grin and bear it all for a long time to come... But that was his problem, not yours! Don''t be nosy. Ares had half discovered this void and had half been summoned here for the express purpose of being educated on various matters. It was his duty going forward and his burden that others need not concern themselves with. Well, there was one person he would tell, she needed to know not because it was her problem, but because Ares couldn''t lie to her; not about this. Ares sighed dejectedly as he closed his eyes in an attempt to return to ''reality'', the ''real'' one, anyway. The one where everything he valued existed.


    …


    …


    …


    Gasp


    Ares awoke with a start, sucking in the air around him. Contrary to his expectations, he wasn''t in his room. The place he was in was actually familiar to him...Because it was the same damn void he''d just left.


    Sigh


    Ares exhaled and took a moment to think. No, it''s different this time. This time is real... I wasn''t summoned here, I entered this place myself. Did I sleepwalk? Or more like sleep-dimension-walk, I guess. Ares fiddled with the void, allowing it to drip through his grasp like grains of sand. I''m not tired anymore. I''m definitely awake now... Was I awake before too? Bah, who cares, I should just leave this cursed place. Awake, asleep, Ares didn''t really know or care anymore, he just wanted out. He had enough control over nothingness to freely enter and exit this place. It was an important place in its own right, but Ares didn''t have much reason to be here just yet. The things he needed to do here were currently beyond him, so he went to open a portal back to reality. As he readied his hand to open the fabric of the void, he detected something in the distance, something that hadn''t been here prior during his ''dream''? ''Nightmare?'' Whatever it was. Recalling the explanation he''d been given, Ares already knew what was in store for him if he went that way, but he needed to do it. He needed to get this meeting over and done with now so him coming back here in the future wouldn''t be suspicious to the ''owner''. The ''person'' in question knew he was here, and he knew Ares knew about him. Leaving now would just make things awkward, so Ares bit the bullet and prepared himself. He was about to hear the same thing he''d already been told, well... Almost. There would be some missing details, but hey, a person can''t tell you something they don''t know about, right? Ares Shifted repeatedly in a single direction until he saw a tiny silver blob in the distance. Ares blinked and the blob vanished from his sight. Did the blob run away from him? No, quite the opposite, it had actually come closer. The reason Ares couldn''t see it anymore was because it was right behind him. Ares didn''t need to turn around to know of its presence because it was so absurdly massive, it''s sheer size so unfathomable, it created a sort of pressure passively just by existing at such an unreasonable scale.


    Ares could hear faint beeps that dug into and echoed throughout his ears, like that of a calculator solving impossible equations at lightning speed. He could feel the tactile existence behind him, ubiquitous and omnipresent amongst a network of existences, like a terminal of materiality providing eternal life support to organic organisms. The existence behind him was ''functional'', a master craft in logic and coherence. The code to reality, the numbers and data that made up all that which exists, fluttered blurrily in and out of vision before Ares. Ares remained calm, calmer than anyone else in his position would if they knew what he knew; for Ares knew...


    The existence behind him was a God.


    The first God.


    The God who had existed long before any human or any living creature. The God who oversaw countless dimensions, single-handedly watching over literally everything, everywhere, all the time.


    Ares turned to face what could only be described as a superior existence by every conceivable measure.


    The God in question was a robo. He towered above Ares even though he''d made an effort to bring his face in line with Ares''. Liquid silver wings adorned his back, dripping like ooze into the void and disappearing forever. Countless, hollow tubes stretched out of his svelte body, wiggling through the void with cloud-like dimensions attached to the end of them. So many billions of lives, dangling like threads of the chest, legs, and arms of the God before him. The God''s frame wasn''t perfect, with gaps intermittently dotted across it that allowed one to see the amalgamation of wires hidden within; all of which were translucent with various coloured liquids sloshing around as they raced from one part of the God''s body to another. The head was shaped like a ''Y'', with two, red, diamond shaped lights on the visor which functioned as it''s eyes, not that it needed any with which to be omniscient. A large, starry clock hovered behind the God''s head, slowly ticking away, with each tick synchronising with the listener''s heartbeat like an ominous countdown to finality. With a creak and whir signalling the start of the conversation, the God spoke with a mechanical edge that punctuated his robotic voice, "G.r.e.e.t.i.n.g.s A.r.e.s, welcome to the v.o.i.d.. My name is A.s.t.r.a.e.u.s, and I am the G.o.d of the s.p.a.c.e-t.i.m.e pillar. You must have a b.e.v.y of q.u.e.s.t.i.o.n.s, I''m sure, all of which I will a.n.s.w.e.r in due t.i.m.e. For now, p.l.e.a.s.e l.i.s.t.e.n to what I have to s.a.y."


    A.H.E.M


    Astraeus coughed, causing gears to screech as they ground against one another. "I sincerely apologise for the robotic dialect. You see, it''s been a while since I''ve had the need to converse with a living being. I''m ashamed to admit I regress to old habits every hundred quadrillion years or so. In case you didn''t quite catch it the first time around, my name is Astraeus, and I am the God of the space-time pillar. It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. "


    "Likewise..." Ares strongly resisted the urge to call this malfunctioning muppet a rust bucket. He could probably get away with it considering how important he was, but why risk it just to have a bit of fun? Ares was a man who knew when to stay his tongue if nothing else! "... Rust bucket." Or not.


    "I apologise if there has been a misunderstanding, but I''m am incapable of rusting."


    Slap


    Ares facepalmed and gave up any hope he had of bickering and bantering with this banal bucket of bastarding bolts. This sort of ''I''m completely oblivious to everything!'' person was too much even for someone like Ares to handle, or rather this kind of person was Ares'' natural predator. They would eat up his sanity if he made the mistake of caring. Straightlaced it is then. "Ah, never mind. It''s nice to finally meet a God... Not that it wasn''t supposed to happen sooner..."


    "Ah, yes, Ignizz. I suppose I should inform you that the clone that lazy God of fire sent to monitor you is already inside of you. When he''ll choose to wake up is something only he knows, I''m afraid I cannot help you with that."


    "Already inside me? When did that happen?"


    "When you were born. Perhaps it''s more accurate to say ''when you died''. The fires of your hometown gave Ignizz a way past the primordial blade''s interference, allowing him into the domain and, then, into you. Ah, but we''re getting ahead of ourselves. I should explain everything else first so you can fully understand the situation."


    "That would be greatly appreciated." NOT. I already know all this crap, just spit it out quick for me you slow-mo robo.


    "In the beginning, the only things that existed in this void were the pillars."


    FUCK. HE''S STARTING FROM THE VERY BEGINING. I''M GOING TO BE HERE FOREVER. Ares wanted to bang his head against something but, unfortunately, there was nothing around so he had to hold onto his grievances. It seemed as though there was no escaping this lore dump, Ares was just going to have to sit through the exposition, whether he liked it or not.


    "All of the pillars are sentient to a degree but mostly operate based on ''instinct''. Their natural instinct is to create and, as such, they attempted to do precisely that. When the pillars pooled their mana together, they were able to create a dimension after a lot of work and effort. That dimension immediately collapsed, however, as did all the subsequent dimensions they created. The pillars turned to the fundamental pillars, a group of six pillars that were far stronger than the rest, and asked for their assistance. Up until this point, the six pillars hadn''t involved themselves in the act of creation as they were far more powerful and prolific than the others, there was no telling what the repercussions of their attempts would result in. Minus the pillar of destruction, which was the exception as it is the only pillar which cannot ''create'', the other five pillars were capable of creating entire dimensions by themselves, that is how omnipotent they truly are. The six fundamental pillars, the pillar of destruction, the pillar of creation, the pillar of the mind, the pillar of reality, the black pillar, and the white pillar analysed the situation before coming to a conclusion. The void would simply continue crushing any and all dimensions spawned unless a countermeasure was taken. The ''space'' the dimensions took up within the void would be swallowed whole unless they were protected. The solution was to create a stop-gap, something that could exist as a barrier between the dimensions and the void. After some testing, it was discovered that the space-time pillar could, if it devoted itself to the task, keep a dimension ''separated'' from the void. This is how I came to be. The space-time pillar joined forces with the metal pillar and the creation pillar to create an existence other than a pillar but could still wield the power of one. I was born weak and frail, a tiny creature that was overwhelmed and suffocated by the void. When I inevitably died, I was brought back again by the reality and white pillars, and all my mental anguish was supressed by the mind pillar. Death after death until eventually I could exist stably thanks to the space-time pillar''s direct intervention. The space time pillar would continue to protect me from the void as I grew while granting me its power, making me the first ''champion'' who would go on to become a God. My purpose was simple, grow and evolve until I could exist within the void by myself. Then I would learn to control space magic until I could keep any dimensions the pillars created safe. Eons passed until I was capable of such a feat but, eventually, I managed. I''ve held this role ever since, constantly keeping safe an inestimable number of dimensions attached to my body, but that''s not important. What is important is everything that comes next. What truly matters, and the reason all of existence is at risk, is a creature born from this negative space that we refer to as ''Xhilihx, the Maw of the Void''."